Resident Evil 2

Note: All of these characters are property of Capcom, I am just borrowing them. For those of you readers who have never played Resident Evil, be warned that this story contains scenes of explicit violence and gore.

Leon stood in the ransacked basement weapons locker, adjusting his holster straps and thinking about where Claire might be. From what little he'd seen so far, the police station wasn't too bad. Cold, dim and stinking of the bodies heaped up in the hallways, but not as actively dangerous as the streets. It wasn't much to be greatful for, but he would take what he could get.

'Great way to start off the job' he though referring to one hell of a first day as a police officer in Raccoon City. He'd killed two of his fellow officers already and a woman in the tatters of a traffic control uniform on his way to the basement a few rooms from the RPD armament. He had to hurry now. They were only a few yards away when he ducked into this room and now that he found what he came for, it was time to go. Grabbing the black ammo case at his feet he raised his gun and kicked open the door.

There was nothing there. Not yet anyway. With quiet but quick paced footsteps he went down the hall until he came to the stairs leading back up to the main floor. Cautiously he ascended the stair with his ears straining. Reaching the top step he pressed his back against the wall and listened. The only thing he could hear was his heart beat pounding, as if desperately trying to burst through his chest. He could feel the tiny hairs standing up on the back of his neck.

With shaky hands he held his breath and jumped out from the hall pointing his gun ahead of him. "Ha!!!!" Nothing was there. Feeling a little foolish but mostly relieved he sighed and lowered his gun. Shifting the weight of the ammo in his left hand he crept around the corner stopping suddenly when he thought he heard something.

Standing perfectly still he listened. After a moment there it was again. He gasped realizing that he had been holding his breath as the noise came again. It was like nothing he had ever heard before. It was a wet slapping sound... almost like someone walking through sludge. His grip tightened on the ammo case as he raised his weapon and started to walk around the corner to examine the source of the sound. He reached the end of the hall, turned left-

-and froze, eyes wide, feeling as though he had been physically punched. Next to a planter that had been knocked over, dusting the floor with soil and leaves, was a balding man dressed in a suit without the jacket, with his back to him. He was crouched over a body of a young woman; but there was something very wrong about her, so wrong that Leon's mind couldn't quite accept it at first. His shocked gaze took in the sight before him. From the woman's blue dress uniform to her black shoes. Even the little plastic nametag pinned to her chest, what looked like "Marie" or "Maria."...

'Her... Her head is missing!' Once he realized what was wrong, he couldn't force himself to un-realize it, as much as he wanted to. There was only a pool of drying blood where her head should have been. A sticky puddle surrounded by fragments of skull and dark mashed hair and chunks of miscellaneous gore. The bald man had his hands over his face and as Leon stared in horror at the headless corpse, the man let out a low pitiful wail.

Leon opened his mouth not sure what would come out. To scream? To ask him why? How? To call for help? He honestly didn't know and as the man turned up to look at him, hands dropping away; he was stunned to hear that nothing came out at all. He was -eating- the woman! His thick fingers were clotted with dark bits of tissue and the strange and alien face he raised into view was smeared with blood.

'Zombie!' He thought as he took a timid step back. 'Oh God, not another one!' Just what the hell had happened here! What was going on?! His mind raced as the bald man rose and looked at him. Standing with his left side slumped down and head hanging, its arms were stretched out in front of him as he lurched forward. With that realization came a sudden rush of absolute terror. Leon stumbled backward; feverish panic turning his guts into liquid as the bald man came closer. He was huge. At least a good foot over his 5'9 and broad as a barn-

-'and dead! He's dead and he was -eating- the woman!' Without another thought, he turned and started to run in the opposite direction back down the hall toward the stairs he had come from, thinking maybe there would be a safer path if he had turned right. His plans however were dashed as his boots screeched to a halt on the linoleum floor. Just ahead of him, no more than four feet away there were another 5 or 6 of them.

Leon stepped back just before one of the creature's hands took hold of his vest. With his eyes wide and fear tearing into his senses he turned and ran back for the stairs. Looking into the dimly light staircase he could see figures moving at the bottom. His hopes of it being Claire dissolved when he noted the movement of the figures. Slow and lumbering. It was more of them... whatever they were.

Without the luxury of time to think of what to do, and knowing his options were slim, he opted for the hall with only one of those beasts. Heading left again he turned the corner and slammed into something hard. Stumbling back he shook his head and searched for what he had hit. Cold realization struck him hard as he watched the corpse like bald man fall back onto the floor with a sickening wet thud.

Raising his gun he fired twice striking the zombie in the head and neck. It fell over twitching and groaning madly before it finally stopped moving... but the sound of the moaning didn't stop... 'What..?' He thought, as he looked over his shoulder and saw that the zombies that were in the hall were getting a little too close. Leaping over the corpse of the woman he rushed down the hall. He had never been in this part of the station before and he silently cursed himself for not attending the tour.

Leon turned left then right and started down the long corridor ignoring everything except his urge to run. A moment later he collapsed against the wall gasping for air. A quick look behind him told him he lost them. Or at least he hoped that was what it meant. He wiped the sweat off his forehead as he checked how many bullets were left in his magazine. Only 4. That wasn't going to help him very much.

Kneeling down he opened the ammo case. There weren't as many rounds in there as he had hoped, but it would have to do. He placed a full clip in his pocket and began to reload the one currently in his gun. He had only loaded three more bullets in the clip when the all too familiar yet alien sounds of the creatures moaning could be heard around the far corner. He jerked his head up toward the sound and paused, hoping that his ears had deceived him.

It came again, louder than before and this time it seemed to echo. No, not echo, he thought. There was just more than one. His heart, which scarcely had the time to return to a regular beat, was thudding again as fast as the beat in his favorite heavy metal song. He felt an icy hand grip his lungs as the first one reared it's disfigured and half-eaten face around the corner.

Leon's hands trembled as he continued to load the gun with more panic in his actions. At least two bullets dropped from his grasp as he desperately tried to finish before they reached him. With a solid click he slammed the fully loaded clip into the gun and aimed. He fired twice striking the first two around the corner. They dropped to the floor but were quickly replaced with three more.

He fired again and again, taking down two more. The third lurched forward raising its arms as though it were wanting to hug him. It stepped over the bodies as four more rounded the corner. Firing three more times two of the five fell. He watched as three more came into view. Terror filled his senses as he realized he was quickly becoming out numbered. There was only one thing left to do. Run.

Snatching the ammo case from the ground he turned and ran down the hallway. Moans echoed behind him as he took the sharp turn at the end of the hall praying that it would be clear. It was.

The hall was far dirtier than any room he had been in so far. There was only one door at the end of the hall and about three windows on the left side of the wall. They were so filthy he thought absently that he could have written his name there with his finger.

He could hear them getting closer as he reached for the doorknob. "FUCK!" He screamed as the knob refused to turn. It was locked. Suddenly behind him he heard a very unsettling high pitched scratching that seemed to be coming from the other side of the window. Leon raised his Baretta and bit his lip waiting for the danger his heart knew was about to come.

A new sense of terror filled him when the scratching stopped. Everything was too quite. His heart pounded as his hands shook as beads of sweat dripped off his forehead. Frantically switching his aim form the window to the end of the hall over and over he took a step forward. Still he heard nothing except his own shallow breath. Now halfway back up the hall he paused as he thought he heard something.

It was coming form the behind the locked door. 'Perfect!' He swore. ' Now I get to be surrounded!' He pressed his back against the wall facing the windows preparing to die. 'God please... let it be quick!' He squinted his eyes as tight as he could when suddenly, with a thunderous crash, the windows in front of him imploded, casting shards of glass every where.

Leon threw his hands over his face in time to save himself from most of the damage he should have taken, but he didn't go unscathed. Bleeding from two deep gashes over his eye and multiple lacerations on his hands he looked at what was now in front of him, wondering why he hadn't been killed yet.

Crows. That was all? There were approximately 4 crows sitting on the ledge of the broken window. Why would crows bust though glass windows? He thought absently. It was then that he noticed what he should have expected all along. These crows, like everything else in this hellhole, were not what they seemed.

One of them, with eyes that looked like they were crying blood, opened its beak and let out a horrific shriek that seemed to agitate the other 3. A moment later they were all doing it. The screeching was deafening. So extremely loud in fact that Leon had not heard the zombies round the corner. It was only when he saw them out of the corner of his eye that he was able to make himself raise his weapon.

The sudden movement of him lifting his arms seemed to upset the crows for no sooner than he moved the first inch, they were off their perch and circling in the air above him. He stepped back and fired twice taking down the two closest zombies but it made no difference. There were way too many.

He reflexively took a step back and continued to do so as he emptied his clip. Fumbling with the gun, he managed to slide out the empty clip and snap in a new one. He took aim, refusing to go out without a fight as he watched two of the crows dive into the face of the closest monster and as it fell to the ground they began to peck ferociously at its face.

As the zombies lurched forward, the other two crows converged on him. He fired twice; taking one of them out but as the second bullet missed the crow dove in aiming for his face. He raised his arm just in time as the crow tore into his flesh. Swinging his arm wildly the crow flew off onto the floor where without hesitation; Leon stomped on it with his boots.

Looking up he realized he was out of time. The noise on the other side of the door was getting louder, he only had 11 more bullets in his gun and there were far more of those things than he could kill before they got to him. This was it. Game over.

Just as he was about to greet the reaper, the door behind him swung open. His mind a blur he felt something grab him and pull him into the room beyond. He tumbled to the floor with the momentum of what ever had drug him in there as he rolled, flattening himself on his back, he raised his Baretta and took aim at the figure closing the door.

"CLAIRE!" He screamed, the word dripping with relief. She turned to face him, lock pick in hand as he stood.

"Leon!" She started as she began to rush over to him. "I'm so glad you're..." She stopped as she got closer and looked at him with gentle eyes. The first sweet thing he's seen in this nightmare. " You're hurt..." She finished as she went to touch his shoulder.

"No time!" He said a little harsher than he intended as he grabbed her by the arm and took off. He hit the door at the end of the room at a run, using his shoulder to throw it open. They emerged in a marble hall almost 20 yards long. 'Finally!' He thought. 'Somewhere I recognize!' He squeezed Claire's arm and started down the hall. " This way!"

Leon ran, pulling Claire behind him desperately racking his memory for the station's layout. If he were right, this hall would lead them to the front of the RPD where he had an idea where they could hide. Reaching the door he held his breath praying that it would be unlocked. He sighed heavily as the knob turned and without looking back, he pulled Claire through and kept running.

He was right. They were in the main court. He could see the front doors, buckled and torn off the hinges. Glass and papers littered the floor and the only sound was the creepy hum of the still operational computer at the front desk. Taking a moment to look around, nothing seemed to be there.. but you couldn't be to sure... not here... not now.

Cautiously he walked toward the right, headed to a door at the far end of the room just left of the front door. He felt Claire's grip tighten around his hand and took small comfort in the fact that her hands were as feverish and shaky as his. Glass crunched under thier feet adding to their discomfort and fear that radiated off the two like light.

With a tremendous crash two large zombies crashed though what was left of the front doors. Leon and Claire both jumped back as the two things stood and seemed to look directly at them. Leon felt Claire's hand slip from his grasp as she stumbled backward. He raised his gun to fire but the shock of what he saw caused him to hesitate.

They were dressed in police uniforms, or what was left of them anyway. One of them he recognized from training. They had been partners during more than one simulation. He also noticed that these two weren't exactly like the others. They were much larger... and something about they way they looked at him told him they were smarter too.

He blinked blood out of his eye and slowly reached down for Claire. The next instant he was running again, pulling her behind him. He could hear her cries as they went but there was no time. The second after they moved the two creatures were giving chase. Now it was a race to see who could make it to the door first.

With his heart pumping acid and his lungs breathing fire he smashed into the metal door working furiously at the knob. It swung open as he threw Claire inside and cursed as one of the beast's arms swung at their backs. He slammed the door but it didn't close. He heard Claire shriek as the massive arm of the monster, wedged between the door and the frame, clawed at nothing desperately trying to get them.

As Leon fought to keep the door closed, the two zombies on the other side pounded mercilessly. Each jolt throwing him off balance and opening the door a little further. His muscles were burning and his arms were beginning to betray him when he saw Claire running up with something held over her head.

Blood sprayed in all directions as she buried her bowie knife deep into the thing's arm. It screeched and withdrew its arm just long enough for Leon to slam the heavy door closed and push the bolt lock into place. Another thud smashed on the door form the other side as Leon fell and scrambled backward until his hit the steel cabinet behind him.

He looked at her intensely as she gasped. He could barely see her in the poor light in the room. He stood shakily as the beasts continued to pound on the door shaking it with each strike. He rushed over to a heavy looking file cabinet and began to push it in front of the door.

With that done he turned to Claire breathing heavily. " This is the Photo room... We should be safe here for a small while... Until we can think of something to do..." As he spoke he could hear a closing chorus of gasping moans and frustrated wails of hunger. He watched as she shuddered, crossed her arms over her chest and lowered her head. "Claire?"

She didn't reply. He took a step closer to her and noticed her shoulders were bobbing gently. She was crying. "Oh... no.." He said in his most soothing tone. He reached out to touch her arm but she pulled away. "Claire... I.." He didn't have time to finish his sentence before her arms were around him. She squeezed him tightly as she cried on his shoulder. Each thump against the door, making it that much worse.

"Shh..." He said after the shock wore off and he gently rubbed her back. " It's going to be all right..." What a lie. He thought. Things were far from ok. And she knew it too.

"No!" She yelled as she pushed herself away from him. Tears streaking her face as she clenched her fists. "No, it wont! We're going to die down here and ..."

She kept talking but that was all he heard. His mind wandered as he watched her crying. Something inside him just seemed to snap as he looked at her. She was so terrified... She didn't deserve this! She was here looking for her brother, not a nightmare town full of ZOMBIES!

He balled his fist as he grew angry. He was tried of seeing these things happen. Tired of seeing innocent people suffer while there was nothing he could do about it. He looked at her again. She was still yelling about something and crying. Her beautiful green eyes stained with tears. He had no idea what had come over him but he just couldn't take it any longer. Grabbing her suddenly by her cheeks he pulled her to him and kissed her.

He could feel her resist at first. No doubt as surprised as he was by his actions, but after a moment passed and another thud hit the door, she seemed to relax. Slowly he broke the kiss and let her go. She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling in the dim light.

"I..I'm sorry," He started. " I don't know wh-" He was cut off suddenly by her lips pressed against his. A second after the shock wore off he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back gently. Another bang, this time somewhat louder than all the others shook them from the moment. He swallowed hard as he realized she was probably right. They were going to die here...

He looked at her with a resigned look and took her hand. Walking to the far corner of the room to where there was a dusty leather couch he sat down and pulled her down with him. She went effortlessly and lowered her head as he turned to face her. Lifting her chin with his fingertips he looked into her eyes and wipes the tears off her cheeks.

"Claire..." He whispered as his eyes searched hers. She was so scared... He could see it in every part of her. From her slightly trembling hands to her watering eyes. He took her hands in his and leaned close to her. He could hear her heart race even from where he was.

His heart skipped as they jumped when another burst of decaying flesh smashed itself against the steel door. Without even thinking he took Claire by the shoulders and kissed her. He kissed her hard but with such an intense passion, there was no way she could resist. Her lips pressed firmly against his as the kiss deepened.

Leon slid his hands around her back and pulled her closer. She came easily, wrapping her arms around him as well. Both knowing without saying, that these were more than likely going to be their last moments alive, they vowed to make them count. Claire sighed as she felt his hands holds her tightly and she found herself relaxing... like nothing was wrong and all that matter was the two of them at that moment.