Sitting in the conferane room Dale sipped at his coffee as Andy added notes about the current case, nickname 'Outbreak', on the whiteboard.
"So we know that this virus spreads through bites and scratches from anyone infected. Victims of the virus don't seem to feel pain, missing limbs don't seem to affect them either." Dale continued, looking towards the open doorway when Hawk reappeared. "How's Megan?"
"She's alseep in one of the jail cells, Cooper." Hawk answered, giving Dale a grin when the FBI agent frowned. "It was her idea."
"Strange place for a nap but I guess she didn't want to wander too far from all the excitement." Harry pointed out and Dale just shrugged as Hawk took a seat beside them.
"Megan's still worrying about this virus spreading to the town again." Dale pointed out, looking through the notes Megan had given him before she'd left in the middle of their discussion, unable to stop herself from yawning. "But at least she's getting some rest. It couldn't be easy having lived through what she did."
"Has there been any news about Raccoon City?" Harry asked and Dale sighed, handing Harry a newspaper. As Harry looked at the headline Dale rubbed at his eyes, silently hoping that Albert would understand how potentially dangerous this outbreak would be if it happened in the town. "A reactor went critical?" He said, staring at the image of the crater for long enough to get Andy and Hawk's attention.
"That's what the headline says, Harry but that can't be right. Megan told me she saw zombies walking the streets before the city was destroyed." Dale replied, narrowing his eyes as he read the rest of the article. "We saw those things in the hospital and the diner. That wasn't a radiation leak."
"Radiation didn't cause that infection so why lie about it?" Harry commented and Dale sighed, looking at the newspaper lying in front of them.
"I know why they lied." Someone muttered and everyone looked up to see me standing in the doorway, a blanket wrapped half-hazardly around my shoulders. "They didn't want the world to know what really happened to my hometown. That would have caused a nation-wide panic."
Dale immediately stood, pulling out a chair and I nodded at him sitting before he sat in the chair beside me. "Is there anything you can tell us about the outbreak? Even what happened leading up to it?" He asked me and I took a deep breath, knowing that he wanted to stop the virus as much as I did.
"Before Raccoon City was destroyed there were a series of murders, people found partitial eaten and when the S.T.A.R.S, that's Raccoon City's police, searched the forest surrounding the city most of them disappeared. The rest came back claiming to have seen monsters in the forest and the mansion right in the middle of the forest." I explained, scratching at my eyes for a few seconds. "Of course everyone thought they were crazy and they were suspended. I mean zombies? Really?" I let out a breath then my mind still reeling at how right they were and in the silence I heard a squeak, looking around until I noticed Dale had moved his chair closer to me.
"We know the truth now, Megan." Dale replied and I nodded slowly, looking at my fingers for a moment. "What happened after the murders?"
"Well after the S.T.A.R.S were suspended nothing happened until about a week or so ago. There were more murders and after that people started to get sick and the hospital was overwhelmed by people suffering what we started to call the cannibal sickness even though the official reports said people were suffering from the flu." I answered, fighting to keep my voice from trembling. "After the zombies started to overwhelm the police a group of survivors including me decided to take our chances and escape the city. Somehow we made it to the outskirts of the city and that's when I decided to take the army truck and get as far away as possible."
"What happened to the other survivors?" Andy asked and I just shrugged, pulling the blanket around my shoulders a little tighter.
"I'm not completely sure, Andy but I know the young girl, the cop and the woman in the red vest left together. The other survivors took another truck they found near a barricade and they did offer to drive me somewhere but...well after everything I just wanted to keep driving as far as I could get. When the sun rose that same morning as I put as much distance between me and the city I heard a loud noise but I didn't look back. Guess I didn't want to know what it was but aftter a few minutes I parked the truck, looking off into the distance where I could swear...I saw a massive fireball." I finished, breathing a little heavier as I wrapped the blanket around my head. "I did go back once I found the courage and found...the crater."
"Megan, that's terrible." Harry finally broke the silence and I nodded, not even realizing that Dale had his hand on my right shoulder. "So you just headed along the road until we found you?"
"Yes. I just drove as fast and as far as the truck could take me not even knowing where I was going. I must have fallen asleep at the wheel because I woke up in the hospital with a bump on my forehead and you guys staring at me." I finished, giving Dale a faint smile when he squeezed my shoulder. "Can't seem to leave that city behind."
"You've been through a lot, Megan and I know it's a lot to ask but..." Dale trailed off when I sighed, shaking my head at him.
"Don't worry about it, Dale. If Raccoon City had listened to the S.T.A.R.S and their stories we would have been ready. But we didn't listen and thousands of people paid the price so if I can help in anyway I will." I told everyone, looking at everyone sitting in the room before my eyes focused on Dale who gave me a tiny smile. "I just hope that after Albert checks David's blood he'll finally understand just how deadly the infection is and how contagious."
"Hopefully once he gets his results Albert will see reason. Now since you have nothing to do right now would you like to go for a walk?" Dale asked me and I raised an eyebrow, nodding while my mind tried to work out why he thought a walk would be a good idea right now. I soon found myself outside in the fresh air, minus my blanket which I'd left back in the room, and as I stood beside the FBI agent I took a deep breath.
"This was a good idea, Dale but why did you want to go for a walk? Aren't you worried about the results of the blood sample Albert took? Frankly I'm wondering if even that will convince him." I asked and Dale just gave my back a pat giving me a faint smile in return.
"I didn't want to say anything but I'm hoping that Albert will listen to reason too, Megan. We've witnessed first hand how devastating that sickness is," He paused then, lightly brushing my forehead and as I watched he stared at my forehead for long enough to make me feel slightly dizzy. Sensing my discomfort Dale's hand slipped down to grasp my own, his fingers intertwined through mine. "So we need to do everything possible to make him believe." He added and I drew in a breath letting it out before I snorted.
"It sounds so easy but the city didn't believe the people who were there to protect them so what chance do the two of us? You remember the first time we tried to help Twin Peaks? I ended up with a bullet in my brain and you...well I don't even want to know what happened to you after I died." I replied with a shudder and Dale just sighed, draping his other arm around my shoulders.
Not letting this opportunity get past me I leaned in close enough to rest my head on his shoulder and after Dale felt me tremble he gave my hand another he hoped reassuring squeeze which doesn't help as much as I wanted to and I barely stifle the sniffle. After a very long and awkward minute, I raised my head and Dale stared at my face noting with a growing sense of unease that my eyes were slightly glassy. "Megan, are you feeling alright?" He asked and I blinked, lifting my head slightly to find him staring directly at my face.
"Exhausted if you really want to know, Dale. I tried to sleep but that bed's really uncomfortable." I finally admitted and he chuckled when I managed a weak grin. "Think I should have picked somewhere better to sleep huh?"
"When Deputy Hawk told me where you'd ended up that surprised me," Dale told me as I lifted my head off his shoulder to stare at him. "In a jail cell of all places."
"It wasn't just being uncomfortable on that bed that stopped me from sleeping. I realized too late that it was the same cell where I...I asked you to shoot me." I explained, drawing a breath as the last moments of my life flashed before my eyes. Dale barely caught me when I fell onto my knees, his arm going around my shoulders to steady me as I trembled. "Why did I have to think about that?" I coughed, feeling my stomach-churning. Thankful I hadn't eaten for a while but I still wiped at my streaming eyes once the coughing subsided, Dale kneeling beside me.
"Just take slow breaths, Megan. You should try and get your mind off what happened. Find something that you can focus on that makes you happy." Dale suggested and I nodded once I stopped shaking. With his help, I managed to get my feet under me and as I leaned on his side Dale draped his arm around my waist.
I searched my mind for something to steer my thoughts away from my death at Dale's hands but when my mind wandered further away from death I found it focusing on one particular moment in my life and as my cheeks reddened Dale's eyes widened, a little worried until I placed a hand over my mouth shocked at how quickly that thought had come into my head.
"Did you think of anything positive to focus on instead, Megan?" Dale asked and I snorted, knowing that he could see my red cheeks and my barely controlled giggling and he raised an eyebrow at me. "Is there something you're not telling me?" Once I saw him staring at me I cleared my throat beckoning him to lean in closer and after Dale did after a slight hesitation I whispered what had made me start laughing. As soon as I finished speaking Dale blinked, staring at me and in the silence that followed my laughter cut off as my cheeks burned.
"That wasn't exactly what I meant, Megan." Dale chuckled and I finally relaxed, seeing his lips curl into a smile. "But I'm touched that a moment with me in it that makes you happy." He added and I nodded, letting him pull me into a hug. After a few more minutes of feeling better, Dale lowered his head a small smile still on his face.
"Though the subject matter could have been better," Dale admitted and that has me laughing all over again, still wrapped in Dale's arms.
"Well I did think of the first time I met you but I wasn't really that happy when I woke up after I crash," I admitted once we started to head back inside, Dale's suggestion when I started to shiver from the cold despite lending me his body warmth. I'd barely stepped into the building with Dale right behind me when Harry appeared, holding two cups of hot coffee judging from the smell of it.
"Thought you two could use these," Harry told us, handing one each to us and without hesitation, I took a sip immediately grimacing when I burnt the tip of my tongue but that didn't stop me from taking another sip. As I followed Harry and Dale back into the office I continued to drink my own coffee which helped to wake me fully. Knowing that the town needed as much help as it could get from me I decided to just ignore Albert the next time we met and instead focus on helping my friends.
Returning to the conference room I sat beside Dale again which my friends noted but thankfully chose not to comment on. Looking over the notes that Dale had jotted down I took the notepad, peering at it for several seconds before I made a few new notes.
"I know some victims arrived at the hospital without bite marks or scratches so there's a chance the virus was in the water. Also, the police dogs I saw had all been infected and some of the birds crows that I could see, attacked several people. I couldn't think of those before but I think the coffee and the fresh air helped me." I commented, handing the notepad back to Dale who took it with a grateful smile. "That's all I can think of right now."
"That's great work, Megan. This would account for why so many people in your town and our city when it happened anyway, turned into zombies." Dale answered and I nodded, grateful that I could help. "Right now the plan should be to watch the townspeople for any signs of infection and also wait for Albert to get back from the lab with the blood test results."
"Great plan, Dale. I just hope that Albert understands what we're dealing with before it hits the town again." I replied, finishing my coffee before I looked around the table. "So are there any donuts left?" I asked and everyone laughed, leaving me slightly red-faced as my cheeks burned.
As I worked on my second donut I sipped at a fresh cup of coffee, feeling much more awake. Leaning back in my chair I watched as Dale and Harry added to the notepad sitting on the table.
"Not to spoil your good mood, Megan but Albert should be here by tomorrow," Dale told me as I took another sip and once I swallowed the mouthful of coffee I raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm confident he'll be more reasonable once he comes back with the results but until then you should return to your hotel room." He added, tilting his head to one side when I blinked at him.
"Dale's right, Megan. Drinking all of that coffee isn't good for you anyway." Harry agreed and I rolled my eyes, finishing my coffee with a blank stare before I climbed from the chair. After I grabbed the rest of my donut I munched on it getting as far as the open doorway before I remembered I didn't have a car and I turned back to find Dale and Harry staring at me.
"Could I get a lift back to the hotel? Even with all of this caffeine running through my system I doubt I could walk all the way back." I asked, getting a few grins from my friends.