Prologue

Prologue

December 22nd, 1998- Raccoon City

At this time, Raccoon City was not somewhere you wanted to live. Sure, it was a beautiful city, with lush green lawns, tall oak trees, blue skies with no clouds, and beautiful sunrises and sunsets. The population was large, and everyone minded their own business. City was also known for their great medical breakthroughs and achievements. Life was, essentially, perfect there. So, why not live in Raccoon City at this time?

The virus.

Not just any virus, though. Beneath the city was a large facility called the Hive. The Hive was ran by the Umbrella Corporation. Umbrella was the main supplier for everything in the city. They were also the main reason why the world is now almost completely destroyed. Down in the Hive, they were experimenting with certain chemicals and bacterial combinations. One of them killed you, then reanimated the dead cells of the body, bringing the subject back to life. Essentially, the virus was the fountain of youth. They were still a few kinks with the virus, so an antidote was developed to reverse the effects of the virus. Everything was under control with the proper security and precautions.

Until someone let it out.

The virus was, and is, known as the T-Virus. The virus still had the side effects, which made it unsafe for human life. The virus went through the Hive ventilation system, killing everyone inside. The back-up security system was able to contain the virus inside the Hive, saving Raccoon City citizens from the deadly infection. The Hive entrance was sealed shut, hopefully never to be opened again.

That was not the case.

Curious Umbrella scientists wanted to know what sort of damage had been done to the facility. They were able to open the door to the Hive, and check inside. In doing so, they released the virus. Hundreds of infected men and women ran through the streets, hunting for human flesh to feast on. In order for the virus to thrive, it needed a healthy host to infect, just like a bacteria. What humanity had feared for generations had finally come true.

Raccoon City had become the first sight of the zombie apocalypse.

The outbreak occurred on February 18th, 1998. Ten months ago. Within that ten months, more than 35% of the world's population had become infected. Military had been called in, but it has done nothing to stop the outbreak. A new military group had been created. They called themselves the Special Tactics and Rescue Squad- S.T.A.R.S. This group went through Raccoon City and wiped out any infected they saw. However, their attempts have been futile, for the virus has continued to spread, not slowing in the slightest.

After a while, more zombies became known to Raccoon City. These zombies are man-made in laboratories. They are known as Bio-Organic Weapons- B.O.W's. They are created out of people who are abducted off the streets and used for experimentations. Scientists will take the T-Virus strain and combine it with another bacteria to try and create a better and stronger virus. One that will leave the humanity in a person, but will fill them with vengeance, and give them superhuman abilities. Each B.O.W is different, and more deadly than the last. These zombies are the hardest to kill.

All these monstrosities roamed the streets, hunting for more flesh. The remaining population of Raccoon City were hiding in buildings, hoping to be spared from the virus. There was, however, one person in particular that the B.O.W's were tracking. She was the one crying in an abandoned building, trying to survive in a world so cruel. It was a little girl of about three years of age, with raven black hair that flowed in the wind, and scared, sapphire eyes that scanned the area, hoping to find somewhere to be safe from the world outside. Her little legs picked her up and led her quickly to a set of stairs, which she quickly ascended. She could hear the monsters outside beginning to come closer, and she tried so hard to stop the tears. She couldn't, though. She wanted her mommy to come back and protect her, but she knew that that wasn't going to happen. Her mommy had left her about an hour ago, and still had not come back. She didn't know if she ever would.

The little girl found a room on the top floor to the left. She opened it slowly, checking for anything, dead or alive, would pop out and attack her. When nothing did, she quickly stepped inside and closed the door. Looking around, she found a large wooden cabinet that could barricade the door, but she knew she was not strong enough to move it. She looked at the door and saw that it had a lock. Out of habit and survival, she locked the door, then quickly crawled under the bed and calmed herself. She may have been only three years old, but her intelligence could not be denied. She put her hand to her mouth to muffle the sounds of her heavy breathing.

She waited for what seemed like hours before she heard a noise outside of the room she was hiding in. She nearly cried out, but quickly recovered and kept quiet. She heard someone curse, then tried to open the door. The girl crawled farther under the bed, afraid of what was on the other side, then realized that it was a human voice that had said a bad word. She crawled out from under the bed and went to the door and gave a small knock, just loud enough for the person outside to hear it.

" Is someone in there?" the voice asked. The voice belonged to a male. The little girl, relieved, unlocked the door and let him in. She had to look up really far to see the man's face. He was a tall man, with brown hair in a buzz cut, chocolate brown eyes, and very tan skin. He was well built, broad shouldered and lean at the hips. The girl moved out of the way to let him in, and he stepped in gracefully. She caught a glimpse of his patch on his right shoulder- S.T.A.R.S.

" You're a member of S.T.A.R.S, right?"

" That's right," the man answered. Though his voice was very deep, it was gentle, caring, and it soothed the little girl. She realized a moment later that her tears had stopped flowing, and her face was nearly dry. Without thinking, she ran to the man and hugged his leg, which was the only body part she could reach. He put a hand on her head softly and patted her. She didn't let go. She couldn't. This man was her savior, and that was all she knew.

" It's okay," he reassured her. " Where are your parents?"

" Mommy's gone. She hasn't come back yet," she responded in a melancholy tone. She didn't want to feel like that, but she couldn't help it. She had been left alone by the one person she trusted, and now, she began to believe that she had been left on purpose. She could feel the tears coming forward again, but she held them back with all her little might.

" I'm sorry to hear that," the man replied. " What's your name?"

" Cecile. What about you?"

" Chris. How old are you?"

" Three, and you?"

" Twenty-eight."

" You're older than you look," Cecile commented. Chris laughed and agreed.

" You're very smart for your age, too," he complimented. Cecile smiled at him, forgetting about the dangers outside.

A static noise cut through their conversation. Cecile realized it was a radio and looked at Chris. He pulled the radio from his belt loop and listened to the transmission. Cecile couldn't make out any of the words until Chris fixed the connection. She heard a male's voice, sharp as ice, cut through the room.

" REDFIELD! ANSWER ME, DAMMIT!"

" Sorry, Captain," Chris apologized quickly. " What's going on?"

" Where are you?!" the man demanded.

" On the corner of Maple and Ash," Chris answered. " I'm in an abandoned navy blue house with a three year old girl. She was left alone by her mother. There doesn't seem to be a father in the picture."

There was a pause. Cecile didn't speak in case the man came back on. She was glad she did.

" How awful," the man responded. " I'm sending Raymond's team to your location as we speak. Just hang tight."

" Will do, Captain," Chris answered, then turned off the radio. He leaned back against the door and sighed.

" We're gonna have to wait a little bit for them to get here," he told her. " They may be good men, but they are slower than molasses."

Cecile nodded and sat down across from Chris. She was grateful to have company while she waited, but she couldn't form any conversation to carry out. Instead, she pulled her legs to her chest and put her head down to rest.

She didn't how long she had been sitting there like that for, but after a while, she heard a soft, deep voice began to sing a song she knew all too well. It was her mother's favorite song.

" 'A scrub is a guy who thinks he's fly, and is also known as a buster. Always talking 'bout what he wants and just sits on his broke ass. So-'"

" 'No, I don't want your number. No, I don't wanna give you mine. No, I don't wanna meet you nowhere. No, I don't want none of your time!'" Cecile joined in. Chris stopped and looked at her with bewilderment in his eyes. Cecile felt the heat rush to her face and she quickly put her head back down.

" Don't be shy. It was really good and in key. That's some real talent you've got," he reassured her. She didn't respond to him, but the tears of embarrassment fell and splattered onto the ground. Chris heard the drops, for he stood up and sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer. She didn't pull away, even though her mind told her to. She felt safe with him, and she knew she would never feel that way with anyone else.

It took Raymond's team an hour to find the house and secure Cecile. Chris went to talk with a man with blonde hair that was wearing shades. Cecile suddenly felt empty as she was led away from Chris, and her smile turned into a straight line as a woman led her away.

" Jill, wait a second!" Cecile heard Chris call. The woman next to her stopped and turned around. Cecile turned too, and saw Chris running towards them. Hope sparked in her heart for a mere second, but she quickly pushed it down, not wanting to be hurt again.

" What is it. Chris?" Jill asked.

" She's coming with me," Chris answered.

" What do you mean?" Jill questioned.

" She's coming to live with me," he answered, and the hope she tried to hold back flared up like a bonfire in her heart. " I'm going to be her dad, essentially."

" Are you crazy?!" Jill retorted. " What about your work? What does Wesker think about this?"

" He's the one that gave the okay," Chris countered. " Plus, I've grown very fond of this little girl, and I have decided to take some time off to take care of her and get her settled into a somewhat normal life. Hell, I'll even train her to protect herself if she ever needed to. As you can see, I have everything figured out."

" So you're going to teach her to shoot a gun?" Jill asked sarcastically.

" Yes, but not until she's a little older, maybe at five. Kindergartner training day, as I'm calling it. It's all figured out."

" I call bull on that one," Jill commented, but walked away and left Cecile with Chris.

" Did you mean what you said?" she asked cautiously.

" Of course I did," Chris answered. " What do you say? Will you let me adopt you?"

Tears once again flowed down Cecile's cheeks like rivers, and large sobs escaped her throat. Chris opened his arms, and Cecile ran to them and held on tight. Chris picked her up and hugged her tight, and Cecile felt safe for the first time in a long time. She pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes...

And nod her head, sealing her new life for the better, and for the worst.