Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, it is property of Capcom
Editing is such hard work! I understand the site isn't really known for the best-written projects but I do like to polish my work if only to improve when I start my original works. I'm hoping the polish is noticeable, if I miss anything please inform me. Thank you.
Chapter 3: Honey Don't Let Go
I counted three altogether and two just so happened to find me interesting. I dodged their lazy swings; their lanky build made precise strikes nearly impossible. One swung and I ducked, swept my leg to their feet. The bugger fell back, however, I wasn't too attentive to the second. He knocked me upside the head hard. I fell forward in a daze then rolled away before the Rasklapanje could pin me beneath it. My eyes darted between my assailants, body low in preparation to sprint.
I shouted to Leon. "We can't fight these things! They regenerate!"
Leon growled as the lower half of his Rasklapanje spat noxious gas into his face. It gave the monster a moment to reassemble itself and laughed at Leon's face.
"You don't say!" he shouted back. "You wouldn't happen to have a grenade handy?"
I ducked under another swing, evaded a severed hand from jumping at my face. "Oh, sure! Let me just pull one out of my ass!"
"On second thought, keep it," Leon shot ceaselessly at the top half of his monster until it went gray.
A growl erupted from my chest. I ran and jumped to land a hard kick at a Rasklapanje's head, only for the lower half to be completely unfazed. The thing hobbled forward, intent on incapacitating me. I dodged its awkward kick then turned towards Leon.
"Don't waste your ammo on these things. Let's just get the hell away from here!"
"Fine by me!" Leon gripped my hand then ran into the nearest department store.
It wasn't difficult to outrun the Rasklapanje but I needed to catch my breath. We found a temporary hiding spot at a men's suit section. I sat down on the floor to slow my racing heartbeat. Leon inspected his handgun magazine with a sigh.
"How are you on ammo?" I asked.
"On the low side."
"I told you so."
"You must have so many friends," he laughed, keeping an eye out for more enemies.
"Oh, yea, droves."
Leon smiled while he rolled his eyes. "We need to find weapons that don't require ammo."
"You could always blind them with that smile," I shrugged.
"I'm serious. We need to scavenge for something more useful than stupid bow ties."
"Hey! Don't knock on bow ties, they're cool."
Leon shot me an unamused look.
"Okay, okay." I stood up with a sigh. "Well, we surely aren't going to find anything useful in the men's section. Maybe we should wander into the kitchen section."
"Really?"
"Knives, genius! Kitchen knives can be lethal."
"Okay, lead the way then."
"Um okay," I looked for some kind of signage to guide me through the departments. "This way?"
"You're asking me or telling me?"
I smiled sheepishly. "Yes."
We wandered cautiously down the aisles, pretty much ready to bolt at any sign of danger. A few zombies were standing idly at odd places. Leon and I had to sneak around racks of clothes or hide behind counters like children trying to entertain themselves while mum shopped. When the pots and electric kettles were in sight a bloodcurdling scream rang through the store. The scream was nearby but what chilled me was the voice. A familiar husky tone I hadn't expected to hear calling for someone named Jeanette.
His voice rang through the aisles clearly. The familiarity of the voice solidified heavily in my stomach. Leon tapped me on the shoulder.
"Now's our chance!" He hurried to find the kitchen knife sets and I followed his lead.
Part of me wanted to ignore his cries and let that foul man just die. There wasn't an honorable, selfless, or courageous bone in the man's body. Bugger deserved whatever karma had cooked for him. However, my friends had also awakened a more selfless and heroic part of me I never thought existed. Unfortunately, the damn bitch wouldn't go back to sleep. He continued to yell out desperately for Jeanette. I rolled my eyes and snarled under my breath while I followed Leon.
As we cleared the bedding section, we found the man scampering away from a couple of zombies. My grip tightened on the handle of my butcher's knife. Leon's training sprung to life. His limbs moved fluidly from swipes to kicks. Leon swung his knife to stun a zombie; used the momentum to spin his body into a powerful backward roundhouse-kick. I took a deep breath to calm my inner fangirl from drooling over the agent.
My feet hardly cooperated when I moved forward. A zombie lunged; I ducked under its arms to follow with a knee to its abdomen. The woman doubled over then I drove my knife into her skull. Another zombie burst from a rack of clothes. He knocked me back on my ass but he kept rushing. I scrambled backward on my hands and feet until I managed a solid kick to his face. I used the force to roll back to regain my footing. He tried to latch on to my shoulder but instinct finally took command. I locked the joints in his arm and spun him to force the bugger to the ground. He snarled while I pressured his shoulder into the ground and Leon quickly stuck his knife into their cranium.
The man's blue eyes were wide and glued to me. "J.D, I thought," he stuttered while his eyes followed the way my body moved as I stood up. "You're alive?"
Shit, thanks, Lady Luck, lovely as always. I sighed. "Frankly, Bennett, I'm almost as shocked to see you're still alive too."
"You have to help me find Jeanette!" he reached for my hand but Leon immediately took his wrist.
Leon's ocean eyes looked to me. Oh no, nothing escapes the agent.
The stern, inquisitive gleam in Leon's gaze sent chills surfing along my veins. "You know this guy?"
"Yeah."
"Okay," Leon directed his attention to Bennett. "Where's Jeanette?"
"This way!" Bennett ran ahead and we followed.
Bennett's presence forced my mind to wade through memories of Ray, the gang, and John. I could hear Ray's yelling echo in my mind. The pain laced in every word stabbed at me like red-hot pokers. My chest tightened. A female's shriek rang in the department store. We all picked up the pace to follow the sound. A group of zombies stumbled into racks of clothes.
Shit, they spotted her.
A sharp whistle erupted from Leon's lips and both Bennett and I looked at him like he went insane.
"What are you doing?" I said through my teeth.
"Don't worry," he put up his hands for a battle.
I pushed Bennett behind a counter. "Don't make a sound."
Most of the zombies ran for us and only a few were dead set on hunting Jeanette, no pun intended. Okay, maybe it was intended. I ducked under a lunge and evaded their feeble attempts to nab me like it was some dance. Clumpy blood dripped on my clothes and skin with every slash of my knife. A zombie found an opening to bite me on the arm but Leon grabbed the collar of his shirt then kicked the bugger clear across the aisle.
I managed to herd a handful of zombies behind a large clothes rack to clear a path. Leon and I rushed ahead; witnessed a young girl trip and a zombie ready to fall on her. I jumped. I gripped the zombie off the toddler but ended up with the bugger on top of me instead. For bloody sake!
I forced my butcher's knife right between his eyes. The brief resistance of skull against blade gave into a sigh of satisfaction when the knife slid into brain matter. Blood dripped down the steel and off the handle onto my hand. I brushed the corpse off me; took a moment to lie there and fight against a shudder.
Warmth radiated through my body. I hated the pride swelling in my chest. These zombies were not merely monsters they were civilians. They were victims of some twat that thought Resident Evil would be a fun universe to live in. Still, the thrill of cutting an enemy down was one hell of a high.
"Jeanette!" Bennett swept the young girl into his arms with relief.
Laughter, dark and cynical, erupted from my chest at the sight of parental affection.
"What?" he snapped.
"Since when were you caring for your clones, Bennett?"
"How dare you! She's not a clone, per se, she is my daughter."
I sat up with a start. "I beg your pardon? What does that mean?"
Bennett rolled his eyes and I finally had a good look at Jeanette. Jeanette was much tanner than Bennett and her hair was jet black. Those eyes.
She walked towards me with earnest brown eyes and a smile. "Thank you."
"Sure."
Jeanette scrutinized me for a moment before her eyes grew larger.
"What?" I stood up, quirked an eyebrow at her.
"Nothing," her face flushed pink as she looked between Bennett and me.
I sampled the air around Jeanette surreptitiously. Her scent had a strong flowery tinge with notes of saltine Red Wood. My instincts were screaming exactly what I feared. Oh hell no!
I pinched the bridge of my nose as dread settled cold and heavy in my gut. "You two better head to the roof. That's the evacuation point last I heard."
Bennett sighed. "Good idea. I had already sent an S. O. S. to John. He'll arrive soon."
He sent who an S. O. S.? No, not him, shit! My entire body had tensed and I grit my teeth. "You what?"
"A lot has changed since you've been dea- away. Things are complicated."
Blood coursed icily through me and I had to ball my hands into fists to fight against the shakiness. "Okay, sure. We better go, Leon."
"Okay hold on there," Leon towered over me and the distinct gleam of mistrust in his eyes hurt more than it should have. "Which one is it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you Neah Rosewood or J.D?"
"I-" a low, grating sigh erupted from my chest. "Don't have time for this. We need to go."
I tried to march forward but he clutched my arm and spun me so I could face his stern gaze. "I'd rather know exactly who I'm working with. Those moves, you don't learn that just anywhere."
I tried to pull away but his damn hold was like a vice. His hold made my insides squirm and knot together. "I doubt you have problems with a little mystery, Kennedy. But if your panties get in a bunch being around me then you're free to go."
His hands moved to my shoulders and he kept me still. "How did you know my last name?" his voice was dark and skeptical but all that did was flutter my core. "Okay, spill it! How do you really know about me?"
Being this close to him is too damn distracting. I can't think straight! I tried to sift through Resident Evil lore for a proper cover but nothing seemed foolproof to satisfy a D.S.O agent.
A high-pitched roar echoed in the department store.
Leon was distracted and that was all I needed to slip from his grasp. I twisted behind him and push-kicked him into a rack of clothes. I ran off like a damn fugitive. Great! Well done, totally not a dumb call!
I ventured out of the department store to the second floor of the mall. Bloody hell, it can't be helped. Once trust is lost a pair or group is doomed.
Zombies stood idly in the halls among the massacre and shattered glass. Before I trekked forward, a tug on my jacket chilled me. I spun quickly and pinned Jeanette to a wall. A warped image of bared teeth and piercing, green eyes reflected off the aluminum partition behind Jeanette like a fun-house mirror.
"What are you doing here?" I said through my teeth.
"Calm down, J.D." Bennett pulled me away from his daughter like he was dealing with an agitated dog. "You instructed we make our way to the roof. Considering you're here I suspect our chances of survival are higher if we stay with you."
"You're suspicions are wrong. You'll get yourself killed around me."
"You're the most powerful being I had ever met. I understand you're a loner but-"
I rolled my eyes as we hid behind the wall. "I'm just as defenseless as you are, sort of."
"What are you talking about?"
"Long story short. I'm useless."
His blue eyes widened as the horror started to settle in. "Tony. He's complicated your life as well hasn't he?"
I exhaled a sarcastic laugh.
Bennett shook his head then looked down to Jeanette. "No matter, you're a survivor. We're sticking with you."
"Suit yourself, mate. I'm not promising we'll make it out of here in one piece."
"Then promise you'll make sure Jeanette does."
My eyes narrowed on Bennett. Since when does the mad scientist care for anyone besides himself?
He grabbed my hand tenderly in his and locked eyes with me. "Promise she's going to make it out of this mess. As an old friend."
A chuckle escaped my throat while I rolled my eyes. "Bennett we were never friends. I was just gaining your trust for my own purposes, as you were if I recall correctly."
"Promise, J.D! You wouldn't let a child suffer would you?"
My eyes narrowed and I focused back on the zombies, damn Ray and his rehabilitation skills. "Stay low and stay quiet. This way."
The click of Bennett's heels set the rhythm of our quick pace as we stalked the halls. Occasionally, there'd be a zombie I had to dispose of quietly; the butcher's knife wasn't going to hold out much longer. Jeanette clung to my leg the entire time except when I had to make a kill. For a small child in the middle of a nightmare, she was surprisingly calm.
My jaw clenched tight as I peeked around the corner of a gated store. "Explain, Bennett."
"What?"
"You said she wasn't a clone per se. If she isn't intrinsically a clone then what is she?"
"My daughter."
My annoyance zeroed in on Bennett. "You had my D.N.A somewhere didn't you, fucking bastard."
He rolled his eyes and sucked his teeth in defiance. "Now really isn't the time."
I hummed noncommittally, he wasn't wrong. Zombies stood idly like knackered twats and there was no way I could get around them without calling attention.
My grip on the kitchen knife tightened. "I have to distract them. Once it's clear rush up the escalator and take cover somewhere to wait for me."
Bennett nodded. Bloody hell, Bennett had just skewed my plans. Jeanette did not help matters; if she was created with my D.N.A then there were worse things to worry about than B.O.W. If that little girl lost her temper or got too scared I would have to step in to control the situation. Showing off was the last damn thing on my agenda. Fucking Bennett!
I took the first zombie in reach down, its cranium caved under my boots. I stared down at the snarling beasts rushing for me. Their hungry hands started to tear at my jacket while I dodged their lunges. Bennett and Jeanette rushed up the escalator as instructed but I had to lose the horde pretty damn quick before they were spotted by something.
Dodging their hands and teeth was more difficult than anticipated. I grimaced under the slashes tearing up my skin. The stings across my face fed the furnace in my gut. A coppery taste tickled the corner of my mouth. Every swipe of my knife painted the air with infected blood and I could smell the disease, the rot, infuse into the atmosphere. When a gaping mouth jumped in my peripheral my knife pierced the hard palate of the zombie. Blood and saliva spurted onto my face and I was forced to abandon the knife. I elbowed another zombie and ducked under the arms as I scrambled for an opening.
Shit if I don't let loose I'm gonna fucking die but damned if I do!
I spun away from a hand, felt the nails drag trenches into my jacket, and pain quickly blossomed across my face when I collided into a forearm.
"Leon wait!" a female's voice called out in the chaos.
Gunshots erupted among the horde. Blood splattered into the air. Clumps of flesh and clotted blood rained onto me as I struggled with an overweight zombie on top of me. It jerked to the side, fell limp when a gunshot drilled into its head. Leon's hand reached down and he pulled me up effortlessly.
He hauled me close, locked in ocean eyes. "You can't get rid of me that easily. You're stuck with me now."
