Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2
Chapter Ten: The Green Ranch
"Oh, son of a bitch…"
The television had suddenly gone out in Doug's shot. Gray was trying to get it to work again when Danny looked outside the window and froze.
"Everybody shut up."
At first not everybody heard him, so he made himself a little clearer.
"Guys! Shut it…"
His harsh whisper caught everyone's attention. When they looked at Danny, he gestured with his head towards the window.
There were three zombies, a man, woman and child, and they were wandering around outside, dangerously close to the building. Neither Doug nor Gray knew who they were, nor did Ann for that matter, but Danny perfectly recognized them despite their rotted appearances.
It was Wally, his wife Chris, and their son Hugh; the three of them had been Forget-me-not Valley residents before the virus struck the peaceful countryside.
"They're not people from around here…" observed Doug quietly as he peeked out of the window.
"Turn that damn thing off!" hissed Ann, silently as she could, at Gray. She was referring to the T.V., which had been displaying static. But as Gray reached for the power button, Danny said, "No, they'll notice the change in the noise!"
Gray paused, then slowly turned to face Danny.
"Trust me on this one," Danny muttered.
Gray then looked over to Ann, who gave a mere shrug, and then slumped off over to the corner, where he sat in a chair.
"What are we supposed to do about these guys?" asked Doug, who had gotten away from the window to talk with Danny beside the counter.
"Do you have any weapons to use against them?" Danny inquired.
Doug shook his head.
"Then we do nothing," Danny said simply. "Just hope they go away, something like that."
"And if they don't?" asked Gray moodily from his corner.
There was a silence.
"Well, we'll just have to wait and see for that one, won't we?"
-
The Mayor had been watching through his window, and unwillingly had he witnessed the Potion Shop owner get torn open by a dead sheep. Now the sheep was out of sight, and the mangled body of the old man lay alone out in the open nearby the Midwife's house. He wondered if the Midwife herself was still alive.
"Will you stop peeking out that window? It's making me anxious…"
Sighing, the Mayor slipped his head back through the curtains covering the window and turned to face his wife, who had been sitting at the table drinking tea like there was no tomorrow.
"Dear, do you really have to drink so much tea?" the Mayor asked inquiringly. "We only have so much…"
"It's better than gulping down that alcohol rubbish," his wife said indignantly. "It does things to your system, and I'd be better off without those changes."
"I can understand that," said the Mayor patiently. "But give the drinking a rest, dear."
"I'll do what I please, thanks," mumbled his wife irritably after another swig that emptied her cup. "Just because you're the Mayor doesn't mean you get to boss your wife around."
"I didn't mean –" the Mayor began, but his wife interrupted him.
"Just forget it," she said. "Go… go look out the window again, or something."
The Mayor sighed and slowly pulled the curtains aside again, his thoughts wandering.
Jack had been right. That strange man, who told him all those things, had been right. It all started with a bunch of rumors, rumors that turned out to be true…
What brought this travesty upon his fair town? What did anybody here do to deserve this?
Unanswered questions rattled the Mayor's brain as he stared dismally out from his window.
-
Elli and Jeff, having no T.V., didn't realize what had been going on outside the past few hours. Elli watched as Jeff headed for the door.
"Where are you doing?" she asked.
Jeff turned around to face her.
"Out," he said flatly.
Elli raised her eyebrows.
"Whatever happened to staying inside because of the 'virus?'" she said innocently.
Jeff scowled.
"I need a small break," he muttered. "Don't go anywhere, okay?"
Elli shrugged. "Whatever… just don't take long, like you always say…"
Jeff walked out, almost slamming the door as he left.
He looked around.
Flowerbud village had changed that day. Nobody was around. The afternoon sky cast an orange ray down upon the town; nightfall would surely arrive in the next few hours. There was also an unnerving smell that caught Jeff's nostrils; it almost smelled like some sort of gas…
Jeff walked out beside the church. He noticed that curtains were covering each window except for the higher ones. The Flower shop had an almost abandoned look to it; it's lights were out and nobody was moving inside, as far as he could see.
Jeff gave a shudder. It seemed unusually cold. Then he cast another look up at the sky, and noticed for the first time that clouds were beginning to form. Was there going to be rain tonight?
He lowered his head and gazed forward, and then something caught his eye.
He paused.
Two men had just walked past out on the intersection, dressed in the strangest clothes he had ever seen. But he only got a good look at them for about two seconds – the entrance to the crossroads was very narrow.
"What the hell?" he said aloud.
-
Ben and Tito were heading towards the Green Ranch property, casting looks over at the Flowerbud Ranch to make sure there weren't any zombies left there.
As they approached the entrance, Ben (who was in front) put an arm out to stop Tito. They both crouched.
"You see something?" Tito asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
Ben nodded. "Three of the blighters."
"So, what's the plan?"
Ben looked around.
"Right, you go over the fence and head to the left, go around that building and wait for my signal to open fire – use your submachine gun. I'll go to the right and hide out in the fields, they surely won't notice me easily there. Right, ready? Go!"
As they separated, Jeff came out into the intersection and saw them quietly leaping over the fence in different directions. Tito positioned himself beside the wall of Doug's shop, and for a heart-wrenching second Jeff thought the Lieutenant spotted him – but he apparently didn't, as he quickly disappeared around the corner.
And then Jeff spotted them – the walking, groaning corpses of Wally, Chris and Hugh.
It was true? A virus that makes the dead walk? It had come here, to Flowerbud village? And who the hell were those men, anyway?
He had to get a closer look. In a crouched position, he quickly headed towards the fence and tried to get a closer look at the three dead people outside of Doug's shop. As he passed the entrance to Flowerbud Ranch, he neglected to notice that the body of Harris was now moving.
The child had approached the living quarters across from the shop and was banging almost lazily upon the door with his fists. A dull thud was heard with every hit. In the silence it was almost unnerving.
Meanwhile, Ben had successfully hidden himself in the grassfields, where several cows were still grazing lazily, taking no notice of the decayed strangers wandering the property.
Any moment now, the fun would begin. Jeff didn't know what he was getting himself into.
-
Ann had noticed Tito sneaking alongside the back wall though one of the windows. Frightened, she got up from the counter and bumped into Danny, who turned, startled.
"What is it?" he whispered.
Ann looked at him, and then pointed toward the window she was just next to.
Danny moved slowly over to it and tried to get a look outside. Just then, Tito appeared on the other side. Danny jumped a little, but wasn't all that startled.
Tito put a single finger against his lips in a motion of telling them to be quiet. Then he disappeared from view again.
Danny turned to face the others. Doug and Gray had stopped what they were doing; apparently Ann told them somebody else was around.
"It's help," he said quietly. "They're probably here to get rid of those guys."
Ann nodded, calming herself down. She walked over beside the front window and cautiously looked outside of it at the three zombies ambling around.
-
Tito could see Ben in the fields, hiding beside one of the grazing cows. He waved his hand slowly so that Ben would notice him. He did.
Ben nodded, then rummaged hastily through his backpack and got out a submachine gun. Then he looked back up and gave Tito a thumbs-up.
Just then, a twig snapped somewhere behind Tito.
And then several things happened at once.
-
Jeff paused. He was certain the man heard him step on that twig. He heard shuffling, and then the man appeared around the corner, facing him holding a submachine gun in his hands.
"Wait!" Jeff cried out. "I'm hu –"
He never finished. Tito opened fire, and Jeff was riddled with bullets. The gunshots rang out into the day as Jeff fell to the ground. Tito got a good look at him, and then he realized his mistake.
"Oh, shit!" he yelled. "Fuck! Shit, oh fuckin' shit…"
Jeff lay dying on the ground, sputtering blood from his mouth. But then Tito became aware of more gunshots – ones that weren't his own.
Ben had emerged from the fields, firing away at the Wally zombie. Bullets sprayed him and he fell down. Chris and Hugh had turned upon hearing the first gunshot from Tito; now Chris was lunging for Ben. Hugh, however, was lingering back around the shop.
Tito had emerged from behind the shop. Before Ben could question him, Chris had become awfully close. He fired at her waist, but only a few bullets came out before his clip ran dry. Chris stumbled, but remained standing.
"Damn!" Ben yelled, tripping and falling backwards into the fields. Chris remained in pursuit, but Tito took his own submachine gun and blasted away, this time aiming at her head. Several bullets punctured her skull, the rest either hitting her shoulders or just flying straight by. Chris fell limp to the ground in a heap.
Tito helped Ben up, and they both turned to find Hugh.
They didn't need to search for long.
Hugh charged straight into them, knocking them both flat and landing atop Tito.
-
Ann had returned to the counter, sitting in front of the back window. She didn't feel like watching anymore.
"How're they handling it?" Gray asked from his corner. He hadn't moved since he placed himself there.
"I can't really see them now," Doug muttered, straining to catch a look through the front window. "But I want to know what that entire racket was behind us was…"
"Oh, you saw that guy," Gray said. "He probably kicked some dead guy's ass."
Ann and Danny were quiet. Danny had been beside the door, minding his own business, but when he looked up and saw what was behind the back window he suddenly had something else to worry about.
"Ann!" he yelled suddenly. "Behind you!"
Confused, Ann turned only her head around towards the window, but by then it was already too late.
Harris came crashing through the back window, landing atop Ann, who had been beginning to turn her whole body towards him. They both fell to the ground, Ann screaming as the zombified Harris made attempts to eat her.
Before anyone could help her, though, the door suddenly crashed down and in came another person only Danny could recognize.
Grant got up from the floor and stumbled towards them.
"Do something!" Gray yelled. He had left his corner; he and Doug were both behind Danny. But Doug was worried about something else.
"ANN!" he screamed. "ANN!"
Danny grabbed a table lamp from Doug's desk and tried hitting Grant on the head with it. The lightbulb inside shattered, spraying sharp pieces of it onto Grant's head. The zombie stuttered, letting out an angry moan.
"Gray!" Danny called out. "Get something from the counter, quick!"
Gray didn't hesitate. He quickly rushed and grabbed the closest item off of the counter, which was one of the apparently expired cow pregnancy potions. As he handed it to Danny, Doug turned on him.
"HELP HER!" he screamed, motioning to Ann. "GET US THINGS SO WE CAN HELP HER!"
Harris had already ripped a large hole through Ann's overalls; most of her slender waist could be seen now. The end of her short yellow shirt was just above the stomach area, and even the outline of her white panties could be seen. A single ring had been pierced into her belly button.
Gray grabbed two more pregnancy potions and tossed one to Doug. Doug fumbled with it in midair, but Gray didn't wait to see if he was able to catch it. He ran to Ann's aid and smashed the bottle over Harris's head.
It didn't work as he had hoped; the potion contained within the bottle drenched Harris and splattered over his back, but it didn't do much good. Harris had begun to rip at Ann's revealed waist; his teeth clamped over her belly button ring and ripped it clean out.
Ann screamed; blood began flowing straight out of her belly button like river water. There was a crash, Doug apparently couldn't keep ahold of his potion.
"GOD DAMNIT, GET SOMETHING ELSE!" he screamed.
Danny had been warding off Grant this whole time. Knowing it wasn't helping much anymore, he quickly followed suit to Gray and crashed the bottle right over Grant's head.
Something different happened this time. Grant had stopped what he was doing and he was beginning to let out moans of agony. His already-decayed skin seemed to be boiling off. Grant fell with a wet thud against the floor.
"What the hell?" Gray stuttered. "That's not what happened with mine –"
"YOU IDIOT!" Doug bellowed, rummaging the counter. "HAVE YOU NO LOVE FOR YOUR SISTER?"
Before Gray could answer, Ben entered, shortly followed by Tito. Both had pulled out dual pistols.
"Jesus Christ!" Tito yelled, looking down at Grant's disformed body.
Ben, however, immediately raised one of his guns and fired a single shot at Harris's head. He fell off Ann, killed instantly.
"Ann!" Doug yelled again, but not as loudly.
He and Gray helped her up. Ann had clamped both of her hands over her exposed stomach; blood was pouring through her fingers insanely fast. Continually she let out sobs or moans of pain.
"We have to hurry," Ben said. "We have another man on Moon Mountain, he's more skilled with medical abilities than we are. Come on!"