DOCTOR SCOTT WESKER (PROLOGUE)
A bizarre incident occurred on the outskirts of America's suburb called Raccoon City. It was later revealed that the terrible disaster had been caused by the T-virus – a mutagen toxin created by Umbrella Incorporated. For decades they manipulated viruses into making bioweapons in their controversial experiments; it was only until recently the looming disaster was disclosed.
The Raccoon Police Department's special STARS unit immediately began an investigation into the affair. The case was eventually closed, thanks to the efforts of the surviving STARS members, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Zachary Wesker, Barry Burton, Rebecca Chambers and Brad Vickers. But the Umbrella Corporation experiments were far from finished.
Umbrella always found ways to hide their unjust actions from the public for their personal gain and future at the expense of their consumers. This unfortunate accident would mean the end of Raccoon City, a sad story that the world would never forget…
Tuesday, 29th September, 1998. It all began with a determined biker and a rookie police officer, shortly after they arrived in a dead Raccoon City. After that, it was a deadly game of wit and survival.
Claire Redfield, an acclaimed college student, arrived at an empty street, far outside the city centre. The ominous cold air brought out the darkness of the night, the roads were always dangerous at times like this, and she only just heard that through word of mouth.
She wasn't looking to ride her motorcycle through the town alone in the dark; the total absence of life was far below unsettling. With short breaths, Claire checked inside the diner; of course, it was empty. The state of the mess inside looked as if the customers and staff left in a sudden rush.
Claire's intuition was screaming at her not to go inside, but her curiosity got the better of her. "Helloooo? Anyone here?" Her eyes darted around the room and bar; nothing responded to her call. "Hello?" She peered around over the bar and noticed a person. "Excuse me?"
The person in question appeared to be feasting on a fresh corpse, which looked like a cannibal to Claire's eyes. But, whatever it was, it stared at her with a hungry look that may never be satisfied.
Claire gasped as the cannibal rose from behind the bar and reached for her in a sudden cramp.
"Whoa!" she exclaimed. The cannibal crawled over the counter and shuffled to Claire. "Look, I'm sorry I bothered you. I didn't see anything, okay?" The 'cannibal' didn't respond; it opened its arms and went on real close to Claire. "Don't come any closer!"
Claire bumped into the wall and looked back outside. Banging on the windows were some more of these cannibals; they possessed the same hungry stare. They heaved their weight on the glass, trying to get inside; at this moment, Claire began to feel a bit claustrophobic. She made a run for the rear door seconds before the cannibal lunged at her.
The door opened before she grabbed hold of the handle and walked into the sights of another figure; it was a blond man in R.P.D. uniform, early-twenties – already aiming his handgun. She covered her face, hoping he wouldn't shoot.
"Wait! Don't shoot!"
"Get down."
Claire ducked and let the officer shoot the cannibal tailing her. She watched it fall like a sack of dirt and stared back at the officer. He smiled at her and offered Claire his hand.
"You okay?"
"Yeah." Claire stood up, only slightly shook that her first introduction back into the city was someone hoping to feast on her. "Thanks."
"Name's Leon Kennedy; nice to meet you. And you are?"
"Claire, Claire Redfield."
"Listen, it's too dangerous to stay here. You need to come with me to the Police Department. It'll be a lot safer."
Leon and Claire fled the diner quickly, though some shuffling cannibals from the streets followed Leon and lingered outside the restaurant. There was no clear way to get back to their respected vehicles, but luck struck when Leon pointed out a vacant police cruiser sitting on the pedestrian walkway. The keys were still in the ignition; Leon buckled up, pulled out and took off on the main road.
Being the expert driver he claimed to be, Leon still had the occasional problems driving through vehicle wreckages and small roadblocks. They drove east towards the police department, left for the pedestrian path, but remained on the main road.
"What's going on in this town?" Claire asked. She stared out the window to see the city's absence of life. Walls smeared with blood and graffiti were as common as the dead bodies. Some of them walked. "I just got here, and the whole town has gone insane."
Leon tried to get the cruiser's radio working since all the stations were full of static; he lost his cool and hit it with his fist. "All the stations are out."
"You're a cop, right?"
"Yeah. Today was supposed to be my first day on the job."
"How's your first day coming along?" Claire asked lightly. She had hoped it would soften the tension.
Leon chuckled morbidly, though he remained alert on the road. "Take a wild guess," he replied charmingly.
"Your guess is as good as mine here. What can you make of this crap going on?"
"I have no idea. Although it doesn't take a genius to see that some people are a bit cannibalish."
"A bit?" Claire tampered with the radio. It started working until it blew a fuse and went kaput. "I think I can get it running again." She unsheathed a serrated combat knife from her left shoulder and tried to remove the radio from the slot. "Maybe the radio has an idea of things going on."
Leon noticed a blue emblem, decorated with gold S.T.A.R.S. engraved on Claire's knife. "STARS? You with the special forces?"
"It's my brother's. That's why I'm here. To find him and my boyfriend."
"Damn..." Leon cleared his dry throat. He knew there was no way she was single, and it was hard to ask. He knew that. The road skidded the cruiser into a junction; he pulled the steering wheel to a hard left. "What's their names?"
Sparks shot off the cruiser's radio, scaring Claire, but she resumed with determination and went back at it with her knife. Using the tip as a screwdriver to remove it. "Chris and Zachary. I lost contact with them both a while ago; I'm trying to pick up on their trail."
"I hope you find them; this isn't a place to be a loner."
With a scowling expression, Claire gave up on the radio. "There's gotta be something in here that can help us."
"Try the glove box, maybe?"
There wasn't anything inside except a single handgun – a loaded Browning HP. "There's a gun inside." Claire took it and checked the sights. It was an excellent handgun - great damage and accuracy at the expense of a smaller magazine.
"Better take it with you."
Suddenly, a cannibal crawled in between Leon and Claire, driving a wedge through them. The surprise and fear in Leon's eyes threw his driving into the gutter, as he lost most of the cruiser's control and careened off the road and ramming through anything on the path. Mowing down lampposts, garbage cans and anything in its wake.
The hijacker tried biting at Leon while he and Claire struck its face as hard and as often they could, though up close they had no emotion or any expressions on their pale faces; maybe cannibal wasn't the proper term. They just didn't care.
In a zigzag pattern, Leon swerved through from one side of the road to another, grazing a parked sedan. Then, with a sharp right turn, Leon threw the weight to one side and swivelled out of control before rear-ending a firm brick walk.
The sudden stop in speed launched the hijacker through the rear windshield and at the wall, killing it instantly with fatal head trauma. Leon and Claire shortly recovered from a minor case of whiplash, primarily through groans, grunts and slight cursing. The pain phased out quickly.
Leon huffed. "And that's why you wear seatbelts." He rubbed his neck, checking for any wounds. "You okay?"
"Been better."
Lights grew closer on the pair, bringing attention to an oncoming vehicle. "That maniac's gonna ram us!"
A large big rig behind in the distance was at ramming speed, aimed for the cruiser. The two felt tense and had to ditch the vehicle. They exited opposite sides leaving the massive wheeler to ram the cruiser into the wall, causing a glorious fiery explosion, leaving a hellish wall of flames to separate the two. Fires raged amongst the smouldering wrecks.
"Claire!"
"Leon!"
The excessive smoke and fumes made Leon's voice hoarse; his tone was soft, albeit loud. "Head for the station! I'll meet you there!"
Minor shellshock ringed around both of their heads from the fiery eruption, and with intense flames shrouding the sky above with a blanket of thick smoke, there was no way to get through without serious singing. So despite their limited ammo, Leon and Claire had to rely solely on their handguns to reach the R.P.D. safely.
Stray vehicles and lumbering 'things' was the norm, the buildings were all boarded up, and it was only around a small left turn towards the gun store. Claire bobbed and weaved through the small street into the only open building to seek refuge. The door was locked with a simple lock; it wasn't too hard to pass through.
It was a gun store, Robert Kendo's. The store was looted from anything and everything that proved to be a weapon; not a single gun or bullet was seen to the naked eye. Claire walked to the counter and was held at gunpoint; a middle-aged man in a vest sprung up from behind the counter.
"Hold it right there."
Claire surrendered and put both of her arms above her head. "Don't shoot! I'm not one of them!"
The man groaned and put away his shotgun, letting Claire relax her arms. "Sorry about that, ma'am. I thought you were one of those things out there."
"What the hell is going on here?"
"Hold on." The man walked past Claire and locked behind her. "I have no idea, darlin'. By the time I noticed something was wrong, it was too late; the town was already infested with zombies."
"Zombies?"
"What else could they be? It's the only real word for them. Haven't you heard?"
"Heard what? I only just got into town."
The man shook his head. "This infection was all over the news and radio the last few days. Mass suicide, paranoia and acts of cannibalism."
"Jesus… We got to get outta here."
"Sorry, kid, but I'm going nowhere."
"I'm heading to the police department; there might be-"
"They're all gone! No, I need to stay. I have… someone to look after. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"But I-"
"I can't spare the resources. Use the back door and go."
"Alright then."
Claire left the gun store through the door behind the counter, and after a few steps towards a flight of stairs, she overheard something smash back in the shop, followed by some gunfire and screaming. The struggle attracted her to head back inside, but after some sounds of pure silence, she knew she was too late; she couldn't save him.
Even if she kicked the door down and opened fire on whatever was in there, it would be for nothing. She let go of the door and faced the fact that the shop owner was gone, and she might have been somewhat responsible…