(A/N): This story takes place in an alternate universe, where the events of Raccoon City do take place, but a few more survivors manage to get out alive and assist Leon, Claire and Ada in their efforts at stopping Umbrella. This is inspired from the remake of Resident Evil 2, so those events are the ones that this story is based on. The story will primarily follow the game, but will also follow the efforts of two other survivors, as they attempt to find their way out of Raccoon City while assisting our usual heroes. This story isn't gonna be huge, probably just a couple of long chapters.

There are some differences between the original and this universe to note here:

1) The events of the game in this universe will take place over the course of a couple days as opposed to a single night. I never liked the fact that the characters only had mere hours to get that close, so rather than to make it one straight shot, the events will be altered to allow for it to take place over a longer period of time. That means the nuke that destroys Raccoon City, as well as all the other stuff that occurs will happen a day or two later. I decided to take this approach because I wanted more time to develop the relationships between all the characters, especially Leon and Ada (I found it weird how Ada struggled to shoot Leon after only knowing him for a couple hours when she's actually stone cold by default).

2) These events will be altered so that Claire and Leon each have another survivor with them to help them through as opposed to going it alone. As a result, much of the events will be modified to accommodate these characters (who are all OCs of mine), but the events will play out largely the same as the game's, in terms of the end result of them all escaping as well as keeping the Leon and Claire interactions intact (along with a few extras).

3) Claire and Leon interact a lot more, but in favor of a true friendship rather than the rather cringy flirtation that went on during the game. Now before you Cleon fans start throwing tomatoes, let me explain. I do think they're a better couple than Ada and Leon, but Capcom did the exact thing I predicted they would do: they couldn't decide to stick to one ship. I knew the Leon and Ada moment was coming and the way Ada was with Leon up until the very end was so well done, that I ended up liking the ship more than Leon and Claire for the game (not overall).

However, this is mostly due to the fact that Capcom chose to not let Claire and Leon interact much. Had they devoted the same amount of time and interaction between Leon and Ada to Leon and Claire, it would've undoubtedly resulted in a perfect ship. However, they didn't... and that annoyed me to no end. I think if Capcom just chose to focus on Claire and Leon, it would've worked out just as well as their focus on Leon and Ada. They had a chance to build a good romance between either woman and Leon, but they chose to dip their feet in the Cleon Lake but then immediately jump into the Adeon Sea, then coming back out and going into the lake again. This time, we're gonna stick to one ship: LeonXAda. As much as I disliked how Capcom made Ada look like she was using Leon much more in the remake, their chemistry was spot on so I dug the ship even more than I did before. I still like Cleon, but this story sadly won't contain it. Rest assured, a Cleon fic is coming, because I support that ship a lot more romantically!

This version of the story takes into account the starting of the Claire A scenario, but will be taking into account elements of both scenarios.

Stranded Deep- Prologue: Signs Of Life

~ o ~

The Outskirts Of Raccoon City

"Man... sometimes I really wonder if people think I'm some kind of trouble magnet."

"Why does everyone think I'm gonna get in trouble?"

I hung up the phone after having finished that half-annoying, half-hilarious talk with my roommate and let out a sigh of relief. I had finally arrived at Raccoon City, the place where I was sure I'd be able to find my older brother, Chris. I knew that he had gone looking for something, but I wasn't entirely sure what and seeing as he's been gone for so long without even word back, I was the only one who he had to rely on. Yeah, you could say I'm just his little sister, but I'm also a Redfield. We can take care of ourselves, but we're too proud to take help willingly most of the time. Chris was always the strong one in our family and he always thought it was his job to shoulder all the responsibilities, but now that it was just him and I, I felt I had to watch his back too.

I needed answers; he was being very cryptic about all of this stuff to do with his job at S.T.A.R.S and now that I had the means of getting a look myself, I felt I had to.

"He's gonna be pissed when he sees me... but I need to know he's okay. It's been too damn long since I've heard anything from him."

Suddenly, a window shattering broke me from my thoughts.

"What the..."

I turned to the convenience store and slowly made my way inside. Of course, it was dark as hell but there was a flashlight on the ground.

"Hello? Anybody here?"

No response... just dead quiet. It was... unnerving to say the least. I continued inside... only to see blood all over the place.

"...Oh my god..."

This wasn't a good sign and I instinctively put my hand to my gun as I proceeded forward, ensuring that the light was enough for me to see far ahead of me. As I got further, I heard the cries and groans of what sounded like a man. I followed the sound... only to see a man bleeding profusely by his neck, on the ground.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?!"

He looked like a police officer from the Raccoon City Police Department, but in the state he was in... it didn't look like he was going to be much of a talker. I suddenly heard yelling towards the back of the store. Though I wanted to help the man in front of me, I needed some answers as to what was going on.

"Wait here. I'll check it out."

The man didn't even seem to pay attention to my words as he continued to hold his neck. I quickly made my way to the back... and I heard rapid growling and shouting. I opened the door... to see that an officer was holding another person to the wall.

"I said hold still!" shouted the officer.

"Excuse me... is everything okay?" I asked.

The officer immediately turned back... and the look on his face told me that he was terrified. So much so that I could see the sheer amount of fear radiating from his eyes. However, he knew that he had to tell me a lie, because his job was to protect the peace and keep everyone's mind at ease.

"Stay back ma'am! I got this!" he said.

However... I noticed that the person he was holding against the wall had managed to break free and before I could even react, he tackled the officer to the ground.

"Oh my god!" I screamed.

The man collapsed fully onto the officer and before the officer could even move an inch, I saw him bite hard into the officer's neck, causing blood to spill all over the floor.

"Help me..." cried the officer.
"Get off him!" I warned.

I drew my gun immediately and took aim, but the man completely ignored my words and continued to rip the officer's throat out with his teeth.

"I said GET OFF HIM!" I cried again.

The man ripped a large chunk of the officer's flesh clean off and slowly looked up at me... and it was then that I noticed the color of his eyes.

"...Is this guy dead?! What the fuck is going on here?!"

He began to get to his feet and I quickly turned the corner, dodging out of his way as I searched for something I could use to escape.

"...I only have five bullets. I can't afford to use them especially since I haven't reached the city yet... what the hell am I gonna do now?!"

I ran to the end of the aisle and found a metal cabinet on the wall, which contained a key.

"Staff entrance... maybe I can use this to open the door over there."

I turned to the left and saw that there was a locked door, separate from the one I came in through. I waited for my chance and as soon as the crazed man lunged for me, I ducked under him and managed to evade his grab, leaving him behind. I quickly rushed to the door and frantically got the key out to open it. Once I did, I began to make my way to the door as quickly as I could. Much to my horror, more of those crazy things had somehow gotten into the store and I just barely managed to evade one of them, who almost toppled a shelf on top of me. As soon as I reached the door, I immediately noticed that someone had arrived during the time I was inside. The guy opened the door and much to my surprise, raised a gun at me. Immediately, I threw my hands up in surrender.

"Don't shoot! Please!" I cried.
"Get down!" he shouted.

I did exactly as he ordered and he pulled the trigger, hitting one of the monsters in the head and causing it to collapse harmlessly to the ground. After taking a moment to see his handiwork and realizing that it was likely that the officer that was holding his neck from earlier had likely been killed by those things, I turned back to my savior and nodded.

"We've gotta get out of here." I urged.

He nodded in agreement and turned around, his gun primed to fire as I joined him in examining what had changed outside.

"You alright?" he asked.

I took a deep breath and though it was a blatant lie, I nodded.

"Yeah... I think so. Thanks." I replied.

He turned to me and nodded seriously, though his face was clearly focused on the situation at hand rather than my actual safety.

"You can thank me later... when we're safe." he said.

He then gestured forward and I immediately noticed that all of the commotion had brought a great number of those monsters shambling forward towards us.

"Holy shit..."

They continued to get closer and I knew we had to come up with something fast; we didn't have the ammo or weapons to take any of these things on and it would only be a matter of moments before we were overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. Just as things began to look grim, I heard yelling from inside the store and I turned to see that everyone inside had started to come towards us as well. The man that just saved me then yelled for me to follow him.

I sprang to action, running towards the still running car that was in front of us until one of the monsters got in my way. I shoved it as hard as I could and managed to get into the car. As soon as we locked the doors, the man urged me to brace myself as he peeled us out and started driving towards Raccoon City's limits.

...

One Hour Later- Just Outside Of Raccoon City Police Department

"Shit! What the fuck is going on in this city?!"

I continued to run as fast as my legs could carry me.

"People are eating people... the whole city in chaos... it's like something out of a nightmare..."

I stopped to catch my breath upon reaching a relatively quiet place as I looked around for a street sign.

"Please... tell me I've been going in the right direction..."

Much to my relief, I had indeed followed the map I had spent so much time studying down to a T; I found the police department.

"Maybe... just maybe... I can find out what the hell is going on..."

Suddenly, I heard a loud growl behind me and I immediately grabbed ahold of the crowbar I had in my hand before launching a vicious swing towards its source. I managed to hit one of the monsters hard in the torso, causing it to fall to the ground. Taking my chance, I swung hard at its head before it could get up and succeeded in destroying its head, which was the only way I found was effective at stopping these things. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before more of them came, I dropped the crowbar and continued to run towards the building.

"I pray to god there are survivors... because the worst thing that could happen is having to go through all of this alone..."

I continued forward... until I came across what looked like a graveyard.

"Oh no..."

It didn't take long for me to start hearing growling. Knowing that the only thing I had left to use as a weapon was my knife, I unsheathed it and began to make my way to the other edge of the graveyard... until I heard a gunshot.

"Stay back!"

I cursed loudly under my breath and turned to the direction of the voice.

"...She needs help. I'd never forgive myself if I had the chance to help someone and then left them behind. This is no time to be selfish. She could help me figure out what's going on here... and she's probably a far better shot than I am."

As difficult as it was, I turned back around and made my way through the way I came in and followed the yelling... until I happened into an alleyway, where a woman was running down a flight of stairs. She noticed me mid stride and immediately raised her gun at me. I threw my hands up in surrender and shook my head.

"I'm not one of those things! Don't shoot!" I yelled.

She immediately lowered her gun and looked behind her.

"Run! They're coming!" she shouted.
"Follow me! I may have found an entrance into the police department!" I replied.
"Okay! Lead the way!"

I sprinted as fast as I could until I came across the graveyard once again.

"Through here! Quickly!"

The woman ran through the grill and I immediately shut it and bolted it, which I could only hope would hold the infected back.

"Leon... I'm sure you beat me here..." she whispered.
"Leon? Is he a friend of yours?" I asked.

The woman turned and nodded.

"He saved my life twice so far... just met him an hour ago." she replied.

She holstered her gun and took a deep breath, evidently trying to gather her senses after running for what probably felt like an eternity.

"I... wasn't sure if you were okay. I heard the gunshot and I came running. I'm glad I managed to help." I replied.
"Thanks... I'm not sure if I'd have made it out of that mess."

She held out a hand, offering me a friendly smile.

"I'm glad you didn't leave me behind... and you are?" she asked.
"Kit. Kit Matthews." I replied.

She nodded gratefully.

"Claire Redfield."

...

Meanwhile- Inside Raccoon City Police Department

"Don't make my mistake... if you see one of those things... uniform or not, you do not hesitate. You take it out... or you run... got it?"

I followed his advice to a T thus far, and I could only hope that Claire was doing the same thing. As far as I could tell however, she's a tough girl. She can take care of herself, especially if that brother of hers is a cop. Considering that she came here looking for him, I could only assume that he was part of this department, or maybe he was in some kind of special forces unit. Whatever the case was, I knew I had to do everything I could to escape this place.

There was no way any of this was an accident... someone had to have done this to put the entirety of Raccoon City in such a state. All that needed to be done now is to figure out who was responsible for it.

Radio stutter broke me from my concentration and I immediately put the radio to my mouth.

"Leon. It's Marvin. I need you back here ASAP."
"Are you okay Marvin?"
"I've got something to show you... it's important."
"Copy that. I'll be right there."

I put the radio back into my belt as I took another deep breath. I've managed to make it thus far... but as far as I could tell, the only survivors here were Martin, Claire and I. It was nauseating to even think about the fact that there's no one else left alive here... not even officer Elliot who I failed to save under the shutter when I first got inside here. All I could do now, was figure out a way out of the station and I felt as if I was getting close to it; the underground passageway just needed something to activate the mechanism. Once I got that, we'd be home free assuming we could make it through the tunnels.

"I hope Martin can last that long... that wound he has looked pretty bad."

A loud yell suddenly broke me from my journey forward and I turned to the direction of it.

"That sounded like it came from the armory's direction... but I was just there a few minutes ago. How could anyone have gotten in there?"

I took my shotgun out and made my way back to its direction. I hoped that what the lieutenant had to show me could wait just a few minutes. I ran straight through the passageways, satisfied that there were no more monsters that got inside and the ones that did, I already dealt with. It was exhausting... and I knew that I was running out of steam. If this person was a survivor who could help me, maybe I could actually have a moment to catch my breath; it feels like I've been running for days even though it's only been a little more than an hour.

I arrived at the armory, and much to my astonishment, there was indeed someone inside... fighting off a zombie. I fastened my shotgun around my back and took out my Matilda before entering the room. The person who was yelling, was just barely holding the zombie at bay with a pipe.

"Get down!" I shouted.

The man immediately noticed my presence and kicked the zombie off of him as hard as he could, giving me the space and opening to fire and take the zombie down. Now that I had pulled the trigger and made so much noise, it was only a matter of time before more of those things showed up. However, I managed to save someone. I approached the man and held a hand out to him.

"You alright?" I asked.
"Yeah... thanks to you. Appreciate the help."

He took my hand and got to his feet.

"What's your name?" I asked.
"Yanni Wilsam. You are?"
"Leon Kennedy."

He looked at me for a moment and sighed deeply.

"You're not infected... here I thought everyone in this city was one of them. Are there any other survivors?" he asked.

I shook my head and sighed deeply.

"Apart from someone who's still out there and the lieutenant in the lobby... I'm not aware of anyone else. I just got here a bit more than an hour ago." I explained.
"Shit... here I was hoping that things weren't as bad as they seemed." he replied.

I shook my head and turned around to the entrance to the room.

"Are you good to move?" I asked.
"Yeah. Where are we heading?" he replied.
"Back to the lobby. It's better if we stay together. You're not hurt or anything are you?"
"Not at all. Legs are just killing me from running. I've been pretty lucky so far I'd say." He replied.
"You any good with a gun?"

He shook his head.

"Shot one a couple of times at most. I've been throwing objects at them and swinging for the head with anything I can use like a weapon." he explained.
"Well, you're gonna have to learn. It's the most effective way of dealing with these things. One clean shot to the head and they're down for the count. Here, take this."

I handed one of the pistols I found off a dead officer as well as a few clips of ammo. He reluctantly accepted the weapon from me and after ensuring it was loaded, he nodded.

"Alright Yanni. I know you didn't expect any of this to happen tonight... but if we stick together, we have a shot at getting out of this alive." I said.
"Let's hope so... my family's back home in Canada and my little sister needs me." He explained.

Recalling all of the files I read on the desks of everyone in the office building... I clenched my gun tighter and gritted my teeth. Whoever did all of this, killed so many people and ruined so many lives... and Yanni was one of the few who managed to survive the initial outbreak.

"We're gonna get to the bottom of this and whoever did this, is gonna pay." I said firmly.

He nodded as I led him towards the lobby.

"Let's make it quick." I urged.

...

A Few Minutes Later- Outside Of Raccoon Police Department

"Save your ammo Claire. There's too many of these things. We have to hope that someone saw us on that camera."

I nodded and holstered my gun as I reached for a shovel off the ground.

"Here they come." I nervously gasped.
"We're faster than them. Remember that." said Kit.

It completely baffled me as to how he could remain so calm in such a situation, but I took a deep breath and steeled myself as we continued forward towards the half a dozen zombies blocking our way. Kit managed to find a machete when we searched the graveyard for anything we could use and thus far, he's put it to very good use, effectively killing any zombie that came his way with very accurate slashes and efficient strokes to decapitate them. After seeing Leon shoot the zombie back at the convenience store, I determined that the best way to deal with them was to either destroy the brain, or take their head off entirely.

"You ready for this?" He asked.

I nodded firmly and he moved forward to the first zombie. He swung hard and managed to lodge the blade deep into the head of the monster, easily busting through the skull and slashing deep into the brain. A mess of blood and gore fell from the blade and he quickly shoved his foot into the zombie's stomach, ripping it out messily as he regained his balance. As I predicted, the other five turned and began to shamble toward him. I swung my shovel and managed to knock one of them off their feet and during the time I took to do that, Kit managed to evade getting cornered and moved to safety where he began to work on another zombie. I immediately raised the shovel and smashed it down onto the face of the zombie I just grounded, but it wasn't enough to destroy the head. After taking another deep breath, I hoisted the bloody gardening tool and slammed down hard once again. The sound of blood splattering as well as a skull splitting indicated that I was successful with the second blow.

I jumped over the downed zombie and swung at another, clipping it hard in the leg and causing it to fall to the ground.

"Claire! Behind you!" He shouted.

I barely got a chance to turn around as one of the zombies had somehow managed to get over the fence and had closed the distance. I didn't even get a chance to raise the shovel half way up before it tackled me.

"Claire!" shouted Kit.

I heard Kit's frantic sprinting as I struggled to keep the zombie from tearing my neck out. A few heartstopping moments later, Kit managed to get to me and he kicked the zombie hard in the head, sending it reeling from off of me and rolling onto the floor. He quickly took my hand and helped me up as he panted heavily.

"I hope that friend of yours gets here soon. We aren't going to last much longer." he said.
"He has to have seen us by now... he's on his way. I know he is."

I immediately grabbed my shovel firmly and looked ahead.

"Three more to go."

I swung once more, clobbering one of them hard in the torso and causing it to fall to the ground. Kit immediately shoved the machete deep into its head, finishing it off. However, he didn't get to pull it out before another zombie managed to grab him. Thinking quickly, I removed my combat knife and threw it towards him. He noticed my actions and he just barely managed to catch it in one of his hands before plunging it deep into the neck of the zombie. It was evidently enough to finish it off as it went immediately limp, falling harmlessly from its previous deathgrip. Kit removed the knife and quickly repeated the process with another zombie while I finished off the one I just knocked down with another vicious slam to its skull, smashing it like a melon. I then quickly ran for the machete and swung hard, wedging it deep into the last zombie's neck. I quickly kicked it hard, freeing the blade and knocking it to the ground as I stabbed it as hard as I could through the neck, finishing it off much in the same manner as Kit just did with the knife.

"...Good job. Thanks for the save." he said.
"...No problem. Where'd you learn to fight like that?" I asked.

He shook his head and sighed.

"Self-taught mostly. My father was a marine and he trained me even though I just wanted to be a doctor." he replied.
"...Is that why you stabbed them in the neck?"
"Destroying the brain is the best way we know of to stop these things but I deduced that severing the brain's link to the rest of the body would work just as well. Stabbing them at a specific point in the neck severs the brain stem which means they have no control over anything. Instant death." he explained.

I smiled and nodded.

"Glad to have you at my side. I would never have known that." I replied.
"I wish others knew... there may be more people alive if they did."

I sighed deeply and nodded in agreement. However, I broke from my thoughts when my eyes caught sight of a light... moving. I ran up to the gate.

"HEY!" I shouted.

The light moved around once more.

"LEON?!" I shouted again.

It took a moment, but the very same face that saved me about an hour ago... was very much there. I couldn't describe how happy I was to see that he was okay.

"CLAIRE! HOLD ON! I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!"

Unable to contain my happiness, I couldn't help but smile brightly.

"OK!"

Leon took a few moments and I noticed that someone was following him. A man probably about his age, maybe a couple years older who also had a gun on his belt. He didn't look like a cop however, and I inwardly sighed in relief that there were other survivors besides us around. I frantically tried to open the gate, but it wouldn't budge. However, Leon arrived and put his hand to the gate.

"Claire... it's so nice to see you."
"How're you doing? That helicopter just came out of nowhere..."

Kit soon made his way over to me and Leon noticed him before smiling.

"Who's your friend?" he asked.
"This guy saved my ass earlier when I got surrounded. He's a medical student who just so happens to be really good at kicking ass." I explained.

He looked at Leon and nodded.

"Kit Matthews."
"Leon Kennedy."

The man who followed Leon downstairs noticed me and smiled.

"I take it she's the one you came in with?" he asked.
"Yeah. Told you she's a tough girl." replied Leon.

The man nodded at me.

"Yanni Wilsam. You must be Claire. Leon told me a bit about you on the way here." he explained.
"Yeah... things have been pretty rough thus far." inferred Kit.

I sighed deeply.

"Yeah... but we're all in one piece." interjected Leon.

I looked down at the lock to the gate and took a breath.

"I'm guessing you don't have a key in one of those fancy pockets?"
"...Unfortunately no. But how are you doing?"
"You know... just surviving."

I could almost feel the disappointed look from Kit's eyes from my almost dimwitted response. Leon however, didn't really seem to take it as such and he smiled at me.

"That's good. Any luck with your brother?"

I sighed again, greatly disappointed that my search had amounted to nothing.

"No... not yet." I replied.

Leon's face immediately turned to deep concern and this was probably one of the reasons why I felt so at ease around him; he was a good man. A genuinely good man. Chris would've liked him if they ever met... assuming he didn't kick his ass for "hitting on his baby sister".

"Claire... don't lose hope. I'm sure we're gonna find him-"

An explosion turned all of our attention away from the conversation as the helicopter had somehow caught aflame. Leon growled loudly and my hand instinctively went to my gun.

"Damn it... you know what that means." growled Leon.
"...Yeah. Dinner time."
"You two need to go." urged Yanni.
"We can't go back that way. There's too many of them... let me see that lock." said Kit.

I got out of his way as he knelt down. He smiled and reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be some lockpicking tools.

"I can get this open. Cover me." he requested.

Leon pulled out his gun as did Yanni and I.

"Will do... make it quick. We don't have a lot of ammo." said Leon.

The zombies started to swarm the fence, but Kit calmly went to work as we kept our guns up. Several zombies came shambling forward, awakening from their dormant state as they made their way towards me. Leon shot one of them clean in the head, dropping it to the ground instantly. Thankfully, we didn't have to use much more bullets until Kit finished, opening the gate.

"Everyone inside, quickly. Let's regroup at the foyer." said Leon.

Kit and I ran inside as Leon shut the gate bolted it. Before he could turn to go back inside however, I grabbed him in a deep hug. He returned it, laughing softly.

"Come on. Let's get inside and come up with a plan."

...

Fifteen Minutes Later- Raccoon City Police Department, Foyer

"So that's the only shot we have huh? That underground passage?" asked Yanni.
"Seems that way. I'm surprised at how elaborate this place is. It's a far cry from any police station I've ever seen." replied Leon.
"So what do we need to open the mechanism? That notebook said something about that big statue up there right?" asked Kit.

Leon nodded, but shook his head.

"I've had to go deep into the station to find all this stuff... but those things keep coming." he explained.

Claire sighed deeply and shook her head.

"If all of us go in there, it'll give us much more to worry about. Maybe there's-" she began.
"Wait. It sounds like... a distress beacon?" inferred Marvin.

He turned back to the laptop he used before to identify Claire and Kit's situation outside and after a bit of slow typing, the screen displayed a small map of the city, with a red dot flashing over an area.

"It's coming from... the college?" mused Leon.
"There must be an officer over there who survived... because only they know the frequency to reach here. Someone's still alive out there." said Marvin.

Leon clenched his fists and nodded.

"Then I'm going to help him." he said.

Claire shook her head.

"No Leon. You need to figure out how we're going to get out of here. You've made a lot of progress and I haven't exactly caught up yet." she explained.
"Then what're we gonna do? We can't just leave them there to die." he snapped.
"I'll go. I'll be back before you know it." she said.
"HELL NO. It's too dangerous Claire!" he snapped again.

Kit stood next to her and nodded.

"Then I'll go with her. I've been to the college numerous times and I know how to get there from here without a map. I'll guide her there and back." he said.
"...This has bad idea written all over it." said Leon.
"She's got a point Leon; you and I have been through most of the station already so it makes sense that we continue our search. You said it yourself: she's a tough girl. And from what I can see with Kit, he'll watch her back." interjected Yanni.

Claire put a hand on Leon's shoulder.

"I'll get them back here. I'll be gone for a couple hours at most. From what I can see, this room is pretty locked down so if you figure everything out, you can just wait for us. We'll keep in radio contact in case of anything." she said.

The rookie sighed softly, but finally nodded before handing her some clips of ammo. He then turned to Kit, before handing him another pistol he recovered from a dead officer. He then pointed to the desk.

"There's some body armor over there and some other gear you can take. You know how to use a gun right?"
"She's a much better shot than I am, but I do yes." he replied.
"You know how to take those things out?"
"...In more ways than one."

Kit nodded and went to the desk to gear up. Leon then turned back to Marvin.

"How long do you think it would take for them to get there and back?" he asked.
"A couple hours at most. I have no idea how the roads are considering all this chaos... so I'd leave room for a good while. If they move quickly, they can make it back here before morning." replied the lieutenant.

Kit returned, ready to go as Leon placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Take care of her Kit. I'm counting on you." he said.
"I'll do my best. We'll be back as soon as we can. If anything comes up, you'll hear from us... stay safe." replied the medical student.

Claire loaded a clip into her pistol, and turned back to Leon, a serious look on her face.

"Hey... let's get through this. All of us?" she said.
"We're gonna make it." he paused to look at everyone present before looking back at his new friend. "All of us."

After giving Leon one last hug and giving the others a firm nod of determination, Claire took off towards the college, with Kit close behind.