Chapter 5

"Well, it looks like I misread that," I said to myself as I reviewed my copy of the contract in the early morning. "Two hundred and ten hours instead of a hundred and twenty," I mentally shrugged to myself. "But free training is free training, and you don't turn that down," I muttered as I got dressed in the clothes I had worn when I first arrived in Raccoon City and made my way to the bus stop.

"I'm going to need to find a more reliable means of transportation," I muttered under my breath as I sat at the bus stop's bench. "I'll have to take a look at Craigslist sometime soon, there should be something relatively cheap that I can find there."

"What's craigslist?" One of the people sitting at the bus stop with me asked.

"You know, the website you go on to post things you're selling," I replied.

"You mean the classifieds?" The man asked as he held up his newspaper. "Because I've never heard of this "craigslist" or "online"."

"Huh?" I replied. "I thought everyone knew what craigslist was," I shrugged. "I guess I'll have to track down something when I have free time then."

Once the bus came I boarded swiped my bus pass before taking a seat near the front of the bus. This bus's route would take it right in front of the hospital with enough time for me to grab some coffee and breakfast.

–

–

"You must be Mark Hall," the instructor said as I entered the area of the hospital set aside for training purposes. "I'm Jessica Taylor, and I'll be running you through the crash course in my world."

"That's me," I shook her hand. "I'm good to hit the ground running if you are."

"I've gotta see where your skill level is first," Jessica said as she grabbed a set of practice gear and tossed it at me. "There are a couple of cadavers that got donated for scientific and learning purposes that we have set aside for training that is as real as it gets." Her face took on an evil smile. "Then we're going to find you a goat, and you're going to do your absolute best to keep that little fucker alive. That's how we were taught as Corpsman to do it, and I know that it works," she shrugged. "If it ain't broke, I'm not going to try and fix it," She then laughed. "While it's not exactly a part of the standard EMT training we give around here it'll help you out more than the planned curriculum that they tried to foist off on me."

"I'm ready when you are," I replied as I slung my pack off and into the locker that she had set aside for me. "And I don't mind getting gritty and filthy if it helps me save some lives."

"Good," She brought me to a room that had a desk in it and slammed a set of books down in front of me along with a notebook and a pencil. "This, is the book that I expect you to have memorized from front to back by the end of the week," She smiled. "Practical application will start next week and you'll be able to tell me exactly what medications do and how they interact with eachother." She brought out one more book and stacked it on top of the others. "This, is a study on all of the herbs and advanced medicine that Umbrella Corporation has introduced to not only our city, but to the rest of the world. This can be just as important if not more so than the other book because sometimes it's like fucking magic with how the herbs and first aid sprays work," She sighed. "Then other times it's a carefully planned out science where the wrong interaction will kill someone."

"Sounds like tons of fun," I remarked as I began to open up and glance through the contents of the books laid out in front of me. "Might as well get started then."

–

–

"That's twelve hours," Jessica said as her watch beeped and we both yawned. "I'll be testing you on what we went over today."

"Sounds good," I replied. "Same time tomorrow?" I asked as I tossed the books into my pack so that I could read more overnight.

"I'll see you bright and early in the morning," Jessica laughed. "I'm tossing you into the deep end here and hoping that you're able to swim," she shrugged. "Should you drown then you won't be able to cut it working with the RPD."

"Sounds good," I replied with a small chuckle. "I'll try to keep treading water then."

"I certainly hope that you don't drown," Jessica replied. "I've got enough on my plate without having to be on call for the SWAT and STARS teams."

–

–

"Hey, you're back!" Cindy greeted me as I entered Jack's bar for the second time. "Same table as last time?"

"Yes please," I replied with a smile. "But only if it's clear."

"The table just got cleared," Cindy smiled. "I'll go wipe it down and we'll get you seated."

"Thanks Cindy," I replied. "I'll take the same order that I had the other night. Keep the beer coming though, I'll be here a while."

"Sounds good Mr. Hall," Cindy replied. "I'll make sure you get taken care of."

Taking a seat, I pulled out the book that had the properties of the green herb and how it interacted with some of the other medications that Umbrella or other corporations had been putting out.

"You studying up for something?" Cindy asked as she brought the first beer over. "I always wanted to be a nurse."

"Yeah," I replied. "Doing a crash course on EMT/EMS training. I've got a lot of studying to do."

"Let me know if you need any help studying on one of my slow days," Cindy said. "Jack would probably be willing to let me sit in and study with you."

"Sure," I replied. "Maybe one of these days when you're a bit less busy."

"Well, Mr. Hall," Cindy said. "Enjoy your beer and burger."

"Call me Mark," I replied. "And I'll definitely enjoy both the food and the company."

I began to sip at my beer while I looked over the book on the herbs. This was entirely new science to me and the more I read into the book the more my head began to hurt. Reaching into my pack and pulling out the meds that had worked so well the night before I flipped it over to see the directions and if I could take it with the alcohol I was drinking. Not seeing anything against it, I popped two as the directions indicated and took a break from studying to look at the front of the bar for a minute. Then, the rain started coming down, and the glass became murky.

"Looks like we're gonna be rained out for the rest of the night," Cindy said as she brought my burger. "Most of our regulars stay home when it's raining this hard."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I replied. "I'll probably finish up this burger and then head back out. I've got a long couple of weeks ahead of me and need to get some proper rest."

"Well, have a good night!" Cindy cheerfully replied. "And let me know if you ever need that help studying."

"Will do," I replied after I swallowed a bite of the burger. "Studying alone isn't very fun after all."

Finishing off my dinner, I left a decent tip before wrapping my books in a plastic bag to hopefully help keep the moisture out and tucking them inside my pack. Then I walked out into the rain with the intent of finding a clothing shop nearby. I needed a jacket if it was going to be cold and rainy here.