On the other side of the door, Chris and Lady swept the corridor they had arrived in. Nero, behind them, couldn't help but pinch his nose. Smells like poisoned flesh in here. True, rotten flesh was no great scent either, but he'd gotten more than used to that.
The reason for the rotten flesh became clear very soon. As they moved in further, they saw two people in the hallway; one on the floor in obvious agony, the other hunched over him. Lady tensed for a moment before realizing that whoever it was wasn't trying to eat the other.
The person turned to look at them; they saw it was a young woman with short hair and a worried look. "Y-you…you're alive!"
Chris nodded, lowering his pistol. "Officer Chris Redfield of S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team. I've drafted these two…" he said, nodding to Lady and Nero, "as recruits during this investigation."
Lady blinked. "…Drafted?"
"Consider yourself deputized," he said with a brief grin, before turning back to the woman and man. "Richard! What the hell happened?!"
The woman gave a shudder as Richard tried to lift himself up. "Chris…Get everyone out of here…this hellhole…it's full of demons…"
"Save your strength, Richard," the woman said, hushing him. "Don't talk for now, okay?"
Lady knelt down next to Richard. "Demons are our stock in trade, officer," she said gently. "Just point us in the right direction and we'll get you a little payback."
"I appreciate the thought, but we've got more pressing matters," the woman said sternly. "He's been bitten by a poisonous snake."
"And based on the bite mark, it wasn't a small one," Nero commented.
Richard shook his head slightly, a twisted smile on his face. "Hell no…a damn monster…" Then he grimaced.
"He needs serum right now if there's any chance of helping him," the woman said to Chris. "There should be some in a room on the first floor under a staircase."
A look of comprehension dawned on Nero's face. "Tons of other medical supplies in it?"
She nodded vigorously. "Yes, that's the one! Please hurry."
Nero nodded. "You three stay here with him. I'll be right back!" Ignoring Lady's protests, he sprinted back out the door they had entered.
"A musical score?" Jill said, confused.
Dante looked up from the dead zombie and at the piece of paper in her hand. "What song?"
She frowned. "It does look familiar…but I can't find the name, and it's just one page. Without something to play it on, I couldn't tell you."
Dante perked up at that. "Oh, you've got an ear for music, too? What's your instrument? Drums? Bass? You don't look like much of a key-tar player…"
She gave him a look of pure bewilderment. "Uh…piano, actually."
Dante scratched his chin. "Hmm…" He wasn't especially familiar with classic music, but it was okay at times, and piano could fit in with rock if you did it right. He couldn't recall ever playing it personally, though.
"Don't say it," she warned.
He blinked. "Don't say…?"
"You know what."
Well, what the heck is that supposed to- Oh. Oh, come on!
"Please. I'm too clever for that obvious of a line."
She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good." She tucked the musical score into her pockets. "Something tells me this is here for a reason."
As they turned to leave the room, Dante smirked. "Jill?"
"Yes?"
"We could, you know."
"Dante…" she warned.
"Just sayin'…"
Nero burst into the room, his eyes darting all around the shelves. "Where is it, where is it…"
His eyes noticed a large note on the highest shelf. It read: Up Here. The Brown Bottle. –Mar
He swiped the bottle in question. According to the label, it was an antivenin serum designed to…oh, screw it, it had to be the stuff! He pocketed it, racing back out of the room. No time for second-guessing. If he's right, I can at least save one person. If not… He clenched his left hand. Then there's gonna be another dead body by the time this is through.
"Do you hear that?"
Dante stopped, listening. He had been wondering which direction it was coming from, actually, but the halls in this place echoed too damn much. "…A piano, huh? Think it's got anything to do with our music?" he whispered.
Jill nodded, then frowned. "But why…" They both froze, however, when they heard a man's voice.
"No, no…that's the police department's version…what did it sound like here? Something like…this maybe?"
A slightly different tune was playing now. Jill could've sworn that it sounded familiar, but how, she had no idea…
They edged closer, and they could finally tell where the music was coming from. Moving quickly but quietly, they came up to the door. Jill could still hear the music playing its oddly nostalgic melody. She nodded to Dante, and he drew his pistols. She quickly opened the door and they both moved into the room, guns drawn.
They were in an area with a bar, a few bookcases, and of course, a piano. The music had stopped the instant they entered, and there was no one to be seen.
"So much for answers," Jill grumbled, holstering her pistol. "There wasn't anyone here at all."
"Don't be so sure," Dante said darkly. He looked at the piano as she swept the room, finding yet another note from that troublemaker.
Ah, you've made it. I must congratulate you on getting this far, though I daresay you've had your practice exploring, eh Dante? Sorry I couldn't stay, but you've got things well in hand.
There's a secret door here in this room somewhere. You should have an idea what "keys" are necessary by now, if you wish to enter the secret passage beyond. Keep up the good work! -Mar
Dante sighed, trudging over to the bar as he stuffed the note into his pocket. "Think there's anything left back there?"
Jill quirked an eyebrow. "You're going to drink something alcoholic in a place full of undead and insane architecture? Is that really safe?"
Well…damn. "Killjoy," he murmured. Still, had to try. Now, where was that secret passage…
Nero rushed back into the room. "Got it!" He handed it over to the woman.
"Thanks!" she said, relieved. "Miss, could you hold this?" She gave it to Lady, fishing a capped syringe out of the pouch at her waist. Before Lady could so much as respond or ask for directions, the woman abruptly pulled the bottle back out of Lady's hands. "Stay with us, Richard." She bit the cap, pulling it off the needle and spitting the cap out.
"Here…" Richard groaned as she attended to him. He held out a radio to Chris. "Take this…check the usual channels…ghh…" He let out a long sigh, and his eyes closed.
"Richard!" Chris gasped. "You aren't-!"
"He's not," the young woman assured him. "He's just passed out. After all this, I think he could use a rest." She began to dress the wound. "Strictly speaking, we shouldn't move him; but we can't just leave him here, with all the creatures in this mansion. Could you help me bring him back to that room with the serum?"
Nero and Chris ended up carrying the unconscious Richard while Lady and the other woman covered them.
"Well, now that we've got things a little more under control," Lady began, glancing at the medic, "could we get your name?"
She nodded, smiling slightly. "I'm Officer Rebecca Chambers. Good to meet you." She looked at Lady curiously. "So…who are you two, exactly?"
"Well, that's kind of a long story…"
By the time they'd reached the supply room and laid Richard down to rest, Lady had told a highly edited version of how they'd gotten there.
"Paranormal investigators?" Rebecca summarized, frowning thoughtfully. "Strange; I don't think I've heard of you."
"We're from out of state," Nero said, adding at least a tiny bit of truth to the situation. "When we got wind of this, though, we figured something big might be going on that was right up our alley."
"Well, you might have been on the right track," Chris admitted. He'd been silent throughout the story, studying the two "deputies". Taking Lady's information at face value, it did fit; whatever going on here was beyond normal. However, his time as a police officer meant he took nothing at face value. There was something just a tiny bit…off about that explanation…
"I'll say," Rebecca chimed in, smiling. "You two seem to be pretty good at this. You seem pretty unique, if you don't mind my saying."
And that…well, that hit the biggest nail right on the head, didn't it? It was almost like…those two were prepared for something like this to happen. Sure, it would be prudent to stay armed when investigating stories of people eating other people, but they just seemed so…unruffled by all the insanity here. Maybe one of the victims' families had hired them? Odd that they hadn't mentioned it to the police…
"Anyway," she went on, "I'd better wait here with Richard. He'll need rest and a few more doses of serum before he's in any shape to move, but once he's better, we'll come with you." She looked around the room. "With all the supplies in here, I should be able to patch you up if you need it."
"We'll try to stay out of trouble, but we'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Rebecca." Chris smiled, and left the room.
"Do you have a gun?" Lady asked Rebecca. The medic nodded. "Good. Let's hope we can get to the bottom of this soon. I'd really like to get back home."
Rebecca gave an odd laugh. "Agreed. I've already been through one night of insanity; two is just a bit too much."
"Two?" Lady repeated. "What did you have to do last night?"
She gave a very long sigh. "Too much. Going back and forth on trains, killing giant centipedes, fighting skinless baboons-" She stopped abruptly, shaking her head. "Maybe we can talk about it another, safer time?"
Nero nodded. "Lookin' forward to it. And I'll tell you about the time I beat up a half-plant, half-dragon with a talking lady as its tongue."
Her eyes went wide. "O-okay…" And here I was worried they would think I was being ridiculous… The two left, and she started taking inventory of all her supplies. I wonder what they'll think about the man who turned into a twenty-foot tall ball of leeches?
Clung. CLANG. Clung. CLONG.
"Ugh, just stop!" Jill said, her hands over her ears. "For the fifth time, I know how to play!"
Once they'd found the remainder of the sheet music they'd been searching for (hidden behind a bookcase in…another bookcase), Dante had insisted on playing the piano piece, certain it would unlock the hidden passage. He played with enthusiasm, but…
"If I didn't know you were trying to play Moonlight Sonata, I'd think you were trying to swat a bug that was crawling across the keys. And missing constantly."
…Well, there you have it.
Dante rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, rub it in. Fine." He moved away from the piano. "Your turn."
She flipped the sheet music back to the beginning, and began to play. Much as Dante was loathe to admit, she was really good.
The instant she finished the piece, as predicted, a wall rose up, revealing a dank passageway beyond. The two explored it, finding something surprising.
"A solid gold shield? Who the hell built this place, the love child of Rube Golberg and J.D. Rockefeller?"
Indeed, there was a statue with a solid gold shield set into its base.
"…I'm more surprised that you know those names," Jill said, her eyebrow raised.
"Well, there was this one time Trish started lecturing me about business opportunities, and-" He stopped himself abruptly. "Never mind. What are we supposed to do with a solid gold shield? It's worthless as actual armor."
Jill thought for a moment. She'd seen a shield somewhere before…where was it… "Probably another puzzle piece. Can you carry it?"
He snorted. "Of course. No offense, Jill, but I don't think you could. You have any idea how much one of those weighs?"
"Do you?"
"A lot. Too much for a normal person." Nevertheless, he pulled it out of its place easily. "Lucky that I'm me. It won't fit in my pockets, though."
At that point, the wall descended back down again, making the entire passageway dark.
"Well that sucks."
It clicked. "Dante, I've seen another one of these shields before. There was another one above the fireplace in the dining room. We must have to switch them out."
"What good does that do us now? The exit sealed itself." He really didn't see what she was getting at.
"Then replace the shield." When he didn't respond, she sighed. "Humor me, would you?"
He did, and after the shield was back in place, the wall rose back into the ceiling once again.
Dante's eye twitched. "So, if I got this right…you want us to go all the way back to the dining room, pick up another shield-"
"That one's not gold, though," she reassured him quickly. "Probably wood or plastic."
"Pick up a probably wood or plastic shield," he amended, "bring it here, swap the shields out, and then we return the gold shield to the dining room, put it where the other shield was, and then something happens."
When he said it out loud, it sounded more than a little tedious. "Well…essentially, yes."
"That's…" He paused and counted on his fingers. "What, six steps of busy work? These puzzles are such a chore."
"Got any better ideas?" she snapped irritably.
He grinned in response. "Let's cut out about half those steps."
Now she was curious. Had she missed something? "And…how do we do that?"
About a minute later, they were stepping through a large hole in the wall, courtesy of that funny sword on Dante's back (seriously, there was something strange about that sword), and Dante was twisting the shield around to fit through the hole.
"You know, I keep forgetting how handy you can be, Dante. Almost makes it worth putting up with you."
"Ah, c'mon, you know you love me," he said, smirking.
She shook her head in exasperation, but a small smile threatened to cross her face. "Just don't lose that shield, you cheeky battering ram. Now let's get moving."
Another chapter done! How time flies; it feels like I just posted the previous chapter.
Hope you're enjoying so far. Please read and review, and see you next time!
