Familiar Evil (ZnT/Resident Evil)
Chapter 7: Outbreak
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September 24th, 1998 7:15 AM
Hiraga Family Apartment
Raccoon City, Arklay County, United States of America
Slowly, Louise roused herself from her slumber. She sat upright on her bed, stretching out her arms and letting out a yawn. Smacking her lips a few times while her eyes remained droopy, she lazily got out of bed and began walking towards the apartment's bathroom. Outside of the apartment, she could hear birds chirping and people beginning to start their day, and from the voices outside her door she could hear Saito and his family up and about. When she opened the door, she was immediately greeted by the sound of running water, with Saito washing his hands as he quickly ate a piece of toast.
"Morning, Louise," Saito greeted, giving her a wave as he finished putting away his stuff into his backpack.
"Good morning, Saito," Louise replied as she walked towards the refrigerator and pulled out a mostly empty gallon of milk. Pouring the rest into a bowl of cereal, she tossed the plastic carton into the trash can then sat down on the kitchen table to begin eating.
"Are you about to head to school?" she asked between bites, and Saito nodded as he chewed and swallowed his piece of toast.
"Yeah," he confirmed. "Should be a pretty boring day, all things considered. No tests or anything."
"That's good," Louise replied, taking another spoonful of Cinnamon Toast Crunch into her mouth. As she chewed and swallowed, her thoughts drifted back to what happened two nights ago. Not just the unexpected and unwelcome results of her summoning, but the thing that happened right afterwards that completely overshadowed it.
Neither of them had really talked about it all that much, outside of what they told the police and Saito's parents once they got back to the library. The police had immediately gone out and retrieved the corpse of the dog Louise killed, with the intention of conducting a rabies test, while Saito's parents came to pick them up. Mr. and Mrs. Hiraga were somehow more distraught than Saito and Louise; the parents fussed over the two teenagers practically all night to make sure that they weren't harmed in any way. Luckily, they weren't, but it was still way too close of a call.
Saito and Louise weren't allowed to go back out into the forest again. Saito's parents explicitly forbid it. Not that either of them had any intention of doing so anytime soon. While they were able to remain calm in the presence of adults, it was only later that night when Louise finally went to bed that the implication finally set in. She and Saito were attacked by a savage animal, one that possibly could have killed them had Louise not had her wand on hand. Or at the very least severely injure them. She didn't want to think about what would've happened if that dog had come across someone else. From the way it lunged towards Saito's throat, it was going for the kill.
Yet that wasn't the most disturbing part. That illustrious honor belonged to what it did after Louise had struck it with an explosion the first time. Its legs were broken, part of its chest was caved in, and it was bleeding profusely. By all accounts, that pitiful creature should've been reduced to a dying, broken mess, yet it wasn't. The dog acted as though it didn't notice nor care about its injuries, and instead kept crawling back towards them with bloodthirsty intent.
She hadn't voiced her thoughts then, but at that moment Louise knew that creature was no longer a dog. It was something else entirely, a monster that needed to be put down before it could hurt anyone else, but what scared her the most was that she didn't know what, exactly, it was. Part of it reminded her of some of her parent's stories, mostly pertaining to foul necromancers who defiled corpses to do their bidding. But that was back home, where magic was prevalent and commonplace. Magic, and necromancy by extension, didn't exist on Earth outside of herself. So, whatever happened to that dog, she was reasonably certain that it wasn't the dead brought back to life. At the same time, there was that pang of uncertainty that just wouldn't go away.
Given Saito's relative silence, it was clear that he didn't want to talk about it all that much, either, so Louise kept her thoughts to herself. She was reasonably certain that he had come to the same conclusions she did, but figured it was best to put some distance between herself and the encounter before bringing it up again.
"What time are you leaving?" Louise finally asked, breaking the silence that fell between them.
"The bus should be here in about ten minutes," Saito revealed, finishing up his toast then standing up. Hoisting his backpack over his shoulder, Saito announced, "Dad's already at work, while Mom's at the store. She should be back in a bit. I'm heading out. See you after school."
"Bye," Louise replied, giving a slight wave as Saito went out the door.
She heard him lock the door behind him, then she went back to eating her breakfast. Silence fell over the apartment, and Louise felt content to bask in it for a bit. Once she finished eating her cereal, Louise rinsed out her bowl then stuck it in the dishwasher before moving to sit on the couch. Deciding that watching the news seemed like a good way to pass the time before Mrs. Hiraga arrived to start their lessons for the day, she grabbed the remote control and turned the TV on. Luckily for her, it was already tuned to the local Raccoon City news channel, so she didn't have to worry about changing the channel.
"Today is going to be a bright and sunny day, with a high of seventy-two and a low of sixty-five," the weatherman reported, pointing at a projected map of Arklay county behind him. "With a zero-percent chance of rain, there's no need worry about today's game being interrupted. So, go on out and support your Raccoon City Sharks! Back to you, Amanda."
"Thanks, Tom," the anchorwoman replied as she looked into the camera. She then announced, "We are getting reports of a spike in hospitalizations this morning of the unidentified disease that has been plaguing Raccoon City as of late. At this point in time, it is unknown why this is the case, but both Spencer Memorial Hospital's Dr. Nathaniel Bard and Chief of Police Jeremy Irons have insisted that everything is perfectly under control. We have reached out to Mayor Michael Warren for comment, but his office has not responded. In any case, we will continue to monitor the situation as it develops."
The anchorwoman shifted the discussion to different topics, but Louise remained fixated on what she just said. A sinking feeling formed in the bottom of her gut, one that asked if the dog attack was somehow related to what had been going on in Raccoon City ever since she arrived. She tried her best to accept the news as given, that everything was under control, but she couldn't. She didn't know why, but something was screaming at Louise that things had gone horribly wrong.
Sitting next to the window on the bus, Saito looked out and stared silently at the city as it passed by. His backpack was neatly laid next to his feet, and around him he could hear his fellow students talking to each other about a myriad array of subjects.
"What did you get on question four? I wasn't able to figure it out."
"I can't believe Professor Lee is having us do another quiz. We just had one, like, last week. He hates us, I swear."
"Dude, my dad got tickets to the Sharks game today. He's pulling me out at lunch. We have an extra ticket. Wanna come?"
"Hell yeah!"
More conversations were happening deeper into the bus, but Saito didn't care to focus too much on them. They weren't his concern, after all. Instead, his thoughts drifted closer to home, mostly about what happened two nights before. The summoning, that sick dog, all of it still disturbed him even now. Subconsciously, his hands went to his throat, rubbing the spot where the dog's jaws would have most likely clamped down upon. Had Louise not been there or had been just a few seconds slower with her casting, Saito knew he could've died. Or, at the very least, been hospitalized.
Death had literally been just a few feet away from him. He shivered and held his body close, trying his best to drown out his fear by simply watching the buildings go by. Traffic was about normal, along with a fair number of joggers doing their morning runs, some of them drinking from refillable water bottles. Everything seemed normal, yet he couldn't shake this nagging sense that something was amiss. Saito prepared to chalk it up to bad nerves and move on, only for something to cut into his thoughts.
"Hey, Saito? You okay, man?" he heard a voice call out to him. Jumping slightly, Saito turned his head to see one of his friends, a boy his age with trimmed black hair and dark skin named Deshawn, looking at him from behind his seat.
Recollecting himself, Saito quickly nodded and answered, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just…got a lot on my mind right now."
"You wanna talk about it?"
Saito shook his head then replied, "No, I'm good. Sorry, but I'd rather not talk about it right now."
Deshawn pursed his lips. It was clear that he wanted to press on, but quickly sighed. Dropping the subject, he added, "Alright, man. If you wanna talk, though, I'm always willing to lend an ear."
"Thanks, Deshawn," Saito replied, smiling slightly. "I appreciate that. Really."
Deshawn smiled and nodded, then looked around the bus slightly. Leaning closer to Saito, he conspiratorially whispered, "So, me and the guys were wondering: when are you going to introduce us to your girlfriend?"
"My girlfriend?" Saito asked, shooting his head back slightly. "I don't…have a girlfriend. Where did you even get—"
"Oh, come on, dude. You know exactly who I'm talking about," Deshawn interjected. "You know? The French girl with the pink hair you've been hanging out with practically every day for the past month?"
"Wait, you mean Louise?" Saito asked, his eyes widening.
"Yeah, her," Deshawn confirmed while snapping his fingers and pointing at Saito. "The girl with no—"
"Okay, okay. I get it," Saito interrupted. While he knew there was no possible way for Louise to hear this conversation, at this point he had learned the size of her chest was an extremely sensitive sore spot for her, one that tended to have explosive consequences when pushed. There was this unshakable sense of dread that formed every time the subject was brought up, that she would magically know he was talking about it, so he made a point to avoid the subject entirely whenever possible.
Saito then sighed and rubbed the back of his head before admitting, "Okay, yes. I have been hanging out with Louise a lot lately, and I haven't exactly introduced her to you all yet. But she's not my girlfriend."
Deshawn looked at Saito silently for a few moments, his eyebrow raised in disbelief, then he replied, "Are you kidding me? Saito, she lives with you."
"Yeah, but only because she has nowhere else to go," Saito fervently insisted. He then firmly declared, "Deshawn, Louise and I are not dating. We're just friends."
Deshawn stared passively at Saito, then rolled his eyes and said, "Alright, whatever you say, man."
"Thank you," Saito replied, then turned his head back towards the window. For a few moments, the only things he heard were the spinning of the wheels on the pavement and the conversations going on around him. It was a peaceful moment, one that he felt lost in.
Only for Deshawn to break that tranquility by asking, "So, when are you going to ask her out, then?"
"Dude!" Saito shot back, glaring at his friend who only chuckled.
"Come on, Saito. I've known you since freshman year," Deshawn reminded him. "You can't hide this stuff from me, and I know for a fact that you like her. You told us yourself that you think Louise is smart, beautiful, has a cute accent—"
"I get the point," Saito interrupted, slightly glaring at his friend who cheekily smiled back.
"Just repeating what you told me," Deshawn smugly pointed out. "It's obvious you're at least interested. Plenty of girls have tried and failed to catch your attention, which was really annoying to watch happen by the way, but this one's done it somehow. So, let me ask you again: when are you going to ask her out? 'Cause it sounds like she's a catch, so someone else might snag her if you don't do anything."
Saito stared exasperatingly at his friend, then protested, "Deshawn, I don't… Okay, yes, I did tell you guys those things, but Louise is just my friend. I'm not going to ask her out. Not like she'd say yes anyway."
"Uh-huh," Deshawn dryly replied, narrowing his eyes as he slowly nodded. "Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night, man."
With that, Deshawn turned away to face the front of the bus again. Saito stared at his friend for a moment, then shook his head and looked back out the window. He tried to convince himself that Deshawn was just seeing things, but the truth was that he didn't quite know how he felt about Louise. She was definitely one of his best friends, that's for sure, and he hadn't gotten as close to anyone else as he had with her, especially in so little time. But that just meant they were really good friends, right?
Any further ruminations on the nature of his relationship with Louise were cut off by the sound of blaring sirens. Three squad cars raced past, drawing everyone's attention. Saito, along with several other students, stood up and pressed against the glass in an attempt to see what was going on, but all too soon the police cars disappeared from view.
"What the hell was that all about?" someone asked, but Saito didn't recognize who.
"I…I don't know," Saito admitted as the dark pit began to return to his stomach.
September 24th, 1998 1:30 PM
"The end of Japan's Edo period, and the Tokugawa shogunate which had ruled the islands for over two-hundred-and-fifty years, started in the year 1853 with the arrival of Commodore Perry who opened isolationist Japan to foreign trade at gunpoint," Sakura Hiraga explained to an enraptured Louise, who was jotting down notes. In the background, they could hear cars passing through the street, and the soft volume of the TV turned to the local news station.
She continued, "Recognizing the gap between them and the western powers, such as the United States and the various empires of Europe, several of Japan's leaders realized that they were in a very precarious situation. Western nations, at the time, were expanding their imperial ambitions into Asia, and Japan could've very well been next. While the shogunate attempted to maintain its power and continue Japan's extreme isolationist ideology, one that made it punishable by death for citizens to leave the islands or foreigners to set foot on Japan at all, reformers sought to restore a centralized imperial government and open the country to the outside world. After a brief civil war, imperial rule was restored under Emperor Meiji, ushering in the Meiji Restoration."
"Was it named after him?" Louise asked, figuring that was the most likely option. Several historical periods in Halkegenia were named after the reigning monarch, and she saw no reason why that wouldn't be the case on Earth. To her surprise, however, Mrs. Hiraga shook her head.
"No, actually, although that is a common misconception," Mrs. Hiraga clarified. "During his life, Emperor Meiji was simply known as 'The Emperor.' His personal name, Mutsuhito, was never officially used outside of signatures. The Meiji Restoration was named first, with Meiji meaning 'enlightened rule.' It was only after his death in 1912 that he was posthumously renamed to Emperor Meiji, in accordance with imperial tradition."
"Oh, I see," Louise replied. While she didn't completely understand the philosophy behind it, she could at the very least understand where they were coming from. Jotting that down into her notepad, she then asked, "What exactly happened during the Meiji Restoration?"
"Japan opened itself up to the world with the aim of modernizing its outdated institutions," Mrs. Hiraga answered. "Institutions that left it vulnerable to outside powers. They concluded that by taking the initiative, they'd become a dominant power in the world; otherwise, they'd be dominated. To do this, they began to adopt Western ideas and advances while at the same time merging them with their traditional Eastern ideologies, creating something new. Something uniquely Japanese. As a part of this effort, Japan began sending students to prestigious universities all over the world to learn what they could from the great powers, then bring them back home to share what they learned with their homeland. A strong national identity was fostered through the creation of a national dialect, land reforms were passed, the feudal samurai were abolished over the period of several years, and public school systems were established all across the country."
That was another interesting difference between Louise's homeland and Earth. Back in Halkegenia, only the nobility were educated, both on how to use their magic as well as politics. They were expected to rule, after all, and proper rulers needed to know what they were doing. In contrast, most commoners couldn't even read, relegated to a purely servile existence. On Earth, though, at least in most developed countries a point was made to educate near everyone under the belief that education was a universal right. The idea of limiting education to a handful of people while leaving everyone else in ignorance was considered to be extremely outdated, if not outright oppressive. While she wasn't entirely sold on its merits just yet, she had to admit that educating everyone had borne fruitful results. It opened up vast reserves of previously untapped potential, allowing ideas to spread, grow, and intermingle, increasing prosperity for all.
"Did it work?" Louise asked, and Mrs. Hiraga smiled while nodding.
"It did," she confirmed. "When Emperor Meiji ascended to the throne in 1868, Japan was a feudal, agrarian society. By the time of his death in 1912, Japan had grown into an industrial powerhouse, one that could stand side by side with the other great powers of the world. Today, Japan is the second largest economy on Earth, behind only the United States."
"Wow," Louise murmured, her pen resting against the paper.
Her mind raced as she thought over the implications and possibilities. While their situations were different in many regards, in just as many ways Tristain reminded her of Japan. Both were fairly decentralized feudal societies ruled by a royal family, with the country itself divided among dozens if not hundreds of smaller holdings and lords. Both were, at the time, weak countries surrounded by much more powerful neighbors who wanted nothing more than to exert their influence on them, if not attempt outright conquest. If Japan was able to modernize so quickly and become a dominant world power in so short of a time, just a few decades, perhaps Tristain could do the same?
It clearly worked for them, and their neighboring country China provided a near perfect example of what happened when a country refused to modernize while their neighbors did. China was one of the world's oldest countries, one that dominated the Asian continent for much of its history. But it became stagnant, turned insular, and ended up becoming dominated by several Western powers. Only recently has China begun to retake its place on the global stage, but the last thing Louise wanted was for Tristain to fall into that kind of situation. If there was a way to establish permanent contact between Tristain and Earth, they could send students to Earth countries, learn whatever they could, then bring that knowledge to Tristain, allowing them to leapfrog centuries.
Undoubtedly it would be much more difficult than her thoughts were making it out to be. While Louise was certain Princess Henrietta would jump at the opportunity to improve her country, and her own family would probably do so as well, there were plenty of nobles all across the kingdom who would view these reforms as threats to their sovereignty. Especially with the spread of ideas from Earth into Halkegenia, ideas about equal rights, education, and the distribution of power. They'd undoubtedly push back, much like the shogunate did. The probability of civil war would skyrocket. Not to mention the Church would probably push back on it as well. They always had a vested interest in keeping things stable, especially when it came to advancement. Contact with Earth would rock the boat like nothing else. There was even a possibility that the elves might not appreciate it, given all the effort they'd taken over the centuries to confine her people to just Halkegenia. But she wasn't too concerned about that. The elves were simply too far away to really do anything if they wanted.
What's more, the possibility of Earth nations dominating Tristain and Halkegenia rose dramatically if permanent contact was established. In every regard, with the notable exception of magic, Earth was just so much more powerful. More people lived on Earth, their weapons were so terrifyingly powerful that they made even the strongest mage look weak and pathetic, and they could manufacture and produce more things in a month than Tristain could do in an entire year. If Halkegenia and Earth were to ever get into a fight, or even just the United States, her beloved home would be brought back to the stone age. The only saving grace was that Terre and Earth were two entirely different planets, and the connection between them was dependent on Halkegenian magic. Otherwise, Earth dominating them wouldn't even be a challenge.
Attempting to perform a Meiji Restoration for Tristain would be incredibly risky, but if they could pull it off, Tristain's security and dominance would be all but assured. They wouldn't need to rely on alliances of marriage for protection; they'd be able to protect themselves. Louise would have to think about it more, but she figured that by the time she made it back home, she'd find an answer.
Thoughts of returning to Tristain soured her mood, making her frown. While she knew that completing the summoning was always a longshot, part of her hoped that it would've worked. At least until she learned Saito was supposed to be her familiar. Even if there was the remote possibility that completing the summoning would get her back home, she refused to risk ripping Saito away from his family. For the foreseeable future, she was stuck on Earth, at least until she found a way back home. Something that she still had no idea if it was even possible. At least it wasn't all bad. Living on Earth, in Raccoon City with the Hiragas, was nice, her misgivings about Umbrella aside. Overall, she was…happy.
Still, she couldn't help but wonder how long it would take to get back home. By now, she had resigned herself to living on Earth for at least a few years. Hopefully, her home would still be recognizable by the time she got back. It was obvious to everyone that Reconquista was winning the Albion Civil War at the moment, and if they successfully overthrew the Tudors, Tristain would be next. There actually might not be a home for her to return to in just a few months. Her frowned deepened, and she couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"Louise, are you alright?" Mrs. Hiraga asked, her voice filled with concern.
Knocked out of her stupor, Louise shook her head and waved her hand. She then said, "No, I'm fine. Just…thinking about home, is all."
"Ah, I see," Mrs. Hiraga replied, a soft frown on her face.
Unlike Saito, both of his parents still had no idea that Louise was from another world entirely. Nor that she could cast magic. They were still under the impression that Louise was a victim of human trafficking, and it was under that belief that they decided not to press too deeply into her homeland out of an abundance of caution. The last thing they wanted was to disturb her, which was something Louise genuinely appreciated. It made her guilt over her deception all the greater, though.
"Anyway, I'm fine," Louise dismissed, bringing her pen to her notepad while looking back up at Mrs. Hiraga expectantly. "Please, continue."
Mrs. Hiraga pursed her lips, then nodded and resumed her lecture. "Alright. During the Meiji Restoration, Japan began to—"
She was interrupted by a blaring sound from the TV, drawing both her and Louise's attention to it. Turning around in alarm, they saw a breaking news bulletin flash across the screen, and Louise felt the pit in her stomach deepen.
"Breaking news, a riot is underway at the Sharks-Thunders game in Warren Stadium!" a news reporter declared. She was standing in front of the colossal building, yelling into her microphone as terrified spectators ran past her, all the while numerous police officers attempted to reestablish control over the situation. "There are over fifty officers here right now!"
"Cathy, can you describe what's going on? Why are people rioting?" the anchorman asked, attempting to remain calm yet his face easily showing everyone his fear and confusion.
"Witnesses are telling me that a man began rampaging across the stands, assaulting dozens of people who then began attacking others in turn!" the reporter answered, then looked over her shoulder for a moment as an ambulance rushed past. "It's complete chaos, Tom!"
"Nante koto da…" Mrs. Hiraga muttered under her breath, and Louise stared wide-eyed at the screen.
"Fondateur," Louise echoed her guardian at the same time, her studies completely forgotten as they focused all their attention on the screen.
Only the sound of helicopters passing overhead broke them away, and Louise rushed over to the window to see what was going on. To her surprise, the sound wasn't coming from a news helicopter. Instead, she saw three Chinook helicopters flying by, all whilst the sound of police sirens rose all around them.
Saito struggled to pay attention to his history teacher's lecture. Not because it wasn't interesting, but rather because his and nearly everyone else's attention was drawn elsewhere. Students were being pulled early from class by concerned parents all over the school, with nearly half of his classmates already gone. He had no idea what was going on, but the unceasing sound of police sirens and military helicopters left him feeling scared and confused. Feeling his throat parched, he sipped the last of his Dasani water bottle, but that did little to quench his thirst.
"Now, archeologists are still looking into this ancient civilization, but what they have found thus far after only a few years of excavation is extraordinary," Mr. Dalal continued his lecture, seemingly oblivious to his students' anxiety. Or perhaps he wasn't, and was attempting to placate everyone by acting as though everything was normal. The tactic clearly wasn't working, given how many students were too busy looking out the window, watching as police officers set up barricades along the street, to pay attention. If only to distract himself, Saito tried to listen to what his teacher was saying.
"The Varyag, as they apparently called themselves based off of translated Nordic runes found in Scandinavia, appeared to be a highly advanced civilization that existed six-thousand years ago," Mr. Dalal revealed, drawing on a projected map of northern Europe with chalk. "They had a complex writing system, a religion that resembled the Old Norse religion yet differed in several key areas which will be discussed at a later date, and most shockingly of all, knowledge on how to make steel."
That piqued Saito's curiosity, and he raised an eyebrow then asked, "The Varyag used steel? Six-thousand years ago?"
"By all accounts, yes. Comparatively high quality steel, in fact, akin to Damascus steel," Mr. Dalal confirmed, turning to face Saito. A brief frown crossed his face when he saw that only a few students were paying attention, but he continued, nonetheless. "Whereas their neighbors used primitive bronze alloys, at best, the Varyag had already mastered steel weapons and armor. The scope of their civilization is, at the moment, unknown, but six-thousand year old steel artifacts which were located in the Arabian Peninsula by the Umbrella Corporation years ago indicates that their reach was far and wide."
"That…doesn't seem right," Saito admitted as he scratched is head. "I thought we only figured out how to make steel four-thousand years ago, and even then it was hard to make in large quantities until relatively recently?"
"That's what makes the Varyag so exciting!" Mr. Dalal proclaimed with a smile on his face. "They have the potential to throw everything we thought we knew about world history to the wayside! The Varyag are perhaps the most advanced ancient civilization we've ever discovered. A real life Atlantis if you will."
"If they were so advanced," another student called out after raising his hand, "how come we only just now found them? And how come there aren't any massive cities lying around? All we've found so far is just weapons, armor, and runes."
"Ah, that is the million-dollar question, isn't it?" Mr. Dalal rhetorically asked as he turned around to write on the blackboard once again. "Truthfully, we do not know. Only that they disappeared six-thousand years ago after some unknown calamity struck them. Based off of runic tablets discovered in the Rub' al-Kahli, however, some archeologists have begun to theorize that some sort of plague fell upon them. A plague they blamed on a nomadic tribe they called the Markey that moved into the heart of their civilization right as the plague hit. No one quite knows why, but it seems that the Varyag may have mobilized nearly their entire civilization into hunting them down all the way from Scandinavia to Arabia, which drove both into extinction."
Saito couldn't help but wince. While he was overall skeptical of the outlandish claims, the idea of an entire people killing themselves over revenge made him sick to his stomach. He then raised his hand, and when Mr. Dalal called upon him he asked, "What about these Markey? Do we know anything about them?"
"Sadly, the only surviving records come from the Varyag themselves, who are far from an unbiased source," Mr. Dalal revealed, a sad frown on his face. "All that we know about the Markey is what I mentioned previously, and that the Varyag considered them to be, sadly enough, witches that needed to be killed."
"Oh, perfect. A civilization-wide Salem Witch Trial. That must've been fun," yet another student quipped, and a few chuckled.
Saito, however, remained silent and furrowed his brow. Normally, he would've dismissed talk of people being witches as paranoid delusions at best, but that was before he met Louise. An actual witch, or mage as she insisted on calling herself. Was it possible that Louise and the Markey were connected, somehow? She had theorized that the connection between Earth and Terre was more porous than previously assumed. It still seemed unlikely, but then again meeting a girl from another world seemed unbelievable a month ago. Anything could be possible. Although that same argument could be applied to just about any historical myths and references about supposed magic users from anywhere else in the world, so there wasn't any real reason to believe that the Markey in particular had a genuine connection to magic and Louise's world, right? At the very least, Louise would probably appreciate this information, so he jotted down a few notes to share with her once he got home.
He then smacked his lips again, feeling parched once more. Noticing that his water bottle was empty, Saito raised his hand then asked, "Mr. Dalal, can I go get a drink of water?"
"Of course, just grab a hall pass," Mr. Dalal replied.
Saito nodded appreciatively as he stood up from his desk, picked up his now empty water bottle, went to the door of the classroom, grabbed the hall pass hanging on a hook next to the door, then walked out into the hallway. A few students were about, stuffing their belongings into their backpacks before hurrying to the front of the school. Undoubtedly their parents had come to pick them up, and Saito wondered if his own would do the same. He figured they wouldn't; his parents were notoriously stubborn about duties they considered to be important, and school was among them. If he got pulled out early, that meant something had gone completely wrong.
Twirling the hall pass lazily in his hand, Saito walked towards the nearest bathroom while whistling a jaunty tune. A few teachers were roaming the halls, some talking to a police officer near one of the exits. Another student was drinking from the water fountain, so Saito calmly got behind him and patiently waited. It wasn't long before the student finished, standing upright and wiping away the excess from his lips.
"All yours, man," the student, a senior from the looks of him, said, and Saito nodded. Stepping forward with his water bottle in hand, he unscrewed the cap and angled the top of the bottle towards the nozzle. Just as he prepared to press the fountain's button, however, his grip on the cap slipped and it flew out of his hands.
"Ah, dammit," Saito cursed. He placed the still empty bottle on top of the fountain, then leaned down to pick up the loose cap. Dusting it off a bit, he blew into the plastic for good measure, then prepared to continue from where he left off while also getting a quick drink of his own.
Only to hear something big slam against a nearby locker. Surprised, Saito turned to the side where he saw the student from earlier slumped against the blue lockers. He was coughing violently, clutching his throat while his back was turned towards him. Concern overcame Saito's thirst, and he left his water bottle behind and began walking towards the senior student.
"Hey, man? You okay?" Saito asked, only to receive another fit of coughing in response. It wasn't a dry cough, like someone was trying to clear their throat. Rather, it was harsher, wetter, with each one sounding like it was ripping the poor boy's lungs apart.
Feeling his heartbeat quicken, Saito tentatively reached out to grab the student's shoulder, only for the boy to double-over and cough once more. This time, something splattered against the ground, and to Saito's horror, it was dark red blood. Stepping back, Saito saw the boy's neck rapidly pale, then he fell to the ground and began to spasm in a violent seizure.
"Oh my God!" Saito yelled, rushing over try and help the boy. Turning him over onto his back, Saito gasped as he saw the senior's eyes begin to cloud, with foamy saliva spewing from his open mouth. Realizing he had no idea what to do and that the senior student desperately needed help, Saito turned towards the teachers and police officer at the end of the hallway and shouted, "Somebody help!"
His shouting caught their attention, and they immediately sprinted over to lend aid.
"Stand back, kid!" the police officer ordered as he pushed Saito away. Once Saito was at the opposite side of the hall, the officer turned back to the seriously ill student and began thrusting his arm down the hall towards the nurse's office. "We need to get him to the infirmary, now!"
Working in tandem, the teachers and police officer carefully lifted the still convulsing boy off the ground. Before they left, one of them told Saito, "Student, return to your classroom now. We'll take it from here."
Not needing to be told twice, Saito fervently nodded then rushed back to his classroom. Part of him wondered if that was the correct procedure for dealing with a student suffering from a seizure, but right now he didn't care. He just wanted to get out of there. Before he could reenter, however, he paused to turn back towards the water fountain. His empty water bottle was still there, and the idea of going back to get it crossed his mind. But, then he looked back to the student being carried into the nurse's office, and suddenly he no longer felt very thirsty. Breathing in and out sharply, Saito prepared to open the door back to his classroom, only for the school's intercom to come online.
"Students and faculty, Raccoon City High School will be ending classes early today," the speaker announced much to Saito's surprise. "Parents have already been notified. Please make your way to the front of the school for pick up. Thank you."
Saito stared at the intercom speaker, his jaw idly moving up and down yet not making a single sound. He was stunned into silence, and already he could hear the remaining students and faculty begin to get up and leave the premises. As his fellow students rushed out of Mr. Dalal's classroom, the pit in Saito's stomach deepened.
Something was horribly wrong, and now he was beginning to feel terrified.
Louise gripped the doorhandle of the Hiragas' Camry as they drove through the city to Raccoon City High School. Instead of sitting in the back seat as she normally did, she was now in the passenger seat which gave her a front row view of what was happening around them. Her eyes were practically glued to the windows as she spotted police officers placing barricades that blocked off entire streets, military helicopters taking scores of people and flying them off to who knows where, and SWAT teams armed with rifles and submachineguns at the ready. It was obvious that Raccoon City was falling under martial law, but Louise had no idea why.
"What…what is happening?" Louise whispered, watching as the police placed yet another wire fence and ushered confused pedestrians away. A few weren't as responsive, who were immediately taken away somewhere else.
"I don't know," Mrs. Hiraga answered, her hands clenched tightly along the wheel to the point where her fingers were bone white. Her eyes darted around back and forth, taking in everything as they continued their drive to Saito's school.
By the time they got the call, Louise's studies had all but been abandoned. Instead, the two women had focused all of their attention onto the television, watching as the crisis that had been gripping Raccoon City exploded. What worried Louise the most was that not even the media seemed to know what was going on. Increased hospitalizations and violence was being reported, yes, but not the cause. What's more, the city's leadership was completely radio silent, with the mayor having abruptly left the city early in the morning while the chief of police had holed himself up in his office, issuing bizarre orders to the entire police force. Orders that were being followed, nonetheless, but for the life of her Louise couldn't understand the rationale of concentrating officers near the exits of the city while only barricading certain streets. The police were clearly overextended, and with the situation continuing to unravel, that was the last thing they needed.
Regardless, what should have been a thirty-minute drive had extended to almost an hour. The traffic was at a standstill as hundreds of people were futilely trying to get out of the city, only to be turned away by the police. For whatever reason, the Army was helping to contain things, but mostly by ushering people to evac points. Evacuating from what, Louise didn't know, but it scared her, nonetheless. Especially as the flights themselves appeared to be decreasing in number. When they started, she counted at least ten helicopters flying away per hour; now it was down to just one.
Finally, they reached Raccoon City High School, and Louise's breath hitched as she saw scores of terrified students waiting in front of the building for their parents. She couldn't see Saito at first, but as they gently pulled forward they saw him standing in front of a crowd of people. There was this blank look on his face as he stared out into nothing. Louise recognized the look immediately. He had seen something, something that disturbed him greatly, and this time it wasn't a movie.
"Saito, honey?" Mrs. Hiraga called out. Saito didn't react at first, simply continuing to stare and remain silent. Then his mother repeated forcibly, "Saito!"
"Huh, wha?" Saito sputtered, turning his head towards them. His eyes were wide, but they softened in abject relief as he saw his mother and Louise looking at him in concern.
"Saito, are you okay?" Louise gently asked, and Saito quickly nodded as he got into the car.
"I'm fine, yeah," Saito answered, closing the door behind him and hooking the seatbelt around him. His mother was looking at him with obvious concern, then he sighed and added, "I'll tell you at home. Can we just…go, please?"
Mrs. Hiraga continued to look back at her son alongside Louise. After a moment, the middle-aged Japanese woman nodded, then moved the car back into drive. They quickly drove off, leaving the high school behind as they made their way back to their apartment. As they got closer, however, a loud bang coming from deeper in the city made Louise jump. She recognized that sound, and she shakily turned her head towards the approximate direction it came from.
"That was a gunshot…" Saito muttered under his breath. No one else said a word, but their speed noticeably increased.
11:00 PM
Louise nervously stared out of her darkened room's window from behind a wall, watching as scores of terrified people were running for their lives. From what, Louise did not know. As soon as they got Saito back home, shortly joined by Mr. Hiraga who left work early, they had barricaded themselves in their apartment. The door was locked, boards were being nailed in place over the windows, and Saito had started keeping his baseball bat close to him at all times. If it wasn't obvious before, some kind of disaster was happening.
"Mom, Dad, what are we going to do?" Saito nervously asked from inside the living room, his voice muffled by the wall between them.
"We're going to stay right here. We have enough food and water to last us weeks," Mr. Hiraga answered, "so we should be able to ride out whatever is going on."
A few more gunshots went off, this time much closer than the one they first heard. The volume of occurrences had increased dramatically over the past few hours, and within the past hour it seemed to practically explode. When they first started, Louise thought that perhaps the police were shooting at someone, or that perhaps the riot that engulfed Warren Stadium had spread to more parts of the city. But now Louise was unsure, and she couldn't help but nervously bite her lower lip while she fiddled with the wand she had placed within her pocket.
"Are you sure that's the right thing to do?" Saito asked as his muffled footsteps told Louise he was pacing back and forth. "Dad, I know what I saw back at school. That guy…whatever was in the water he drank messed him up bad, and I'd bet my life that it and the riots and the hospitalizations are connected."
"Which is why we're not drinking from the tap. There's plenty of water bottles here, so that isn't an issue," Mr. Hiraga replied, causing Louise to frown slightly.
Once everyone had been gathered, Saito had revealed what had disturbed him so much. Just before school was ended early, he went to get a drink of water from one of the school's many water fountains. Just before he could, though, a fellow student who had drunken from the tap fell seriously ill, having to be carried off by some of the school's teachers and a police officer who happened to be there for some reason. It was obvious to everyone that something in the water made the poor kid sick, which was why they refused to touch the sink at all. Part of her worried that they might've gotten whatever pathogen was in the water earlier in the day when they were freely using the tap water, but Louise could only pray to the Gods that it hadn't reached their apartment by then. Either way, it was clear that something in the water was getting people sick, which led to their current situation.
"Saito, you're worrying too much," his mother said, trying to placate her son. "Just take a deep breath and calm down. We're going to be fine. Nothing bad is going to happen."
Clearly not buying it, Saito shot back, "No, you guys aren't understanding. We need to leave, like right now. Just grab what we can, jump into the car, then drive outta here. Because if we don't, whatever is going on is—"
"Saito, we are not leaving our home," Mr. Hiraga forcibly interjected.
"You guys are just…gah!" Saito grunted, then stomped away to join Louise in her room. Closing the door behind him, he plopped himself down on the bed and groaned, covering his face with his hands. "Goddammit…"
Louise frowned as she turned around to face her friend. Not liking his distraught state, she softly said, "Saito, I…I don't think leaving is the right thing to do. It's safer here."
"For now, yeah," Saito admitted as he looked up at his friend. "But for how much longer? Things are going to get worse, I just know it, and pretty soon our apartment's thin walls won't be enough to protect us. We need to leave while we still have a chance."
"Okay, how?" Louise pointedly asked. "I agree with you that leaving the city is probably the best option, but you saw how clogged the highways were. If we try to just drive out of here, we're going to be stuck and left at the mercy of whatever is going on outside. At least here, we're out of the thick of it."
Saito silently stared her, and the air between them grew heavy with tension. Finally, Saito broke the silence, sighed, then said, "I hope you're right."
With that, Saito stood back up, his bat still in hand, then walked out of the room. As he closed the door behind him, Louise continued to stare at it. At first, she said nothing, allowing the sounds of Saito talking to his parents and the city outside descending into chaos to consume her. Gone was the feeling of happiness and security she felt this morning. Now she was scared, much like she was when she first arrived on Earth.
Finally, she sighed and muttered, "I hope I am, too."
With that, Louise turned away to look back out the window. More people were running past, and quite a few cars were barreling through without much care for the people around them. To her shock, she saw one vehicle run right over a person who lazily walked into the middle of the road. They didn't even stop to check on them; instead, the vehicle and its occupants sped off without giving so much as a second glance.
"What is happening?" Louise asked herself, once again biting her lower lip as she continued to watch. The night was cloudless, and the full moon shone brightly overhead. Combined with the streetlights, Louise was able to see much of her surroundings, but part of her wished that she couldn't. Raccoon City no longer looked pristine or inviting; instead, it looked as though it was turning into something out of a bad dream.
Then, out of the blue, Louise heard a few thuds coming from above. Shooting her head up, she couldn't ascertain what made the noise, but it sounded like a few people stomping around. She then heard a faint whine and approaching rustle, almost as though something was being lowered.
"What the…?" Louise muttered, then pressed her ear against the wall. The noise was still faint, but she could feel the reverberation of the faint sounds its source was making. Her heartbeat began to quicken, and she stole a quick glance out the window to try and see what was going on.
At first, she saw nothing. She was prepared to leave it at that, but then she saw a dark silhouette on the roof of a building across the street. A figure obscured by shadow, looking right at their apartment. Specifically, the still alight living room, where Saito and his family currently were. Her eyes widened, and she prepared to yell out towards the Hiragas about the apparent danger.
She never got the chance. Before she could even so much as turn around, she heard the sound of breaking glass in the living room followed by small explosions. The thin boards over the apartment windows were smashed in, and the Hiragas screamed in terror as people forced their way inside.
"On the ground, now!" a man yelled, his voice muffled by both the still-standing wall Louise was hiding behind and what sounded like a face-covering mask. She heard grunts and shoving, along with doors to the bathroom and master bedroom being forced open, then a loud thud as something struck Mrs. Hiraga, sending her to the ground.
"Mom! You bastard!" Saito shouted, only for Louise to hear his body fall to the floor as he was struck as well.
"Don't move," a woman with a German accent ordered, and something clicked. Louise's breath hitched, and slowly she cracked open the door to peek inside the living room.
Saito and his parents were being held in the middle of the living room, shattered glass strewn about all around them. There was a nasty bruise on Mrs. Hiraga's face, and Saito was clutching his stomach while grimacing. Mr. Hiraga was forced to his knees, protectively placed in front of his family while glaring hatefully at the people invading their home.
Around them were five heavily armed men and women, wearing black and grey armored BDUs, their faces obscured by helmets and gas masks. Each uniform was slightly different, likely denoting their occupation. One, a blonde woman with a short bun and carrying what Louise recognized as an M4 Carbine thanks to Saito, was wearing a black, leather tunic that didn't seem too out of place from a macabre hospital. Another, an Asian woman with short black hair who only had the bottom of her face covered by a mask, was wearing a much greyer uniform that housed several canisters, syringes and some kind of extractor on her back. An MP5 submachine gun was in her hands, aimed squarely at Mr. Hiraga's head. The last woman, who had long brown hair tied into a much larger bun, was wearing a form-fitting black BDU with grey highlights along the outside of her legs and inside of her arms, her face covered in a light-blue gas mask that left her eyes showing behind its transparent face for anyone to see. Strapped to her back was an assault rifle Louise didn't recognize, but it appeared to have a carry handle on the top. She was holding a silver-grey pistol in her hand, which was aimed at Saito himself.
The two men who were with them were completely covered head to toe in armor. One of them looked like his armor was modeled after those meant for use by bomb disposal operators, being much thicker while at the same time housing multiple grenades and other explosives on belts strapped to his chest. He was holding a large pump-action shotgun, which was carefully being aimed around the room as he inspected nearly everything. Beside him, also currently rummaging through the apartment, was a man wearing what appeared to be a hooded cloak around his armor, one that had a strange hexagonal texture on it. Much like the first woman, he was carrying an M4.
"Bedroom one and two clear," the heavier man reported.
"Bathroom clear as well," the hooded man added as he began moving closer to Louise's room, causing the woman with the transparent face mask to impatiently growl and turn her head towards the Hiragas.
"Where's the girl? We know she's here," the brown-haired woman demanded, her voice carrying a French accent. Louise's eyes widened, realizing she was undoubtedly talking about her.
"Fuck you," Saito immediately replied, only to receive an upward kick to the head. He fell back and landed hard on his back, and he groaned and rolled around slightly before the blonde woman pinned him with her foot on his chest. He tried to struggle, only for the woman to aim her own pistol right at his face.
"One wrong move, and I won't hesitate to put a bullet in your head," the German woman declared. "Now, answer the question."
Saito nervously gulped, but otherwise remained silent and still as he hatefully glared at the woman. Rather than feel intimidated, the woman merely chuckled darkly then pressed harder down on his chest, making it harder for Saito to breathe.
"You leave my son alone!" Mr. Hiraga demanded, only for the French woman to press the barrel of her pistol against his head.
"Unless you want to see your son's brains splattered against the floor, you're going to give us what we want," the woman stated without an ounce of empathy. "I'm going to ask you one more time: where is the girl?"
Mr. Hiraga looked at his son, who was fervently shaking his head. He then looked at his wife, who was staring fearfully at her husband yet giving a silent plea to not answer. After a few moments, his gaze turned towards the room, where he and Louise made eye contact. It only lasted for a split second, but it was enough to harden his gaze as he turned back to his capture.
"Fuzakeru na," he answered. The French woman sighed and shook her head, then violently whipped him across the face with her pistol. Mr. Hiraga gasped and fell down to the ground as a trickle of blood ran down his face. Mrs. Hiraga yelped frightfully as she took hold of her husband, and the French woman stepped back.
"BERTHA, FOUR EYES, kill them," she ordered, turning around to face the two men with her. The two women immediately moved to comply, flicking the safeties of their weapons off as BERTHA hoisted Saito to his feet then threw him towards his parents. Aiming their weapons at the cowering family, red laser sights flicked on, revealing a small red dot that appeared on their foreheads.
Just as they prepared to pull their triggers, Louise let out an involuntary gasp, drawing everyone's attention. The French woman, whom Louise assumed to be their leader, caught a momentary glimpse of Louise as she retreated further into the room.
"VECTOR, grab her," the woman ordered, snapping her fingers. As a pair of footsteps quickly approached the door, Louise began to panic. Looking around the room to try and determine an avenue of escape, she found none. Desperate, she threw herself under the bed and covered her mouth with her hands tightly, trying her best to shroud her heavy, sharp breathing as the armed man made his way inside.
Glancing over, she saw the man's thick, black boots stomp next to the bed, and it took everything in her to prevent Louise from screaming out in fright. As the man continued prowling the room, he all too calmly said, "Come on out, Louise. I know you're in here. There's nothing to be afraid of. We don't want to hurt you."
Louise refused to reply, instead pressing her hands harder against her mouth while her entire body began to shake. VECTOR continued, "You're far more important than you even realize. What you can do, it's going to change the world. The people I work for want to help you do that. So, show yourself, and I promise the nice people outside won't get hurt."
Not believing him for a second, Louise remained hidden. Sweat trickled down her body, and tears began to pool at the edge of her eyes. Abject terror tightly gripped her heart and refused to let go, and it took all she could to prevent herself from crying.
The sound of footsteps stopped, and VECTOR angrily growled as he threw open the closet and swept the hanging clothes aside with his rifle, "You're trying my patience, girl. Either you come out right now, or I make you. And trust me, you're not going to like that."
He continued to stomp around the room, and Louise refused to move from her hiding spot. She heard him throw things off of the bed and nearby tables onto the floor, and Louise bit into her fingers to prevent herself from making a sound. VECTOR continued to prowl the room, only to stop right next to the bed. He then laughed to himself and remarked, "Of course, how stupid of me."
Louise's breathing stopped, and she slowly turned her head towards his boots. When he began to walk off, Louise internally sighed in relief, only to freeze as his head suddenly came into view.
"Hello, Louise," VECTOR greeted, and Louise screamed as he violently grabbed her and pulled her out from under the bed. Lifting her up, the armed man stared into her eyes as she tried to kick and punch her way free, but each blow did nothing. If anything, he seemed more amused then hurt.
Then Louise managed to kick between his legs, and he let out a grunt and momentarily lessened his grip. Louise tried to pry herself free, only for VECTOR to snarl, "You bitch!" then hurl her against the wall.
A loud ringing filled her ears and everything seemed to blur. In a daze, she didn't resist as VECTOR dragged her out of the room and threw her to Saito and his family, who immediately grabbed hold of her and protectively placed themselves in front of her.
"Did you have to damage her?" the French woman angrily asked, and VECTOR merely shrugged.
"She resisted, LUPO," VECTOR pointed out.
"You could've given her a concussion. Our orders were to bring her in unharmed," she reminded him, yet VECTOR didn't really seem to care. Sighing, LUPO snapped at the blonde woman and ordered, "BERTHA, check her."
"On it," BERTHA replied, immediately moving towards Louise. While Saito and his family attempted to block her, the Asian woman with them forced the family back with her MP5.
Louise's senses began to return to her as she felt the German woman inspect her, pressing her fingers against the bruise on her head which made her wince and shining a flashlight into her eyes. Thankfully, it didn't last long, and BERTHA quickly stepped back and turned towards her leader.
"She's fine. Just a bruise, nothing more," she reported, and LUPO nodded before turning back to VECTOR.
"That bruise is coming out of your paycheck," LUPO declared, pointing a finger at the armored man who just nonchalantly shrugged.
"Fine by me. Still getting millions for this," he pointed out.
Now fully cognizant, Louise looked around the room. Realizing that these men were mercenaries, she tried to figure out why they were after her. Then, to her horror, she noticed each of them had a patch on their shoulders. It depicted an octagon of alternating red and white segments, with the red sections pointed out further than the white to form spokes. A grey ring with black spikes between the spokes was in the background, and red lettering reading "U.S.S." could be seen at the bottom on a white banner. While the logo itself wasn't exact, Louise recognized it immediately.
That was the logo of the Umbrella Corporation. Umbrella had sent mercenaries after her, and there was only one reason why they would be interested in her. She felt sick to her stomach and began to hyperventilate, almost to the point she barely even heard LUPO begin to speak into her headset.
"Command, Subject Zero is contained," she spoke, pressing her fingers against her ears. "Requesting immediate helicopter extraction from the roof of our location."
The person on the other end of the line said something that Louise couldn't make out, but LUPO nodded and answered, "Slight bruising on her head. She resisted."
LUPO turned back and glared at an unrepentant VECTOR as the U.S.S. Command responded. After a moment, LUPO replied, "I understand, sir. It won't happen again. We found her with her guardians. What do you want us to do with them?"
A heavy moment passed as Louise and the Hiragas stared at LUPO. When it passed, LUPO nodded and replied, "Of course, sir."
LUPO's fingers moved away from her ear and she pulled out her pistol again. She then ordered, "BELTWAY, VECTOR, take her upstairs. BERTHA, FOUR EYES, dispose of the others."
Louise's eyes went wide as did Saito's. Mrs. Hiraga fearfully began to cry and tried crawling back, taking her son and her husband with her, but the other mercenaries didn't let them get too far.
"No!" Louise shouted, trying to make her way towards them, only for the heavily-armed man with the shotgun to powerfully grab her shoulder and throw her to the ground.
Pinning her in place, he moved her arms behind her back and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. She struggled, trying to free herself while staring at Saito and his family. Mr. Hiraga held his wife close, while Saito stared at her with wide eyes. At the same time, he glanced towards the discarded baseball bat that was lying next to the sofa, and his body began to tense. Realizing what he was about to do, Louise could only watch helplessly, unable to do a thing.
Suddenly, they heard a loud screeching noise of tires on pavement from right outside, followed by the crunching of metal as a large semi-truck lost control. It swerved, swiping away scores of abandoned and parked vehicles before slamming into the front of the apartment complex, sending a rattling tremor throughout the entire building.
"What the hell?!" BELTWAY yelled as the mercenaries reflexively turned towards the source of the disturbance.
It was enough time for Saito to rush towards the baseball bat, and he picked it up and immediately swung towards the nearest mercenary to him. That turned out to be FOUR EYES, who was struck in the gut, and she doubled over as Saito spun around and hit BERTHA on the back, knocking her down as well.
"Shit!" VECTOR shouted, aiming his rifle at Saito. Just as he pulled the trigger, however, Mr. Hiraga barreled into him, tackling him into the ground and attempting to wrestle the rifle away from him while also punching his head. The shot went wide, but the noise was enough to make Louise's ears ring. LUPO attempted to fire on him, only for Mrs. Hiraga to join her husband by slamming herself into the ringleader against the wall, brandishing a kitchen knife that she had been hiding beneath her skirt, and was now attempting to use it with deadly intent.
Without missing a beat, Saito ran up and upward swung his wooden baseball bat against BELTWAY's armored head. The blow wasn't enough to topple him over, but it did make him stumble back and allowed Louise to roll away. He reached for his pistol, but before he could raise it up, Louise tore her wand out from her pocket and aimed it squarely at him.
"Fireball!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, not bothering to control how much force she put into it. The resulting explosion sent the heavily armed and armored mercenary flying back and through the drywall, and the fighting momentarily ceased as everyone stared at her. Saito's parents were shocked, trying to comprehend what they had just seen. Even the mercenaries were surprised, but not as much. More like they had been notified of what she could do, but still seeing it for the first time threw them for a loop.
That hesitation lasted for only a moment, though, especially as BELTWAY began to pull himself out from the rubble. Louise prepared to cast again, only for Mr. Hiraga to shout, "Louise, Saito, go!"
Realizing what he was being asked, Saito's eyes widened and he began to protest, "But Dad-!"
"Just go!" his mother joined in, and the two parents continued to fight the mercenaries. It was obvious that they weren't as strong and were losing the edge their surprise attack provided them.
Knowing what they had to do, but hating herself for going along with it, Louise began to pull Saito back towards her room and the fire escape on the other side.
"Saito, come on!" she instructed, but Saito struggled and tried to rejoin his family.
"No, I'm not leaving them!" he protested, only for his parents to shoot him a pleading, tearful look.
"Saito, please! Take Louise and run!" they begged, even as his father was clubbed off of VECTOR, and LUPO twisted his mother's knife hand away before pulling her into a chokehold. BERTHA and FOUR EYES began to pick themselves up as well, glaring hatefully at the boy with murderous intent.
"But...I…" Saito tried to articulate, only to feel Louise desperately pulling at his hoodie's sleeve. Giving his parents one last regretful look, the two of them ran into Louise's room and slammed the door shut. They then heaved over a large cabinet which served as Louise's closet, temporarily blocking the armed men from barging inside.
"Come on, let's go!" Saito yelled as he threw the window open and climbed through, Louise right behind him. As they began rushing down the fire escape, they heard her wooden door begin to splinter before finally being broken off its hinges. Looking up, they saw BELTWAY's armored head angrily peering down at them from the top of the fire escape, and he slammed his fist against the metal before following through, shotgun in hand.
Then a shot rang out and a bullet struck the masonry right behind Saito and Louise just as they got onto another level of the fire escape, making them both scream. Louise's head shot to the other end of the street, where she saw a third man, wearing a light grey BDU with telescopic goggles over his masked helmet, aiming at them with a scopeless rifle.
"Hold your fire, SPECTRE, you might hit the girl!" BELTWAY yelled out as he rushed down at them.
Realizing that they had to get out of their line of sight immediately, Saito and Louise picked up the pace and continued down the fire escape. Once they reached the bottom level, Saito jumped down, narrowly avoiding a sprain by landing in a crouch, then turned back and held out his arms for Louise fall into. She jumped down as well, with Saito catching his much lighter friend before carefully placing her on the ground. He quickly picked his baseball bat back up, then together the pair of teenagers ran out into the dark city, their pursuers right behind them.
[~][~]
Hello, everyone! Here's the long-awaited next chapter of Familiar Evil. Special thanks to Jesse K and NaanContributor for their help in bringing this chapter to life.
The sanctity of the Hiragas' home has been irrevocably violated, forcing Saito and Louise to run for their lives right into the heart of the city. Their nightmare has begun.
Now, I have an announcement to make, one that I don't take lightly. Due to the sheer number of reviews I am getting, it is becoming a hassle for me to respond to all of them. As such, I unfortunately will no longer be doing the Q&A sessions I have been doing for all of my stories over the past few years. They were significantly delaying me in posting the chapters on , taking upwards of an hour to do. Rest assured, though, if you guys do have any specific questions I am more than willing to answer them in a private message. I will also go ahead and answer any recurring or notable questions I see from the reviews for everyone to see. I'll just no longer be responding to you all individually in the author's notes section of the chapter.
To answer some of these questions, this story does indeed take place at the same time as RE2 and RE3. It does not, however, override those stories. My intention here is to tell a parallel story to those games. They might meet up once or twice, but mostly via cameos if the encounter makes sense.
Regarding scenarios from the Outbreak games, they along with the other Raccoon City games are an inspiration here. So, while I won't be overriding anything from those encounters, you may see some winks and nods towards them. Regarding omakes, as much as I love writing them for my other stories, they don't really fit the tone here so I won't be doing them. You can expect to see Umbrella Files, though.
Yes, my stories do tend to be long. I like to cram in as much detail as possible. I think it's worked out pretty well for me so far.
In a way, all of the movies that I had Louise and Saito watch were meant to do something important, either setting the tone of the specific situation or foreshadow an occurrence later on in the plot. Some are subtle, others are much more blatant, which is intentional. As for which is which, you'll have to wait and see.
Regarding the Varyag and the Markey, more on them later in the story but, essentially, the Markey were Louise's ancestors and the Varyag were an ancient non-magical but technologically advanced civilization that tried hunting them down, thus setting into motion the chain of events that is Familiar of Zero's canon plot.
Regarding the encounter in the forest, both with the zombie human in the background as well as the dog, the former was just something I thought was creepy. As for the dog, that was a reference to the start of RE1. What's more, Umbrella did not send that dog after Louise. That was pure happenstance, meant to show much bad things have gotten.
As for the Pope and Julio's plans, do remember that once the spell is cast, Vittorio can't cast anything else for a week. He won't be able to watch them as things unfold as he'll be recovering. Even then, also remember that Julio is a good man who feels forced by necessity to do bad things for the sake of his people, whereas Vittorio is doing that but also being blinded by religious fanaticism. Of the two, only Vittorio is really the villain, but time will tell how Julio acts once he arrives in Raccoon City.
Losing the Kendo Gun Shop section sucked, let that be known. But, in the end, I think it worked out for the best.
And yes, the nightmare has officially begun. I hope you guy like the little snippets of slice of life this chapter provided. You're not going to see that again. Am I cruel? A bit, yes.
That's it for this update. I hope you all enjoy and let us know what you think. Also, please feel free to update the TV Tropes page. I really appreciate any help you guys can give with it.
See you all next time!