Heh heh. Now what would make you think that? :p

The two made their way to the surface shortly, and just as Veronica and I were about to start toward the street Jason stopped us.

“Hold on.” The middle-aged fellow wasn’t following. No, he was stopped right next to the manhole.
“What is it?” I asked as I halted, and turned to look at him.
“I just…I need to check something out.”
“What?” Veronica questioned, a bit of concern in her voice.
There was a silence that lasted only several seconds, but at the time it seemed much longer. I knew those monsters would get to that part of town in no time, and I also dreaded what Jason’s answer was going to be, and those two things turned those seconds into minutes for me.
“A friend of mine is a junior officer with the R.P.D.” Said Jason. “I just want to see if…if he’s still alive.”
I could plainly see and hear that Jason was worried about his comrade, and as much as I wanted to tell him that the guy was probably dead, and that we needed to just move on, I couldn’t. “Okay. Let’s check inside.” I said, and then started toward the front doors of the precinct.

The police department was quite large, at least two stories high. On the front of the building were huge letters that read: R.P.D. The area was gated, which struck me as a little strange. I mean, why would the police department need to have gates, it isn’t like anyone is going to try to rob them—it’s the police department!

The three of us entered through the double doors, and found ourselves in the main hall. The place was rather impressive. Dead ahead was a large stone statue of a woman holding a vase of some sort, and behind it was a large circular counter. Above us were two balconies that wrapped almost all the way around the sizable room.

I whistled a little, displaying my slight amazement as I started down the steps that were right in front of us. My boots made a notable echo throughout the seemingly abandoned room as they made contact with the marble floor. “Nice place.” I thought aloud as I stopped about 6-feet away from the statue.
Veronica & Jason joined me in staring up at the piece of art, and then we heard rapid footsteps not our own. Before we knew we had one tactical machine pistol, one Magnum, and a single barrel shotgun aimed right at us. As soon as I heard steps I drew my handgun, and readied myself.
The fellow in front of me was a black man, about my height and build, and was aiming a shotgun at me while I had my Beretta aimed right at his skull. I cast a quick glance over my shoulder, and saw that Veronica & Jason had their firearms ready, and aimed at the other two men.

“Are you one of them?” One of the men behind me asked.
“If I was would I be holding a gun?” Veronica replied with annoyance.
A crooked smile crossed my lips when I heard the young woman’s answer. I couldn’t help but notice that my target’s eyes kept shifting between Jason and me. I wasn’t sure why at the time, but didn’t much care either, all I cared about was the fact that he had a gun pointed at me.
The men ceased to aim at us, and in turn I holstered my gun.
“Our apologies, but some crazy crap has been going on here.” On of the men stated. “We’re just a little tense, I guess.”
“That’s understandable.” Jason responded as he lowered his weapon.
I took a look at the two police officers, noting the bloodstains on their uniforms. They were Caucasian fellows, one looking to be in his 40’s, and the other in his 20’s. The older chap had almost entirely gray, thick hair. He was in good shape, as far as body goes, but the darkness under his eyes said otherwise—seemed that the guy hadn’t slept in a while.
“Holy smokes.” I muttered quietly, and then my jaw dropped a little. The younger officer was the same one from the 27th, when I assisted the police in taking down all those zombies outside the motel. Whoa. The guy’s survived.

“Jason?” The black fellow wielding the shotgun said with a bit of uncertainty. “Dudley, is that you?”
Jason turned about, and when he looked upon the fellow his face lit up. “Gary!” He said with excitement and glee.
The two men laughed happily, and shared a brief hug to express their joy.
“Oh man, you have no idea how relieved I am to see you’re still alive.” The officer, previously referred to as Gary, stated with a grin after the two broke their short hug.
“Right back at ya.” Said Jason.

“So this is the friend you were talking about?” I asked as I holstered my firearm, feeling a bit more at ease.
“Yeah.” Jason said as he turned to me. “Gary, this is Benjamin Jessup, and Veronica Diaz.” He introduced myself and Veronica, motioning to each of us as he said our names.
“Nice to meet you both.” Gary said with a smile. “This is Lt. James Cobb, and our rookie Grant Kelley.”
“I think you and I have met once before.” I said with a grin as I looked at the young, blonde haired officer.
“Oh right! Outside the motel. You took cover behind my car door.” Grant said with a bit of glee.



~Wesker~

Thank you very much for the compliments Residvius :) Here's the latest:

I gave the officer a nod, and then there was a couple seconds of total silence.
“So, are you all looking for shelter?” Lt. Cobb asked plainly.
“Nah. We came because Jason mentioned that he had a friend who worked here, and he wanted to make sure he was okay.” I replied.
Meanwhile, Jason and Gary had wandered away from the group whilst conversing. Though I couldn’t see them the way I was looking, I could hear their voices getting quieter as they got further away. I’m not usually one to eaves drop, but seeing as how Veronica and I sort of went out of our way, and possibly risked our necks for Jason to check up on this fellow, I made an exception. I could hear that they were saying something about family, but I wasn’t sure what. I subtly got closer to the men, simply by leaning myself up against the base of the statue.

“So, how are your kids?” Jason asked. “Are they safe?”
“Yeah, John and Kathy are fine. I had my parents take them to their house in Virginia yesterday. I had a feeling things were going to get bad.” Said Gary.
“And what about Belle?” Jason asked. “Gary…?”

Silence. I knew that couldn’t be good. Whoever that Belle woman was, I had a feeling she was no longer among the living. Hopefully, she was only dead, rather than undead.
I couldn’t take it anymore. The quiet was killing me. I turned around, and saw Gary burry his face in his left hand, and try his best to keep from weeping. Poop guy. Lost his wife, I bet. I thought with sympathy.

“Do you hear something?” I just hardly heard Grant ask.
I turned my attention away from Jason and his friend, and then looked to the ceiling—nothing there. I looked at the doors in front of me, but again I saw nothing out of the ordinary.
“I don’t hear anything.” Lt. Cobb answered passively.
I listened intently, and did my best to block the voices of all present. My body straightened, and my eyes widened. I had heard that noise before—it sounded as thought something bone-like was walking on the walls. “I hear it, too.” I said to Grant, but didn’t bother to look at him.

“It’s back!!” I heard Gary exclaim, and then I heard quick footsteps start nearing me.
My head spun to my right, and I watched as Jason & Gary came running toward me, their eyes focused on something behind them. In just a matter of seconds, I saw what they were looking at. It was a skinless, eyeless, mutant with large claws on its hands and feet. The beast was nearly identical in every way to the one Jason and I had encountered in the school.

“What is that thing?!” I heard Veronica cry out from behind me.
“We call it the Licker on account of its tongue.” Said James.

The beast was crawling along the wall, and was at a pair of doors only about 15 or so feet away from me. It flailed its lengthy tongue as it turned its gruesome face to us, which made me think of a rattlesnake shaking the end of its tail as a warning.

So there are more of you. I thought as I took my gun in hand, and aimed it at the monster on the wall. I glared at the nicknamed: Licker, ready to fire. I had a little bit of experience with the type, and I knew that in only a couple seconds it would be on the move, and be virtually untouchable.
Just as I thought, the beast quickly climbed underneath the first balcony, and then onto the railing. Once on the railing it jumped up onto the next balcony railing, and then it shot over to the front wall.

“Shoot it!” The Lieutenant commanded, and then dozens of shots rung out, each and every one hitting nothing but the walls as the creature jumped around, dodging the bullets with expert timing.
The beast finally landed on the head and back of the statue. It let out a high-pitched scream, and then jumped away again.
I got a good distance from the statue when the Licker started jumping around, mainly because I was trying to follow it, but it was rather useless seeing as how it was at least three times quicker than I was.
“Get it off!!” I heard Lt. Cobb shout in fear as the monster wrapped its long tongue around his head and neck.
Gary fired at the beast, but it merely leapt into air, its tongue still coiled around James like a constrictor snake.
Before any of us could do anything, the Licker had pulled itself back down using its tongue, and in the nick of time pulled its tongue back into its mouth before crashing down on Lt. Cobb’s head. James fell back, and the vile creature obliterated the man’s skull by smashing it into the floor. It tilted it head a little to the left, opened up its mouth, and stuck its tongue out several inches as if to say: “Who wants to be next?”
The others seemed to be in shock. I assumed that was the first time they had seen someone die, but it certainly wasn’t for me. I fired two shots at the monster’s head, and the beast looked at me appearing enraged and surprised. “Show me what you’ve got.” I challenged the creature.



~Wesker~

i love the latest addition man.  great cliff hanger.

Thanks Azriel & Resi :) Here's Col. Jessup with the latest in Raccoon City:

I was frustrated, to say the least, as I removed my backpack and tossed it on the floor. I unzipped the largest pocket, and pulled out some of the shotgun shells Veronica had given me earlier. I speedily loaded my double barrel shotgun with 6-rounds, and then closed it up. I zipped up my bag, and put my arms through the straps again. “Aim carefully, and wait for a good shot.” I replied before cocking the shotgun.

The devilish creatures were already on the move. They knew they were too fast for us, and they intended to use that speed and agility to take us out—they were smarter than the others. The fiends darted around the room nonstop, making it impossible for any of us, even Grant, to get a shot in.

I let go of my shotgun, and let out a sigh of anger. “Can I barrow that?” I asked Mr. Kelley as I motioned to his TMP. The young officer looked puzzled, but complied. I fired the gun in just about every direction for a brief moment, and then handed it back to Grant. “Thanks.”
My plan had worked. The monsters had received a few hits, stunning them shortly, and angering them. One was to the right of the entrance, high up on the wall. The other Licker was on the opposite side of the room, on the railing of the first balcony.

I fired at the beast near the entrance with my shotgun, but the vile monster jumped out of the way in the nick of time, and landed on the railing of the 2nd balcony. “Jason, kill that thing!”
Jason started firing at the Licker I was attempting to slay, but he wasn’t having much luck either.
“Everyone else, focus on the other one!”

Jason and I chased the fiend around the room with our eyes, but couldn’t get a shot in. After a couple moments I heard a scream, and then I heard a loud thud coming from behind me. Though I wanted to know what was going on out of my view, I didn’t dare take my eyes off of my adversary.
Guns rang out all around me, and the sound of led hitting the marble floor was just barely audible.
Finally, Jason got in a few shots, stunning the hideous creature long enough for me to line up a shot. My firearm let out a loud bang as the bullets flew from the barrels, and massacred the Licker that was crouched on the second balcony railing. “Yes!” I cried out in victory, but my faint joy did not last for long. From behind me I heard a horrible scream of agony, and a single word: “no”.
“Gary!!” Jason cried out, and fired a few times at something behind me.
I spun around just in time to see the other monster leaping away onto the statue. Before the creature could even think about jumping again it received a Magnum round right through the head. The Licker fell on its back before the statue, undoubtedly dead.

“No.” I heard Jason mutter as he stood on his knees beside the corpse of his friend. The beast had eaten his throat out, and had taken a well-sized chunk out of his left shoulder.
My gaze veered to the right, and I saw that Grant had been thrown into a wall headfirst. There was no way he could have survived, so I didn’t bother checking to see if he was still living. As much as I hated to say, I knew it had to be said. “We need to get moving.”
“Ben…” Veronica started toward me, her voice soft, and full of sadness. “He just lost his friend.”
“And we could be next.” I shot back. “If we don’t leave now, we’re sentencing ourselves to death.” I added harshly.
“He’s right.” Mr. Dudley said as he rose up, his gun in his grasp. “We don’t have time for sobbing. Every second we waste is another chance for those monsters to get closer to us.”
I could see it in her eyes, her face, even her posture—Veronica was simply astonished.
“Let’s go.” Jason said as he started toward the entrance.



~Wesker~

Thanks Azriel, that means a lot to me :) Well, here's Benjamin keeping you posted:

In just a few moments time the three of us were just about to Veronica’s apartment. The streets were anything but vacant. Everywhere we looked there were zombies lusting to feed on us. They packed the road before us, making it nearly impossible for us to pass through.
We fired upon the undead monsters that were slowly coming toward us, but it seemed as though our efforts were futile.

“There’s too many of them!” Jason shouted as he continued to shoot.
He was completely right, there was too many for us to handle. If we did somehow manage to kill them all we’d just about be out ammo. I shot a few zombies in the head, killing them, and then looked around for something, anything that could get us out the jam we were in. Hello there. I thought as my eyes fell upon a sizable propane tank lying in the street. “Don’t question good fortune.” I quoted my old Brigade commander with a smirk, and then blasted the tank with my Beretta.
The propane tank exploded, and I then turned around and knelt down with my arms covering my head and face.
I rose up, and saw Veronica and Jason rising out of the corners of my eyes. I turned about, and looked to see our path had been cleared. The explosion had wiped out a majority of the zombies, and also lit a few bushes and cars on fire.
“You could have warned us before you did that.” Said Jason.
“Sorry. Wasn’t thinking.” I responded. I started out into the street, making my way toward the several story high red brick apartment building. “Move quick, they’re not all dead!” I said loudly as I crossed the road with Jason & Veronica in tow.

Once we made it over to the apartments Veronica tried the door, but it wouldn’t budge. “It’s jammed.” She said matter-of-factly.
“Let me try.” Mr. Dudley said as he walked over to the door and Veronica moved aside. He twisted the knob, and tried to pull it open, and then push it open, and lastly he tried to ram it open. “It’s jammed.” He said as he turned to face me.
“Really?” I said apathetically. “Cause I couldn’t figure that out for myself." I said with a small grin as I turned away from the two, and started looking to the windows. “So, is there another way in?”
“There’s a fire escape around back.” Veronica replied.
“Fire escape it is.”  I muttered quietly, and then started down a narrow alley on the side of the building. As we neared the end I heard a moan, and immediately knew it had to be another zombie. I slowed my pace, and waited to see if it would cross into my view. You’re mine. I thought as the zombie walked right in front of the alleyway. I took aim, and shot the vile being in the head, and watched as it fell to the ground. I briefly came to a halt, and put my hand up to tell the others to wait where they were. I walked to the edge of the wall, and then quickly turned to the left, exiting the alleyway with my gun aimed before me. There was no one there. I spun around, and saw only one zombie, and he was already dead. I waved the others toward me, and then turned to the rather rusty fire escape.
“We need to get to the fifth floor.” Veronica stated as she walked up to me.
“Right.” I nodded, and then started up the stairs of the fire escape.

As usual, I led the way with Veronica just behind me, and Jason pulling up the rear. Every few seconds I glanced to my left, then my right, then upward, downward, over both shoulders, and lastly I turned my gaze back to what was in front of me. I tried to keep my eyes everywhere, cause I knew all too well that those monsters could come at you from just about anywhere.
We reached the 5th floor in about half a minute, and saw that the rather sizable window that led inside had been shattered—usually not a good sign.



~Wesker~