Finally, out of the graveyard of death, the wayward group of cops, a civilian and two heavily T-virus enhanced superhumans, made their way past a skyscraper in the inner city.

The metropolitan area, and the buildings with barely flickering lights in the distance acted as a blank canvas for them. One that was sure to be swarming with thousands of infected just ready to paint it red with their blood.

In the lead, Alice led as usual, always one step ahead in their path. Determined, always moving, always alert and ready for anything. In a way, she didn't exactly feel human anymore. With the abilities, the senses, it felt drastically different than when she was down in the Hive. Yes, she could see things more clearly, hear better than most and could probably outrun a vehicle if she tried.

But it just felt unnatural to her, like it wasn't supposed to be there, it was put in her not of her choosing and she felt violated from that. Vulnerability played in her mind, even as she scoured every single crevasse and angle around, there was something always nicking her in the back of mind. Buzzing back and forth, infected here, infected there. It was like a playback loop and she didn't like it, even if she did find it helpful in the slightest. But still, it took something away from her.

Alice just didn't feel human.

And she was sure Y/N felt the same. If she had anything to go by, she would assume that constant vigilance was of the same as hers. As she turned to gaze at him, and noticed his blue eyes eying the place top to bottom. If not strictly from their military training, he was more attentive than he had been in the Hive, and not to mention the fight earlier.

She'd be lying if she said she didn't find his abilities to be of some curiosity and even interest, though she wondered what he was thinking of everything. She wanted to pull him aside, like he had done for her in the Hive, explore each other's options and talk like they had done before. But they couldn't, not now. It was too risky despite the obvious advantages. Still, she groaned at the frustration as they moved on.

To her right, she noticed the cop, Valentine, how she kept looking back and forth between Y/N and herself. Her gaze searching, and scrutinizing. Wondering what made the both of them tick the way they did, she found that to be frustrating too. Nobody would ever look at them the same, and she found herself retorting to the woman when she turned her way a second time.

"What are you staring at?"

Jill looked away, scoffing as if Alice had shit in her cereal before returning her gaze, and admitting, "I'm not sure." Alice kept moving and didn't budge to answer, so the cop continued, "What made you both wanna work for Umbrella?"

Alice eyed Y/N out of the corner of her eye as she noticed him shift on his feet, deciding to take the initiative, she answered, "Girl's gotta make a paycheck."

It was obviously a fakeout. She hadn't known why she joined Umbrella. Her memory was hazy, and before the events in the Hive, she couldn't remember. She placed it down to her amnesia with the Hive's weapons system, but then again her memory should have come back by now. After months in Umbrella's captivity, she hadn't remembered a thing, and a part of her didn't want to.

And besides, she wasn't comfortable explaining that to someone she barely knew. There were better people to explain that too, one being in their little group.

Valentine nodded, and turned back to Y/N was guarding their rear, shotgun in his hands, "And you?"

He didn't respond straight away, and Alice assumed he didn't want to talk about it. She didn't blame him, no matter how curious she was for the answer. Their time in the Hive had been short, and everything after had been a shit show. Despite how close they had gotten to be friends, and even partners in crime, kicking ass and taking names, they were still anomalies to each other.

They still had much to learn.

"What Alice said," Y/N responded after a few seconds, and Alice noticed the recognition of him trying to hide what he really wanted to say, "Umbrella paid well..."

The group continued on and they made it to the balcony of the side of the building. Overlooking more of the urban part of the city. Alice barely registered the cold wind sweeping through her, when Jill decided to pick up again.

"Those were some pretty slick moves back there." Jill said as they rounded a corner. It even sounded like a complement, and Alice assumed it was sarcasm this time. "I'm good, but I'm not that good."

Alice watched as Y/N came pushing up front, and stepping in beside her as they walked. She noticed the shotgun in his hands and she cursed at the fact that he had crushed her gun practically in half.

He owed her.

Not bothering to turn her way, Alice answered in a frosty tone, one that clearly said she didn't want to talk about it, and instead debuffed her:

"You should be thankful for that."

Jill narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean?"

Alice noticed that Y/N had stopped in his tracks beside her, and she followed suit, turning back to Jill with a look, her eyes expressive and reaping with envy.

"They did something to me. To us." She gestured to Y/N with a tilt of her chin when she noticed him tightening in his hand into a fist as his shotgun held loosely in his left.

"I barely feel human anymore..." Y/N admitted from ahead of them.

When Alice moved up alongside Y/N, she noticed his face remained passive and stoic, but she had seen enough of him to know he was worried and cautious. She remembered how steadfast he had been in the Hive. How his hands had always remained so close to his weapon, tightened, and on edge, alert for anything.

Alice felt for him, worried for him. The vulnerability wasn't one sided and in a way she was glad she wasn't the only one acting out of sync. In a way, it only served to bolster their resolve. They had been in the Hive together, they had survived it. And the T-virus experiments, the horrors and anguish that unraveled from that.

She wasn't alone in that sense of hurt, that sense of vulnerability that could pave way any second. To get past it, they'd have to stick together. There was no one like them, nobody to compare but them.

And despite everything, she was glad it was him more than anyone else.

In spite of that, she still wondered if he felt the same.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked him as she came up beside him, and immediately he dropped his hand to his side and nodded her way, gracing her with a smile that was tight lipped and locked up.

She didn't need to wonder anymore if it was true.

"I'll be better once we get out of here." Y/N responded, and Alice found that she couldn't disagree.

Ring ring!

The obnoxious noise of a pay phone had
them all on their toes. To their right facing outwards, were an array of pay phones.

Ringing back and forth. The noise itself would bring the infected down on their heads.

Alice knew it too, "We should keep moving. Before the sound attracts anything."

The group proceeded ahead, Alice taking the lead while Y/N hung back for a second, taking a look at the pay phones and wondered if it was his mysterious benefactor. But all of them ringing at once? Shaking his head, he picked up his pace and went after the others.

They managed past the building and made it to the glass entrance of the main skyscraper and another pay phone next to the building began to ring. Alice herself ignored it once, and motioned them to move, but was stopped suddenly before she could move a step, when Y/N came forth.

Her fellow superhuman marched up to the pay phone and lifted the receiver off its hook and placed it to his ear, and immediately answered the call with a tone that suggested he knew the caller.

"Next time, don't ring them all at once."

—

"Alpha Team to Base." Nicholai, Carlos' second, was trying his best to contact HQ, but was only getting a feedback loop. "This is Alpha Team to Base. Come in, Base."

Carlos carried Yuri by his side, until the man collapsed under his weight and he picked him up, "Hey! Pay attention, soldier." Placing him against the wall of the alleyway to steady him and keep him awake, instead of him going in and out of consciousness.

"This is Alpha Team to Base. Come in, Base." Nicholai held up the radio for a better signal but nothing was getting through.

Carlos patted Yuri on his arm, "You stay focused, all right?"

"Yes, sir." Yuri grunted as the pain of the bite worsened.

"Alpha Team to Base. This is Alpha--" Nicholai raged, letting out a frustrated grunt, swearing in Russian. "Why don't they respond, Carlos? Why don't they evac us, huh?"

Carlos pursed his lips as he reloaded his weapon, approaching his teammate, "I don't know..."

"Why did they send us in here in the first place? We never stood a chance." Nicholai shook his head, "We-- we're not trained for this."

"Wait," Carlos reached out his hand and stopped his friend's erratic movement and looked up at the darkening sky of Raccoon City. "Listen." They could make out the approaching sounds of a helicopter, the high flying whims of its rotor as it traveled through the sky, its spotlight illuminating the surrounding area, and the team itself.

"Hey!"

"Here! We're down here!"

They lit up their red flares and danced about, but no matter how hard they tried to get its attention, the helicopter simply carried on with its fly path. Perhaps having not seen them, or not bothering to pick them up at all, as they noticed it was carrying cargo containers by a winch.

"Where are they going?"

Carlos watched as the helicopter began to touch down in the distance. "They're landing over there. Let's get Yuri." They went and grabbed Yuri, the both of them dragging him out of the alley and hopefully to where a pickup would be.

They made their way out onto the street and across to the building, Carlos noticed them dropping the containers they carried, as they fell through the glass panes of the building. Double timing it, it took a few minutes, but they made it to the front of the entrance. The familiar Umbrella logo on the building's walls and unmistakable sign.

This was the Raccoon City Hospital.

But as they were about to enter, the helicopter took off and the thee noticed it peering away and back into the night of Raccoon City.

"Down here! We're coming!"

"They dropped something." Carlos explained to him as he steadied Yuri's weight. "Maybe a radio. One that works. Here take Yuri." He handed him over and Nicholai grabbed him, holstering him up as Carlos took the lead into the building.

They carefully advanced through the building, avoiding the infected in the hallways as they let them pass, and before long they reached the main hall. The familiar glass pane windows Carlos had seen were in sight, and so were the crates the helicopter had dropped.

"Nicholai, put me down." Yuri grunted weakly, his head a sweating mess and the pain unbearable.

"Okay, rest here." Nicholai complied, placing down by a pillar as Carlos inspected the crates, and he followed suit. "What is this?"

Carlos inspected the crates, and found empty ammo boxes. Places where equipment was once piled into were now empty. But the question was, who had taken them, and why had they sent down weapons in the first place?

"Looks like weapon cases."

Nicholai didn't like that one bit, "We don't need weapons. We need an evac!" He kicked one of the cases hard with his foot, anger coursing through him.

"These weren't meant for us..." Carlos said, as he gripped his rifle tightly. He made to speak, but was cut off when something struck him behind. He cried out when Yuri bit into his arm. Immediately he elbowed him back and sent him stumbling to the floor. "Yuri!"

The two umbrella soldiers raised their weapons at their undead comrade as he made to get up from the floor, and went for Nicholai. But he didn't make it far, as Nicholai's pistol leveled with his head, and pulled the trigger.

Ending his life.

—

"Now, how else was I to get your attention? I thought you'd never answer."

Y/N merely grunted as he turned to face his companions, and spoke into the phone, "Preferably one that doesn't get us all killed."

Dr. Ashford gave off a sarcastic humm, "Of course, I'll try better next time."

"Assuming there's a next time." Y/N muttered.

Jill Valentine walked up, standing next to Alice as the latter simply raised an eyebrow at him, before the former spoke, "Who the fuck is that?"

Y/N simply responded with his own case of sarcasm, "It's the Home Office, they want to speak to you about your car's extended warranty." He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'm still here." He turned to Alice and handed her the receiver, "He wants to speak with you."

Ignoring the obvious sarcasm and the barb that was thrown back Y/N's way by Jill, Alice placed the receiver to her ear, "Hello, who's this?"

"The man who's going to get all five of you out of the city. The name's Dr. Ashford." He introduced himself as Jill motioned to them with her hand that a camera was watching them. She noticed Y/N out of the corner of her eye, sending an awkward wave to the camera. "But first we have to come to an arrangement."

Alice pursed her lips, "The same one you offered Y/N?"

"You catch on quicker than most." Dr. Ashford said, impressed with her. "Yes, did he bring you up to speed on the plan?"

"No..." Alice responded as she stared at Y/N, who was more focused on surveying their surroundings, with a mixture of emotions.

It was quite simple, Dr. Asford laid the plan out for her. They were to rescue his daughter, Angela from the nearby school and then he'd get them all out by helicopter.

Sounded easy, but Alice and Y/N knew better.

"Do we have a choice?" Alice asked as she weighed her options out.

But the good doctor Ashford offered no other way, and it seemed his plan was their only escape from Raccoon City.

"Not if you want to live past tonight, no."

A/N: Next chapter will be up shortly.