Escape From Raccoon City

Chapter Fourteen

“Okay, here we are,” Jill said as Carlos pulled the car up to the main gate.

“I wish we could just drive right in,” Carlos said.

The entire outside perimeter of the park was surrounded by a wall six feet high, made up of cream-colored stones in various shades and topped with elaborate brass globes every ten feet. The main gate was a huge wrought iron fence that must have weighed a ton, which was outlined by several large lights. Designed into the iron framework were the words “Raccoon City Memorial Park,” and underneath in a smaller design “A Thank You From The Umbrella Corporation.”

Carlos read the words and looked at Jill. “Umbrella made this place?”

Jill nodded. “Yeah, they put a lot of money into the city doing charity work like this. I didn’t really understand why until just recently.” She opened her door and stepped out, lifting up her rifle and looking all around the empty street.

“How big is this park, anyway?” Carlos asked, getting out as well.

“One square mile. I told you before, it’s pretty big.”

“How are we gonna find the command post, then?”

“Well, it has to be in a building, right? There’s only a few buildings on the whole property. I’m guessing the command post is in the manager’s office and visitor center up front or the gift shop on the other side of the park.”

“Why do I think it will be all the way in the back?” Carlos asked.

“We’ll be fine,” Jill said. “There shouldn’t be many zombies in here.”

Together, they walked through the main gate. If it wasn’t for the huge metal posts that lined the front of the main gate every few feet, they could have driven the car right into the park. But they would have to do it on foot.

“Man, I don’t like this at all,” Carlos said when he got his first look of the entrance to the park. The main walkway at the entrance was lined with old-fashioned light posts and long wooden benches, but they only extended about a hundred feet down. There were side paths to the left and right, one of which headed up to the manager’s office, with lights there as well.

But once you got past the main entrance area, there were no more lights, and the rest of the park, as far as they could see, was almost completely dark. There were only a few places with lights, and none were visible from here. At the very edge of the light, they could just make out the shifting shape of trees shifting back and forth in the slight breeze, like huge shadow shapes at the limit of their vision.

“What’s the matter?” Jill asked quietly. “Afraid of the dark?”

“Yeah, as a matter of fact,” Carlos muttered.

They walked down the main path, holding their guns at the ready. Jill handed Carlos one of the packs she took from dead soldiers in the newspaper office, so each of them now had some extra ammo, a spare pistol, as well as a few grenades. Although they each hoped they wouldn’t need the extra firepower.

The trees shifted slightly as they left the safety of the illuminated area and headed toward the manager’s office. Jill knew the way, so Carlos followed her without asking questions, keeping his gaze on the shadowy wilderness to the left and right. The entire area was eerily silent, which was made worse by the darkness. At least when they were in the city, there were numerous streetlights and interior building lights to at least allow them light to see their surroundings. But here, once they left the illuminated bubble of the main paths, they were literally in the dark.

As Carlos expected, the manager’s office was empty, which meant the only other option was the gift shop at the far end of the park.

“It’s okay,” Jill said confidently.

“If you say so.”

“Come on, just follow me.”

There were several dirt paths that wound through the park, many of which met up in the middle area, known as Umbrella Field, which was a wide open space that visitors used to play flag football and toss frisbees around in the summer. Jill led Carlos off the main path and down one of the unlit dirt paths.

They were engulfed in darkness as soon as they left the lighted area, although as their eyes got accustomed to it, they were able to see their surroundings somewhat clearly. Carlos looked around to see trees and bushes, and the occasional park bench next to the path, along with metal garbage cans and a few water fountains.

The path wound in anything but a straight line and within minutes, Carlos was hopelessly lost. He had no idea which direction they were going anymore, but Jill walked quickly and with a sense of purpose, and Carlos practically had to jog to keep up with her.

As they wound down another wooded area, he said nervously, “You sure you know where you’re going?”

“Trust me,” Jill said, “I know the way there. I’ve been here a million times. I’ve probably seen every square foot of this park.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“I know this park like the back of my hand. I used to take one of my ex-boyfriends out here and we’d fool around in the bushes when no one was nearby,” Jill said with a soft chuckle.

“Oh yeah? You’ll have to tell me more about that sometime.”

“I could even show you where we did it.”

“As long as it’s on the way to the command post, you can show me whatever you want,” Carlos said, keeping his eyes on the trees and plants off the path.

Jill started to say something else, but both of them turned suddenly when they heard a loud crash behind them and then a sound that was painfully familiar by now: the strangled, inhuman scream of the creature in the trenchcoat.

“Damn it,” Jill muttered. “I guess it caught up with us.”

Carlos raised his gun helplessly, aiming into the darkness. “What are we gonna do?”

“Run for it. Come on!”

Jill took off down the path, Carlos right on her heels. They bolted downhill, past more benches and to an area at the bottom of the hill where two paths intersected. There was a lone light post in the middle, with moths fluttering around the light. Jill didn’t even slow down, she immediately hooked right and kept running, and Carlos had no choice but to follow her. Soon they were in darkness again, running down a narrow path with tree branches whipping by their heads. Carlos spotted dark, moving shapes around them, and prayed his mind was playing tricks on him and they were just bushes.

There was another scream from the creature, and Carlos heard more loud crashing and snapping branches. But it was impossible to tell where the creature was; for all he knew, it was only twenty feet away.

“This way!” Jill cried.

They started to run down another side path, but Carlos caught his foot on a stray branch lying across the path, and went flying to the ground. He got onto his hands and feet and called for Jill to stop, but she was already fifty feet away. She turned to come back, but before she could get there, another deafening screech of rage came from right nearby.

The huge creature bashed its way through the trees and jumped out to the path, landing directly in between Carlos and Jill. But as before, the creature didn’t even notice Carlos, it immediately spun on Jill and screamed, its whole body shaking with rage.

Carlos watched in despair as Jill gave him one helpless look, before she turned and ran down the path, the monster running after her. By the time Carlos got to his feet and retrieved his gun, they were both gone.

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