Former STARS(Special Tactics And Rescue Squad) police officer Jill Valentine put another bullet into the brain of a female undead. The once pretty face that could inspire the desire of most men exploded into a mess no one would ever find attractive… or at least no one should ever find attractive.

It had been around ten minutes since two maniacs hit the Umbrella checkpoint. As soon as gunshots were fired, the civilians fled into the city. The few police officers that stood their post followed them into the city, doing whatever they could to protect the armed innocent.

Their actions were noble, but if Jean was the judge she would decide it was stupid. These officers were surrounded and hopeless. Undead were charging at them in every direction. Screams and growls were constant themes. Take out one zombie, and ten more would take its place. The small pistols and light caliber rifles were not even close to enough to counter the undead’s infinite desire for flesh. Even an entire truck of STARS reinforcements couldn’t change the tide of battle. Several helicopters of Umbrella reinforcements didn’t help much either.

But they were still holding. It was their duty to fight until their last bullet. Those that were still here were the most determined of the city. The lesser were gone already.

Beside Jill, a fellow police officer was pushed onto the ground by a zombie. Jill turned her pistol and blasted that zombie’s head open. Zombie blood washed over the man’s face, but it was better than death by teeth. However. as soon as she turned back, one half of a head was in front of her, along with two lines of bloody teeth.

Jill was completely taken by surprise. Not even going through her mind, she stumbled back as fast as she could, but the zombie wasn’t going to stand by and watch its prey flee. It roared and moved forward, and, facing the stinking breath of the beast, Jill closed her eyes in desperation. She didn’t bother screaming.

That was when the zombie’s neck was ripped open. Spinal cord shattered, the zombie collapsed. Its head was still moving, still biting and spitting and drooling, but the rest of the body was silent.

Jill ended the zombie’s miserable life with a bullet. She looked at the one that saved her. It was a man carrying an automatic rifle walking down an alleyway. He wore a black mercenary suit that made him seem elite. He continued to fire at the zombies, dropping them like flies. The quick infected were like defenseless lambs as they were put down one by one.

He wasn’t alone. Six more figures emerged from behind. All of them wore black battle suits just like the first man. Random blood spots only enhanced their menacing look. All of them carried automatic weapons. The quiet sound of silenced guns was quickly followed by the death of the first line of zombies.

As the battle continued, a beast lurked in the dark. Its long tongue stuck out of its mouth. Its round brain got past the protection of the skull. It looked at the man and, without any warning, jumped out with a speed that could make ordinary zombies turn away in shame.

“Licker behind you!” As he put down two more zombies, Carl suddenly heard a desperate warning from Jean. Having learned a few lessons from his experience in the past hours, he leaped forward without any hesitation or thinking.

The licker was quick, but Carl was quicker. He escaped where he was before with a speed that shocked even himself.

Not having time to wonder why he was so fast, the man turned around, dropped the now emptied automatic rifle, and replaced it with an SMG he kept on his belt. The gun’s muzzle jumped, and the licker’s exposed brain exploded. Moving swiftly, Carl got away just in time to dodge the licker’s body as it fell.

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However, instead of a proud smile, a confused look appeared on Carl’s face. Unlike his accident kill in the Hive, this time he knew he killed the licker because he actively took aim and pulled the trigger. It was as if his reflexes were enhanced. The licker’s speed was one of its most important skills as it was what allowed them to take down enemies with the element of surprise. Normally he couldn’t even follow it with his eyes, much less take aim and fire.

All around him, the rest of the team was expertly massacring the zombies. They were already well trained, and their time in the Hive brought them precious experience. On the way here, they came across a gun store and emptied it, which meant they weren’t running out of ammunition anytime soon. The team was at its peak, and a couple dozen zombies couldn’t stop them.

“The first wave is done, but more are coming.” Rain took down the last zombie and reported.

This was no place to meditate. Carl nodded at the woman and walked to the police officers.

“Who are you?” A woman in red dress demanded, but her weapon was already lowered.

“Mercenaries. My name is Carl.” Carl replied shortly. “We need to get these people out of here.”

“Jill. Jill Valentine.” The woman held her hand out. Carl shook it.

Jill’s party trusted Carl. The fact that Carl saved their lives was enough to gain trust. The situation was not a place for details either. The first wave of zombies was down, but more were converging toward where the group was. Both the gunshots from the police and the sea of flesh proved to be highly attractive to the infected. Jean and Rain were gunning down zombies as they got close, but it wasn't a long term solution. They needed to move.

“How many of you are there?” The leader continued. Jill turned and went through the crowd, counting.

Valentine had quite a reputation in STARS, and it didn’t take her long to come back with the result. When she returned, two men were with her.

“Captain Jack Hansen of STARS.” In the original history the man was killed along with his men when they were overrun. This time what happened was slightly better. “I have 12 men under my command.” He had 12.

“I’m Carlos Olivera of Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service.” A man wearing an obvious Umbrella symbol explained. “There are 8 of us left.”

“There are still 9 of us.” Jill represented the police forces. Most of the protectors were overran and joined the army of the dead. Most of what were left fled. Those that remained at their post and survived were here. “25 civilians.” Jill said darkly. The city held tens of thousands of people.

Carl nodded at Kaplan, who showed a map on his wrist computer. Carl pointed at a spot. “There should be an exit here. Umbrella sealed it off, but…” But that was their only chance.

Jill bit her lips. “We could’ve gotten through the main gate at Raven Gate Bridge, but two idiots attacked that spot and Umbrella closed the gate.” She didn’t know major Cain ordered to shut the door because someone in the crowd was infected. As far as she knew, someone attacked the Umbrella forces, causing the commanding officer to close the gate to survival for the civilians. Those two indirectly killed all those people.

Carl had a brief idea who those two idiots were, but he remained quiet.

“Let’s move. Armed men stay on the outside. Civilians get in the middle. If we can work together, we can get out of here alive.” He said some encouraging words, but the men merely shrugged and smiled weakly.

As Hansen, Carlos, and Valentine rallied their men, Jean silently approached Carl from behind.

“We can’t save all of them.” She said softly.

“No, but we can save whatever we can.” Carl eyed a ten year old girl. She was gripping tightly to her mother’s arm. Somehow, he could hear their conversation. Normally he would be curious, but the content of the conversation he overheard crushed that curiosity.

“Mommy, where’s daddy?”

The mother’s face went pale. Her husband was infected while protecting her and her daughter, but what could she say? Tell a ten year old daughter her father was turned into a flesh seeking monster? There was nothing she could do but stay quiet.

The girl realized something and went quiet as well.

Carl remained silent as the team started moving.