Disclaimer: I do not own any of the settings/characters in the below peice of fiction- they all belong to Capcom.

Warning: Swearing

Authors Note: Woah, thanks for all of the positive reviews you guys! People like you are what keep me going- I totally appreciate it! Also, thanks to all of you who watched the story too, you're loved as well! Anyways, this chapter is one of the shorter chapters I've written, it's only 4 pages. But fear not, most of the chapters I have done are close to 8-9 pages- so this chapter does not dictate how all long all the other chapters will be, it's actually the odd one out! You're also wondering when STARS stuff will show up... soon my dears, soon.

Also, shout out to MissPumpkinHead- my wonderful beta! Thanks for putting up with me!

Chapter 2

Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively. ~Voltair~

"-so I tell her that if she tries to hit one of us, she's gonna get arrested, right? And she keeps going on and on about how she 'aint afraid of us cops and how we can't possible think about arrestin' a woman- and you gotta remember that she's in her late seventies and half way out of her window apartment with a spatula.

"Anyways, me and my partner at the time finally managed to coax her back into the room when her cat sauntered in and we say 'Hey, if you don't get back inside this minute we're taking your cat in and lockin' her up!'- boy, did that ever make her come back inside… I tell yah, people here are nuts."

Receiving a slap on the back from his new partner, Chris jumped slightly as he finally came back to reality after having completely zoned out. His partner Mike has been going on endlessly about his past cases as the two walked down one of the main downtown streets of Raccoon City- clocking in their regulated patrol time. It was Chris' first week on the job after a few months of training (and living in Raccoon City). Compared to the military, the physical side of things was practically a laugh, but unfortunately the legal side was a little more complicated.

Staying up until the wee hours of the morning for weeks, Chris had gone over different codes, laws, and regulations again and again until his final exam came. He was pretty sure he had singlehandedly supported an entire coffee company for those few intense weeks. But all of the studying had paid off when he passed the exam and began his on-the-job training.

But with on-the-job training came Chris' full introduction to the city he had only really lived in for a few months (most of which had been spent in his small apartment going over notes). Raccoon City was smaller than where he had grown up, but was still no small town with a population of just over 100,000. When he had first arrived Barry had come to meet him, giving Chris some sort of connection to a town he couldn't call home. Barry had changed a lot according to his Uncle Sam- but for the better. With a loving wife and two kids, Barry seemed more than willing to take on Chris as a sort of adopted younger brother in order to show him around the city and help him get settled.

Chris was thankful to Barry- mostly because he needed someone to support him (even though he wouldn't admit it) after a rough couple months in between the Air Force and joining the RPD. It took him a week after the first day at his Aunt and Uncles to finally admit to Claire that he was discharged, and although she wouldn't admit it, Chris could clearly see the disappointment in her eyes. But once he explained his plan to move to Raccoon and join the Police Claire was fully on board with the idea- giving Chris an even stronger push to go ahead and just do it. Despite the support though, Chris still felt like he had failed his family, and that feeling continued to linger…

And so here he was, wandering the streets of a city he barley knew, with a new partner who talked more than his ex-girlfriend (and that was saying something), and a heavy as hell police belt that was surely going to give him that typical 'cop walk' in no time.

"- but of course we couldn't arrest the damn donkey, so we ended up just ticketing the owner," Mike said, finishing yet another story that Chris had once again blocked out until the very end.

"Your stories always seem to end with animals of some kind," Chris replied as they turned a corner and ended up on Euston Street.

"Well you know if you think about it- we are animals too, right? So of course all my stories are gonna involve animals," Mike replied, a pleased grin taking over. Chris rolled his eyes but smiled.

"You really think we're animals too?" he asked, looking at the window of a closed clothing store- what was with this new animal print phase in fashion anyways?

"Well I guess it depends on what side you're comin' from, right? I mean, I don't believe in God or nothin' so I figure we're animals- just like everythin' else. You might though, but I'm not supposed to ask such personal questions." Mike shrugged and began swinging the police cruisers car keys around his finger casually.

"I don't mind, I don't really believe either… well, I think that there is a God- but I don't know what kind…" Chris said, although a little distracted due to their turn on to Central Street, one of the main streets in the city. It was busier than the other areas they had been in, and Chris found himself distracted by late night passerbys shuffling off to go get drunk after a long week of work. He watched as a young woman collapsed onto her boyfriend, giggling as he tried to catch her- both of them incredibly inebriated. Looking away from the scene, Chris kicked a flyer for a social event being hosted by Umbrella for some shoe company and sighed softly.

"You jealous?" Mike asked, watching Chris out of the corner of his eye.

"Huh? What?" Chris looked away from the sidewalk and turned to look at his partner.

"Of the couple- you were watchin' both of them. I figured you were jealous of that kinda intimacy."

"Oh, no… no I was just making sure one of them wasn't going to fall," Chris said, not completely telling the truth. He actually missed having a partner- the army didn't really allow for relationships on a physical level to develop, and it had been a while since he had had a relationship with anyone.

"Oh hey, did I tell you about this young lesbian couple who decided to try an' egg one of our police cruisers while we were still in the car?!" Mike asked, oblivious to the fact that Chris had once again become lost in thought. "Hot damn that was funny, especially when thy tried to get their way out of it by sayin' they weren't gonna throw the eggs but instead they had just come back from the grocery store and the egg container broke so they had to carry 'em! I mean really, who would believe somethin' like that?" Mike threw his head back and began to laugh; causing a few civilians to look over at what exactly had caused such a commotion.

Shaking his head and tugging his police cap down further, Chris let out a soft laugh- at least his partner had a sense of humour.

"So, how you likin' Raccoon City?" Mike asked after he had calmed down enough. The two of them had stopped at the corner of the street and were standing there, surveying the street with that 'cop' attitude. Chris realized that half of the battle with being a cop was having the proper attitude; intimidating but still approachable was the desired look (half the time Chris figured he just looked confused- he would have to work on it).

"It's okay… nice, but still a little confusing. I know how to get to my apartment and to the Police Station and that's about it."

"You sayin' you haven't been out to one of the classy pubs around here?" Mike asked, his thick southern accent resonating around the street corner.

"Haven't had the time… you know how things are, just started work, trying to pay the bills… plus I don't really know anyone here but Barry Burton."

"How old are you?" Mike asked, an eyebrow raised as he put his hands on his hips.

"Just turned twenty-four…" Chris replied, slightly embarrassed.

"Damn, you're still young, boy! You shouldn't be spenin' all your time at home! I say we go get a drink together when we're not workin', how does that sound?"

"Good to me, I could use a little break-" Chris began before being interrupted by an older man who had stumbled down the street; his white hair messy, glasses broken, and wearing clothes that looked like they hadn't been washed in quiet a while.

"Hey, sir!" Mike yelled, going to follow the dishevelled man who was yelling at the top of his lungs while desperately grabbing on to people's arms to stop them before they shoved him away.

"YOU CAN'T BELIEVE THEM- THEY'RE GOING TO HURT US ALL!"

"Hey now, sir- you can't just be grabbing people like that," Mike said, taking the attention of the homeless man.

"They need to know- if I don't get the word out then no one will survive!" Grabbing on to Chris' arm, the older man shook him as if to drive home the seriousness of the situation. Gently prying the man's hands off of his arm, Chris placed his hand comfortingly on the man's shoulder, preventing him from leaving to disrupt anyone else's evening.

"Who's going to hurt us?" Chris asked calmly as Mike's hand strayed to his handcuffs.

"Umbrella- can't you see?! They're all around us, they have their eyes and ears all over- their limits know no bounds as their spider-like fingers will trap us and take us away," The man cried desperately, eyes wide with fright as tears stained his dirty cheeks. "They hunt us down…THEY'LL HURT US ALL."

Chris looked at Mike for assistance as the older man had grabbed on to his shirt, boney fingers surprisingly strong.

"Just another crazy homeless man-" Mike mumbled, taking his handcuffs and gently cuffing the man in the front. The homeless man looked confused and began to struggle-which soon turned into pitiful wailing.

"Let's take him in for the night- he can spend the evening in one of our holding cells, it'll keep him warm for the night and he can get some food in him," Mike said over the wailing before speaking directly to the man who refused to calm down and yet followed them with little resistance.

Chris walked on the other side of the individual towards the police cruiser that had been parked a block away- shaken from the experience.

"Don't worry about it," Mike began as the homeless man had quieted down and was simply muttering as his tears continued to fall. "You get these kinda guys all over the place- they have all these conspiracy theories against Umbrella, but it doesn't make a lick of sense. So don't listen to them, alright?"

Chris nodded and made his way back to the car, taking into consideration what Mike had just said. It didn't make much sense though, he thought. Why would Umbrella destroy its own city and people?

When they reached the car, Chris opened the back and helped Mike to get the man sitting comfortably before the door was closed and the two got into the front. Starting the car, Mike drove them back to the station- silence reigning supreme except for the man in the back, speaking the truth that no one would listen to.

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