15. It'll Be the Story of the Century

Kevin and Alyssa sat in the back of the police van as Mark sat near the front, with Dorian and a still shaken Harry in the front seats. Kevin glanced out the window and noticed a fire blazing in the distance. He turned his attention back towards Alyssa, who was sitting in silence and staring into nothingness, deep in thought. Kevin sat back lazily and smirked.

"Any chance you can spare a thought?" he said. "You look like you got something important in that pretty little head of yours."

Kevin more than expected a stark response from Alyssa, but strangely she didn't respond in a way he had anticipated. Instead she looked at him, sneering at first, but then speaking.

"I've been thinking," she said. "The strange incidents at the mansion, the killings on the outskirts of town…they must be connected in some way to what's happening."

"Oh?" Kevin said curiously.

"Do you know the Umbrella Corporation?"

"It hardly rains here so I don't have much use for that stuff," Kevin said with a smile, putting his hands behind his head and stretching his leg out.

"Be serious for one second," she said, growing irritable. "I've heard nasty things about them, and the possibility they participate in illegal biological experimentation. I can't help but think they have something to do with this, what's happening now."

"That's one thing that always freaks me out about you women," Kevin said. "You got mental powers or something, ESP or whatever it is. I just think you're all really aliens from another planet, cuz that just isn't normal!"

"I guess there's no use talking to YOU about it," she said, crossing her arms.

Kevin sat himself up.

"How long you been shootin'?" he asked.

"Since I was 14."

"No shit!"

"No shit."

"It's no wonder you're a good shot."

"Hafta watch out for all those sickos and freaks. Being a lady in today's male chauvinistic society isn't easy."

"Hey, not all of us are bad guys, okay? You girls just get the wrong impression of us that's all."

"Please," Alyssa said rolling her eyes. "You're all basically the same. If you aren't farting or fucking, you're pissed off cuz you aren't happy with the size of your manhood, and then you feel like you have to take it out on the rest of the world just because your "little man" either runs out of steam before he can reach home or not "tall" enough to ride the roller coaster!"

"Hey I'll have you know I'm perfectly content with my lil' guy, and I've got enough experience under my belt to rock YOUR world!"

"In your dreams, buster."

"If you only knew!" Kevin winked at Alyssa.

"Hmph."

"So tell me somethin' about yourself," Kevin said. "I already know you're a great shot and got great abs. Gimme somethin' about the real Alyssa Ashcroft."

"Why should I tell you, of all people, anything? I barely know you, and as far as I'm concerned it won't change anytime soon."
"Okay, I'll tell ya' what," Kevin said, leaning forward as if about to conduct a negotiation. "You know that I recently just saved your life, and I know you can't stand the idea of owing anything to me. So in exchange for that, you tell me something about yourself, like, say your parents, how you grew up. Then we'll consider ourselves even. Deal?"

Kevin put one hand out for a hand shake to seal the deal. Alyssa looked as if a bad smell filled her nostrils, then reluctantly grabbed Kevin's hand tightly.

"Damn!" he said, pulling his hand back. "You got an iron grip girl! How much you bench press, a solar system?"

"You want to hear this or not?"

"Okay okay sorry," Kevin said, putting his elbows on his knees and propping his chin up with his hands in an almost mock stature that expressed a deeply focused interest in her. "Give it to me, babe."

Alyssa bit her lower lip for a few seconds, trying to decide where to start. She didn't like the idea of telling her past to more or less a stranger. She didn't trust many people, especially not men, and she even considered lying to Kevin, making something up to get him off her back. She was a journalist after all, stretching the truth for a better headline was important. But something about Kevin's stupid, silly face that looked at her attentively made her almost want to laugh on the inside, he was such a doofus. She also remember how pained he was before, yet how easily he was able to recompose himself. Deep down she admired that about him, and to an extent wished she had that sort of power.

"I was an only child," Alyssa said. "My father raised me more or less by himself. My family…wasn't your typical American family, either. You know, the one where the dad brings the bread home and mom stays home to raise the kids. No my mom was a businesswoman, and I hardly ever saw her cept maybe a few times a week. My father stayed home and watched over me. He even quit his job at the paper, and he was good at what he did. Everyone respected and admired him there. But he gave that up…for me. I've never stopped thanking him for that. I grew attached to my dad, and as I grew older I became closer with him, and even farther away from my mother. For the most part I didn't even remember I had a mom, but that didn't bother me at all." Alyssa's posture changed. She propped her arm onto the seat and put her hand against her cheek, as if becoming immersed in her reminiscing. "Dad even taught me how to write, and I promised I would make him proud one day, and be a famous and respected journalist just like him. I'd make him proud. I know he was already proud, but still." Alyssa sighed. "Because my father left the paper at a crucial time," she said. "The editor held a grudge and refused to let him return. It didn't help that he was generally an ethical and moral person who often criticized the paper for blowing things out of proportion and making a mockery of their duty as reporters. Too much flare, too much pomp and circumstance, not enough truth and facts or even opinion, he used to say."

"But eventually, dad got sick," Alyssa said, her expression growing sadder. "Lack of exercise, a genetically endowed bad heart; my dad wasn't obese but he was out of shape, and I remember he always used to ask me to take care of myself, not for his but for her sake. I remember watching him slowly deteriorate before my eyes; he would pretend to be fine, but then he'd go off and hold his back, or his leg, or lie down and groan. He tried to be tough for me, so I wouldn't worry. He didn't want me, to worry…he was eventually hospitalized. I visited him every day and through the night, until the night he passed away in his sleep. I remember waking up, the next morning, my hand clutching his tightly, to find that his once big, strong and warm hands had lost their luster, grown pale, and let go of my tiny, tiny palms. I'd never hold them again."

"It took me weeks to get over it; it didn't help that my mother had already found his replacement." Alyssa said bitterly, the sadness in her voice now one of anger. "The man she brought home was insulting. He was a leech, a fucking parasite that did not work or earn shit, but he lived in our home like he was in a fucking palace. He drank, he cursed, and during his stupid drunken rages he would beat my mother like some whore. Anger welled up inside me; my mother wasn't the kind of woman who would take that from anybody, much less some sorry ass hick. I knew her well enough to know she was a strong, independent woman who didn't take crap…I don't understand why she never threw his ripped jean wearing ass out. She used to tell me that she loved him, that he was so different from her father, who she'd gotten "tired" of, like he was some goddamn toy, or some pair of jeans she decided not to patch up and just threw to the curb instead. I hated her for saying that, for doing that to my dad, and for letting herself submit to this idiot's every whim and taking his assaults."

"One day, I took matters into my own hands. I overheard the screams and pummeling outside my room; I had reached my boiling point, and my mind exploded in a frenzy of bitterness and long welling anger. I grabbed a large steel bat and stormed out of my room to find my mother crying on the floor as that son of a bitch stood over her. He turned around towards me, and with a swift upward swing I smashed the bat into his balls, flooring him instantly. I pummeled him with the bat until my mother, of ALL PEOPLE, tackled me to the ground and wrenched it from my hands. I was never more confused before in all my life than I was then. It sickened me. Sickened me so bad I moved out of the house a few days later, without so much as speaking to or even looking at my mother the entire time. Her weakness in the fact of this sorry excuse for a man left a bad taste in my mouth; and from then on I promised myself I would never, ever let a man treat my the way he had treated my mother; and the bastard would be left without his testacles if he even THOUGHT about trying to smack ME around. That was the last time I'd seen or heard from my mother…I was still a teenager then, moving out on my own into a world that wasn't kind to young women of that age."

Alyssa stopped her story. From that day forward Alyssa promised herself that she would never allow anybody to get too close to her. She had very few friends and much more enemies, using her bitterness and lack of conscience to push as many people away as she could. It frustrated her how easily Kevin fended off her assaults. She had never felt love for another man besides her father, and she refused to allow herself any possibility of feeling love for another person because of her mother's claim that the man who constantly pummeled her on a regular basis was actually her soul mate, her true love. Alyssa trusted nobody, and she had no problem with that at all.

But for some reason, everything she told Kevin was the truth. She did not stretch a single detail. She didn't realize it at the time, but she felt like she could trust Kevin, like he wasn't such a bad person after all.

When she finished her story, she noticed that Kevin's posture had changed. Rather than the mock curiosity he once exhibited, he now sat straight up and watched her, completely absorbed in her words. She wasn't used to people looking at her in the way he did, and it made her nervous, but at the same time she couldn't help but feel slightly comfortable. She soon stopped herself, reaffirming the promise she made to herself, and decided she was just having a migraine or something and wasn't thinking straight.

"There," she said, holding her head. "I told you everything you need to know. Now fuck off."

Kevin had grown accustomed by now to her stark tone and simply laughed.

"That's really something Alyssa," he said. "I've had my own issues with my folks too."

Alyssa rolled her eyes and thought, Great, now I hafta hear his lame ass life story. However, she restrained herself, and simply listened in silence with her arms crossed.

"I actually never knew my mom either," Kevin said. "She died while I was too young to remember her well enough, and it hit my pop hard. He was pretty tough on me, at least I think so, and he really seemed to look at me like I was supposed to be the savior of the family. He expected a lot from me; good grades, quarterback on the football team, respect from the teachers, and lots of friends that he approved of. I remember my first girl friend; I didn't even like her that much, I just wanted my dad's approval. I lost my virginity out of the deal, but I wasn't happy with her at all. She irritated the hell outta me, how can somebody be so superficial? But everybody in the town admired her and she was the most popular girl in school, so I figured what the hell. Mostly it was for my dad though, not really for me at all. I don't even think I liked playing ball too much, I couldn't stand the favoritism in the locker room, which I have to admit worked in my favor, but that only made it worse for me. But I stuck with it, cuz he seemed to enjoy goin' to the games and hearing his boy, Kevin Ryman, getting the touchdown and winning the ball game. I did it all for him, I wish he'd known that."

"And really," Kevin continued. "He never understood that I'm just not a books person. I can't even read a brochure without nodding off! How'm I supposed to deal with stuff like Shakespeare, thy this and thy that, who talks like that? He ragged on me about that the most, and used to tell me I was worthless and couldn't do anything right. I never got MVP in ball, so he ragged me about that. Even my girl friend might not have been good enough for him, said she was blonde and stupid, but she wasn't that bad. Nothing I could do ever seemed to matter or be good enough for my pop. If it wasn't me not getting' a touchdown soon enough or snapping too early or waiting too long to pass the ball, it was my shitty grades and my clothes. He acted like I was supposed to be the perfect kid, like I was able to do everything right without any of his help."

"It eventually go to the point I couldn't stand it anymore. He'd gone off on one of his worst tirades, trying his best to make me feel like shit, like I was worthless and couldn't do anything right. And I just blurted out something I wish I had never said. I told him he was just angry at himself, because he couldn't save mom, and he failed as a father to teach me anything worth remembering. It was his fault, not mine, that mom died, and he was trying to put the blame on my shoulders because he was too weak to admit the fact he was the one that failed us. I told him I'd carried the burden for long enough, and packed my bags and left. I still remember walkin' the train tracks; I was only about 17 at the time, with my bag slung over my shoulder and a tear in my eye as I waited the train to pass so I could hop on like some vagabond bum. I wanted to tell him that stuff for a long time, but I felt so guilty about it. I couldn't face him again, not ever, not after what I'd said. I know it hurt him deeply, because he didn't say a word as I packed and just left, he just sat there in his chair and stared at the floor. I haven't spoken to him since I ran away, and from then on I lived in a town not too far from here, thanks to help from my buddy Leon. Hope he's alright. Sometimes it's good to go from being the most well known guy in school to a complete nobody."

Kevin looked up from his position and noticed Alyssa had uncrossed her arms and had been listening attentively. He considered commenting about it, making a rib at her, but her unearthing the past had left him tired and his optimism seemed to have faded.

"I guess we do have some things in common, right?" he said.

"Yeah," Alyssa said. "I guess we do."

Alyssa looked away from him and rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. Neither of them wanted to look at each other. Alyssa felt strange having shared a part of herself with Kevin, and perhaps more so for actually listening to his lame tear jerker of a story. She felt uncomfortable having shared anything at all, and she grew visibly nervous. Kevin noticed this, but tried to remain silent, instead toying with his .45 in his hand.

Meanwhile, Mark sat at the front of the van and talked with the police officers.

"He's a kid about 17, wore a hooded sweater," he said. "Got a blue an' black watch on, white an' red sneakers on his feet. He also got a scar on 'is right forearm from when a dog bit 'im as a kid. Ah still remember 'is eyes, the fear, the hurt, the pain, poor lil' soul, when that vicious creature took a nasty chomp outta 'im. Ah felt so unfulfilled, so guilty as a parent, ah wasn't doin' my job as protector. He grew up tough on his own though, ah'm glad fer that at least. He's got spirit and don' depend on nobody at all."

"You say you brought him in today?" Dorian asked.

"Yes," Mark said with a sigh. "Ah didn't wanna do it, but it seemed like my only option at the time."

"Sorry," Dorian said. "I wasn't at HQ that time of the day. But I'm sure he's still there, and still in good shape. Like you said, he's tough and can look out for himself. Just have some faith in the boy, he'll be fine. Besides, there isn't a better place you'd want to be right now than surrounded by the boys in blue."

"Ah suppose you're right," Mark said, reassuring himself that Jerome really was smart and strong enough to look after himself. He only wished Jerome actually cared about him, at least a little, because it broke his heart every time his son cursed at him and belittled him. But Mark swore he would never raise his hand to a child or a woman, much less his son. He probably would have injured him if he had, given Mark's frame and strength. He tried to control his passions and try and understand Jerome's difficulties; his parents were never around when he most needed them, especially Mark, and he didn't blame him for hating him. But what could ah do? Mark thought. A man has ta' pay the bills, feed his family, keep himself healthy. Mark thought about his wide frame, remembering Alyssa's insults and her utter disgust with his appearance, then fell into a dark pit of guilt and self-loathing. She was only saying the truth, he thought. Maybe Jerome's ashamed of me. He must think ah'm hideous, that ah'm an ox, but ah cain't help it. Ah jus' don' have the time to keep mahself in good enough shape tah satisfy him or his momma, there just ain't enough time, an' ah'm getting' too old. Man can only do so much. But ah know ah ought ta' be able to control myself, ah'm an adult, a full grown man; but it's just so hard, so damned hard to control yo passions. Ah'm so sorry, Jerome.

Mark slumped back into his seat next to Kevin, who noticed his depressed demeanor. He patted him on his shoulder in an effort to comfort him.

"C'mon big guy," he said. "I'm sure the kid's doin' just fine. You just gotta have faith in him."

"Yes," Mark said. "Ah know that, an' ah do. But ah'm a parent dammit, ah should be protectin' mah son. But ah've failed as a father already, ah guess there ain't nothin' I can do fo him no more."

"C'mon ya' big lug," Alyssa said. "We'll be there soon anyhow, what could possibly go wrong until then?"

As if on cue, the van turned a corner and Dorian let out a curse as Harry sat up attentively in his chair. A dead end stood before them, a high brick wall that they had no hope of penetrating.

"Looks like our ride ends here," Dorian said. "Quickly, stock yourselves up with some firearms and let's keep moving. No telling how far behind us those things still are."

"I can't believe this shit," Alyssa said. "Can't you pigs do anything right!"

"Have some respect Alyssa!" Mark growled. "These men just saved yo life, how kin you talk to them that way?"

"I talk how I want grandpa," Alyssa said. "Don't try to tell ME what to do!"

"Alyssa," Kevin said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Calm down. I know you're irritated and tired, but bitching will only push yourself farther away from us. And you need us, just like we need you. To survive this hell on earth. Please understand, we want to live through this as much as you do and with everybody alive. You can trust us, Ally. Trust me at least."

Nobody had ever given Alyssa a nickname before. Kevin winked at her, and her first response was normally a sneer or roll of the eyes, but this time she simply let out a "humph" and said nothing more.

The group then abandoned the van and walked down a thin, dark alley, the sounds of screams, blazing fires and the ever consistent moaning and groaning of the walking cadavers bouncing around the tight walls that surrounded them on both sides.

"So Alyssa," Kevin said. "You're with the paper right?"

"That's right," she responded.

"Now tell me somethin'," he said, slinging his shotgun over his shoulder in a casual manner. "What is the deal with that lil' cartoon animal they put at the top corner of every issue? I mean the thing's called Raccoon Times, and they put some ugly lil' cartoon that doesn't even resemble a raccoon, or anything at all really, except maybe my grandpa's old toupee. I swear I saw that thing jump into a tree once from my grandpa's bedroom!"
Alyssa smirked slightly, although she tried to turn her head away from Kevin. Kevin noticed it but didn't say anything, he only smiled to himself.

"I hate that stupid cartoon," she said. "Our boss insists on putting it in there every issue. He thinks it's "cute," like a mascot or something, and it'll attract animal lovers. More like morons, the two aren't all that different as far as I'm concerned. It's a waste of space and royalties we hafta pay to the guy that draws it."

"What do you do at the paper?"

"I write."

"What are some of the stories you've done? Maybe I read one of em'."

"Stupid, pointless drivel about a bunch of bullshit that nobody even gives a damn about. My idiot boss has a grudge against me cuz I won't give him head like every goddamn fucking bimbo that sucks and fucks her way into that paper, so I never get any of the good stories. He gives me shit about some kids stealing from the high school or some new building opening or some stupid shit like that. Makes me sick. I'm a great writer, I should be doing REAL stories, not wasting my time on shit nobody cares about and will just skip over to read what's on the headlines."

"Your boss sounds like a real asshole to me," Kevin said. "Why do you put up with it? Is it cuz of your dad?"

Alyssa remained silent for awhile. "Maybe," she said. "Writing's the only thing I've been really good at, and I don't have the money to move from that asshole, and he won't let me quit anyway and he'll never fire me."

"That can't be the only thing you're good at," Kevin said. "Aside from being damn hot, you shoot that gun just as good, if not better, than I do. And that's saying a lot because frankly I rock!"

"Take it easy tiger," she said. "Don't go shooting your load off so early in the game. The night is young and there are lots more boogie men to blow up."

"Tiger huh?" Kevin said. "I like that! Almost as much as I like bein' called cowboy."

Alyssa reluctantly let half a smirk emerge across her face, which she tried to cover with her hand.

"Was that a smile just now?" Kevin said in a teasing tone. "I'll bet you strained half your jaw muscles just to form that thing! Did I actually strike a nerve somewhere, your funny bone maybe?"

"Oh please," Alyssa said, annoyed and turning red. "Get over yourself. I was thinking of a joke I heard awhile back."

"Yeah?" Kevin said. "Tell it to me."

"Why should I?" she said.

"Cuz I love a good joke, and I'd really love to hear one from you of all people. I'll bet you have a sense of humor, somewhere under than thick skin," he said, poking her in the arm playfully.

"I have to have a sense of humor to be around somebody like you all the damn time," she said, half smiling.

Kevin laughed. "Now that wasn't so hard was it? I knew you had it in you. You put on this macho Rambo girl image, but I'll bet you're just as big a softy as Cindy is on the inside."

"Ugh," Alyssa said in disgust. "Don't talk to me about that girl. She sickens me how cute and nice she acts. I swear her whole damsel in distress thing makes me wanna puke flowers and cotton candy."
"Hah," Kevin laughed. "I think Cindy's a real sweetheart. Easy on the eyes too."

"Of course, just like you men," Alyssa complained. "You want the typical, girly housewife that'll do what she's told and keep her trap shut until you're ready for your daily blow job and pancakes."

"I love pancakes!"

"You would."

"But to be honest, Cindy isn't really my type. She's a nice girl, but I like my women with spice. Like you. You got spice, and that's what turns me on about you. You aren't like all the girls I grew up dating. You don't take bullshit from anybody, and you curse like a sailor. Man, I wish we'd been in high school together, I'd have asked you out in a second! It woulda been fun to play hard-to-get with you. Heck we coulda shot rabbits together in the woods, I'll bet you woulda enjoyed that!"

Alyssa didn't know how to respond to Kevin's flattery and simply stared at the ground. Nobody, no man at least, had ever complimented her on who she was as a person. Most of the men she'd dated consisted of horny drunks more interested in her tits than her demeanor. She was starting to think maybe Kevin wasn't just any normal man.

"Kevin," she said. "I,"

"What is it?" he said, curious.

"I, kind of wish, I'd met you in high school too," she said. "I think, we could have been…friends."

Kevin found himself speechless, he found it hard to believe she was even listening to him to begin with.

"Well," Dorian said, looking around the corner. "This alley is a dead end too. Looks like we're trapped in this alley, I don't see any good reason to go back to the van."

Suddenly Alyssa lifted her head and looked at the rooftops above.

"Oh shit," she said.

"What? What's wrong?" Kevin said.

"This is the Raccoon Today building," she said. "I work here."

"Alyssa," Mark said. "Do you have a key? Somethin' we can use ta' get in the building?"

"No," Alyssa said. "But, there's a fire escape around the other side. If we can reach that, maybe we can get into the building, find a phone, or get to the rooftop or something."

"Lead the way, sugar lips!" Kevin said.

Alyssa smirked.

The group followed her to the back alley behind the building and found the fire escape, although the ladder was secured above their heads.

"We hafta get it down," Dorian said. "We'll need to vault someone up there."

"Alyssa is the lightest," Mark said. "One of us can help her reach it."

"No way you're putting your paws all over me Chubbs," Alyssa said.

"I'll give you a boost," Kevin said.

The two of them stood under the ladder and looked up.

"How are we going to do this?" she said.

"Simple," Kevin said. "Put your arms on my shoulders and one foot on my knee, and I'll vault you up there and you grab the ladder and pull it down."

"Fine," Alyssa said, blowing at her own hair as if agitated.

Alyssa put her hands on his shoulders as Kevin put one knee out and wrapped his hands around her waist.

"Watch it buster," she said. "If you try to cop a feel on me, I'll rip your nut sack off and hang them on my car like those fuckin' pine trees."

"Ha ha ha! COP a feel, I get it! Hoo, you're good Alyssa."

Alyssa didn't know whether she found Kevin's inability to feel insulted annoying or, in some strange way, comforting. Kevin lifted Alyssa into the air suddenly, to her surprise, and she was able to grab onto the ladder and pull it down. She fell sideways and Kevin caught her from the waist, keeping her from falling on her back. For a moment they looked at each other, but soon Alyssa pulled herself out of his grasp and wiped her suit as if she'd been dirtied just by his touch.

"Thanks," she said, almost painfully, to Kevin.

"Anytime princess," Kevin said with a laugh.

"Princess! Why you, you,"

"I knew you'd like that one! Hahaha!"

"Oh God," Dorian said, looking around the corner of the back alley. "They're coming, they're coming! Quick, get up the ladder! NOW!"

Harry rushed past all the others and climbed the ladder, followed by Mark, Kevin and Alyssa. Dorian fired his gun at the zombies, buying the others time, and ran towards the ladder and began to climb it. Kevin waved him on when suddenly the ladder began to creak, the screws that fastened it to the fire escape coming loose from the weight. The zombies began to tug on the other end as Dorian struggled to grasp onto the ladder until it finally gave way, sending Dorian crashing down with the ladder into the sea of undead that had flooded the alley. Thousands of arms embraced and pulled him into the waves of that dead sea and drowned him in his own blood, which purged from his mouth producing a sickening gargled scream that chilled the horrified onlookers. Kevin screamed and fired a few rounds into the crowd until Alyssa grabbed his arm to stop him.

"You're only wasting ammo," she said. "The guy is dead, there's nothing we can do for him, it'll serve us better now. Let's get moving cowboy!"

"Ah'm sorry Kevin," Mark said. "But she's right. We cain't do nothin' for 'im now."

"Dammit," Kevin said, pulling his shotgun back to his side.

"Try not to look down," Alyssa said, climbing the steel stairs of the fire escape. "Let's hurry. I know what floor we can get into easily."

Kevin looked down at the river of undead that flowed below him, unable to see Dorian's body anywhere, then sighed and followed the others up the fire escape. Kevin was getting used to the sight of his friends and co-workers being mauled, and he didn't like that sort of desensitizing at all.