Ironically, despite being full of deceased Raccoon City citizens, the small cemetery beside the park was a relatively safe place to trek through, giving the group the opportunity to catch their breath.
"You're both out of ammo, right? Here." Alice pulled a box of handgun bullets from her belt and tossed it in the direction of Jill and Peyton. "I can spare some."
Jill easily caught it, then passed it to Peyton. He sent Alice a quick thanks, removing his arm from his friend so that they could both reload.
"I don't think slowing down is a good idea. What if more of those bioweapon-things pop up?" The way Terri was swinging wildly between seriously pushing it in order to record and being terrified was giving Rain whiplash. It was almost as if sometimes, the thought of her finished film excited her enough to make her forget everything else. Rain could commend her drive, she supposed.
"If there were any close by, we would know already." Or at least, Rain was certain she would know. The tingling was absent. The only meat she could smell belonged to the others. The scent was fighting for her attention, but she refused to give it any. The insects were still stirring, but it was manageable. Covering her face with the bandana and walking ahead of everyone (sans Alice) was helping slightly. Since the virus started presenting itself in the other woman, Rain found that the urge to tear her open had lessened. Not completely, but noticeably.
Back in the church, briefly, Rain feared she would lose herself. Taking out zombies from a distance hadn't been much of a problem, but when that licker was only a few feet away from her? When its jaw slammed against the floor, and its sharp teeth snapped shut on its tongue? When fresh blood splattered, mixing with that of the man it recently killed? It was as though she got pulled out of her own body and something else took the reins. The loss of control sent a jolt of panic through her, and it felt like losing a foothold high up on a mountain and unexpectedly slipping down.
The look in Alice's eyes made it clear that she knew what happened. When she asked Rain that question afterward, Rain couldn't even form words in response. Her mouth didn't know how to.
Was she able to reel herself in without any real incident? Yes, but she shouldn't have needed to do so to begin with. One of the cops—Jill was already keeping an eye on her. Though, she was watching Alice as well.
And speaking of Alice, she was intermittently glancing over, checking on Rain. Her lingering concern was apparent.
'She thinks you can get through this... Maybe she's being overly optimistic and you're fighting a losing battle. Maybe you just need to get a better fucking grip and prove her right.'
Suddenly, she stiffened.
They weren't alone anymore.
"Zombies?" Alice whispered. Everything felt crisper. The T-virus made her senses stronger. Evidently not as strong as Rain's, however. Alice couldn't pick up on whatever she was picking up on. When she shook her head, Alice tried again. "Worse?"
Rain gave no reply. Instead, she whipped out her Tomcat and stepped off the path.
Terri held up her camcorder, shoulders tense and finger ghosting the record button. "I thought you just said—"
"Relax. It's nothing major. I..." Rain had to take a second to decide how she wanted to end her sentence, "heard a voice. A human voice." It was the partial truth. "Stay here."
Only Terri and Peyton listened. Alice and Jill followed behind Rain, who began to creep past the rows of graves with even, measured steps, a clear destination in mind.
When they reached a large pillar headstone, she made an abrupt stop. She jerked her head toward the left, signaling that the mystery person was there.
Together, the three of them swung around the grave marker with their firearms raised.
In turn, the man resting against the trunk of the dead tree in front of them lifted his automatic rifle. He was blond-haired and blue-eyed. "Whoa, watch it... No need to shoot. I am not one of those things."
'Not yet.'
The sleeves of the man's grey uniform were rolled up, exposing two red crescent-shaped marks on one of his forearms. He had been bitten. Rain noticed the scent of blood before she faintly picked up on the start of the infection.
'Poor bastard.' She tore her gaze away. The next thing it landed on was the small red and white octagonal logo stitched over his heart, which stuck out like a sore thumb alongside the dull colors of his clothes and gear. It was the same one plastered all over that hospital she and Alice woke up in.
"You work for the Umbrella Corporation?" Jill questioned with an underlying note of hostility in her voice.
'Umbrella Corporation? They're the people who took us?' Rain's frown deepened. '...Wait, didn't Alice mention that I was in one of their commando units? Did I know what kind of shit they get up to?' She tried to recall if she had and, of course, hit another mental wall.
"Yes. The name is Yuri Loginova. I'm part of the U.B.C.S. They sent us here to help, but I got separated from my fellow platoon members about," Yuri glanced at his watch, "thirty minutes ago?"
After a beat, Alice reholstered her gun. Rain and Jill only lowered theirs. "What happened?"
"We were aiding the local forces near one of the extraction points and got completely overrun... One bit me and I was chased for more than a few blocks, but I am alright otherwise."
"No. You're not. Not if you were bitten. That's one of the ways this all spreads," Rain told him. "That's how you end up turning."
As what that meant slowly began to sink in, Yuri's breathing became a little uneven. Perhaps there was a more gentle way to deliver that news.
"Hey, that doesn't mean you will. Things aren't completely hopeless. There's always a chance." Alice extended a hand toward him. "Why don't you join us? We're trying to find a way out of here."
Yuri spent a while contemplating the proposal before accepting it. He rejected Alice's offer to help him up, though, instead stubbornly choosing to stand on his own. "Is there a plan?"
"Yeah." Now with Alice leading, the group began to head back. "Don't die."
There was a humorless bark of laughter. "I am done for, aren't I?"
Before leaving the hospital, Alice had given Rain a spare roll of bandages for her hand. Rain removed it from her pocket. "Take this and cover that up before it gets worse."
