RESIDENT EVIL: A New Nightmare

7.2 UNRAVELING

Moments passed, both standing motionless, a dreadful silence sinking in. Her eyes eventually traveled back to him; his expression frowned, cold and distant.

"... Billy?" He remained without a response, she sighed. "What do you want me to say?"

"..." He let out a chuckle, his vexation clear as day. "How about telling me what the hell's going on here?" His voice was low and unsettling, his eyes piercing through hers. "You know what happened to this man, don't you?" Her answer wasn't prompt.

"Listen up real good-" He hounded towards her. "I've seen all this before- I've killed people already dead- fucked up things that tried to kill me more times than I can count!! THIS-" He stopped only inches away from her. "What's - going - on here?" She felt cornered, a heavy feeling weighing in her chest.

"Something about a medical trial-" She finally spoke. "He got infected... somehow... both guards- and this dog." His expression scowled. "Some kind of virus..."

"A virus huh? You don't say." He stood still, her small frame shadowed by his imposing and frigid expression, his weapon still in hand. "Who are you?"

"Who am I- really!? From a person who was sentenced to the death penalty, now on the run?" She took a step back. "I don't know what happened to you, or what Hell you crawled out of before coming here, but you also seem to have some idea about what's going-" She closed her eyes, for Billy stepped down. "We need to get out of here first... you were right, it's not safe." Her voice was faint. "The barricade's unlocked- once we get to Stoneville, I'll explain everything... I promise." She locked eyes with his. "But right now, we need to leave."

"..." He replied with only a dubious expression.

"I haven't been lying to you-" She pulled out of her jacket, a folded picture of three teenagers. "This is Liam, with Mika and Raphael. I took this about a week before they both went missing... Umbrella's behind their disappearance... And I'm not gonna stop until I find them." Her eyes were filled with both distress and determination.

"... alright." He replied, as he put away his weapon.

"Let's go..." She walked off.

"Just like that!?" He let out. "We're just leaving this mess?" She stopped herself.

"What do you wanna do? Clean it up? Call the cops?" As cold and indifferent her words sounded, she knew there was nothing they could do.

"What about the guards? What if there are more infected dogs?" He pointed out the severity of the situation. "I've seen first hand what Umbrella is capable of- I faced monstrosities you could never imagine." He lashed out. "If any of those things makes it out in the streets, Raccoon City is doomed- do you understand?"

"..." She turned to face him, her thoughts were going haywire. It's already too late... Raccoon City has been doomed, since its very first involvement with Umbrella... "Headshots make them as dead as can be..." He knew she was right. "I know this dog... and I know where she comes from. But she's dead, so the infection can't spread any further..." She remained rational.

"I'm aware of the consequences... how fast it can spread..." He struggled with her answer. "I'm not oblivious- I know Umbrella's been testing some kind of viral agent on animals and people." She locked eyes with him, as she reloaded her handgun.

"To what extent- I have no idea. I really don't know how deep this shithole goes, but I DO know that some really messed up things have been going on for a while now. And I can tell you right now: the population is kept completely in the dark- being fed some bullshit explanations for the murders that's been going on in the mountains, the wildlife' sudden increase in rabies cases AND the alarming number of people - children - getting sick all over the city-" He let out an exasperated sigh, for her eyes didn't betray her words.

"The hospital staff... the police department... even that asshole mayor... they're all hiding something- covering up for whatever's going on in Raccoon City..." She was right.