Uroboros: Resident Evil V
Chapter Eighteen: The Tall Man
Even though he felt a little better now that he was carrying a rifle with plenty of extra ammo, Chris was unnerved with how quiet this place was once the engine of the airboat was shut off. As for the old tribal village, it was surrounded by a wall that was made up of the trunks of palm trees that grew in the surrounding area, while through the open gate the Agent could see that the homes the people lived in were nothing more than thatch huts with grassy roofs and walls that were made in the same manner as the fence.
Nothing moved as the two of them passed through the gate, nor were there signs of people around, but there had been multiple sets of boot prints in the mud that led away from the airboats, meaning that the rest of the team must have come this way just a few hours before. Dozens of fish were hung on racks near fire pits, and there were some brick ovens outside as well, which explained how the people there were able to make all the elaborately decorated pottery that was scattered around each hut… although the fish looked like they had been there for a while.
Taking a peek inside of the first hut they came to, Chris saw that there were blankets made of animal hide lying on the ground for the different people who lived there, as well as a few possessions that were probably precious to them, and some rugs that were probably hand woven. So far this place was exactly like what someone would see on the Discovery Channel, with the obvious exception of the people, whose absence was making the Agent more and more on edge all the time.
"The people here shouldn't be like the ones in Kijuju City." Sheva said as they moved deeper into the village. "We're way outside the infected district, so they shouldn't want to kill us, but I should do the talking, since they're not exactly trusting of outsiders."
"That's fine, I don't speak Swahili anyway." Chris replied while doing a spin to look around them. "Only thing we're missing is people to talk to."
Suddenly there was movement, followed by a deep echoing voice that caused the two of them to raise their rifles while turning quickly to face… a rather odd looking man. Easily seven feet tall, this man's body was covered in ash and war paint as if something out of a really old movie, while dressed only in grass and bark-cloth that was tied around his waist with a rope, along with a really elaborate wooden facemask that kind of resembled a, uh… lion? The mask covered his whole head, explaining why the voice was echoing as he continued to talk while making wild movements with his arms. So far Sheva wasn't translating, so Chris asked her what their new friend was saying, and it genuinely shocked him when she replied that she didn't know.
"Wait, you don't know what he's saying?" The Agent asked, understandably confused. "How do you not know? Didn't you grow up with this language?"
"Okay, smartass, he said you have inflated the scooter-pie." The young woman replied sharply. "Then he said although you can lead me to water, you cannot force me to drink Zima, and then he topped it all off by declaring that there will be no taxation without grapefruit, for I am the Anti-Christ. There… now you have all the answers… aren't you a lucky boy?"
Wow, that really didn't make any sense, and Chris was starting to apologize to her, when the tall man resumed his wild arm movements, before speaking again and finally pointing inside of the much larger hut that he had come out of a moment ago. Beckoning for them to follow him as he went back through the door, the Agent slowly followed the tall man inside, where a horrific smell awaited him, as well as an even worse sight. There were three members of Delta Team lying dead on the floor, but the lower halves of their bodies had been completely crushed with enough force to crack the wooden plank floor underneath them.
"He said the gopher's toe has risen to the east." Sheva translated from outside while Chris swallowed hard. "Now he said if you let me order a bowl of fried clams we could all have smallpox in the morning, but your circumcision still requires a booster shot, and uh… stand still."
While the young woman was translating, the tall man walked over to the back of the hut, where a very large hammer that was way too big for a normal person to wield, and looked like it was decorated with more war pain and, uh… human skulls. Lifting the huge weapon with even more ease than the executioner back in Kijuju City had wielded his blade, the tall man started to raise it over his head while growling, but this time the Agent was ready. Ratta-tatta! Aiming his rifle and firing a short burst of bullets into the tall man's legs, his attacker stumbled forward to his hands and knees while Chris backed out of the hut, but as expected the tall man got right back up.
"Is he infected, too?" The Agent asked, keeping his rifle aimed. "Is that what's wrong with him?"
"Maybe he's why this place was labeled Test Case on Irving's map." Sheva replied, readying her own weapon. "I will never understand, no matter how much money can be gained, how can someone do this to people?"
There was no time to debate the reasons for why greedy people did evil things to their innocent victims, especially when one of those victims was now seven feet tall with a hammer capable of literally crushing grown men to death, but they couldn't let this monster live after what it did to those men from Delta Team. Ratta-Tatta-Ratta-Tatta! With both of them firing their rifles on full auto, the tall man's entire body was peppered with tiny holes, causing his wooden mask to be blown apart as he dropped the hammer and fell to his knees.
Just like the rest of his body, his head and facial features were stretched to a ridiculous level, and although he was growling like all the other infected, his glazed over eyes kept crossing while a large amount of drool poured from his downward hanging lower lip. The discolored blood that was pouring out from his wounds smelled even worse than that of the zombies back at the Spencer Estate, but then something large and purplish brown colored started to force its way out of his mouth, only to shriek as retreat back inside as soon as it came into contact with direct sunlight.
Yeah, this thing was definitely a kind of Plagas parasite, Chris thought while the tall man started talking again, releasing even more drool as the slurred words came out. Leon had said in his report that the parasites didn't like too much light, but this one's behavior was different than that of the other Type 2 Plagas that had been attacking them in the city. Whereas those ones had simply been aggressive like a Pitt-bull that had been given the attack command, this one seemed confused like it didn't really know what to do, even as it picked up the hammer again to continue the attack.
"He said this hurts me more than it hurts the Bishop." Sheva translated as they reloaded their weapons. "Now he's warning us that we have become known to the Grand High Lynx."
"Okay Sheva, I think you can stop now." Chris replied, motioning for her to move away in the opposite direction. "Whatever's wrong with him, he's just another BOW now, and if we get on both sides he might not know who he's supposed to attack."
This strategy seemed to be working, with the tall man getting to his feet and then continually looking back and forth but seemingly unable to decide on a target as if… as if it wasn't used to having to make such decisions. Either way, this confusion gave them the time they needed to attack, so Chris and Sheva aimed for his head and neck where the parasite had retreated into, while pulling the triggers for tight controlled bursts in order to save ammo. The tall man groaned, swinging the hammer wildly as if feebly trying to stop the bullets, but then he started to get angry… so angry that he screamed in slurred rage while tossing the hammer at Chris as hard as he could.
Diving sideways to avoid the spiraling weapon, the Agent managed to hit the dirt in time to avoid being struck by it, but he was not fast enough to avoid the collapsing walls of the hut that the hammer had struck instead. Not even having time to take a breath after avoiding the hammer, Chris cried out in surprise and pain as the dozen palm tree trunks that made up the wall fell down onto his back and legs, their combined weight pinning him down while the drooling monster slowly walked toward him, apparently finally having made its decision on which of them it was going to attack.
"Sheva, I'm stuck!" He called, struggling to free himself. "Sheva, do something!"
Instead of shooting it again, Sheva ran up from behind and shoved the tall man forward as hard as she could just as it was raising its leg up to stomp on Chris, causing him to fall forward so that his head struck the edge of the fallen hammer with a wet squishing sound. This time, however, the tall man didn't just get up and keep attacking, instead its whole head just collapsed into nothing, allowing that purplish brown form that they had seen earlier to emerge completely.
It looked like a cross between some kind of insect and a deformed growth as it shot out of the tall man's neck, making a high pitch shrieking noise as its incredibly long and sharp mandibles opened and closed. The remains of the collapsed hut provided it with enough shade to not have to retreat back into its host body, so the growth was able to lash out at Chris just as the young woman was helping him get free… but apparently the growth was also tethered to the body, so its attack fell short.
Snapping its mandibles hungrily, but unable to reach its intended victim, the growth stopped moving for a moment, and then its host body began to get up. However, since the parasite had been good enough to expose itself like this, there was no reason why the Agent shouldn't stop his escape long enough to draw his pistol and start pulling the trigger. Bang! Bang! Bang! Joined in with the young woman's rifle, the parasite shrieked as it was hit with a dozen bullets, forcing it to make its host body roll away in an attempt to escape, but then shrieking again when it rolled itself right out into direct sunlight.
Without the body's head to protect itself, the parasite flailed around desperately while its body began to smolder, and its shrieks slowly became quieter while the mandibles slowed down. After one more attempt to get up, the growth went limp, thumping onto the ground and shriveling up into a kind of purple goo while the host body stopped moving all together. Pulling his leg out from under the last palm tree trunk, Chris laid back and let out a sigh of relief since the danger was over… but that was when he noticed that the village was no longer empty.
Where there had been no one except for the tall man around only moments before, now there were a dozen figures surrounding the two BSAA agents, many of them holding spears, and all of them wearing ash and war paint just like the tall man.