Chapter 7: Twilight Zone

"So, are you law enforcement or something?" I asked while making sure that my seatbelt was secured.

I am not going to die because of an easily avoidable traffic accident after what I have gone through today. I am not going to be flying out of that windshield if something happens on the road.

I really don't like uncomfortable silences and this easily qualified. I mean we had just fought our way through what could only be described as a zombie horde. My information about what had happened at Raccoon City had been correct about the virus that brought the dead back to life at least. The whole theory about Umbrella being behind the whole thing was still up in the air though. However, I was seriously considering it. After all, like grandpa says, "there are no such things as coincidences".

Rather unsettling though was the fact that Albert hadn't acted all that surprised at the zombies. He had barely been fazed past the original zombie dead guy walking. This could have meant several different things:

A. Albert Wesker is either current or ex law enforcement.

B. Albert Wesker has had military experience.

C. Albert Wesker is a criminal (a hit man or organized crime of some sort).

D. Albert Wesker knows about the whole zombie virus which leads to three options:

D1. Albert Wesker is also investigating what Umbrella has been up to on the less than legal side of things.

D2. Albert Wesker is WITH Umbrella.

D3. Albert Wesker used to be with Umbrella but now wants them to go down for what they may have done.

D4. Albert Wesker is involved in industrial espionage and heard about Raccoon through his job.

I don't trust him. I don't know why, but I don't. It's something about him that rubs me the wrong way.

Frankly, his being clearheaded during the initial zombie attacks, while I had already had gotten a heads up through the rumor mill, could be put down to previous law enforcement or military experience. Both work fields value keeping a cool head in times of crisis and the way he had moved gave some weight to that theory. He clearly knew his way around his gun, keeping it held pointed up to avoid an accident in case of a misfire. His shooting was incredibly accurate and he was constantly checking around doorframes and walls before entering a room just to be sure it was safe.

If he was law enforcement, all I would have to do is ditch Albert on our way to the Swamp Tours and sneak into the research lab. In fact, it would probably be easier for me if that did happen. I couldn't really see myself dragging him along through the security for the lab.

However, his willingness to shoot at the undead was useful; then again, the two of us weren't from around here. I could easily see somebody who lived here having trouble shooting their undead family and friends, or putting them out of their misery. I guess we had a large enough degree of separation from these people that we could only see the obstacles to our survival that the town's undead population was to us.

On the other hand, there was the distinct possibility that Albert had known the truth about Raccoon City. It would explain how he knew to shoot them in the heads to eliminate them and to avoid getting bitten. The green herb he had shown me had gotten rid of the acid burn better than I had thought it would. While I had been worried that I would be infected from the stomach acid, he had helped keep me calm and told me the herb prevented disease from setting in. I still felt awesome and there wasn't a mark on me anymore.

"Whatever gave you that idea?"

"To be honest? It's the way that you moved ever since the incident with the undead guy in the diner happened. I only know a few people who move like you do and all of them are either with law enforcement, the military, or private security companies. All of them have seen a certain kind of action, and I'm willing to bet a good amount of money that you've seen some action too."

"I must admit that you are much more perceptive than I thought. I was a member of my city's police force until this September. Unforeseen circumstances with the city's infrastructure left many people out of a job. I myself had to go find work elsewhere in a security company."

It sounds true but something sounded off about it. After all, the best way to lie is for the lie to have some measure of the truth in it or to tell the truth, but not all of the truth. The point is leaving out what you don't want to be known. What was it that doesn't sound right? I mean he didn't even say much in the first place. Why would a police department close down? Wait, did he say September? Oh, crap!

The only thing I can say is my mouth sometimes doesn't get the point of keeping itself shut. I apologize for the following.

"Oh crap! You survived Raccoon City, didn't you? No wonder you're taking this so well. You probably saw this all happening before dammit! Oh hell, I heard the whole police department was nearly wiped out by some sort of monster! How the hell did you survive?"

"It was actually two different creatures and how do you know about what happened in Raccoon City anyway?"

"I'm a photographer and reporter by trade. I was covering that civil war in West Africa before I came back stateside and found out that my oldest friends had to evacuate her University because of the dead coming back to life. I thought it was bogus at first, but she wasn't the only one I could find talking about that sort of thing. I found several accounts of the same phenomena that meshed down to the last detail. I'm a bit iffy on the whole "Chief Irons is a perverted psychopath" story though. I do have to admit that he seemed like a royal pain in the butt from what I heard though."

What had I had spewed from my mouth finally registered in my brain and I let out a squeak of embarrassment. I immediately tried to backpedal and started trying to apologize to Albert.

"I'm so sorry. I know he must have been your boss. I'm sure he wasn't a depraved lunatic or a jerk!"

"Actually, he was."

"A depraved lunatic or a jerk?"

"Both."

"Ewww!"

"That would be putting it lightly. He was a pompous blowhard who killed several women and had their bodies stuffed and mounted in a secret room hidden under the police department."

"Oh my-. And he was the chief of police! No wonder so few people made it out of the city alive," I spat incredulously.

"Indeed, he was probably trying to get everyone killed, the way he kept giving contradictory orders left and right. I think he was even trying to hunt down the few survivors left in the police department left by the time I got out of the building. The fact that he scattered the precinct's weapon caches around the department randomly did not help either to be honest."

"You're messing with me right?"

"I wish I was," he solemnly stated.

While we had our little discussion, Albert drove us through the town. While a fire had been started on the docks of the ferry, it hadn't spread to this part of town. Maybe the heavy rainfall had kept the flames from spreading, I didn't know.

I started to fiddle around with the tuning dial of the radio. The town had a lot less undead than I would have thought there would be, especially considering that we were travelling along a main road. I went from station to station, getting mostly static and country music until I hit what I guessed was the local radio station.

"-Der of the Morris' Point Police Department all residents of the Morris' Point Island District are to remain indoors until further notice. An illegal bioterrorism agent has been released on the island and the authorities are working on a solution to combat the situation. Until word is given otherwise, stay indoors and keep all door and windows closed and barricaded. Do not open your home to anyone you do not know. If your friends and family members begin to act oddly or break out into a fever, isolate them immediately from yourself and others. Stay away from animals and people acting irrationally and aggressively. Keep the lights in your homes off and keep the noise to a minimum. Do not attempt to leave the island.

By order of the Morris' Point Police Department all residents of the Morris' Point Island District are to remain indoors until further notice. An illegal bioterrorism agent has been released on the island and the authorities are working on a solution to combat the sit-"

Great, they have an order going over the radio for people to barricade themselves inside their homes instead of trying to get off of the island. God, I hope there isn't a "power plant incident" again. If so, these people are screwed.

"Well, that's good for us at least," I said trying to rationalize. "Less people on the street means there will be less people who become infected and turn into the undead. The less undead there are out there, the less of them we have to fight our way through."

All throughout the drive through town, I had been taking pictures of all the mayhem that was going on outside the van. There was going to be a glare in the photos due to the glass window of the van in the way, but I wasn't going to be rolling the window down for anything. There were only a few human undead running around where we could see, due to the order to stay inside. I swear that I could see some dogs that looked like they had started to decompose, running around and barking at closed doors. All in all, they were something to be avoided if I had a choice.

It was still raining cats and dogs, the water coming down in freezing sheets that had chilled me to the bone while I was fighting in the parking lot. Every so often there was a jagged blue-white bolt of lightning, giving off a burst of illumination in the darkness of the storm for a few seconds. The thunder that boomed a few minutes later was like an explosion of dynamite that echoed through the air.

"So the whole story about the power plant malfunctioning and wiping out the town? Is there any actual truth to that?"

"I wouldn't know to be perfectly honest. I left as soon as I could."

"I don't blame you. After all, isn't that what the both of us are trying to do here?"

The fallout from Raccoon city had been both real radioactive radiation and the figurative political variety. New legislation for power plant safety measures was being pushed through the Senate and House of Representatives at an alarming rate. There was an outpouring of support from all over the United States for the survivors of the incident and many cities had opened their arms and homes to them. The whole incident was being referred to as "America's Chernobyl" in the media.

The reports of people talking about the dead coming back to life because of a biological weapon had been mostly covered up. It probably meant that the government was somehow involved. I was pretty sure that the unauthorized research and development of biological weapons was outlawed by the United Nations. Anyone involved would probably be raked over hot coals and that would only be the beginning.

The area where Raccoon City had stood and the area around it were heavily irradiated and deemed off limits to everyone. While the towns closest to the hot zone like Stoneville hadn't needed to be evacuated, there was a widespread uproar about what had happened. The former site of Raccoon City had been fenced off and an armed guard had been posted throughout the perimeter. Several health organizations were trying unsuccessfully to get permission to run tests on the nearby wildlife and the inhabitants who were still living near Raccoon City, to see what short and long term health repercussions would arise from what had happened.

In my opinion, from what I had heard about what happened in Raccoon and what I had seen so far today, I figured that the whole "power plant malfunction" was a little too convenient for my tastes. I wondered how many people were being treated like they were insane because of what they had seen and were talking about.

"So Miss West, is there anyone you're going to want to see as soon as we get out of here? A boyfriend, perhaps?"

Is he trying to flirt again? This really isn't the time for that.

"Ugh, no, I'm single. Have been for a while now actually. I just don't have a lot of time because of my job. I think the only people I want to see after this is over, is my Grandfather and Uncle."

"Not your parents?"

"I don't live with them and we haven't been close for a long time now."

We had just left the area with shops, hospitals, and apartments to what I thought was the residential district. We were careful but we were making sure not to stop or slow down too much. These were the places where the white picket fence type of person would lay down roots. The lights in the houses were off but I thought I could see people moving around inside. They were probably scared and trying not to attract the attention of the undead that were roaming around.

We turned onto another road and while we sped by, I watched as a group of looters tried to break into a brick house. They were using a crowbar much like the one I had to force open the door. I couldn't make out any words to what they were saying but they sounded angry. They started to sound excited and the rest of the crowd began to get closer to the door. The door opened and the first would-be looter got the jaws of an undead to the throat. Before we turned the next corner. I could see another undead shuffle out of the house trying to eat another of the looters.

I began to think about what I had done today as I went over the map. I had done some things that in retrospect were kind of crazy. I mean the whole escapade with the sharks should have qualified me for an intensive mental examination. I had ended up with an unexpected partner in the form of the blond man who was sitting next to me. Albert had been good about watching my back and had saved my bacon more than once.

I'll admit that I could be more cautious about the fact that there are undead people everywhere. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the smartest person, but I'm not suicidal. On the whole, I rather enjoy living. With the exception of my parents and my mother's side of the family, everything in my life is awesome. Well, the dead coming back to life sucks, but once I get off this island I can probably rest easy. But I'll maintain that I did what I did out of desperation because I want to live.

"Albert, you need to make a left turn up ahead here."

"Right."

We kept on driving until we got out of the subdivision, passing a few homes with broken windows with the lights on and the doors wide open. I didn't think there would be any survivors inside those houses and I tried to turn my head away. In some of the other houses I could see the occasional person peeking out of a window and hastily checking to see what was going on outside.

The next road we got on was bordered on one side by huge, luxurious beach houses, each one grander than the last. The other side of the road was made up of a beautiful view of the island's west beach. This was definitely the upper class housing area. There probably weren't any undead in those homes if I judged by the tall brick fences surrounding each of the mansions.

The people in the mansions weren't that worried about the undead, judging by what I saw. The lights in were on in all but a few of the mansions and the residents inside really didn't care about how much noise they were making. It was a shame. The undead swarming outside the gates of the loud, brightly mansions were a testament to how much they were putting themselves in danger. From what I could see as we rocketed past, the gates were still holding up. The real question was, for how long?

The road was slick from the rain coming down and the sea was rough with large waves slamming down onto the beach. I didn't think that the storm would break tonight; it would probably keep going until the morning. At least, that's what the forecast on the radio said on the subject. I just hoped that the swamp road we were about to drive through wouldn't be worse than out here.

AN: So the repercussions of Raccoon City are revealed. Reviews are appreciated.