Cass waited as the doctor cleaned her wounds. The river had gotten most of the glass shards out but not everything. She wondered if Billy was doing alright. They had separated after reaching the outskirts of the city. Thinking back to what he'd said, she felt her mind drift from the pain in her arm.

"This is as far as I go, champ," Billy had said with a smile. "Not going to chance getting locked up again."

"How are you going to get out of here?" Cass asked, glaring at him with a slight bit of worry.

"I've got my secrets, hun," Billy replied cheerfully with a wink.

Cass rolled her eyes and muttered, "Fine. Just be careful."

"I will… thank you."

Cass looked back over to see his hand outstretched and extended hers. After shaking hands, they said their goodbyes, but as Cass turned to leave, he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey… I don't want to pry or anything, but… it might be a good idea if you get out of town too. Those guys back there… they might come after you again. They didn't seem like the type to take 'no' for an answer."

"I'm not going anywhere until I find out if my friends are okay."

Billy sighed and let go of her.

"Just be careful then."

"I will. Thanks."

Billy chuckled at her stubbornness before vanishing into the tree line. Thinking back on it, she wondered if he had walked with her just to make sure she made it safely. The sting of the alcohol brought her back to the present as the doctor finished bandaging her wounds. Thanking him, she stood and walked out the door.

"Miss Walker! Should you really be moving around like that?" the chief asked as he approached with a fake grin. "You have a lot of injuries. You should take it easy for a while."

The mayor walked behind the chief with a worried expression. Clearly, the chief was minding his manners to save face, but she could see the unhinged rage in his eyes. He seemed to want her to keep quiet. At least for the moment.

"Have you heard from Brad?" she said, obviously ignoring him.

She watched his brow furrow in fury before he caught himself. "Worried about your friends, are we? No need to be concerned. I'm sure everything will work out."

"'No need to be concerned'? I GOT ATTACKED BY A MONSTER! AND THEY'RE OUT THERE FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES! I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE CONCERNED!"

The mayor looked like he was going to faint as the chief grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her to the side.

"I know you're worried about your friends, but there's no reason to act this way. Everyone is doing their best," he said in a voice loud enough for the mayor to hear him but then whispered, "There's no Captain Wesker or Chris here to protect you right now. It'd be best for you to follow instructions, young lady."

Cass quickly grabbed onto his arm with her other hand and slammed it into a nearby table. As he released her arm, she took a couple steps back but didn't flinch as he turned to her with hatred.

"Oh, sir. There's a table there," she said loud enough for the mayor to hear. "You should be more careful."

The chief hissed, "You… think I won't get you for this?"

"You can try, but considering what I just killed… I sure wouldn't."

Cass started to walk away when she heard the sound of the helicopter in the distance. There was only one place it could land safely. Bolting toward the staircase, she dodged people, excusing herself breathlessly. Finally, she made it to the top of the roof. The helicopter had landed, and Barry had gotten out, carrying Rebecca in his arms. As he approached the door, Cass held it open and looked at Rebecca with worry.

"Don't worry, kid. She's just sleeping. It's been a rough day for us… and you too," Barry said, noticing her bandages.

"Cass!" Chris said as he jumped out of the helicopter.

Barry went inside as Cass ran to meet Chris. She threw her arms around him as he rested his head on hers. They stood still for a moment before Cass saw Jill shakily get out of the chopper. Leading them inside, Cass noticed the chief and the mayor headed their way.

"The doctor is this way," Cass said as she grabbed onto their hands and led them past the chief.

The chief threw her a dirty look as she moved past him. She couldn't deal with him right now. Making sure everyone was okay was far more important than dealing with the chief's mood swings. Rebecca was in the bed with Barry getting checked on by the doctor.

"I'm just tired," Jill said, giving Cass a small reassuring smile. "I don't think I need a checkup… what happened to your arms?!"

Chris seemed to have just noticed her arms and held onto her hand.

"I already got looked at by the doctor… and you don't know what you were exposed to. Better to be careful."

Jill nodded, but Cass knew that they'd have a talk later about what she'd been through. Chris and Jill walked into the room as Barry came out. He had a few cuts and bruises but didn't seem too hurt.

"I need to talk with the chief," Barry said with fury, and Cass pointed in the chief's direction. "Thanks. We'll talk later."

Cass nodded and watched Barry storm off to find the chief. With a sigh, she debated following him. Barry could handle himself, but she was still worried. A hand on her shoulder made her jump, and she turned to see Kevin looking at her worriedly.

"Hey… are you okay? Did everyone get back okay? I saw Barry and Rebecca, but…"

He trailed off as tears started streaming down her face. She tried to stop the tears, but they just kept coming. Kevin gently led her to an empty room as people started gathering to see what was going on. With a gentle tug, he pulled her into an embrace. She buried her head into his shoulder. After a few moments of silence, she calmed herself enough to pull away, and Kevin slowly let her go.

"You don't have to tell me what happened right now. That's okay," he assured her quickly. "Just know… that when you're ready…"

The sound of Chris yelling caught Cass' attention, and she rushed out of the room. Barry had his hands on Chris' shoulders and was steering him toward the chief's office. Cass quickly followed behind them and got into the office before the door closed. She briefly looked around at the mounted and stuffed animals around the room. This place gave her the creeps.

Something touched the side of her arm, and she flinched. Kevin gave her an apologetic look before they both focused their attention on the chief.

"Don't be so loud, Redfield!" the chief said irritably. "Of course, we'll send people to investigate… Of course, that might be difficult… seeing as how the 'enclosure' our Miss Walker found herself in has since been burned to the ground."

"What?" Chris asked and turned to Cass.

"Oh, yes. Miss Walker has reported her own adventure to us. Rest assured, this will all be taken care of… Now as I understand it, Captain Wesker was behind all of this… Well, where is he? Did he escape?"

"He's dead," Chris said and turned back to the chief. "Killed by his own creation. But Umbrella was really responsible. They need to be held accountable!"

"Yes, of course… should there be sufficient evidence then we will prosecute them, but first I need time."

Jill crossed her arms and gave the chief a piercing stare, while Barry looked hesitant to trust the chief. Brad stood in the corner, not saying a word, and Chris looked away with a scowl.

"Fine," Chris growled before walking toward Cass.

"Ah, and, Miss Walker, before you go… I do have something for you."

The chief pulled out a S.T.A.R.S. badge and tossed it to her. She looked at it for a moment before she looked at him in confusion.

"Welcome to S.T.A.R.S. Captain Wesker wanted you to have that one specifically. Now please… I need to make a few calls."

Cass left the room still staring at the badge in her hands. There was a switch in the back. As she slid it, it revealed a USB port. What could this be to? The weapons locker? She doubted Wesker would have wanted her to have access to that.

"Cass…" Chris murmured, and Cass turned to see his face looking at her with guilt. "I'm so sorry… I'm so…"

Cass quickly embraced him before he could finish. He gripped onto her as though the world was falling apart around them.

Author's note: Hey there! I've got a couple of polls up about this series. I've still got one more chapter planned for this one, but I'd like to collect your thoughts.

It'll really help me if I decide to do a continuation to this series. Thank you for reading! :)