Leaning against the wall, Billy folded his arms across his chest.
“No one believes a killer who murdered twenty-three people.
I used to think the same.” “But today, I’ll admit it, you’ve got me.” Even as he said he was beaten, the corner of Billy’s mouth curved up on its own.
“Let’s start over.
I’m Billy Coen, former Second Lieutenant, Marine Corps.” At that, Rebecca Chambers traded a glance with Ivan.
Then Rebecca Chambers spoke first.
“Rebecca Chambers, Raccoon City Police Department, medic with the S.T.A.R.S.
Bravo Team.
Assigned to investigate the murders in the Arklay Mountains.” Ivan studied Billy for a moment, then offered his own introduction.
“Ivan.” Just two syllables.
They made Billy glance at him despite himself.
Then he walked over to the two of them, the arch of his brow smoothing out.
“Listen, Ivan, Rebecca.
We need to work together.” Billy lifted his foot and gave the floor a light tap.
“This monster train under our feet, showing up at a time like this, sure as hell didn’t come out for a picnic.” “It’s got a purpose, and it’s driving straight for the rawest heart of Raccoon City.” “Whether it’s to save our own skins, or for the sake of” He paused briefly and tightened his grip on the gun.
“the safety of Raccoon City’s people, we have to find a way to survive and get word to a city government that’s still in the dark.” Only, when he said “still in the dark,” Billy’s tone hardened noticeably.
After the transformation from “Lieutenant” to “murderer,” a deep fracture had already opened in his faith in the Declaration of Independence he had once sworn to uphold.
Was the Raccoon City government truly ignorant of all this?
A cold light flickered in Billy’s eyes, but the moment he looked back at Rebecca and Ivan… his grip on the weapon loosened without his noticing, and the chill in his gaze melted away as naturally as a spring breeze across the face.
At least… on this cold, rainy night, the world had gained two more young people who still, more or less, accepted him as a “Lieutenant.” Billy’s words put Rebecca on guard.
The train, the zombies, and the string of murders that had drawn them here tonight.
Behind it all, it was as if some invisible giant hand were pulling the strings.
If these monsters and zombies broke loose into Raccoon City, the consequences would be too grim to imagine.
The safety of her comrades, her simple sense of justice, the lurking danger in the Arklay Mountains, it all lit a fire in Rebecca’s chest.
Seeing her brow knit tight, slow to answer Billy’s offer, Ivan stepped out from his corner and came up behind her.
Familiarly, he rested a hand on her shoulder.
Rebecca’s train of thought broke, and she turned to look back on reflex.
Ivan said nothing, only smiled and playfully lifted his thumb to point at himself beside his cheek.
In the end that smile shifted into a look that said leave it all to me, the dashing, high-spirited air of a young man.
Somehow, Rebecca felt suddenly lighter, every burden sliding away with the warmth of Ivan’s hand on her shoulder.
She raised her right hand to her left shoulder and flashed Ivan an OK sign, then winked at him with a mischievous glint.
Catching Ivan’s blank stare, Rebecca let a soft laugh slip out.
“Pfft~” Noticing Billy’s odd look, Rebecca curled her right hand into a fist and pressed it to her lips.
“Ahem, cough!” After clearing her throat, her tone turned serious again.
“Lieutenant Billy, your analysis makes sense.” “But as for the twenty-three lives, forgive me if I can’t fully believe your story yet.” “So the whole way, I’ll be watching you, and from this experience I’ll get the answer I’m owed.” Billy neither agreed nor argued.
He simply slid the gun back into his waistband.
Then he dug two boxes of ammunition from his pocket and tossed them to Ivan and Rebecca.
Seeing them catch the boxes, Billy tipped his head toward the second-floor dining car, signaling the two to follow.
“Time will prove everything.
We’ve got none to waste.
Let’s move.” Rebecca pulled out rounds and filled her magazine, then said to Ivan, who was loading up beside her.
“Ivan, be careful.” Ivan’s face was grave.
“Right.” With that, click, the metallic sound of a magazine seating home rang out.
The three set off for the dining car in formation, Rebecca in front, Ivan in the middle, Billy at the rear.
In a corner where Ivan and Rebecca couldn’t see, Billy looked at the positioning Rebecca had arranged, and a rush of warmth stirred in the chest of this battle-hardened tough guy.
(Turning their backs to an “enemy.” What a pair of weirdos.) Reaching the dining car, Rebecca swept her eyes around.
Under the dim yellow light, she didn’t see a single zombie.
There was only an old man, head bowed, sitting in shadow the light barely reached.
Such an unnatural scene put Billy on alert too.
After Rebecca signaled him and Ivan with a glance, he moved to go check on the old man.
Remembering the formation Rebecca had set up earlier, Billy strode quickly to her side.
He pointed a finger at the old man, then at himself.
Rebecca understood his meaning and was about to refuse.
But Billy had already started moving.
With no choice, she raised her gun and trained it on the old man’s spot.
Ivan moved up in sync now, coming to Rebecca’s side.
Both stood ready, braced for anything.
Billy, now beside the old man, spoke softly.
“Sir?” The old man didn’t answer, and with the poor light, Billy couldn’t make out his expression.
That realization pulled the tension in Billy to its breaking point.
With his right hand he aimed the gun at the old man’s head, while with his left he gently shook the old man’s shoulder.
Who could have guessed the old man’s head would split clean in two at the neck and drop to Billy’s feet with a dull thud.
“Thump!” However rich Billy’s battlefield experience, he couldn’t pull up a sample his memory had never held.
This old man happened to be exactly that, and so Billy froze for a moment.
“Billy!” Thankfully Rebecca’s timely shout snapped his mind back.
But once he saw the scene clearly, Billy couldn’t help swearing under his breath.
“Holy crap!” The old man’s head and body began melting like water, and as they melted, black creatures rained down all around like falling drops.
“Crash!” A bolt of lightning split the dark, and by its flash Billy saw that these black creatures were leeches, each the size of a palm.
By a rough count, in mere seconds dozens had already melted free, and they were surging at him with terrifying speed.
In a flash Billy’s body reacted faster than his mind.
He flipped the table onto its side, and the barrier slowed the leeches for a moment.
Billy didn’t dare linger.
Almost in the same instant he spun, rolled forward, and opened the distance again.
Rebecca seized the opening and fired several shots, killing a few leeches.
But that only enraged them further.
“Sss, sss, sss~” A teeth-grating scrape rose up, and the frenzied leeches swept over Billy’s whole body faster than before.
Rebecca was frantic.
Billy’s vision went black.
He knew he was probably going to die right here.
A pity his name had never been cleared, and he’d go still branded a criminal.
But then again, just as he’d said, at least there were people who believed him.
Rebecca and Ivan flashed through his mind, and on the edge of death, a smile touched the corner of Billy’s mouth.