Chapter Text
-PROLOGUE-
RACCOON POLICE DEPARTMENT
RACCOON CITY, USA
SEPTEMBER 23, 1998
9:45 AM
THE police department was as busy as ever. The front desk handling the many incoming citizens who are each here for different purposes The phones placed at each office desk ringing every now and then. The various different conversations happening all at once. And so much more is what creates the atmosphere that makes the police station, a police station.
Everyone has their own separate jobs and they all do it well. It’s bound to be loud in the station, various conversations and calls merging into one loud murmur of a crowd. Today's topic of conversation is the department's beloved detective's transfer and the new rookie who would soon be joining them.
"Mornin' Moore!"
Kaitlyn bowed her head slightly, with a small smile of acknowledgement to the receptionist's greeting. She walks past her fellow coworkers, accepting all of their salutations on the way to her desk in the west office. She enters the room and is immediately greeted with confetti to the face mixed with loud cries of joy.
"SURPRISE!"
"Wow. What's all this?"
Kaitlyn blinks in surprise at her colleagues and takes a good look at the place, now noticing the banners and streamers hanging around the office. A banner is hung from the ceiling with the words 'CONGRATS KAITLYN' printed across it. Her eyes start to gloss over and a barely noticeable, melancholic smile is spread across her face.
Officers she'd known during her time at the station crowds around her, giving their sweet farewells and pats on her shoulder as they make their way out. It was a bittersweet moment, saying goodbye to the people you've known in order to move forwards on your path in life. Finally, the room clears and she's left with her fellow office colleagues, her friends.
"Awe you guys. You- You didn't have to."
"Of course we do, Kait. It's your last day here before you transfer over to the big guys, soon-to-be Agent Moore."
Her partner teases as he walks over and pulls her into a side hug. With a scoff she shoves him off of her and playfully rolls her eyes. September 23, her last day as a Detective at the Raccoon City Police Department. Last year, after weeks of debate, she had finally applied to a new and higher department within the criminal justice system.
Once her application was accepted she got right into training at the academy. She had to undergo multiple tests, training, interviews, and trials. This year, just some weeks ago, she'd graduated and received news of her acceptance, along with her transfer being approved. So, starting tonight she would no longer be an RPD Detective nor a resident of Raccoon City.
"Oh shut it, Dean. It's just the FBI. Nothing too special."
Dean scoffs at that and walks over to his desk. Rolling her eyes, Kait crossed her arms and gave her friend a raised brow.
"Well look at you, being all humble."
A broad grin spreads across her face when she recognizes the voice that entered the conversation. Behind her stood Lieutenant Marvin Branagh, her soon-to-be former superior and life-long idol, leaning up against the doorway with a smile of his own. Marvin pushes himself off the doorway and walks over to Kait with open arms. The detective welcomes the hug happily, leaning into it.
"Look at you kid. The FBI. Wow… You've really grown."
Kait chuckles at this as her face flushes slightly. She'd always looked up to Marvin since the day she first met him. It was a small, simple praise but it meant a lot to her coming from the man who had inspired her to pursue her dream career.
They part from the hug and Marvin pats Kait's shoulder proudly. Everyone then settles down onto their respective desks and falls into a light conversation. Cupcakes and some parting gifts were placed on top of her bare-but-not-really-bare-at-the-moment desk. She smiles slightly at the thoughtfulness of her colleagues and picks out a cupcake for her to eat. Neil suddenly stands on his desk chair and pulls down the banner to hand it over for Kait to keep.
"Thanks, for all of this you guys."
Taking the banner, she stares at it silently for a moment. Remembering all of her fondest memories in this department, she smiles. Ten whole years, that was how long she'd been in this line of work. Four years as a young police explorer, three years as a cadet, one and half years as an officer, and a little over two years as a detective.
It felt like she'd been here her whole life. A decade of her life was spent in this field. This rather large police station was her home, this office was her family. She was reluctant to leave but the team had supported her the whole way through.
Taking a flashback into the past, she could remember her first day on the job. After graduating from the police academy, Kait wasted no time in getting started at the RPD. Fresh from the academy, she was just a bundle of nerves. The minute she walked through the doors of the west office she was welcomed with open arms. The room then had also been decorated with streamers and banners like it is now. At that moment, she knew she was home.
Kait glances up from the banner, snapping out of her thoughts. She watches as Elliot and George hang up another banner, this time the words displayed were different.
" Welcome Leon ?"
Kait reads out in question. Her eyes moved from the banner to Deancsitting across from her, who was directing the boys on the positioning of the banner. Feeling eyes on his back, he turns to look over at her and replies to her confusion.
"Yeah! Apparently that's the new rookie's name."
"Ah, right. I forgot that there’ll be a newbie joining. Sucks, I won't be able to meet him."
Kait shrugs and sat up straight in her seat. She folded up her banner and placed it neatly on top of her already packed things in a box besides her desk. Her eyes then land on a newspaper that seemingly fell on the floor sometime ago. Picking up the newspaper, she flattened it out in her hands and read the first article on the front page.
It highlights the cannibalistic attacks that had been happening in the city recently as well as the Mansion incident. Already having read about this, she skims through the article. Before she could crumple it up and recycle it, a thought came to her.
She carefully folded the newspaper up and placed it into her box. Tomorrow is her first day at her new job in the FBI. Perhaps she could present this as a possible case and they could probably investigate it. A far stretch, especially since she’d be a rookie (again), but it was worth the try.
A phone ringing grabbed her attention, she looked up and noticed Dean holding the telephone up to his ears. She watched his movements as she carefully observed him. When he places the phone back down, he looks up and meets Kait's eyes.
"Wanna go on one last patrol, Detective Moore?"
Dean teased over at Kait as he made his way towards the doorway. A playful smirk forms onto her lips at this. She pushes herself up from her desk then walks over and past him.
"Of course, Detective Mikaelsson."
—
The two cruise smoothly, or as smooth as they can with Kait behind the wheel, down the streets of Raccoon City in a comfortable silence. One hand on the wheel and the other leaning onto the window. Kait eyes the road and the scenery ahead. Committing each and every detail to memory before she leaves.
Only a few more hours left and then it's ‘buh-bye’ Raccoon City. Her plane leaves at night so she'd have to head straight home after her shift. She glances over at her partner and thinks about how different things will be. She's going to miss working at the RPD. She's going to miss the city in general. This place has been her home for her whole life. She's been living here since the day she was born, the only time she'd ever left was during her time at the FBI academy.
Lost in her thoughts she was startled by the static of the police scanner coming on. From her peripheral she could see Dean hold a hand to his heart having been spooked by the noise as well. They weren't technically on call as it was her last day here and they only took the car out for 'patrol' (Dean had actually called and asked if they could take one of the cars out, so it isn’t technically a patrol) so neither were expecting a radio in. She brings up the radio to her mouth and signals in.
"1318 Dispatch requesting a 10-9, over."
" 1318 we received reports of a 904B downtown west of Raccoon City. That is within your current vicinity. "
"10-4 Dispatch. 1318 en route."
Kait’s brows furrowed. It’d been so long since she’d heard a report of a 904 in Raccoon City making this call an unusual one. The thought made her uneasy.
“One last assignment eh?”
Dean smiled over in Kait’s direction. The detective let out a small amused huff. Kait lowered her arm, keeping the radio in hand. Dean flicks the sirens on and clutches tightly onto the handle of the car. Switching the gears of the car to reverse, Kait swiftly backs the car 180 degrees.
The car swerves onto the opposite side of the road before speeding towards the direction of the origin of the report. As they drove further down the road to the location, they could see the chaos it had turned into. The car's pace slowed gradually as they arrived. Their mouths hung open in shock at the sight.
Cars were parked carelessly to the sides, some had taken serious damage, and people were screaming and yelling. There was fire starting up in some areas, cause unknown, and trash thrown around, littering everywhere. It looked as if it were the beginning of the end. It was odd how so much damage and destruction took place so quickly without alerting the station sooner. Bringing the car to a full stop, Kait lifted the radio back up to her mouth.
"1318"
" 1318 - go ahead. "
"1318 on the scene. Uh- we got a situation here. Over."
" 1318 what seems to be the problem? "
"We've got multiple casualties and multiple properties on fire. It looks like a massive riot but I'm not too sure."
" Copy that 1318, Sending all units your way."
"Copy tha-"
Kait didn't get to finish her transmission when a sudden bang against the hood caught her attention. She looked over to find a woman in her 30's, looking frantic, covered in splatters of blood, and in need of obvious assistance. The woman quickly made her way towards Kait's window and leaned inward in distress.
"Please help me! Oh god they just- they came out of nowhere!"
"Okay, ma'am I need you to calm down. Could you please step away from the door so I can-"
The woman suddenly shrieked and scrambled away from the door, sprinting off in the other direction. Kait was taken aback by the reaction, she looked back over at Dean and they both shared a quick look. She made move to lean out slightly to catch a glimpse of where the woman ran whilst she prepared to unbuckle her seatbelt and open the car door.
"KAITLYN!"
She looked over at Dean and found him tightening his hold on the vehicle handle and his free hand pressing against the dashboard. His eyes were focused in front of them and Kait only had a second to face forward to notice a car barreling its way towards them. The impact caused the car to swerve dangerously backwards, nearly tipping over. The world had gone black at that moment.
—
Groans could be heard in the car as Dean regained consciousness. He raised a head to his forehead only to hiss in pain as it made contact. Slightly dazed, he glanced over to Kait who was still very much unconscious. Reality started making a comeback and he worried for a second there for the worst until he saw the steady rise of her chest. He inhaled sharply and groaned as he tried to turn towards Kait.
"Kait.."
His voice was dry and laced with pain as he tried to get her attention. She didn’t wake. Static filled the car, startling him. He saw that the radio was still intact in Kait’s hands so, he shakily took it into his own hand and brought it up to his own mouth.
"1320-This is Det-ective Mikaels-son... 11-80...downtown west- mmf -CODE 3. Detective Mo-ore is down, I-I repeat. Detective-down."
Dean wheezed out. All he heard was static from the police scanner and so he let it fall from his hands deeming it useless and only hoped his message got through. The seatbelt felt like it was digging into his chest and so he shakily tried to unbuckle it. He struggled a bit, his nerves stuck in shock but he managed to press on the button. He groaned in relief as the seatbelt recoiled. He then focused back on his partner.
"Kait... Kait you- ngk -you there partner?"
There was no response from the other for a good few seconds. Kait's fingers then twitched slightly as she started to gain back control of her senses. She stirred from unconsciousness and tried to lift herself upright. She inhaled sharply when pain radiated throughout her body. Trying to regain sight, her eyes fluttered continuously.
They burned from what she can only assume was the dust and smoke filled air. That was until she felt a sticky, hot, wetness drip down her eyelash. She caught sight of where she laid, her body pressing onto the car door and head on her arm that was nearly hanging loose outside the vehicle. She shut her eyes once more when a raging headache pounded harshly against her skull.
"There you go, that's it."
A hand on her shoulder eased her into an upright position. She squints in pain before trying to open her eyes again. Vision blurred as an effect of whatever injuries she'd suffered from the impact. When she gained focus she tried to regulate her breathing, trying to endure the pain and ease her adrenaline. She winced at the slight movement she made and realized her arm was, in fact, hanging out of the car window. After all, she was practically leaning out of the car when the accident happened.
Accident. When her memory finally catches up to her she quickly glances over to the passenger's seat and notices Dean's condition. A few scratches here and there but nothing too major, that she could see at least. Using her other hand, she brought her left arm back at her side and hissed at the pain.
Good news that it was only numb for a few seconds, bad news she could start feeling the pain. She was sure that it was dislocated and only hoped that it wasn't broken. Tears brimmed at the edge of her eyes as she panted out painfully.
“Welcome back to the land of the living, partner. Honestly thought you were gone for good with that position you were in.”
Dean chuckled but immediately groaned and coughed wetly. Kait’s lips turned up slightly at that and in her mind she thought, ‘ hah, karma ’.
She looked down at herself and took in a sharp breath when pain radiated throughout her whole body once more. Whiplash for sure, considering she was basically partially hanging out of the car. Her chest felt heavy and she deduced that she'd probably gained some bruised, maybe broken-’ hopefully not ’ ribs. She considered even having a concussion but she wasn't sure. What she was sure of though, was that the seatbelt was practically digging into her chest and ‘sunovabitch’ did it hurt.
"You alright, Moore?"
Leaning against her seat Kait inhaled deeply before letting out a low 'yeah' past her lips. Unbuckling the seatbelt, she let out a sigh of relief and sat quietly with her eyes closed, taking a moment to allow herself to breathe. She then glanced out the windshield in front of them and choked at the sight.
There in the short distance was the other car and in the front seat was a man being teared into by a woman. Teared into. Eaten. The woman was eating him. And not in the fun way. She continued staring in shock thinking that she was seeing things, but the more she stared the more her vision cleared. It was indeed real, not some night terror she frequently suffers from every night.
Her stomach lurched and she felt incredibly nauseous at the sight. Dean let out a low string of curses at the scene. It was disturbing to say the least. The world had suddenly started feeling unreal. Like it was just some sort of nightmare or hallucination.
Suddenly aware of their surroundings, Kait observes the area with her breath being caught in her throat. The streets were littered with battered people whose skin looked to be rotten and decaying.
The sight was horrific to see. It was something you’d see out of a horror movie. Like those gory monster-killer-slash-thriller films she used to love watching. But this was reality. She was ready to unholster her gun when Dean grabbed tightly onto her arm.
"Drive. Drive now."
She wanted to argue against him, tell him that they had to do something. They were Detectives, once and always officers of the RPD, they made an oath to protect and serve but that was all thrown out the fucking window when she'd noticed his gaze was elsewhere.
She looked forward and noticed the incoming horde of those cannibalistic-monster-human-like beings heading their way. Blood coated their disfigured bodies, some even missing a few limbs. In a panic, she scrambled to restart the ignition.
"Kait. Drive. Drive now ."
"I'm trying!"
Dean spoke repeatedly, panic rising in each word he spoke. Holding tightly on the handle of the car, Dean felt close to passing out. Kait's heart was pounding rapidly against her chest, her breathing erratic, and her body twitchy in nerves. The two were overwhelmed with trepidation as the horde started growing closer. The ignition was turned repeatedly, the engine begging to work but the car refused to start. Fear coursed through their bodies as they feared for the worst.
"Kait. Drive. Kait drive. Kait! KAITLYN FUCKIN DRIVE! "
The engine miraculously roared to life and without a second to waste, Kait switched to reverse and slammed her foot onto the pedal, swerving the car quickly. The sound and smell of rubber burning into the pavement filled the air as they drove off in the other direction. Not to mention she did all that with one hand, she deserves a fucking reward for dealing with this shit.
She sped down the streets of Raccoon City, aiming to head back to the department. On their drive back they could see the total devastation the city had suffered in such a short amount of time. It wasn't so bad that you'd call it ruins or the result of an apocalypse just yet, but it sure looked to be heading that way.
As much as they wanted to help they were undermanned, under armed, and were in no condition to be put on the frontlines. How can they protect and serve if they couldn't even protect themselves? They weren't sure how long they'd been out since the accident but the evening had crept up on them and their city had already looked to be going to hell.
They were silent on the way back. Too deep in shock from their injuries and what they had witnessed to speak. Kait felt her stomach drop as they neared the station. Officers were placed out front, guarding the department whilst leading the civilians to safety.
Putting the car into park, the two of them pushed past their way into the station. It was crowded and chaotic inside compared to outside. There was so much screaming and wailing it was hard to control. The department was a mess, officers running around everywhere, citizens going mental, and whatever the fuck else. The noise and chaos just worsened the headache.
"Moore! Mikaelsson!"
At the mention of their names, the two detectives turned over to the source of voice and found their Lieutenant waving over at them. Happy to see a familiar face they limped over to their superior.
"There you two are. We lost contact with you on the radio."
Marvin then looked the both of them over carefully, now noticing the state they were in. He opened his mouth to speak but held back on his words and instead motioned for them to follow. He led them over back to the west office and pulled out some medical supplies.
"The hell happened to you two?"
"Car crash. Sir, what the hell is happening out there?"
Marvin only shook his head in response. No one knew what had happened. It was a normal, slightly quiet day like it usually is on the daily when instantaneously, dozens of reports of small assaults and disturbances had come rushing in.
Now, all of a sudden, citizens of Raccoon City had started going rabid, cannibalistic even. They all appeared to be infected by something, but no one is sure of what. Worst of all, the dead wouldn't seem to stay dead apparently.
"What's with your arm Moore?"
Marvin pointed out. Kait noticeably gulped and glanced down at it. Momentarily forgetting about it. With her free hand, she rubbed the nape of her neck and gave him a sheepish smile.
"I…Uhm, I probably dislocated my shoulder... again."
With a shake of his head Marvin walked over to her and sat her down at one of the office desks. Kait inhaled sharply already knowing what's about to happen. She allowed him to take her arm into his. With one swift movement a loud crack echoed within the room. Kait chewed in her lip to conceal her pain. A shaky breath passed her lips and she tilted her head at the pain, a habit of hers. Dean came over with a piece of cloth and turned it into a makeshift sling for her to use.
"I want you two to stay here and get yourselves patched up. I’ll try to find a medic out in the main hall. Help manage the calls if you can in the meanwhile."
With that Marvin left, leaving them alone. Kait pouted sadly and slouched into the chair. She groaned out in frustration. Hating the idea of not being able to help out and join in the action. Also upset that she has to wear a sling, again.
So much for her last day. With how things are looking right now, there was no way she was going to make it out of the city any time soon. The stress was overwhelming and the amount of ruckus going around wasn't helping.
She glanced over at the desk phone then back at the chaos in the main hall. She surveyed her surroundings and found herself situated at Marvin's desk. Rubbing her face in frustration, which just caused her to hiss in pain at some open wounds she didn’t know she had, she bit her lip then picked up the phone. She read the numbers off of a sticky note placed on his desk. Dialing the numbers in, she waited as the line rang before leading her to the voice-box.
"Hello Mister Kennedy, this is Detective Moore of the Raccoon City Police Department."