The payphone next to the broken counter suddenly rang. The shrill sound echoed in the ruined street, making all of them tense for a second.
Luke's face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. "That's for me!" he blurted, practically sprinting to the phone before anyone could react. He grabbed the receiver, pressing it to his ear as if he'd been expecting the call all along.
"Yeah, yeah, I hear you. About time," Luke said quickly, nodding as though he understood every word on the other end.
His tone dropped after that, and for the next five minutes he spoke in bursts—sometimes serious, sometimes smug—his expression shifting like he was playing two roles at once.
Finally, he hung the receiver back on the hook with exaggerated care and turned toward the group, a satisfied grin plastered on his face.
"I have one good news and one bad news. Which one do you want first?" he asked, almost playful. His eyes sparkled—this was clearly something he had always wanted to say.
Alice crossed her arms, unimpressed. "Bad news."
"Okay," Luke said brightly, as though he wasn't about to drop a bomb—literally. "Umbrella decided to baptize Raccoon City by early morning, to purify the city."
His words landed like bricks. Everyone froze again.
"Baptism?" Jill asked, her brows furrowing. "What the hell does that even mean?" Luke's wording was so cryptic, nobody could follow him at first.
Luke lifted both hands in mock explanation, still smiling. "Well, in science terms… it means they're going to use a nuclear bomb to wipe out the city. Kill everyone inside, then the infection is gone—purified."
He smiled on purpose, thinking maybe it would soften the news. Instead, it only made the shock worse.
The group stared at him in stunned silence. Even Selene's usually steady composure wavered; she was surprised that humans could be this cruel—to casually unleash a warhead on an entire city.
Terri nearly dropped her camera. "They're going to nuke an entire city… and you're smiling about it?"
"That sounds exactly like Umbrella," Alice said flatly. She didn't even look surprised—more like she'd been expecting it all along.
If there was a line to cross, Umbrella had already bulldozed past it ten times over. To her, hearing they'd nuke an entire city just to cover their mistakes was about as shocking as hearing the sky was blue.
Then came the cursing—Jill and Peyton both let loose, voices echoing through the empty street.
"Those Umbrella bastards—beep beep beep—what kind of psychotic corporation nukes an entire city to cover their asses?!" Jill shouted, her grip tightening on her gun as if she wished she could shoot the company itself.
Peyton wasn't far behind, spitting venom despite the pain in his leg. "Beep beep beep—those sons of—beep—they caused this, and now they're just gonna wipe it all clean?!" He slammed a fist against the wall.
Together, the two roasted Umbrella so much it was like a profanity duet—an angry rhythm of rage and insults bouncing off the cemetery walls.
Luke, standing there wide-eyed, could only blink. "...Wow."
Selene raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"
"I… I actually just learned three new swear words in under a minute," Luke admitted honestly. "Kinda proud of that."
"Then the good news?" asked Peyton, his voice weak but desperate, still clutching at his injured leg.
Luke turned toward him, grinning faintly. "The good news is… we actually have a way out of this mess. A real chance to survive."
That sentence immediately snapped everyone's focus onto him.
Alice narrowed her eyes, suspicion already written all over her face. "Out with it. What chance?"
Luke crossed his arms and deliberately let the silence stretch, milking the moment like he was some movie villain about to deliver a big reveal. "Someone in Umbrella doesn't want their precious little treasure to be lost forever. Which means… someone important wants us to get that little treasure for them."
Jill scowled, clearly unimpressed. "Stop playing games. Just say it."
He sighed dramatically and raised both hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. Straight answer. There's a little girl trapped in the city. The daughter of a very important Umbrella scientist. He contacted me, and if we rescue her, he'll guide us to safety."
The words hung in the air. A child. That was something none of them expected.
"How can we trust someone from Umbrella?" Jill asked immediately, her voice sharp.
The disgust in her tone was obvious—she hated Umbrella to the core, and just hearing Luke speak of one of their people made her blood boil.
Luke raised an eyebrow. "Trust? I never said we had to trust him. Just use him. He's desperate to get his daughter back. We help, he helps us. Simple trade."
Alice, Peyton, Jill, and Terri didn't look convinced. And honestly, who could blame them? They all knew Umbrella's nature by now—ruthless, cruel, the kind of corporation that would wipe out an entire city just to erase its own mistakes.
Trusting someone from Umbrella was like trusting a snake not to bite. No matter what promises were made, no one here believed a word of it.
"I know you have trust issues with Umbrella, but this is the most secure way out of the city," said Luke.
Truth was, he could leave on his own and take them out safely if he wanted. But he needed the Anti-Virus—and that was with Ashford's daughter.
"Does anyone have another plan besides this? And are you really doubting a father who's desperate enough to risk everything for his kid?" Luke added, his tone calm.
In his mind, if there was ever an award ceremony, Ashford deserved the #1 Loving Father Medal without question. The man hadn't run, hadn't abandoned his child—he stayed inside this hellhole of a city, watching and waiting, all for her.
"And Ashford has the Anti-Virus," Luke added, locking eyes with Jill. His words were blunt. "If you don't want it, fine—you can walk away. But don't expect us to carry you when things go bad."
He let the silence stretch, deliberately letting the weight of the words settle. "Choose carefully. Because if you walk now, you're on your own."
He already knew the answer, though. Ninety-nine percent chance they'd follow him—because the alternative was pretty clear.
Peyton's face darkened, his jaw tightening as he gripped his wounded leg. The thought hit him hard—Do I even have another choice? One path gave him a sliver of survival. The other guaranteed he'd rot into one of those things.
Jill's glare softened, just barely. She didn't trust Umbrella, but if there was even the smallest chance to save Peyton, she'd take it.
Terri kept quiet . She wasn't a fighter, not someone who could argue tactics—whatever the group decided, she'd go along.
Alice, however, gave a small, humorless smirk. "Messing with Umbrella? Count me in."
Luke grinned, clapping his hands once, the sound echoing through the empty street. "Good. That's settled then. Now…" He glanced at the dark streets stretching ahead. "…time to pay a visit to the school."