The smoke thinned and the dust settled. The filled pit still breathed a faint black haze into the air, and the smell that hung over the street was gunpowder and scorched flesh, sharp enough to catch in the back of the throat.
Ryan slung the grenade launcher onto his back and tightened his grip on the Desert Eagle. His arms ached from the sustained firing, a dull soreness that had worked its way into the muscle, but his focus hadn't slipped. He scanned the street out of habit.
Jill leaned against what was left of a wall nearby, catching her breath. Sweat had plastered her hair to her face. She was still watching the pit, the spot where Nemesis had gone under. That second form, the way it had torn itself apart and rebuilt into something worse, she hadn't seen anything like it before. If Kendo hadn't come out when he did, she wasn't sure how it would have ended.
After a minute she pushed off the wall and walked over to Ryan, nodding toward Kendo, who was still propped against the door frame.
"Robert Kendo," she said. "He owns the shop. He's also the RPD's main firearms supplier. Most of our standard-issue weapons came from him." She paused. "He's the one who made sure I had enough guns and ammo to keep going. I wouldn't have lasted this long without him."
Kendo glanced up at that. No pride in it. His eyes were flat and exhausted, whatever he was carrying too heavy to let anything else through.
Jill moved toward him, her voice steady and careful. "There are survivors at the subway station. A train that's almost ready to go. It's not safe to stay here. Come with us."
"No." He shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere."
"This whole area's going to be overrun. Staying means dying." Her brow tightened. "The train can get us out of Raccoon City. You'd have a chance."
He didn't answer. His head dropped, and his hands, balled into fists at his sides, were shaking slightly, knuckles gone pale. When he finally looked up, his eyes were red and his voice had the texture of something worn down to nothing. "I can't leave. Becky... my daughter. She was bitten."
Jill went quiet.
She stood there for a moment, no answer ready. Everyone in Raccoon City understood what a bite meant. It was the kind of knowledge you didn't have to say out loud. She looked at this man and understood, in a way she hadn't before, why he'd stayed in this shop while the city fell apart around him.
Ryan stepped forward and broke the silence.
"I heard something from Mikhail," he said. His voice was level, no performance in it. "Umbrella had a vaccine somewhere in this city."
Kendo went rigid. He turned slowly, staring at Ryan like he'd misheard. "You... what did you say? A vaccine?"
"The information came from Mikhail. He had no reason to make it up." Ryan held his gaze. "Come with us and there's a chance we find it. Your daughter still has a shot."
Kendo stared at him.
Kendo stared at him hard, looking for the lie. He didn't find one. What he saw instead was calm, and something that didn't flinch. One chance in ten thousand was still a chance, and for Becky, he'd take it.
He drew a long breath, wiped the look off his face, and nodded. "I'm coming."
He went back inside. A minute later he came out with a pack loaded with ammunition, enough for himself and enough to resupply Ryan and Jill too. He locked the shop door and took one last look at the place, then fell into step behind them.
The four of them moved fast, heading back the way they'd come. Kendo knew the neighborhood and took point, steering them around the heaviest clusters of zombies. The stragglers they ran into were dealt with quickly and without stopping.
Fifteen minutes later, the subway station entrance came into view.
Mikhail and the others were waiting, and the relief on their faces was immediate. "Train's ready," Mikhail called out. "We can leave whenever you say."
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