Note: I do not own Capcom, or the characters portrayed in this story (Leon, Claire, Chris, etc.) other than my OC Samantha. I hope you enjoy this story, and if you've read my other story then welcome back =D. If you're new, welcome to the madness that is my mind and enjoy the story, lovelies. This one is going to be extremely long so, when it's all finished it'll be quite the read. Hope you enjoy!
It was my first big job. Working in the Special Victims Unit in Manhattan was certainly never boring, but this was certainly out of the ordinary. There had been a large number of sex crimes occurring in Europe, especially in the Mediterranean area. I was chosen as one of the few agents to be sent in from America to investigate this matter. I had been anticipating this for weeks, but nothing could have fully prepared me for what would happen while I was there, or what would happen afterward.
I entered the country with little problem. The escorts I had gotten were full Italian and spoke very little English, but that wasn't much of a problem for a person like me who also spoke a bit of Italian. After arriving at the airport they helped me to a car that would take me the rest of the way to my destination. We passed a few larger towns, but didn't stop at any of them. When we reached the more forested part of the country we finally turned off down what appeared to be a deserted road. We drove down that road in silence-much like the rest of the trip-until we were closer to the town. One of my escorts had mentioned something:
"Ay, fare voi odore che?" one of the men asked his female counterpart. (Ay, do you smell that?)
"Sì, essa odori come in putrefazione carne…" she replied covering her nose against the foul odor. (Yes, it smells like rotting flesh.) I decided to ask something of my own.
"Che cosa fare voi pensare essa è arrivo da?" (What do you think it is coming from?) I politely interjected, but I received no answer. We continued driving. Italy really was a gorgeous place, I noted, as we drove through towns with large stone buildings and past forested areas plastering the earth with many hues of green.
When we finally arrived at my assigned destination, the first thing that I noticed was the lack of activity going on. There were people mulling about, talking to each other, but the town had an empty feel to it. Climbing out of the car, I gave a slight wave to my escorts as they drove away. I still had quite a distance to walk, as my actual destination was further in the forested area looming ahead of me.
I felt uncomfortably warm as I made my way through the trees, so I stopped to pull my jacket off and continued on my way.
"Maybe it wasn't the best idea to wear jeans and a coat on this one…" I muttered to myself. Trudging along I realized that I wasn't going to see another town for a while, but according to the map on my locator I was close to where I was supposed to be. Just slightly east of my location there should be an extremely small area with a few houses. Putting my things away into the bag that I was carrying, I quickly started toward my target.
It was as if a heavy blanket was lifted from my sight. I entered into a clearing with slight shade and no heavy plant-life. There were a few houses ahead of me, but there wasn't a soul in sight. I slowly started wandering my way through the town and was dismayed to find something extremely peculiar. Windows were shut, and locked along with their curtains. All doors were closed, and locked as if they hadn't been opened in a while.
"Hello? Is there anyone in there?" I questioned knocking on one of the doors. Out of my peripheral vision I could see a curtain sway in the window. I decided to try my luck again.
"This is Detective Strausser from the SVU department in Manhattan. I was sent from America to investigate some crimes occurring in this area. Can I speak to you please?" My voice rose with exasperation as the curtains swayed again, and then pinched themselves shut. Granted, what I was saying didn't seem to make much sense, in addition to the fact that I was saying it in a language that these people may not even understand. It all seemed clichéd, really: an empty town (or, well, near empty) with an eerie feel. The only thing missing in this equation was a horde of man-eating dogs to chase me through the forest. I cringed, as memories from my childhood flooded back forcing me to shut my mind out. I continued walking, and, admittedly, checking over my shoulder every once in a while for those man-eating dogs. I had made my way from house to house knocking on doors and asking, time and time again, if there was anyone to answer my questions, all to no avail.
The sun began to set just as I had lost all hope of making any progress on this mission when a noise caught my attention; leaves crashing together and the crunch of the occasional twig or plant. I would have brushed this off…that is, if I were still walking and not standing completely still. The footsteps sounded heavy, and almost agitated. I began walking toward the noise hoping that this was someone who could answer my questions when another noise sent chills up my spine. I stood completely still, willing my heart to stop beating as the distinct growl of a dog sounded through the trees, mimicked by two or three more. A heavy woof escaped the mouth of one of the canines, followed by a man's voice speaking in fluent Italian.
It was, at that moment, that I decided it would be a good time to leave, or continue on with my mission elsewhere. I tensed every muscle in my body and crept along the ground with near-silence. The growling ceased, only to be followed by panting and another deep woof. I crept along willing my breathing to slow. It seemed silly, being afraid of dogs, but the tone of the man's voice and the nature of their growls made the hair on my neck stand straight. I continued at my agonizingly slow pace and was suddenly halted by a rhythmic thumping sound. At first, I thought it was my heart about to burst through my chest, but after a second of silence (on my part) it hit me that the dogs had caught my scent and were running after me. I bolted from the spot and sprinted through the thick trees as the sound grew closer. My heart was pounding in my ears, and my ragged breath was tearing its way through my nose. I ran up to the nearest house and tried the knob, slamming my fists on the door, but there was no answer. From house to house I sprinted as the growls of the dogs became more distinct with each locked door. My heart fell to my toes as the thought hit me that I could possibly be killed by the man-eating dogs that I was joking about earlier.