July, 1998
The Mansion Incident
The discovery of a facility in the Arklay Mountains that was experimenting on human subjects with a deadly virus.
The RPD's STARS Unit was sent to investigate after murders in the area caused panic among the city's citizens.
First Bravo Team went in, but when contact was lost, Alpha was forced to follow.
Thirteen brave men and women entered the dark forest to find answers.
Seven returned.
The rest fell to the unholy monsters they discovered roaming the abandoned facility, disguised as a manor house of a rich, noble family.
It was learned that one of Umbrella's founders, Ozwell E. Spencer, was responsible for the construction of the laboratory where the virus leaked. But the evidence of this was destroyed when the mansion's self-destruct system activated, purging the entire structure and causing a severe forest fire. Despite the various files, footage and equipment the surviving STARS members brought back to the RPD, Police Chief Brian Irons refused to believe their accusations of Umbrella's involvement.
The disaster was swept under the rug, and the loss of the other STARS was ignored.
The remaining members were given 'extended leave', according to an RPD spokesperson.
In reality, most of them had quit, deciding amongst themselves to find a way to reveal the truth.
Chris Redfield and Barry Burton made plans to infiltrate Umbrella's headquarters in Europe, after Burton had relocated his family for safety.
Jill Valentine, Brad Vickers and their mysterious benefactor Shiala, decided to remain in Raccoon to try to warn citizens to evacuate before the inevitable occurred.
As for Wesker and Alana, the two left the city in the dead of night after Alana said goodbye to her mother and father, promising to try and come back to them one day once Umbrella was dead and gone, no matter what it took.
But Irons had other ideas. Valentine was sanctioned and put under house arrest for 'gross misconduct'. Vickers fortunately kept his mouth shut, and remained at the RPD. Shiala mysteriously vanished into the city, her existence known only by Valentine and Vickers.
The other surviving members, Richard Aiken, Rebecca Chambers and Enrico Marini, decided it was for the best if they split up and went into hiding. They knew Umbrella would be looking to silence witnesses. But Rebecca, as one of the Sailor Soldiers, instead went underground, performing her duties and research in secret.
A couple months passed by, and as they feared, the inevitable finally occurred. Citizens began to get sick, as reports of the water supply being tainted began to surface. Jill knew better. The rats had spread the virus through the city's sewer system, and it was only a matter of time before the body count began to grow beyond acceptable levels. She knew she couldn't stay in her apartment any longer. It was time to get out of Raccoon. It was time for her last escape…
{8:40 pm}
Jill jerked awake on her mattress, her covers tossed off the bed in yet another bout of nightmares. Nights of her mind filled with zombies, monstrous spiders, and hulking man-shaped abominations had whittled away at her sanity, which she desperately clung to at times. Evidence of this could be seen in the multitude of sleeping aids she had scattered across her bedside tables. Too many pills… they didn't help. Nothing would. Sweat clung to her forehead in a subtle shin, making her bangs cling against her skin. Sometimes, she wished she had gone with Chris. He had been her rock ever since they escaped from the mansion. And now she was alone here, with Michiru, aka Sailor Neptune, as her only companion.
Speaking of which… "Neptune, can you hear me?" she called aloud towards the mirror near her and the reflection of her spirit companion would appear, looking concerned.
'The stress is getting to you, Jillian. You cannot let this break you. The townsfolk will need you at your best if any of them hope to survive what is to come.'
"I know… but this is driving me crazy. Irons KNOWS we know the truth about what happened and he's trying to stop us. But I can't let him!" Jill says, holding her head in her hands. "This is why he did this… he's a fucking rat! We should've listened to Lady Reya…" She sighed and flopped back on the bed. "...I'm sorry… I know that was a lot to unload at once. Besides you, I've been lonely. Chris and Barry have already gone to Europe, Wesker's gone with my daughter for her safety, Rebecca's gone underground. As for the others, they're forbidden from contacting me."
'Yes, Irons has been spending an awful lot of time trying to suppress what STARS might know. Even the public is beginning to take notice. But I do not foresee him stopping anytime soon. He is panicked, and he will do whatever it takes to maintain the status quo, even if he has to lie out of his fat ass… and the news reports are not helping either. Fires, crashes, injuries and death… it is building to a crescendo. Jillian, I believe this is the time for you to leave this place. Raccoon is lost…'
Jill winced and looked away. Raccoon had always been her home. But now… to think of it as lost… She wanted to argue that there was no way it could be lost that soon. And yet, the more she thought about what Michiru said, the more she saw that she was right. She ran a hand through her hair, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. She was right; it was time to go. Maybe… maybe she could–
BRRRRRING! BRRRRRING! Jill's apartment phone began to ring, diverting her attention for a moment.
'You should answer that.'
Nodding, she would rise from her bed and walk over, picking up the receiver and holding it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Jill? It's Brad! You need to get out of there, right now! The whole city has gone berserk!"
"I know. I'm seeing it on the news right now. It's chaos out there!" Jill replied as she turned to the TV that was still on, showing the latest report on the madness that had befallen. "Where are you?"
"You don't get it! Look, I can't explain it right now, I'm calling from a phone box and it's too dangerous to waste time elaborating. You need to get out of there, RIGHT NOW!"
She didn't need to be told twice. "Alright, I'm leaving right now." Then she hung up and quickly snapped up her transformation rod, snapping it onto her belt. Then she grabbed her customized Samurai Edge and holstered it before swiping up her Submarine Mirror, which once more showed Michiru's reflection and the deeply worried sea green eyes. "You all set, Michiru?"
'I suggest you quickly eat something before you leave. I have a feeling you may not get a chance for a long time.'
Nodding, she jogged over to the kitchen counter, where half a box of pizza was left open, along with an unfinished bowl of tomato soup. The box of pizza had been from Brad as an apology for keeping his mouth shut. Jill understood, though she was still a bit pissed at the time at him for leaving them in the manor in the first place. But he made up for it by coming back.
"Thanks, Brad," She whispered before grabbing a slice and wolfing it down in a few quick bites.
'Do you have your research notes? If we escape Raccoon, we'll need them to take Umbrella to court.'
"Yeah, I'm good to go!" Jill nodded as she used her magic to shrink the notes down and placed them into her pocket. With them secure, she dashed out of the apartment.
"JILL?! OVER HERE!" She heard Brad's voice yelling at her from the end of the alley, leading to the street.
Already she could tell the city was going to hell: the apartment building was on fire. Several more were as well, and there was screaming, people running, chaos and destruction everywhere. As she reached Brad, she saw a police car had crashed into the cafe nearby and the street had been blocked off on several sides by abandoned vehicles.
"Boy, you're lucky I got here when I did! Everything's gone mad!"
"No shit! Where's everyone else?! Are they at the station!?" Jill looked around, her eyes going wide at the carnage around her.
"Most of the force is out on the streets already. People are already dead. Hundreds, maybe thousands. Lots of officers aren't responding, and worse, there's something out there, Jill. Something is hunting the police. A big bastard in a black overcoat. Right now, it's got a hard on for the only STARS left in town, you and me. We need to move." Brad warned her as he took off down the street, reeling when the police car near them sparked and lit aflame. "It's fucking chaos out here. It's like Arklay on steroids!"
"Oh goddesses…!" Jill gasped and looked to the mirror when she heard Michiru mirror her. She knew she was watching and it was just as horrifying for her. "Michiru…!"
'...by the Ancients… so much destruction… so much death… how could Umbrella let this happen..?'
"This is why we need to bring them down!" Jill hissed, her eyes briefly flashing sea green for a moment in anger.
As she and Brad ran down the street, they passed a fire truck partially blocking the way. The only direction they could go was through Jack's Bar, as barriers blocked the way. And oh god… there were so many zombies behind those barriers…
"See what I mean? The virus spread faster than we anticipated. I couldn't even begin to gauge how many infected we're dealing with… we need to get to the station and gear up. It's the biggest armory in town." Brad said.
"Should I try to call Rebecca and get her here as well?" Jill asked as she followed Brad.
"I tried her before I called you. I couldn't get through to her. Communications across the city are severed. It was sheer luck I got through to you." He replied.
"Lemme try something." Finding a safe spot for them for the moment, Jill got out the communicator watch that she got from Rebecca in the manor. Flipping up the star shaped lid, she pressed the Mercury button. "Neptune to Mercury, come in!"
The screen was static for a moment before Rebecca's face came on screen. "Jill?! Brad?! Oh thank god it's you two!" The medic sighed in relief. "Where are you two?"
"We're at Jack's Bar. It's chaos. We need to know where you are. Are you still in the city?" Jill replied.
"No, I'm away. It was a miracle I managed to slip out before the military started to lock down the city," Rebecca replied. "I'm trying to figure out this virus, but every time I think I have something, it… changes somehow."
"Wait, the military already cordoned off the city?! Shit, that was fucking quick… But that'll trap all the survivors inside the limits! They're just going to leave us to die?! Bastards!" Brad angrily stated.
"After the deaths started mounting and the citizens began to panic, they were summoned. Listen, I'll try and find out what other stuff I can for now. In the meantime, just get to the station and barricade yourselves in." Rebecca replied with urgency at the end.
"Roger that. Jill, let's go. There's a parking garage nearby. We can cut through there to shortcut our way to the station. Follow me." No sooner had Brad said that, the doors of the bar began buckling as zombies slammed against them. "Son of a bitch! We don't have time to chat! Move!" He pulled a few pistol magazines from his jacket and tossed them to her. "Here! You'll need these!"
Jill caught the magazines, stuffed them into her hip pouch and slapped a fresh one into her gun. As a few of them came close, she popped a few rounds into their heads, killing them on the spot. "Move it, Brad!"
"That's what I was telling you!" He replied, shoving open the back door and running into the alley behind the bar. It was blocked on one end, forcing them back into the street they'd just run from. Rubble and wreckage made sure they had to pick their way around to another alley. As they reached it, a bright light nearly blinded them as a helicopter flew over.
"You down there! Survivors! Get to the parking garage roof! We'll pick you up!"
"Never thought I'd be so happy to see a goddamned newscaster!" Brad simultaneously insulted and breathed a sigh of relief.
Jill laughed a bit at this, sharing in the sentiment. "Right?! Let's get up and get out of here!"
Passing through the alley, they entered a warehouse, where a fat man in tattered clothes was ambling around. He turned in shock as he saw them approaching. "Oh no! No no no! This is MY safehouse! You can't have it! Get lost!"
"Sir, wait! We're police officers!" Jill called out.
"I don't care! Yeah, you've been doing a bang up job of 'protecting and serving'! Pfft… if y'all were as good as you claimed, people wouldn't be dying! I just lost my daughter out there! Where were you?!" The man raged, rushing over to a shipping container and climbing inside.
"Hey listen, asshole… we're doing everything we can. You can't expect everyone to just shoot everything that moves. We aren't your typical American cops…" Brad retorted.
"Ha! Yeah, sure. You're just the pinnacle of fucking policing… the only safe place is here! Now LEAVE ME ALONE!" The man swung the container doors shut and refused to say anything else.
"...okay, then I say leave him in there. We've got a chopper to catch." Brad rolled his eyes.
Jill sighed and shook her head. Some people just don't want to be saved, no matter how hard you try to convince them. Then she glanced down at her mirror, to see Michiru having the same look.
'Idiot… he had a chance. He just blew it.'
Nodding, she followed Brad to the car park, where the chopper would be waiting. Once they were out of the city, they could enact their next move against Umbrella. And maybe find some of the other Scouts in the meantime.
The way to the garage was blocked, forcing them to crawl through barriers. The garage was just across the street and they ran for the elevator, only to find their progress impeded by zombies. The elevator itself suddenly opened and more of them poured out. "Damn, we'll have to fight our way through them!" Brad groaned.
"Leave this to me!" She didn't want to waste ammo on the zombies. If there was a bigger threat out there like Brad said, she would need all the ammo she could spare if they were going to face this mysterious STARS terminator. Getting out her mirror, the glass on it began to shine bright. "SUBMARINE… REFLECTION!" She hollered and a blast of sea green energy and water would catch the crowd of zombies, shredding them into nothing but skin and bones.
"Jesus Christ… remind me not to get on your bad side." Brad commented. He then walked over to the elevator with Jill following behind. About ten seconds later, they were on the rooftop. The news chopper flew overhead and hovered above them.
"Get in!" The pilot said, the copilot dropping a rope ladder from the hull.
"C'mon, Brad! We're almost out!" Jill urged him before making a dash for the ladder.
"Ladies first." He gestured, offering her the ladder. When she climbed up a ways, he grabbed onto it and followed. Once safely onboard, the copilot retracted the ladder and closed the sliding door. The pilot then called back to them.
"You're STARS, right? A bunch of your fellow officers are at the station, planning a means of escape. They've been handing out weapons and equipment all day. We'll drop you off there and continue ferrying other survivors to the border. The military is taking them to refugee camps. Apparently they're screening them for the virus. Anyone infected gets shot, but the immune are safe. We'd take you out of the city ourselves but… uh… there's a bounty on your head, Valentine. And yours, Vickers."
"What?!" Both of them yelled in shock. There was a bounty on their heads?!
"Yeah. Chief Irons sent out a bolo, claiming you two have involvement in this disaster. Luckily for you, most of the officers didn't believe that crap. Neither do we. You guys are heroes in the eyes of the media."
Jill smiled a bit at this; at least there were people who believed them. How could they not, considering what's going on around them?
"We're nearly at the station… jesus… the whole city is burning… people should have listened to you guys. They're paying the price for it now…"
"Tell us about it…" Jill muttered as she looked out the window, dismay in her eyes. She tried to tell them, they all did. But their pleas fell on deaf ears.
"What the hell is that..?" Brad said, pointing to something on the streets below them. "That's him! The bastard out to get us! That's gotta be one of Umbrella's bioweapons!" He was pointing at a large creaturing wearing a black trench coat.
"Is that what you were talking about?!" That thing was as big as the Tyrant they faced back at the manor. Instinctively, her hand rested on the handle of her stick.
The creature looked up at the helicopter. It's face… ew. One of its eyes was sewed shut, the other was milky white. It had no nose, like a skull, and no mouth either. Its enormous teeth were exposed. As it looked at them, they heard a low, angered growl.
"...STAAAAAARS…"
"Fuck…" Jill knew then and there, they were in for one hell of a night. With this thing chasing them, like Brad warned, she didn't think guns would be enough to bring this massive thing down. From the looks of it, the only weak spot she could see was the head, but even that seemed well protected by black wrapping, leaving only its right eye exposed.
"Okay, we're here. Landing on the roof of the RPD. This is your stop, STARS. Good luck." The pilot said, bringing the chopper down and stopping it on the roof.
"Thanks!" Jill nodded and the two STARS members hopped out. "Good luck out there!" She then called back to the pilot. He waved and took off again.
"STAAAAAAARS!"
A missile appeared in the air, flying from somewhere on the ground. "Oh shit!" Brad said as the missile flew towards the news chopper. The pilot barely dodged it, looping the chopper. He made a speedy escape, before another missile came his way. "That monster is trying to kill everyone between him and us!" Brad added.
"NOO!" Jill cried out as the second missile made contact with the chopper, blowing it out of the sky. Dammit… not again! Then she whipped her gaze back towards the monster and glared in anger, her teeth gritted and hands balled into fists. The black robed monster then turned and walked away, dropping a smoking RPG as it did so.
"That bastard can use weapons?!" Brad exclaimed, almost not believing what he'd seen.
"Fucker…! We need to find a way to kill it and soon before any more lives are taken!" Jill hissed before running inside, hoping to find more of her fellow officers. More hands equaled more firepower against this endless wave of the undead.
The halls were mostly empty, and many of the windows had been boarded up. She heard voices from downstairs, so they went that way, and found survivors camping out in the corridors surrounding the East office. The officers must be sheltering anyone who came for aid. If there weren't any officers here, they were probably in the conference room around the corner, or in the briefing room on the West side of the station.
"Is this all that's left…?" Jill said to herself while allowing Michiru to look as well with her mirror.
'Most of the officers are out in the city, like Brad said. Many are dead already…'
Jill looked down with a sigh, running a hand through her hair again. "Well, shit…" she muttered as she walked down the small steps. Now she really wished she had Pluto with her. But for now, she was on her own.
"Valentine! What the hell are you doing here?" A voice called to her from the corridor by the main hall. A tallish black man in uniform was standing there, holding a flashlight, as some areas of the station had lost power. The name tag on his shirt read 'Marvin Branagh'.
"Lieutenant, the city's gone to shit. I don't give a fuck what the chief says, we need all the help we can get." Brad said as Marvin walked over to them.
"The chief's not here. He hasn't been seen since he left for his private residence about a day ago. Apparently he put out a bolo for your arrest. He's been saying you two started this whole mess." Marvin questioned.
"That's bullshit! Irons is trying to shut us up because of what happened. We know what really happened out there, Marvin!" Jill snapped. "That fat bastard is in the pocket of Umbrella."
"Oh believe me, I know. Most of us never believed the crap he said about STARS. You guys were the best of us. What happened at the mansion was bullshit. Unfortunately, this attack caught us off guard. We've lost a lot of men defending this station. It's bad enough that we're periodically having to shoot civilians who show signs of infection…" The lieutenant sighed, beckoning them to follow him to the briefing room on the West side.
As they passed through the main hall, Jill and Brad saw it was packed to the brim with civilians camping out. Jill sighed and hugged herself, unbelieving of how many civvies were left. She shot a look at Brad, who gave a sympathetic one in return.
"There's probably more out there. It's a big city. But we've lost contact across the board. We're entirely cut off from the outside. No one knows what the hell is going on, and the Army isn't about to release statements…" Marvin went on as they walked through the western corridor to the briefing room. Already they could hear voices from within; officers arguing over what they should do next, how much ammo and supplies they had left, and even a few advocating to seal off the station to the outside.
"What do you think we should do with the station, Marvin?" Jill asked, wondering about his opinion on what to do.
"What can any of us do, really? The police aren't trained for this kind of situation. You STARS were the only ones with any experience, and most of you disappeared months ago. Then Irons declared the rest of you terrorists." He answered, pushing open the doors. There was a hush as everyone there laid eyes on Jill.
"Hey, show some respect! You're staring at the only person with the experience to save your asses!" Brad shot at them, infuriated by their reactions. Seems 'Chickenheart' Vickers had grown a spine.
Jill shot him a smile before turning to the group. "Alright, everyone. I want you to listen and listen well because I'm only saying this once. Those things out there can be bested by flames, acid or a well aimed shot to the head. Don't be afraid to even use grenades to turn them into mush." Then she walked over to the map of the station and looked it over. "What key points have been barricaded so far?"
"Most of the windows in the corridor behind us are boarded, some of them in the east but not all of them. The passage to the underground parking garage is exposed, so we shut off the power to the door. No one can go that way now. Unfortunately, the guy who turned off the power got killed before he escaped. The cellblock and parking is completely cut off now, except for the chief's private elevator, but his office is locked and the elevator power is off. We can't find the keys. The officers who had the keys are all missing. All we've got is the Spade Key. Without the other keys, a lot of the station is cut off to us." David stated, reading off a report he'd written earlier.
"Lemme guess, Irons booked it out of the city after the shit began to hit the fan, right?" Jill asked with disdain.
"He's probably hiding out at his private home, fat bastard…" Another officer grumbled.
"We're not gonna hear anything from him. We're on our own here. With Irons 'missing', technically STARS are the ranking officers here. So that means everyone defers to Valentine's command. If she's not around, you answer to me." Marvin interjected.
Jill nodded and turned to Brad. "How do you want to play this? What can we sacrifice in the station and what needs to be put under lock and key?"
"We've done what we can already. We need access to the garage, so we can use the vehicles to hammer a path through the streets. Someone needs to find a way down to the underground and get inside. Now, Elliot had a plan to get in. Apparently, the station has its own power substation beneath us. There's an elevator that grants access, but we don't know where it is. It doesn't show up on the station maps." David said.
"What of Elliot? Has anyone heard from him?" Jill asked next.
"Last he reported, he was in the East wing." Marvin added.
"We've got one key that can open access to the West office, the library and the East passage to the Chief's Office. We need to find the rest." David concluded. "Oh, and have you still got your STARS badge? We need access to the STARS armory. Someone lost the keycard for the actual armory…"
"Not a problem, I can help with that." Jill nodded once more as she showed said badge. But in trying to fish out her badge, her rod snapped off and fell to the floor with a clatter. "Shit..!"
A couple officers looked surprised, but most of them didn't bat an eyelash. "So the rumors are true… you are a Sailor Soldier." David stated the obvious. "No wonder Irons wanted you out of the picture. That proves you were telling the truth about him being a mole for Umbrella…"
Jill blinked in surprise as she picked up her rod. They… They knew…?! Well… there was no hiding it now. She smiled and Michiru smiled back at her. "I guess a proper introduction is in order, eh partner?"
'Don't waste my energy if you aren't going to fight. We can only maintain form for so long, you know.'
"I know… but something tells me we'll need to suit up sooner rather than later. With that hulking monster lurking around on the streets, chances are he's gonna be coming here." Jill turned serious now as she looked out the window. She could almost sense that ominous presence in the distance…
And its guttural call had sent shivers down her spine when she first heard it.
"Well, let's get going. We need the weapons in the STARS armory, and you've got the only key, since Barry's gone." David says, beckoning some officers to follow him upstairs, also beckoning to Jill.
"Go on, Jill. I'll stay here and help coordinate these guys in putting up more defenses." Brad nodded to her.
Jill nodded back and followed David out, walking with him towards the STARS office upstairs. On the way, she turned to him. "How did you know about the Sailor Soldiers? I thought that story was rarely heard, from what I heard myself."
"Someone spread rumors throughout the city that the Soldiers were making a return, and that we should rally behind them if we wanted to survive the coming storm… I don't know who she was, but it was this really tall woman in a shining battlesuit that looked like it belonged to royalty… and the woman herself looked straight outta the middle ages." He replied, pausing when they got to the stairs, as zombies outside slammed the window and cracked it, making them all jump.
"Mason! Get some boards and nail this fucking thing! Don't let them in!" He barked an order.
"On it!" Mason quickly grabbed some boards and slammed them home one by one. Quickly, he nailed them over the cracking window. "Got it!"
For added measure, Jill jogged over and slapped a hand to the boards. Muttering a small incantation, the seal for Neptune shined over them for a moment before vanishing. "A little extra security for good measure. Thank god Captain Wesker showed me how to do a seal spell."
"Christ… shit like this is the reason why most of us haven't slept for days…" David muttered to himself, gripping his shotgun a little uncomfortably.
They went upstairs and towards the STARS office, moving some of the stuff they'd used to barricade the gate. The windows in the corridors outside the office weren't boarded, but they didn't need to be as the zombies couldn't climb the walls. One of the windows was broken however, and the rain had pooled outside the door, making the floor wet and slippery. "Watch your step."
"Allow me." Jill touched a hand to the water and slowly raised it, molding it into a sphere which she began to purify with a little spark of magic. "Who needs to refill their canteens?"
A few of the officers grunted and held out bottles and canteens, which she then filled. "Fresh water is becoming hard to get a hold of. We've had to resort to using the sinks in the toilets and the showers." David explained as he opened the door to the office.
For Jill, it was like walking back into her home. Everything was as if they'd never left. Chris had even left his jacket and guitar… his sister wouldn't be happy about that.
Jill used her badge to get the armory open before glancing around sadly. Just a few months ago, they were joking around and shooting banter back and forth. Hell, the atmosphere on the day they got back from the Redfield vault was electric, now that they had learned magic was real. She could see herself sitting at her desk, gushing about the fact that such a thing existed, and that she could do so much more for people now with her newfound water magic. She could see the fond smile on Chris's face, watching as his girlfriend/partner was going off like a schoolgirl who discovered a new anime to watch.
And now… it was gone, washed away in one single night…
Tears came to Jill's eyes as she hung her head and hugged herself once more. She was so lost in her memories, she hadn't noticed the officers handing out weaponry and passing it off to distribute to those still willing to fight. She didn't even hear David calling her as he tried to get her attention, until he took her arms and shook her.
"Hey! Valentine! Earth to Valentine!" He said, gently shaking her out of her trance.
"Huh? Oh… sorry, David. I just…" Jill shook her head, trying to hide her oncoming tears. "Did you guys get the weapons?" She then looked around to see the other officers giving her sympathetic looks. "... Guys…?"
"We know what you're thinking… a few months ago, everything was normal. Just another routine day at the RPD. Then the shit with that mansion happened, and everything went to hell… we're all feeling it, Valentine. More people should have listened to you guys. If they had, maybe we'd have been prepared for this…" David sympathized, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You wanna stay here for a bit? We can finish this off ourselves. I imagine you've still got some memories you want to keep…"
Jill didn't trust herself to answer, feeling her throat close up, so she just nodded, biting her lower lip as she fought back the urge to cry. The other officers walked over and enclosed her in a group embrace. "... Thank you…" She managed to whisper.
David beckoned to the others and they quietly left, taking the equipment with them and leaving Jill to be alone for a bit.
When the door closed, Jill felt herself let go and the emotional dam broke. She fell to her knees, hugging herself again as sobs escaped her. Oh how it hurt! It felt like someone had taken her heart, ripped it out and stomped on it beneath their heel. Out of thirteen people… almost all of Bravo was wiped out, save for Enrico, Richard and Rebecca, and they had lost Joseph. Their comrades…
Their friends…
Gone.
And it was Umbrella's fault!
Jill felt a heart wrenching scream of sorrow being pulled from the depths of her soul and she let it out, not holding back. However, in response to her raging emotions, the pipes in the walls began to creak and clatter, threatening to burst.
This was their fault! THIS WAS THEIR FAULT!
She almost let go of her anger, but just as she was reaching her breaking point, the comm system over by Rebecca's desk went off as someone attempted to call the office.
"Is anyone receiving this..? Our platoon is cut off! We need reinforcements! This is Carlos Oliveira! Somebody! Anybody, respond! These bastards have overrun our position and we're being decimated!"
Slowly pulling herself out of the depths of sadness, Jill stumbled over to the comms system and pushed the button to speak. "This is STARS member Jill Valentine! I read you! Come to the RPD! It's a safe haven! Hurry!"
"I can't hear you! Your connection is weak! We're cut off from the police station! We're heading for the train station to set up a perimeter! We have civilians with us! I repeat, we have civilians with us! We're downtown!"
'Dammit! The comms equipment must be damaged.' This Carlos guy wasn't getting everything she said. 'Hmm… the train station isn't that far from here… I could head there myself and meet up with him.'
Taking a few moments to refocus and calm down, she dried her tear stained face and collected her emotions, reigning them back in. There would be time to mourn more later. Right now… she had a job to do. She had to go find Carlos and help him get over to the RPD. "Michiru… are you ready to do this?"
'I don't know who that guy was. He mentioned something about his platoon… is he part of the Army? What are they doing in the city? Weren't they at the perimeter attempting to prevent the virus spreading? Why would they be here...? I don't like where this is heading…'
Regardless of Michiru's personal feelings about the situation, Jill was still a police officer, and her sense of duty refused to allow her to ignore Carlos' plea for help. She had to go to the train station and try to help him. Perhaps she could find out who he was when she got there.