1 The Beginning of Fear

September 29, 1998, 7:25pm- Raccoon City, Outskirts

Stormy clouds fill the pitch black sky, pouring rain on the fields below, drenching everything under them. A singe street cuts through the land, going as far as the eye can see. A single oil tanker truck plows through the storm, its headlights illuminating only a few feet in front of it.

"Look man, I'm serious okay?" A worried man's voice emanates through the radio, "I saw this with my own eyes.

"Oh, I believe you, buddy," Another man's voice replies in a lying tone, chucking a bit, "I believe you. Just tell us a story, tell us a story,"

"Ok, well, it was last friday night," The truck driver grabs a partly eaten burger off his dashboard and takes a bite from it, "I was walking home from the bar...This, woman, started coming towards me...She was staggering, you know? So I-I figured she was drunk,"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Ok," The other guy interupts, "Tell us, be honest now, how many drinks did you have?"

"No man, I, I barely had a buzz on,"

"Oh c'mon!"

"No, just listen, alright? She got closer, I got a good look at her...You had to see her eyes, her nose...Her whole face...looked like it was rotting!" He exclaims in a shaken voice.

"Ew-"

"She looked like a corpse. Like a walking corpse man!"

"Heh," The truck driver chuckles, burger in one hand, steering wheel in the other, "Sounds like my wife,"

"I've never seen anything like it…" The first guy continues, "I haven't been able to sleep since that night,"

"Alright, calm down, buddy, calm down," THe other guy tries to reassure him, "Just...Hey. You gotta stay strong, ok? Don't give in to fear out there, right?

"Yeah, well you got that right," Static starts to emanate from the speakers as the radio's signal weakens, "If you freeze up around these things...they'll sink their teeth into you. I saw it attack somebody-" The high pitched screaming of the static drowns out everything else as the radio's signal is lost.

"Come on…" The truck driver stats irritably, putting his burger back down on the dashboard, "Just gettin' good," He looks away from the road as he messes with the radio's dial, trying to get the signal back, "I need some sleep," He says with a yawn as the harsh static rings throughout the cabin.

Noticing something out of the corner of his eyes, he turns back to the road, only to see someone in front of his truck for a split second before ramming into them.

"Oh shit!" He exclaims as he slams on the breaks, the truck continuing for a good couple of yards before coming to a halt, the person flying forward onto the pavement, blood splattering everywhere. As blood drips off the grill of the truck, the man quickly gets out, running to the front of the truck where the body of a women lays a few feet in front of, one of the arms covering the face.

"No..!" The man whimpers, unable to catch his breath as a panic overcomes him, " No...no...no…" He hurries over to the body, kneeling down and lifts up the arm, showing the blood drenched and mangled face. A nightmare now a reality, the man gets up, unable to think straight, "What do I do..?" He mutters to himself as he takes his hat off as he turns to the dark, empty fields at the side of the road, "What am I gonna do!?"

Stricken by panic, the man is oblivious to the woman as she slowly gets up, her broken arms dangling.

…

September 29, 1998, 7:32pm- Raccoon City, Outskirts Gas Station

Clare Redfield drives through the mountain fields on her motorbike, the engine's roar loud enough to break through the rain's assault on the pavement below her feet. Her read leather jacket and blue jeans are now drenched from driving for so long in the rain. Luckily her helmet is able to keep her head dry and keep the raindrops from flying into her eyes. A gas station appears in the distance, it's glowing lights a beacon in the dark night. She slows down and turns into it, parking by a telephone booth sitting astray from the gas pumps. She takes her helmet off, placing it on the bike's handle, and uses the booth.

"Yeah, I'm almost there...Sounds good...I'll be back as soon as I find Chris...I will, but I gotta go," Claire hangs up with a chuckle, "Why does everyone think I'm gonna get in trouble?" She mutters to herself as she leaves the phone booth. Glass breaking in the gas station catches her attention, "What the…" She didn't notice until just now that the lights inside are all off, and that something in the air feels...off. An empty police car sits by the entrance to the station, it's headlights still on.

Cautiously, she makes her way to the front door, the open sign hanging up making the lights being off all the more eerie. She opens the door up slightly, peeking into the darkness, barely able to make out things thanks to the lights from the pump station.

"Hello?" Claire calls out, the emptiness not responding back. She opens the door all the way, stepping inside, "Anybody here?" Still no response. She takes a step forward, her boot nudging a flashlight on the ground. She kneels down, picking it up with her left hand and shining it into the dark, showing shelves stacked with various things from snacks to car oil. The air is deathly still, the sound of rain going away as the door closes behind her, cutting her off from outside.

"Hello..?" She calls out again, hoping to get a sign that something isn't wrong. She stands up, walking past the shelves, a bad feeling in her gut. As she makes her way to the back aisle, she can't help but hover her right hand over her leg holster, ready to draw her handgun at a moments notice. The sound of shallow breathing can be heard. She moves her hand away as her light shines onto a large man at the far back corner of the aisle, slumped on the ground, leaning against the wall as he holds a hand on his neck.

"Sir? Sir, are you okay?!" Claire asks as she hurries over to him. As she gets closer she sees all the blood drenching his neck and the tile around him, "W-What, happened?" The man weakly points to a heavy metal door leading to the back area of the station in response, his breathing shallow and shaky, "Ok...just, stay right here, I'll check it out," She heads into the back area, a long cold hallway where the refrigerated stuff is kept. She doesn't take more than a few steps when she hears the door close behind her, followed by it locking.

"Hey!" She exclaims as she hurries back to the door, trying to push it open to no avail, "What the hell?!" She knocks on the door but there's no response. She steps back, turning to the left and facing the other end of the hall where another metal door sits. Walking down the hall, her boots echoing with every step, she starts to hear the what sounds like a rabid animal almost as she nears the door.

"I said hold still!" A man states. Claire opens the door, her light slowly showing an officer pinning someone to the wall on the far end of the room.

"Excuse me, is everything okay?" She asks as she starts walking toward them, her light now shining on their heads.

"Stay back ma'am," The officer states as he turns his head to her, struggling to keep the person in his hold., "I got this," He holds out a hand, which gives the person just enough leeway to break free of the officer's grip. The person pushes the officer to the ground. Claire steps back, horrified as she watches the thing bite into his neck, making him scream in agony.

"Get off him!" Claire exclaims as she draws her gun, holding the flashlight under her right wrist. The creature slowly pulls a piece of the officer's neck off, the meat stretching, "I said get off him!"

Claire fires a bullet at its head, its head jerk violently to the side, tearing out part of the officer's esophagus with it. As if unfazed by it, the creature lifts up its head and looks at her, the light showing its pale skin and dead, cloudy blue eyes. Blood is oozing from a wound on its head covered by hair and the bullet hole in its forehead is clearly visible.

"What in the fuck..?" She mutters to herself as she watches the thing rise to its feet in an unnatural way, it's head and arms hanging down as if it doesn't have the strength to keep them up while rising. She shoots it in the head again and its head jerks back, dropping the esophagus. It steps back, only for its head to come back down.

Claire stands there, her gun still aimed at is head, unable to believe what the hell she's seeing.

…

September 29, 1998, 7:28pm- Raccoon City, Outskirts

"Maybe this storm can excuse me being late…" Leon mutters to himself as he drives down the road, "Maybe they'll give me a break…I hope," As he drives down the road he spots a gas station. Running low on fuel, he pulls into it, parking by a pump. He gets out, looking around at the emptiness of the place, nothing but the sound of rain filling the still air. A motorbike is sitting by the edge of the place by an empty telephone booth. He grabs the nozzle and hooks it up to his jeep.

"No one's around?" He asks himself out loud as he looks for the bike's missing owner. That's when he notices the empty police car, "That's...weird…" He states, as the air seems to suddenly shift, becoming more aggressive.

Leon's caught off guard when he hears a gunshot coming from inside the gas station. He takes the nozzle out of his car, as he walks around to the other side of his jeep he sees bloody footprints, heading in the direction of the station. He draws his matilda and makes his way to the door. That's when he hears moaning in the distance. He turns to the left, seeing the outlines of several figures walking in the fields towards the station. He turns the other way to see even more.

"What in the-"

"Get off me!" He hears a woman exclaim, shortly followed by gun shots. He hurries to the door and opens it up, drawing his gun to see a young woman about his age in a red leather jacket and jeans.

"Don't shoot!" She exclaims as she raises her arms. Leon sees someone behind her, they look like a walking corpse.

"Get down!" He states, following his gut instincts. She quickly ducks and he shoots the thing in the head. The thing falls backwards onto the ground. The woman stands back up and sees all the other creatures slowly closing in on the station.

"Come on!" She exclaims as she runs past Leon towards the police car. They swing open the front doors, jumping into the front seats and slam the doors shut and buckle up as the other things quickly surround them. Leon being in the driver's seat, he turns the key in the ignition and starts up the engine.

"Hold on!" He states as he throws the car in reverse, making a u-turn before changing it to drive and taking off onto the road towards raccoon city. As the gas station disappears off into the distance, they both let out a sigh of relief.

"What the hell were those things?" Leon asks as he eases his foot on the gas.

"I...I have no idea," Claire replies as she runs a hand through her hair, "There was an officer, and he got pushed to the ground by one and...the thing bit his fucking neck!" She states in disbelief, "I shot it in the head, but, but it wasn't enough…" She glances down at her gun in her lap, before putting it back in her holster, "..Thanks, for saving my ass back there. Name's Claire,"

"Leon," He replies, "And, no problem...How the hell am I going to explain this to the chief?"

"You're an officer?"

"Yeah...sorta. This is my first day as one,"

"Oh," She states, a look of slight disappointment on her face.

"What?"

"Oh, sorry," She replies, wiping the look off her face, "I'm, looking for my brother, he's an officer at Raccoon City,"

"Well, maybe I could help you find him once we get there, I'm probably fired anyways, so I'm sure I'll have the rest of the night off,"

"I'd appreciate it," She replies with a smile.

As the two near the city, that's when they notice the unnatural red glow emanating from it.