Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or any songs used in the titles. They all belong to their respective owners.

I actually finished another chapter. Sorry to say though, that I might not have another up until Monday. Working weekends is a son of a bitch.

On with it then.

Chapter Nine: The Trooper Iron Maiden

After a few long minutes I had made it into the city limits, the run leaving me short of breath. All of this running wasn't what it is cracked up to be. Quickly I took a rest near a small shop that was part of a long strip of brick stores, like the older parts of downtowns, on the left side of the road. The shop consisted of a large front window with a well-lit interior as well as a single door on the right of the window. I took a quick scan of the area after viewing the store and noticed that there was another strip of them on the other side of the road as well, the rest of them looking much like this one. There were more cars in the street as well, but not as close together as the ones I previously escaped from. There was plenty of room to maneuver around the street in case of a confrontation. From the faded light I couldn't tell what was inside of them, but I had to be weary.

I took another look at the shop. The store I was standing in front of looked to be a bookstore, useless to me in my current situation. What was I going to do read everything to death with a monotone voice? The answer was simple; No. What would be useful is more ammo or even a decent melee weapon. Unfortunately for me, the stores in my immediate vicinity all contained nothing of the sort; that was all further into hell.

I let out a sigh and stood up from my resting position, drawing my M92F yet again and making sure it was ready to fire, and began my trek further into town. I knew that when the B.S.A.A. arrived they would head for a central location in the city to evenly cover ground so that's where I was going, but I had no idea how long it would take for them to arrive. It could be tomorrow or it could be within the week, I just had to survive until then.

"Easier said than done." I thought to myself, "Should be fun.". I knew damn well that I was going to want to scream after this. Pretty much everything I have come across wanted me dead.

By the time I was half-way up the strip my shades began to blink a familiar message: /Danger Imminent\. "Again?" I questioned, annoyed, "What is it this time?" My question was answered by signatures that began to appear on the glasses. Zombies began to come out of cars and shops alike, amassing into a small horde. The glasses informed me of the usual stats as well their numbers. There were thirteen shamblers hobbling for me.

I had the ammo to deal with them, but what if I needed more of it further down the road? My only other weapon was the knife I was given, but it had a short blade incapable of going deep enough to sever anything.

Coming to a conclusion, I raised my gun and opened fire on the nearest zombie, hitting it in the head and laying it to rest forever. I shot three others, scoring headshots on two of them but only hitting another in the neck, the bullet taking a decent chunk with it. I quickly holstered my weapon as the zombie I just shot in the neck drew closer. It lunged for me, but I dodged to the side while moving to get behind it. I reached and grabbed the zombie beneath the chin and pressed my shoe against its back while pulling with my hands. The rest of the zombie's neck finally ripped away and I gave a quick twist to break the bones. Four down, nine to go.

I moved to the next zombie and swept kicked it, knocking it to the ground. From there I simply stomped its face in. Another moved in quickly and grappled with me, knocking my glasses off. It pulled its head back to get ready to bite and as soon as it came forward I head-butted the zombie and kicked it away. It stumbled backwards and struggled to gain its balance again so I used this opportunity to rush forward and use my shoulder to knock it down. The bastard fell back and cracked its head open on the curb, killing it instantly.

Using my momentum and quick burst of anger I ran forward and threw a punch as hard as I could straight into another flesh eater's chest. The force, coupled with the rotting state of the individual, caused the zombie's ribcage to cave and my fist to break through it. I grabbed hold of its heart before it could retaliate and ripped it out. It beat for a few seconds while the zombie merely stood there, finally collapsing moments later. Seven finished. This was getting eerily fun.

Two others ganged up and tried to eviscerate me. I threw the heart I held into the face of one while I grabbed the other by the arm. I swung him around and buried his head into the nearest car, crushing the skull and thankfully not setting off the alarm. Before the other could recuperate I used an uppercut with more anger focused on the punch to decapitate the zombie internally.

I drew my pistol again and shot another three in the head before putting it away again, feeling even more satisfied. Seven bullets down as well as twelve zombies. In my fit of rage I had lost sight of the last one and couldn't track it.

"Where did you go, bastard?" I said as I looked around me. The last zombie seemed to have vanished and to make matters worse it began to rain. Not a very heavy rain, but enough to slowly wet the environment and create noise. After a few moments the rain began to bring out the smell of the carnage that was before me. I ignored it as I looked for the last shambler.

As I slowly turned around I felt a force jump me from behind and pin me to the ground. Shortly after, I felt an intense pain in my shoulder. The son of a bitch tackled and bit me. Feeling the anger return I raised an elbow into the prick's face and knocked it back enough for me to roll over. The zombie lunged again, but I used my legs to kick it back onto the road and it fell on its back. I used this time to crawl over to a nearby car and use it to support myself as I got back up. I stood off to the side, by the door.

"Intelligent fucker, aren't you?" I stated as I looked at the zombie. As it struggled to get up, I saw why. Its skin began to rot and fall away quickly as the muscle tissue became exposed to air, giving it a pinkish red appearance. Its jaw opened up further as the teeth began to fall out, replaced shortly after by much larger and sharper teeth. I then realized what it was; a bloodshot. These assholes were a nuisance in the virtual world, and now they're a reality.

Just then, the bloodshot's chest opened up and revealed its heart, still beating. I sought to end that. This bastard bit me and as far as I know I may not survive it, it had to pay. As the chest cavity snapped back shut the beast thrust its upper body forward with enough force to throw itself through the air towards me, parting the rain as it went.

"Oh no you don't!" I shouted as I grabbed the car door's handle and yanked it open. The bloodshot crashed through the window and it hung halfway through. I delivered a straight kick into its dome, knocking it out of the window and onto the ground next to the car. I slammed the car door shut to remove the obstacle between me and the bloodshot.

Its chest opened again to reveal its heart, probably a way of recuperating. This time, the zombie had made the mistake as I lurched forward and buried my knee into its chest. It tried to swipe at me, but its ribs were in the way and my leg as keeping the rips open. As it struggled to unpin itself from the ground I reached for my knife and pulled it from its sheath. I reversed the grip of the knife and looked at the creature's heart, slowly beating and becoming soaked with rain.

"Die, you son of a bitch." I spat angrily and drove the knife into its heart, causing it to cry out in pain. I stabbed again, and again. By the time I had finished the heart was barely beating, a few pumps every few moments, but that was it. I slowly stood up. The monster's rib cage barely closed shut as it lay in pain. Seeing this, I quickly finished it by crouching near its head, delivering more enraged punches with my good arm to its cranium and eventually cracking the skull open. After standing back up I noticed the bloodshot had finally expired and I felt the familiar satisfaction return.

I looked around me. Thirteen zombies lay dead, and I killed them all myself. I was satisfied, but I was quickly reminded of the pain where the last zombie bit me. I looked at my shoulder and saw the deep bite mark. Unfortunately, whatever Wesker gave me to cause my heart to seize wasn't making the wound heal. I had to find a treatment to at least get the wound to heal and quickly, I didn't need to sit and bleed and attract the whole neighborhood to fresh blood. I walked up to my shades and folded them up, tucking them into my pocket.

I looked in one of the stores and noticed it contained basic hardware, but nothing that would've aided in my previous endeavor. I opened the door slowly and aimed my gun in. After a few moments, when nothing lunged from the shadows, I holstered my gun and walked in and closed the door. I needed to cauterize the wound. On one shelf I noticed an apron and on another I found a grinder.

"Perfect." I said as I grabbed the apron. I knew what came next so I quickly tied a knot into one end of the apron. I put my knife down on the table. Checking the shelves further I found some metal irons lying around. I grabbed one and set it next to the grinder along with a pair of gloves. After checking that sufficient power was supplied I flicked the grinder on. As it ran I held the iron against the grinder evenly, causing sparks to fly and the iron to heat on the bottom. After a few moments, the iron was beginning to radiate extreme heat.

"Well, this is it." I stated aloud, nervous of what was to come next. I grabbed the knotted end of the apron and placed it between my teeth. I bit down and held the iron in my gloved hand. Before I could have any second thoughts I thrust the iron against my shoulder, causing me to bite down harder on the knot and the blood to bubble and harden as well as burning the surrounding skin. After an excruciating moment or so of burning and wanting to scream, I pulled the iron away from the wound and threw it down, still biting the knot.

After a while, I spit out the knot and looked at the wound. It wasn't bleeding and was definitely sterile, at least the top was. I couldn't tell if the virus had gotten any further, but I had no way of taking care of it anyway. I sat in silence, watching the rain outside slowly begin to dissipate and stop. When a few minutes had passed I let out a small chuckle.

"Oh yeah, really fun." I thought as I stood up to leave the store. I wiped my knife off on the apron and sheathed it, once again heading deeper into hell as I left the shop.

Lyrics

The Trooper Iron Maiden

You'll take my life but I'll take yours too

You fire your musket but I'll run you through

So when you're waiting for the next attack

You'd better stand there's no turning back

The bugle sounds the charge begins

But on this battlefield no one wins

The smell of acrid smoke and horse's breath

As we march on into certain death

Ooooooohhh

Ooooooohhh

The horse he sweats with fear we break to run

The mighty roar of the Russian guns

And as we race towards the human wall

The screams of pain as my comrades fall

We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground

And the Russians fire another round

We get so near yet so far away

We won't live to fight another day

Ooooooohhh

Ooooooohhh

We get so close near enough to fight

When a Russian gets me in his sights

He pulls the trigger and I feel the blow

A burst of rounds take my horse below

And as I lay there gazing at the sky

My body's numb and my throat is dry

And as I lay forgotten and alone

Without a tear I draw my parting groan

Ooooooohhh

Ooooooohhh

I do not own this song.

And there we have it, the end of chapter 9. That was fun to imagine and it's just the beginning of the shitstorm that lies ahead. I look forward to more from you guys as well.