Disclaimer: All respective characters unless created by own are property of Capcom or Konami, used on basis of fanwork.

WARNING: Do not read on if you are appalled by possible depiction on themes of death, depression and explicit abnormal sexual behaviour ('Possible' as this is currently a work-in-progress). Read at your own risk.

Sachael In Purgutory: Agnus Dei

Chapter 4: Chased

Alex started walking away from the police station. The agents followed. "This town is founded by someone who hates…" Alex paused for a while to think. "…colour-bullying." "Colour-bullying?" Jill tittered while Alex became red in embarrassment.

"Um…you know, like…bullying people like Wheeler?"

Jill had to laugh out; Alex genuinely looked like he didn't know the word. "Racism?" Chris suggested. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, I can't seem to remember that word somehow." Alex immediately looked away, blushing heavily in the ears. Jill let out another loud laugh, making Alex go even redder.

Chris cringed. He stopped dead at his tracks. Something seemed awfully familiar. Alex, for whatever reason, also stopped; looking around him as if he heard something.

"Hey, Alex?"

"…yes?"

"You noticed something too?"

Jill stood silently, looking around at the townsfolk and the town, noticing nothing. "Stop it you two, you're scaring me. Is something wrong?"

"Shh," Chris brought his finger to his lips. "It's quiet…too quiet…"

"You know what? Let's walk on." Jill approached Alex cautiously. "Keep the tour going; I think we're getting to somewhere here."

"Good idea," Chris started walking as Alex continued on.

"…this is the Town Hall. It's built on top of the founder's grave. The cemetery is just beside the Town Hall. The-" A howl echoed through the sky. "…the founder of this town rejected many common religious beliefs and-" A snarl and bark echoed all around them. "…his views were shocking for his day, and so by building the Town Hall over and beside a cemetery, he mocks the common views on death."

"Kinda' complicated," Chris felt his gun. "But no time to understand it now."

"I'm not very familiar with this town, but these are the main things, at least. Maybe I should take you to the place where it all happened instead. It's very near the police station actually. Near the forest-"

A muffled scream rang in Chris' ears. Chris drew his gun with lightning speed and pointed to the voice's origin - Jill.

"Wha-?" It didn't take Chris another second to see a kidnapper with a human mask over his head cupping his big covered hands over Jill's mouth.

"Ha!" The female B.S.A.A. agent elbowed the man and with her swift reflexes, locked the now captive captor's arm behind him while she stood behind him. The pedestrians were alarmed for a second by the sound but went on their business after they couldn't determine where the sound came from. Jill let out a sigh in relief while the man grunted in pain. "So much for trying to avoid panic."

"Look buddy, why did you do that?" Alex sounded upset.

"Look, buddy, come with me to the Blake Hotel; there's no time!" The man sounded angry and frantic at the same time.

"Oh yeah? I've got time to do this!" Chris proceeded to rip off the disguise.

"NO!"

Immediately after Chris took off the mask from his head, it revealed an African-American man who yelled his protest. Without delay, he then hid his face and grabbed Alex roughly by the hand. "Cover me man, cover me," his voice was as frightened as a man facing his execution.

"Look, we'll do whatever you want, okay? J-just tell us what's going on here," Alex didn't struggle free, but was very uncomfortable. Before Chris could interrupt, Alex turned to him: "Look, I don't know what's going on here, but I think we need that mask…even if it's to calm him down." Chris hesitated, but the explanation seemed reasonable enough. Slowly and cautiously, he handed over the Caucasian mask he snatched earlier to the black man.

Just then a scream sounded. Then another. And then another shriek by a moustached man. A gruff laugh then a woman cheering and shouting without any regard for modesty.

The nightmare Chris Redfield dreaded has come true, only that it was worse; this time he could understand them. Should I laugh? Should I cry? If this is a stage show, someone might. Chris hung his whole frame down dispiritedly. The whole town charged towards their direction, yelling only one thing:

"NEGRO!"

Shit? God-damnit? I wonder what I'm going to use to curse.

If there's someone out there, they'd better be laughing; cause' this is the joke of the century.

BANG

"I'll make sure the joke's on you now, not the B.S.A.A!" a smile tugged the end of Chris's lips as his handgun's barrel smoked. Tricell's scheme on global domination made the other funders cease their support and the B.S.A.A. a joke to the common, and mostly, ignorant folk. The shot disabled a woman's leg as she fell face-first in the dirt.

"Quick draw as usual," Jill kicked down her former assailant. "But with those muscles you would think they'll be talking about drawing a broadsword." Unsheathing her handgun from her thigh strap, she nodded to Chris: "Got you covered, partner"

"As always." Chris snorted at Jill's remark that he just did not have the time to reply to. "To the nearest building! Let's move!"

"Move, move it!"

"Right!" Alex helped the stunned black man up. "Come on, let's go!"

Jill ran ahead of the unarmed men, clearing a path by kicking a fat man flat in the face. As their attacks increased, so did the townspeople's rage by ten-fold. They ran until the mob became a lesser beeline behind them instead of a wall of people with power and numbers. "The nearest building!" Chris directed. "Go!"

"This should do the trick!" Jill threw a flash grenade into the mob and the other two took the opportunity of the confusion to open the door of a house. The agents followed. Alex was ready with a chair to barricade the door. "Good job, soldier." Chris panted. "T-thanks," Alex handed Chris another heavy chair to add weight to the resistance they were building.

As effect of the grenade subsided, the crowd slowly but surely started to disperse, losing sights of their targets. In the house, the curtains were drawn and the only natural light source was from the top of the roof high above. In an instant the room became bright. Chris looked around to see the black man earlier turning on a switch which lighted up all the wall lamps in the spacious room.

Alex came up to Jill. "Are you hurt?" Jill, a bit taken aback by Alex's approach, stood stunned for a few seconds before answering: "Yes, thankyou…" Alex, looking concerned and with admiration at Jill at the same time, answered: "I'm glad. I've never seen anyone let alone any woman move like that. That was amazing." Jill smiled at the compliment. She was also glad to see the look of Alex's now slightly spirited face.

They were interrupted by a frightened cry from the black man. "Yo, man. Down with the guns, man!" Chris, as alert as ever, was securing the man's position by pointing his trusty handgun at him. "Alright. I know you're not one of the infected one out there, but tell me what's going on."

"Yo! I'm not talkin' to you or anyone about anythin' if you point that sucker at me. I tell you you take that gun and put em' down, right now!" The man held up his hands in apprehension. Chris, refusing to back down, held his stance.

The room froze in silence. For a time or two, the thump on the locked and barricaded door made them jump; it was the most likely the townsfolk's less aggressive attempt to look for them.

After what seemed like five minutes later, Alex cautiously approached Chris and pressed Chris' arm. Chris, jumping a bit, turned to the person who touched him. In the corner of his eye, he saw Alex intently looking at him in the eye.

For the first time, he got an eye contact from the man who just simply refused to look at him. And he did just the opposite for a stranger whose life is (supposedly) threatened.

It was brief, but that'll do.

With a quick sigh, he lowered his handgun and half-glared at the black man. "So what's going on here?" The man shrugged at Chris hesitantly. Chris ran out on petty patience. "Look, you got saved by this guy over here because he looked at me in the eye for the first time in my life for me to put my gun down. Now tell me what the Hell's going on here before I run out of patience!"

"Alright," the black man calmed down. "Look, these past few days have been crazy! I saw you with another black guy comin' into town. That's why I had to nab you to talk to you. I'm sorry!"

"Go on," Jill listened attentively.

"These past few days...I don't know what's going on but those whiteys out there are lynching us blacks like crazy!"

Chris, shocked, turned to Alex. "I thought you said this town was exactly opposite of what he said it is…Unless…" Alex turned sharply to the black man.

"Hey, did the citizens have reddish-orange eyes?"

The black man had his mouth gaped open at them like they were totally crazy.

Chris and Jill's heartbeat stopped when the frantic man threw his arms in the air, exclaiming.

"What reddish-orange eyes!?"

TBC