Resident Evil: Return of a Nightmare
Chapter 2
By Windra
Rowan sat in front of her computer, typing away on the keyboard and trying to crack into some of Umbrella's files. She was wearing a blue tee-shirt and black jeans. Her hazel eyes scanned the monitor screen as she unconsiously brushed back some of her brown hair. So far, she wasn't having any luck on getting any information. Sighing, she pulled her hands away from the keyboard and leaned against the chair she sat in, glancing around her room.
There was a window next to her computer desk that looked out on the street, and to her right was her bed. On the left wall was her dresser and a few loose articles, like notes and such. Her backpack was leaning against the top left corner of the room. Her small leather pouch was hidden in her closet, as well as the Colt Python and Beretta that hadn't been used since the event in Raccoon City. The small table to the left of her bed held a small alarm clock, which read 10:30 A.M. The breeze outside on the November 2nd morning was just as chilly as it was when Rowan woke up around 5:00.
There was a knock on her bedroom door.
"C'mon in," Rowan said, looking up.
The door opened and Rowan's Aunt Gartha walked in. She had flaming red hair and bright green eyes. She wore a white long-sleeved shirt and denim jeans. At her feet, the family kitten, Felix, sprinted in, pouncing on a tassle that hung from the curtain of the window.
"Hey, hon," Aunt Gartha said. "I'm gonna go to the store, ok?"
"Alright," Rowan replied. "When'll you be back?"
"In about a half hour." She glanced around the room. "Y'know my cell phone number, so call me if you need anything."
"Right," the girl replied, nodding.
"See ya, then," Gartha smiled, turning around and heading down the hall.
"Bye, Auntie!" Rowan called after her, and she heard the door of the living room close.
Rowan stood up, stretching her arms, and walked out of her bedroom as she heard her aunt's car drive away. Her room was the last door on the right of the hall, which turned left. The bathroom was on the right side of the hallway, and her aunt's room was farther down to the left. The hall ended in the living room, where the door to the street stood on the right wall. The rug was navy blue, and the walls were light blue. There was a dark blue sofa next to the door, and a chair matching the color of the sofa sat on the wall to the north of that. The television set sat directly across from the door, and a small coffeetable sat in the middle of the room.
The kitchen was to the left of the living room. The walls were a dull white, and woodwork was all around the room. The phone hung on the wall left of the refrigerator, which was across the room. To the right of the refigerator was a door that led to the unfenced backyard. There were wooden cabinets around the kitchen, and the entire room was clean; there wasn't even a utensile lying around.
Felix rubbed up against Rowan's right leg, and the girl giggled, bending over to pick the feline up. The cat began to playfully attack her hair, but jumped out of her arms in surprise when the phone rang.
Rowan hurried over to the phone and took it off of the receiver.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Rowan," whispered a voice at the other end of the line, Brad's. "Listen, you gotta get out of the house."
"What's wrong?" she asked quickly, her panic rising.
"Umbrella's here, I'm sure of it. A black van just pulled up to my apartment, but I got out in time. I'm using my cellphone. I think I saw another van head towards your direction. Get out of there!"
Rowan's face paled completely. She ran to the window in the living room and looked through the screen. A pure black van was turning the corner to the right of the road, heading for her house. It was going the speed limit, not wanting to attract attention.
iUmbrella.../i
"They're coming up the road, now!" she whispered frantically.
"Head for the woods behind your house," Brad replied. "I'll try to meet you there."
They hung up, and Rowan twirled around, thinking about getting her guns and leather pouch.
iToo risky. There's no time!/i
The girl ran for the kitchen door and tugged it open as the thrum of the van's engine stopped in front of her house. Not daring to look back, she slammed the door closed and ran.
The kitchen door opened into a field, which stretched for about 25 feet until it came to the woods. The breeze that slapped at Rowan's face was cold and bitter, but she ignored it. The backs of other buildings blocked the field from the street's view, and nobody was wandering around the area. The forest's trees had brilliant shades of orange, red, and yellow, and the occasional green of a pine tree. The ground was littered with fallen pine needles and dead leaves.
She was about halfway across the field when she heard people running behind her.
iShit! I didn't lock the front door! That would've delayed 'em!/i
That didn't matter now. What mattered was that she was being chased by a group of people from Umbrella, about two people from the sound of the footsteps.
Rowan dashed into the woods as fast as she could, running up the sloped side and jumping the rocks that were in her way. From the sound of crunching leaves and panting behind her, the two people from Umbrella were not far behind. She looked behind her quickly enough to see two adults dressed in black chasing her, and her curiosity was punished as she tripped over a rock and stumbled for balance.
The two Umbrella agents took this advantage and ran at full speed, but Rowan recovered her balance within a second of their frantic bolt. She darted between a pair of trees and sped off to the right, then turned left. There was a five foot drop in front of her, which she knew of because of the countless times she explored the woods since she moved to New York, and Rowan's feet came to the edge of it. Taking a deep breath, she leapt off of the side-
-and her eyes widened when she saw two more agents standing on the ground below, waiting for her to land.
Her feet hit the ground and made to run, but one of the agents reached out and grabbed her left wrist, pulling her close and covering her mouth with his hand to keep her quiet. The second agent grinned, and above, the other two were laughing.
The man with his hand covering her face pulled her backwards, leading her back towards the house, but Rowan wouldn't let him. She opened her mouth as much as she could, and bit down on his hand...ihard/i
The man yelled and his grip around Rowan loosened. She took the opportunity to dash into the woods again, the other three agents chasing after her as the bitten man cursed a string of obscenities.
Rowan ran for what seemed like hours, except it was only a minute or two. The adults behind her were lagging behind, trying to catch up while the 13-year-old skimmed between trees and bushes to keep out of their grasp. A large rock wall came up to her left, turning sharply left-
-and someone grabbed her, covering her mouth and pulling her into a deep crevice in the rock face. She gave a muffled cry, but froze when she saw the two Umbrella agents run past the crevice and continue running into the woods. The hand on her mouth loosened, and Rowan swung around, giving a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.
"Jesus, Brad," she whispered. "Next time you do that, warn me, okay?"
The man gave a weak smile. He had short, army-style brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing orange camoflouge pants that blended in with the coloring of the wood in Autumn, and a green tee-shirt. He was unarmed, showing that he wasn't given much time to get his weapons.
"Yeah," he whispered back. "You okay?"
"Fine. You?"
"Alright. How many are chasing you?"
Rowan glanced over her shoulder to see if there was anyone else there, and, seeing that nobody was there, she turned back.
"Four...I think. Three are chasing me. One of them got ahold of me, covered my mouth with his hand, and I-er-bit 'em. The last time I saw him, he was cursing and holding his hand."
Brad gave a quiet snicker.
"There's five on my tail, but I think I lost them. They were around here when I lost them..."
Brad's voice trailed off into silence, and Rowan looked behind her. There was nobody there, but she heard voices conversing, and, from the sound of it, they were close by.
"We'd better move," Brad continued.
"Split up?" Rowan asked, raising a brow.
Brad nodded. "Not much of a choice. You go left, I'll go right?"
"Gotcha," she said, nodding.
Rowan crawled towards the opening of the crevice silently, poking her head slightly out of it and looking around. There was no one there, but the voices drew closer. Not wanting to wait around to meet them, she crawled out of the rock face and darted stealthily to her left. Behind her, she heard Brad get out and move right.
Rowan made a swift turn to the left again, heading down the downward slope. The number of trees began to thicken around her, and Rowan heard the sound of rushing water. Rowan could see the number of trees disperse in the distance, and she could see the shimmering water of a giant lake, a gentle stream to her left emptying into it. There was a trail to the right that led deeper into the woods. She would head for that trail. Smiling, she made a mad dash for the lake, running into the clearing just in front of it-
-and something cold and hard hit the back of her head. Rowan's feet gave out suddenly, and she fell on her back, her eyes staring at the sky. Pain shot through her head, and her vision was blurring. She blinked, but the bluriness wouldn't go away. She suddenly felt dizzy, and her eyes drooped wearily.
Rowan could see the blurry figures of three people in black walk to her side and sneer at her, their eyes twinkling and their mouths curved in wicked smiles. One of them was holding a gun by the barrel, showing that he had smacked her in the back of the head with the butt of the gun.
The three that had ran past the crevice had gotten to the lake first.
A woman clad in black walked over to her, staring at her solemnly. Rowan could make out the chestnut brown hair and green eyes slightly. The woman was looking at her with sympathy.
But darkness clouded over Rowan's vision, and numbness swept over her sore body. Giving a low moan, her eyes closed as she dived into unconciousness.
**********
Brad had made a u-turn in the woods to run the direction Rowan had, suddenly becoming worried. He dashed through the woods quickly and quietly, glancing over his shoulders every so often.
The voices of the agents that were by the crevice had faded, and Brad assumed that they had moved away from where he was. He shrugged off the thought and focused his mind on what was going on as the sound of running water reverberated through the forest. He heard voices up ahead, and he could see a lake. SIlently, he dashed behind a bush and stared out.
There were five people in front of the lake, conversing with each other quietly. On the ground between them was the body of a girl...
iNo.../i
Rowan was lying there, but her chest was rising and falling, signaling that she was still alive, but unconciouss.
Brad made to move, but something hard and cold pressed against his head, and her heard the unmistakable sound of a gun click.
"Get up," the voice behind him ordered.
Brad stood slowly, not daring to glance over his shoulder. He already knew who it was.
It seemed that the Umbrella agents that were nearby the crevice in the rock face lured him and Rowan out. They tracked Brad down while the others took care of Rowan.
Umbrella had caught them.
**********
Twenty minutes later, Gartha Antoinete pulled her white Mustang into the driveway of the house. She turned off the engine and grabbed the bag of groceries on the seat beside her, then stood out of the car. She walked towards the door and turned the knob, peering inside. She gasped.
The door going out of the kitchen was wide open, and Rowan was nowhere in site. Felix was perched on the sofa, staring at the door as if it were in a trance.
"Rowan?" Gartha called out, her voice trying to stay calm.
No response.
She dropped the bag on the kitchen table and walked to kitchen door, looking out. The grass was flattened in some areas, as if some people had run out and into the woods.
"Rowan?!" Gartha called again, loosing all the calmness in her voice and body.
Still no response.
Gartha ran to the phone and picked it up, dialing the number to Brad's cellphone, only to here the operator come through and say that the number was out of service. She hung up the phone, her body shaking. A spark of hope shot through her mind, and she picked up the phone again, dialing the number of someone else she knew and trusted.
Chapter 2
By Windra
Rowan sat in front of her computer, typing away on the keyboard and trying to crack into some of Umbrella's files. She was wearing a blue tee-shirt and black jeans. Her hazel eyes scanned the monitor screen as she unconsiously brushed back some of her brown hair. So far, she wasn't having any luck on getting any information. Sighing, she pulled her hands away from the keyboard and leaned against the chair she sat in, glancing around her room.
There was a window next to her computer desk that looked out on the street, and to her right was her bed. On the left wall was her dresser and a few loose articles, like notes and such. Her backpack was leaning against the top left corner of the room. Her small leather pouch was hidden in her closet, as well as the Colt Python and Beretta that hadn't been used since the event in Raccoon City. The small table to the left of her bed held a small alarm clock, which read 10:30 A.M. The breeze outside on the November 2nd morning was just as chilly as it was when Rowan woke up around 5:00.
There was a knock on her bedroom door.
"C'mon in," Rowan said, looking up.
The door opened and Rowan's Aunt Gartha walked in. She had flaming red hair and bright green eyes. She wore a white long-sleeved shirt and denim jeans. At her feet, the family kitten, Felix, sprinted in, pouncing on a tassle that hung from the curtain of the window.
"Hey, hon," Aunt Gartha said. "I'm gonna go to the store, ok?"
"Alright," Rowan replied. "When'll you be back?"
"In about a half hour." She glanced around the room. "Y'know my cell phone number, so call me if you need anything."
"Right," the girl replied, nodding.
"See ya, then," Gartha smiled, turning around and heading down the hall.
"Bye, Auntie!" Rowan called after her, and she heard the door of the living room close.
Rowan stood up, stretching her arms, and walked out of her bedroom as she heard her aunt's car drive away. Her room was the last door on the right of the hall, which turned left. The bathroom was on the right side of the hallway, and her aunt's room was farther down to the left. The hall ended in the living room, where the door to the street stood on the right wall. The rug was navy blue, and the walls were light blue. There was a dark blue sofa next to the door, and a chair matching the color of the sofa sat on the wall to the north of that. The television set sat directly across from the door, and a small coffeetable sat in the middle of the room.
The kitchen was to the left of the living room. The walls were a dull white, and woodwork was all around the room. The phone hung on the wall left of the refrigerator, which was across the room. To the right of the refigerator was a door that led to the unfenced backyard. There were wooden cabinets around the kitchen, and the entire room was clean; there wasn't even a utensile lying around.
Felix rubbed up against Rowan's right leg, and the girl giggled, bending over to pick the feline up. The cat began to playfully attack her hair, but jumped out of her arms in surprise when the phone rang.
Rowan hurried over to the phone and took it off of the receiver.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Rowan," whispered a voice at the other end of the line, Brad's. "Listen, you gotta get out of the house."
"What's wrong?" she asked quickly, her panic rising.
"Umbrella's here, I'm sure of it. A black van just pulled up to my apartment, but I got out in time. I'm using my cellphone. I think I saw another van head towards your direction. Get out of there!"
Rowan's face paled completely. She ran to the window in the living room and looked through the screen. A pure black van was turning the corner to the right of the road, heading for her house. It was going the speed limit, not wanting to attract attention.
iUmbrella.../i
"They're coming up the road, now!" she whispered frantically.
"Head for the woods behind your house," Brad replied. "I'll try to meet you there."
They hung up, and Rowan twirled around, thinking about getting her guns and leather pouch.
iToo risky. There's no time!/i
The girl ran for the kitchen door and tugged it open as the thrum of the van's engine stopped in front of her house. Not daring to look back, she slammed the door closed and ran.
The kitchen door opened into a field, which stretched for about 25 feet until it came to the woods. The breeze that slapped at Rowan's face was cold and bitter, but she ignored it. The backs of other buildings blocked the field from the street's view, and nobody was wandering around the area. The forest's trees had brilliant shades of orange, red, and yellow, and the occasional green of a pine tree. The ground was littered with fallen pine needles and dead leaves.
She was about halfway across the field when she heard people running behind her.
iShit! I didn't lock the front door! That would've delayed 'em!/i
That didn't matter now. What mattered was that she was being chased by a group of people from Umbrella, about two people from the sound of the footsteps.
Rowan dashed into the woods as fast as she could, running up the sloped side and jumping the rocks that were in her way. From the sound of crunching leaves and panting behind her, the two people from Umbrella were not far behind. She looked behind her quickly enough to see two adults dressed in black chasing her, and her curiosity was punished as she tripped over a rock and stumbled for balance.
The two Umbrella agents took this advantage and ran at full speed, but Rowan recovered her balance within a second of their frantic bolt. She darted between a pair of trees and sped off to the right, then turned left. There was a five foot drop in front of her, which she knew of because of the countless times she explored the woods since she moved to New York, and Rowan's feet came to the edge of it. Taking a deep breath, she leapt off of the side-
-and her eyes widened when she saw two more agents standing on the ground below, waiting for her to land.
Her feet hit the ground and made to run, but one of the agents reached out and grabbed her left wrist, pulling her close and covering her mouth with his hand to keep her quiet. The second agent grinned, and above, the other two were laughing.
The man with his hand covering her face pulled her backwards, leading her back towards the house, but Rowan wouldn't let him. She opened her mouth as much as she could, and bit down on his hand...ihard/i
The man yelled and his grip around Rowan loosened. She took the opportunity to dash into the woods again, the other three agents chasing after her as the bitten man cursed a string of obscenities.
Rowan ran for what seemed like hours, except it was only a minute or two. The adults behind her were lagging behind, trying to catch up while the 13-year-old skimmed between trees and bushes to keep out of their grasp. A large rock wall came up to her left, turning sharply left-
-and someone grabbed her, covering her mouth and pulling her into a deep crevice in the rock face. She gave a muffled cry, but froze when she saw the two Umbrella agents run past the crevice and continue running into the woods. The hand on her mouth loosened, and Rowan swung around, giving a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.
"Jesus, Brad," she whispered. "Next time you do that, warn me, okay?"
The man gave a weak smile. He had short, army-style brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing orange camoflouge pants that blended in with the coloring of the wood in Autumn, and a green tee-shirt. He was unarmed, showing that he wasn't given much time to get his weapons.
"Yeah," he whispered back. "You okay?"
"Fine. You?"
"Alright. How many are chasing you?"
Rowan glanced over her shoulder to see if there was anyone else there, and, seeing that nobody was there, she turned back.
"Four...I think. Three are chasing me. One of them got ahold of me, covered my mouth with his hand, and I-er-bit 'em. The last time I saw him, he was cursing and holding his hand."
Brad gave a quiet snicker.
"There's five on my tail, but I think I lost them. They were around here when I lost them..."
Brad's voice trailed off into silence, and Rowan looked behind her. There was nobody there, but she heard voices conversing, and, from the sound of it, they were close by.
"We'd better move," Brad continued.
"Split up?" Rowan asked, raising a brow.
Brad nodded. "Not much of a choice. You go left, I'll go right?"
"Gotcha," she said, nodding.
Rowan crawled towards the opening of the crevice silently, poking her head slightly out of it and looking around. There was no one there, but the voices drew closer. Not wanting to wait around to meet them, she crawled out of the rock face and darted stealthily to her left. Behind her, she heard Brad get out and move right.
Rowan made a swift turn to the left again, heading down the downward slope. The number of trees began to thicken around her, and Rowan heard the sound of rushing water. Rowan could see the number of trees disperse in the distance, and she could see the shimmering water of a giant lake, a gentle stream to her left emptying into it. There was a trail to the right that led deeper into the woods. She would head for that trail. Smiling, she made a mad dash for the lake, running into the clearing just in front of it-
-and something cold and hard hit the back of her head. Rowan's feet gave out suddenly, and she fell on her back, her eyes staring at the sky. Pain shot through her head, and her vision was blurring. She blinked, but the bluriness wouldn't go away. She suddenly felt dizzy, and her eyes drooped wearily.
Rowan could see the blurry figures of three people in black walk to her side and sneer at her, their eyes twinkling and their mouths curved in wicked smiles. One of them was holding a gun by the barrel, showing that he had smacked her in the back of the head with the butt of the gun.
The three that had ran past the crevice had gotten to the lake first.
A woman clad in black walked over to her, staring at her solemnly. Rowan could make out the chestnut brown hair and green eyes slightly. The woman was looking at her with sympathy.
But darkness clouded over Rowan's vision, and numbness swept over her sore body. Giving a low moan, her eyes closed as she dived into unconciousness.
**********
Brad had made a u-turn in the woods to run the direction Rowan had, suddenly becoming worried. He dashed through the woods quickly and quietly, glancing over his shoulders every so often.
The voices of the agents that were by the crevice had faded, and Brad assumed that they had moved away from where he was. He shrugged off the thought and focused his mind on what was going on as the sound of running water reverberated through the forest. He heard voices up ahead, and he could see a lake. SIlently, he dashed behind a bush and stared out.
There were five people in front of the lake, conversing with each other quietly. On the ground between them was the body of a girl...
iNo.../i
Rowan was lying there, but her chest was rising and falling, signaling that she was still alive, but unconciouss.
Brad made to move, but something hard and cold pressed against his head, and her heard the unmistakable sound of a gun click.
"Get up," the voice behind him ordered.
Brad stood slowly, not daring to glance over his shoulder. He already knew who it was.
It seemed that the Umbrella agents that were nearby the crevice in the rock face lured him and Rowan out. They tracked Brad down while the others took care of Rowan.
Umbrella had caught them.
**********
Twenty minutes later, Gartha Antoinete pulled her white Mustang into the driveway of the house. She turned off the engine and grabbed the bag of groceries on the seat beside her, then stood out of the car. She walked towards the door and turned the knob, peering inside. She gasped.
The door going out of the kitchen was wide open, and Rowan was nowhere in site. Felix was perched on the sofa, staring at the door as if it were in a trance.
"Rowan?" Gartha called out, her voice trying to stay calm.
No response.
She dropped the bag on the kitchen table and walked to kitchen door, looking out. The grass was flattened in some areas, as if some people had run out and into the woods.
"Rowan?!" Gartha called again, loosing all the calmness in her voice and body.
Still no response.
Gartha ran to the phone and picked it up, dialing the number to Brad's cellphone, only to here the operator come through and say that the number was out of service. She hung up the phone, her body shaking. A spark of hope shot through her mind, and she picked up the phone again, dialing the number of someone else she knew and trusted.