Resident Evil: Exodus - The Tale of Elza Walker

Chapter 17 - Rethink

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It was now a bit after five o'clock in the morning. A definite hint of sunrise red could be seen to the east, in what few gaps there were between the patches of dark clouds still hanging in the sky overhead. They were not as thick as the day before, for the storm that had done its best to wash away the blood of the fallen of the RPD on the streets had finally broken up. The remnants of it were now slowly passing eastward, leaving beneath and behind them a Raccoon City that was still firmly held in the iron grip of the Outbreak.

The survivors from the old RPD station were now somewhat rested. Their wounds from their last set of clashes with the undead had been tended as best as their limited supplies and the combined medical skills of both Rita and Linda would permit. They were now preparing for one final burst of activity before they would have to call it a day. It had been one hell of a night for all of them, and they were tired and feeling rather sore. Even so, they still didn't have what they would consider to be a safe place to rest and recover. They had hoped the Admin Building would provide that refuge, but all three of their attempts to get inside by different means had failed. It still remained secured against them. That left only one possibility, and it was the one door in all of the other buildings in the area that they had not yet tried. It was time to investigate the oversized warehouse across the alley from the Admin Building.

Only four of the six survivors were assembled in front of the double doors to the warehouse. Both John and Sherry had been left behind in the security hut on the other side of the building. Sherry was there for her own personal safety, and John was there to protect Sherry. Kevin feared a repeat of what had happened when Sherry had accidentally almost stumbled into the nest of the Regent Licker in the Admin Building's Lobby. That had earned Sherry her own personal injury in the fierce fracas that had been the group's failed attempt to enter the Admin Building. Sherry had also made it clear that she didn't want to be left behind with anyone except the two people she trusted the most: "Miss Elza and Uncle John," as she now called them. The prospect of leaving her alone again with Linda wasn't even brought up. It was a point that the attentive Linda did not fail to notice, although she said nothing about it. Not that it mattered, because in keeping with his earlier statement that Linda's special Umbrella knowledge was needed in the Factory, it was none other than Kevin who flatly stated that Linda was going to be in the group going into the warehouse. It had the tone of an order, and Linda did not like that. Even so, as she reminded herself, she was the Umbrella expert. This was part of the price she now had to pay for being the most important person in the group. Both Rita and Elza rounded out Kevin's new warehouse group, and their proven combat skills might have been the rather obvious reason were it not for the wrinkle of Kevin's new relationship with Rita.

Kevin had planned on leaving Rita behind with John and Sherry but she had refused. "An aide doesn't desert her superior in the thick of the fight," Rita had said, as she loaded up her gear and prepared to move out with them. "You need me to keep your head on straight, Mister Ryman. After all, where would Lee have been without Longstreet? Or Grant without Sherman? Or Patton without Bradley? Or–"

"All right, all right, I get the point," Kevin interrupted, but he was nodding and smiling. "Okay. You got me. You can go too."

"Don't forget that I'm no weakling woman who needs protecting, you honorable young man," Rita added with a smile. "I'm a kick-ass woman, and I'd have kicked your ass if you'd refused to bring me along."

"Surprise, surprise," Linda mumbled, hoping no one would hear. She was startled when Kevin immediately turned toward her, but his next words made it clear he hadn't.