Chapter 3- So it begins… Damn
Richie is brought back to current reality with a new theory as to what happened and how this new information could save his life.
Mom got infected when Pumpkin scratched her, breaking the skin.
He concluded that in order to stay alive, he must make sure that nothing infected will break his skin.
Thank God I'm wearing layers of clothing.
With thick blue jeans, and two layers of fabric underneath his jacket, Richie sighed heavily, thankful for the breezy chill in the air. Taking one last look at Pumpkin, he makes his way down the street. Taking in the quiet surroundings, he grips his baseball bat tightly, saddened that his once lively street, has become a ghost town.
Turning right onto the stop sign, he continues his brisk walk, in full alert for the faintest sound.
I feel like I'm being watched.
Richie stops and nervously looks behind him, expecting someone to jump out, yet only the howl of the wind brushes his face, urging him to continue onward. Continuing his walk, he begins to see shopping centers in the distance, hoping that he will see some sort of life.
As he picks up the pace, he notices a dark shadowy figure in the corner of his eye, which gets his heart pumping faster, adrenaline spreading throughout the body, ready for fight or flight mode.
Looking toward the bushes, he tries to hear for the sounds that might give away the stalker, yet the wind is making it a lot more difficult than it needs to be.
Come on out, who ever you are.
Still in his tracks, Richie slowly inches away from the spot where he saw the shadowy figure, only to hear a low rumbling growl behind him.
Pumpkin?
Spinning around, Richie is met with an ugly canine, or what used to be.
WHAT THE-
before he can finish his thought the mutated mutt lunges at him, mouth open and teeth ready to chomp into his face. Instinctively Richie had his bat at the ready and was able to block the attack, yet from the force of the animal, he has fallen onto his back.
The beast caught hold of the bat, trying to pry it away from its owner.
How the hell is this dog so strong?
Richie struggles under the weight of the canine, as it continues to try and release its grip from the bat. Richie struggles to reach for his gun but is afraid that if he lets go for a second then he will lose this fight.
Oh shit oh shit.
Trying to think of another plan, Richie begins to knee the dog in the gut, yet has little affect, the infected beast continues to thrash about, hoping to rip off Richie's arms in the process. Desperation growing, Richie bets on his gun. With one final kick he lets go of his bat, sending the dog flying back only to land on its feet, taking another lunge.
Just in time, Richie retrieves his weapon and shoots the dog point blank in the face, instantly killing it as it lands onto his body.
"Ughh."
Moans Richie as the smell of the animal begins to creep up.
He smells like he has been dead for a long time, eww gross.
Shoving the animal off him, he struggles to get back on his feet, surveying his body to make sure that he isn't hurt.
Oh man, I know I should have brought the damn febreze with me.
Walking to retrieve his bat, Richie turns on his headsetted flashlight to get a better look at his assailant and as he inches closer, he covers his nose with his sleeve, unable to take in the rotting smell.
Getting a better look now, he realizes that this dog used to be a German Sheppard, yet most of its fur is gone, exposing the muscle tissue.
On a closer look, he can see a few ribs protruding out, a couple seem to have broken off.
What the hell?
Trying to keep his vomit in check, he darts his view toward the head of the animal and notices the whites of its eyes, staring ahead. Parts of the skull are cracked open, exposing parts of the brain, and that wasn't because of the bullet wound which sits in between the eyes.
Lucky shot, hopefully I'll be getting more of those kind of shots tonight.
Unable to look at the repulsive creature any longer, Richie returns his gun back in place and continues onward toward the shopping center.
Richie finally arrives to the deserted shopping center and tries his luck at the Taxago station.
Let me clean myself up really quick.
He makes his way to the side of the building looking for the restroom. Finding the blue label indicating "restroom," Richie puts his ear against the door and knocks, making sure that it's empty. Hearing no reply, he makes his way inside.
Ughh what the hell? Why are these restrooms always so disgusting?
Looking over the toilet, he sees that someone completely missed the bowl and have sprayed not only the rim, but all over the wall as well.
Idiots.
The walls are also tagged with brown graffiti.
I really really hope that is brown spray paint.
Not wanting to stay a minute longer in this disgusting room, Richie tries to wash himself off the remaining blood left from the mutated dog. Looking up at himself in the severely scratched mirror, he can barely tell who is looking back at him.
Giving a frusterated sigh, he picks up his back pack and weapons and gears up.
Leaving the shit-hole, he makes his way around to the front, seeing a large semi truck parked outside.
Yes! Someone is here.
Feeling the excitement take over, he runs toward the truck, climbing up the steps and peers inside.
Empty. He must be inside.
Leaping off the side he makes his way to the front...
"CRASH!"
A man flew out the window and landing a few feet away. Startled by the sudden outburst, Richie runs toward the poor man, only to stop dead in his tracks when he sees his ghost white eyes and sickly pale face.
Shit no!
Without another thought, Richie hides behind a gas pump and peers over to get a better look, trying to slow down his panicked breathing. Coming from the front door of the store, Richie sees a larger man, in a white shirt, with the right side of his arm covered in blood.
He continues to run toward his truck, making sure the zombie is at a safe distance.
Oh no! He's hurt!
Building up the courage, Richie starts running toward the driver.
"ARE YOU OK!?"
Yelling at the top of his lungs, startling the driver, only to make him fun faster.
"GET AWAY FROM ME! I'M NOT GOING TO GET BITTEN AGAIN BY YOU SICK FREAKS!"
Jumping into his truck the man starts the large vehicle and drives off carelessly, almost hitting Richie in the process.
He was bitten?
"Ugghhhh"Not enough time to think of what happened, Richie is greeted by the familiar groan.
Wheeling around, he sees the gas attendant walking slowly toward him.
I better get out of here.
Making a dash toward the direction of the truck that drove off, Richie sprints toward the inner district of Raccoon City. As he slows down, he is awed at how empty the streets are with no one in sight.
It feels like even the city itself is infected and slowly dying.
Lost in his own thoughts, Richie is greeted by familiar memories of this loving city...
"AAHHHHH!"
Someone yelled out, followed by gunshots. Startled by the sudden noise, Richie runs in the direction of the noise.
Someone is alive and they need help!
Followed by a few more gunshots, Richie sees a familiar place, "Emmy's!"
This diner is where Richie and his dad came to have their father son chats. Richie also recently started to take Sherry here after school and they would eat, talk and drink as many shakes as their stomachs could hold.
Feeling a pang of guilt that he hasn't gotten to the police station yet, Richie decides to detour at Emmy's, to see if there are any survivors.
Slowly walking toward the front door, he sees someone lying on the floor, with blood around the body. Having his bat at the ready, Richie slowly enters the diner, trying not to let the bells alert anyone nearby.
Successfully entering quietly, Richie walks toward the body, alert for more surprises. When he inches closer to the body, he sees to his horror that the dead body belongs to Mac, the owner of this establishment.
"Oh no, Mac… Why?"
Mac was good friends with Richie's dad, and would always give advice to Richie whenever he came in feeling blue. Seeing a bullet hole in the middle of his head, Richie realized that Mac is long gone from this world, and should give him a proper goodbye.
Finding a large apron near the counter, Richie covers the owners head.
Before he can complete the ritual, Richie hears tires screeching from outside and the sound of a car driving off.
Oh no! They're leaving.
Opening the back door, he is greeted by a gang of zombies, all walking toward the cars direction.
"Oh shit!"
Covering his mouth from the sudden outburst.
The large group of zombies stop in their tracks and slowly turn around, now heading toward Richie.
Me and my big mouth.
Seeing an opening on the side, Richie dashes down the street, easily avoiding their grasps.
It's a good thing they're slow.
Looking behind him for any followers, he slows down to catch his breath, trying to figure out which direction the survivors went. Not having enough time to catch his breath, a large explosion erupts down a couple blocks, causing Richie to fall back in surprise.
"What the hell!?"
Richie works his way up and heads toward the explosion.
Please be alive, please.
Arriving on the scene, Richie sees a fiery inferno, blazing down the street, and recognizes the semi truck.
So he did end up turning after all.
The satisfaction of proving his theory is short lived when he sees more zombies coming his way. Turning around to run, he is confronted with another group of zombies, closing the distance between them.
Damn it I'm trapped.
Not seeing any other options, Richie pulls out his Beretta and secures his bat to his back pack. Checking the ammo, he readies the weapon to the closest zombie.
"I'm sorry."
Firing the shots into the dead man's body, he sees that it has little affect on him. Aiming higher toward the head he fires, yet only grazing the ear.
"C'mon!"
Firing his last shot, hits the zombie square in the forehead, causing it to fall. Pulling out another magazine from his pocket, Richie reloads the weapon and aims for another zombie, firing a couple more missed shots. Inching his way closer to the zombie taking better aim, he fires another shot and hits the walking corpse in the left eye, causing it to scream in agony. "Now's my chance." Making a run toward the gap in the zombies barrier, Richie leaps through and continues running.
"AAAAHHHH!"
A terrifying painful scream echoes down the street, making Richie run faster.
I wont lose you again.
Turning a corner into a dark alley, he almost trips over a body that lies on the floor, but catches himself just in time. Looking down, he tries to make out the face, but only sees bullet holes instead.
I hope its no one I know.
Looking back up, he sees a sign down the alley.
Gun shop?
Checking his ammo, he reloads both clips and slowly makes his way toward the store. The closer he gets the more he hears that familiar sound of flesh being torn from bone.
Don't tell me I'm too late?
Tiptoeing closer by the window, Richie peeks around the side and holds his mouth from giving him away.
NOO!
Six zombies are feasting over a large man, or what was left of him. Anger raising, Richie walks back frustrated that he wasn't able to come in time, and frustrated that he has to continue alone.
Unable to contain his anger, Richie drops his gear and switches to the shotgun. Digging in his bag, he grabs a handful of shells and shoves them into his pocket.
"I'm tired of running."
Cocking the large weapon he slowly positions himself by the large group of cannibals.
"Eat this assholes."
Firing the shotgun at close range, shattering a couple of skulls and the recoil punches Richie hard in the shoulder.
"Ugh."
Grunting slightly from the recoil, Richie shoots again, shattering a few more skulls.
Two zombies are left and are slowly making their way up toward Richie, hungry for his young flesh. Reloading his shotgun, Richie cocks it in disgust and fires at point blank, disintegrating half their heads and down they fall.
"WHO ELSE WANTS A PIECE OF ME?!"
Richie screams in frustration.
Hearing no volunteers, Richie returns to his bag and reloads the large weapon, placing it by the wall when he is done. Looking around the shop, he decides to stock up on ammunition.
Seeing a vest on the rack, he tries it on. Fitting snugly, he inserts his pistol on the holster of the vest, and picks up more magazines for the pistol. Filling up the vest as much as possible with ammunition so that he doesn't run out during an attack. Finally finishing up the raid of the gun store, Richie grabs his back pack and shotgun and heads toward the back door.
Before leaving he sees someone he doesn't recognize by the gun rack.
Taking a closer look, he cant recognize who that person is anymore. Breaking the mirror with the butt of his shotgun, Richie walks off toward the back door, ready for what ever this dead city has to offer...
Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I really appreciate the reviews! It's exciting to see that you are all enjoying this story. Thank you and the next chapter will begin very soon! =)
A.H
