Edit: It's surprisingly difficult to write from Kevin's PoV, but hopefully I made a decent job of it!
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Desperate Times
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Worst endless horror ever.
Even for Kevin, this little adventure was getting old. He felt like he had lived more in the past couple of days than he had in the past ten years of his life. He had been pushed to the brink of his abilities, lost everything he cared about, gained friendships, and learned exactly what he was capable of.
All the same, it was good to be back on familiar ground.
The team slammed the RPD's gate shut on the zombies, locking it fast and stopping them from breaking through. It was a temporary measure, but that could always be fixed later.
Inside the station, Kevin was relieved to meet up with Marvin and Rita. Just knowing other cops had survived gave him pride in the force. At least they could be counted on to try and protect civilians at a time like this. His confidence had been shaken before, when the police left his team to fend for themselves, giving up on survival. But Marvin, Rita and the other cops here had kept the fight going.
"It's good to see you alive," Marvin said, clasping his hand when they entered the main lobby. "It's been a while since anyone reported in. Most of the previous officers who made it back went straight out again to help control the violence and protect civilians. I'm glad you were able to get so many back here safely."
"I'm just happy to see a friendly face," Kevin replied with an easy grin.
"This is all very touching," Alyssa drawled, sounding anything but sincere. "But do you actually have a plan to get us out of here?"
"We do," Rita said, leading them to her computer and a map that had been spread across the reception desk. She efficiently led them through the plan, which involved people collecting crescent shaped pieces to unlock the secret mechanism on the statue. Now that more people had turned up, it would make that task much easier. Once the mechanism was activated, a secret passage would open, and Rita would take on the dangerous task of escaping the RPD to find the last known locations of other officers. All the rest of them would need to do is hold the fort until she could bring back up.
"I feel like we should be doing more," Kevin said. "We can't just sit on our asses while Rita does all the hard work and risks her life."
"Don't go thinking it will be too easy collecting those plates," Marvin warned. "I believe there's one in a safe in the STARS office, but other than that we have no idea where they are. Zombies keep turning up all over the station, including some strange creature I've never seen the likes of before. It can climb right up vertical walls and snatch up men with its tongue. Worst of all is the nerve gas."
"Nerve gas?"
Marvin frowned, disapproving. "Chief Irons thought it would be a good defence against the zombies. I don't know about that, but we haven't been able to deactivate it one way or another. The best we can do is follow the pattern in its release from one room to the next."
"Shit. I'll do my best, don't worry."
Marvin nodded. "You gather your people, I'll reinforce the front gate so we can hold the lobby."
Kevin headed down to the statue and addressed the team, filling them in on extra parts of the plan, including the nerve gas. "What we need to do is split up – yes Jim, split up," he said as the subway worker groaned, "and then search for the plates, that way we can cover more ground. A couple of people could go down to the cells to check on the prisoners down there and see if there's anyone still alive. If the dogs are still alive, they could be useful. Marvin also mentioned some other creature that we should take care of before we escape. And speaking of escape... I think it'd be a good idea for one of you girls to follow Rita into the tunnel so that she has a little backup when she gets out the other side. You're probably the only ones who'll fit. The last thing–"
"Are you done?" Alyssa asked. "Because I think we're all done listening."
Kevin stared. "Huh?"
"You might think you're the leader, the hero, whatever," she continued. "But no one chose you. We're just all trying to get by, and you're there trying to make all our decisions like we're new recruits or something."
"And who do you think should be leader then?" Kevin asked, irritated.
"Mark," David suggested. "Alyssa. Hell, even Jim would make a better choice."
"Thanks man," Jim said sarcastically.
"And you?" Kevin said, arching a brow. "Think you'd make a better choice, David?"
"Keep it in your pants, boys," Alyssa said. "This isn't about your little pissing contest. It's about us making decisions for ourselves, starting with this crap to do with plates. If we start running all over the station when there's nerve gas and freaky creatures, we'll just end up zombie chow."
Kevin threw up his hands, feeling supremely annoyed. He had risked his life defending these people, helping them get to the police station, and this was his thanks? The whole point of the police force was to keep people safe. He had the most experience here with combat – other than Mark, who was honestly, pretty old – you'd think they'd be lining up for his advice. "Alright then, what's your big idea?"
"We could use those maps for a start," Alyssa said. "Plan out which rooms are affected by the gas and when, then make copies for everyone. We figure out where the likeliest places are for each plate and send people to search."
Mark weighed in. "Teams of two would be best, since we already know one location. If we give each team an area on the map, we can search it more thoroughly than if we just look at random. Anywhere that has a safe is a priority."
"The dogs aren't an option," Alyssa continued. "Do you remember what happened at the zoo? There's no way I want a repeat of zombiefied animals. Maybe if we could find the system that's regulating the nerve gas too, Yoko could shut it down."
She glanced at the student, who gave a tentative nod.
"I don't like it," Jim complained. "Why should we look for anything? That's the cops' job. I thought the whole point of us coming here was so they could take care of it all and we could be safe. If Kevin wants to run around doing shit then I say let him. I'll just wait here."
Cindy laid a hand on Jim's arm, giving him an encouraging smile. "But you're the best person for this kind of job! You're always finding things before the rest of us, figuring out puzzles and clues we need."
"You think so?" he asked uncertainly.
"Sure!" She beamed. "I'll bet with a little time to think about it, you'll have worked out the locations of those plates and what we need to do with them."
He grinned, apparently gaining confidence, and she led him off to study the map with Alyssa and Mark. Kevin had to hand it to her, Cindy always knew how to keep people's spirits up. In some ways, she was probably the best leader out of the bunch of them, since she was able to keep everyone motivated, and they all liked her and helped her. Well, except for David. But he was just an ass.
Kevin eyed the team as they gathered around the map and discussed their options. They went over the same things again and again, wasting time making copies of the map when they could be off looking for the plates. Every second stood around here was wasted. He tapped his foot irritably, determined to hold his tongue if his opinion wasn't wanted. It wasn't like he wanted to get in fights with the rest of them, but Alyssa, Mark and David were always looking for an opportunity to undermine him. He was a cop! Didn't that count for anything in a world gone to hell?
It was like his STARS test all over again.
"For what it's worth," George said. "I thought your idea about the prison cells was very good."
Kevin lifted his eyebrows. "Thanks man."
"Surely any extra hands willing to help us defend the station should be recruited. If nothing else, it's hardly humane to leave them in those cells at the mercy of whatever creature should happen upon them."
"Exactly!" Kevin smiled. "What d'you say we get the hell out of here? I don't need a map, I've been here a thousand times before. We can always check for those plates on the way, though I doubt there'd be any in the garage or the cells. Could maybe check the locker room though."
George nodded. "As you say. We just need to be careful of that nerve gas, I have nothing at all to help combat it. I don't suppose your armoury would keep any form of gas masks?"
"Nah. Though I'm pretty sure we don't stock nerve gas either. I've got no clue where Irons got that from."
"It's possible that some military officers provided him with some."
Kevin shrugged. He hadn't seen any soldiers around – which was pretty weird in itself. Shouldn't the army be containing something like this? How was the RPD supposed to protect people when they didn't know what was going on and had no back up? It was bad enough that Umbrella had been able to get away with this for so long without being stopped by the police, without the government letting things run wild too.
He wondered where Irons was. The guy had always seemed like a bit of a creep, definitely the weird type. It wasn't so hard to believe that he might have run off or holed up somewhere instead of doing his duty as a cop. How had he ever been made chief?
They headed outside again, since Kevin knew a shortcut to get them into the cells with minimal trouble. Marvin was outside boarding up the gates against the zombies to buy everyone a little more time. Luckily, the tall wall that ran around the RPD was already doing a good job of that. They just had to worry about the ones that were already inside.
He headed down the stairs and moved some junk that was obscuring the vent at the base of the garage. It was wide enough that even Mark could probably have crawled through.
Kevin went first to make sure there was nothing on the other side that needed killing. As it happened, there was only one regular zombie, which dropped from a headshot. The strange creature Marvin had mentioned was nowhere to be seen.
"Okay George, you're clear to come through!" He quickly checked up the garage ramp, but even without the shutter at the bottom, they wouldn't have been able to drive out because of all the abandoned vehicles and makeshift barricade. There were also more than a few zombies hanging around.
"At least there's no gas in here," George noted. "It was in the STARS office when we left the lobby, so presumably we should have a good several minutes before it starts down here."
"It's just through here," said Kevin. We could check on the dogs while we're down here. "If they haven't gotten infected, we'd be leaving a really useful weapon behind. Besides, Tony loves those dogs."
Tony was his oldest friend in the force, and the reason his tab at J's Bar was so high. Marvin had said he was in the station somewhere, so it made sense to check on the dogs for him, maybe bring them to him. It would be good to introduce him to the rest of the group. The big guy had a thing for Cindy for ages, often telling Kevin after too many drinks 'tonight's the night I ask her out!' Well, a zombie invasion was a hell of a time for a first date, but Cindy couldn't ask for a nicer guy. Except maybe the doc.
Aside from that, Kevin really wanted someone else on his side. Honest to God, he tried his best to help these people and keep them safe, but most of them fought him at every turn. George, Cindy and maybe Yoko were the only ones who seemed to trust his judgement. The rest didn't take him seriously at all, thought he was too rash and hot-headed. It was that kind of thing that led to three failed STARS applications, and it didn't sit well with him.
"Kevin, wait a moment," George said, sounding distracted.
The doctor was staring at the wall full of notes people had left to their families. Most of them were pretty depressing – letters to say goodbye to missing loved ones, or to pay respects to the dead. A few were more hopeful though, telling family members where they could meet up, saying they would see them again when they all escaped, listing evac locations. There were even a couple of prayers pinned to the wall. Kevin might have considered that himself, if he were the praying kind.
George had untacked one of the letters, and was staring at it in disbelief.
"What's wrong?" Kevin asked him, putting a hand on the other man's shoulder. George handed him the note and he skimmed through it. "Who is this guy, does he work for Umbrella?"
"No... at least, I don't think so. I haven't spoken to Peter in years, though we studied together at university. I even gave some lectures to his classes at the university. Why would he want to meet me there?"
"Sounds like he knows something about what caused all this."
"That would be the T-virus, but how would Peter know about it?" George scratched his chin. "I suppose he could have encountered some Umbrella workers, or perhaps even information that someone else was using at the university. If Umbrella really does have agents everywhere then no doubt one is situated there. I wonder if Peter's using the university's labs to investigate." The doctor's eyes widened. "Perhaps he's even found something of true significance."
"Like a cure?"
"Indeed. That may be why he needs a doctor. Peter would be able to synthesise a cure, but medicine was never his speciality. Just think of what we could do if we escaped with a cure. This tragedy could be stopped without any more people falling victim to the virus."
"Then we need to finish up here ASAP." Kevin glanced at another note on the wall. "Check it out, there's also an evac point not far from the university," he said, checking the list.
They left the garage with very different emotions. The doctor was clearly the reserved type, didn't want to get his hopes up. Besides, he clearly didn't want to consider that his friend was in deep with Umbrella, who would? If there really was a cure waiting at that university though, then George became the most important person at this station. He was the only one who would know how to prepare it, administer it. Kevin felt energised at the thought of such an important goal being within reach.
"The cells are just down the hall, he said. I'll check the dogs first."
He opened the door just a crack, and a frothing muzzle immediately shot out, trying to bite him.
"Dear God!" George exclaimed.
Kevin yanked the door to, trapping the dog's neck so that it couldn't escape. He pulled out his 45. Auto and planted one bullet in its head. The dog gave a yelp that sounded reminiscent of the loyal beast it had once been, before going limp.
Now that it wasn't trying to rip his guts out, Kevin could see that this was a walking corpse. Its fur was a patchy mess over rotting skin, and it had congealed flesh where the other zombie dogs had bitten it.
"I guess these puppies aren't interested in playing fetch anymore," he remarked. Kevin felt a pang of sadness. "I better finish off the rest of them. My buddy Tony's here at the station, and I can't let him see them like this. He loved these damn dogs."
"I understand," George replied sympathetically, taking out his own handgun.
Kevin tried to catch another dog in the same trick, but none took the bait. Maybe they learned quicker than human zombies. Where were David's bombs when you needed them? He was sure that guy had a criminal record. What kind of a person knew how to make bombs and weapons out of random crap?
He burst through the door and shot the first dog that came flying at his throat. He only got it through the neck, but the force of the gun was enough to slam it back into an empty kennel.
A small pack of them came charging across the room, all rabid and blood-thirsty. Kevin was glad for back-up. Even with his expert shooting, there were too many to shoot them all before one bit him. He booted one away as it closed in and finished it with a headshot.
Kevin kicked a chair into the path of the last one, causing it stumble and giving them time to kill it.
"Perfect," he said, with a grim smile. It didn't feel especially great though. He supposed it ought to be easier, he never had any crisis of conscience with the human zombies, though he could understand why someone like Cindy did. The dogs were different. Maybe it was just because they were a link to a friend. Or maybe it's because they reminded him of what had happened to this place he loved.
"Kevin…" George said carefully. Something in his voice made Kevin a little nervous, like a doctor delivering the news of a terminal illness. He followed George's gaze to the end kennel, where a half-chewed leg was sticking out. He felt his heart swoop with realisation.
The body was so chewed up it was barely recognisable, but even so, Kevin knew who it was. There was no other son of a bitch crazy enough to come get these dogs in the middle of this kind of crisis.
A gold plate with an emerald inset glittered nearby. Tony had obviously found it, before his death.
There wasn't anything Kevin could do for him now. He stood there, at a loss, until George reached out and handed him a blanket. It wasn't anything fancy, just something they put in the dogs' beds to keep them warmer in the winter. But it was enough. Kevin took it gratefully and covered over Tony's body. Maybe he should ask Cindy to say a prayer later, she'd probably know the right kind. It wasn't the officer's send-off Tony deserved, but it was all they could give now.
"Thanks," Kevin said. He followed George out to the corridor, not really paying much attention to his surroundings.
He sighed, really wishing he had a smoke right about now. This kind of thing... he hadn't expected it. Maybe it was dumb of him, but he had thought the cops would somehow be able to survive and stop this. The idea that someone he cared about might die had barely crossed his mind.
"Once we have that cure," he said in a low voice, "we can put an end to this." The doctor nodded.
"Hey look," said a voice as a door opened. "It's dumb and dumber."
"Alyssa," he said, more curtly than intended.
"You look upset," Yoko prompted, peering at him like a wounded kitten. Alyssa narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
He smiled at them. "I'm great, check out what we just got." Kevin produced the plate that Tony had given his life for.
"Not bad, we've got one too," Alyssa said. "And a little extra something."
She gestured to Yoko, who slung the pack from her shoulder and eased a file out from the horded equipment inside. "There's something you might find interesting in here," Alyssa said. "A little something that was taken off a reporter who was arrested." She was eyeing him in that shrewd look she had when she was playing with people.
Kevin took the file, flipping it open and reading through. He didn't entirely understand what he was reading, but one thing was clear – large sums of money were being transferred from Umbrella to Chief Irons on a regular basis. He wasn't a fool, he knew exactly what that meant.
"We've been sold out by our own chief," he said, aghast.
"We were wondering how Umbrella got away with its crimes for so many years, well this is it," said Alyssa, grim satisfaction showing on her face. "This proves just how far the corruption went in this city."
An automated voice filled the room. "Caution. Caution. Caution."
They quickly ducked through the door to the cells, and George pulled off his jacket, stuffing it at the bottom of the door to try and stop and wisps of yellow gas coming through.
Alyssa went straight to the person in the end cell with Yoko in tow.
"Hey, hey, hey man," cried one of the prisoners in the nearest cell. "Let us out! We don't wanna stay here and die!"
"Don't worry," George assured him. "We're going to let you out."
"Wait," Kevin said as the doctor moved to get the keys. "That guy was arrested for armed robbery. He shot a bank teller in cold blood. We've got good cops out here dying, we can't let animals like that out to cause more problems."
"Hey, I ain't gonna cause trouble! I just want to get out of here!"
"I didn't rob any banks," the other one said. "Just dealt drugs, honest! I swear I'll help if you let me out."
"We can't trust them," Kevin insisted.
George looked at him sideways, and led him away from the cells. "What's gotten into you, Kevin? I thought you were the one who wanted them free."
"I did." He ground his teeth in frustration. "I do. It's just... we're here asking for help from criminals, when we should be fighting alongside good guys like Tony. Half the cops in this city are dead, we're sending Rita alone on a dangerous mission, the Chief's released nerve gas when his own people are in the station, and he's in Umbrella's pocket. And where the hell are STARS? They're supposed to be the best of the best, and they've just left us in this mess."
George squeezed his shoulder. "Kevin, I understand, you know that."
"Yeah… the hospital…" He felt slightly guilty. The doc hadn't lost his temper when they saw what happened to the hospital, but on the other hand… "It's not the same though, they died in a tragedy at the hospital, but no one there was being bribed by Umbrella, covering up their crimes."
"I lied." George sighed, looking away. "I didn't want to consider it at the time, but in retrospect, there were fair too many strange circumstances. New medicines and drugs would appear in the pharmacy, patients would be referred for experimental treatments. There were a few occasions when concerns I raised with my superiors were hushed up and ignored. I understand your anger, I truly do. However, these men did not cause this. They are not your enemy."
"I know."
Kevin waited as George released the prisoners and let them run off, except for the guy in the end cell. Turned out he wanted to remain 'safely' behind bars. He also happened to be the one responsible for the file on Irons' corruption.
"If you get the chance to do anything with that information," Kevin told him. "Use it to expose Umbrella. They're the ones who caused all this, testing a virus on innocent people to make some kind of bio-weapon and covering it up with bribes and threats. Irons was just their puppet."
"And an asshole, according to all the evidence," Alyssa added. "We're sure as hell taking the fight to Umbrella."
The reporter in the cell nodded. "If I can, I will. Honestly, I just want to survive."
"None of us are truly safe unless Umbrella can be prevented from doing this again," George reminded him.
They decided to regroup at the lobby in case the others had found the rest of the plates. Kevin could imagine the silent gloating if Mark and David had already found one.
Once all the plates were assembled, Rita crawled through the impossibly small passage, and everyone prepared for the wait.
Marvin had acquired various guns from the armoury, as well as a few protective vests that would have been worn by STARS.
Kevin turned it down, allowing the others to put on more protection. It was strange, at one time he would have jumped at the chance to be part of STARS, even for a moment – even just to pretend. Now he realised it didn't matter. There was nothing about them as a group that made them superior, nothing about the RPD as a whole that made it respectable. They had been betrayed by their own Chief, they had just as much corruption as any other group in this city.
It was the people that made a difference – in people like Rita and Marvin and Tony, who were everything a cop should be. Image and respect didn't matter to them. They put their lives in danger to save others, and at the end of the day, that was the duty Kevin had signed up for.