Rebecca could hardly believe how far things had fallen. The mansion alone had seen all of Bravo Team and one member of Alpha Team dead. Good men, all of them, now gone. They weren’t prepared for something like that. But now the nightmare had followed the survivors, all the way home. The police force had been wiped out so quickly, many didn't even know what hit them. They weren’t trained for something like this, there was so little they could do. Even the military had gotten involved, and they weren't faring any better. And where was Irons?! If they’d had a leader, if they’d had orders, they could’ve made a more coordinated resistance, possibly even evacuated survivors. They might've actually stood a chance.
But as it was, there was no denying the ugly truth. The city had arrived at the gates of Hell, and it was already burning. Rebecca had remained in the Police Station through most of the outbreak thus far, just doing her job as a medic: patching up civilians and fellow officers as things fell apart. Doing her utmost to help, following Marvin's instructions, and helping secure the main hall. But as barricades came down, as more and more of her fellow officers died, Rebecca grew increasingly terrified; the more people fell, the more her hope dwindled. Once Marvin was wounded and refused to let her treat him, she made the logical decision: she returned to the S.T.A.R.S. Office, to gather whatever she could, and get out of the doomed city. Dodging by the lickers hadn’t been easy, though; they littered the station, and...well, she was certainly glad she hadn’t had to deal with them in the mansion.
It took longer than she would've liked to admit in the office, gathering materials. Things were more scattered than she remembered, and she knew Barry would've wanted someone to make use of the extra ammo he kept in his desk -- so she took that too. As she was stocking her medbag, she froze; the sound was unmistakable. Heavy footsteps tromped through the hallway outside, she heard the licker shriek, followed by breaking glass. The door swung open. Rebecca didn't go for her gun; she followed the first, primitive impulse in her mind: hide. Ducking under her own desk, she held her hand over her gun, slowly peeking out towards the door as it swung open.
A hulking abomination entered the room, thundering footsteps kicking dust up from the floorboards, uttering one, single word: STARS. It scanned the room, and she ducked further behind the desk; it didn't see her. Still, that didn't stop the panic, didn't stop the bile rising in her throat at the mere thought of what that thing was. A bioweapon with direction. It was hunting STARS members. That meant it was after Jill and Brad, too. Rebecca could only pray they had gotten out of the city already. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall. She didn't want to die here. Not like this. As if a higher being heard her prayers, with a roar of fury, the Nemesis turned and exited; by the sound of it, it left through the same window it had likely thrown the licker through.
Rebecca didn't move for what felt like an eternity, but was more likely only a few short minutes. She waited until it was quiet again, fully quiet, and dragged herself out from under the desk, letting out a shaky breath. That was too close. But before she can let her shoulders relax, she hears another set of footsteps approaching, these ones far lighter. She'd learned to recognize a lot of officers in the station by the quickness & weight of their steps, but this wasn't one she knew.
A momentary flash of fear strikes her in the back of her mind: what if it's someone from Umbrella, come to silence surviving officers? With that thought in mind, she crouches behind the desk with a view of the door, readying her Samurai Edge. Safety clicks to off; finger steady on the trigger. But when the door opens, the visage she sees isn't an Umbrella agent, and it isn't an officer she knows. He is wearing a police uniform, however, and it takes only a moment for the facts to click together in her mind, like completing a puzzle.
"You...you're Leon Kennedy, aren't you? The new officer?" Rebecca's voice trembles with a mixture of relief and exhaustion; she's near the limit of what she can handle. "Ryman talked about you. You...shouldn't have come."
@theoneladytype unprompted starter!
