Two arched double doors were the only things keeping Rebecca from the Apple Inn Hotel. Her face showed the anxiety lurking inside her as she wrapped her fingers around the bronze handle. As the blue door swung open, Rebecca was revealed a different side of Raccoon City. One that seemed almost…unaffected. It was a courtyard, stretching towards the actual hotel. The life-filled grass seemed freshly mowed, almost as if it had been done minutes before. Just in the center of the expanse of grass, a stone, hedge-like monument had been erected. Surrounding the courtyard was a pale brick wall, towering around the field as if it were the protective walls of a castle.
Her raven boots crunched as they stepped through the grass, nearing the main doors. The lobby brought even more to this new world inside Raccoon City. Everything seemed so neat and clean, and Rebecca was fascinated. Before she could skulk her way back out, Rebecca was spotted. Four more of those lethal zombies had found their way into this separation from the city. She would not be surprised if she found many more. After all, there was no place that was safe from these creatures. At the moment the tallest one groaned and began to approach, Rebecca turned to run. Why waste her bullets if she could escape? That is what Rebecca wanted to think. Truthfully, however, she was afraid. Everything that S.T.A.R.S represented-bravery, strength, the will to fight to the end-Rebecca was sure she did not posses. That single feeling was the worst of them all, the feeling of loneliness…being an outcast. And so she denied it. Rebecca would deny it until the truth was carved out of her.
As the doorway came back into view, Rebecca gasped in terror…
Three more of them had entered! Rebecca's hazel orbs raced around the room, looking for something, anything that could spare her young life. There!
Not even twenty feet away was a closed off desk, and Rebecca's only hope. She released the weight on her stance and sprinted towards the desk, her boots thumping against the carpeted floor. With one quick leap, Rebecca had dived over the desk onto the floor. She crawled away from the desk frantically, forcing her back up against the wall and grasping her 9mm as if it were her only hope. The silence of the room could not have been any louder. The freezing cold air whisked the chills up her spine. Rebecca could feel the goose bumps, rising all over her as if the virus itself was consuming her with symptoms. Her heart pounded through her chest, as the dragging feet got louder. Then, she saw him.
The tallest zombie towered over the counter like one of the walls outside. She quivered in fear, as he slammed his palms on the desk to support his weight. Rebecca screamed, forcing her eyelids close as she blindly pointed her gun to where she thought he might be. She could feel his pale eyes staring at her, ridiculing her with the uncanny movements. Suddenly, a parade of bullets exploded from the middle of the room. Rebecca gasped as the zombie before her had collapsed onto the desk and was spilling blood over the papers. When the bullets came to a halt, Rebecca was silent. Her eyes frantically looked upwards, yet she could not see over the maple counter. Hesitantly, she began to rise. With her feet, she pushed herself back upwards only to widen her eyes more than she ever thought she could.
"Wesker!" Rebecca shouted at the sight of her former superior. She was completely at a loss for words.
"Never could take care of yourself could you, Rookie?" The confident figure nonchalantly said. He quickly placed his automatic handgun back into his belt holster…and raced off. With incredible haste, he ascended the main stairs and disappeared from Rebecca's sight.
"W-wait! You're under arrest!" The words sputtered out of Rebecca's mouth, being the only ones she could find at the moment. Strangely enough, Rebecca slid back over the counter and pursued him. What she was thinking at the moment, Rebecca could never realize. She simply followed her gut instinct and ascended the stairs. As she reached the second floor, Rebecca realized the danger she was in as she pursued the traitor. She drew her gun and quickly continued towards the third and final floor. As she reached the corridor, Rebecca studied her surroundings. The corridor was the shape of an upside down L, laden with doors and windows. The right wall held the several rooms of the hotel, while the left wall was simple an array of similar windows. Rebecca walked towards one of the windows, and realized she could see the other end of the corridor. Just then, she spotted him. Wesker! Rebecca took off down the hallway, pistol in hand. As she turned the corner, she was amazed at what she saw.
Wesker had strangely shifted into an even more rapid sprint. As he reached the single window on the back wall, he dived! The crazy lunatic had dived through the closed window!
…Was he dead? Rebecca ran the remainder of the corridor, approaching the shattered window. Her once wide eyes narrowed sarcastically. How gullible could she be? There was simply a fire escape, right below the window. She sighed and shook her head, then using her handgun to clear the remaining shards of glass along the sides. Hesitantly, she placed both feet on the sill and…hopped!
With one clank, Rebecca safely landed on the fire escape a couple of feet below. Unfortunately, the ladder had been completely destroyed. She had no idea what could have been the case, but if it had occurred after Wesker descended, she would never catch him. Suddenly, Rebecca realized one of her more…dangerous options. She could safely reach the ground floor if…she climbed over the fire escape, walked the narrow border of the building, and reached the adjacent fire escape quite a few yards away. "What a day…" Rebecca said with exhaustion. All of these events were too much to process in one day, especially mixed with the fact that Raccoon City was reaching its final evenings. Having no other decent options, Rebecca took a deep breath and carefully climbed over the fire escape. She pushed her back up against the brick wall, sliding her feet carefully over the narrow ledge.
"Don't look down. Don't look down," Rebecca continued to repeat, taking deep breaths. Although it had not occurred to her before, Rebecca was faced with the fact that she was deeply afraid of heights. Suddenly, a crevice in the ledge scared the daylights out of Rebecca. Her foot hit the other end of the crevice and she nearly slipped. With one scream, Rebecca began to pant in horror. She was looking down…
One of the sub-parades of zombies was lucky enough to be traveling down the road below Rebecca. If she fell they would have a quick and easy meal. "Oh God," Rebecca whispered, her hands slapping the wall as she continued to make her way. Suddenly, Rebecca had asked for more than she wanted. At the other end of a road was simply a random, four-story building, but only one of its windows were open…
Wesker! He drew his automatic handgun, aiming professionally at the horrified Rebecca. "No!" Rebecca shouted. At this, the zombies stirred. It was a trick! Wesker had forced her to scream so that the zombies would see her! Why did he save her earlier if he wanted to kill her? "What am I? His play toy!?" Rebecca thought to herself as he continued to take aim. "What do you want from me!?" She shouted painfully. This whole situation had her completely confused. Suddenly, a round of bullets went off not far from Rebecca's location. Who was it, if not Wesker? Strangely enough, he had noticed these as well and ran off once more.
The most wonderful feeling in the world took place as Rebecca safely climbed onto the adjacent fire escape. She was safe…for the moment. What really perplexed Rebecca was that the stairs only descended to the second floor. The remaining descending stairs were all destroyed. This being the case, Rebecca broke the nearby window and climbed in.
Studying the scenery around her, Rebecca quickly came to the conclusion that she was in a kitchen. A gray counter took the shape of an incomplete rectangle, the ends meeting with the wall. There were two openings in the counter at the north and south ends. The floor was composed of pale, solid tiles, matching with the substantially dull walls. Appliances were neatly placed in their productive areas, with the exception of a stove, which was located on the counter. Next to the refrigerator (located behind the counter), was a large, strange floor vent. Rebecca safely assumed it was for hazard reasons and brushed off the strange artifact.
After scanning the room, Rebecca walked the length of the counter towards the metallic blue door. Turning the doorknob would be one of the biggest mistakes she ever made…
Standing before her was one of the most diseased looking women in the world. Her face showed oriental features, but was now brash and pale. Her eyes were widened as though she was terrified, and were lined with natural, thick lines of black. Raven black hair fell down to her upper back quite carelessly. Her arms were as pale if not paler than her gothic-looking skin, and they shifted around in strange motions. Her feet were barer than the day, the complexion matching with her arms. Strangely, all this woman had on was a white, lengthy dress. In a beat, the woman took a step forward and opened her mouth. The noise she made was so strange, almost like a deep, "uhhh," that had been spread apart. Rebecca's eyes were wider than the creature's, backing away in complete terror. As the creature entered the room completely, she stretched her neck in a strange way. Her arms twisted back, and a quick snap told Rebecca they had been dislocated.
"God, help me…" Rebecca murmured in sheer horror. The creature's hands slammed against the pale walls, slowly lifting its weight. The terror-filled Rebecca felt short of breath as the creature scaled the walls ruggedly. Her ebony, lengthy hair fell down in front of her face, almost as if she needed no eyes to tell where Rebecca was. Even so, Rebecca could most certainly feel the creature's eyes burning into her own. The creature had reached the ceiling, staring down at the action-less Rebecca. In a beat, Rebecca turned to run. A whipping sound alerted Rebecca, and she flew to the ground. The creature had unleashed a lengthy tongue, wrapping it around Rebecca's bare ankle. Rebecca screamed in both disgust and fear, crawling away and grabbing the first thing she could. The floor vent. A violent thump occurred not far from Rebecca's body, and the tongue had turned to a different angle. It was clear to her that the creature had just leaped to the ground. Simply the potential of this new monster scared the living daylights out of Rebecca. Could it swallow her entirely? Would it torture her before eating her? Rebecca could only imagine such a horrible fate. Screaming in terror, Rebecca's fingers slowly began to lose their grip. Why was it she was always fighting for her life? As she lost complete grip of the floor vent, Rebecca whipped around to slide on her back. She was not entirely done fighting. As she neared the creature's mouth, Rebecca's foot whipped upwards, knocking the creature back and forcing it to release its tongue. The door burst open and the strangest looking man revealed himself. His aging white hair was neatly cut, mismatching with the strange, ragged uniform hugging his entire body.
Lifting a special order machine gun, the elder-looking man fired a round into the creature's body; piercing red holes appearing as the bullets entered. At this surprising attack, the creature leaped at the older man, tackling him to the ground as if he was nothing heavy.
Rebecca's eyes widened, yet she immediately sprung into action. Picking herself up, Rebecca slid over the counter in a professional manner and reached for the dropped machine gun. As she grasped the leather-covered handles, she felt drunk with power. "Die!" Rebecca angrily shouted, completely pulling the trigger. The bullets swiftly exploded from the barrel, spinning through the air and piercing the creature's body in rather different areas. With this attack, the creature virtually flew off of the older man and into the room it had originated in. The old man nodded at Rebecca in approval, lifting himself up to watch the creature flee. Straightening her cotton-white vest, Rebecca gave a warm smile at the older man. "Thank you," she sweetly said, calmly awaiting a response.
"S.T.A.R.S, eh?" The older man began with a strong Russian accent, having seen the crest on Rebecca's sleeve, "I thought the weak were not allowed in S.T.A.R.S." With this comment, Rebecca was rather offended. Had she not just saved his life?
"Anyone might seem weak if they're caught off guard by some crazy monster," Rebecca replied defensively, "Who do you work for?"
"My name is Nicholai Ginovaef. I am a member of Umbrella's hired mercenaries sent to rescue survivors," The older man introduced himself cockily.
"Umbrella? They're the one's responsible for this mess!" Rebecca angrily shouted in response. How dare they say they were rescuing survivors!? With this comment, Nicholai shrugged.
"We were simply hired. Well, you'd best be careful from now on. I'd hate to have to save you again…" Nicholai concluded with a cold look on his face. Rebecca's eyes narrowed angrily, as the man that had saved her life left her to face the challenges of the Apple Inn Hotel on her own.