Chapter 7: The Doctor is Out
"Sir, if you would just kindly come with us, we can wrap this whole thing up," Brad spoke in his most professional tone possible, only to be met with angry resistance.
"No, I'm not leaving until you can guarantee me safe passage through these..." the old man protested until he was again cut off by Brad.
"Just open the gate. It's for your own protection," Brad replied, his tone remaining concrete.
"I am not opening any gate, thank you very much! I'm going to stay right here where it's safe! Thank you and goodbye!" the odd old man shouted before walking away.
"Dr...Dr. Barnaby, sir! Dr. Barnaby?" Brad called out.
"Goodbye!" Dr. Barnaby said one last time before walking deeper into the store and out of sight.
Brad sighed heavily and returned his attention to his companions, both of whom waited patiently nearby.
"Well, what happened? You can't just arrest him?" Chuck asked taking his hands off his hips while Rebecca sat on a nearby bench.
"He turned down my offer to protect him! Said he isn't going anywhere until I can guarantee a secure route out of here. Jessie has a direct line to HQ. The first thing we need to do is call for backup," Brad said walking over to them only for Rebecca to suddenly stand up.
"Well, I'm not gonna sit around and wait for answers from some uncooperative old coot. The clock is ticking. One thing you learn with big scoops like this is that there's always a secondary source," she said checking to see how many bullets were left in her gun. "I saw a security substation over in Redfield Plaza. Maybe there is something there that can tell me," she said running off.
Brad raised a hand to protest, but was cut off by Chuck.
"I'll go with her," he said chasing after the woman. "Just get back and get in touch with HQ!"
Chuck rounded the corner towards the Al Fresca entrance just in time to see Rebecca engaging several of the zombies, one of whom had been pushing a dolly with a gas canister chained to it. He looked down to find a discarded handgun lying near an overturned metal trashcan and scooped it up to find there were still a few bullets left in the clip.
"Rebecca, look out!" he shouted taking aim at the canister.
The reporter took note of his intentions and ran away from the horde, just as the biker took aim and fired a round that struck the canister head on, resulting in a detonation that sent most of the zombies flying backwards, some splattering against the nearby wall.
"Thanks. Now come on!" Rebecca said making her way around the charred carcasses and managing to avoid the few stragglers to reach the doors.
It would be evening soon and it seemed as if the zombies were becoming more aggressive as dusk approached, their senses seeming to sharpen and their speed increasing as the reporter drew near, prompting Chuck to scoop up a nearby parasol.
"Get behind me," he ordered, the opened umbrella protecting most of the former champion's body as he charged full speed through the throng of zombies, leaving a trail of broken bodies in his wake. He continued until the wooden support beam finally cracked under the pressure and he discarded the bloodied sunshade as they reached the fountain.
"Quick, climb in," he ordered.
"Are you serious?" Rebecca asked.
"It'll leave a barrier between us and them," he said pulling out his spiked bat, only to stop himself when he noticed another 'gift' lying in the center.
"Score!" he triumphantly called out eagerly scooping up the newly-acquired submachine gun, yet deciding he would conserve the ammo for an emergency. Rebecca was next to him firing away at the approaching monsters, her shots drawing in more of those freaks. He honestly doubted she would listen if he told her to stop so he ran up and swung away at the encroaching rotting bags of bones, knocking several backwards at a time with each swing, "Quick! Run!"
The assertive reporter surprisingly did as she was told, pulling herself out of the fountain and rushing towards the food court entrance with the ex-motocross champ in tow, a few more zombies falling with their skulls split open before his bat finally broke in half.
"God dammit," he grunted pulling himself through one of the doors. "Oh well, I'll have to get me another one of those. It served me well."
There were more zombies loitering about in the food court, yet they were mercifully far enough away for Chuck and Rebecca to pass through unmolested. Wonderland Plaza was a different story.
"Back to where all this shit started," Chuck thought swallowing hard.
Most of the floor was still littered with the chewed up corpses from the massacre earlier in the day, all of them in various states of cannibalization, some of whom were still being feasted upon. Most of the victims had reanimated, a sight which made the former racer's stomach do a triple somersault and he ran over to the nearest trashcan to empty his lunch.
"Chuck, are you alright?" Rebecca asked running up behind him, watching his back with her gun trained on any zombies.
He was unable to reply for several seconds until he was positive he was done and let out one last bitter gag.
"No," he replied darkly.
He looked at the zombies stumbling about before him, all people who had been there earlier to witness the very show Katey had talked him into. They were once people with jobs, families, hopes, dreams, emotions...now they were just empty shells driven by pure instinct.
"What if I end up becoming like them?" the voice inside his head asked.
"No," he whispered shaking his head violently to get those thoughts out of his head, "I won't become like them."
"Chuck? Are you alright?" Rebecca asked looking over her shoulder towards him.
"Never better." It was pure bullshit at its finest but he would say so if it got her off his case. He was cut off by the beeping of his transceiver.
"Hello?" he spoke into it.
"Chuck, you're in Wonderland Plaza. The most popular attraction there is the 'Space Rider' roller coaster. Be careful around that, okay? It's not a toy!" Otis sternly lectured him.
"Gee thanks Grandpa," he sarcastically thought to himself before speaking, "Alright, thanks for that tidbit. "He called me for that? That little tidbit of all things? Next time it had better be damn important when he's gotta call me like that."
"Ready to go?" Rebecca asked.
"Right," Chuck said picking up a metal trashcan and chucking it at a nearby zombie, a bag of potato chips hidden behind it that he would scoop up If necessary. The loud metallic clatter of the garbage can had drawn the attention of a few nearby zombies and he drew his tomahawk, "Alright, let's go!"
Rebecca took point managing to drop three zombies with carefully placed shots to their rotting craniums while Chuck hacked the arm off of an undead construction worker before burying his blade in the man's neck. He then encountered a zombified police officer who still clutched a gun in his hand, bringing the blade down onto the crown of his skull before pulling the man's nightstick off his person, discarding the tomahawk when it had proven relatively weak.
"Police brutality, coming right up!" Chuck said swinging his newly-acquired nightstick into the face of another zombie before rushing over to club the head in of a monster sneaking up on Rebecca.
"Thanks, I owe you one!" she shouted back as they passed the large inflatable pink rabbit and rushed towards the flight of stairs that would take them to the aforementioned Redfield Plaza.
"Almost there," Rebecca called out just before firing a point blank shot into the face of a backpack-wearing woman.
Chuck was lagging quite a ways behind as he struggled to make his way around the Beautification kiosk, scooping up a large potted plant nearby and tossing it into the face of a particularly obese zombie before shoulder butting him to the ground and running over to met the reporter.
"Done having your fun yet?" she asked narrowing her dark eyes at him.
"Sure," he sarcastically replied as they climbed the stairs to their next destination.
As soon as they entered the Redfield Plaza, Chuck's transceiver began beeping again.
"What now?" he grunted pulling it out of his pocket and speaking, "What's up Otis?"
"Okay, you are now entering the Redfield Plaza. It's our largest plaza here. There's a gun shop if you're looking to stock up and a pharmacy if you need medical supplies. You might wanna check them out," the janitor spoke.
"Something actually useful for once," Chuck thought to himself before speaking, "Alright, thanks."
"He must really like talking to you," Rebecca spoke.
"You don't know the half of it," Chuck replied as he happened across a cardboard cutout that stood out to him, one of current motocross champion Leon Bell, advertising a meet and greet session over at Auto-Worx that was now likely canceled thanks to the zombie outbreak.
Indeed Redfield Plaza had been the largest plaza he had visited thus far, standing three stories tall and octagonal in shape with what looked to be some miniature botanical garden as its centerpiece complete with palm trees, miniature waterfall and more flamingo statues than he would have liked. Aside from the faux tropical oasis, the plaza was the typical assortment of clothing boutiques, bookstores, and restaurants in addition to the aforementioned gun store and pharmacy, plus a video arcade that made the teenager inside of him take notice.
"Alright, it's over there!" Rebecca called pointing in the westward direction towards a red door nestled between the Wave of Style beauty salon and Cindy's Dry Cleaning.
"Ladies first," Chuck said pulling one of the plastic flamingos out of the grass and driving it into the eye socket of an armless woman, ending her suffering once and for all as the duo made their way across a narrow walkway towards the office.
"See if it's unlocked," she instructed.
Chuck nodded and reached for the doorknob, giving it a few tugs to no ado.
"Here...let me try," the reporter spoke nonchalantly.
"Don't bother – it's locked," the former champ spoke.
Rebecca reached into her pocket and pulled out a lock pick, working with practiced precision even as the moans of zombies called out from the distance.
"You've got some interesting...skills, for a reporter," Chuck remarked as the view gave him a glimpse of her perfectly rounded buttocks.
"No one ever got an award by playing by the rules, Chuck," she replied, the door clicking open a second later and her stepping aside to let him enter first.
The duo entered the security substation to find it ransacked.
Computer consoles had been smashed, most of the monitors were shot out and those still active displayed only static, and worse, three guards lay motionless on the floor before them, all of their bodies riddled with bullets.
"What the hell?" Chuck asked taking in the massacre before him
"Wow, looks like somebody doesn't want us finding something out." Rebecca asked walking further into the room.
Chuck walked over to a nearby desk and picked up the splintered remnants of a computer's motherboard. "Dammit! There's nothing here that we can use."
"But who could it be?" Rebecca asked switching her camera on and hovering over the dead men, a sight that unnerved Chuck, making him think of that psychotic photojournalist from Paradise Plaza.
The former motocross racer knelt down and scooped up a handful of spent bullet casings, "I think I might have an idea. These look like the same rounds that creep from the food court was using."
Rebecca suddenly snapped her fingers, "I remember Dr. Barnaby saying something about someone sending for him. Do you think those two could be related somehow?"
"I don't know and I honestly don't think either one of them is gonna be willing to sit down and offer you an exclusive interview," Chuck bitterly spat letting the metal casings fall to the floor. "We might as well get back to Jessie and Brad. Everything's been destroyed. We don't a reason to hang around here any longer."
"Are you always so quick to jump to conclusions?" Rebecca asked cocking an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?" he demanded.
The reporter reached beneath one of the bodies and pulled out a memory card.
"Maybe this could be what our shooter was looking for. It might be able to tell us something about this mess," Rebecca said pocketing the card.
"We need to get that back to Jessie right away. Maybe there's something she can do about it," Chuck said making his way for the exit.
Chuck's transceiver started beeping again and he picked it up, "What's up Otis?"
"Hey Chuck, you're still over in the Redfield Plaza, right? There's a couple fellas holed up in the Wild West Grill House. You might wanna give 'em a hand when you get the chance," the janitor spoke.
Chuck looked over to Rebecca, who was now reclining on one of the consoles reviewing her gathered footage, "Go ahead and play your hero game. I'm a grown woman and I can handle myself. I'll meet you back at the security office."
He was tempted to say something back, but knew of her fierce independent streak and shrugged his shoulders before reentering the plaza.
There was a store directory nearby and the aforementioned restaurant was on the third floor. He was hopeful there would be time to make it up there and help the people up there as he looked over and saw the High-Noon Shooting Range located next to the Auto-Worx Otis had told him about earlier. If he was going to help anybody he would need to be stocked up.
Pulling out his knife gloves the ex-motocross champ ran towards the shop, stopping to cut down a few ghouls that had stepped into his path in typical gory fashion before he was pulling himself through the front entrance.
As he expected, most of the store's inventory had been cleared out by desperate survivors but he did manage to find a shotgun and scrounge up a whole shit ton of shells for it, as well as some much needed bullets for his sidearm. In addition to the weapons he also found both a S.W.A.T. outfit and helmet, changing into the tactical gear in hopes it would offer greater protection against the zombies and enable him to carry more ammo.
"Showtime" Chuck said exiting the gun store, only to be halted when he could hear strange noises coming from the nearby Beach Body Swim House swimwear shop. "What the hell?"
He dodged his way past more zombies and made his way into an empty store, hearing the noises coming from the back, which sounded like muffled cries combined with someone pounding on a glass surface. There was no way to tell if one of those freaks had somehow made their way into here, but he needed to be certain and crept along with the shotgun raised.
The narrow hallway at the back led him to a small space filled with tanning booths, one of which was still shut with the lights on, the source of the sounds.
Chuck ran over and opened the booth and no sooner than he did, a bikini-clad woman came tumbling out, every inch of her exposed skin badly sunburned from overexposure to the tanning lamps.
"Lady, are you alright?" he asked kneeling down beside the woman, not wanting to touch her and further aggravate her massive burn.
"Please, please help me," she pleaded looking up to him, "I was stuck in that tanning bed. The staff ran away or something...oh god, I'm so parched. I can barely move," she whimpered.
"I'll say. You're baked," Chuck said looking her over, "Literally."
"This can't be good for my tan lines," she muttered, annoying the former champ who thought she should be more thankful she's even alive period. "What's going on out there?" she asked hearing the noises.
Chuck looked at the woman hard before returning his attention towards the front of the store, "You're not going to believe me if I tell you, but there's been a zombie outbreak."
Her dark eyes widened in horror and she opened her mouth to reply, only to be cut off by Chuck. "Listen, I can take you somewhere safe. You just have to trust me."
"Oh, I'm so thirsty. I can barely move. Please, do you have anything to drink?" she asked.
Chuck was about to shake his head, when he suddenly snapped his fingers, remembering some water bottles on the front counter. "Hold on one second. Just stay here and don't make too much noise."
The racer made his way back to the front of the store to find one of the zombies had made its way inside. Finding an ornamental tiki torch nearby he scooped it up and impaled the rotting man through the skull, hoping none of his buddies would be quick to follow. Finding a water bottle on the counter he grabbed it and ran back to the sunburned woman.
"Oh, thank you so much! I was feeling like a raisin there for a moment," she said eagerly accepting the bottle and guzzling down the contents.
"Alright, well I'm gonna get you out of here, but first there are some other people I have to help out. My name is Chuck by the way," he said lifting the woman into his arms and taking her out of the swimwear store.
"I'm Linette," she replied looking around and wincing when she saw all of the zombies staggering about, "and I thought the bad service was the most of my worries,"
"Looks like you were wrong," Chuck said dodging another horde and making his way over to the escalator that took him to the second floor and immediately to the other that would take him to the third floor.
It wasn't long before the duo was coming to the Wild West Grill House, which almost looked like an Old Western-style saloon from the outside. He could hear the feral snarls of zombies from within, followed by a volley of gunshots.
"Get the fuck away you rotting fucking freaks!" he heard a man's voice calling out.
"Be quiet," Chuck whispered to the woman, who only squeezed him tighter upon hearing the small explosions from within.
The restaurant's carpeted floor was littered with zombie corpses, most of whom had fallen thanks to either gunshots or having their skulls bashed in. There were still more undead moans and shots coming from the back. It gave Chuck a bad feeling and he let go of Linette and sat her down in one of the gaudy cow-patterned booths.
"Wait here. I'll be back for you," he said pulling out his shotgun and creeping towards the back where the full bar was located.
Taking cover behind a wooden partition he was drawing closer to the scene of battle, jumping backwards as a zombie fell before him with its face obliterated.
"Don't just stand there! I'm getting low on ammo. Help me kill these things god dammit!" the same man shouted.
"But there's too many of them!" a panicked voice shouted back.
Chuck peeked his head around the corner to see two men barricaded behind the bar, one a pudgy man in a Denver Gold basketball jersey armed with a baseball bat and the other a heavily-tattooed fellow wearing a dark tanktop advertising the British Gothic rock group Angel Lust, the one carrying the pistol. There was a mass of corpses blanketing the floor in front of them, the last zombie falling compliments of a round between the eyes.
"Is that all of them?" the pudgy man whimpered.
"No, we've got one more!" the pistol-toting man shouted taking notice of Chuck and firing a round his way, forcing the former champ back into hiding.
"Don't shoot! I'm not one of them!" Chuck shouted.
"Well if you're not one of those brain eating zombies, you're one of those hooded bastards looking to take us for everything we got!" the gunman called back. "Why don't you come on out and we can end this!"
"I'm not here to rob you. I know of a safe place and I can take you there," Chuck shouted.
"Yeah right, and how do we know you're not gonna stab us in the back when we get to this 'safe place' of yours, pal?" the shooter retorted.
"Look, I'm dropping my guns now. I'm gonna step out into the open and we're going to chat man to man," Chuck replied. It was a risky move, but he needed to show these men he wasn't a hostile and he tossed his shotgun, submachine gun and handgun to the floor in plain view. "I'm stepping out now. Don't shoot!"
Placing his hands above his head the former motocross champ walked into the open and came to a halt, making sure he was near the partition in case he needed to dive for cover.
"Alright, here I am. My name is Chuck Greene and I'm here to take you guys to safety," he repeated.
"Holy shit! Wade, that's Chuck Greene, the motocross champ!" the pudgy man blurted out.
In spite of the tense standoff the former champ couldn't help but chuckle, "Glad to see one of my fans is still alive. Listen to me, I'm here to help. There is a security office in the Paradise Plaza I can take you to if you're willing to cooperate."
The gunman called Wade still regarded him with great suspicion, whereas his friend lowered his bat and stared eagerly towards him, "C'mon Wade, he seems legit. We should follow him. It's better than being constantly on the run."
Wade kept his eyes locked on Chuck before he took a deep breath, "Alright, we'll follow you. You try anything funny, don't think for one second I won't do to you what I did to those zombies."
"You have my word," Chuck replied and he waited for both men to step out from behind the bar before reaching down to reclaim his guns.
"Um, Mr. Greene, when we get some free time do you think maybe I could get an autograph? Make it out to Skylar," the pudgy man spoke.
"I'll definitely hold you to that," Chuck smiled leading the men back into the restaurant where Linette still waited for them. "Alright, let's get moving," he said scooping the bikini-clad woman into his arms.
The quartet made their way back into the open, Wade gunning down any zombies who shambled into his sights and Skylar striking down a few that had gotten close to him, albeit with great hesitation. They had descended the escalator to the second floor and were about to make their way down to the first when another man's voice suddenly called out.
"Somebody there! Help! Help please!"
"That came from over there," Wade said pointing over to the In the Closet skater-themed men's clothing store.
Chuck nodded and motioned for his companions to follow after him. He made his way behind the counter and set Linette down before turning to the two armed men, "You two, stand guard!"
Vaulting over the counter he made his way to the back storage room and ran in to find an overweight bespectacled man in a dark red striped shirt and green baseball cap trapped behind a large stack of cardboard boxes.
"Hold on just a second, sir," Chuck said and with a mighty heave proceeded to clear out the stack of heavy boxes, liberating the portly man.
"Whoo! Whatta relief to finally get out! I owe you one! I was just trying to get the place arranged when the whole pile came down on me. I've been trapped in here all day. The mall's open today right? It's not a holiday. I wonder why no one passed by until now..." he said looking around, the employee's name tag identifying him as 'Bill.'
"You were stuck in here all day? You haven't had contact with anyone?" Chuck asked listening intently for any sounds from outside.
"Yeah, unbelievable isn't it?" Bill replied, "I've lost a lot of weight, but it was no picnic. Well, I guess I'll just head home then. I mean the company owes me one right? They won't care if I knock it off a bit early. Thanks a lot man! See you around!"
Before Chuck could raise a hand in protest the big man was running out of the closet and letting out a blood-curdling shriek a second later.
"What the hell's going on out there?!" he shouted upon sighting the zombies for the very first time, who were drawn in by the fresh meat.
"Wow, you have been hiding under a rock," Wade commented raising his gun to put down another undead pest.
"I'm afraid we've got a zombie problem," Chuck replied pulling out his shotgun and blasting the head off another approaching monster.
"So much for goin' home," Bill sighed.
"Come back to the security room with us. It is a good place to relax for a while," Chuck replied blasting another zombie in half before reaching down to pick up Linette.
"Whatever you say, kind sir," Bill replied.
"Thank me later," Chuck spoke leading the quartet back into the plaza and making his way for the nearest exit.
XXXXX
The cheery electronic 'ding' filled the air and with it the quintet emerged from the elevator, all of them stopping to catch their breath following an arduous journey back to the Paradise Plaza plagued by several close calls.
"Damn, this is all just too damn unreal," Wade said slinking against a nearby wall and letting his nearly emptied gun clatter from his hand.
"I can't believe this. How could there be such a thing as zombies?" Bill gasped, getting more exercise than he had anticipated on the run back.
"We'll have to worry about that later. For now just c'mon," Chuck said scooping Linette back up and leading them over to the vent.
Following yet another cramped commute the survivors emerged and were overjoyed to find other human beings still alive.
"You're so sweet," Linette said throwing her arms around Chuck before stepping back a second later, "I don't suppose you have any aloe?"
"I'm afraid not, ma'am. Just worry about staying alive for now," Chuck said reaching over and grabbing a pen and piece of paper, giving Skylar Ali his promised autograph.
"Thanks a million, dude! I can't believe I got to meet THE Chuck Greene!" Skylar said pumping his fist triumphantly in the air.
"It was my pleasure," Chuck said before making his way into the office, where Brad, Jessie and Rebecca had all congregated.
"Hmmm. So that's what Dr. Barnaby said, huh?" Jessie asked leaning back in her swivel chair.
"The old coot's not dumb. He wants us to call for help first. We got a line out, or what?" Brad asked uncrossing his arms and walking up behind his partner.
Jessie turned to check her laptop, typing in a few commands before grunting in frustration.
"Ugh! The signal's being blocked...I can't even contact HQ on the emergency line," she sighed rubbing her aching temples.
"I'm not getting any reception either," Rebecca said checking her cell phone, "No way I can get in touch with my station. There goes my option. They'd come get me – hell, they'd come get everyone," she said looking over to Chuck, remembering what he had said earlier in the day, but wondering if he was still blowing smoke or not.
"So, if we want to get our hands on Dr. Barnaby, we're gonna have to secure a way out of here ourselves," Brad said scratching the back of his neck, "Alright, we've gotta deal with the situation we've been handed. The boneheads back at HQ might be workin' on something too," he said walking towards the door.
"There's a helicopter comin'. Three days from now...at noon. It's my ride," Chuck spoke up, inviting suspicious stares from Brad and Jessie, while Rebecca still seemed to regard him with skepticism.
"Is your ride reliable?" Brad asked.
"Absolutely. That's how I plan on getting outta here," Chuck spoke as Rebecca crossed her arms.
"Like some middle of nowhere charter pilot is going to be that dependable, especially if he's making you wait for three freaking days," the reporter said rolling her eyes.
"Hey, Ed's a good guy! We watch each others' backs. I know he'll pull through for me," Chuck shot back.
Brad ignored the spat and stayed focused on Chuck, "Alright then. I'll see to it that the D.H.S. picks up the charter fee. Can we take Dr. Barnaby as well?"
"Sure...as long as you tell us what's going on," he said looking over to Rebecca.
"Okay. I'll tell you what you want to know...later. We have more pressing business right now. If we have to wait here for 3 days, we'll need supplies. Uh, water, blankets and the like. We'll get Dr. Barnaby here tomorrow morning," Brad spoke before looking to Jessie and pointing, "I want you to keep an eye on the monitors."
Brad then turned his attention to Chuck, "You've been doing pretty good thus far. See what you can round up for us."
"You got it," Chuck nodded just as Rebecca cleared her throat.
Brad then turned his attention to her and narrowed his eyes, "And I want you to stay out of trouble. I don't want no civilian going around losing her head over some story."
"Whatever," Rebecca spat taking out her camera and reviewing her gathered footage.
"There's one thing I need to do quick," Chuck said to Brad before making his way through the nearby door.
Chuck stepped into a hallway with entrances leading to five different colored doors (green, blue, purple, yellow and red respectively), a unisex restroom and a stairwell leading to the heliport. He could hear the survivors chatting amongst themselves in the rooms, all seeming to do whatever they could to hold their heads through this ordeal. Eventually he turned a corner to find a green couch where Katey was sitting, again playing her Joy Boy 2000. The young girl looked up to see her father approaching and immediately stopped everything she was doing to run over and give him a big hug.
"Hi sweetie, how are you doing?" he asked holding his daughter tightly, never wanting to let her go.
"Doing great Daddy. I know you've told me not to take candy from strangers, but Mrs. Meyer really wanted me to have it," the 8 year old said reaching into her pocket and pulling out a few gumballs. "She is very nice and so is Mr. Meyer."
Chuck smiled as he sat down on the couch next to her, "I'm glad to hear you are doing alright. I know this has been a difficult time, but please know that I am doing everything I can for your own safety."
"I don't like you going out there and being around all those bad people, but I know you're doing it for all of us. I have the best daddy in the world," Katey replied, her blue eyes beaming brightly.
The words warmed his heart and for a few seconds, the troubles all around him melted away. It relieved him he was still capable of feeling such emotion after being surrounded by so much death and destruction within the span of the past few hours. There was still beauty left in the world and he was holding it in his arms.
"You're right and Daddy is going to make sure you and everybody else makes it out of this alive," Chuck said pulling away.
"Pinky promise?" she asked extending her pinky finger to him.
"Pinky promise," he replied returning the gesture.
XXXXX
Author's Note: I'm proud of myself here because I finally got to write a LONGER chapter for once.
The Redfield Plaza is an original touch inspired by that amusement park added in "Off the Record." Yes, it is named after Chris Redfield from the "Resident Evil" series. Most of the shops are inspired by locations from DR2. The In the Closet here is inspired by the store's design from DR2, which I included as a means of modifying the rescue sequence with Bill Brenton.
For survivors rescued in this chapter:
Linette Watkins, 24
Skylar Ali, 26
Wade Coopwood, 32
Bill Brenton, 39
Well I think that's everything so until then read and review! This is Metal Harbinger saying SPREAD THE SICKNESS, ONE MIND AT A TIME! \m/