Chapter 2
July 16th, 2006
Well diary, Leon called today. He gave me some very…interesting…information. Apparently there was a train "accident" (hence the quotes) in Philadelphia. An Umbrella train was de-railed and a possibly hazardous material was thought to have leaked. Now we move to the real story. Leon said that a T-Virus sample was leaked and in order to cover for the accident, the Umbrella crew tipped the train. He said, as usual, Umbrella is covering their tracks. Me, Chris, Claire, Sherry, Rebecca, Barry, and Carlos are leaving for Philadelphia tonight - after a stop at Andy's first.
Jill
Jill sat in the front seat, with Carlos and Chris. Carlos was driving the truck. Jill had her arms wrapped around him.
Their relationship was growing. It had been for 2 years. They had lost contact for a period of time after their escape from Raccoon City in 1998. Jill went off with Barry. Carlos went to Mexico City to be with a dying relative. They called each other occasionally, but there wasn't much else. Then after a few years, the calls stopped. Carlos disappeared for three years. Jill was sure he was dead. As it turns out, Carlos had been kidnapped by Umbrella and brought to a hidden base in South America. He managed to escape. Shortly after, he showed up at the gang's house in Pittsburgh. A few months after, he and Jill started dating. They were both very comfortable with each other. Jill knew that Carlos was the one. They had been through a lot. When she thought about the incident in Raccoon, her time with Chris was brought to her mind more so than her adventure with Carlos. She turned to look at Chris.
Chris was checking their cash, batteries, and cell phones. He had been put in charge of equipment. He put down the wad of cash. He counted sixteen-thousand four-hundred and thirty-two dollars. They would easily blow six or seven thousand buying weapons at Andy's. The cash didn't matter, just as long as they were prepared. Being prepared was his priority.
Chris never went anywhere without preparation. He had plans for everything. He planned escape routes for getting out of the supermarket. Kind of sad, but he had to be prepared. He had been on the balls of his feet since the incident in Raccoon. His slip on Rockford Island was a slip. He wasn't going to let that happen again. Chris turned and looked at the gang in the backseat. Claire was playing with her hair, as usual.
Claire was pulling her hair into a tight ponytail. She had recently died it a deeper red than it already was. Sherry sat next to her.
When Claire thought about Sherry, she became a tad bit sentimental. When she had brought Sherry into the group 7 years before hand she was just a scared and frightened teenager. She matured into a beautiful and confident young girl. This was thanks to her and Leon, her figurative mother and father. They had been raising her since the incidents in 1998. Although Claire was absent for a few months in 2000, she still had a major effect on Sherry's maturing. It had become an even easier job since Claire and Leon's engagement in 2005. They felt it had been a good move, not only was it good for them, but it was good for Sherry. They were their own little family, and they wouldn't have it any other way.
Barry drove his car behind the white van. He enjoyed driving. He turned and looked at Rebecca.
"If you're tired, you can lay on my shoulder…" He offered.
"Thanks, Barry." She said as she proceeded to place her head on his muscular shoulders.
Ever since Wesker killed his family, Barry had changed. He became very isolated. He would actually go days without talking to anyone. They often thought that they would have to check him into a clinic. He was always depressed. And then Rebecca came to the group. She opened him up and gave him a new flavor in life. He loved her and she loved him back.
Rebecca volunteered to go with Barry. She felt close to Barry. Barry was always her favorite of the group.
They were in love. Rebecca knew he was gonna pop the question. They hadn't even told the group that they were dating. She thought the group knew though.
She was relatively new to the group. Of course they had all known her, but she hadn't joined the "Crusades" full-time until February. She had tried a career in the U.S. Army as a doctor but couldn't take the pressure. She then worked in a lot of hospitals all around New England. She could never find the right place though. It wasn't until last November when she got a call from Barry did she find out about the group. She liked to call them the "Swift Wind". She still remembered thinking of that title.
They were all sitting around trying to think of a name. Rebecca thought, what destroys an umbrella? Some really fast wind. They laughed at her, but she liked the name.
They stopped outside the tattered house. It was right outside the outskirts of Harrisburg. They had been driving for a good two and a half hours. Everybody stretched when they got out of the cars.
"What the fuck?" Chris thought out loud.
"Oh, God." Rebecca said answering Chris' thought.
Andy's house was burnt, badly. The doors and windows were boarded up. Something happened. They all took out their firearms and headed towards the house. They were all nervous.
Suddenly, a cry issued from the deserted house.
The gang ran towards the house.