RESIDENT EVIL: FAN FICTION
RICHARD SARIUS'S JOURNAL
BY GREG STUBBS
July 18, 1998-First entry
I have been reading the several articles in the newspaper dealing with the sightings of dog-like creatures by the Arklay Mountains. So far there have been numerous reports of so-called "cannibal-killers" apparently eating their victims. Among these victims include the discovery of a female hiker's mutilated body being fished out of a river in Raccoon Forest, as well as the corpse of an unidentified woman in an abandoned lot. Today I just read an article about the bodies of a young couple, both nineteen years old, being discovered in Victory Park, making the eighth and ninth victims of the cannibal murders. It seems that the Raccoon City Police are setting up barricades to prevent any more murders from occurring, but it is uncertain how effective this may be. There have also been rumors of the Raccoon faction of S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics and Rescue Squad) being sent out to investigate the outskirts of Raccoon City for the cannibal killers as well as any other victims.
These disturbing events, however unfortunate, interest me. I would like to become a part of the investigation and record what I find. A news story like this would put the Raccoon Press, the local newspaper I write for, on the top. Since I am only a journalist, the chances of the police letting me work along side them are slim. Therefore, I'm going out on my own. I will set up shelter within the Raccoon forest and try to reveal some of the secrets of these strange events. I have told only a handful of people about my investigation, most of them being close friends and family. They all told me I was crazy and asked me if I would like to become another one of those victims who are eaten alive. I don't care what they say. I know I'm taking a risk, but a story like this could make me a wealthy man as well as get me a good reputation as a reporter. I plan to leave for the forest on the 20th.
July 20, 1998
3:15 PM
Today is the first day of my investigation. It's been about two hours since I first arrived here in Raccoon Forest. Since my family won't even talk to me, I had to take a taxi and ask the driver to drop me off on the side of the road.
My equipment includes:
my journal
canned food along with some candy bars
a canteen
a flashlight
a 9mm handgun
binoculars
my cell phone
extra clothes
a leather jacket extra shoes a tarp in case of rain and most importantly, my camera
I'm excited about what I am going to do. I've spent most of my career just sitting at a desk in my office or showing up at press releases, but now my work has become much more exciting. I'm willing to get the story in a way that no other reporter is.
During the first two hours of my stay I have been walking around in both the tree-covered areas as well as the grass fields. The area is very quiet for the most part and very green. There always seems to be a slight breeze. I have started to search for any evidence of the cannibal murders, but I am mostly just trying to find an ideal place to set camp. Since the murderers probably travel on the ground, I find it is safer to live up in a tree. This way I will have a birds-eye view of anything that happens out of the ordinary. There has been one possible piece of evidence that I uncovered lying in a large grass field. It seems to be a scientist's lab coat. I took a polaroid immediately after discovering it. The coat is covered with large amounts of dried up blood and is torn to shreds. I don't know where it came from or how it got there. Perhaps it belonged to one of the victims?
July 21, 1998
8:35 PM
I have found shelter in a tall tree that overlooks a large grass field on one side, but faces the forest on the other. I have a map of where the victims were found among the area, and I wanted a place that was kind of near all of them. This location marks the spot. Although living among the branches of a tree is a tad uncomfortable, I am satisfied with my decision because I have a great view of everything. Besides, I don't plan on staying here in the forest for more than a few days. After finding the torn up lab coat yesterday, I pretty much just got my equipment organized in the large tree and studied the field with my binoculars. The area is pretty dull during the daytime, but I found that as it got darker the suspense grew. As I sit among the branches at night and look though my binoculars with my camera ready, I listen to the soft rustling of the grass along with an occasional howl off in the distance. The howling doesn't get to me much, but I am pretty glad that I am far away from the animal rather than closer. Along with that, the soft chirping of a cricket can be heard from time to time. When I listen closely I hear the rustling of the grass become slightly louder and more violent, almost as if something is running through the grass field. Pretty odd. Fortunately, the moonlight puts a white glaze over the treetops and enables me to see the grass field pretty well so that if anything runs near my tree I will most likely see it.
July 22, 1998
9:40 AM
A dull moaning sound in the distance woke me up at about 3 AM this morning. It wasn't that loud and didn't last for too long though. I also thought I heard some sort of scratching sound at one point, but it didn't sound like any big deal. I do have to admit I'm a little freaked. Between the scientist's lab coat and the moaning, I feel like the killers aren't just regular human beings who are just mentally unstable, but that there might be something physically wrong with them as well. Maybe I'm overreacting but this could very well be a possibility. Something else that is odd is that when I climbed down from the tree I saw that some of the wood at the bottom of the tree trunk was ripped apart, which makes me wonder if something was trying to get up the tree or maybe tear it down. Oh well, maybe the bark was like that before and I didn't notice. Today I plan to travel far within the forest in hopes of finding the source of the moaning.
Damn. I just found out that I only have four bullets in my 9mm.
July 22, 1998
11:50 PM
My investigation has taken a slight turn for the worse. I have spent the last 14 hours searching both the forest and fields for any evidence of the moaning I heard last night. I didn't find any people anywhere. When I was traveling in a heavily wooded area to my disgust I found a severed leg. The leg was lying in a puddle of blood and covered with flies. The skin was rotted and diseased looking and gave off a sour smell. I took two snapshots of it and then left it alone. I backed away quickly from it because I was ready to puke.
It was at about 10:00 PM that I was attacked. Yes, attacked. I was walking through a grass field roughly a mile and a half away from my shelter when I heard a violent rustling of grass. It was similar to the rustling I heard last night but much louder. I stopped in the middle of the field and searched around with my flashlight, the beam of light running over the long, restless blades of grass. Out of nowhere leapt a large black dog, its skin appeared to be rotting away. I stood and looked at it for a second as it was sprinting towards me, a stupid move I know, and moved my flashlight over it. The thing just looked so evil. It had the creepiest yellow eyes, eyes that practically glowed in the darkness with hunger. I also thought I could see its ribs. My guess was that it was a rotwhiler, but I cannot explain the massive flesh wounds. It ran toward me as if it wanted to kill me so bad that it hurt. When I did start running, another dog jumped out of the grass as well, and the two beasts were only a few feet behind me. As I ran I wanted to turn my head and take a picture, but I'm glad I decided not to or else the damn mutant dogs would have tore my head off. I was so stupid for forgetting the 9mm at the shelter. After a few minutes of running I realized that the dogs had given up and the attack was over. I am pretty much positive that there are more dogs like that running around in the Raccoon Forest although there's no way to tell how many. I am also quite certain that these evil dogs are responsible for at least some of the murders. Are there any other killers involved though? I am now about a half-mile from my shelter and am in a state of shock. To make it all worse the batteries in the flashlight are dead so I have only the moonlight to guide me.
July 23, 1998
9:20 AM
Tired. Couldn't find my way back to shelter so sat by a tree. The moaning came back last night and was much louder. I couldn't sleep so I just sat with my eyes closed. A horrid, sour odor seemed to have been slowly taking over the forest. When I first arrived here three days ago the odor was only in certain places of the forest, but now it's everywhere. I am no longer excited about my investigation. I want to record some more information and get the hell out of here. I get the feeling that there is something else out there except for the dogs...
July 23, 1998
3:05 PM
I finally made it back to the tree shelter and discovered that all my supplies are destroyed. It looks as if something pecked away at all of my stuff until it all became useless. My cell phone is in three different pieces, my clothes are full of holes, etc. The dogs couldn't have done this. Was it some kind of bird? When rummaging though my supplies to see if any of it could be of use, I came across the torn up lab coat again and discovered some sort of ID card in the inside pocket. The ID had the Umbrella logo on it, which obviously meant that he person worked for the popular pharmaceutical company. There was also someone's picture. He was a white male with brown hair and it turns out he was some kind of scientist. I find it strange that a scientist's belongings would be lying in the middle of a grass field. If he were a scientist, wouldn't he be working in the inner city? Another thing is that I have read into all of the available information of the cannibal murders and know about all of the individual bodies that were found and this man was not one of them. What the hell happened here?
July 24, 1998
8:15 PM
While searching more of the forest, I heard a loud chopping sound in the dark star-less sky and saw a helicopter swoop over the treetops directly above me. It was most likely the police or maybe, if the rumors were true, the local S.T.A.R.S. unit. There might have been another helicopter before that but I was taking a nap when I heard it, so I can't be sure.
July 24, 1998
12:20 AM
I need to get out of here as soon as possible. I was sleeping in what was left of my shelter when I heard the moaning become louder than ever before. I woke up quickly and grabbed my handgun. To my dismay, the branch under me snapped and I fell hard on the ground. That is when I saw them, the people. About five of them were quickly approaching my shelter. I took out my camera and luckily got a picture. As I did that the five moaning figures walked out of the trees and into the grass field. What the hell. I got a good look at them before running. Their clothes were torn up badly and covered with blood, similar to the lab coat. Their skin appeared to be falling off like the dog's and they staggered along like they were drunk. I came to the conclusion that they are zombies. Maybe not literally, but they sure do match the description. Whatever could have caused them to become that way? I ran limping through the field, hearing more of their moaning as I got further away.
After a few minutes of running I discovered some sort of building deep within the fields. I am now very far away from the inner city so this building may be good news. I can possibly get supplies there, as well as talk to some people about what is going on. My right leg hurts like hell because I fell out of the tree. At least I have my gun with me now, for even though there are only four bullets, it's better than being completely defenseless like I was when I encountered the wild dogs. However, I'm exhausted and I have no food. I hope I can handle the rest of this investigation. This seems to becoming less of an attempt to get a good story and more of a mission to stay alive
July 25, 1998
2:10 AM
Another attack... from a dog. My arm is bleeding a lot. I shot the dog and killed it, but....now no ammo left. Still making my way toward the building. Might be a mansion. I think I see some people coming...
[i]Last Entry. No date or time recorded.[/i]
Biten by zombies massive pain. Getting very tired very quickly Big explosion helicop pter flying away m omor e zombie
At 3:45 PM on July 28, 1998, the mutilated body of Raccoon City journalist Richard Sarius was discovered a half a mile away from the explosion site of the Spencer Estate. This journal was clutched tightly in his hand.
By Greg Stubbs
07/30/01