As they were giggling, the double doors at the back of the car suddenly slid open causing everyone to stop and stare. It was Leon! He looked like he had been through the ringer just like them, with a bandaged shoulder and dirty clothes. He also smelled like they did, which, just like the note they found, meant he had been in the sewers.

"Claire! Veronica!" he greeted with an excited smile.

"Leon!" Claire exclaimed.

"Holy shit you're alive!" Veronica sighed happily. She was so glad to see his handsome face again.

"It's so good to see you," Claire added while taking a step closer. He nodded in agreement.

"We made it," he said in relief.

"Just like I said we would."

"You kept my advice. I'm glad to see you safe," Veronica said while patting his non injured arm.

"Likewise. I am really glad to see you two. I was worried there for a second that we'd never meet again." They all grinned at each other, before the new face in the room caught his eye. "Who's this?"

"This?" Claire reached her arm out to bring the child closer. "This is Sherry."

"Ok."

Before Veronica could explain, the train suddenly jerked causing everyone to stumble.

"Jesus!"

"What was that?!" Claire questioned as she gazed at the doors.

"I don't know."

"We didn't check the back cars. Something could still be on it," Veronica pointed out.

"You two stay with Sherry. I'm gonna go check it out," Claire told them. Before she could exit the car, she turned to Veronica. "I'm just going to check." Then she turned, grabbed the machine gun, and left.

"But-"

She didn't even give Veronica a chance to follow her. Damn it. Leon stood next to said little girl as Veronica watched her leave.

"Don't worry, Sherry. We'll protect you," Leon reassured her. He turned to Veronica and gestured to where Claire disappeared. "So, what's the story with that?"

"Story?"

"Yeah, I mean…C'mon, you guys were totally making goo-goo eyes at each other," he smirked. Veronica winced but Leon didn't seem like any sort of threat.

"Oh geez, is it that obvious?" Veronica felt herself blush at being so easily caught.

"It would take an idiot not to notice. But you guys seem to really care for each other so there's nothing wrong with that."

"And considering that we're both girls…" Leon hummed in thought before smiling softly.

"I've had a girlfriend and a boyfriend before. You have nothing to worry about with me." She smiled back but before she could say anything the car jerked again, this time more intensely.

"We shouldn't have let her go alone. We have to go after her," Veronica implored Leon. Glancing between the doors and Sherry, he thought about it for a moment, before nodding.

"Let's go. Sherry, you stay right behind me, got it?"

The little girl nodded then the three of them ran out of the car. Passing through a car full of crates, the doors at the other end led them to a crazy sight. Claire was in the next car over, shooting the giant machine gun at a familiar blob of teeth and tentacles that was destroying the car.

The whole train jerked onto its side as it swung its tentacles around banging against the walls. The car would stabilize then start moving from side to side again causing everyone to slam against the walls constantly. Wind rushed past their ears and hair whipped around wildly from how fast the train was going now.

"It's still not dead?!" Veronica shouted angrily. "When will this fucker learn!?

"Not yet! We have to help her!" Leon replied back just as loud.

The monster broke the ceiling of its car explosively causing Claire to lose her footing as they reached the door. The trio watched helplessly as she was flung against the floor then began trying to get back up.

"Claire!" Another jerk slammed them in the opposite direction. "We gotta lose that car!" the rookie stated as he knelt down on the floor near the car connection. If he could just separate them, the car would fall into the building's self-destruction fire that was still chasing the train.

"Be careful!" Veronica yelled as she held onto Sherry protectively while keeping a grip on one of the car railings. They watched as he pulled back a metal grating revealing the key to separating the car from theirs. He grabbed hold of the railing and kicked down repeatedly on the bar.

"C'mon!" he grunted before finally the lever worked, causing a small rift to begin between the two cars. "Got it!"

Veronica quickly looked back at Claire and realized she was having a hard time getting up and Birkin was way too close for its own good. Once Leon was back on his feet, she handed him Sherry's arm to hold.

"Take her!" she shouted.

"WHAT!?"

Then she jumped over to the other car and helped Claire up. The other was taken aback by her sudden presence.

"Vee!?"

"You're so not doing this alone! I got your back!" Claire couldn't help but smirk.

"And I got yours!"

There was a long sharp pole lying in front of them which, after sharing a look, both gathered the same idea. They both grabbed it and held it tightly and aimed at the giant horned eyeball looming over them. Pulling back, they lunged forward and stabbed it, twisting and cutting it, causing a waterfall of puss and gross liquid to spurt out.

"You like that! Ugh!" Claire shouted at it, before twisting one last time.

"Take a hike asshole!"

"Goodbye fucker!" They wrenched the pole out, stumbling backward as it screamed in pain. Leon leaned forward, reaching out his arm to them.

"Give me your hand!"

Claire made Veronica take it first before she herself took it eagerly. Then with a grunt, they stumbled onto their car safely. The four of them watched intensely as the monster known formerly as William Birkin and his car lost speed and fell into the fiery explosion. Hopefully ending its life for good this time.

They all sighed in relief and began heading back to the first car. The fire was still chasing them, so they needed to figure out where this tunnel led. Peering through the front windshield, they could see the end of the tunnel coming up, but the track ended just outside of it. Claire began to tinker with some of the controls on the headboard hastily.

"We have to slow the car down. We could crash off the track if we don't," she explained.

She must have done something right because the car began to successfully slow. Eventually, it reached the outside and stopped right at the end of the track. The fire behind them burst out of the tunnel before disappearing into the air.

With a gun raised, Leon carefully opened the train door and peeked outside first. After deeming it safe, the four survivors climbed out of the car and began walking. It was barely morning, so it was still cold out, but the sun was shining, and they reveled in its heat.

The long desert road splayed out across the horizon. Some mountains cast shadows over the dried brush. They could see the doomed city sitting far off in the distance behind them with a dark cloud still looming over it.

Deciding to move as far away as possible from it, they decided to begin the long trek across the desert to safety. There were no monsters around, no zombies, no bioweapons, nothing. Just desert. And for once they were happy with that.

Despite being safe, they still kept their heads on a swivel to make sure they weren't being followed. Emotions were a little rattled as they walked down the paved road. Bodies were a little worse for wear and exhaustion weighed heavily on their minds. Little Sherry knew this, so she decided to speak up from between Leon and Claire.

"So…are you guys now like girlfriend and girlfriend?" she asked while looking over at the other two girls.

It was the same innocent question as before, but it still surprised them considering that the two were together all night. They both were stunned by her bluntness as they all stopped to talk. The girls looked at each other and shrugged before reaching out to hold each other's hand.

"I guess you could say something like that," the young biker smiled sheepishly.

"Is that so?" Leon raised an eyebrow with a small smirk on his lips. "That must've been one helluva first date, then." Claire glanced over at her gal pal longingly.

"Yeah, you have no idea-." Suddenly, Sherry pointed down the road.

"Look!" They all turned to see a semi-truck heading towards them. "He might be able to give us a ride." Leon and Claire glanced at each other with serious expressions, standing in front of the other two behind them protectively.

"What if it's not just the city?" Claire questioned worriedly. Leon nodded the three of them over to the side of the road.

"Get them outta here."

Claire waved the other two to follow her to a spot just off of the road while Leon waited with his thumb out. His other hand resting on his gun, just in case. However, as the semi-truck passed them, they were met with loud honking and a middle finger out the window. They all watched as the truck drove off in the other direction. Maybe it was best that they didn't catch the ride. It was going towards where they had just come from.

"Well, he was friendly," Leon scoffed with a tired laugh before looking over at the others. They jogged over and followed his gaze towards where the truck disappeared.

"So...is it over?" Veronica asked.

"I don't know. But if it's not, we'll stop it. Whatever it takes."

"Yeah. You're damn right we will!" Claire added boldly. Leon turned to look at his companions.

"Long as we stick together, we'll be fine. Come on," he said with confidence that Veronica could respect, then held out his hand to Sherry. The young girl gave a toothy smile and stood between him and Claire, holding both of their hands on either side. Veronica went and stood on Claire's right side to also hold her hand.

"Hey! You guys can adopt me," Sherry suggested, swinging their arms happily. All of the young adults chuckled awkwardly at such an innocent request.

"Adopt you?" Claire tried to diffuse the situation with a laugh.

"Yeah! I've never had two moms and a dad before! Oh! We can get a puppy!"

"A puppy…"

"And a parrot!"

"Parrot? Great…"

"I always wanted pets but my mom said they're too messy."

"Hmm...Yeah…"

"Oh, and it would be fun to learn piano. Do you guys play any instruments?"

"I actually do know how to play the piano. I can teach you once we're safe," Veronica replied.

"Yay! I can't wait! Hopefully, we'll get there soon," Sherry sighed happily. The adults looked at each other tiredly. This was going to be a long journey.


The four survivors walked down the empty desert road for hours. All of them took turns in giving Sherry a piggyback ride once she got tired of walking. She was only a kid after all. The sun climbed higher and higher in the sky, but considering how much rain they ran through, they weren't complaining. As they walked, they talked about their nights and where they came from.

Veronica found out that Claire and Leon had met at a gas station just outside of town. They both had to hijack a dead officer's car to get out of a mob of zombies and make it into the city. She knew that the gas tanker had exploded but not everything else.

"Oh! Now it makes sense why you showed up at the station later!" she said in realization.

"Yeah, it took quite the detour to get there. But I'm kinda glad we got separated. If we hadn't, I probably wouldn't have been able to meet you and for us to save Sherry," Claire smiled down at her younger companion. The motherly look made Veronica imagine a future that was way too far in that she had to stuff that into a box to deal with later.

"Clearly, you've been through it like us. What did you do last night?" she turned to Leon both curious and in an attempt to distract herself. He rubbed at the back of his neck almost in a way to soothe himself before dishing out.

"A lot happened. The station was hell to get through, but I was able to meet another survivor when I got there. Lieutenant Marvin Branagh. It's funny. He was going to be my boss when I was supposed to come on my first day, but I guess I clocked in too late."

Despite the strong front he was giving, his eyes betrayed the grief in them. Leon looked fragile and needed to talk to someone. So even though the girls remember the dead officer from the beginning of the night, they still asked.

"Did he…?" Leon shook his head.

"He didn't make it. He was bit before I even got there. It was sad, but he did what he could to save as many people as possible before he passed. Including me."

"I'm sorry, Leon," Claire said sympathetically. He shrugged it off.

"I'm alright. At least I got to meet him. Then when I finally got down to the parking garage, I met another survivor. Ada. She…" he hesitated. "She was a mercenary. She tricked me into thinking she was an F.B.I. agent working on a case against Umbrella. I knew something was off, but she…" He seemed to blush at the memory. Again, he shook it off. "Anyways, this bullet wound was from me pushing her out of the way of Annette's fire." That was when he placed a hand over the shoulder bandage wrapped around him. Explains that.

"What happened to her?"

"She's…she's dead. I tried to save her, but she fell down the main shaft at the lab," Leon explained, his voice strained. Whatever happened clearly still stung. He shook it off once more, a thing he seemed to like to do, and continued. "Besides that, I dealt with Birkin a couple times, but what was a real pain in my ass was that Tyrant guy in the trench coat."

"Oh my god! Do you mean Mr. X?!" Veronica asked excitedly.

"Mr. X?"

"Yeah, that's what we called him. Just a name so we didn't have to guess all the time." He chuckled.

"Then yes. For some reason he really had it out for me."

"No kidding. He wasn't exactly kind to us either."

"Like some sort of psycho ex-girlfriend!" Claire joked. They all laughed out of reflex at the thought.

"So, what happened with you guys?" Leon asked.

"Well, we both met outside the station not long before we saw you at the gate. We managed to get inside and deal with all of the horror but we couldn't find anything on my brother Chris."

"Yeah, me either. Did you guys get any of my notes?"

"We did! They were helpful that's for sure so thank you," Veronica told him.

"But we did find a note that said he was still alive and in Europe, but honestly that just left me with more questions than answers."

"But at least he's alive."

"That's the only good thing about it. Then we met little Sherry here. She is Annette Birkin's daughter. We found her while trying to escape the station, but she was kidnapped by some creep," Claire started explaining.

"Yeah. The chief of police," Veronica added.

"Wait, hold on. Annette Birkin's'daughter? AND Chief Irons was still alive?!"

"Unfortunately. And we had the displeasure of meeting with him multiple times. Turns out the fucker was sick, and I mean like mentally sick. He was a totally creep and probably a sociopath." She shivered at the memory. "Thinking about everything we've read and seen has me grossed out."

"Geez! I knew he was working with Umbrella, but clearly, you guys found more than that."

"The guy killed a random girl for fun, he kidnapped Sherry and gave us some major lumps in the head," Claire pointed to the bruise on Veronica's temple.

"Bastard really likes using the pistol whip," the older girl muttered while gently rubbing the sore spot.

"Jesus."

"Anyways, we were able to save her at the nearby orphanage, obviously, but not before we found out that Umbrella was using the kids there as experiments," Claire continued.

"I'm telling you these people were sick."

"And Irons?" Leon asked.

"Dead. He was implanted with G, so he had one of those babies pop out of his chest like in the movie Alien, but I'd really rather not think about that right now," Veronica explained. "But in the process, Sherry was also implanted, but with us finding the antiviral agent and Annette's help, she's cured."

"And throughout the whole night, I think we faced off against Birkin, what? Three times?"

"Four if you count the last one on the train," Claire corrected.

"Holy shit! Four times?" Leon asked in slight shock. The girls nodded. "God…You ladies are such badasses. I might be out of a job at this rate." They all laughed at the joke then sighed. It felt nice even just for a moment. "What a night it's been." They all hummed in agreement.

The next couple of hours went like this. Talking about the horrors of the night they just went through, continuous walking, and sometimes minutes of silence. Sherry would often brighten up the conversation with talk about each other rather than about experiences.

It was like one big survivor bonding party. Despite going through what they've been through, it was a nice change. After about the fourth hour, they were beginning to get pretty tired and were actually considering resting on the side of the road.

However, Veronica noticed something in the distance. There looked like there was something shiny moving back and forth up ahead. When they got a little closer, they realized it was a highway and the shiny objects were cars! They all began to jog over to try and flag down a ride. It took them a couple of tries, but a man in a red pickup truck finally stopped on the side of the road.

"Geez son, you look like shit!" the older man behind the wheel grumbled at the sight of Leon.

"We went through some shit. Do you think you could give us a lift?" he asked. The driver looked over him then at the trio of girls behind him.

"Where y'all headed?"

"Anywhere that's as far away from Raccoon City as possible!" Claire stated.

"As far as you can take us. A few towns over would be great," Leon added. The old man thought about it for a second before nodding.

"Alright. Y'all can hop in the back. I don't want my seats stained. I'll take you outta state and drop ya off at the nearest motel. It may take a few hours."

"Thank you so much, sir. We really appreciate it!" The girls began to climb into the trunk, but the man stopped Leon before he could.

"What happened in Raccoon City? I was taken on a detour past it."

"Hell, sir. That's all that's left."

The man seemed taken back by the young officer's answer but then nodded. Leon quickly climbed in with the girls and then the truck began driving onward. After the first hour, Sherry and Veronica ended up falling asleep, with Sherry in Claire's lap and Veronica on Leon's shoulder, not that they could blame them. Claire and Leon decided to stay awake for their sake, and in the meanwhile, they decided to talk.

"So, you and Veronica then?" Leon asked over the roar of the wind.

"You could say that. It kind of just happened," she shrugged, her hand reaching over to hold onto her partner's.

"I don't blame you, honestly. She's a very pretty girl."

"The prettiest," she grinned.

The next two hours were spent talking before finally, the truck pulled off the highway. Like the driver said, they had made it just over the state line and were dropped off at the first motel they could find. The four survivors climbed out of the truck then went over to the driver's window.

"We can't thank you enough, sir!" Claire sighed.

"It's no problem, young lady!"

Suddenly, Veronica remembered something. She had a pocket on her plaid shirt that was buttoned and in it was her small wallet, and some money. She had put them in there because she didn't want to carry a purse while walking to Raccoon City after her car had stalled. Pulling out a twenty, she handed it to the driver.

"It's not much, but I hope this can be some sort of payment for the ride." The man hesitated then took the bill with a small smile.

"Thank you, miss. It's kindly appreciated. I'll be off now." They said their goodbyes then watched as he drove away.

The motel he had dropped them off at was a rather cheap one, but anything was better than nothing. The other two had kept their essentials as well, so paying for the rooms wasn't a hassle. They were able to get two rooms for the night, each with a full bed since it was all they could afford or was available.

Not that it mattered. They could sleep on a padded floor as long as they were safe. Claire and Sherry would take one while Veronica and Leon shared the other. Since there was no room for all of them to share, nor did anyone want to be alone, they agreed to the arrangement. Claire wasn't too keen to be kept away from her love interest, but she couldn't leave Sherry to be alone. For now, she trusted Leon to be a gentleman and to keep her safe.

Before heading up to their rooms, they went to a small gift shop/convenience store to buy bottles of water, first aid supplies, some toiletries, and a few snacks. Getting up to their rooms, they drank so much of their water so fast, it was almost unbearable. But eating was hard. After everything they had seen, they didn't really have much of an appetite.

The room was small, but it was plain, and it was safe. The bed was kind of squeaky and there may have been spiders in the corners, but they didn't care. Walking into the bathroom, they had never been so happy to see a shower that was offering hot water in their entire life. Also, the motel they were in had a laundry room, much to their surprise, so they decided to take the full opportunity to use it.

They all sat together first in Claire's room to talk and consume. Separating felt weird to do after the night that they had.

"How about this? While Leon and Sherry take a shower, Veronica and I can go and wash your clothes downstairs. Then when you're done, we'll switch. After we're all clean, we can meet back here and fix ourselves up," Claire suggested.

"You sure if we should?" Leon asked worriedly. He wasn't ecstatic at the thought of leaving anyone alone.

"We need to get clean somehow and I don't want to walk in sewage covered jeans for a few hundred more miles."

With that said, they all agreed, then Leon and Sherry went to take their showers. Leon took off first while Sherry went into the bathroom, leaving the other two alone. It wasn't till that moment that it had finally hit Veronica, emotions suddenly overwhelming her. Claire seemed to sense it too as they both ran into each other's arms to embrace. She couldn't stop herself from sobbing.

They were finally safe.

"W-we made it!" she blubbered. Claire lifted a hand to pet softly at the back of her head.

"We did. I knew we would."

"If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up. That was the scariest day of my life!"

"I know, but we're ok. We're alive and together! Starting tomorrow, we're going to head to my place. I may be dorming, but it's safe. And that way we can get you a ticket back to L.A so you can see your family."

"My family! God, I can see Lily again!"

"She's waiting for you. We'll give her a call after we've all had our showers." She gave Veronica a final peck before letting her go to catch up with Leon. "I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes."

When she walked in, she found him sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. His shirt was off, but he was still clothed. He looked up at her when she walked in and quickly wiped his eyes, clearly from crying.

"I uh…I need help getting the bandages off. Think you could…?" he asked while gesturing to the bandages wrapped around the bullet wound on his shoulder.

"Sure man."

She walked over and began undressing the wound. They sat in silence, a bit awkward at the exchange. She was trying not to blush at the hot half naked guy sitting in front of her but kept focused. She may be with Claire, but she had eyes. The man was well built and attractive. But his own eyes…there was so much grief in them.

"I…" she started unsure where to go with this but wanted to say something. "This is a stupid question but…Are you ok, Leon?" He looked up at her and opened his mouth to answer but couldn't seem to find his voice. Then after a moment his eyes welled up with tears.

"No. Not really." Without thinking, she sat next to him and leaned over to pull him into a hug. He was surprised at first but melted into it and hugged her back.

"I'm sorry, Leon. For whatever happened last night," she whispered. It was then that he began to break down and sob.

"I-I…I lost so much. My job, my city, my…I could've saved her."

She rubbed his back and hushed gently. The pain of loss echoed in them. It had been a while since she was so focused on surviving, but the thought of her best friend being gone suddenly hit harder than she thought. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"You did what you could, Leon. But you're here. You persevered and you made it….and you're not alone." She pulled back and locked eyes with him. "We're here with you. Claire, Sherry, and I. We may not be as close, but we can be. We're here for you, ok?" she spoke, voice a bit choppy from the lump in her throat, but sincere, nonetheless. He nodded and wiped his face.

"I…T-thank you. For letting me cry."

"It's no problem. You can come to me to talk anytime. I'm serious about us being friends. After everything, how can we not?" He smiled softly and began pulling away.

"I think I'd like that very much."

"Good. Cause I do too." He nodded then looked up at the room window.

"I um…I should really shower. Claire has been standing outside waiting." She looked over to see Claire leaning against the railing but smiled at them softly. She must have seen the whole thing.

"Oh, yeah. That would probably be a good idea." She got back up and finished untying the gunshot wound. Once it was done, she found it to be red and flaring with the promise of infection. "We're really going to have to get this looked at."

The man quickly went into the bathroom where he disrobed then handed her the bundle of gross clothes. Before she left, she could hear him start up the shower. When she got outside, she apologized for the long wait as they made their way down the stairs.

"It's ok. I kinda saw from the get-go that he wasn't doing so hot, so when he started to fall apart, I gave you guys all the time you needed."

"Thank you for that. I think he really needed someone to lean on. The guy seems so lonely."

"Well, we're here now so he won't have to be."