*Just to let yall know, I'm not fluent in how guns work or weaponry all together. I'm basing all I know on how the gameplay goes as well as the one time I've ever shot a gun lol

Chapter 2:

"This is not how I imagined my first day," Leon grumbled while taking out his gun. His partner's gaze softened as she patted his shoulder to comfort him.

"I'm really sorry it ended up like this." He turned to her and smiled reassuringly.

"It's ok. I can still try and help anyone stuck in this godforsaken place. Like you." She gave a smile in return before turning back to the now wide-open entryway. This was the start of one hell of a journey. They both walked into the room and looked around for anything that would be helpful. To his luck, Leon found an unused box of ammo lying on a bench, which he hummed at before placing it in one of his pockets. Just as they saw the door lying behind a wooden wall divider, Veronica suddenly stopped him.

"Leon, this is where Marvin was attacked. It's a fucking slaughterhouse in there. We have to be careful!" He nodded and after a moment of looking at her, he realized she was weaponless.

"Do you have a gun?" She shook her head.

"No. I do have a knife though, and I used a broken pole earlier. It's probably still in there stuck in the zombie's head."

"Very creative. Do you know how to use one?"

"Kind of, but not really. Frankly really terrified to."

"Well, if we find another gun here, you're gonna have to use it. I'll show you how, but until then can you handle using the knife?"

"For now. If that pole is still there, I'm gonna use that instead." She unsheathed the knife from her waist and gripped the handle tightly.

"Fair enough. We'll find you something regardless. If something happens though, your best bet is to run." He walked over to the door and placed a hand on the doorknob. "Ready?"

She nodded. He slowly twisted the knob and cracked the door open before using his fingers to push it back. It was still so dark, but the light at the end of the hall she saw earlier was still on. They both took out their flashlights and shined them into the darkness.

To Veronica, it didn't seem like anything had changed since she was in there, which was good. The body at the end of the hallway hadn't moved, proving to her that it was not going to get back up. Slowly, they walked down the hall, flashing light at every corner in case of an attack. The atmosphere was so tense, they could cut it with a knife. Reaching the body, the sound of static from its radio grew louder, but now there seemed to be someone transmitting in.

"This is 73 – Bird - for rescue – heading east – River – Touchdown at R.P.D. – minutes. I repeat, touchdown-," the voice cut in and out of the static before stopping completely. What was this about a touchdown?!

Leon hummed curiously as he crouched down next to the body. One of his hands reached over to pull back the head, causing both parties to groan in disgust. The man's jaw was dislocated, no, more like it was torn apart. The muscles were barely holding it together as it stretched out like slime. The more his head was tilted back, the lower his jaw slid down the dead man's chest with blood seeping between barely intact teeth and neck. What on Earth could have possibly done this!?

"Oh…oh what the fuck!"

That was hands down the worst thing Veronica had ever seen, and she had seen some shit that day. Her stomach lurched at the sight, bile rising in her throat. She couldn't stop herself from turning away and making it a few feet before vomiting whatever was left in her stomach onto the ground.

She could barely hear Leon's boots walk up behind her and then suddenly felt warm hands pull back her hair away from her face. His fingers brushing against her cheeks softly as he did so. Spitting and retching silently, she leaned over with a hand against the wall while the other grasped at her jacket for comfort. She spits a final time before turning her head to see Leon holding a napkin out to her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she took it gratefully. "I thought I've seen it all today. But that…" She wiped her mouth and swallowed the horrible taste on her tongue.

"It's ok. I honestly don't know how I'm not throwing up alongside you," he muttered softly. She slowly stood up straight causing him to let go of her hair.

"I really hope that doesn't happen again. I'm sorry," she said leaning against the wall for a moment. Her knees felt a little shaky and she just needed a second to breathe.

"Don't apologize," he assured her while placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "This type of stuff you see in horror movies. We're not meant to see it in real life. Let's just hope that's the worst of it. How are you feeling?" She patted his hand before pushing off the wall.

"Better, but my breath is pretty rank now. What I'd give for some mouthwash." As soon as she said that, Leon's face lit up as if he remembered something. He dug into one of the many pockets in his uniform and brought out a small square packet. Opening it, he revealed it to be gum and popped out two pieces, one for each of them.

"Wow! You're really prepared for anything, aren't you?" she joked, taking her piece. They both popped them into their mouths and smiled at each other. Mint flavor. Just what she needed.

"I guess you could say I am."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it. Shall we keep moving on in this hell hole?"

"You sure you still want to? We can go back." She shook her head.

"I'm fine."

"Then alright. Let's go."

The two parties fell back into focus mode as they retraced their steps towards the body. Veronica turned the corner, avoiding the corpse on the floor, but stopped dead in her tracks at a forgotten pair of hanging feet. From the corner of her eye, she could see Leon flash his light up at the ceiling, but she dared not look. She heard him gasp softly and turned her gaze towards him.

"Don't look up," he whispered. He reached out and grasped her arm, pulling her away from the body. To move on, he shined his light on a corpse lying on the floor a few feet from them. It was the one Veronica killed to save Marvin as proven by the pole sticking out of its head.

"Is that your handiwork?" Leon asked. She nodded putting her knife away so she could go grab the pole. Just as they slowly walked past the hanging corpse, however, the body slid from where it hung on and landed right next to them with a loud splat. Veronica jumped right into Leon with a gasp, grasping at his arm tightly. Her heart raced in her chest and she felt like she was gonna have a heart attack.

The two looked over with Leon moving the arm she was holding up to push her behind him protectively, only to find the head of the body to be split into two. It wouldn't be getting up, that's for sure. They both let out a breath of relief for that. Veronica finally looked up to see blood on a lone pipe that it must have been pierced on. She didn't know what she was expecting to find, but it wasn't that. How the fuck did it get up there?!

Looking at the two bodies, she realized they were both police officers. There really were no other survivors. She turned her head to say something and found her face closer to Leon's than she thought. They both quickly looked away shyly and tried to focus on the mission at hand. Letting go of his arm, she let out a deep breath.

"Fuck this place! It's like some fucked up haunted house," she hissed. Leon was about to agree when the sound of a tin can rolling onto the ground from down the hall caught their attention.

"Huh? What!?" Leon flashed his light to the doorway ahead of them. There was a giant three-pronged scratch along the wall. What else is in this place?! He held out a hand for her to wait as he tip-toed over to the door. As she waited, Veronica looked around and noticed a door on the opposite wall where the body was hanging. Next to it was a plaque that read, 'Confiscated Items Storage'. That could be useful.

She carefully walked over and tried the knob, but found it locked. There was an emblem of a green shamrock on it, so maybe there was a key out there specifically for it. On the other side of the door, was a poster with Marvin on it. It said he was 'officer of the month'. He looked so normal and she felt sad thinking of how little time he had left. Not too long ago, this place was just a normal city with people going in and out as they do. Now it was only a death trap.

"Hey!" Leon whispered, capturing her attention. He waved her over then put a finger to his lips signaling her to stay quiet. She made her way to him and on the way grabbed her newfound weapon. Continuing to follow him down the hall, they passed by a broken window surrounded by broken caution tape.

The floor was drenched from the rain pouring in and it made her realize why they were being quiet. They were trying not to draw attention, but that didn't last, however. At the next corner was a window that wasn't boarded up and as soon as they passed it, a zombie threw itself at the glass. They both jumped as they watched it growl at them and slap its bloodied hands all over the window. It wouldn't hold long, so they needed to move quickly.

The hallway was cut off, however, with the only other way being a set of double doors to their right. Just as they reached them, the sound of glass shattering behind them caused them to turn around sharply. The zombie fell into the hall and tried sloppily getting up with a low growl.

A loud bang rang in her ears causing her to wince as Leon shot it multiple times in the head. The body slumped over with a groan and didn't get back up. The officer lowered his gun and turned to the doors before slowly opening them. He quickly stepped in with his gun raised and swept over the room before nodding to his companion.

She quickly made her way in and closed the doors behind her. It was a large room that they figured may have been used as a meeting room at some point. The black and white tiled floors were filthy, but it was far less bloody than outside. A dull light flickered on in the opposite end of the room showing desks and chairs piled up against the left wall. Leon found some ammo on a random desk before walking to a wide dirty chalkboard that stood right under the light. Taped to it was a large piece of the map to the station.

"Sweet!" Veronica whispered. Looking over it, the two realized they were in a room called the 'Operations Room'. Veronica saw that there was a room next to theirs, but after walking up to the door, she realized they weren't getting in. Wrapped around the handle was a large yellow chain. She gave it a quick tug to see if it was loose, but to no avail.

"We need some bolt cutters to get in or we go around." Leon hummed in affirmation, folding the map in a pocket. He walked over to the desk next to her and found papers with the R.P.D. insignia. He glanced over it as she stood next to him curious at his findings. Lowering it for her to see, he began to read aloud.

"'Record of Events. September 25th: We're turning the station into a temporary shelter due to the massive sudden outbreak. All police personnel have been instructed to make the safety of the citizens their top priority as we try to accommodate as many of them as possible.'"

"That was just a few days ago." He nodded, turning the page.

"'Addendum. One of the refugees attacked us in the middle of the night, resulting in the death of 1 officer and injuring 3 others. The person in question was quickly restrained. We believe this was simply a case of someone snapping under intense stress.'" He paused, eyebrows furrowing.

"'September 26th: A mob attacked the station today, resulting in a number of casualties. A few survivors were able to make it safely behind the emergency shutters, but surrounded as we are, it'll be hard for any of us to escape this place. We're not sure we can fix any of our comm equipment, so we remain cut off from the outside world.'" His voice broke at the last few words. She looked up to see his face full of guilt. Taking the paper in her fingers, she turned the page and tilted it more for her to see as she continued for him.

"'September 27th: There was another clash on the west side of the station around 1 pm...Twelve people died, and there is only a handful of survivors left. Everything is falling into disarray in here. David Ford.'" She could feel him trembling next to her and looked over to see his mouth pressed in a tight line and eyebrows furrowed in anger now. His fists were balled up, the grip on the paper crumpling it. He was clearly trying to keep himself from losing his composure but was slowly failing.

"I should've been here," he said between gritted teeth. Shaking her head, she took the papers from his hand then set them back down.

"Leon, no. There was nothing you could've done!" Trying to gather his attention, she leaned over putting her hands on his shoulders. "Hey! Look at me!" she urged softly.

He shut his eyes instead, knowing that if he opened them, he would break down. She reached up and gently cupped his cheek with one of her hands, turning his gaze to look at her. Eyes stared into one another full of mixed emotions. She may not have known him long, but she couldn't just not care about his feelings. She cared too much for others, and after everything she had been through that day, she realized how much she took friends for granted.

"If you were here then, you probably would've died too. You're here now and that's all that matters," she whispered, her thumb gently caressing his skin "You have to stay strong, ok?" He swallowed the lump in his throat as he nodded. He took a deep breath in, exhaled, then reached up to gently pull her hands away but lingered in her touch with his own.

"Yeah. Ok. Thank you," he muttered. She gave his hands a gentle squeeze with a soft smile.

"It's no problem. We got each other, right?"

"Right," he said mirroring her smile. Letting out a small sigh, he let go of her hands before pulling the map back out. "Let's keep going!" She nodded in response then looked over at the opposite side of the room. There was a stack of pallets sitting against the wall. Above it was a broken window and, according to the map, it should lead to another part of the building.

"Looks like that's our only way out for now," she told him. Walking over, they both climbed up onto the pallets with Leon helping her up. He looked over the edge carefully, used his elbow pad to clear some of the shards, then signaled Veronica to wait. He pulled himself up onto the sill and clambered over onto the other side. She could hear him grunt as he hit the floor.

Standing on her tiptoes, she peered down at him in the dimly lit hallway. He looked up at her once she was visible and put a finger to his lips. He peeked around the room quietly then held up a hand for her to wait before taking out his gun. Aiming it down the hall, she watched as he drew closer to whatever he was aimed at, then a few shots went off followed by a loud thud.

Putting his gun back in its sheath, he jogged back under the window and waved her down. With a little bit of struggle, she pulled herself up onto the sill and sat on the edge, tossing him her weapon. With a small shove, she jumped away from the window, her feet landing with a thud before she began stumbling forward. Reacting quickly, Leon caught her, stopping her from falling.

"Whoa! I gotcha!" He helped balance her back on her feet, watching her stand up straight before she glanced at him.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I-," he was about to say as they walked out into the open space when a low groaning interrupted him. He turned quickly to see a zombie clambering onto its knees. He raised his gun to shoot, but his partner put a hand on his shoulders.

"Don't waste your ammo. I got this one!" With that, she kicked the back of the zombie, keeping him pinned to the ground then stabbed it through the head quickly. It stopped moving just as fast. She pulled out the rod and turned back to Leon who had a slightly surprised face.

"Nicely done!" She gestured some finger guns at him jokingly, causing him to chuckle. It was nice to hear amongst all the seriousness.

"All in a day's work. Gotta try and be careful about what we use though. We don't know how much ammo is left around here," she pointed out as she wiped her face of blood with her sleeve. "Speaking of which, let's keep going."

Looking around, the room was splattered in blood, even up toward the ceiling. How it got up there, they didn't know. They tried not to talk too much until they knew the room was clear of any monsters. There were three doors on either side of the room and a hallway on the other. A sign leading to it read 'Stairs'.

One of the doors was labeled 'West Office' and the other was labeled 'Safety Deposit Room'. She didn't know what that meant, but it looked important since the door was made of metal. The other door stood by the vending machine, but Leon found it to be locked from the inside. It must have been the room that was chained up. They would have to find a different way to get in or not be able to at all.

Veronica was able to find a box of ammo sitting by a real dead body near the window they jumped from. She figured that out with a lot of poking and kicking. As she walked back, Leon broke the vending machine with the handle of his knife to grab a couple of candy bars for the two of them.

"Gotta keep our energy up. We can eat these when we find a safe place to rest. I'm not sure how it all spread, but don't drink the water unless it's bottled," he told her, handing her one. She nodded and placed it in her pouch. Wow, it really did come in handy.

Leon walked over to the Safety Deposit Room and the two quickly found it to be empty. It was very well lit compared to the rest of the place, which was a nice change. The walls were made of concrete and there was a keypad in front of a long aisle of lockers. Veronica looked at the keypad and noticed that the 2 and 3 buttons were missing.

"Hm. Anything useful in any of these?" she asked ready to push some buttons. Leon walked briskly around and began telling her numbers that she punched in. The ones with two or three, however, had to wait. A piece of paper on a desk informed her of someone losing them, but that they could be returned. "Can't do those ones. The buttons are missing." Leon walked back to her with more ammo and a roll of film. The film was labeled as 'Commemorative Photo'.

"There's also a special weapons locker in the back. It has a shotgun and some ammo, but we need a keycard to get them."

"Ok. We'll keep an eye out for it then. Can't hurt to have another gun. The buttons we gotta look for too if the other lockers are worth it. What's the film for?"

"I don't know, but maybe it'll help us?"

"Wouldn't hurt. We'll check it if we see a dark room somewhere." She took it from him and placed it in her pouch.

They made their way out and decided to go into the West Office. It was a smaller room, mostly filled with desks in the center and a smaller separate office meant for a superior on the side. At one of those desks, a zombie was leaned over as if sleeping. As soon as it heard the door open, however, it raised its head and tried to stand, but Leon quickly stopped it with a few shots. He quickly reloaded his gun as another one stumbled out of the separate office with a growl. He shot it before it could even get too far.

Flashing a light around, they realized it was clear for now. The both of them walked around looking for supplies, which Leon found a pack of bullets in a locker and a safe in the office. He mentioned that he would need a code if there was anything useful in them to get. On a desk, the young girl found a paper explaining the different types of gun powders that could be used.

After telling Leon, he explained to her how it could be useful in making more ammo in case they ran out. Glad to know. Veronica scanned the light over the desks and noticed something hanging from the ceiling. It was shiny blue streamers with plastic stars at the end. There was a banner facing away from her, hiding what the occasion was for and it made her curious.

"That's nice. Someone was having a party," she smiled as Leon walked out of the office. As sad as it was to think about, it was nice to see that people were celebrating something happy before this whole mess began. She shined her light up at the banner and her smile immediately faded once she realized what it was for.

"Veronica? What's wrong?" he asked, walking over to see. Looking up, he felt his heart break a little inside. The banner read 'Welcome Leon' in bright yellow lettering surrounded by the streamers. This was the party that never happened all because of some stupid zombie outbreak.

"It was…for me," he faltered. "Then…that means…" Noticing a desk in front of him, he shined his light down to find it closed over with a slip of paper on it. With a trembling hand, he reached for it and read it aloud.

"'Rookies first assignment – Leon S. Kennedy, we're putting you on a very special case for your first assignment. Your mission is…to unlock your desk!" He smiled sadly to himself as he read on. "The key to your success is in the initials of our first names. Input the letters in order of our desks. There are 2 locks – 1 on each side of your desk. Make sure you get them both. Basically, your first task is to remember your fellow officers' names, but you figured that much out, right? Good luck Leon. By the way, it might take a little work to get Scott to give you a straight answer. – Lieutenant Branagh.'" He was about to set it down when he noticed a scribbled note in the corner between some drops of blood. "'Be glad you're not here rookie.'"

"Oh, Leon…"

They looked down at the desk and noticed the two padlocks on either side. Eager to open it, they each took a side and found the names of what could've been Leon's coworkers on name plaques that were sitting on the desks. Veronica's side was Neil, Elliot, and David while Leon's was Marvin, Rita, and George. She made sure to tell him since he wanted to know. On Elliot's desk, however, she found a notebook with a scrawling of a diary entry.

"There's something written here by Elliot," she told Leon, stopping him in his tracks. She read out, "'September 28 2:30 am. It's down to just me and 3 others. No weapons…no ammo…and too many skirmishes have drained us mentally and physically. We're not gonna make it…Officer Phillips once suggested we escape through the sewers. Apparently, there's a secret tunnel under this place left over from its museum days.'" She paused.

"Museum days? This place was a museum?" She arched an eyebrow and noticed Leon shrug before continuing to read. "'I brushed her idea off before, but now, it's not sounding all that bad. Yeah, there's no proof there's even a tunnel or that the sewers aren't infested with zombies, but I don't wanna sit here and wait to die, either. It's a long shot, but I'm gonna try to find out what I can about that tunnel. – Elliot Edward.' God, this was just yesterday." She set it back down and watched Leon think to himself for a moment.

"He died so horribly. He didn't deserve to die like that," he mumbled as he shook his head, making his way back to his desk. Seeing that it was a sore topic, she didn't ask. Following him, she did the same and the two of them unlocked the padlocks easily. Leon placed his hands on the desk and slid the lid upwards. Her flashlight lit up a clean wooden desk and a shiny plaque with his name sitting on it. 'Leon S. Kennedy'. She watched as he picked it up, his bottom lip quivering. Taking a chair in one hand, he pushed it in and sat down before looking up at the banner.

"This is my desk. It-it's so nice. Just like I hoped it would look like," he choked up a little as he slid his hand across the surface. "This was supposed to be the office I worked in for the rest of my life. These people were supposed to be my coworkers…my friends. We were going to save lives." Veronica felt her eyes welling up and placed a hand gently on his shoulder to console him. She felt terrible. His whole future was in front of him and it was all taken away. She didn't know him long, but she knew he didn't deserve this.

"I was so excited to be a police officer. I've wanted to be one for as long as I can remember, and now…" he trailed off as a small sob tore through him.

"I'm so sorry Leon," she sniffled. He looked up at her with sad eyes then quickly stood up. To her surprise, he leaned in and wrapped her in a hug, arms wounding around her tightly. It took her a moment to kick her mind back into gear before she hugged him back with arms holding him just as tightly. Her own eyes were stinging with tears. She could feel him trembling against her, and all the both of them felt like they could do was hold each other.

This was only the beginning and yet, it was all so much. Will they make it out? Will they not? What will happen if they don't? And the stuff they've seen, the absolute chaos of a zombie-infested city. It was overwhelming. Taking a moment to just be with someone felt nice. Even though they had just met, it didn't feel awkward. If anything, it almost felt natural, like they had already been friends for a long time. It was a strange feeling, but one they didn't reject. After about a minute, Leon finally loosened his grip around her and slowly pulled away.

"Sorry. I don't usually cry, but…," he sniffled while trying to wipe his face with his sleeve. She shook her head.

"Don't apologize. It's ok. I understand," she replied, wiping the tears from her own face.

"Didn't mean to make you cry," he mumbled with a weak smile.

"I think we needed it honestly. Are you ok to keep moving?" He nodded.

"I will be."

"Good. Let's finish this room and move on. Elliot said that the secret tunnel might lead us to the sewers. It may not be much, but it's our best bet unless we beeline it through the city or call for help."

"Either way. I just want to get out of here. We can try and get help for any other survivors in the city." She nodded in agreement before they split up looking around the room for anything they may have missed. There was another door ten feet away from Leon's desk, just up a few steps of stairs. Trying the knob, Veronica found it to be locked, and once again, there was an insignia on it, but this time in the shape of a blue spade. God, what is it with these doors?!

"Where does this even lead?" Leon peeked through some small windows that looked out into a familiar room and blinked in surprise.

"It should go to the main hall. This is the reception room back at the start," he pointed out.

"Interesting. Then we can easily get back this way. Just need the key. Was there anything useful in your desk?" she asked as she walked back to it. He met her there and started opening drawers until he found something. Lying in one, was a part to a gun.

"Yes! This is a high capacity mag clip!" he grinned, holding it up for her to see. She arched her eyebrow in confusion.

"A what?" He chuckled as he pulled out his gun.

"It's for this specific type of gun. The department must have left it for me as a gift. It lets me shoot more bullets and makes it easier to reload. Matilda will love it!" he explained, filling it with ammo before placing it in the gun.

"Matilda?"

"Oh! Right! I named my gun that," he told her shyly. "I saw the movie, 'Léon: The Professional' and, well, the main characters were named Léon and Mathilda."

"Ah! I see. Since you have the same name…," she giggled.

"I thought it would be cool!" Even with the only light being their flashlights, she could tell that he was blushing. She patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"I'm not judging! It's cute! C'mon! We have to get a move on, Léon," she teased while walking back towards the unlocked door out of there. He huffed in embarrassment before following her.