Thea thought that after graduation, her life would finally get straight and take a better route. She was ready to move out from her parents and begin her adult life. Until the very person her whole heart despised snatched away her future job.

She was devastated when Kennedy took her place at the Raccoon City Police Department. She wanted to work there because it was still close to her home but far away enough so she could experience the freedom she sought. But not like this. This was like she got stuck in a nightmare, spiced up with her mother's disappointment, which turned into dulling hatred.

Her mother, Clara Keller was disappointed in her daughter, and she made sure Thea felt that. When she didn't make it to be the top-class student, Leon Kennedy shining right in her spot, Clara didn't talk to her daughter for a week. Thea thought that the disappointed look couldn't hurt her more, but there was something else in the cold steel eyes of her mother that chilled her to the bone: it was fury.

Her father, Wilbur tried his best to support his daughter, seeing how badly it hurt her. He just wanted the best for her, to make her the most important woman on earth. So, he found an empty spot for her at the company he worked at as the head of security: at Umbrella Company.

Thea got to work as a new security guard, which wasn't her ideal job. Of course, she got to work for a famous company and it was nice of her father to pull a few strings for her sake, but this just wasn't for her. She wanted something more, something more thrilling. And her mother liked to vocalize her distaste towards her carrier path almost every day, which started to make Thea mad. She felt like she was actually going insane.

After her 24-hour shift, she went back to her apartment, which was on the shittier side of the city. She didn't let her father fund her living, too. She wanted to be free of charity work and try to survive on her own. Not like her mother would've let Wilbur to pay for a better flat for her. Thea knew if she could've been a scientist like her mother, she would pay for the best apartment in the city. Thea didn't talk to her mother after she moved to her own apartment. It may be shitty and her landlord was a creep, but at least it was hers.

Her first week at her new job went by slowly. She hated how she was treated like a child just because she was new. Nobody respected her, barely anybody acknowledged her there, only a few males taking their time to size her up. Whenever she got home after work she wanted to cry but decided she was way too cool for that. So, every other morning when she woke up she decided it was going to be a better day.

Until one day she woke to utter chaos and people tearing each other apart on the streets.

Thea was awoken from her sleep by a loud explosion. Scrambling to her feet she stumbled to her window, peering outside to see what happened. The sun started to set outside, the shadows stretching along the streets with the people running along them. At first, Thea couldn't see anything wrong with the scene, maybe there was just an accident and people were running to check it out. But as she started to pay more attention to her surroundings, she finally heard them.

The blood-curdling screams outside her apartment.

Narrowing her eyes, she tried to get a better look outside, her grimy window not quite helping her here. But you didn't have to have binoculars to make out what was happening outside. She watched as a running woman got yanked back by her hair, wailing and flailing her arms in the air, trying to get out of the grasp of the man behind her. Her screams became soaked through with agony when the man sank his teeth into the side of her neck, taking a chunk out of it.

This must be a fucking dream, Thea thought, as she tried to rub the tiredness out of her eyes. But when she opened them again, the scene just got worse: now another woman joined the man in torturing the poor woman, her screams slowly dying out as the two others ripped her apart.

A chill ran along her spine, making her stumble back but she was just unable to take her eyes off the scene. People were attacking other people. People were eating people.

Her first instinct was to flee the city and leave everything behind. But then her parents came to her mind, panic rising inside her. She was pretty sure her mother was still in the lab at Umbrella, but she had no idea where her father could be. She flopped on her bed and stretched across to retrieve her phone, her hands shaking as she tried to unlock it. For the second time, she succeeded.

Going to her contact list immediately, she didn't hesitate to dial her father. She wandered back to the window, biting the nail on her left hand as she held her phone to her ear with the other, anxiously listening as it rang. He didn't pick up. Her only option was to leave a voicemail.

"Dad, something is very wrong," she breathed, her eyes watching as some people sprinted down the road, a few other slower individuals leaping after them. Some people weren't able to run fast enough and now they laid on the concrete with their stomachs torn open. "I-I'll try to make it to the Umbrella. Meet me there. I love you."

With a heavy heart, she sent the voice mail, a shaky hand running through her hair. What the fuck she's gonna do? She can't just go out there, hoping for the best. She may be impulsive most of the time and make rushed decisions, but even she knew she had no chance out there. Not like this. She didn't have any of her weapons here with her: she had a Glock at her workplace, but she couldn't bring that out with her.

She doubted her neighbors would have guns, but even if they had she was sure they wouldn't give one to her. Her neighbors weren't exactly friendly people and right now it looked like every person was for themselves. The best she could do right now was grab the combat knife she got from her father for her graduation.

But the police station had guns. Plenty of them. Maybe they could spare her one.

She leaped to her closet, pulling out an old backpack, a white bunny keychain hanging from one of the zippers. She got that from her best friend in high school for her birthday. They didn't talk to each other after graduation.

Thea threw some clothes in there, just in case. A pair of jeans and a sage turtleneck, her mind blanking what else she would need. Some more screams outside snapped her out of it, this time the wails coming from closer. She was already running out of time, she had to collect herself. She shoved a bottle of water inside and the biggest kitchen knife she could find in her apartment. She thanked God she was lazy to change out from the clothes she got home, her attire being a pair of black jeans and a white V-neck shirt. It had to do.

Reaching between her bed and nightstand, she pulled out the combat knife her father gave her. She unsheathed it easily, giving it a quick once-over, noting that it was in perfect shape. She clasped its case on her belt and then shrugged on her olive-colored jacket. Putting on her backpack, she reached to see if she could access her knife quickly if it was needed. The jacket slowed her motions down a notch, but she was still quick. This had to do.

Pressing her ear against her door, she listened if anybody was outside. She just couldn't trust anybody right now, she saw enough movies and read enough comics to know how these types of things turn out. She was on her own.

She sneaked out from her apartment complex, making a beeline for the alleyways behind it. She only moved here like two weeks ago and she didn't have many occasions to leave her apartment yet, but she thought she knew where the police station was. Or just the general area of it. Thank God she was so great with directions: even if she was just passing by something, her memory just knew the way back there with ease. So, she started making her way toward the RPD.

She thought it was best to stay off the main roads. The little she saw from her window was still livid in her mind, telling her to stay low. She could just sneak around the alleys until she reached her destination.

It amazed her how quickly she was able to detach from reality. The normal thing would've been to break down crying or just panic like a normal person would, but she was calm and collected as she strolled from one shadow to another, avoiding anything of life. She made the least noise possible, only kicking a few littered cans or bottles other people have thrown in their panicked state. But she had to be calm, otherwise, she won't survive. She only had herself to protect her back, and if she panicked, she will be as good as dead.

She'll have time for a mental breakdown at the police station.

Once she got there she was met with iron fences barricading off the stations. She heard about some riots recently, the police needing to reinforce their building and upgrade their uniforms. This wasn't a bad thing in particular, but she couldn't help but curse at anything and everything as she searched for a hidden place to climb over the fence. She saw a few sick-looking people at the front, but she went against the idea of asking for help. She just needed to get in, get a gun and go to the Umbrella Labs. Not that hard, right?

Her backpack got stuck on the pointy top of the fence, almost making her fall off the whole thing. Thea caught herself just in time, unhooking the strap of her backpack with little struggle. But her little slip-up caused some noise as the metal bars rattled against each other.

"Fuck," Thea cursed under her breath as her hand got sliced by a piece of metal, she only felt the sting as she jumped off, landing on her feet perfectly. She wiped her palm against her leg, wiping off the blood as she looked around for any entry points. She would've preferred an open door, but it looked like she had to break a window, instead.

The noises coming from behind her made her blood freeze. She was pretty sure she heard some groans, but that got drowned out by approaching steps. Did somebody follow her here? Maybe she wasn't as careful as she thought. Or maybe somebody had the same idea as her: breaking into the police station for weapons wasn't exactly a master plan.

Thea timidly turned around, searching for the owner of the steps as her eyes narrowed at the darkness. At this part of the station, there weren't many lamps, darkness enveloping the back and stretching towards what seemed to be an abandoned parking lot. Her eyes needed a few seconds till they could spot anything, up until that somebody threw themselves against the makeshift barricade.

Her heart started pounding in her chest, wildly beating against her ribcage as she stumbled backward. Her eyes widened at the sight: at first, she couldn't see anything wrong with the person. But it didn't take more than a second glance to see their appearance: the woman's clothes were drenched in blood, either hers or somebody else's. Judging from the amount, it could be both. She was missing a hand, raw bone sticking out as it clanged against the metal. But what made Thea's stomach churn was her face.

Half of her face was torn off, exposing a long row of blood-stained teeth, and big chunks of red hair missing from her head like it was torn out. Her eyes were grey, glossy like winter mist, void of life. Her severed jaw opened, letting out another loud groan, her other arm rattling the fence.

As Thea backed away, she was incapable of taking her eyes off of her. She wanted to help her: she made a promise to serve and protect. But her flight or fight kicked in, making her turn around and dart toward the closest window. Her feet got caught up in herself, almost making her fall but she just caught herself, pain shooting up her ankle.

Looking up, she noted how the smaller window was just out of her reach, she even doubted for a second she could squeeze herself through there. But it had to do.

Limping back a few steps, she ran at the brick wall, using her momentum to jump up and grasp the ledge, kicking herself up with her good leg. Her ankle cried out in protest as she had to use that one, too, barely being able to stay on the ledge. She had no time to try and open the window as her fingers started to slip from the edge, the uncomfortable and questionable position twisting her in such ways it hurt her in places she didn't even know existed. So, she brought back her elbow and tried not to cringe as it came in contact with the window.

It only cracked at first, but with a second and harder blow, the window pane gave in. With her arm protected by her thick jacket, she tried to clear out the window as much as possible, not wanting to get any more injuries. But as she slipped through the window, she felt a few smaller pieces cut into her stomach, earning a painful hiss from her.

Not watching where she was going to land, she rolled from the window, falling what felt like multiple meters. Her fall got broken by cold hard tiles, knocking the wind out of her. Her sight went fuzzy as her ears rang, dull pain radiating from the back of her skull, desperately gasping for air. Thea rolled on her side, the broken glass churning under her and cutting into the palm of her hand.

She didn't have time to whine about her new injuries thanks to her stupidity as through the fogginess of her brain, her ears picked up upon a squeak of a door. She tried to hold her breath back, a sharp pain appearing in her chest. Ignoring it, Thea's hand went to grab her combat knife. If she was lucky, it was just another person looking for guns to survive out there. Worst case scenario, it was one of those things she just met outside. But if it was a cop, God help them all because she would fight her way out of there. She had to find her family, no matter what.

"Don't move!" a voice called out to her, her hand gripping the handle of her knife tighter. It was dark inside, the only light source being half a lamp above one of the stalls, it blinking in and out, threatening to give out like the rest of them.

But she would recognize that voice from anywhere.

"God fucking dammit," she muttered under her breath, shutting her eyes and wishing this was just a bad dream. But the steps coming closer said all of this was real. Just great.

When she opened her eyes again and looked up, her hair shifting from her eyes, she sized the looming figure over her. And then the light above the staff flickered back on, giving them a better look at each other.

"What the-"

"What a pleasant reunion, Kennedy," Thea's tone dripped with venom as she looked down the barrel of a gun, her eyes then shifting to meet with a familiar blue pair.

Out of all the people, why did it have to be him to be here?