Okay so, I have fallen in love with Resident Evil and its characters (the fandom is also wonderful). However, I am frustrated by the Capcom's lack of exploration into some of these fascinating antagonists! I mean, the daughters alone are beyond interesting and deserved far more screen time. Don't even get me started on Donna Beneviento. Anyways, I'm primarily writing this for catharsis and to, of course, improve my writing. Chapters will have individual trigger warnings will be added as the story progress- don't want to give anything away, after all. Plus, I will be exploring many more characters from REVIII will feature in this work, but FF won't let me tag them for...some reason.
I'd appreciate any and all feedback that you have!
The rundown Volkswagen plodded along the narrow forest road, the obnoxious sound of the overworked engine reverberating off the trees that flanked both sides of the pavement. The last vestiges of sunlight reflected off the chipped blue paint of the vehicle as day began to give way into night. While humidity clogged the air, distant rain clouds promised a reprieve from the suffocating heat.
"Are you sure we should have taken directions from that guy? He didn't seem…all there, if you catch my drift," Alex asked, leaning forward in the passenger seat to try and make sense of the map in his hands. Despite the map being in English, he had no better understanding of it than he did twenty minutes ago. "I mean, I have no idea where we are currently. According to this map, this road doesn't even actually exist."
Silas dismissively waved off Alex's words, keeping one hand firmly on the steering wheel. "It's alright. He was kind enough and I mostly understood his Polish. Besides, we have plenty of gas, so even if we aren't on the exact right path I'm sure we will find another place to stop and ask for more directions." While he sounded calm, he did worry a bit about driving through the forest roads in the encroaching darkness. Plus, a storm seemed imminent given the shape of the eastward clouds. He just hoped they wouldn't have to pull over to the side of the road for the night.
"I'm sure we're fine. I'm still just baffled how we managed to pick the one rent-a-car without a working A/C," Thiago chimed in from the backseat, an edge of annoyance tainting his voice. The humidity had plagued him since the day's journey began, a constant layer of sweat sticking to his skin. He lifted his forearm to wipe across his damp brow and push away loose strands of black hair from his forehead. "I didn't think southern Poland would get so humid this time of year."
"That is if we're still even in Poland," Alex dryly remarked, twisting the map to try examining it from a different angle while sunlight could still be used. Oh, how he wished they had some actual cell service. Google Maps would be infinitely more practical than his attempt to suddenly get good at reading maps.
Alex's tension eased when Silas gripped his shoulder with his free hand, glancing briefly over at him to offer a comforting smile. Alex felt his heart tighten as he looked away from the map and returned the grin. The sunset accentuated all of Silas' best features; his pale blue eyes shone just a bit brighter in the fading incandescent glow. His, admittedly sweat-stained, shoulder-length brunette locks framed his gentle expression that conveyed a sense of calm.
Things would turn out okay.
"Hey lovers, while I can appreciate the moment and emotional support, I'd recommend putting both hands on the wheel and looking at the road. Last thing we need is to breakdown with no cell service," Thiago cut in from the backseat, leaning forward against the console. "Also, let me see the map. I think you're holding it upside down."
Both men sheepishly complied with Thiago's words, a faint blush staining their features. "I was trying to look at it from a different perspective," Alex weakly defended, passing the map back as he settled his eyes on the road ahead of them. The shadows of the numerous trees began to loom larger as the sun dipped below the horizon line. Soon the rain would come and he really hoped they could find shelter before then.
"You really think you can figure it out?" Silas inquired skeptically, looking into the rearview mirror. Thiago gave a flippant shrug as he scanned over the map, his eyes darting to and fro while his fingers traced lines along the coffee-stained paper. He soon scrunched up his nose, pulling the map closer to his face.
Very promising.
"All those years of studying history forced me to become well-acquainted with maps, so I might be able to figure something out." Thiago's eyes scanned the markers on the map and the bending routes. There appeared to be a nearby village in their general location, however it was up in the air whether or not they were headed towards it or away from it. Alex was certainly correct; this road didn't seem to be marked on the map.
"Then why did you spend the last twenty minutes watching me try to read it?" Alex asked, turning in the passenger seat to give Thiago a withering stare. He loved his friend; he truly did. They'd been conjoined at the hip since childhood. But there were moments he wanted to whack him upside the head.
"I thought it was funny to watch," Thiago admittedly candidly, once again shrugging while keeping his eyes on the map. He was the guy in the backseat; he was responsible for snacks and keeping everyone hydrated. Passenger seat was the navigator, obviously.
"We're lost and you wanted to watch me suffer!?"
"We are not lost," Silas corrected, casually taking a hand off of the wheel to playfully swat at Alex. "This is just a detour."
"Without A/C or my phone, I needed some way to ignore the fact that this car smells like a teenager's laundry hamper." Thiago repressed his irritation at the memory of fumbling his phone into the Oder river when they crossed into Poland. "Plus, you called shotgun." Thiago began to trace his finger along a line on the map, casting a glance out the window and ignoring Alex's complaints. "Also, this is one hell of a detour. Good news, we are pretty close to a village, I think. Bad news, we have a long way to go before hitting the Slovakian border."
"Oh well, what is life without some adventure? Even if it does smell a little," Silas offered, turning back to flash a grin at his friend. They'd been planning this trip since their undergrad years of college: An odyssey across Europe to hit each of the countries their ancestors were from. Alex had gotten to see Germany, Silas would get to see Slovakia, and then Thiago would get to visit Italy. They'd already gotten sidetracked a handful of times, what was one more? True, a detour into the woods when it was about to rain was…not ideal. But they'd find some shelter soon!
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just hope—LOOK OUT!" Thiago shouted, pointing towards the center of the road. With both Alex and Silas looking back at him, neither had spotted the hunched over person in the middle of the road that the car was rapidly approaching. He had told those idiots to watch the road!
Both men whirled forward, the car hurdling towards the seemingly unaware individual ahead of them. Silas laid on the horn and jerked the wheel to his left, attempting to avoid fatally hitting the figure. What happened next was a blur.
The front of the car had failed to overcome the dense tree that Silas had collided with in a desperate effort to not hit the crouched person. The sound of metal and wood clashing pierced each of their ear drums as they were tossed forward on impact. Silas and Alex were thankfully kept restrained due to their seatbelts, white airbags exploded into their faces to shield them from the glass and debris.
Thiago did not have as much luck.
While still restrained, his forehead had smacked against the thin cloth material of the headrest when he flew forward. Moreover, while the seatbelt protected him, it had also wrapped around his neck. He fell back into his seat, unconscious.
The force of the impact had only disoriented Alex, who had remained relatively unscathed by the crash. Silas, however, had been repelled by the force of the airbag which caused the back of his head to collide with the poorly made headrest. His figure slumped to the side, eyes closed and his breathing faint.
"Silas…" Alex began weakly, trying to regain his bearings and reach out for him while keeping the world from spinning out of control. Shit, who just sits in the middle of the road? He lifted his other hand to push away the airbag that practically smothered the front portion of his body. Before his hand could grip Silas' shoulder, he heard voices nearby.
"Damnit Daniela, you weren't supposed to make them crash! You probably killed them!"
"How the fuck was I supposed to know that the idiots wouldn't just stop!? Who drives around the woods at dusk and doesn't look at the road!? This is not my fault!"
"Both of you shut up! Daniela, go check to see if any of them survived. It's getting late and we don't need to be caught out in the rain."
Alex felt his blood run cold from the words spoken by the feminine voices and the subsequent sound of buzzing. Had he heard them right? Was this all some kind of set up? Who were they? Fuck! He needed to wake both of them up. Before Alex could pull Silas towards him, a face cloaked by a hood peered in through Silas' windows. Despite the hood's shadow, he could make out a pair of distinct golden eyes peering at him. They then shifted to Silas and Thiago's unconscious forms.
"Three males, two of which are unconscious," The woman reported, her face disappearing from the window.
"How many do you think we can carry?"
"They all seem healthy and well-built. So, probably only one given Cassandra's bony arms."
"Hey!"
"Grab whichever you think mother would enjoy best and let's go. If we're caught out in the rain we'll have to physically carry it and risk being exposed."
Alex didn't miss the hint of urgency in what he assumed was the leader's voice. The thought was pushed to the back of his mind as he struggled to crawl across the console to Silas. He couldn't let them take him or Thiago. "Silas, Thiago, wake up…" Alex rasped out, shaking Silas with as much strength as he could muster. He spared a glance to Thiago, a welt already beginning to form on his forehead. Neither budged from their spots.
While he tried to wake Silas and Thiago, a searing pain erupted throughout his entire being. He couldn't help but cry out in pain, craning his head to look back towards where the pain radiated from: his left leg. Much to his anguish, he found what looked to be a sickle embedded deep into his calf. No longer veiled in shadows, the deranged pale face of a woman now peered into him through his car window. A wicked grin split her expression as she firmly yanked Alex back into his seat and sent blinding pain flaring through him.
"Why don't you be a good little boy for me and take a seat!" The woman shouted, unhooking the sickle from his leg, blood now pouring from the wound. Alex clutched his calf, watching in horror as she licked his blood from the sickle. Her face began to twist as she swished the blood around in her mouth. Finally, she shrugged and began to walk away, a loud buzzing filling his ears as she did.
"Too bitter, mother would probably hate this for her meal."
"Daniela, stop playing with the food and get a move on!"
"I just want to make sure mother doesn't yell at us! If our hunt is unsuccessful then it all falls on your head, Bela!" The woman, apparently known as Daniela, reappeared at Silas' door faster than Alex could comprehend. She lifted her sickle, dragging it carefully along the crook of his neck. "Now, let's see about you."
"Don't you fucking touch him," Alex grated out, once again trying to move forward. However, he quickly found pushing himself forward to be much more difficult when he had a gaping hole in his calf. God damnit! He couldn't let them take either of his companions. He tried to surge his body forward but only made marginal progress.
Ignoring him, Daniela tasted the blood she had scrapped from Silas and once more swished it about in her mouth. This time her features seemed to light up, a smile spreading across her features once more, her crimson teeth now shining in the emerging moonlight. "Oh, now this is exquisite! The perfect blend of sweet and tangy! Dinner is going to be fantastic tonight; I don't even need to taste the other option." Moving with inhuman deftness, Daniela swung the car door open and began to collect the unconscious Silas in her arms, ripping apart his seatbelt with the sickle.
"Fucking stop!" Alex cried, desperately diving forward only for his hand to grasp at thin air.
"Hey, should I kill this man-thing? Plus the other one in the backseat?" Daniela called out, ignoring Alex as she labored to get Silas away from the car. The sound of thunder rumbling in the distance felt hollow against Alex's ears as he watched Silas get carried away. "Also a little bit of help would be more than welcome! Miranda above, he is heavy."
"Leave them, they'll either follow us or the lycans will get them. Both options will result in their death. We can just come back in the morning to check."
Alex desperately tried to claw his way forward, climbing over the console and tumbling out onto the cold, hard ground. Using the door as support he pulled himself upward, staring over the roof of the car to a sight he would never forget.
Silas was being supported by three women, cloaked in black robes, each one holding a different part of his body. He could barely believe his eyes as those forms seemed to dissipate into thin air, each of them phasing into a swarm of what appeared to be insects that managed to keep Silas afloat with disembodied hands gripping his limbs.
This…this all had to be some kind of bad dream…There was no way this could be real.
Regardless of Alex's disbelief, Silas and the swam of bugs surged down the road and quickly out of view.