Creeping through a desolate alleyway, Cass kept her gun ready. It would be better if she didn't have to use it, but until she found a quieter weapon, it was all she had. Luckily, she had been able to take quite a bit of ammo in her backpack. She wished that she could have shared it with Jill, but Jill had assured Cass that Jill would find her own weapon. Hearing the shuffling of footsteps, she hid behind a trashcan. A sudden shout made her look up. A man had stumbled and fallen as a woman sauntered toward him.

"Hey!" Cass yelled out grabbing the metal trash can lid.

A screech filled the air, and Cass was now the target. Cass flung the metal lid at the woman. With a sickening crunch, it hit her square in the jaw. The man had picked himself back up and took off in the other direction. A moan from behind her caught her attention. Two more infected people walked toward her from the other side. A screech told her that the woman had gotten back up and was on her way to take a bite out of Cass.

A fire escape nearby was her best option, and Cass bolted up the stairs. Clanging from beneath her told her that the infected people were following. A window was open. Cass crawled through it hesitantly. If she could get in here, then someone else could have too. Shutting the window behind her, she hid behind the sofa as she waited for footsteps. The only sounds she could hear were the infected outside banging on the window. Quickly getting back to her feet, she bolted for the door as she heard the glass breaking behind her.

The hallway was empty, but she was sure that there were others on the ground floor. Perhaps they were even waiting by the elevator. A sign to the stairway caught her attention. Cass looked the apartment door behind her and prayed they weren't smart enough to unlock it. Banging from the other side made her feel hopeful. As she opened the doorway to the stairs, she heard more moaning from below. Heading up the stairs, she decided to get a good look at the city from the rooftop.

Abandoning the car seemed to be the better choice. No doubt there were cars left in the streets as people tried to get away from the infected. Her suspicions were proven correct as she looked down at the city. The fire escape was just below her, and it seemed like everyone had went inside the window below her. With a good heave, she landed herself on the railing below. She winced as the metal screeched. Bolting down the stairs, the sound of more glass breaking followed her as more infected tried to follow.

As her feet touched the solid ground, she gained a little more confidence. Getting all the way to Raccoon University would take more miles of avoiding being bitten, but at least it wasn't on a shaky fire escape. She continued running as people collapsed on the sidewalk. Either they were scared or the sickness was taking its toll. She couldn't afford to check which it was.

People walked down the street, but Cass could see from their stride that they were infected. She gave them a wide berth as she charged through. A radio broadcast playing on a nearby abandoned car caught her attention. The police station was being used as a shelter. Cass hoped Jill was on her way to help the survivors. And Kevin… she hoped he was okay.

A crash sounded from her right, and she turned to see an infected dog sprinting toward her. She aimed her gun and downed the animal in three shots. Unfortunately, that attracted the attention of everyone on the street.

"Goddammit," she murmured before once again climbing on a fire escape.

As they followed her, she could hear the strain of the metal. Even if it had been up to code, it wasn't made for this many people at once. She jumped from the railing as she felt it beginning to slide down under the weight. Catching herself on the side of an abandoned semi-truck, she pulled herself on top and looked around the street. It seemed like the infected people had difficulty climbing as they raged below her. The sound of an engine revving caught her attention. She looked behind her to see a man on a motorcycle headed her way.

He stopped a good distance from the mob and asked, "Need a ride?!"

After some of the mob began to turn around, Cass jumped down, using a few of them to break her fall. Dodging the grasping arms of the few infected people not by the truck, she raced for the bike and hopped on. He maneuvered around the mob and zoomed onto the main road. Holding on tightly, she wondered just who her savior was. A helmet obscured his face, but he had a French accent. Maybe he had transferred to Raccoon City for work. How unfortunate.

Pulling off the main road, he turned onto a side road leading to a storage facility. After entering a passcode, he slammed down the door behind them. Cass got off the bike and took a quick look around. The storage shed had been converted into a mechanic's workshop. Motorcycle parts littered the room.

"Ah, this is my… 'hobby', I believe is the correct word," the man said as he took off his helmet.

His slicked back blonde hair and sunglasses caught her attention, and she took a step back. He wasn't Wesker, but it still gave her chills. The man looked at her curiously.

"Something wrong, Miss…?"

"Call me Cass," she replied as she tried to force herself to be calm. Plenty of people thought that look was cool. Besides, she had never seen Wesker wear leather, and it was hard to picture Wesker wearing anything out of uniform. "And you?"

"Ah, first name basis, are we? Splendid! And you can call me Daniel."

His energy was certainly different than Wesker's. Excitable and friendly. But then again Wesker's entire personality had been a lie. Perhaps Daniel was hiding his true personality as well.

"So, Daniel, why aren't you driving out of this city? It's not exactly vacation material at the moment."

Daniel let out a surprised laugh and said, "No, not very relaxing. Unfortunately, they've blocked us in."

"Who are 'they'?"

"Your government… perhaps Umbrella? No idea, but does that matter anyway?"

She supposed not. The result was still the same; they were stuck here.

"I hate to ask this of you, but… is there any way you could drop me off by Raccoon University?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow and asked, "Trying to turn in a paper? I'm sure classes will be excused for the moment."

"No, my cousin is there. I haven't heard from her, and… I just need to see if she's okay."

"What if she's not there?"

"She might not be… but I need to try."

Daniel seemed to be thinking it over and said, "Raccoon University… I can do that. I heard that… there's a secret facility there. Maybe that's what caused this."

Daniel had looked over to her as her eyes widened in surprise. The fact that he knew about the lab was suspicious, but she needed him. It would take a lot longer to get to the university without transportation.

"Did the police find that out?" she asked, pretending to not know about the situation with the police.

"No, a reporter I know… Ben Bertolucci."

Cass relaxed at the sound of a familiar name. Ben would know about the Umbrella lab. She just wondered how much her new friend knew.

"So you know Ben?"

"Ah! You do too! How serendipitous! Umbrella has been moving some of their 'enterprises' to Europe, so I decided to take my inquiries to their home base. Luckily, I found Ben before I tried speaking to them."

"Yeah, we're lucky to have Ben living here. Always going out of his way to protect his hometown."

"Of course!" Daniel replied happily before looking around the garage. "He does love this city."

Cass watched curiously as Daniel looked in different closets. If he had a weapon, then he probably would have had it on him before he went into the city. At least she hoped he was that smart. He muttered something happily in French and lifted a helmet off of the ground.

"I knew I had an extra," he said with a grin and offered it to her with an outstretched hand.

"Thank you," she replied with a small smile. "So… you going to join me on this suicide mission?"

"Don't be so pessimistic!" he said before putting on his helmet. "Let's save your cousin and save the world."

"I really wish I could have an ounce of your enthusiasm," Cass muttered before she put on the helmet and joined him on the bike.