The ride to the university had been desolate. Empty cars littered the streets, and infected people stumbled around in search of prey. Not all hope seemed to be lost yet though. As they had driven, Cass had seen groups of people banded together. She wished them luck as they had sped by on the motorcycle. Part of her felt guilty that they hadn't stopped, but making sure Elza was safe was her first priority at the moment.

As Cass pointed directions on where to go, she took notice of their surroundings. There were some nearby ladders they could use if things got dicey. Daniel took a sharp turn, causing her grip to tighten. A horde of infected stood by the stadium. At the sound of the motorcycle, they had turned toward Cass and Daniel. With a few quick maneuvers, Daniel sped around them. Clutching onto him for dear life, she closed her eyes as the bike skidded across the blood-stained sidewalk.

Another quick turn and they were free from the mob. Elza's dorm had a light shining in the distance, and Cass pointed toward it. Daniel stopped the motorcycle in front of the building. After taking off her helmet, Cass took out her gun and walked toward the building warily. The front door had been broken off its hinges. Shivers went up Cass' back as she started walking toward the dorm.

"That doesn't look promising," Daniel muttered, and Cass gave him an irritated scowl. "My apologies."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Cass took out her gun and slowly crept to the door to look inside. The lobby was empty. Trash littered the floor from where people had made a hasty exit. Blood was splattered across the walls, showing where some hadn't succeeded. A stairway sign pointed further down a long hallway. Something brushed her shoulder, and she quickly turned to see Daniel also peering down the hallway.

Taking quick but light steps, she jogged down the hall to the stairwell, checking each open door as she went. The complete quiet was even more unnerving. Once she reached the stairs, she stopped to listen. No moaning, no shuffling footsteps… nothing. Daniel's quick footsteps caught up with her, and she turned to him and motioned up the stairs. He nodded and followed behind her as she kept the gun pointed in front of them.

As they made it to Elza's floor, Cass felt a knot in the pit of her stomach. There was no way she was here. Either she had already left or… Cass pushed herself forward, refusing to acknowledge the other possibility. Using her free hand to fish out the key to Elza's room, she checked behind her. Daniel wore an uneasy frown as he checked around them. Clearly, she wasn't the only one affected by the eerie silence. The door opened with a small creak. Cass ducked inside and checked the room. Nothing in here either.

The sound of paper crunching beneath her foot made her stop. Cass picked up the crumpled-up piece of paper and read the note. It was from Elza to her roommate. Elza went camping with a couple friends, and she was supposed to come back today.

"Oh, some good news," Daniel said in a low voice, and Cass raised her eyebrow at him. "If she's trying to come back today, she can't. Roads are blocked, remember?"

Cass let out a sigh of relief and dropped the paper on the counter. That was unexpectedly good news. A leather-covered hand covered her mouth, and she turned to see Daniel staring at the doorway to one of the bedrooms. A sharp wheeze caught her attention. A lumbering, humanoid creature crawled out of the room. Skin had mostly rotted away revealing muscle, and the brain was now exposed. The creature hissed; the tongue lunged forward, shattering a nearby vase.

Daniel pulled her back as the creature walked toward them. As Cass took a careful step backwards, she noticed a remote on the counter. With a quick dive to the counter, she took the remote and turned on the television. The sudden sound caused the creature to turn and sprint for the TV. As the creature screeched, Daniel and Cass made a hasty, but quiet, exit. Another screech from down the hall caught their attention.

Cass quickly moved into the stairwell as more creatures in various stages of mutation came to investigate the sound. Daniel motioned for her to follow him down the stairs. Careful not to make any sounds or sudden movements, they slowly made their way down the stairs and out of the building.

"How did you know?" Daniel asked with a relieved laugh.

"Know what?"

"That they're blind. That TV trick wouldn't have worked otherwise," Daniel said, smiling mischievously.

"Well… the brain pretty much covered its face… plus it didn't attack us on sight."

"Interesting… so where to next?"

"Let's see what we can find at that Umbrella facility you mentioned."

"How do you know it's an Umbrella facility?"

Cass gave him an irritated look and asked, "Who else would be behind it?"

"Touché," Daniel replied with a smile and hopped on the bike.

Cass put on the helmet and got on behind him. A screech could be heard as Daniel fired up the bike, and they quickly headed deeper into the campus. As they got closer to the center of campus, more infected people could be seen lumbering around the streets. Daniel maneuvered around them, and Cass gripped onto him as they skidded over pools of blood. The science center loomed in the distance with signs leading them to it.

Daniel parked to the side of the building, which was mostly empty of people. Cass got out and started looking for an entrance. No doubt Umbrella would have seen the warning signs and shut down the building to the public. Just to be thorough, she checked the door. Locked. The windows on the second floor might not be though. After setting up a trash can, she jumped onto the second story ledge and slammed into the window. Also locked… but breakable.

Cass took off her outer shirt and wrapped it around her hand. After turning on the gun's safety, she used it to break the window. She shattered the rest of the glass and carefully swept it out of the way before crawling through. After glancing around the room to make sure it was empty, she turned back to the window. Daniel's hand appeared on the window's edge, and she quickly helped pull him inside. Shuffling from a different room made them quickly hide in a closet. It was cramped and dark.

Cass checked the shelves behind her and managed to find a flashlight. Clicking the button, she checked to see if there was anything that would save them. The closet was mostly empty. Most likely it had already been raided for anything of use. A bang outside made her click off the light.

"Over here! The window is broken," a voice said from outside the room.

"Well, whoever it was… they couldn't have gone far. Keep looking! We still need to find the girl after this."

Cass held her breath as she wondered if she was 'the girl' they were talking about. No. They had no way of knowing she'd be here. She glanced at Daniel's face. In the darkness of the closet it was hard to tell what his expression was, but he seemed to be angry.

The sound of footsteps retreating made Cass relax a little. They waited in silence as they heard the door close outside the room. Giving each other a hopeful look, they waited a few more minutes in silence. The sound of footsteps still inside the room made them tense up, but soon the door opened and closed again. The room was now completely silent. Cass slowly opened the door to reveal a completely empty room.

With a sigh of relief, she closed the door quietly behind her and whispered, "I've got an idea. It's sounds bad, but… I think we should split up."

"You're right. That does sound like a bad idea," he whispered back in a snarky tone.

Cass glared at him for a moment before she pointed out, "The two of us will be easily spotted. We can dodge them easier on our own. Plus… if they find just one of us, the other can escape."

"You won't come back for me?"

"No. And don't come back for me either. Just focus on getting the cure then getting the hell out… I'll check downstairs. You check upstairs. There's gotta be some secret switch nonsense to find the lab. Apparently, the mansion was full of those… and deadly puzzles. So, be careful."

"Really?" Daniel asked with an interested expression, but Cass dodged further questions by quietly opening the door and walking outside.