Resident Evil Raccoon City Outbreak Timeline | The events of RE2 and RE3
Monday, September 28, 1998
At 2:30 am CDT, zombies attack the operation room. Four more officers are killed in this attack. The four remaining officers and several civilians make plans to escape via the sewers. (Operation Report, Resident Evil 2 remake/Operation report 2, Resident Evil 2)
Lieutenant Marvin Branagh, Officer Rita Phillips, and the remaining RPD officers, along with surviving civilians, open a tunnel beneath the statue in the RPD lobby. Phillips is able to escape the RPD and find fellow officer Harry who has weathered the outbreak in a SWAT van. After a major battle against the undead, the remaining survivors are evacuated in the van. However, Lt. Branagh is wounded in the fight and elects to remain behind. (Desperate Times, Resident Evil Outbreak File #2)
After the events of Desperate Times, the survivors remaining in the RPD are:
- Reporter Ben Bertolucci
- Sherry Birkin
- Lt. Marvin Branagh
- Officer Elliot Edwards
- Chief Brian Irons
- Katherine Warren
Resident Evil 3 | Part 1
(RE3) On the evening of the 28th, Jill Valentine gives up hope of a rescue and decides to leave the warehouse and proceed to the RPD. Jill encounters fellow STARS member Brad Vickers who tells her that a monster is pursuing him and that it’s attempting to kill any remaining STARS officers. When Valentine reaches the RPD, she witnesses Vickers being killed by the Nemesis-T Type.
(RE3) Valentine makes her way through the police station, encountering no survivors save an incapacitated and mortally wounded Marvin Branagh. While in the STARS office, she hears a mayday from UBCS member Carlos Oliveira. Answering the call, Jill finds Carlos in the downtown area, and they fend off another attack by Nemesis. Carlos informs Jill that the UBCS had an escape plan and that the remaining members of his team are located at the nearby Central Tram Station. The plan is to use the tram to reach St. Michael Clock Tower. If they can ring the bell there, a rescue helicopter should proceed to the clock tower and pick up and survivors.
Tuesday, September 29, 1998
At midnight, Sergei Vladimir takes command of all Umbrella assets in Raccoon City. He begins plans to drop five Tyrant T-103s into Raccoon City to eliminate US Special Forces that are investigating the Disposal Plant P-12A and one into the RPD to eliminate any survivors. (Emergency Orders, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles)
(RE3) Jill arrives at the tram and meets Captain Mikhail Victor and Sergeant Nikolai Zinoviev. Unfortunately, the tram is disabled, and Jill must search the city for repair materials. Jill witnesses Nikolai apparently die during the search.
(RE3) Once the tram is repaired, Jill, Carlos, and Mikhail begin making their way towards the clock tower. Nemesis attacks the tram, but Mikhail sacrifices himself to defend the others by detonating an incendiary grenade that throws the monster clear of the vehicle.
(RE3) Jill and Carlos manage to ring the bell in the clock tower. However, the rescue helicopter is destroyed by a rocket fired by Nemesis. Jill and Carlos fight the creature and prevail, but Jill is infected with the t-Virus. Carlos carries her into the clock tower chapel, where she will remain unconscious until October 1.
Resident Evil 3 | Part 1 Ends
At some point, the military blockade is abandoned in certain areas. This reopens previously closed routes into the city. (Resident Evil 2)
Resident Evil 2 Begins
Note: As stated in the intro, for this article, the events in Resident Evil 2 remake take precedence over those of the original. When the two are in contradiction, I’m considering the remake to be canon. However, I’m also still taking details from the original that don’t conflict with the remakes as canon. Additionally, I’ll be considering Leon 1st/Claire 2nd to be the canon story of RE2 remake since it flows a bit better (Leon meeting Marvin for one).
(RE2) At around 10 pm CDT, rookie RPD officer Leon Kennedy arrives at the outskirts of Raccoon City after ignoring warnings to stay away from town. Simultaneously, Claire Redfield, sister to STARS member Chris Redfield, enters the area looking for her brother.
(RE2) Leon stops at a gas station to fill up and comes upon an injured man. In the stock area of the station, he witnesses an Arklay County Sheriff’s deputy attacked by a zombie. As he makes his escape from the gas station, he encounters more zombies and meets Claire.
(RE2) Leon decides to continue to the RPD, and Claire comes with him. However, the two are separated when an out of control tanker truck careens into the car and explodes. Both make their way towards the RPD, though they enter through different routes.
(RE2) After reaching the station, Leon encounters Officer Elliot Edwards on a security monitor in the lobby being chased by zombies. Leon proceeds to the east hallway and attempts to assist the officer. However, he’s eviscerated by zombies, leaving Leon with a small notebook with a cryptic clue about a secret passage out of the RPD. Zombies accost Leon as he flees the east hallway, and he is almost killed. However, Lieutenant Marvin Branagh, the only officer remaining in the RPD, saves Leon and tasks him with finding a safe way out of the RPD. Mortally wounded, Marvin warns Leon not to hesitate to kill any zombies as they’re no longer human.
(RE2) After finding her way into the station, Claire encounters a mysterious trenchcoated man who immediately begins attempting to kill her. This is T-00, the T-103 unit that Sergei Vladimir sent to the RPD to eliminate any survivors. The Tyrant stalks her throughout the RPD, only stopping when she enters the secret passage to the underground area.
(RE2) Leon solves the mystery behind the secret passage and finds all three medallions required to open it. Marvin refuses to go with them since he’s infected, and Leon is forced to face the unknown alone. Leon finds the passage leads to a series of underground tunnels. He also meets William Birkin, who is still wandering the subterranean areas of Raccoon City. After a brief fight, Birkin retreats, and Leon is able to make it into the RPD basement area.
(RE2) Claire also finds her way to the secret passage, encountering a now zombified Marvin along the way, and fights Birkin. She finds William’s daughter, Sherry, hiding in one of the rooms. She vows to protect the little girl, but after exiting the underground into the parking garage, Chief Brian Irons holds Claire at gunpoint and demands Sherry go with him. Irons leaves the RPD via the parking garage shutter, which closes behind him, leaving Claire mad and alone.
Wednesday, September 30, 1998
(RE2) Leon meets a woman named Ada Wong when he reaches the parking garage area. Wong says she’s an FBI agent who’s been ordered to obtain a sample of the G-Virus and arrest Annette Birkin, William Birkin’s wife. Leon also meets reporter Ben Bertolucci in the jail. Bertolucci has the parking garage keycard that Leon needs to escape the RPD. Bertolucci informs Leon that Umbrella is behind the outbreak and that he has evidence against the company. However, before Leon can get either the evidence or the key card, T-103 smashes through the wall of Bertolucci’s cell and crushes his skull, killing him instantly.
(RE2) Claire finds her way to Chief Irons’ office via an elevator in the basement of the RPD. She spots a parking garage keycard in the room adjacent to the office, but must restore power to the door it’s locked behind before she can get it. Claire also visits the STARS office and finds out her brother left the city months ago.
(RE2) Leon restores power to the jail and obtain the key card to unlock the parking lot shutter. The Tyrant begins chasing him as he tries to make his escape, but is stopped when Ada crashes a police van into him. Leon and Ada escape to the sewers.
(RE2) Claire unlocks the door and grab the key card. As she’s grabbing it, Chief Irons calls the phone in the room and asks for Sherry’s locket. He reveals he’s taken Sherry to the nearby orphanage, and Claire rushes out of the RPD and through the streets of Raccoon City to pursue him.
(RE2) Leon and Ada make their way through the sewers and finally run into Annette Birkin. Annette shoots Leon, hitting him in the shoulder, and Ada gives chase. Ada is trapped in an incinerator and almost killed, but narrowly escapes. She restarts the pursuit, but falls off a bridge, cuts her leg, and becomes trapped.
(RE2) Claire rushes to the orphanage and sees Katherine Warren, the mayor’s daughter, dead on a taxidermy table, a victim of Irons’ twisted appetites. She also finds that Birkin has killed Irons. Claire speaks with Sherry and is told out Birkin has implanted her with a G-embryo. Since she’s his daughter, she’s genetically compatible with him, and he injected her with the embryo in an effort to reproduce. As Sherry and Claire leave the orphanage via a hidden passage, the Tyrant begins pursuing them. They escape into an elevator, but the Tyrant almosts bursts in after them. As the T-103 is about to attack, Birkin appears and guts the Tyrant. The elevator mechanism becomes damaged, and Claire and Sherry have a crash descent into the sewers.
(RE2) Leon makes his way through the sewers, finding a cable car that connects to Umbrella’s NEST labs. He finds the area where Ada is stuck in and proceeds to obtain the items needed to open the door. Before he can rescue her, he is attacked by Birkin in his second form but is able to fight him off. Ada and Leon then take the car to the NEST.
(RE2) Claire awakens and meets Annette, who has taken Sherry to the same area Ada was trapped in. Sherry is beginning to suffer the effects of the G-Virus, but her mother is apathetic about the situation, preferring to chase down her mutated husband instead. Claire fights her way through the sewers to Sherry, battling against Birkin’s second form, and eventually rescues her. Claire then makes her way to the NEST in search of a cure for Sherry.
(RE2) Leon and Ada split up to search the labs for the G-Virus sample. He encounters the Tyrant once more but eludes him. Leon eventually finds the G-Virus and heads off to rejoin Ada. Leon confronts Ada, as her cover as an FBI agent has become increasingly suspect. Ada brandishes her firearm at him but is shot by Annette. Ada is presumed to be dead, and Leon throws the G-Virus sample into a chasm in frustration.
(RE2) When Claire reaches the NEST, she places Sherry in the security room. Annette catches up with them and tells Claire about the DEVIL vaccine that can stop the effects of the G-embryo. Claire fights her way through the lab and secures DEVIL. Shortly after, she runs into Birkin, now in his third form. Annette tries to defeat him using anti-BOW grenade rounds, but he fatally wounds her. Fortunately, Claire is able to cause enough damage to once again put Birkin down. Claire helps Annette return to the security room, and she injects Sherry with the vaccine, which halts the progression of the G-Virus infection. Annette dies shortly after, happy that her daughter will live.
(RE2) The NEST auto-destruct system activates due to Leon’s theft of the G-Virus.
(RE2) Leon makes his way to the escape train via cargo platform. While riding the platform down, the Tyrant appears once more. His limiter trench coat has been removed, allowing him to become a Super Tyrant. Leon is almost overwhelmed before a mysterious figure tosses a rocket launcher to the elevator. Leon shoulders the launcher and fires an anti-tank rocket at the Super Tyrant, which kills him once and for all.
(RE2) Claire and Sherry find the escape train and begin the process of powering it up. While doing so, Birkin catches up with him and attacks Claire in his fourth form. Claire fights him as the train descends to the escape railway. She wins, and the train begins moving into position to leave the labs.
(RE2) Leon catches up with Claire and Sherry, and they all board the train to escape. A biological contamination is detected aboard the train, and Claire moves towards the rear cars to find it. She encounters William Birkin’s fifth form, holding him off long enough for the train car to be detached. When this occurs, the train continues pulling away, and Birkin is consumed by the flames of the self-destructing NEST labs.
Sometime after 7:22 am CDT: (RE2) Leon and Claire ride the train out of the lab tunnels and out of Raccoon City. They reaffirm that they’ll protect Sherry and will do whatever it takes to take down Umbrella.
Resident Evil 2 Ends
Evening: USS agent HUNK, who has managed to secure a G-Virus sample, radios Umbrella for extraction. He fights his way from the sewers through the RPD, and to the rendezvous point by the police station gates.
Thursday, September 31, 1998
No significant events occur on September 31. Jill remains unconscious with Carlos watching over her. The situation in the city presumably remains in equilibrium with only BOWs in the streets. At this point, the US government is planning to destroy the city with an experimental thermobaric weapon. It’s likely that at this point the remaining military units are preparing to pull out, and only a few handfuls of survivors are left in Raccoon City.
Friday, October 1, 1998
The US military prepares to execute Operation: Bacillus Terminate, a missile strike that will destroy Raccoon City. A high-ranking government official, Derek C. Simmons is the orchestrator of the operation and plans to use it as a test study in containing Bio-Organic Weapons. Though he knows Umbrella is involved, he keeps these facts hidden as he urges the government to destroy Raccoon City. (Scorched Earth, Resident Evil 6)
Resident Evil 3 | Part 2 Begins
(RE3) After several days, Jill Valentine’s health shows no signs of improvement. Fearing the worst, Carlos Oliveira leaves the relative safety of the clock tower and heads to Raccoon General Hospital to seek medication for Jill. At the hospital, Oliveira finds the t-Virus vaccine research the medical staff was able to perform before they were overrun. Carlos finds fellow UBCS soldier Tyrell Patrick in the hospital attempting to destroy the t-Virus research. However, Nikolai Zinoviev fatally wounds Patrick as he wants the credit for successfully destroying the research. In his last moments, Patrick pulls the pin on one of his grenades, which forces Nikolai to flee the hospital.
(RE3) Carlos synthesizes the vaccine but is almost killed when C4 charges set by Nikolai detonate. Zinoviev destroyed the hospital as part of Umbrella’s directives to prevent knowledge of the vaccine from ever leaving the city.
A group of survivors synthesize a t-Virus vaccine codenamed “Daylight” at Raccoon University. They fight an experimental Tyrant called Thanatos and defeat it. A team from the Raccoon City Fire Department investigates the area after the university explodes and rescues the survivors. Daylight makes it out of the city. (Decisions, Decisions, Resident Evil Outbreak)
Ada Wong, having survived her injuries, makes it out of the NEST labs via the sewers. She obtains a G-Virus sample from tissue left behind by William Birkin and escapes Raccoon City with assistance from Albert Wesker. (Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles)
(RE3) Carlos administers the vaccine to Jill, which returns the t-Virus to a dormant state. She recovers, and the two continue their attempt to leave the city. They proceed through Raccoon Park and hear evacuation orders for the UBCS supervisors in a hidden room in a cabin. She also finds a file that indicates that Umbrella can no longer stall for time and that a missile attack is being planned to level the city. Nikolai arrives at the cabin and prepares to kill Jill, but the appearance of a mutated worm causes him to flee.
(RE3) Jill kills the worm, and she and Carlos discover a path to the P-12A Incinerator Facility. They find out that a helicopter meant to evacuate the UBCS supervisors is located at a nearby helipad. Nemesis once again attacks Jill, this time in a chemical treatment room. She causes Nemesis to fall into a giant vat of acid, seemingly destroying it.
(RE3) Nikolai reaches the helicopter before Jill and Carlos and escapes, taunting them as he goes.
(RE3) Continuing the search of the dead factory, Jill stumbles upon the corpses of US Military and T-103 Tyrants at the scene of a massive battle. The Nemesis parasite survived the acid and regain its strength by consuming one of the dead Super Tyrants. Fortunately, Jill is able to use the experimental Paracelsus’ Sword railgun that the military brought with them to subdue Nemesis. She then eliminates the parasite with a well-placed round from a Magnum revolver.
(RE3) Carlos and Jill reach the helipad, and a chopper touches down to rescue them. The two board the craft, piloted by STARS member Barry Burton, and the three escape the city just as the thermobaric missile strikes. The strike completely destroys Raccoon City.
Resident Evil 3 | Part 2 Ends
