The woman in the alley (Brothers in Arms path)

Leon was separated from Claire by a wall of fire and more than a few shambling vampires. With most of them on his side, the rookie cop, after they called out to each other and promised to meet up, did his best to make it to the police station.

That was easier said than done, however. And between the fires burning in the city of the dead, car wrecks and the shuffling bloodsuckers, Leon found himself having to duck into an alley to navigate his way around.

Alright Kennedy, stay calm, Leon thought to himself, advancing into the back alley with his pistol at the ready. This situation was far beyond anything he had been trained for, but he had to do his best, to survive, and help others.

Just up ahead, he heard a scuffle, and a cry for help, a woman's voice. Unable to help himself, Leon advanced at a light jog.

"Fucker! Get the... hell offa me!" Came the voice of a black woman, wrestling with a vampire that was on top of her by the dumpster, trying to drink her blood. She had both hands on the larger, male infected's throat, trying to keep him at bay, but Leon could tell it was a losing battle.

"Leave her alone!" Leon said, as if by instinct, levelling his Matilda at the vampire's head. The blood-crazed beast made no attempt to stop, so Leon put a 9MM round into it's head. When that didn't do the job, he followed up with another.

"Thank god!" the black girl said, as the vampire slumped down, she wriggled out from under him and stood up.

"Are you hurt?" Leon asked. "Did it bite you?"

"No, just... humiliated me, I guess." the woman said. When she bent down to pick up her dropped pistol, Leon noticed just how strangely she was dressed. Or wasn't dressed.

Petite and lithe, in her early twenties, with long, straight, black hair, the woman was barefoot. She wore a lightweight blue satin jacket, and no pants. She wore a pair of cheetah-print panties.

"What, something you never seen before, whiteboy?" the woman asked, making no effort to hide her exposed legs or underwear.

"No, it's just... not what I was expecting, at a time like this." Leon said, making a point to stop ogling the woman's body and fix his gaze firmly on her eyes, her face.

"Bloodsucker-fuckers didn't exactly wait around for some of us to get dressed." she explained. "I'm Roxy. Roxy Branagh."

"Leon Kennedy." Leon responded in kind. "I'm trying to get to the police station. You really should come with me, it's gotta be safer, more defensible there."

Roxy nodded.

"Exactly where I was fixin' to make it to, Leon." the half-naked woman concurred. "I've got... business there. But it's not exactly easy to get about the city, what with everything that's going on."

"I'll say!" Leon said. "But I think, if we head through here," Leon nodded to the other end of the alleyway "we should be able to double around to the station's front entrance."

"Not gonna happen." Roxy told him. "I just tried to get through there, before my date with Bald, Ugly and Bloodthirsty over there." she nodded to the deceased vampire. "It's completely impassable. Rubble, burning vehicles, vampires, take your pick."

"Damn, we're in a tight spot." Leon said, checking his mag as he thought on his next course of action.

"I did get this." Roxy said, producing a key from a pocket in her thin, reflective varsity jacket. On the front door key was a tag.

"Grayson Pharmacy... you know, I think I saw a place with that name back that way." Leon said, his eyes lighting up.

"Uh-huh." Roxy confirmed. "We move through there, the police station's like two minutes away!"

"Okay, it's a plan. We double back, we get into the station, figure out our next move from there." Leon nodded, as they began moving back the way he came.

"Keep a few steps behind me." Leon advised Roxy, the cop in him taking over. "I'll deal with any more vampires we might encounter. You just watch our backs, okay?"

"Okay." Roxy said in a neutral tone. She was holding up well, it occurred to Leon. "When we get to the station, I need to find my-"

Roxy was cut short as a small group of four shambling vampires entered the alleyway in front of them. Leon stopped in his tracks, tensing up. He drew a bead on the nearest vampire, then shot him in the head.

"Yeah, you want some, you fuckers?!" Roxy called out from behind him, her voice frantic. "Come and get it."

Roxy fired off her weapon. The shot went wide. Again, another miss. Again, and the bullet impacted one of the vampire in the stomach, barely doing anything.

"Roxy, conserve your ammo!" Leon warned, taking out the first vampire. "How many rounds do you have left?"

"The hell would I know?" came the woman's harried reply. "First time I ever picked up a gun was like... two hours ago!"

"Alright, we need to fall back." Leon said, taking a couple of steps back, his weapon still trained on the approaching vampires. "I don't think we have the ammo to take these guys on.

"Fall back to WHAT?" Roxy said, the fear and tension in her voice becoming readily apparent. "I already told you, there's no getting through there."

"It's the only shot we got. Go!" Leon said, turning on his heel and running.

Of course, impassable for humans and impassable for the undead were two different things. Leon and Roxy had just about made it to the other exit when they noticed the beginnings of a small horde, over a dozen vampires, blocking it off.

"Damn it!" Leon cursed.

"What are we gonna do? What the FUCK are we gonna do?" Roxy asked.

"We go back." Was Leon's first thought.

"Go back, are you crazy?" Roxy said, eyes flaring with exasperation. "You do remember there were vampires in our way there, too?"

"Yeah, but about half as many. C'mon!" Leon said, turning on his heel once again.

The situation was becoming dire. The smaller group of vampire has shuffled slowly after them. As Leon and Roxy returned to the alley, just beside the dumpster where they'd met, they were surrounded on both sides.

"Oh, I really hope you've got a plan, Kennedy!" Roxy said, whipping back and forth, keeping her eyes on both encroaching crowds of undead.

Leon didn't. What he did have, the rookie thought, as he thought on his next move, was four rounds left in his pistol.