Raccoon City: Demon's Gate
Chapter 9
By Windra



"Who's there?" Rowan said solemnly, her Colt Python trained on the shadows of the two figures ahead of her.

There was a pause for a moment, as though the two figures were surprised. Then a familiar voice piped up.

"Rowan?" the first person asked. "Is that you?"

Rowan froze, a feeling of joy overwhelming her when she recognized the voice. The two figures slowly made their approach, and she could make them both out. She let out a long sigh of relief as the two people walked into the light, revealing Carlos Oliveira and Brad Vickers.

"You're allright!" Carlos exclaimed. "What happened to you?"

"It's a looooong story," Rowan sighed, holstering her colt and looking around the room. She looked up, suddenly, her eyes wide. "You guys okay? Where's Jill?"

There was a moment of silence, and Rowan felt a feeling of dread tie a knot in her throat.

"We'll bring you to the chapel," Brad said. "Jill's there, and the place seems safe."

Rowan nodded, following them silently as they lead thee way.

**********

The chapel was a small room with small rows of chairs on either side of the room. There was a chest to the right of the door, and an alter and an organ were in the front of the room. Jill was lying on top of the alter, covered up with some curtain drapes Carlos and Brad had found, and her head rested on a makeshift pillow. She was twitching and fidgeting uncontrollably, giving soft moans of despair. Her face was flushed, showing that she had a fever, and her right shoulder was bloody.

Rowan was silent and sat down in one of the the rows of chairs. Carlos and Brad sat across from her, and Brad started to explain what happened.

"While you were gone," he said, "we were being chased around the city by that monster. Carlos lead us to a cable car where two other U.B.C.S. soldiers, Mikhail and Nicholai, were. Mikhail was shot by someone before he came to the cable car. We had to run around town to find supplies to start up the trolley, and while we were looking around, Jill met Nicholai in one of the buildings. She said that she found some supplies in the building, and she said that Nicholai told her that he was trying to contact somebody to help us on his laptop. A group of zombies attacked while Jill was in another room and Nicholai was in the front room. She said she looked for Nicholai in the spot he was in, but he was gone... Probably dragged away by the carriers."

"So," Carlos cut in, "we came back to the trolley to fix it up, and Jill told us that Nicholai wouldn't be joining us. We got the cable car fixed and started to leave...and then that monster came. Mikhail was in the back car, and when Brad and Jill went in to find out what was going on, the thing started heading for them. So Mikhail told them to get out, and...." Carlos swallowed, looking down at the tiled floor. "He sacrified himself to save them. He pulled a grenade in the back car..."

Brad took over the story. "...The trolley went out of control, and Carlos hit the emergency break before we crashed into the yard of the clock tower. We found out that a signal was sent out when the bells at the top of the tower go off, but we needed a gear to get them to work. We headed back down, but were attacked by the thing again. We got together and pushed it off the side, then started looking for the gear. We found a puzzle and solved it, got the gear, and went back to the tower where the gears for the bells were set up. We put it in, and a few minutes later, a helicopter arrived..."

"The helicopter was about to land," Carlos continued, "and then it came. The monster somehow got back up and used its rocket launcher on the chopper. The copter crashed into the building, and then the monster went after Brad and Jill. It went after Jill first, and it gave her a flesh wound to the right shoulder. Brad and I got in its way, and it went after us. I fired into the chamber of the launcher, and it exploded on the monster. We brought Jill to a chapel inside the tower, and she's still there now."

"Is she infected?" Rowan asked.

"We're not sure," Brad answered. "She's been going in and out of consiousness. There should be a vaccine for it...Umbrella had to create one in case something went wrong. We're trying to figure out where we can find it..."

Carlos' face looked panic stricken and worried.

"What about you?" he asked. "What happened?"

Rowan sighed and began to tell them her story. She told them about the journal of Janice Thomlinson, about how Nicholai almost shot her. She told them about when she found Thomlinson's body, and about the giant creature that began to stalk her in the sewers. Rowan told them all the events she went through that led up to where she was now.

Carlos and Brad's mouth were wide open.

"So Nicholai's against us?" Brad asked.

"Seems like it," Rowan murmered.

"Can I see the journal?" Carlos wondered.

Rowan nodded and opened up her item pouch, grabbing the black journal that stuck out of it. She pulled it out and handed it to Carlos, who started flipping through the pages immediantly. His eyes widened with every passage he read.

"So...d'you think he's still alive?"

"I dunno," Rowan answered. "I think so. He's probably looking for the other Watchdogs."

"And that monster," Brad cut in, "the Nemesis, it was programmed to get the S.T.A.R.S. members. But how'd they manage to program the thing?"

"Like Jill said," Carlos grinned, "Umbrella is definitely 100% batshit."

Rowan snickered and looked around the room. Suddenly, she jerked her head towards Brad and Carlos.

"The hospital," she said solemnly.

"Huh?" Carlos questioned.

"I get it," Brad concluded. "Maybe the vaccine's at the hospital. There had to be some Umbrella agents working there. Maybe they hid the vaccine there..."

He stood up.

"Guess we should check it out?" he asked.

"Shouldn't you stay here?" Rowan inquired. "With Nemesis running around, he's be after either you or Jill in a heartbeat."

"If I stayed, Jill and I would be cornered. If we split up, though, it might get confused."

"I'll come," Rowan said. "I know this city like the back of my hand. I could lead you to the place."

Carlos stood up. "I'll stay here and protect Jill. You guys go to the hospital and try to find the vaccine."

Rowan sighed, unholstering her Colt and nodding.

"Just be careful," she whispered. "Nemesis is out, and so is the other monster. They might come after you..."

Carlos nodded and grinned, holding up his M16.

"Don't worry 'bout it," he told them.

Rowan and Brad shook thier heads as Carlos grinned and sat down. They turned towards the door and began to open it.

"Be careful," Carlos said to them as they walked out the door.

**********

Behemoth watched from its spot on the roof of the clock tower as two people emerged from the door of the clock tower. One of them was the girl it wasn't able to catch, but the second was a new person. Now there was more prey. Behemoth gave a soft hiss that wouldn't be heard by the people and slowly crawled down the building, slinking into the shadows as its feet met the ground.

It sensed that something was nearby. Narrowing its eyes, Behemoth looked back up to the rooftop to see another figure sitting and watching the humans. Behemoth's attention was so focused on the two humans that it didn't notice that it was there. The thing was almost like a giant human monster Behemoth had seen wandering aimlessly around the streets, except it was bigger and...different.

The creature gave a soft growl, completely ignoring Behemoth. The crocodile hybrid shrugged it off, turning to follow the two humans through the darkness.

**********

Rowan and Brad walked slowly through the dark streets, the corners and buildings concealed in shadows of the late afternoon. The haze of smoke from the burning buildings and cars built up in the air, blocking the sunlight. The thick smell of bile and rot was thick in the air, and screams from other survivors being ripped to pieces echoed through the whole city. A number of bodies were on the ground, and they were sure to step over the bottom half of their body in case they weren't really dead. Two of the bodies they stepped over reached out in a feeble attempt to grab their legs, but the two ignored them.

Rowan held her Colt tightly, looking around keenly. She had a feeling that something was watching her, and she didn't like it. Shaking her head, she continued to walk, staring at the shadows-

-and a low, throaty growl erupted behind them. Brad and Rowan swung around almost instantly, and were confronted with a nightmare familiar to Rowan.

**********

Cliffhanger! Found out when the Resident Evil Movie was coming out, should be out on March 15. Rumors are going around that they're gonna make a game out of the movie. Anyway, does anyone know how to use HTML? It's not working for me at all...C-ya!