Rain could have easily lived without the people from the church she decided, trailing behind them as the now group of five made their way through the cemetery. The female cop was stubborn as hell, and snarky to boot, the reporter was downright irritating, and the male cop... well Rain had to admit that, so far, he didn't seem to be all that bad for company.
Except for the being infected part. Which made him the worst of the bunch, in her opinion.
So lost in thought was she that when the reporter started screaming, she nearly opened fire right there.
"You've got to be kidding me," she heard Alice mutter, before kicking into action. One infected clawed it's way out of a grave behind Rain, who was taken by surprise when it moved right past her, heading for Peyton. After a second, she pulled out one of the Colt's, a bullet finding it's way right into the base of the dead man's skull. At the sound of a shot, the man spun, staring in surprise at how close it had gotten to him. He looked up to Rain for a second, taking in the Latino woman's angered expression, gun still smoking.
There were entirely too many undead for them to fight off, considering the fact that they were in a graveyard. But that didn't stop Alice from trying, as the blonde expertly attacked anything that got within a ten foot radius of her. She was not the only one fighting, however, noting that Rain had re-holstered the gun and had resorted to using her hands, and the blade, like the rest of the group. With the exception of Terri, everyone was holding their own.
"There's too many of them," Alice's voice rang over the moans of the undead. "We have to move."
"Let's go," Jill said, helping support Peyton. Terri hurried after the group, as Rain brought up the rear, Colt once again out and at the ready as she looked left and right, searching for anything waiting to ambush them. Thankfully they made their way out of the sea of infected, and back to the normal part of the city.
"Those were some pretty slick moves back there."
Jill's voice finally broke the tense silence.
"I'm good. But even I'm not that good," she said, giving Alice a hard look, her tone anything but friendly. Rain picked up her speed slightly, ready to defend her friend if necessary.
Alice took the unspoken accusation in stride however.
"Be thankful for it."
"What do you mean?"
The blonde paused, turning to face Jill straight on.
"Umbrella... they did something to me," Alice spoke quietly, and Jill stopped as well, studying her with her head tilted. "I don't know what, but I barely even feel human anymore."
There was a moment of tense silence, broken by the sudden ring of the payphone. Everyone in their group jumped.
"We gotta move. The sound could attract something," Alice said suddenly, her moment of self reflection over as she started away.
The next phone they came to started to ring as well, as did the following one. Eventually Alice moved forward, picking it up.
"Who is this?"
A pause while someone spoke on the other side.
"Do we have a choice?"
It was several minutes of listening before Alice gave a gruff "Deal" and hung up.
"We gotta find a place to talk," she said finally, turning to the rest of them. They started off, back to the street. They were thankful to find a city bus, still intact, but abandoned in the middle of the it. Perfect.
Once they were securely in the bus, it was Rain who asked the question everyone had in their mind.
"Who was that?"
"His name's Doctor Ashford," Alice started, taking a seat. "He's head of the Advanced Genetics and Viral Research Division, for the Umbrella Corporation. He has a way to get us out of the city."
Rain's eyes narrowed.
"What's the catch?" she asked, suspicious of the whole idea.
"His daughter, Angela. She's stuck in the city. Umbrella was supposed to evacuate her, but they never made it out. She's hiding out in her school."
"So? What are we supposed to do?"
Alice graced her friend with the smallest of smirks, giving Rain a once over.
"We find her, he'll get all of us outside of the perimeter."
"No fucking deal," Peyton argued. "My vote? We find the building with the thickest walls, and barricade ourselves. Wait for backup."
Both Rain and Alice turned towards the man, looking at him as though he were stupid. Seriously, that was all he could come up with?
"There won't be any backup," Alice said, her tone even. "Ashford says that Umbrella knows they've lost control of the infection. So, as soon as the sun hits, they're wiping it clear off the face of this earth. Raccoon City will be completely sanitized."
As if wanting to hit some dramatic note, the blonde suddenly cocked the rifle.
"What do you mean by sanitized?" Terri asked, not understanding.
"Precision Tactical Nuclear Device."
Rain's shoulders dropped despondently at the information.
"What yield?" Jill asked, almost in disbelief.
"Five kilotons."
If at all possible, Rain felt even more hopeless at that. Jill let out a breathless, humorless laugh, mirroring Rain's sentiments exactly.
"Fuck me."
"I still don't get it," Terri spoke again. "What does all that mean?"
"It means that it'll destroy the infection," here Alice couldn't stop the laugh of irony that escaped her, "and all evidence of it."
Rain could tell that the knowledge of exactly what was supposed to happen was starting to sink in.
"That's bullshit. There's no way they'll get away with it, it'll be the front page, the top story, of every news station in the country."
"Not if there's a cover story," Terri argued quietly. Before she had been a news reporter, she had fantasized about being one, and she knew the industry inside and out. Sure, there may be skeptics out there, but if the story was convincing enough, anything could make the headlines and turn the population's opinion around.
Alice was nodding grimly.
"And it's already prepared. A meltdown at the nuclear power plant."
"Just another tragic accident," Terri added, less fazed about Umbrella's devious plan than anything else that had happened this evening.
Peyton still refused to believe them.
"Not even Umbrella would do that. They can't pull that off."
Rain once again looked at the man, confused as to if he really believed that, or if he was just so stupid. After a moment she decided it was the second.
"Umbrella? Not able to?" it was Jill who spoke up, trying to drill some sense into her partner. "Peyton, you were there. At the gates. You know damn well what Umbrella is capable of. This is nothing."
"So what do we do?" Peyton asked, after struggling to his feet.
"I vote on getting as far away from this city as possible," Rain said before anyone else could answer. Alice was nodding in agreement.
"As soon as possible," the blonde added, for good measure.
"Where's that school?" Terri asked finally.
"A bit of a hike, on the east side of town, probably twenty blocks or so."
"Dammit," Peyton cursed.
"Let's get moving then," Rain ignored him, turning to look outside of the bus. So far so clear. They made it several blocks to an overpass, successfully avoiding any of the infected.
"What if there really is no way out of the city?" Jill asked, with frustration. "What if he's just watching us from all these cameras, like some sort of sick, twisted game."
"What would you rather do?" Rain snapped finally, tired of the complaints. "Sit in one place and wait to die, or move forward with at least a slight hope of living to see tomorrow?"
Jill was effectively silenced at the Latino woman's words, unable to pose an argument against it.
They stopped short as Alice froze, looking off the bridge to the impound lot below.
"What is it?"
"What's going on?"
Alice put out her hand.
"Just wait."
"Like hell. The sun ain't gonna wait."
"No," Alice said, not budging. "There's something down there."
Rain stiffened at those words, dreading what they could mean coming from the blonde.
"Where?" Jill asked, squinting into the smoke that seemed to permeate the entire city as of late.
Alice pointed.
"There," she said, as though it were obvious.
"I don't see anything," Peyton denied. Rain was not so quick to dismiss the blonde however, she knew firsthand just how spot on Alice generally was with almost anything concerning Umbrella.
"That doesn't alter the fact that there is... something down there."
It was said with finality.
"Fuck this shit. I'm getting sick of it, all of it."
Peyton pushed past the blonde in frustration, undaunted at any possible threat. As soon as he cleared their small group, the area was lit up with rounds. The man took several before going down, hard. Jill stared at her partner in shock for only a moment before hysteria took her.
"No!" she shuffled away from the group, firing at the unseen target. Gunshots rang into the night again, as Jill leaned heavily against the side of a taxi cab, adrenaline pumping through her veins.
"Nemesis," Alice breathed, a spark of recognition jolting her with surprise. "Rain, Nemesis!"
The brunette frowned at her friend's words, not understanding.
"Get them out of here," Alice ordered. "Run, now. Go."
The blonde pushed the Latino woman away from her, turning slowly to look off the bridge. Rain ushered the reporter and the former S.T.A.R.S operative away, looking over her shoulder just in time to see Alice launch herself over the guardrail. Both Terri and Jill hurried away from the scene, but Rain stared in wonder, before noticing Peyton's body stirring.
She was thankful that her single gunshot mixed in with the rest from the firefight, as Peyton's body once again fell to the cement, a single bullet wound smack in the middle of his forehead. Turning, Rain ran after the other two, finding them near a truck. Jill, still shaking, was trying to, unsuccessfully, jump start the silver Dodge. Rain watched as she jumped when Terri opened the other door, before resting her forehead on the steering wheel, trying to make herself calm down.
Rain calmly made her way to the pair, overhearing the conversation as she drew closer.
"Look, I'm sorry about your friend."
She saw Jill shoot the reporter an odd look that she couldn't name.
"Whatever. Let's just get to the school and find this kid."
The car finally came to life, and Jill sighed with relief that something finally went right.
The cop jumped again as she heard Rain approach, gun drawn, hand on the trigger. Though probably unnecessary, Rain approached with both hands up. As soon as the other brunette recognized her, she let them drop.
"Get in."
Rain did not object the order, sliding into the back seat before shutting the door behind her. The car was filled with a tense silence, as Rain quietly studied her two companions. Terri looked like she wanted to say something, but either could not figure out what it was or work up the nerve to actually speak. The reporter turned back to the road in front of them, straightening in her seat suddenly.
"Stop!"
Jill braked heavily at the shout.
"Don't shoot, don't shoot. I swear, I'm not one of them - hey!" the man pulled up short, recognizing Jill from earlier. "Hey, you remember me? Look, I haven't been bitten or nothing!"
The guy looked ready to strip if it would get him off the street. Though reluctant, Jill jerked a nod to the back seat.
"Get in," she sounded more annoyed than anything. Rain shifted across the seat, to accommodate their newest member.
"Lloyd Jefferson Wayne," the man greeted the group of ladies. "But you can call me L.J, on account of the informal situation."
Rain refrained impulse to hit her head against the window of the truck. Clearly things could still get worse.
As Terri quickly surmised the situation for L.J, Rain sat back to study the driver of the truck. Jill was still tense, and on edge, but seemed to be rationalizing with herself. The rest of the trip to the school was quick, and Jill pulled right up to the front steps before letting the engine die. They all climbed out of the truck, only Rain hesitated for a moment, looking at the van that they had pulled right up in front of.
It was the K-9 unit of the police department. Rain circled around the van, stopping behind it at the sight of the bloodied, mutilated cages. She looked from the van to the school, where the other three were quickly making their way to. Her hand went straight to the machine gun, as she gripped it tightly, bracing herself for what she could only imagine to be inside.
Whatever it was, she was sure it wasn't a good thing.
She ran up the stairs, entering the building right behind the rest. Jill sidestepped around the front entrance hall, finally deciding that they were in the clear for the moment.
"We should split up," the cop said finally.
Although she knew the idea was the worst possible thing they could ever do, Rain admitted that there was no other way they would clear the school in good time. They were on a very tight schedule, after all.
"No way," Terri argued immediately. "I'm not going through this place by myself."
"Don't worry. I could go with you," L.J offered, and Rain rolled her eyes. She, personally, would definitely feel safer by herself, if that were the case.
"You take the left wing of this floor," Jill took order, nodding her head at L.J. "You, take the second floor," she held out a Sig for the reporter, who was slow to accept it.
"I've never shot a gun before."
"There's nothing to it," Jill said, not very reassuring. "Try to shoot them in the head," she added with an innocent look. Rain snorted at her clear mocking of the other woman. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.
"And you," Jill turned her attention to the last person of their group. "Cover the right wing."
When first built, the school had been one main building. Over the years, classes had been added to both the left and the right side of the first floor, lengthening it. Without even arguing, Rain started off, the semi raised, ready to be used at a moment's notice. Faintly she heard the others do the same. She was clearing through another classroom about twenty minutes later, having had no luck, when the sound of footsteps passed her door. Moving silently, she had her finger on the trigger as she traced the source.
She recognized Jill almost instantly, even without seeing her face. The smaller figure next to her, however, was a new one.
"You found her then?"
Her voice was quiet, not wanting to stir anything that could be close by. Jill visibly jumped, spinning around with her Sig pointed directly at Rain, as she stepped in front of the girl. It was the second time in under an hour, and Rain simply quirked an eyebrow at the brunette's response.
"Yeah. Terri's gone though. We have to find L.J."
Rain deflated at this, but made her way down the hall to fall in step beside them. The little girl looked up at the woman, studying her with curiosity.
"I'm Angie," she offered after a moment, and Rain was surprised at how calm she seemed to be with the whole situation.
"Rain," she introduced herself, before looking back up, head on a swivel for any signs of danger.
"Come on, maybe he's in here," Jill said, pushing open the doors of the cafeteria.
"Those things are in here," Angie said timidly.
"Don't worry honey, they're slow. We can run around them," Jill assured her.
"No, not them. Those."
Rain's blood froze at the girl's words, before following her gaze.
Dobermans had never been her favorite breed of dog, and Rain had no qualms admitting this fact. Seeing them there, infected, however, gave her a whole new reason to hate them.
Okay, so I guess I had more to say on Apocalypse than I originally thought, so the next part will be out shortly (either tonight, or possibly tomorrow). I don't think it'll be more than one chapter more, thankfully, so then we can move on with life. Sounds good, right?
Of course. Thanks for tuning in!
- Shannon Riley