Nemesis: Resident Evil III

Chapter Two: No Help Coming

Safe for the moment? Maybe, Jill thought as she used the large office windows to overlook the rest of the warehouse where she and the others were taking shelter. The office itself was one of those models where it was the only thing on the second floor of the building with the rest being an open floor plan, connected by a staircase of grated metal so that the supervisor could have no problem lording over their workers. This also allowed the young woman to see the entire building at once, and… things were not promising.

From the window she could see that although there were no zombies inside with the survivors, nor was there any obvious way for them to get in on their own, there was also a complete lack of provisions. No one was sure just how the T-Virus had spread throughout Raccoon City, so risking the use of a drinking fountain or sink was probably a bad idea since it might very well be in the water, but other than an empty water cooler for employees and the bottle Jill had just discarded, there was none to be found.

There was a little bit of good news, though, when the young woman turned her attention back to the office itself, and her thorough search of the desk and cabinets revealed a few useful items. From how low and worn out the office chair was, as well as the drawer full of candy bars that she quickly discovered, the manager of the warehouse must have been a pretty big guy, but a large supply of Snickers and Payday bars was better than nothing, especially for people who hadn't eaten in a while… like herself.

Making a quick head count of the survivors who were gathered on the first floor, not that there were very many of them, Jill divided the candy bars into the same number of piles so that everyone would get a fair share. The other useful thing that she found was a baseball bat that was hidden behind the filing cabinets, probably to be used in the event of a break in… she had been hoping for a firearm of some kind, but the bat was once again better than nothing, especially since her pistol was out of bullets.

Well, that was about everything useful inside the office, and now it was time to go update the survivors on what was happening. They weren't going to like what she had to say, especially after they had just managed to escape from the main infected horde with their lives, but with no supplies to sustain them inside the warehouse aside from those candy bars… let's just say that there were some things worse than being eaten alive by zombies. So, she took a deep breath, turned the knob of the office door, and stepped out into the main room.

Not wanting to break the news until they had all at least had something to eat, the half a dozen men and women who were sitting on the floor or leaning against support pillars suddenly came to life when she gave them the candy bars, and hey, there was no fighting over them, which was a good sign. Without so much as a thank you, however, the survivors returned to the same places where they had been before, with no one speaking up or suggesting ideas as if… as if they were content to just sit there and wait to be rescued… not as good of a sign.

"All right, I know you've been through a lot." Jill began once she had finished one of her own bars, saving the other two for later. "But we're going to have to move on pretty soon."

Suddenly all of them stopped eating and looked over at her like she was crazy, which might have been at least a partially good thing, since none of them appeared to be planning on saving any of their candy bars for later, and then the complaints started. One man suggested that they should stay put and wait for rescue since there were none of those things around, followed by a red haired woman who agreed with him, before adding that they simply find a way to call for help so that the rescue team would get there faster.

"The rescue team?" The young woman asked, partially surprised at hearing this. "Remember all those cops outside who just got torn apart? That was the rescue attempt, and how do you plan on calling for help, huh? The phones are dead, I just checked, and those monsters outside are attracted to light and noise, so you'd just be bringing more of them here."

Instead of the survivors seeing the logic of her argument, like she hoped, the people looked like they were starting to get angry, not at the infected or the situation, but her specifically, like this was somehow all her fault. One rather heavy man stood up and suggested that Jill was crazy, yelling very loudly about how he had just lost his daughter outside when one of the cops who were supposed to protect them, tried to hide behind her.

Bam! Rattle! Bam! All talking stopped inside the warehouse instantly stopped when the metal rollup door started shaking again, with the infected people outside groaning and growling as if the yelling had excited them to attack. After a few minutes of them being unable to get in, as well as no one saying a word inside of the warehouse, the banging slowed down until the door stopped moving, and the zombies could no longer be heard.

"Look, I know this situation is bad, okay?" The young woman continued in a hushed voice. "But there isn't going to be any rescue, and we can't call for help, at least not from here. It's gonna be dangerous, but if we can make it to the police station, than I can use the radio equipment there and maybe get us out."

"Who in the hell put you in charge?" That first woman spoke up again. "You're not even a cop; I saw you on the news, you're one of those lunatics who got fired last summer, aren't you? Are you trying to get us all killed like you did to your friends?"

As much as Jill wanted to defend herself, or simply punch this little brat, especially when the others started to agree with her, she knew that allowing an argument to intensify would only make their situation worse. She had to remember that these people were not trained STARS members, or police officers at all… they were helpless civilians, who were scared, confused… and worst of all looking for someone to blame for what was happening around them. What they needed was leadership and hope, and getting to the police station was honestly the best thing she could offer.

However, like most people who were scared and angry, they wanted nothing to do with her plan, not unless it meant they could just sit there like a bunch of helpless twelve year old girls waiting for daddy to crush a spider. Unfortunately for them, daddy wasn't coming, no one was unless they got to the police station and used the radio equipment to let someone know that they were still alive in the first place. God, why couldn't Barry Burton be there to talk to these people, or Marvin Branagh from RPD Traffic Division, or even that complete asshole Tobias Liquid from Homicide? All of them were good at talking people down when they were upset, but Barry left town, she hadn't seen Marvin since getting suspended, and Tobias had been in a coma since last spring.

"Damn it, we have to get out of here." Jill tried again, not wanting to get too loud because of the zombies. "There's no water, those candy bars you all just scarfed down were the only food we have, and I'm out of bullets, so this baseball bat here is the only thing we have to defend ourselves with. Don't you understand, we need to go?"

"If you want to go so bad, then go." The large man spoke up again. "But I'd rather starve to death in here, than be eaten alive by one of those things out there, so go on, if you're such a hotshot. But you're leaving the bat… we still need to survive after you get yourself killed."

More agreement from this last statement resounded throughout the warehouse, and the young woman was honestly a little surprised that all these men would not only allow, but also insist that a woman go unarmed out into the city as it was. Truth be told, she probably had a better chance to survive out there by herself unarmed, than all these people did together, even with the bat. Question was, were they desperate enough to try and take it from her? Jill didn't want to have to hurt them if they did so, but she also wasn't crazy about the idea of wandering Raccoon City with nothing but an empty pistol.

Thunk-clunk, the wooden bat echoed as it bounced after being dropped onto the floor, and this seemed to make the survivors calm down a little as she made her way to the smaller back door of the warehouse. No, the young woman couldn't just leave them like that, so she decided to make one last appeal to their senses; informing them that even if she managed to get to the police station radio, there was a good chance that she wouldn't be able to come back for them, and there was no guarantee that a rescue team would be able to reach them, so there best chance was to go with her.

"God damn it, I told you that we're not leaving!" The bigger man shouted, causing the zombies to rattle the rollup door again. "We're not going with you, none of us, never… so just get out, if you're going!"

Now he was pointing the bat at her in a threatening manner, and the others didn't seem to have a problem with this, so… well, that was that. With a final promise that she would try to send help back for them if she could, which was met by even more yelling for her to leave, Jill turned away from them in order to unlock the back door. Turning the knob as quietly as she could, and then opening it just enough to take a peek outside, she was relieved to see that there were no infected in the immediate area… probably all drawn to the rollup door.

Taking a deep breath, and stepping out into the small alley behind the warehouse, she was looking around at the sunlit fire escapes and large trash dumpsters that made up most of the features of her new surroundings, when the door behind her was suddenly pushed shut and locked with a soft click. She didn't have a key, so there was no getting back inside unless the survivors agreed to let her back in… fat chance of that happening… but at least the sun was out, so it was less likely for the infected to sneak up on her as she began making her way down the tight alleyway.