Chapter Eight: Leon
Sunrise Towers
New York
0700hrs_
Leon Kennedy wrenched the headphones off and tossed them on the table. Beside him was Taylor Lung, a former radio DJ, who was still patiently manning the broadcast for any survivors. So far Taylor was able to hack into one of the remaining telecommunications satellites and, he believed, had a range as far as Los Angeles.
Although Leon highly doubted that any survivors that far would attempt a cross country trek, Taylor did it anyway.
"It'll give them something to hope for," he had said. "At least they know they aren't alone."
Now Taylor continued his broadcast, repeating that any survivors seeking shelter, food, water, and most importantly, a refuge from the relentless infected, could go to Sunrise Towers.
Leon was vacationing with his cousin Jeremy in New York when the outbreak began. Coincidentally, it was believed to have originated in Raccoon City, the very place where Leon served as a police officer. After his first day on the job he and Jeremy decided to travel to New York – for 'kicks' – and in doing so were spared the brunt of the outbreak.
Leon sighed. Jeremy had been attacked not two weeks ago, while on a supply run with his girlfriend, Ada Wong. Ada had survived, mainly because Jeremy had detained the infected long enough for Leon to grab Ada onto the army truck they were using.
Up to now Leon could hear his cousin screaming and Ada shouting at him to let her go. Those were the two things that kept him up at night, aside from the relentless moans of the infected.
Now their survivor enclave was composed of forty people, from the original hundred. Many had decided to risk going out to save their families – most of the building was composed of offices, although the uppermost floors served as penthouse suites – and the rest became casualties as they searched for food, water, and ammunition.
Thankfully they had the Barnes brothers, sixty year old war veteran Phil Barnes, who had set up a gun shop on the fourth floor and was now in charge of six hardy boys whom he had meticulously trained to defend the building. Of course the rest had to be well versed in reloading and firing a gun, but Phil and his six-man army was mostly responsible for keeping the infected away.
Phil's younger brother, Lewis, ran the small 'diner' on the sixth. Although they still had enough food and guns to get them through another few months, Leon still knew they had to keep bringing in whatever they could scavenge.
"Leon?"
Leon swiveled on his chair to see Ada, her eyes cold and hard. "Hey Ada. What can I do for you?"
"Could you put me back on the supply run roster?"
Leon frowned. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"I don't want to seem like a burden," she insisted. "If you think I'm just going to sit here and do nothing, you're wrong. I want to help."
Leon hesitated. He didn't want it to appear as if he played favorites, but he didn't want Ada to be brought back into the line of fire. It was too soon, and he feared that she might freeze at the wrong moment and fall prey to the vicious infected. Leon knew that Ada was a fighter, but he couldn't help but think that she needed more time.
"Why don't you help Taylor?" Leon finally suggested. Ada opened her mouth as if to argue, but finally she nodded.
Leon stood up and relinquished his seat to her. Taylor looked over and Leon mouthed to him: "Teach her the ropes." The other man nodded in understanding and handed Ada Leon's headphones.
Leon watched them for a moment before slipping out of the room.
Somewhere near Times Square
New York
0942hrs_
Alice was tired. For weeks she had made her way across the country to New York, after she had heard snippets of a broadcast that stated there was a survivor enclave there. She sorely hoped that this wasn't a ruse like the last time – where she was lured by a handful of ne'er-o-well people – and wished she could get out of the muck she was in.
She knew that New York was nearly congested with the infected, so she decided to use the sewage system. She had snagged a map of New York from the gas station a few miles from the city, and she used a penlight to guide her through the city.
Unfortunately, she was wading through weeks' worth of filth, and Alice nearly fainted from the stench. But based on the map, she was coming up to the drains that ran from Sunrise Towers, as well as a heavy metal latch that led straight to the cellar.
Alice continued wading through the filth, finally spotting the opening. She noticed that there were no metal rungs leading to the latch, which reassured her that no infected could come up this way. Alice hoisted herself up onto the small brick walkway, which was also covered in slippery slime. Alice took a deep breath – big mistake – and jumped, her fingers curling around the bars of the latch.
She jerked her body downwards, and the latch gave way a little. A few more tries and the latch swung down, and Alice slammed onto her back on the walkway. Pain shot up her body, but she forced herself to stand. She lifted herself up using the latch and onto the cellar floor, making sure to put the latch back in place.
As she stood up, she found herself staring directly at the barrel of a shotgun.
Leon cringed as the reek coming from the woman reached his nose. She was nearly covered in grime, filth, and shit, and yet he could still see the intensity of her blue eyes.
He cocked the shotgun. "Who are you?"
"I'm Alice Abernathy," she replied hoarsely. "I heard your broadcast from Los Angeles so I came here."
Leon was amazed. "You came here all the way from Los Angeles? How did you do it?"
"I kept to the highways," she replied. "Look, could you put the shotgun down? It's not really reassuring."
"Sorry," Leon apologized, dropping the shotgun to his side. "I just didn't expect you'd come in from the…sewers. Normally people would use the front door."
"Well I'm not normal," Alice retorted. "Besides, there's a host of infected outside your front doors."
Leon thought that made sense. He quickly led her into the main living area, which was on the twentieth floor. The first person he saw was Gaia Suarez, a civilian. Like him she nearly reeled at the smell coming from Alice, and when Leon asked her to bring Alice to one of the bathrooms, Gaia didn't object.
Leon couldn't believe the journey Alice had made. He quickly assembled most of his little 'council': Phil, Taylor, former boxing coach Yuri Hawamoto, fellow police officers Owen Smiths and Frank Langley, and former FBI agent Mark Phillips. He filled them in about Alice's arrival, and like him, they all reacted with surprise and amazement.
"She's clever," Yuri commented, stroking his trademark beard. "And to have traveled that far just to find us – that's no mean feat."
The rest of the group murmured. Even Mark, who hardly looked anything other than passive, seemed impressed. They unanimously agreed to keep Alice as part of their group, because, as Phil put it, she "fucking well deserves it."
Once Alice had showered, eaten, and rested, Leon came to her. There he told her that she could stay with them which Alice surprisingly refused.
"Umbrella Corporation isn't going to stop," she said. She liked Leon already; he reminded her of Spence before he became greedy and power-hungry. "Wesker is intent on controlling all the survivors in the country. They probably know that you're here, with all the broadcasts you've been making."
Leon looked ashen. "We didn't know. We were just thinking of the other survivors."
"I know you meant well, but Wesker doesn't care. He just wants to be in power." Alice ran a hand through her still damp hair. The shower felt immensely good, and the clothes she now wore were loose and comfortable.
"We did hear a few broadcasts from a someone named Dryden Ainsley," Leon said. "Taylor picked up on one of their conversations a few weeks back. They were sending some people from a place called Arcadia over to their base in Los Angeles. We didn't get the name of the man carrying out the main orders, though."
"Main orders? Does that mean-?" Alice was stunned. The knowledge that Wesker had a second-in-command was surprising. She had expected him to hog all the power, not share it with someone else.
"Yeah, this Dryden seems to be his second-in-command. We thought they were just organizing their survivor camp, not imprisoning them."
"They're experimenting on them," Alice added. "Wesker infected himself in an attempt to become a Homo Superioris."
"What the heck is that?" Leon asked, his brow furrowing.
"It's a name they gave to certain individuals who have successfully bonded with the T virus." Alice hesitated, wondering if she should tell Leon the truth. "I was one of them."
Leon held up his hands. "Whoa, hold it. You're infected?" He made a move for his gun, but Alice gestured for him to wait.
"I was, once. Wesker took the virus back," she said quickly. "I'm human."
Leon visibly relaxed, but she noticed his hand still rested on the holster. "Who were the others?"
"Angela Ashford. She was the daughter of Dr. Charles Ashford, the creator of the virus."
Leon waited, as if anticipating for more names. When she remained silent, Leon sighed. "Well, I guess we're supposed to be thankful that Wesker doesn't have a Homo Superiority on his team."
Alice nodded. "Otherwise, we're up a creek without a paddle."
I'm tired of this bullshit, Spence thought, watching Wesker and Dryden pore over dozens of attack plans and blueprints of New York. I just need more time. Just a few more and I'm free from this fucking device. Alice, stay alive, wherever you are. I'm coming for you.