After Resident Evil: The Enemy Within
Introduction:
No more busy streets, familiar sounds of honking horns, or pedestrians gathered by the sidewalk corners. Those same old-fashioned business buildings from the swinging era of the 20s and rambunctious 40s were now in ruins—crumbled skeletons of their former selves. A dark-skinned female stood over-looking the outskirts of the city from the top of a steep cliff. The crater seemed to extend beyond the sight of the horizon and all she could make out was the rural silhouette of what appeared to be the small downtown strip.
So this used to be Raccoon City…A pleasant little town, population estimated 20,000 minus the mutations and cell-reanimation. And now all that was left were a few architectural foundations, street light posts, upheaval pavement, and a shroud of settling dust.
Five years in counting since the nuke reigned in this city. Five years of news coverage of the disaster and leaked reports of underground experimentation. Umbrella, the world's leading pharmaceutical company was now on the verge of facing extinction. Its shares and stocks were depleting in value and talks of downsizing were eminent. Looks like fate was taking it revenge out on the corporate giant, inducing a slow death. Rumors, however, suggested otherwise. Umbrella was still out there, alive and thriving.
The woman wiped away the light film of dust that swept across the tinted goggles over her eyes. The mask provided a good amount of protection from the remnants of radiation that still haunted the site.
Officials of the Bio-Chemical Research Company had once announced that they would comply with government officials and the Federal Bureau of Investigations in conducting a proper investigation of the Raccoon City Incident. That was four years ago. The city remained empty and ominous. There were no men walking around in white bio-hazard suits combing the streets for radioactive samples. No military officials standing guard to keep unwanted bystanders a way. No blacked out government vehicles or Umbrella emblem trucks. There was nothing. No one had returned to the site. The last activity was the National Guard putting up fences around the crater and labeling the site a Danger Zone.
There were talks of rebuilding the city, but the radiation was too thick to even bring in construction crews. This was indeed a Ground Zero—a Ground Zero that was never supposed to happen.
Planting a hiking hook into the ground, the young woman took out a safety bungee rope and locking gear out of her leather backpack. She tied a swift knot of rope into the metal hook and then a firm one into her belt clip. Without hesitation, she let herself drop from the cliff. Half cautious and half crazy, she climbed down the mountainous structure. She was in no hurry. The morning sun was still burning off the cool breezes of the night. She had plenty of time to scale the cliff and land in Raccoon before late afternoon.
Arynn Residvius was on a mission. Her intentions were clear from the start. She worked for no corporation or underground co-opts organization. She was here for personal reasons—to find out what really happened down there and if there really was a cure…
Chapter One:
Finally. TOUCHDOWN.
The black rubber from the bottom of Arynn's shoe landed on the ground with harsh impact. A few beads of sweat rolled off her cheek as she untied the safety rope and let it dang against the cliff. She would need this coming back up, but should something prevent her from taking this route, she had other plans to follow through with.
Taking a look around, the tall, 5'7" woman made sure that her hood was on tight and her arms and legs were covered for fear of radiation poisoning. She was risking her life coming back down here, but she didn't care. She needed to go back—back to the source—back to where it all started. Sliding her backpack around to her chest, she picked out an old city map. The map was dated 1992, there were a few structures that were missing since it was last updated. The new library and a portion of the city hall weren't there, but she knew where it was. Even with the gradual spread of the virus, she still retained the fond memories of her childhood growing up in Raccoon and the last classes she took at the University before the break out. She was 20 then. An innocent fun-loving young lady with dreams of performing in an orchestra for the world's greatest Composers. But that was all in the past, all that she knew—all that she cared for, had died in Raccoon the day of the nuke. There was no family to go back to. There were no friends to call on the phone. They were all dead. And it was Umbrella's fault.
Her eyes scanned the dusty atmosphere. She couldn't see a thing. The sun's intense raises seemed to reflect off the dusty cloud and impair her. She wanted to take off her goggles but she couldn't, she couldn't expose herself. Instead, Arynn quickly reached over her right shoulder and clicked on a small shoulder-bound PLS on her left side. She drew out a silver sleek berretta, ready for whatever lay down here. She read the top secret reports about experiments gone wrong and the endless internet rumors of people seeing the wildlife go hay-wire. The media was quick to write these rumors as pure speculation and called the poor citizens who said they'd seen these monstrosities run a mock, crazy. But Arynn didn't have to believe anybody because she saw them with her own eyes. She saw these poor souls drag their torn limbs, knaw at their own flesh, crawl and slither over each other for the next available tender morsel. The dogs and birds attacked whatever moved, even the infected citizens. No one was left alive by the time the nuke came. Arynn was lucky she escaped before the blast. Luck saved her but the regret of not saving her friends and family ate her up inside.
With caution she walked through the tough gravel terrain. Turned over cars and emaciated remains of a few trucks lay in their dusty graves along the barren streets. Shoppes that were once thriving with customers and beautifully designed clothing were now gutted out facing the world with broken exposed walls and no windows. The dust had taken over everything. It was an undisturbed wonderland of filth. It was clear that no one had set foot in the city since the bombing. She must have been the first one to see Raccoon in ruins; a true bittersweet moment.
It was silent and all that could be heard was a soft murmur of the coming wind. Arynn's attention remained focused on her peripheral vision. The eerie creak of a street sign caught her ear and she instantly aimed at it. Taking a small breath, she withdrew from the swaying "Main Street" sign and proceeded slowly down the middle of the wrecked strip. She wasn't sure what to expect coming back here. She didn't know if all the horrors that she saw were truly annihilated. There was no way she was going to put her guard down. Who knows what laid waiting in the shadows or around that next street corner?
The sun's late afternoon raises were starting to dip under the horizon and Arynn knew that darkness would fall soon. She couldn't risk being caught out in the open; she was going to have to find shelter soon. Turning the corner, she came across yet another desecrated wasteland. This time what lay ahead was a tunnel. The sign read, "Raccoon Turn-Pike." Hmmm…shelter. Arynn thought to herself. She turned her attention to a side alley. Down the dark path she could make out a large building. Taking out the map once again, she wasn't sure but it seemed like the building had to be the old Mercy Hospital. What she came here for no doubt had to be in that building, that is if it ever was there in the first place...
Before she could take another step into the alley, she heard an ear-shattering scream from behind her. Arynn grabbed her ears and slowly around. What stood before her was something that she could not comprehend. It had to have been a person in one point in time but judging by the scratched off flesh on its slender arms, piercing bloody pupils, long mangled nails, she wasn't sure. It gazed at her with its mouth stretched open and jaw hanging close to its collar bone. The flesh that used to be near its neck wasn't there only brittle bone and decomposed skin. It let out another scream and pointed straight at her! Arynn took a few steps back into the alley and noticed that this creature wasn't just screaming to welcome her, it had called an entourage. She held her breath as two more of these monstrosities appeared from behind buildings and cars, coming to stand next to the wretched humanoid. What are these things? She thought to herself as she cocked back the berretta and pulled the trigger. The bullet swiftly moved through the air and it pierced the inner tissue of the creature's opened mouth. It let out another scream and Arynn pulled the trigger yet again. This time the bullet landed point blank in one of the creatures' forehead. There that should leave a mark. To her horror, it did nothing. No blood flowed from the wound only a blackened hole remained. The first creature shook its body of the dust and began to walk steady towards the tense young woman.
It wasn't the creatures' movements that spooked Arynn into running, and it wasn't the deaf-ensuing screams that all three let out, it was the fact that they were running. From the zombies she remembered years ago, they could not run, their flesh was stricken with rigamortis and it was impossible for reanimated muscles to flex that rapidly. As fast she knew she was, she couldn't shake them. Their speed and agility was inhuman. She flinched as the first creature swung out its arm to hit her, she dodged the blow and kept on running. The second one made no hesitation in going straight for her arm. Its sharp fangs gleamed in the dusty sun, but the young woman showed no interest in being bit. Waiting for the right moment, Arynn took out her combat knife and sliced the creature across the face and into one of its eyes. It grabbed its face screaming in terror. To finish it off, she grabbed her gun from its holster and shot it directly in the ear. It must've been how close she was to it, because the creature let out one last scream and fell where it stood. Its dusty carcass crumbled into a fetal position. The other two showed no sign of stopping, they lunged for Arynn the moment she lowered her gun. Once again she was on the move, this time towards the eerie cream colored tomb of the once great Mercy Hospital—the place where she hated to go as a child, now a place where she had to seek refuge. Wherever that cure was, she had to start here and move fast.
Jumping through the window-less double doors, Arynn sprinted past the desecrated waiting room and Patient-Check In desk. She didn't have time to rummage through vital records; the creatures were closing in. She ran straight past the remnants of the first floor to a staircase. As Arynn ran up the collapsed steps, she came to a caved in hallway of what used to be the second floor. She didn't have to time worry about moving through the rubble, she continued up the next flight of stairs. Taking a careless step forward she almost lost her balance. There was a large gaping hole among the stairs. She almost fell right in but she caught herself and leaped up to catch the intact stair. As she grabbed for the edge, she heard the terrifying scream of one of those things right behind her. There was no way she was going to allow herself to fall to her death or into the arms of that thing.
Arynn climbed up then turned around to face the creature. To her shock, it was gone! Where did it go, she thought. Taking a step backward with her gun up, she looked from wall to wall and down below. It couldn't have disappeared that fast, it was impossible. Suddenly, an eerie presence loomed over her, it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand and goose bumps form on her arms. She didn't want to turn, she knew it was there. She didn't know how close, but she could sense it. Its heaving breathing was hot to her clothes. As swift as she could, she turned, shot a few rounds then dodged the creature. It sprang back with such force that Arynn found herself watching it scale the wall then come crashing down in front of her. She was face to face with it. Its deep red infected pupils looked into her eyes tilting its head sideways. As if it was thinking. She took a step back towards the hall and it followed closely. Her gun was still drawn but something in her stopped her from shooting. She never hesitated before, why was she hesitating now? Towards a nearby room she walked backwards. As she did, she tried to make sense of where she was and how she could use the location to her advantage. From the looks of it, she was going into a patient room. From the corner of her eye, she saw an old turned over bed and a blown out window along the wall. The floor was dark with shadows and filled with old dust. The creature followed her and stopped at the doorway. It clinched its fists jabbing its torn finger nails into its palms. Arynn narrowed her eyes at the sight. No blood dripped. These creatures, whatever they were, must've been from the original outbreak…their bodies showed no sign of moisture or fluid. It then lashed out at her and Arynn fell back instantly. Instead of hitting the floor, he body fell through a hole that she was unaware of. She let out a scream but she knew that no one could hear her. She landed back-first on the second floor onto sharp broken concrete. Her head hit a large gas pipe and she was knocked out cold…
Arynn's eyes opened. At first her vision was blurred. She thought her hearing was effected too but she realized that there was a deafly silence in the dark corridor. As her eyes strained to see through the foggy mask, simple objects appeared to cast shadowy images along the walls. She forced herself up and the most excruciating pain throbbed from the back of her head. She could feel the warm gush of fluid close to the back of her neck. Simple concussion, she thought. Standing up, her legs wobbled and her balance was thrown off. She shook her head to see more clearly. The debris shifted and made her slightly lose her fitting. Reaching for her holster, her gun was gone. It must've fallen somewhere, she thought. In the darkness, her leather gloves searched for the lethal weapon, crawling frantically over pebbles and broken surgical utensils. Suddenly her glove started to feel a certain substance, flexible rubber almost but life-like. First she felt a small toe at least half of one…then the contours of veins and bone. She could feel herself about to gasp but she had to keep quiet. Her gloves continued to investigate. First a foot, then the beginnings of a protruding ankle bone next the ridged portion of a calf. The calf seemed different. It was tall with lacerations where the muscles were supposed to be and deep slices into the tissue closest to the bone. Whatever this thing was, Arynn couldn't feel any warmth coming from it. But she had to make sure. She took out her knife and sliced it quick and fast. Waiting for a moan or noise to follow, she heard nothing. Just as she suspected, it was dead, whatever it was.
Turning on her shoulder light, she could now see that she had landed between a long corridor and a large room. Peering down the hall and straining to make sense of what was at the end, she noticed dusty old stretchers and more blown out glass windows. Turning back to what she sliced up, she stepped back in horror. It was definitely a person…a person who shielded themselves from whatever fate he or she couldn't escape. They were huddled in a fetal position, with arms holding together the legs and head tucked firmly down. Arynn stood silent. What puzzled her the most was how fresh the cuts were and that the person was stark naked. This person couldn't have survived the blast. What was he or she doing here? She leaned down to take a closer look. Taking her knife she moved aside the long straightened hair to the side of its face. Probing the knife further, Arynn nudged it under the chin and lifted the cranium up.
The poor individual looked serene and peaceful with its eyes closed. The last time Arynn saw a person look this relaxed was the open casket funeral of her grandmother. And then later, the dead would walk and there was no more peace just sheer terror. It was a young girl, Arynn could tell by the long curly eye lashes and pale pouty lips. But how did she manage to survive the blast? A faint noise in the room straight on startled her and she left the child-like corpse alone in its huddled tomb. Examining the room beyond the hole in the wall, something gleamed at her reflecting off of her light. It was her gun. How in the hell did it get over there? She thought to herself. Going straight for it, something dark darted in front of her and Arynn instantly paused. Reaching for her knife, she stood in a stealth position waiting for the dark image to resurface its self. She was not about to get caught off guard again, this time she was ready for whatever else lay down here in Raccoon. The sudden sound of something medal falling to the old tile floor put Arynn more on edge. She knew something was here. But where?
Another dark image ran by a grimy medical storage cabinet and back towards the hole in the wall. As soon as the shadow faded, Arynn caught sight of a short human figure. Arynn recognized the bleeding slashes across the person's legs and the long hair. It was the child-like corpse! Arynn turned back to where she last saw her gun and lunged towards it. Her hand caught it and she cocked it ready to shoot. But before she could, the eerie adolescent abruptly appeared right next to her with a twist look on its face. Arynn could only aim and shoot for the head…
The child went down before it could open its mouth. Its body dropped to the floor next to Arynn. She sprang up still aiming the gun at the fallen individual. Stepping backwards out of the room and into the open hall, Arynn lifted her focus. She turned her attention on to her darkened surroundings. She wondered what else were here, first screaming zombies and now unexplainable adolescents running amuck. The only thing she could do was continue what she set out for and do it before the evening progressed on.
The second floor proved to be a waste of investigation. Arynn found nothing but more sealed rooms and blown out windows. The patient rooms seemed to hold various objects like rolls of gauss for bleeding and old pieces of paper. She remembered reading a news clipping dated the day of the outbreak. It spoke of the dead walking and hell on earth. Those words seemed familiar to her. She knew only one person who always wrote about the dead and wrote various articles concerning the end of the world. It was her friend, Daniel Roberts. He was one of the journalists for the "Raccoon Daily." Daniel was known for his apocalyptic imagination around the town. Some people liked it while others weren't too fond of it. Arynn knew that Daniel was right when he said it was "Hell on Earth". Raccoon City was the place of dead forsaken monsters and devilish intentions. It made her sad to think about what became of her friend. The last time she saw Daniel, he was yelling for her to jump from the second story window of the Editorial room. The fire inside had spread so rapidly with all the paper lying around. She couldn't, she was afraid. He said he would catch her but she wasn't so sure. Then she blinked and he was gone. All she could hear was the sound of his screams somewhere close. It was devastating. Poor Daniel.
Arynn found a secluded stair well at the end of the hall. It was much darker than the corridor and the first surgical room that she landed in. Once again she proceeded with caution. Down the stairs she went, back to the first level. She hoped that there was nothing waiting for her down there.
There was no sound, no breeze, all was stagnant and quiet. It was as if time stopped and the hospital remained silent in its dusty necropolis. Human remains were left in the positions that the blast put them in. One dirt-covered skeleton was stuck behind a table while another one was reduced to a pile next to a nearby vending machine. All hell broke loose that day and Arynn saw it all. To her left was a security room and to her right was the janitorial area. She went for the door labeled "security." Inside there was no dirt from the streets or any type of disturbance. Only papers on the floor and turned off monitors. On the wall was a key rack. To Arynn's surprise two single keys still remained. She reached for one that read, "001" while the other read, "B4." Hmmm… she thought to herself. These keys must lead to somewhere. Stuffing them into her chest pocket, she continued to snoop around the small room. On the wall opposite the monitors, was a layout of the hospital grounds inside of a glass covered bulletin board. She used the back of her gun to bang through and took the map. It was definitely going to come in handy. There was another piece of paper stuck to the board. It called attention to a certain room in one of the basement levels. Room B4. It had caution typed in bold plastered on the top and bottom of the sheet. There was also a symbol that Arynn had known far too well…the Umbrella symbol with a bio-hazard sign next to it. Whatever she was looking for had to be there…
She left the room and hoped to find another batch of stairs leading down to the subterranean levels of the hospital.
