𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 - 𝘙𝘌𝘚𝘐𝘋𝘌𝘕𝘛 𝘌𝘝𝘐𝘓 2 𝘙𝘌𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌✓

▩ 08. 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨

The underground portion of the RPD had been the first place to go, and it showed. Since the garage was poorly gated and the jail held the infected - thinking it would slow the spread - it quickly became overrun. Officers blocked off the area from the general public, making the entrance unusable. The underground soon became a distant memory.

Chloe had rarely ever been down there on her own. Mostly wardens and officers controlled the jail, and rookies - like Leon - would often use the firing range to test their aim. The generator room was for the mechanics only, and the morgue... Well, she never  wanted to go down there.

The kennel she had visited only a few times. That's where they kept on-duty K9 units on their breaks or if the building was on lockdown. The dogs were always friendly to newcomers, although they had to give you a once-over to check for hazardous material. She always dragged out her time as much as possible when she had the rare, mundane task of tending to the dogs.

As she thought of all these memories, Chloe glanced at Leon, who was leading the way with his flashlight. The badge on his arm representing himself as a cop was disheartening. He would never get to experience what she did. He would never know what it felt like to catch a criminal or to sit at his desk full of fellow officers as he wrote an incident report. To any unaffected person, that kind of work is taken for granted. But now that the possibility of salvation is beginning to look hopeless...

"Chloe. Look at this." He gestured her over to him, a note in his hand. 

Chloe blinked a few times, walking over to him and reading the note over his shoulder. 

Equipment Disposal Notice

Item to be disposed:
Key to Patrol Car 7439

Details:
Bent key, no longer usable, but can still open the car's doors and trunk with its keyless entry buttons.

"Is that the patrol car that's in the garage?" Chloe asked. "I didn't know the force was handing out newer models like that..."

Leon shrugged, "There's only one way to find out. We should try finding the key, but making our way to the generator room is top priority..."

"You're right." She whispered, "The kennel's up ahead, and the firing range is next to it. If you go behind both of those, the generator room and morgue should be in the back."

His eyes widened slightly, "I'm sorry, the morgue?"

"I know. Going in there would be fitting for this kind of situation, unfortunately... It could have some things we missed."

"That's so morbid..." 

Chloe shrugged. "It is." She breathed, shining her flashlight down another corridor.

Barking and scratching echoed distantly. Rattling from the dog crates showed that not all the dogs were released upon outbreak. The cages were usually designed to be flimsy in case a dog did need to escape, but it was always so well-behaved it never tested the limits of the poorly manufactured item. Chloe felt the bars wouldn't hold long enough for them to escape...

They entered the kennel at the end of the long hallway. The cage rattling was getting deafening now as the barks and growls from the hounds only grew more intense. Leon shined his flashlight inside. The light reflected off a pair of beady white eyes and bloodied, snarling snout. The mutilated dog barked loudly upon the duo's intrusion. 

Chloe glanced nervously at the cages and held her breath. "Oh, my god..." She whispered, a shiver shooting down her spine. "What the hell..."

Leon grabbed her forearm and gently pulled her to his side, "Keep moving." He whispered, pulling her out the other exit of the kennel into another hallway.