A/N: Hello, welcome to the fic. Just want to start this off by thanking you for getting this far. I know it can be kind of confusing, but this is basically in a flashback format where Korina is safe, out of Raccoon City, and is being interviewed. There will be other OCs peppered throughout the story, but the focus will ultimately be on Korina. She will date, though I haven't decided who all exactly she will date, but it'll be a grand time. Well, for us, not really her.

As you can tell by the title, the poor girl will be put through a lot. This isn't supposed to be a happy story. She'll lose a lot more than she'll gain. But that's not to say there won't be happy moments. The first few chapters are heavily angst ridden (I am going to go back and put happier scenes/lines/whatever) but the first few chapters are also her reliving the nightmare that is Raccoon City. So here we are, ready to get on with the show. Hope you enjoy, and leave a like and comment, whether it's constructive criticism, rambling, or whatever.

"Ms. Pachis?" The light is blinding. But Korina welcomes it nonetheless. She thought she would never see such a bright light again sometimes. The feminine voice is the fifth one they had sent in to try to talk to her. All of the others tried bribing her, but they failed in the end. It isn't that Korina doesn't want to talk. It's mostly that she doesn't know what to fucking say. "Ms. Pachis, we have questions we would like to ask you."

Korina doesn't answer, maintaining her silence, but she knows they'll never let her go unless she comes up with something to say. Should she feign memory loss? The city was blown up. Raccoon City was gone, and the documents she had seen... The things she had learned about the city she loved and the company she had wanted to work for one day. She needs a story. A story that isn't the truth, because the truth is what will land her in a grave.

"Before you answer, I would like to inform you. I'm a special agent with the FBI assigned specifically to question you. You've been here in holding for two days. I need to ascertain you weren't apart of the Raccoon City Disaster, but a quick look at your nametag on your bag has told me enough," she says, taking a seat in front of Korina. The light still blinds her, but she can make out an angular face, one that has wrinkles and has seen many, many things. Has probably a thousand secrets too. "You're Korina Pachis, granddaughter of immigrants from Greece, though your father much prefers American culture. You attended Raccoon City High School, currently in your sophomore year. So you were probably in Raccoon for some part of the disaster."

It's an obvious answer Korina already knows, but she still asks, "So you gonna kill me?"

The agent is quiet. The question is hesitant, genuine. "Why would I need to kill you?"

"Because it's a coverup. What they did, they can't let anyone know. The illegal experimentation they solicited in the city-"

"Enough." A firm command, but not harsh. Korina watches her make a gesture to the window, and she waits. "Ms. Pachis, how much do you know?"

Korina already opened her mouth, and keeping it shut now will do nothing. "I know several senators, representatives, and cabinet members were involved with illegal dealings with Umbrella Pharmaceuticals. This includes human experimentation, development of viral weapon agents, and only God knows how many coverups." Korina swallows, her heart heavy as she bitterly murmurs next. "I know Chief Irons and his involvement with the orphanage was for experimentation. I know the t-Virus has been used to create more than just cannibal dead people. I know the government intended to use all of it on the battlefield."

The agent crosses her hands. "Ms. Pachi, they did not expect for you to actually know anything. I believe what you've said here goes above even my pay grade and clearance level."

"So you're going to kill me. I thought so," Korina sighs. She rests her head in her hands, hoping to hide her wobbling lip. She should have made up a story. She should have gotten out of here before they sent this agent to question her. But then again... nothing was out there waiting for her. Everything she had was in Raccoon City.

"On the contrary, Ms. Pachi, I would like to formally introduce myself. I'm Agent Neassa Mac, and I want you to start from the beginning." Agent Mac pulls a notepad and a pen from her pocket. "Where were you when this first started?"

"Where was I when it started? Which part? The mansion or actually in Raccoon?"

"In Raccoon. We can discuss the mansion later."

"Don't bother. I only know about it due to some documents. You'll need to speak to a S.T.A.R.S. member. But when I first heard about anything in Raccoon... I was in school."

Raccoon City's high school was the same as any average high school. There were cliques, and people who grew up together that no longer spoke due to the difference in their cliques. Korina was a small part in her high school's machine, mostly forgotten and largely ignored by teachers and students alike. She had a small group of friends, a handful really, and only two were ones she cared about enough to hang out with outside of school.

One of them was Jayden Douglas, son of Officer Raymond Douglas, who overheard his father talking to his mother about the cases. It had all been rumors for the most part, with all the denial and all the evidence to suggest Chief Irons was lying, but everyone who questioned it was shut down immediately. Korina never trusted politicians on principal, and Chief Irons rubbed her the wrong way. He denied, and she had no where else to get any other information. That was until lunch time, when Jayden sat down and said, "You guys aren't gonna believe this shit."

"You mean like the rumor you slept with Julia Roberts?" Kelly said in response, causing laughter to arise from Korina. The three were usually found together, even if they didn't look like they should be. Kelly was deep into grunge, almost a perfect poster child, with dark, deep skin and a crazy ability to do her own makeup. Jayden was every bit the bad boy his father hated, with long hair and a cigarette in hand usually, but still far from the level of grunge Kelly had. Then Korina, who preferred pastel colors and scrunchies and flats or heels like a good girl, rounded the trio out.

"Okay, that's true, but no." Jayden lowered his voice. Jayden usually laughed and joked, so to hear him serious was only a little alarming. "I heard my dad talking to mom about those cannibal murders. You know, the ones the chief keeps denying?"

Korina had been particularly interested in those rumors. Mostly because cases like that were due to high intensity drugs, typically of the hallucinogen variety, and even then that was still so rare it wasn't worth mentioning truly. Cannibal murders had mystery around them, always. "What'd he say?" Korina asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder to get it out of her way. Her scrunchie was not acting well today, constantly needing readjusting, but she handled it with grace.

Jayden looked around. "Only that they're definitely happening, and there's way more than they're letting on. We've heard about what? Three? Turns out there's more than that, heading closer to ten cannibal murders." Ten? Korina could hardly believe him, but he would never joke about something of this caliber. And he knew how interested she was in it. "Dad thinks mom and I should leave until everything cools down. I think he's wearing her down on it."

"What? Seriously?" Kelly whispered.

But it made sense. If Officer Douglas was right, then that was ten cannibal murders that were unexplained and with a lot of holes. He was an officer, and he was always on the front lines for some weird reason. He could be hurt, or they could hurt his family. Korina could understand where he was coming from, but it was very much unlike Officer Douglas to be afraid of anything at all.

"Yeah. She was dragging out the luggage this morning," Jayden confirmed, casually slapping at a fly on the table. He pulled a cigarette from his jacket pocket and a lighter from his jeans, flicking it to life. The drag went deep into his lungs and out in a foul smelling breath. "I mean, it is pretty scary though, don't you think? Cannibal murders happening at random..."

Korina rolled her eyes. "It's probably nothing. No doubt we'll get the real answers soon, and it'll turn out they were on some major drugs made the government or something," she said, dismissing it relatively easily. The rumors were confirmed, true, but it would never affect Korina, so what point was there in discussing it? Not a damn one. She could understand why a police officer feared for his family, but that was of little consequence to Korina personally. Her family wasn't involved in anything so dangerous, what with her mother being a pharmacist at the drug store and her dad a professor at the local college.

"Oh, hey, how is yia-yia?" Kelly asked, dragging the conversation away from cannibals and to something normal.

"She's good. She actually got sick yesterday, starting throwing her guts up. It was crazy," Korina replied.

"What does yia-yia have to do with anything?"

"Other than dying in Raccoon City... not much at all. I'm just telling you how it happened."

"Fast forward. Where were you when the outbreak started?"

"I was with yia-yia and my brother."

A week after Jayden told them the cannibal murders were real, he, his mother, and his sister had packed up and gone to an extended visit with family in Missouri. He was miserable as his mother saw the need to make sure he kept up with his school work, faxing any and all assignments over to the high school since she worked there. But he made it a point to call both Korina and Kelly on a near daily basis.

Up until then, there were more rumors about the cannibal murders, and a rather sudden influx of sick people all around the city. Korina's mother kept her from school because it was spreading around so quickly, and so Korina had little to do but stick around her sick grandmother still in the hospital, and her younger brother, who was also being kept home from school. Polo was in middle school, and his friends were all home sick anyway. He saw it as a blessing until he realized he had to stay at the hospital with yia-yia all day instead of lounging around the house.

"Are you thirsty, yia-yia?" Korina asked, looking up from her book to see her grandmother drinking from a near empty bottle.

"It's fine, egonne," her grandmother replied, speaking English out of habit since they were still in a public place. "I'll go to sleep soon anyway. There's no need to worry."

Korina nodded and returned to her book, one that had been assigned that she didn't mind reading. Shakespeare wasn't easy to read, but the teacher promised a quiz upon her return to school, so reading Hamlet wasn't exactly an option. While it was difficult, it was something to do that was marginally better than the mindless shows her grandmother watched. It was annoying, stupid, and now she misses it. How stupid she had been to take it for granted.

"Focus, Ms. Pachi."

The first groan she heard was a week before, followed quickly by a violent attack on the nurse that left her dead. Now she heard them frequently, and several of the staff had been bitten getting their violent charges strapped down and properly restrained to keep them from attacking others. A lot of residents who were here for a while started locking the door when family was present, and the Pachi family was no different. Korina ensured it was locked every time she was present, getting a chill every time she heard those groans. They didn't sound human.

There was a knock on the door. But it sounded different. It sounded weaker, like it was done on accident. Then it was done on purpose, frantically, almost desperately. Loud bangings that alerted all three present. Korina jumped to her feet and ran to the door, and she opened it carelessly, unaware of the threat at hand. Polo stayed where he was, but his body was lined with tension, and he leaned towards their grandmother.

She opened the door, and the doctor ran inside, blood covering his clothes. Korina had seen him around, usually being kind to nurses and patients alike. He was a general surgeon, but the recent influx of patients required his skills to be reach an even wider variety of patients. He slammed the door and locked it again. "This is one of the only rooms in this unit that wasn't undiagnosed," he panted, "so I assumed it was a safe room. Glad to see I was right about that at least."

"Doc, what's going on?" Polo demanded, rather loud, as he paced. "Why did you do that? You just about gave my grandmother a heart attack!"

"I'm sorry, I am, but- we have to get out of here," he said, moving to the windows. Korina was quiet as she listened to the door, more and more groans collecting outside of it. They were walking towards the room. "I hadn't realized just how quickly it could spread, even if we kept it as contained as possible here at the hospital, and most of the staff... I might just be the only one left... the only one who knows where it is. I was stupid to leave it!"

He was still being loud. And Polo's shouting earlier hadn't helped their situation. She didn't want to know what they would do if they got in, and the lock wouldn't hold against that many people. Korina snapped, "Keep your voice down." They were still outside, still pawing at the door, but it wasn't long before something else attracted their attention, and they were focused on other things. It was only then she attempted to solve the next problem. "Doc, what the hell is going on here?"

"It's too much to explain. But if you can get out of the city, I suggest you do it quickly." The doctor retrieved his keys from his pocket and threw it to Korina. "Get out while you still can. If you wait too long, you'll be stuck here to die too. Blockades will be set up soon, I suspect, to keep the outbreak contained."

"But what is going on? Why are you hiding? Why do you have blood on your clothes?" Polo asked, keeping his voice lower this time. "And- is that a bite?"

The doctor looked down at his arm for the first time. And grief washed over his expression as he saw the chunk that had been taken out of his arm. She didn't know what it meant at the time. But the doctor did, and it devastated him. Korina's grandmother had been silent the entire time, but she said in a gentle voice, "Doctor, is everything okay on the unit?"

"No, it's not. It's likely you and I are the last two living beings in this unit," he answered, taking a seat where Korina had been moments before. He almosts seemed to fall into it, his body giving out now that whatever had terrified him was temporarily not a threat. "And soon it will be just you. You still can't move. Your condition will worsen until death is imminent. You go anywhere, even if it's to get out of the city, and the chances of you dying are ridiculously high."

Korina's head was swimming. She still didn't understand. They couldn't be the last ones living on the unit. There were people outside walking around, so why was he saying they were the last ones?

"I couldn't wrap my head around it. Zombies were supposed to be fictional, but even with the doctor, I still just couldn't bring myself to believe it. It was... too much for me to comprehend. Cannibal murders, the influx of patients in the hospital, the sickness spreading throughout the city, it all led to one conclusion that tied it all up with a pretty bow. An ugly truth I wasn't ready for."

"Zombies?"

"Yeah... zombies. The flesh eating, organ hungering, shoot 'em in the head if you want 'em dead... zombies."

"So did you leave the city?"

"No. I went home. Like a fucking idiot. Left the hospital by climbing down from the second story window, and used the doctor's car to get to the house. I thought mom and dad would head there as soon as possible, but three days later, they still weren't home. September 29."

"And your brother? Polo?"

"Stayed with me. There was no where else for him to go."

"Why did you leave?"

"We weren't given a choice. They- the dead and something else... they came for us."

As dawn broke on September 29, Korina hadn't had a single wink of sleep since the first night her parents hadn't come home. Polo was impossible to please as food around the house dwindled- her mother was supposed to go shopping the day the hospital was overrun. Korina kept her brother away from the windows, but she saw plenty of it herself. Now she knew what the doctor meant, and she was terrified of what it meant for her grandmother. Yia-yia called that night to see if anyone was home. The call cut out just before she finished saying she loved them.

People were eating people. It didn't matter if they were infected or not. She had seen some of them munch on the dead organs of another infected and become so engrossed in it. She had seen dogs tear them and each other apart. And the other monsters- the ones with a long tongues who took out the power last night... were enough that she shook in every activity.

The government wasn't coming to help. They didn't spend long in the city before hauling ass right back out, finding it too dangerous to be there on the ground. But they damn well couldn't leave the city alone. Korina didn't want to know how they were going to get rid of the city. She just knew she had to get her and her brother out of there. She didn't know how to get out through anywhere but the main roads, and they were crawling with infected and were blocked off by accidents or abandoned cars or the few defenses RPD had tried to put up before they were ultimately overrun.

A rescue operation wasn't an option. She had to save both herself and her brother, and she had to do it quickly. A crowbar would only do so much for them anyway.

The best plan she could come up with to find an alternative route out of there was by going to the library. The library, however, was all the way across town, and it would take an act of God himself for the two of them to make it. She didn't know if the car would make it there anyway, again, due to the various disturbances on the road. And if they wrecked out... it would be the end.

She was in charge. It couldn't be the end of them both. So she spent the day preparing, getting them both ready and packing and all other manners of preparation

Polo was so young anyway. She needed him as safe as possible, almost completely removed. And removed was... here, in a closet. But he was too old for that. Polo would fight her to go with her. Polo had his own questions anyway, and Korina had tried to not lie to him, but there were some details he hadn't seen and didn't need to know about. Maybe if she told him-

"Mom!" Polo ran past her and to the door as her figure became all too obvious. Her mom would forget her house keys all the time, and Polo and Korina would watch her try to figure it out, wondering why she didn't put her house keys with her work keys. Her mom never deigned to answer such questions. "Korina, mom's home!"

Which made her suspicious now. "Wait, Polo!"

She wasn't ringing the doorbell. She wasn't trying to unlock the door. She was just standing there, still as a doll. Polo didn't care when he unlocked the door, and their mother's corpse faced them both. Korina's gut clenched, her heart hammered, and a horrible wish went through her head: she should have showed Polo what they would look like.

Korina reached her brother just before her mom lunged, and the crowbar Korina kept on her at all times came up, slamming into her mother's head. Polo fell flat on his ass, and Korina saw something in the road skittering their way. "Up, up, and be quiet," she commanded him, grasping his arm. Blood spread out around her mother's head. She was dead enough, unlikely to get up again any time soon.

First she went to her parent's bedroom and grabbed the two shotguns, the Glock, the crossbow her father used for hunting in the mountains, and the ammo she had stuffed into a bag yesterday. The monster was in her home, skittering around and listening for her and her brother. It felt like it was breathing down her neck, though that obviously wasn't the case. The claws were sharp and signaled it's location fairly well in such a small area. That much she had gathered from watching them before they took out the power on their street. Polo, who had no idea that sound would attract it because it was blind was shaking, vaguely whimpering.

Korina lifted her fingers to her lips in the universal sign to stay silent. She quietly placed the weapons into the bag, the same one her dad used for hunting too, but she kept the crossbow out. It would be quieter than the guns, and it would come with a far better chance for her and for her brother. She needed to avoid the front, and there was a missing part in the fence in the back to go through their neighbor's yard. But where would they go? She wasn't sure either, and she would just have to figure it out at another time. When they were out of the house.

The door banged open with a hiss, and she slammed her hand over her brother's mouth before he could utter a sound. She clamped a hand on her own mouth too, reminding herself she had to be silent as well. It was here, the tongue reaching out to sense the air. They were hypersensitive to sound. So much so Korina couldn't trust that crawling under the bed would do anything. Korina lifted the crossbow just enough to shoot it.

The monster followed the sound of the bolt breaking the wall, and while it was distracted on the opposite side of the room, far from the door, Korina and her brother somehow made it past the monster, stepping so silently despite the rapid, harsh beat in her chest. All it would take was one noise, and that thing would be on them in a heartbeat. She had to ensure that didn't happen. Korina was lucky Polo stepped where she stepped, and that she had snuck out enough times to be good at this. She hadn't even thought to give him those directions. She never thought this skill would be used for this.

The back door was open, thank god, and her mother was still on the floor. And she put her bag at the bottom of the stairs, right next to the door, where she filled it with a few keepsakes and momentos, mostly for Polo's sake. And with a small handgun the doctor kept in his car. She picked it up and handed it to her brother. It was time for them to face the world.

"Ms. Pachi, I would like to take a break here."

Thank God, Korina thinks, because I need it. "Yes ma'am."

Agent Mac stands up and leaves her notes, walking to Korina. "I think you need to rest." Korina isn't sure she can. Nothing is the same, and nothing feels right. She can't even talk herself into not tensing up when the door opens for fear it will be an enemy. "I'll get you your own cell and a few blankets, so you can sleep some before we continue."

"No!" Not a cell. Not after- "I can't go in a cell. Please."

"Okay. Okay." Agent Mac looks around. "Give me a moment."

Korina is left to herself as the agent is let out of the room. Again, to herself. Talking about what happened is setting her nerves on edge, making her remember the things she doesn't want to remember. Raccoon City went to hell in a handbasket, and then they blew up the fucking handbasket. Her palms are sweaty, and she tries to rub it off on her jeans but is only successful in getting dirt on her hands.

Dirt. For a moment, it's blood, and Korina throws herself back from the desk.

The door opens. "The department is going to let you go. You'll be coming with me, to the hotel I'll be using. I upgraded to a double, so you can have your own bed and get some decent rest," Agent Mac says, and two officers release her from the cuffs on the table. She's forgotten they were there in the first place. "You certainly need it more than the rest of us. I'll ask more questions tomorrow, when you're ready."

"Yes- yes ma'am."