Chapter 1 - Broken Beginnings:

The harsh reality of the journey loomed over Burkley and his companions. He knew that it would be dangerous and that there was no way that all of them would be coming back in the same way that they had left. But, he knew the cost and had described it to the others many times on which they had agreed that they would follow him, do what he says, and not turn back. This made Burkley laugh. Loyalty was so…expendable was what he used to say. He stroked the stubble that covered his face. Hygiene wasn't as much a necessity as it used to be but still, he took pride in his appearance. He wore slim black glasses that were slightly askew because of the dangerous experiments. He was balding, but the remaining white hair that he had he combed over and was keen to make the most of it -whilst he still had it. Although, his main feature was the long white lab coat bearing the initials U.C. He missed working for Umbrella but he couldn't deny that what they had done had changed his mind- after all, destroying all of humanity did outweigh the bonuses and wage slips. He was currently in a Russian medical centre, preparing for the trip back to Raccoon City, or at least what remained of it. He locked his suitcase and pressed the code on the door, causing it to unlock so that he could proceed to the higher levels where the helicopter was waiting for him.

On the way he bumped into Mary who too was in a frantic rush to gather all of her remaining belongings. She always seemed isolated and alone, never really engaged with everyone else. Although, Burkley identified with her look of confusion and told her to sit down for a while as the helicopter was an hour delayed so wouldn't arrive in European territory for another hour or two. She smiled and stroked her long flowing brown hair behind her ears and moved on. Burkley had always liked Mary, even before they had met. She was a lecturer in Raccoon City, a leader in biochemistry and he had followed her work all along. He turned back and stole a glance of her before they turned corners. Burkley may seem old but looks were always deceiving. He had once been apart of Umbrella's special forces and so knew how to take care of himself. He only became a scientist when he discovered the Ratchet Complex, a part of the DNA that provided immunity to the T-Virus and other mutational diseases. He had worked with great minds that now were just a part of the zombie hordes that scattered the countries. It was his new theory though that would make him a giant of the science world. He believed that there was more to the hive than previously predicted and so was setting off to Raccoon City to check if his theories were right.

"Automated Lockdown initiated in sectors B to C. Primary force waves indicated. Defence mechanisms down. Alert! Alert!" The computer system had been disturbed and this meant that an external force had entered the building. Burkley couldn't leave until the problem had been resolved as the outside doors had been locked. He pulled a pistol from his belt and held it at eye level as he turned the corner. He was in sector D so had to travel up one flight of stairs until interrupting the intruders. He hoped that they were survivors from the outside and not a ravaging flock of undead. He could hear the deep moaning coming from upstairs and decided that it would be best to alert the other members by surround-sound telecom. He pulled out his radio that was connected to all the floors rather than other radios. "Warning, central floors are in lockdown and I think that it's the zombies again. Lindst follow around and Kris head for the outside through block A." Lindst was an ex-soldier and was the most equipped out of the whole group. This was the second time in a week that they had been invaded though, and their ammunition supplies were running low. However, their ammo wasn't the usual bullets, but a designed antiserum that could kill the zombie and the virus, but they only had minimal bullets left.

The flickering lights and locked doors should have distracted them Burkley thought- or rather he hoped. The radio transmission came through from Lindst, "Rearing entrance three terminal, are you stationed?" Burkley replied, "yes" and the doors in front of him opened. Burkley could see that there wasn't as many as last time and ran straight in, shooting at their heads. He could hear Lindst's shotgun firing and was pleased that he wasn't alone. The zombies fell slowly in an explosion of bullets firing and heads rolling. Their bodies dissolved as the serum took over the bodies. Burley could see Lindst as they approached each other. There seemed to be an endless amount of zombies as even more approached from behind, from the entrances where Lindst and Burkley had come in. They knew that they were running out of ammo. But suddenly, the alarm sounded and the sprinkler system kicked in. There was no fire but Burkley knew what was going on. Slowly, more zombies fell to the floor until all that was left was a stream of dead tissue matter across the floor. Burkley picked up his radio again. "Thank you Kris, but I said I wanted you to go to the exits…"

There was a space of silence and then she replied, "Well I thought that if I connected the antidote to the water system, we could kill them faster and get going." Burkley laughed. He admired her innocence and honesty. Lindst though looked more shocked. He may have been tough but he wasn't very bright. He was looking forward to ripping them apart, not killing them in one go. He turned away and walked off. Burkley never liked Lindst that much. He may have been useful but he wasn't social. Burkley headed off to the helicopter docking station as Lindst returned with Mary and Kris. The squad were altogether, but Burkley thought about for how long. After all, disaster seemed to follow him…