Chapter 4: The Tram Station

September 22nd 5:30 pm

An overwhelming sense of loneliness accompanied me as I walked away from that apartment building. I looked back, and said a final farewell to my father. Although, it was still hard to cope with the loss of my closest family member left. Nevertheless, I still remained true to my objective, which was to escape this city alive. I walked through the streets, then a zombie mass moving through the street spotted me, walking up from the tram station stairs to greet me. I knew I couldn't get to the tram station without getting the zombies out of the way, so I got out my metal bat, holding it with both hands. A crimson head ran up to me from the mass of zombies, and he went to swipe me across the face. I flinched back in time to avoid it, and hit the zombie in the chest with the bat. The zombie bent down with the glancing blow, and I knocked the zombie to the ground with a slam of my bat.

4 more crimson heads came running, and I threw the bat on the floor. Grabbing the shotgun, I fired a shot, blasting them all into the ground. Then, I looked down at the shotgun and smiled. I just got an idea. I grabbed the bat, then lay the shotgun on the floor as the zombies slowly approached. With maximum strength, I crushed the end of the shotgun barrel, and grabbed my new sawed-off shotgun. I ran straight into the zombie crowd, and as I got inches away from the crowd, I shot with my shotgun. 8 zombies instantly fell back, knocking other zombies over. The others filled the gap left and began slashing at me. I stepped back and shot again, taking out 6 zombies, 2 of which were crimson heads. There were only 5 zombies left at this point, and 7 unable to move on the ground.

With the minimal number of zombies, I was able to run past them and run into the tram station. I was running in, when I heard a loud scream come from the tram, seemingly abandoned. I ran down the stairs, my shotgun held in my hands, and found the door to the tram locked. This was no problem, as I aimed with my shotgun and fired, knocking the door down. I went inside to see bloody footsteps leading to the front of the tram. I ran there, and saw a horrifying sight. The operator for the train lay dead on her back, being devoured by an MA-121 Hunter. The operator's head was cut off from her body and laid a few feet away. The hunter failed to notice me, until I started to slowly step back to get away. Then, it heard a sound.

The hunter looked up to see me backing away, and then released the woman's body from its grasp. It stretched out its arms, revealing the large claws it used in its battle. I'd read the combat data for the hunter, I knew what to do to kill it. Stepping back, I threw by bat behind me and aimed my shotgun. I then grinned and grabbed a nearby battery, throwing it behind the hunter. It looked back to investigate, and when it looked in my direction, I was at the door of the tram. It dashed up to me as I went outside, and crouched down to a height where my shotgun was at an equal height to the hunter's face. As it ran past the corner, it came to a halt before my shotgun, and I fired.

It lay dead, a large hole in its face. I took it by the arm and dragged it to the edge of the platform, throwing the creature below the tram. Wiping the blood off my arm, I walked to the train, unsure of what to do. I didn't know how to operate a tram or train, so I didn't have any idea as to what I had to do. I looked around for some instruction manual, but found none. I decided to go to the back of the train and find something to help, and as I neared the storage room, I heard soft walking getting louder. I reached the storage room door, and I knew it was in there. I stood beside the door, gently pushed it open, then ran in with my shotgun.

What I found was surprising, in a good way. I found another tram operator, but alive. It was a man, with a blue suit and hat. He was walking around thinking of something, then looked to me and smiled. In a second, his smile turned to one of surprise.

Who are you? Where is the monster? What happened to my friend, Jane?

Slow down, man. Well, I am Marcello, yet another one of the people trying to survive this outbreak. My dad worked for umbrella, I know what happened.

So what about the creature?

Depends. There were a few zombies around, and I escaped those. There was also a reptilian creature, named Hunter MA-121, which I took out.

Thanks, I was running from the zombies.

Before you ask, your friend was killed by the Hunter, Im sorry to know that so many are killed. Regardless, we NEED to get out of here

Its impossible, Umbrella has barricaded the city.

I know, but we can take the tram all the way to the other side of the city, near the Umbrella research station. From there, we can get to the tunnels and make it to the Arklay mountains.

Without even saying anything, the tram operator nodded and followed me to the front of the train. He took out the key from his pocket, and turned on the tram. Lights were turned on, and the tram slowly entered the dark tunnel depths. The tram went on for 1½ minutes without meeting an obstacle. Then, at the second station, still an hour away from the research facility, the operator saw a mass of rubble and the remains of a tram blocking the way. He began to shake his head, and sighed.

Kid, I think we're going to have to walk the rest of the way towards the facility. The way is blocked, the tram cannot go any further.

But what caused this?

Maybe one of the beasts that have been unleashed on the city.

I sighed. I would have to walk for a long distance to reach the research facility and get out of the town. However, it was reaching nightfall, which meant I had to get indoors. If I remained outside in the moonless night, I would be unable to see if there were creatures sneaking around, just waiting to kill me. As I walked out of the tram, I heard loud breathing noises coming from the tram tunnel, just 20 feet behind our tram. I looked behind, and saw a large hole leading to the sewers. The breathing quickly increased in volume, and eventually I heard loud steps.

Operator, we have to get out of here quickly!

What?

There's something coming from behind the tram, hurry!

We raced up the stairs, then saw a huge green snout appear from the tunnel. Then, we gasped. A large portcullis gate prevented us from going any further. A huge steel lock was preventing us from opening the door, and then a man came from behind the ticket counter, looking at us. He had blonde hair, and a black S.T.A.R.S. suit with black sunglasses. He began speaking in a loftily manner.

I expected that Chris Redfield would be here, trying to escape the city. It seems I went to the wrong place. Regardless, you have seen the amazing prowess of Umbrella, and I cannot let you reveal it… Wait, aren't you the son of a fellow researcher, Jon Toleman?

Yes, I am! Now get us out of here!

I glanced behind me, in shock. An alligator as long as my house and tall as a horse smashed the tram to the front so it could squeeze onto the platform where we were. I looked forward to see the man grinning.

By your skill in taking out the hunter, I can safely assume you've seen the combat tactics. That is yet another reason to let you die, never to reveal the events of Raccoon City. I hope you enjoy horror movies, kid.

He walked away, disappearing into the dark streets. I grabbed my shotgun, and ran back to the stairs, firing a shot at the alligator. It stepped back a few feet, then began to move again. I ran back to the door, then looked at the combination lock with no idea as to what I could do. Then, I got out my shotgun and aimed at the lock. One shot easily brought the door and lock down, and I ran with the tram operator to the stairs.

The alligator broke through the gate, and ran in our direction. We dashed forward as fast as we could but the alligator caught us and threw us to the ground. My shotgun was thrown a few feet, and I looked back at the alligator, closing on the operator. I then took my bat and ran up to the alligator. With full strength, I slammed the alligator's face, causing it to back away a few feet, then run towards me. I managed to get away fast enough and retrieve the shotgun, looking backwards and firing at the alligator. It then got in closer, but the operator jumped on its head and started punching it to get its attention.

The creature opened its mouth in a futile attempt to grab the operator, and I ran up to the thrashing alligator. Then I ran into its mouth and aimed up, shooting a blast into its bran that permanently ended the threat of the alligator. The operator jumped down, and looked at his watch.

Its 6:50. Its become too dark for us to move through the city safely. Follow me to that old house behind us, we need to wait until the next day.

We went to the house, and slept on the top floor. We locked the door and pushed furniture in front of the windows first. It would be difficult to sleep though, with the screams of death from outside, and the thoughts of friends and family haunting our dreams.