July 24, 1988
The helicopter blades were whisking by at so fast a rate it was hard to hear. We were all cooped up in the helicopter. Nobody spoke much. We all had not to much to say. This was not a routine mission for S.T.A.R.S, the Intel was very limited. We did as we were told and Bravo Team was sent in first. Alpha team was to meet up with us later.
Bravo team consisted of Marini, leader of Bravo, Sullivan, tactical expert, Forest equipment specialist, Chambers field medic, and me, combat specialist. We were all highly trained, lethal soldiers. We operated in strict covert operations that were sometimes so classified we didn't even know what they were. Our mission was simple, investigate the claims of strange reports coming from the outskirts of Raccoon City. Not much was known about the reports. We were just sent to investigate. Not too difficult a mission if you asked me.
"This is Alpha team, can you read me? Over."
Our ear pieces rang out with the message from Alpha. "Bravo here, coming in loud and clear" Marini answered, "About to reach the drop off zone."
"Roger that. Over and out" Alpha teams channel cut out.
"Well that was short and sweet" Sullivan smiled. "I still don't get why Bravo is sent in before Alpha?"
Forest asked looking at our leader. Marini didn't even glance up. He had been staring at some grainy photos that had been taken by satellite. I felt like putting a word in, "Alpha was on business when the distress was called in. They are to arrive when they arrive. But in the meantime its Bravo's duty to follow up with the alerts."
Forest frowned at what i had said. Never really liked the arrogant dumbass anyway. If he didn't wise up he was bound to end up dead. This was not a child's game. This was not something to rush in with your head clogged. You had to be focused and you have to be ready for anything. Thats why i was second in command. Marini respected my cool head and good decisions. We were both cold hard men. We knew how to get things done and we got them done. Some of the others though...
I sat back in my seat. My gun was strapped to my waist, all my communicators at the ready, my combat knife in a sheath strapped to my arm. I was ready. Whatever was to come i was ready. It could be just a wild bear on the loose. Like that hasn't happened time and time again. Raccoon City was jumpy. Too jumpy if you asked me. Strange things always seemed to happen here. S.T.A.R.S. was a unit ready for destruction. What kind of destruction was Raccoon City Hall Expecting?
While everyone was chatting idly i gazed out the helicopter, watching the scenery flash by. Trees, trees, trees. The sun was starting to set. Night would be setting soon. Well, that was great. Something is happening and it is going to be pitch dark out.
I had been in worse situations before. I had been shot at, stabbed, and almost bled out from a wound to my upper thigh. It would take a lot to mess me up. Receiving a report with no real Intel was not good as goings went, but how hard could it really be? Once we arrived, we'd sort it out, and then back to headquarters we would go.
Bravo has a good track record as far as it went. It was a pretty prestiged unit that is hard to get into. We worked with the Local Police but we were equipped to deal with harsher threats than rowdy civilians. Though i had to admit that its new cadets were exactly what i would have chose.
Marini and i had a lot of things in common. We made the team strong and unlikely to bend. Though the others added flavor they weren't exactly the flavor i liked. We would have to do. The reports had been CODE:RED which meant urgent, life threatening, and dangerous. Alpha was predisposed so we had been dispatched immediately.
When the Mansion finally came into view it wasnt what i expected. It was a lot bigger then i anticipated for being in Raccoon City. The chatter cut off as business took priority.
"There she is boys, take her down in that field Sparks!" Marini commanded to the pilot. The helicopter was shaking as we made the descent. We were about a mile out from the Mansions Fenced walls. With a final shudder and shake the helicopter landed. When the blades stopped spinning everyone exited the plane.
We all started to gear up. Weapons were unloaded and gear strapped on. I chose a Lightening Hawk Magnum, an automatic shotgun, and finally strapped on my M27. When i was geared up, Marini handed out radios.
Marini went over to our pilot.
"Sparks, stay here and guard the helicopter. Hopefully this is a quick one and then we shall be on our way out. Stay here and warn us if anything should arise from your end. Alpha should be coming along shortly and then take our orders from them." The pilot nodded and went to sit in the cockpit.
Marini then turned head to address the rest of us.
"Now listen, we might have to split up to cover these extensive grounds. We all have radios and we shall keep up contact. Anything out of the ordinary you keep us informed. I don't want any mistakes and no errors. We do this by the book and we keep it clean." Marini said while giving each of us a stern glare.
"What if we cant reach each other? Then what do we do? Are you sure its the best idea to be split up?" Forest stammered out. Marini just gave him a look. You would think that this was the mans first time on the job.
"If for some reason you cannot reach any of the team, then use your head and do whats best." I said nonchalantly leaning up against the helicopters base.
"Exactly as Ryker said. Use your wits, use your head, and if all else fails meet back at the helicopter, is that clear?" Marini asked looking at his small group. No one argued otherwise.
"Ok move out, Ryker scout out the front gate. Sullivan your with me. Speyer you take the left side of the gate with Chambers. Move out!" Marini was already on the move. He issued his commands and off he went.
It took Forest Speyer more time to move. He was looking to Rebecca Chambers for help. I hid a smirk and pushed on past. There were only five members of Bravo team. Marini figured correctly that i would be able to handle things on my own. It was the others who needed the buddy system. No one would be in my way and no one would be there to stop me.
I started off at a fast pace. I was ordered to scout the front gate. That couldn't be too hard. The gate was just out of view of the trees. I had crossed the field and was making headway for the front gate. Lights adorned the top of the fenced in yard. A few were burned out but there was enough to see. The walkway leading up to the gate made my traveling a little easier. I didnt have to struggle though uneven ground anymore.
The gate was twisted. The ornate doors were still closed but something had wrenched the gates right door open. Like something had bashed its way through. Whatever it was it hadn't been little. I easily slipped through the crunched in gate. An expansive lawn greeted my eyes. It was a mess. The grass was overgrown and the windows to the Mansion itself half were smashed in.
We had received the call today but this place looks like it hasn't been inhabited for years. Something was not right here. My boots crunched over the gravel. I unholstered my magnum and started up the path that led to the house.
My adrenaline was up. I could feel my heartbeat beating in my ears. I went up to the door. It was solid oak, it had a downcast angel as the knocker. Kinda morbid if you asked me. I tried the front door, it was unlocked. Derelict building with the front door unlocked, ok not a bad start. I grasped the door handle and pushed the door wide open.
It opened into what looked like the Main Hall. Steps led up the center of it, branching left and right. I couldn't hear any sounds coming from anywhere. It was oddly quiet. I made my way to the stairs. Four doors led off from the main floor. Where was i to start?
The door to the left looked promising. I crept towards it. My gun leveled, i pushed it open. A dining room? A long table filled the room. I looked up and saw a balcony that wrapped around the whole room upstairs. There must be a door linking that upstairs. I slowly surveyed the room. It looked ransacked. Wait. What was that? At the far end of the table by a fireplace there was something on the floor.
I stepped closer and grimaced. It was blood. Someone has been wounded or more likely killed. The blood was just congealing so i hadn't missed the incident by much. Someone was here. i stepped over the blood. It had formed in a puddle which made it seem as if the person had fallen and bled out. But then where was the body?
I unclipped my radio, "Marini this is Ryker do you copy?" I let go of the button waiting for an answer.
"Go ahead Ryker" Marini's voice was heavy with static as he replied.
"There's been some kind of accident. Fresh blood. No body as of yet. Have you found anything? Over."
"As of yet, no. Me and Sullivan made our way around the area and are trying to find a way in from the back. Stay sharp and keep me informed. Over and out."
Marini cut out. I clipped the radio back onto my belt. So far I've been the only one to find entry into the house itself.
I looked around once again and could see nothing more of interest. The blood was the only thing in this room. There was a door way at the end of the hall. I made my way towards it. I stepped through and immediately saw the body. It was in some type of sitting room. The body was lying near the far wall. I quickly went and checked for vitals, there were none.
Middle aged Caucasian with no form of identification. His pockets turned out absolutely nothing. He had blood all over his clothes. Where was the wound? The body was hunched over, not yet cold. I pushed up his head and fell back onto the floor. His right side of his neck had been torn out. I could see tendons and muscle in the gaping wound. I got over my shock and moved closer to get a good look. No. That couldn't be right. His wound looked teeth inflicted. But that didnt make any sense. Someone would have to be a certain level of crazy to chew out someones jugular.
A quick scan of the room yielded nothing. I walked back down the hallway and tried both the doors. Nothing. They were locked. I ran my hand through my hair. I could bust the door down but that might let anyone in the room aware of my presence. Without knowing how or what, busting through a door without any knowledge of what was on the other side, was stupid. And i wasn't stupid.
I made my way back through the dining room. The blood was now going the color of rust. I opened the door that led into the Main Hall.
Ok, what to do now. There were other doors, and the stairs. Do a sweep of the main floor then work towards the second. Maybe there was another way into that part of the house that i had been locked out of, just on another floor or side of the house. I checked the door behind the stairs. I creaked it open and peered out. It led to outside. There was a courtyard back there. I shut the door. I didn't want to go back outside. I needed to stay in the house.
There was two doors on the right side. I decided on the first one from the stairs. The door was unlocked. I walked into a gallery. Paintings adorned the walls. There was a statue in the middle of the floor. A woman holding a jar. The paintings were all normal paintings. A step ladder was in front of a curtain, which i took for a window. I made my way for the door. I had encountered nothing but a dead body and nothing to indicate who did it or why.
The radio crackled.
"Oh my god, is anyone there! Iv been attacked!" yelled Speyer. I ripped my radio off my belt just in time for Marini to ring through.
"Whats going on?"
"I don't know! I am locked in a room. Me and Rebecca made our way into the house through the back and we were separated. We were being chased!"
"By what!"
"People, creatures, i don't really know." You could hear Speyer whimpering at the end of his line.
"People attacked you? Start making sense!" Marini yelled through the other end.
"They looked like people but they attacked us, one actually bit me. Took a chunk right out of my arm. Rebecca got separated, and im locked out on some balcony looking out onto the grounds. Oh my god it hurts." His radio crackled away.
"Speyer stay where you are and try to bind up the would. Me and Sullivan are still out on the grounds. Ryker where are you?" Marini asked.
"I'm here, i'm fine. I found a body, a man has been murdered." I hesitated before adding, "And his throat had been torn out. I think by someone with a human set of teeth."
"Are you telling me we have people running around taking bites out of people?" Silence from our ends. "Ok, if anyone comes at your hostile, use hostile action. Don't take any chances. Ask to yield and if they don't, don't hesitate. Speyer stay where you are. Keep the door locked and wait for one of us to find you. Bind the wound and sit tight. And Ryker?"
"Yeah Boss?"
"Stay frosty."
The radio finally went silent.
Speyer was locked on some balcony and Rebecca was no where to be found. We should have each had a radio. My gun i kept unholstered. I was on the look out for anything out of ordinary. Like Marini said, ask questions later. Protect yourself first at all costs.
i stepped to the door. It too, was unlocked. I entered the room. There were windows all along the side of the room, cascading all the way around. And most of the windows were smashed in. Glass littered the floor. I walked slowly down the hall. My nerves on edge. My boots crunched and broke on the glass. I was halfway down the hall before something smashed through one of the windows behind me. I whirled around and couldn't believe my eyes.
A dog had busted through the window, but this was no ordinary dog. Saliva dropped from its lips, and its eyes were red and completely empty. Skin hung from it in tatters. It looked like it had been torn apart, yet it was still alive. How could this be? I raised my weapon. It snarled and then it charged.
I didn't think, i just shot. A bullet slammed into its chest and threw it back. But to my dismay and astonishment, it stood right up again still snarling. How could that be? One bullet and it should be down. I slammed another slug into its belly. It fell once again, but like before it didn't stay down. I shot one last bullet right between its eyes as it started to charge again, and only then did it stop coming.
It laid there, but it wasn't bleeding. There was no blood at all seeping from the wounds. I didn't understand. How could it not bleed? I stepped closer. The dog looked dead before i even shot it. How could it be up walking and yet not stop when i shot it? It looked dead now though. I stood straight up and that's when more windows smashed out.
There was two now, snarling. I didn't think, i just did. I ran down the hall. There was a door at the end. Please let it not be locked! I could hear them coming quick. They would be on me in seconds if that door was locked. I would be dead.
I slammed my shoulder into the door and wrenched it open. The dogs had only been a few feet behind me. I saw their jaws open as they were about to leap. I slammed the door closed. They smacked the door hard, each thud rattled the door frame. I waited for them to try and smash through but it was silent from that end.
What the fuck just happened. Dogs that didn't die. Dead bodies. Things didn't make sense here. This was not normal and something was definitely going on here. And that was when i felt hands closing in on my shoulder. I whirled and pushed backwards. The man fell down. I stepped back and raised my weapon.
This man started to get up. "Stop! Stay where you are! Don't move!" Either he didn't hear me or couldn't hear me. I looked more closely, he didn't look right. His movements to get up were slow, almost as if he was drunk. He pushed himself onto his hands and started to rise. And that's when i knew something was wrong.
His arms were laced with bite marks but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was his face. Someone had taken a huge chunk out of his cheek and most importantly he was dead. His skin was the color of ash, and his eyes were lifeless. Soft moans were coming from his lips. In the excitement with the dogs i had not heard him behind me. Well i definitely heard him now.
I raised my gun, took aim and fired. The first shot hit him in the thigh. It was as if he didn't even feel it. He still kept coming. I backed up and shot higher. My bullet punched him right in the stomach and the bastard still didn't go down.
"God Dammit!" I exclaimed.
I was now pushed up against the wall and he was coming closer with every second. I had no choice i fired two into his upper chest. He tumbled to the ground. I sighed a deep sigh. The bastard had to be dead now. Taking four bullets and he acted like he didn't even feel them. He didn't cry out or plead for mercy, nothing. No blood seeped from his wounds.
And that's when i seen him twitch. He was slowly getting to his feet. Again! What in the fuck was this? I brought my pistol up. Nobody could survive those shots. No one. He got to his feet once again. I looked into his cold dead eyes and he bared his teeth at me. Blood caked his face, and he didn't look human. I raised my gun once again, and i fired.