Alone again

Seperated by the fire, Leon and Claire must each find their way to the police station. Walking along the way, Leon finds only **** and blood...

Chapter 2 - Walk Into Darkness

Leon stumbled out of the deformed police car. He barely stood up, only to be greeted with the car’s explosion.

“Oh, no...” Looking at the oil tanker behind the car, he immediate realized what was going to happen.

He turned around and ran away, but the next second, the shock wave from the second blast swept him away for a few meters and crashed him into another car. When he stood up again in pain, everything in front of him were now blazing in flames.

“CLAIRE! CLAIRE, YOU OK?” He yelled at the flames.

For a while, there was only silence. However, when all hope seemed to have lost, a clear respond renewed it.

“YEAH! I’M ALRIGHT! HOW ABOUT YOU?” Claire shouted on the other side of the fire.

Leon soon noticed the double explosion caused too much attention that a dozen of monsters were surrounding him. In a few more seconds he would become a feast to them.

“I CAN’T STAY HERE! IT’S NOT SAFE!” He backed from the flood of monsters and tried to find a way out.

“GO ON AHEAD! I’LL MEET YOU AT THE STATION!” Claire’s voice was drifting further. Things must be bad on her side, too.

“I’LL BE THERE!”

He deftly avoided the slowly walking monsters and managed to find a way into a small alley. Everything was out of control. On all the way here he hasn’t seen a living human, nor a dead corpse, only those blood sucking monsters.

“Shit...It’s everybody...They’ve all turned into...” What should he say, vampires?

Red eyes, elongated fangs, blood craving instinct...Everything matched the vampire folklore. Were they really exist? How did all of this happen? Damn it...He needed to get to the police station as soon as possible. They must have some answers there.

Before he ran into the alley he remembered the street signs said “Davies Street”. He was driving along the Ennerdale Street before the crash. So he was on the south section of Davies Street, while Claire was on the north. If his memory served him right, the R.P.D. was to the north-west of here. He could take a few shortcuts between these buildings to reach the police station.

He moved carefully in the alley and kept every voice down, however that didn’t do much help. Those vampires were attracted to living humans, or rather, the smell of human blood, as much as to sounds. Luckily, running fast enough was able to avoid most of them.

To his left was the famous Raccoon City High School. He saw a couple of monsters were wandering on the playground in the school. He couldn’t imagine what the odds of survival were when those students were plunged into this kind of nightmare.

Turning another corner he saw the path was blocked by a loaded, white van with a “Kendo’s Gunshop” mark on it. He couldn’t get pass that, so the only option was to traverse the basketball field on the right. However, things were pretty messed up here.

Blood was everywhere on the ground. There were totally five vampires gathering in the field and all of them were slapping a wheeled dumpster by the wall but not knowing how to open it. Some of them were wearing sportswear. This abnormal behavior of theirs was enough to convince Leon that someone alive was hiding inside the dumpster. He got an idea when he saw the trash can beside him.

“Hey! Hang in there! I’m here to help!” Leon yelled towards the dumpster.

He didn’t know whether who ever hid in there had heard him, but those vampires definitely had. They were coming towards him and easily smashed the rusty padlock on the door before opening it. When all of them were in the alley he climbed on the trash can and jumped over the fence into the field.

Before the vampires turned around and tried to get back in the field, Leon pulled the dumpster towards the door to block it. Well, not permanently as those vampires were strong enough to slowly push it away, but it still bought him some time.

In the dumpster, a young boy around 16, also wearing a sportswear, was crouching and shaking. But when light finally returned to his world and Leon, a strong and confident man came in front of him, his breathing was becoming more and more steady.

“Hey! Are you alright?” Leon smiled and reached out his hand.

The boy took his hand and nodded excitedly.

“My name’s Leon. I’m a cop. It’s alright, let me get you out of here.” Leon gently pulled the boy out of the dumpster, “Looks like we’re going from the other side. Can you walk?”

“Y-Yes...”The boy stood up with his legs still shaking, but he managed.

Leon grabbed the boy’s hand and ran to the other side of the field. The door wasn’t locked and there wasn’t any monsters on the outside. At the same time, those vampires successfully pushed the dumpster away and entered the field again. It’s now or never.

He opened the door and kept running through the alley. After they climbed over another dumpster that was blocking the way, they were finally able to take a breath. The boy sat on the ground and breathed heavily as this was the first time in hours that he felt safe.

“Hey, kid. You’re doing great.” Leon tapped the boy’s shoulder approvingly, “What’s your name?”

“Jacob...”

“Do you know how did this happen, Jacob?” He asked.

“No...I...” Jacob shook his head, “I was playing basketball with my friends after school, waiting for my sister Janet to come get me after work and go home together. There were two people walking in the field and I thought they were here to play...until they grabbed Vince and Peter and...Zachary tried to help but they...I...”

The boy stopped talking and began to sob quietly. Leon remembered three of those vampires in the basketball field were also wearing sportswear. So, they were...This kind of trauma won’t be easy for a 16-year old kid to go through.

In the meantime, he was piecing the clues together from what Jacob said. Jacob was still going to school today, which meant that everything was fine in the daytime and suddenly went to hell in just one night. One night was all it took to cause a citywide outbreak? How was that possible? Many things didn’t add up, but he didn’t have much time to think further now. Staying here for any longer would be dangerous.

“Jacob, I’m sorry but, we shouldn’t stay any longer.” He helped the boy up, “Come on. The police station is not far from here. You can take shelter there.”

The exit of the alley was just ahead, which would lead them back in the Ennerdale Street. The R.P.D. should be on their left, just a few dozens of meters away, where he hoped to have answers.

“But...my family is living in the apartment across the street...” Jacob looked at him expectantly, “I...I want to go home. Mom’s leg was hurt this morning. I need to go check on her...”

Leon was conflicted.

On one hand, going to the police station was a logical decision. Jacob would be safe there.

On the other, Jacob’s mom might need their help before it’s too late.