Keeping her head down, Cass slowly made her way down to the first floor. She could hear the sound of screeching from above her and felt a pang of guilt. Had she sent Daniel into danger? She'd assumed that the upper floors would be less dangerous, but perhaps it had been wrong to make any assumptions. Her hand clenched as she considered going to check on him. No. She had to find that scientist with a possible cure… or his notes at least.
Opening a door, she checked for any armed Umbrella stooges. Just an empty office with a computer. Cass quietly closed the door and checked to see if the internet was still working. It seemed to be getting a signal from the router, but the computer wanted a password. She set down her gun and pulled open the drawers near the desk hoping for some kind of clue. Nothing but office supplies. Scanning the desk, she saw a picture of a man and a dog relaxing by a lake. Unhooking the back of the frame, she pulled out the photo. "Francie and me (1996)" was written on the back.
She tried "Francie" as the password. No luck. Next, she tried "Fran" then "Francie96". Nothing changed. Wracking her brain, she continued looking through the other objects on the desk. Nothing stood out to her. The only thing that stood out was the picture. It had been placed right next to the computer screen. "Francis" she tried with a hesitant look to the screen. As the computer logged in, she smiled to herself. However, her success was short-lived.
"Put your hands where I can see them and turn around," a voice said from behind her.
Cass complied with the stranger's request and turned around to see a man all in black combat gear with a mask. Chills went up her spine as she remembered the logo on their shoulders. They were a part of Umbrella's competitors.
"How lucky," the masked man said cheerfully before radioing his squad. "Cassandra Walker has been located."
The door behind the man opened, causing the man to turn around. An infected woman in a lab coat stumbled into the room. The man began to shoot at her, and Cass used the opportunity to bolt into the next room and shut the door behind her. The window beckoned to her. This was the first floor, and she'd have to climb back in somehow. However, it was a better option than being kidnapped by a nefarious organization.
Unlocking the window, she checked outside before jumping out. As her feet hit the ground, she heard the sound of the door breaking and took off running for cover. Infected people walked toward her with outstretched arms as she ran, but she soon outpaced them. In the distance, she saw a dumpster with window access. Pulling herself up on top of the dumpster, she accidentally kicked an infected person in the face.
A loud shriek from below made her hurry in opening the window. The sounds of people hissing and snarling could be heard from inside the building. With a groan, she realized that she'd left the gun on the desk in her panic. The room didn't contain any firearms, but it did contain a fire extinguisher. Hefting the heavy contraption, she slowly walked out of the room. Sounds of the infected echoed through the hallway. An infected caught sight of her as she slowly walked through the corridor. Before it could snarl at her, she bashed its head with the extinguisher. With a sickening gurgle, it fell to the ground.
Cass carefully stepped over the body. The building was dark. Lights had been smashed, and some had even fallen to the ground. Realizing the flashlight was still in her back pocket, she took it out and panned it over the hallway in front of her. No infected could be seen. That made her feel on edge as she could hear more of them wandering around in the darkness. As she carefully moved around the building, she tried to look on the bright side. If Daniel was still alive, then she'd probably done a decent job of luring them away, not that she had meant to do so…
A door in front of her had been ripped off of its hinges. Momentarily debating whether or not to go inside, she checked the room using the flashlight. The door looked like it had been broken from the inside, and Cass couldn't decide whether that was a good or bad thing. She stepped inside the room. Carefully stepping around the broken office supplies strewn about, she made her way over to one of the computers.
Setting down the extinguisher, she looked around the desk for a clue to the password. Luckily, this person's password was "password". She checked the news to see if there was anything that she didn't know. The government had closed down the roads in and out of Raccoon City. The article said that the government was planning on rescuing civilians in helicopters, but Cass didn't want to hold out hope. For all she knew, the government could have been working with Umbrella too. Who else would Umbrella be making that reptilian monster for? And Cass doubted that with a corporation as large as Umbrella they could hide all of their experiments.
Had Gats made it out? If so, Cass wondered how. She logged into her email account and sent one to Gats, updating her on the situation. Cass was being hunted down by Umbrella's mysterious rivals and had no way of escaping the university. Her future was looking pretty bleak at the moment, but perhaps Gats would have an idea. A moan from the back caught her attention. She picked up the extinguisher in one hand and held up the flashlight with the other.
"Hello?" a man's voice said weakly.
Cass hesitantly approached the voice and was relieved to see a man in a business suit. Blood stained the suit, and Cass wondered how long she had before he also became infected. His face already had a pale hue. No doubt he was either close to turning or dying. She warily stopped a couple feet away from him.
"Please keep your voice down. We're not alone," Cass said as she got a better look at his wound. A rather large chunk of him was missing. It looked like he had tried to use duct tape to seal the wound, but he'd already lost a lot of blood judging by the pool of it around him.
The man chuckled hopelessly and replied, "I'm quite aware of that… I'm… pretty far gone, aren't I?"
Cass hesitated, so the man continued, "Yes… I'm a goner, but I can give you something. In my desk… I have a pistol in a locked case. Don't give me that look. In this city, it's necessary that someone in the office has some kind of defense." Cass begrudgingly nodded in agreement; she could hardly judge him for keeping a weapon. "The code to unlock it is 040594… It's just around the corner. I just want one thing in return. My wife and little girl… they don't live here. There's an address book in the first drawer. It has their number. Just please… tell them I love them and… I'm sorry. Sorry I didn't stay home for her recital. Sorry… I let them down. Please…"
Cass nodded as the man sighed in relief. The man's breathing had grown shallower, and she doubted that he had more than a few minutes left. Her best option was to get the gun and address book and get out before he changed into one of the infected. With a more glance at the fallen man, she ran for the office, leaving the extinguisher in the doorway. Pulling open the first drawer, she saw the small notebook.
A hand grabbed hold of her arm as she felt a sharp pain. She twisted away but fell to the ground. The flashlight clanging onto the ground in front of her. The world felt heavy around her as she tried to stand back up. Strong arms lifted her up.
"Target has been found," the man said over his radio before hefting her over his shoulder. He started giving directions to his location, but Cass focused on looking for something to grab onto.
Cass tried to struggle free, but her arms and legs started to feel heavy. More men in black combat gear appeared to take care of the infected. She watched helplessly as one of the men fired at the man on the ground. The world around her started to drift in and out as the man dropped her onto the floor of the van.
"Hey, careful there," one of the men said jokingly. "She's precious cargo."
Cass lifted her head to glare at the man when the sound of metal scraping caught her attention.
"What the—?!" the man said, but a giant man in a trench coat stuck his hand through the glass window and popped the driver's head. The other men got out of the van to fight the giant. A hand gently grasped her shoulder.
Daniel whispered into her ear, "We should go now."
Cass shakily got to her feet, and Daniel led the way back into a nearby building. The sound of screams followed them inside as Daniel led them into a secret hallway and down into the darkness.