Chapter Six:

Little Lost Lamb.

Interview Resuming/ 22/11/11/ Leonard Scott Kennedy.

I give the guard a bitter look of gratitude as he places another steaming mug of coffee on the table in-front of me.

Adam was still watching me with a look of interest, "You can leave now," He said to the guard who saluted before leaving the room. Then he looked back at me.

"So…what else do you want to know?" I ask him before taking a sip of coffee.

"The girl, Sherry Birkin?" Adam asked leaning forward in his chair.

I sigh, Sherry had to be the bravest little girl in the world after what she had been through…after everything she had lost. With any luck she was still safe and happy with Claire.

"She's been through enough…that's all I'm saying," I explain looking Adam dead in the eye.

Adam nods in acknowledgement, "Okay…Just tell me what happened up until you all escaped from the city," He asks.

I take one more sip of coffee before resuming the story, my spine still tingling with every memory.

Interview terminated.

223 Cedar Ave: Raccoon City

Birkin Residence.

Night of the Outbreak.

Sherry Birkin sighed as she opened her eyes. Listening carefully for any sign of movement in the house and hearing nothing she shifted her feet off the couch. It wasn't surprising to Sherry anymore that her parents didn't come home when they were supposed to.

"Typical," Sherry huffed as she slid off the sofa and took a sip of water from the glass on the coffee table.

Although she was only twelve years old Sherry was quite self-sufficient, being able to cook for herself and if necessary call on Mrs Blake next door if she ran into any more difficulty, such as the exploding toaster incident.

Setting the glass down on the coffee table she sat down once more before checking her phone for any messages, one message from her mother sent at 7pm.

Got called back into work, dinner's in the fridge and No candy before bed, Mom xxx

Sherry turned her nose up before placing her phone on the sofa before picking up the remote and turning on the TV. The flat screen flickered into life and greeted Sherry with the frantic swirling of a handheld camera, the news was on and Sherry could hear screaming.

The newscaster Sarah Jones suddenly came in view of the camera looking dishevelled and scared. Sherry could see the woman was in downtown raccoon which was in a state of disrepair with upturned cars, fire and people running around just as terrified as Sarah.

"The riots seem to be in full swing, I can't say for sure what is going on but I implore you all, get out of town and leave before…Ah!" Sarah screamed as another explosion close to her rocked the camera once more before she came back into view.

Sherry leaned forward on the sofa her mouth slightly ajar as she took in the carnage surrounding the woman.

"The military will be erecting barricades within the hour I implore you all get out of town!" Sarah screamed before someone grabbed her from behind and the camera dropped. Sarah was on her back, a man hunched over her. Her legs twitched and she gurgled before the picture cut to the technical difficulties message.

Sherry let out a long breath, the news reports had been going on for a couple of months but the rioting had only started a few days ago in the downtown area, fortunately her school wasn't anywhere near that part of town but a curfew was still in effect in the suburbs.

A sudden loud buzzing made Sherry squeak in shock before she realised it was only her phone rattling against the oak coffee table, her mother was the caller. Sherry made a grab for the phone and tapped the accept call button.

"Mom?" Sherry asked her voice cracking with worry.

"Sherry! Baby are you at home?" Annette Birkin yelled over what sounded like panicking people running passed her.

"Yeah, why…what's going on?" Sherry asked once more.

"Sherry, listen to me, you need to get to the station, it's safe there I know it's a long way to go on foot but you must stay away from everybody, do you understand?" Annette ordered over the screaming and discord around her.

Sherry sat down, "I don't…Mom, where's Dad? ...Mom?" Sherry looked down at her phone and saw the call had been cut off.

Sherry shoved her phone in the pocket of her school blazer and stood up to look out the window, cars were racing by and she could see people leaving their houses with suitcases and bags containing essentials.

Sherry could feel something was wrong, and she couldn't help but worry about her parents, they worked on the outskirts of town so they couldn't come back for her if the roads in and out of the city were blocked off.

Walking into the hall and grabbing her coat she gingerly unlocked the door and pulled it open slightly before peeking around the small opening, she couldn't see anybody outside. She pulled open the door before walking outside.

It was too quiet, Sherry shivered as she looked up and down the street.

"Okay…stations this way…" she said to herself as she began to walk down the street. The station was Downtown…same place she had just seen on TV.

She had barely made it a few metres down the street before a shuffling sound caught her attention and made her turn on her heel towards the sound. It was Mrs Blake's house. The door was wide open and Sherry could make out a slender form standing in the doorway.

Sherry stepped onto the front drive, "Mrs Blake?" Sherry called. The figure in the doorway stiffened at the sudden call before slowly lumbering onto the porch.

Sherry focused on the woman but did not move from the sidewalk, "Mrs Blake?" Sherry repeated as the woman stepped into the light that was hanging above the porch.

Sherry squeaked when she saw the woman in the light, her skin was pale and cracked and she could see a large chunk of skin missing from her left hand which was outstretched with the remnants of a bandage hanging limply.

Sherry couldn't move, her breath coming out in soft pants as Mrs Blake approached with clumsy heavy steps.

"Wait…" Sherry gasped, once again finding her feet as she back away.

Mrs Blake continued to lumber towards Sherry, picking up speed as hungry growls passed through her chapped lips and her face contorted violently.

Sherry backed away one step too many and tripped on the edge of the sidewalk and landed with a harsh smack to the back of her head as she hit the road. Sherry could see stars for a moment but managed to lift herself with her elbows in time to see that Mrs Blake was right on top of her.

"No!" Sherry screamed as the woman lunged.

Sherry pushed back with her legs, and managed to slide back as the woman fell forwards and landed flat on her face with a sick crunch. Sherry screamed once more as Mrs Blake lifted her head with a snapping sound, most of her teeth were smashed out and her face was peppered with tiny stones which stuck in her cracked flesh.

Sherry gagged as the smell of rot hit her, she had only smelled something like that once before when she had just returned from a vacation with her parents and found an old steak in the fridge, but this was much worse.

She tried to back away but Mrs Blake managed to grab her foot in one icy clammy hand, Sherry kicked and struggled but the woman did not let go or even loosen her grip.

"Get off me!" Sherry screamed as she kicked out violently against the woman as she pulled herself on top of her, snapping with her broken jagged teeth. Sherry was losing the fight.

She was about to give up and let the mad woman bite her before a sudden glaring light and the sound of a car hitting the curb caused her to jerk her head to the left.

A loud bang rang out followed by a soft crunch as the woman above her crumpled instantly, trapping Sherry under her. Sherry panted softly as the shock set in and she began to squirm under the dead weight.

The body was suddenly pulled away from her and thrown onto the sidewalk.

"Oh my god," A soft voice with a slight southern accent gasped before Sherry felt a warm hand on her arm.

Sherry cracked open her eyes to see a woman kneeling over her. She was a police officer, young with short blonde hair and warm brown eyes.

"Help…" Sherry whimpered, before the woman gently lifted her to her feet, her body ached and throbbed from the fall.

"Darlin…where are you parents?" the woman asked softly wrapping a comforting arm around Sherry.

Sherry pulled away from the touch, holding her arms close to herself, "I…they're at work…Mom called and told me to go to the station," Sherry explained, not making eye contact with the woman.

The woman walked in front of Sherry but did not touch her, "Look, sweetie you won't be able to get there on foot, the streets aren't safe, come with me I'll get you there safe and sound," The woman explained with a reassuring smile.

Sherry thought for a moment before looking down at the corpse on the sidewalk, "Okay," She said with a grimace.

"Okay, you can trust me," The woman said, "My name's Rita,"

They both stepped into the car. Sherry looked down at her feet and swung her legs backwards and forwards as the car started up and began to move down the road.

Sherry turned to Rita who was concentrating on the road, "Um…do you know what's happening, I mean things were fine this morning," Sherry probed as she crossed her arms.

Rita narrowed her eyes, "No idea honey, people just started going crazy and eating…" Rita stopped mid-sentence and looked at the disturbed expression on Sherry's face.

Sherry looked at her feet, "What happened to Mrs Blake?" Sherry asked sadly.

Rita patted the girls arm in an effort to comfort her, "I don't know…Oh I didn't ask your name" Rita said before looking back to the road.

"Sherry," Replied Sherry with a thin smile.

Rita smiled back, "That's a pretty name, don't worry Sherry I'm going to get you out of here safe and sound," She explained.

Sherry gasped, "My parents!" Sherry cried before pulling out her phone, "They're still at work,"

Rita patted Sherry's arm again, "Where do they work?" Rita asked, glancing at Sherry briefly.

"The Umbrella research centre outside the city limits," Sherry explained, tapping on her phone and trying to call her mother only to find that her phone was not picking up any signal.

"Don't worry, if they're outside of the city they may have been picked up already…the army blocked off the bridge out of the city though so we have to wait until they send more soldiers in," Rita replied.

Sherry sighed once more before looking straight ahead as a soft orange glow up ahead began to grow into a bright blaze as the city ahead came into view.

.O.

Downtown was littered with upturned cars and some of the buildings were burning, bodies were strewn throughout the main strip of road which ran the length of the street, some were riddled with bullet holes while others were burned and charred beyond recognition.

Sherry felt her stomach lurch and groaned softly.

"Don't look honey," Rita said softly and Sherry complied, looking down at her feet.

There was a slight crackle as Rita clicked on her radio, "Rita to base, over," Rita said into the device.

There was no reply only more static.

"Shit," Rita hissed before hooking the radio back on the stand. She looked over at Sherry and sighed, "Sorry, swear,"

Sherry didn't respond.

The cruiser suddenly pulled to a stop and Rita's breathing hitched and Sherry looked up. The road was blocked off, barricades were erected.

"What now?" Sherry asked, turning to Rita with a look of anxiety. The older woman looked ahead of her towards the barricade and tried to see any way around it. It was at least six feet tall and at the base she could see some drivers had attempted to smash through with little success.

Rita turned to Sherry, "We go over, it's a straight line to the station that way," She explained.

The colour drained from Sherry's face, "But…what If those monsters are over there, they'll get us!" She squeaked.

Rita listened, through the open window, she couldn't hear anything other than the flames and very distant gunshots which were abruptly silenced, she swallowed, it was dangerous to leave the car but she had an obligation to the citizens including Sherry to help whoever she could. She turned to Sherry and gripped her arm gently.

"Sherry…It's a straight line to the station we-"

The shattering of glass Interrupted Rita mid-sentence before a bloody arm wrapped around her neck.

"LET ME IN, GIVE ME THE FUCKING CAR!" The attacking man screamed.

Sherry screamed and backed into the seat, the man looked wild, riddled with open bite wounds.

Rita grunted and slammed her foot down on the accelerator in blind panic as she struggled with the man. The car sped forward and the man was forced off of Rita, sliding to the floor.

"RITA!" Sherry shrieked as the barricade ahead of them got closer. Rita gasped and slammed on the break causing the cruiser to swerve earning a scream from both of them before slamming driver's side into the barricade.

Sherry jerked in her seat from the impact and the seatbelt caused her to gasp in pain before she slumped into the seat.

Rita gasped softly, "Are you okay…sweetie?" She asked, winded.

Sherry nodded and winced as her chest throbbed, she turned to see Rita was fine other than a large red bump on the side of her head.

Sherry smiled in relief, "I guess…we're going to have to climb over," She said before unbuckling the seatbelt.

Rita nodded in return before unbuckling her seatbelt.

Sherry got out of the car first followed by Rita, her legs felt like jelly for a moment but she soon regained her composure and looked around for any sign of danger. Up ahead they could see the man who attacked them struggling weakly to stand.

Rita drew her weapon and aimed at the man, "Stay where you are!" She ordered. The man didn't answer, he got to his feet and swayed for a moment, his mouth hanging open slightly. He began to stagger towards them.

"Stop!" Rita yelled before firing at the man's feet, causing Sherry to cry out and cover her ears. The man did not stop advancing. Rita fired once more this time into the man's chest. The man didn't fall, he lurched back slightly but kept on moaning.

"Rita!" Sherry cried pointing ahead of her. In an alley behind the man more people were lumbering into view, at least six more.

"Shit," Rita hissed, "Come on Sherry," She said leading the girl by the arm and helping her to climb onto the hood of the wrecked cruiser. Rita stepped up to join Sherry, firing at the approaching creatures.

"Up and over," Rita grunted as she helped Sherry over the barricade. Sherry fell to the ground. Landing clumsily on her feet and fell to her knees, she stood up quickly to see Rita starting to climb over but the older woman suddenly stopped and the look in her eyes told Sherry exactly what happened.

Rita was suddenly dragged back with a scream, Sherry put a hand over her mouth to stifle her screams as she listened to the wet crunching and Rita's gagging and howls of pain which abruptly ended with one final crunch. The barricade rattled as the monsters behind continued to feed.

Sherry squeezed her eyes shut and turned around, there was nothing she could do for Rita but she knew that it was only a short walk to the station.

One straight line.

.O.

Leon watched Nicolai carefully, the older man watching him back with a somewhat dismissive look, It had been a while since he or Carlos had said anything and the sound of Kevin cleaning the weapons from Kendo's and Jim who had only recently returned from the office was flipping a coin constantly.

"So," Carlos said, breaking the silence and causing Leon to look at him, "How did you get into town?"

Leon exhaled, "A forest path…we're not going back that way though seeing as it's blocked off by a few tons of steel and a pretty nasty fire," Leon explained. Carlos looked at his feet and twiddled his thumbs.

Nicolai sat down next to him on the edge of the fountain, "It would be too dangerous to leave the city on foot, the military still has the city quarantined so anybody who does manage to get across the main bridge will be taken into custody," He explained with an apologetic glance towards Leon.

Alex and Cindy who were still standing at the door to the waiting room each let out an uneasy whimper.

"But…why wasn't there anything on the news, surely most of America would know about this?" Alex asked.

Nicolai regarded the boy for a moment before speaking, "It happened too quickly, no communications were able to get through…it was for the best really…to avoid a nationwide panic," he explained with chilling indifference.

Jim gasped and walked down the catwalk, "You mean…those people have families and they don't even know what happened…My mom's in California she's got no idea what's going on!" He babbled, panic setting in.

"Calm down Jim," Kevin called from behind the desk.

"Fuuuuck," Jim growled putting his hands behind his head and slumping against the wall. Cindy walked over to him and wrapped a comforting arm around him, saying nothing.

Alex looked at them for a moment before walking up to Leon and whispering to him, "I don't like this…what if…what if they didn't want us to escape,"

Leon looked down at him and took his arm, walking him back to the door to the waiting room and checking to see if Nicolai and Carlos were watching, "Look…I don't like this any more than you do but we can't just assume that-"

Gunshots, everyone in the main hall tensed as the screaming started from behind the door Alex and Leon were standing in front of followed by a door opening then slamming shut then footsteps and muffled voices.

"Shit…what now," Leon muttered before opening the door.

.O.

Alex and Leon walked into the waiting room followed by Cindy, Jim and Marvin. The colour drained from Alex's face when he saw Claire with a large scratch on her leg and rushed to her side.

"Claire…Christ what happened!?" He squeaked as he sat down and put his hand on her shoulder.

Claire shook her head looking dazed.

Jill sat down at the other side of Claire, looking at Alex, "Something got in…I have no Idea what the hell it was but we killed it," She explained.

Alyssa scoffed, "fucking tongue thing…looked like a big skinned frogman," She said before taking out a cigarette and Lighting it.

Cindy rolled her eyes at the other woman and Kendo mouthed frogman incredulously.

There was a whine from Jim, "Great…so we got zombies now we have more fucking freaks…bad enough you didn't tell us what got Brad!" He said, starting to shiver.

Claire suddenly grabbed Alex's hand and squeezed causing everyone to jump slightly.

"Little girl…The little girl she needs us…" Claire moaned her eyes rolling back and forth.

Leon stepped forward and knelt down in front of Claire, "What little girl, Claire?" He asked shaking her slightly.

Jill glared at him and he removed his hand, "Cindy…can you do something about her leg?" She asked and the waitress responded with a nod before walking over to the satchel that was still the shelf.

"Hey…I think she hit her head pretty hard in there," Alyssa offered, the cigarette bobbing up and down in her mouth with every word before Kendo grumbled and took it out her mouth earning a glare.

Claire shook her head, "No…no I saw her she ran away…climbed into a vent…couldn't get to her," She whimpered.

Jill stroked her hair for a moment before looking at Marvin, "You think she could have got in through AC vents?" She asked.

Marvin thought for a moment, "It's possible a child could fit in them…they run all over the station so she could get in and out…I noticed some supplies went missing, candy bars…water nothing to get worried about," he explained, earning a collective sigh from everyone in the room.

"Jesus Marvin why didn't you tell anyone?" Jill asked in annoyance.

Marvin growled softly, "Look Valentine…we're all under pressure here, A few missing supplies got overlooked," He admitted.

Kendo took a drag from Alyssa's cigarette before handing it back to her, "Then we need to take a look inside the vents," He said matter of factly.

Jill shook her head, "No way…way too dangerous, besides like Marvin said only a child could fit inside those vents," she explained.

Jill's words made something click in Leon's head, it was true there was no way most of them were going to fit inside the vent's but his eye's found Alex. A head shorter than the men and a few inches smaller than Claire he could easily be mistaken for a child. It was a fleeting thought but Jill knew exactly what he was thinking just by looking at him.

"Leon…no,"

Alex turned to look at both Jill and Leon in confusion, "What?"

.O.

The vent which the girl had crawled into looked eerily similar to the jaws of death to Alex who swallowed hard, he made a mental note to hit Leon if he came back but as of now he had been banished to the main hall by Jill to keep watch over Carlos and Nicolai. He saw the creature Jill had mentioned in the corner of the room, bloody and beaten and shuddered in disgust.

"This is a really bad Idea," Kendo grumbled, "Kid's been in a car crash for fuck sake,"

Alex smiled grimly at him, "It's a little girl…she's probably scared out her mind…besides I want to help any way I can," he admitted.

Alex winced as Jill pressed something hard and metallic and cold into his hand, he looked down to see a glock 17 in his hand, he held the grip tightly.

Jill exhaled, "Fully loaded, safeties off so be careful," She explained before handing him something else, her two way radio, "Marvin has the other so if anything happens, call him and he'll come running,"

Alex nodded, his breath shaky, "Okay…John…could you give me a hand getting up there?" He asked pointing to the vent.

"Yup," John replied before kneeling and letting Alex place his good leg on his hand and hoisted the boy on top of the vending machine with ease.

Alex grimaced as his leg throbbed slightly before shifting slightly to peek inside of the vent, It was pitch black and he could feel a cold breeze coming from inside.

"I can't see a thing," Alex called down to the others who were looking up at him slightly worried.

"I can help with that,"

Alex looked to the left to see Jim standing in the doorway holding a small torch which seemed to have come off a set of keys. Jim walked up to the vending machines Alex was perched on and handed him the torch, Alex smiled in returned and turned it on, finding it was pretty bright considering its size.

"Um…Thanks Jim," Alex said with a small smile before shining the torch into the opening.

Jill tapped on the vending machine getting Alex's attention, he turned to look at her, "If anything happens…you use that gun," She ordered.

Alex squeezed the handle of the gun with determination before turning back to the vent and crawling inside.

.O.

Alex grimaced at the feel of the cold metal under his hands, It was a tight squeeze inside the vent so he could at least congratulate himself on taking off his oversized duffle coat before entering, He had noticed Jill's silent shock at the sight of his skinny body, how the skin almost clung to his bones but he couldn't bring himself to worry, especially considering the situation he was in.

"Just keep moving…Just keep moving," He repeated in a shaky sing song fashion. Thankfully the torch was bright enough for him to see any corners coming up but he could feel the dark behind him, gnawing at his ankles and thought about that dead creature in the hallway, thinking about one of those things getting him from behind and dragging him away nearly made him lose his nerve but he kept pushing on, humming a lullaby that his mother used to sing him when he was young.

"Alex? You there buddy?" Marvin's voice suddenly sounded through the radio causing Alex to drop both the radio and gun with a loud clang before he quickly grabbed the radio again.

"Yeah…yeah I'm here," Alex gasped before starting to move again.

He heard Marvin sigh in relief, "Good…We're all here," He said.

Alex let out a huffy chuckle, "I know…It's going to be fine," he admitted.

"Want me to pass you over to Leon?" Marvin asked.

Alex nodded before responding with "yeah…please,"

There was a sound of the radio being passed over with a slight rustle before Leon spoke, "Hey…Look I'm sorry, you shouldn't have had to go alone," He admitted.

Alex grunted softly as he shifted forward with one arm, his other holding the radio up, "Yeah…well…It's a little girl…We couldn't just leave it,"

"I understand," Leon admitted.

"It was a good plan though…I don't think you're big head would have fit in here," Alex replied with a grin and heard collective laughter from the radio which helped his anxiety for a moment.

"Ha-ha, look, do you have any idea where you are?" Leon asked when the laughter died down.

Alex raised his arm with the gun and torch to see where he was going; sure enough on the left side of the vent wall were three slivers of light.

"Hold on I see something…but keep talking to me," Alex said as he picked up speed and dragged himself up to the light. Through the slivers he could make out another hallway with marble flooring.

"Just another corridor…I can make out a metal door…does Marvin have any idea?" Alex asked before moving again.

Marvin's voice sounded over the radio once more, "sounds like you're over the hall to the archives…the ventilation should start heading upstairs from there so it's gonna be a tight squeeze,"

Alex nodded, "Alright…I'll let you know if-" Alex began before a thump up ahead caught his attention and nearly made him cry out before he lifted the torch and gasped at what he saw.

Claire wasn't delusional after all, a little girl was huddled in the corner of the ventilation system just before a turn, and she let out soft pants, her eye's widened at the sight of Alex.

"Oh my god…" Alex whispered a lump in his throat at the sight of the terrified little girl. The girl whimpered and hugged her legs to her chest. Alex followed her gaze to the gun he was inadvertently pointing at her and he dropped it immediately being careful not to drop the torch aswell.

"It's alright…I am not going to hurt you," Alex said softly as he began to inch towards her pushing the gun with his body.

"Don't!" The girl screamed causing Alex to stop where he was.

"Listen…we can protect you if you come with me…I promise," Alex tried to explain but the girl covered her ears and shook her head.

She looked back up at him with wide blue eyes, "No…no, those things will get you…you haven't seen them," she whimpered.

Alex tried his luck and moved forward a little further, "I know…but they're slow and we have weapons…they won't get you," Alex explained with a comforting smile.

The girl shook her head again, "No…not them…there's two of them…a big man…bigger than those sick people, he chased me and…something else I saw it for a second upstairs…they're going get me,"

Alex shuddered at the thought, he knew that something had tried to attack them in the courtyard but he hadn't seen anything else, "Just…please…come with me, we're working on a way out of town and I promise none of us or those things will hurt you" Alex pleaded.

The girl looked him in the eye, her hands playing with a large bronze locket around her neck before she looked to the opening at the side of her for a moment, before looking back to Alex who was waiting patiently.

She began to crawl very slowly towards Alex who let out a breathy relieved laugh, "I'm Alex, what's your name?" he asked as the girl continued to edge towards him.

She stopped for a moment, her mouth parting for a moment, "I'm…my names-"

A sudden shattering of glass and a loud crunch from below them made interrupted the girl and made her scream and somehow she managed to turn in the extremely tight space and crawl back to where she was before disappearing around the corner.

"Wait!" Alex yelled after her as he tried to push forward faster than before and only made it about a foot before something pierced the metal in front of him, brushing his hand. Alex recoiled at the feeling of what felt like a large slimy earth worm but no sound came from him as the shock set in.

A sudden animal howl from below made Alex grab for the gun before the bottom of the vent was peeled away like tin-foil beneath him.

A strangled "Fuck!" was all Alex managed before he slammed into the hard ground beneath him sending ripples of pain up his side. The torch skittered from his grasp and he looked up from the ground to see a pair of enormous black boots about two meters from where he lay.

"Alex! Come in…shit, let's go!" The radio suddenly shrieked as Alex jumped to his feet ignoring the pain as adrenaline and terror took over the moment he saw what was standing before him.

"Oh god…" Alex breathed as he backed away from the behemoth that was striding towards him with strange grace, it's lipless mouth grinning at him. It had one eye, crusted brown flesh covering what must have been the other and the eye it did have was bloodshot and puffy around the edges. Alex didn't have a description for the thing that was advancing towards him.

Alex raised the pistol one handed and fired again and again as he backed away, the creature not even flinching at the rounds that did hit it while the others missed and hit the staircase and the wall behind it.

"Oh god…Oh god," Alex whimpered as the gun clicked empty and he tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground.

The radio sparked up once more with Leon's voice, "We're coming!" his voice abruptly ended when the creature stepped on the radio crushing it.

The creature was right on top of Alex who looked back up at it his mouth agape as the creature raised one fire hydrant thick arm which began to twitch rapidly before writhing snake like tentacles burst from its flesh causing Alex to shriek in revulsion. He covered his face with his arm waiting for the end.

Silence.

Alex whimpered once and found that the strike hadn't come. He moved his arm slightly and saw that the creature was standing still, its arm lowered and the tentacles gone. Other than the creatures heavy rasping breaths Alex could hear a soft tapping from above, too fast to be footsteps, like metal on metal…the girl…the creature turned its head and seemed to sniff the air before turning back to Alex.

It roared once and Alex felt the air hit his face with force before it turned and dashed towards the foot of the stairs to the second floor the wood splintering slightly under its weight. Alex didn't wait for the creatures thundering steps to fade, he stood up and ran through the open door into the next hallway, running as fast as he could past the barricaded windows before something next to him shattered and something cold and clammy grabbed him by the scruff of the shirt.

"NO get off me!" Alex yelled as the cold clammy arm wrapped around his neck, staining his shirt with blood, he could hear a collective snarling and moaning behind the barricade which was being pushed from the outside.

Alex struggled for a moment before something struck the arm around his neck and the arm relinquished its grip, he fell against the wall to see Jill pulling a combat knife from the arm and the barricade beginning to cave inwards as more of the dead outside pounded against it.

Alex let out sobs and heavy breaths before Jill grabbed him by the arm just as the barricade gave and bodies fell in through the open window. They both ran as fast as they could and rounded the corner at the same time as Leon and Kendo.

"MOVE!" Jill yelled as they piled through the door into the next room, and she slammed the door behind her.

"Fuck me sideways…" Kendo gasped as hands began to pound on the other side of the door, "What the hell happened!?"

Jill looked at the door in shock before pulling Alex away with Leon and Kendo following and looking over their shoulders.

"Will that hold?" Leon asked looking at the violently shaking door.

"For now," Jill replied, sliding the knife through her belt before looking at Alex, "What happened…did you find her?"

Alex glanced at Jill wide-eyed, "Yeah…she…she got away but that thing smashed the vent to pieces, It was horrible…it nearly," Alex answered through shaky breaths as he slumped down the wall his legs drawn up to his chest.

Jill let out a shaky sigh before sitting down next to Alex and wrapping her arms around the trembling boy.

"It didn't hurt you?" Leon asked softly, flinching as the heavy pounding on the door grew louder.

Alex looked up at him with tear streaked eyes, "No…it ran away…I think the girl," Alex managed before the door started to crack.

"Shit we have to go!" Kendo growled before pulling Jill along with Alex up to their feet.

The four of them took one last look at the door before running back to the meeting room, Jill slamming the door behind her.

.O.

Taptaptaptaptap!

Sherry finally stopped tapping her locket against the metal of the vent, the big man couldn't find her…or at least wasn't close anymore. She thought about the young man she had seen, she wondered if she had saved her life and although she felt she was better on her own she didn't want anyone to be hurt because of her.

Letting out a sigh she started to crawl through the vent enjoying the silence, silence to her meant safety and as long as those two monsters couldn't find her she would be safe.

She thought for a moment about the second monster…she had only seen it briefly in the library when she was looking for a story book to read, leaving the ventilation had been a mistake and she was sure it had seen her through the large window. From the brief glimpse she could make out red flesh…some kind of eye twitching around wildly before it locked on her, a tuft of dirty blonde hair and a low hissing growl.

She didn't want these thoughts to get to her so she kept crawling, not knowing where she was going, looking through the slots for any sign of the monsters and only leaving to sneak a few snacks when she got hungry, but they were running out and the station was becoming less and less safe.

Up ahead she could hear a voice a man. She stopped for a moment before curiosity got the best of her.

She crawled forward for a few more minutes before the voice got louder and clearer and she could make out a slither of light for her to peek through.

When she reached the slots she looked through and saw the Chief in his office. She had only seen him a few times and when she did he had a young woman with her, a scared young woman a few years older than herself looking frail and upset watching as he paced.

Chief Brian Irons was a big man, not athletic like the other police officers he was overweight and reminded her of the walrus from Alice in wonderland with his bushy moustache and shiny eyes. Right now he was crying, and leaning over something saying he was sorry over and over again. It took Sherry a moment to see a pair of creamy white legs hanging limply on either side of him.

Sherry gasped and pressed to the other side of the vent trying not to make a sound.

"I'm sorry Beverly…I'm so sorry," Irons sobbed rocking backwards and forwards, seemingly cradling the woman, "I'll make you beautiful forever sweetheart…I promise,"

Sherry looked back through the vent and saw that Irons was adjusting his belt and sniffling like a frightened child, he was facing away from the woman now and Sherry couldn't help but gasp, probably louder than she should have.

The woman was lying on the table, her arms stretched out above her head, wrists bruised but what really made Sherry feel sick was the blood, her white gown stained witch it which was pushed above her thighs, blood staining her stomach and inner thighs, dripping onto the floor with soft wet thuds.

Irons suddenly looked up at the vent making Sherry squeak and in turn made Iron's chuckle. He was looking right at her.

"Come out, come out…I see you in their little lamb," He whispered softly.

Sherry saw a glint of metal before Iron's raised his arm.

Sherry's eyes widened and she pushed herself forward as fast as she could before the explosive sound of the gun and the shredding of metal sounded causing her to cry out, Irons fired three more times before she heard the gun click empty and she let out a sigh of relief before carrying on, her arms almost giving from the exertion.

"You can't hide forever" Sherry heard Irons growl, the sorrow in his voice melting into a venomous growl.

Her heart thudded in her chest as Sherry tried not to think about what she had seen, and when she felt there was enough distance between her and 'that man' she fell down and shut her eyes, there wasn't just the two monsters anymore.

.O. End Of Chapter .O.

A/N Well I hope you enjoyed this new chapter I don't get many reviews but all of them have been positive and supported so far so thank you all I'm so happy I got to introduce Sherry properly

Thought I would give Claire a break and try to include Jim a little more…I have plans for him :P Also Irons will be making his appearance properly soon I promise and he is more screwed up and deranged than ever I want to give him a governor like edge which is more of a façade.

Anyway I'll see you again in Chapter Seven: Monster.