Watch Over You

Raccoon City

"McKenzie... Intern journalist, huh?"

The young woman nodded her head. She bit her lip, a bad habit she would always do whenever she was nervous. She waited patiently for the sergeant to check her visitor pass and I.D. The sergeant finally nodded his head and handed back her items. He motioned her to follow him into the Raccoon Police City Department. She quickly straightened her pencil skirt before following the sergeant. In her three-inch high heels, she almost tripped on her own feet. She quickly recovered herself, keeping her head low as they passed by many other policemen. They entered a press room where there were chairs already set up. The sergeant left her on her own as soon as she settled down. She whispered a soft 'thank you', and the sergeant had a small smile at the corner of his mouth.

She looked around the room. It was slightly messy, and the air smelled of stale coffee and cigarette smoke. The boards on the wall were covered with multiple newspaper clippings and others with letters and wanted posters. She walked towards one of the boards, glancing through the different newspaper articles. Her attention was immediately drawn towards one of the headlines in bold letters, accompanied by a large photograph of a destroyed mansion in flames. The headline read, 'Grim Arklay Murders Explained'. The article was dated about a month ago. She didn't get a chance to read the article when she was startled by a noise outside of the room. It sounded like a scuffle right outside, but it eventually subsided. Nothing to worry about, she told herself. She quickly made sure that her outfit was presentable before she sat back in her seat.

It was uncomfortable to be in a formal outfit, but she had to look ready and professional for her first day on the job. The Chief would be walking in through the double doors at any moment to brief her. After meeting with the Chief, she would then be attached to a police officer who would show her around and help her with anything she needed. She was supposed to meet her senior journalist at the station too, but she hadn't seen or heard from him yet. She got out her notebook and pen ready.

The doors soon opened, but instead of the Chief, it was the same sergeant who attended to her earlier. Clutching his side, he was covered in blood as he struggled to walk properly. She immediately got up to her feet and helped him. The sergeant tried to warn her about closing the door, but he coughed out blood and was unable to speak. Someone, or something, was walking towards them but she didn't notice. The sergeant pushed her away, drawing his gun and shooting it in the head. She gasped in horror, stunned by the event that just unfolded right in front of her eyes. The sergeant sealed the door shut before slumping down against the wall.

"W-what happened? Oh my god, we have to send you to a hospital!" she exclaimed, her voice in utter panic.

The sergeant coughed out more blood. He waved her off.

"You're hurt badly! Your side-"

She was unable to complete her sentence. She noticed that the sergeant's side was ripped open and guts were threatening to spill out. She almost gagged.

The sergeant struggled to keep himself alive. "You need to get out of here," he managed to speak, slowly losing consciousness.

"What?"

"Run. Don't fight," he mumbled.

Those were his last words before his body went limp. Her hands trembled as she confirmed if the sergeant was really dead. She slowly backed away, her tears already spilling out. She didn't know what happened, but the sergeant didn't deserve to die like that. She had to alert someone. She regained her nerves and searched the desk, finding an office telephone. She punched a few buttons and called the front desk but she couldn't get through. The line had gone dead. She started to panic again. What the hell killed the sergeant? She only had a brief look at that thing which tried to attack them. It was the craziest guess she had in her head, but it looked like that thing wasn't a human. She had a feeling that whatever was happening now might have a connection with the Arklay murders.

She had to get in contact with her senior journalist as soon as possible. She went back to the sergeant and grabbed his gun. As much as she hated using guns, having one in her hands would be really useful if she was attacked. She apologised to him before leaving the room. Carefully analysing her surroundings, she stepped out of the room with the loaded gun in her hands. She heard gunshots and screaming a while ago, but now it was dead silent. For a police department which was very busy earlier on, it was almost like a ghost town now. She stepped over the body. She almost yelled upon seeing its disfigured face. She couldn't believe looking at it, even with the evidence right in front of her. That thing couldn't be a... zombie, could it?

She pushed on, heading back to the main desk to get help or even find answers. There weren't any policemen in sight except for scattered bodies. Her legs were shaking, and her mind was urging her to leave the police station immediately. Upon reaching the front desk, it was empty and eerily quiet. She tried to use the telephone there, but it didn't work either. She logged into the computer, hoping to access the surveillance cameras. Once she finally got access, she quickly searched for her senior journalist. However, what she saw was nothing anyone should have seen. Everywhere else, people were struggling to survive those things. Bodies were being mangled and torn to shreds. She quickly closed the window, almost dropping to her knees. Her mind thought of one person she could get help from, but the front door suddenly banged and rattled. She did a quick turn, only to come face-to-face with a horde of zombies. Instinctively, she shot several rounds at the horde, but her hands were too shaky to land proper shots. The kickback was too strong, almost throwing her off balance. Some shots missed entirely, while others hit the zombies in the arms and legs. She cursed out loud.

She then remembered what the sergeant had told her. If she kept shooting in her nauseous state, she'd end up being swallowed by the horde. She took off, not knowing where to go. She sprinted back to the press room and locked the door. The sergeant's body had gone missing. She cursed. She was safe for the time being, but if the zombies got through the door, she'd be dead. The room she was in had no other way in or out. She hurriedly crouched behind the desk and hugged her knees. This was not how she expected her first day of work to be.