The three S.T.A.R.S. members could only stare at the hideous creature which
the lightning and David's startled cry had revealed. Dan eventually found
the ability to speak his voice quiet and shocked in tone.
"Holy shit... Did that thing just say "S.T.A.R.S?" Dan asked, his eyes wide, unable to tear away from the scene before him.
Josh then spoke, his voice and eyes in a much similar condition to Dan's. "Yes... yes it did, Dan." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the massive beast in front of them let out an inhuman growl, and Josh saw the thing's hand tighten around the trigger for the rocket launcher. The next few seconds, for all four of the S.T.A.R.S members, were blurs. One of them yelled to run, nobody could ever seem to figure out which, and none cared. They responded quickly, bolting as fast as their legs could carry them away from the monster. They didn't get far, however, before they heard the same hissing, loud noise that had disrupted their drive earlier in the evening.
"GET DOWN!" David yelled, diving for the ground, which was nothing but rough asphalt. Luckily, this act saved his life, as the rocket had been aimed for him. As it was, the antitank projectile flew over the prone S.T.A.R.S member, only to detonate somewhere off in the forest. David got up and continued to run, easily catching up with the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. team. Their target for the run was a hill, off to the left of the road. None of them noticed that the massive creature with the gun had never moved to follow them, and none really thought to look.
All four of them managed to make it over the hill, gasping and out of breath as they were. Dan peeked over the edge, and was surprised by what he saw.
"Guys... creepy boy over there didn't follow us." He said, blinking as he tried to figure this new information out.
"Yeah? Well, good riddance, I say," David rolled his eyes as he spoke, panting. "That thing nearly blew my damn HEAD off, if you don't remember."
"Might've done you some good, Garcia," Nick joked, cracking a small grin. Nobody else thought it was funny.
The team sat there for several minutes, catching their breath. While they waited, Josh told them all about his escape from the van.
"Listen, Josh, this is very interesting and all, but... well, you're the so- called expert here, Mr. Friend Of Redfield, so what the hell was that?" David asked. David seemed the most shaken up about the attack, mostly probably because of the fact that the rocket had been aimed specifically at HIM.
"Well... Chris only mentioned one thing about that. Something he said Jill told him about. He called it Nemesis, but didn't really go beyond that."
"Oh," Dan spoke up, after ensuring that they were clear for the moment, "That's nice. So we have no way to KILL this thing, is that about the size of it?"
"Um. Yes." Josh looked down, a bit sheepishly, as though disappointed in his inability to get the information.
"Well, that's alright," Nick said, "Enough explosives and we can kill anythi-" The S.T.A.R.S operative was cut off, by the appearance of a dark, canine shape, leaping from the woods at the top of the hill. "Holy hell, what is that?" Nick's eyes went wide with fear, and he stumbled back a few steps."
"Zombie dog!" Josh yelled, just a half-second before the dog leapt up towards Nick. The demolition expert barely had the time to step back and throw up an arm before he felt the hot, humid breath of the beast on his throat. That just about did it for the other S.T.A.R.S operatives. At the same time, all three stopped, dropped down to one knee, and brought their weapons to bear. The sound of gunfire was loud, but brief. Each operative fired off three shots, and all nine of them impacted the dog's chest. Before Nick's eyes, the once-living hound erupted in blood. The animal's ribcage withered under the fire, and the dog was literally thrown backwards, as it was in midair at the time the S.T.A.R.S fired. With a thud, and a liquid-sounding splat, the dog hit the ground, dead.
"Great," David said, completely unattached to what had just occurred. "So we've got zombies, zombie dogs, and a big mother fucker with a rocket launcher, who apparently hates the S.T.A.R.S. What NOW, o' fearless leader?" David turned to Dan, who thought for a moment before responding.
"We look for shelter. We need somewhere to hide and to regroup. I'll split us into two teams, David and Nick, you're the first. Josh and I'll be the second. You guys head West, and we'll check out the East. We'll need to look for somewhere we can easily defend, but has an escape route. We don't want to get cornered, but we want to be able to be relatively safe. Report over there," Dan indicated a nearby overpass, a road that ran East to West, directly across from their current road. "We'll be under that overpass in roughly..." Dan checked his watch, and did a few mental calculations. "Forty minutes. That's four-oh minutes folks. Good luck, and keep safe. Any trouble, or if you find something that we all need to see, just give a yell on the radio." The S.T.A.R.S team all nodded their agreement, and David and Nick, being veterans, saluted Dan. The four S.T.A.R.S split, with David and Nick proceeding at a brisk jog toward the West, and Josh and Dan heading off at a faster pace to the East. None of the four knew exactly how long the night was going to be. But Josh was completely certain of one thing. However this ended, it wasn't going to be pretty at all.
"Holy shit... Did that thing just say "S.T.A.R.S?" Dan asked, his eyes wide, unable to tear away from the scene before him.
Josh then spoke, his voice and eyes in a much similar condition to Dan's. "Yes... yes it did, Dan." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the massive beast in front of them let out an inhuman growl, and Josh saw the thing's hand tighten around the trigger for the rocket launcher. The next few seconds, for all four of the S.T.A.R.S members, were blurs. One of them yelled to run, nobody could ever seem to figure out which, and none cared. They responded quickly, bolting as fast as their legs could carry them away from the monster. They didn't get far, however, before they heard the same hissing, loud noise that had disrupted their drive earlier in the evening.
"GET DOWN!" David yelled, diving for the ground, which was nothing but rough asphalt. Luckily, this act saved his life, as the rocket had been aimed for him. As it was, the antitank projectile flew over the prone S.T.A.R.S member, only to detonate somewhere off in the forest. David got up and continued to run, easily catching up with the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. team. Their target for the run was a hill, off to the left of the road. None of them noticed that the massive creature with the gun had never moved to follow them, and none really thought to look.
All four of them managed to make it over the hill, gasping and out of breath as they were. Dan peeked over the edge, and was surprised by what he saw.
"Guys... creepy boy over there didn't follow us." He said, blinking as he tried to figure this new information out.
"Yeah? Well, good riddance, I say," David rolled his eyes as he spoke, panting. "That thing nearly blew my damn HEAD off, if you don't remember."
"Might've done you some good, Garcia," Nick joked, cracking a small grin. Nobody else thought it was funny.
The team sat there for several minutes, catching their breath. While they waited, Josh told them all about his escape from the van.
"Listen, Josh, this is very interesting and all, but... well, you're the so- called expert here, Mr. Friend Of Redfield, so what the hell was that?" David asked. David seemed the most shaken up about the attack, mostly probably because of the fact that the rocket had been aimed specifically at HIM.
"Well... Chris only mentioned one thing about that. Something he said Jill told him about. He called it Nemesis, but didn't really go beyond that."
"Oh," Dan spoke up, after ensuring that they were clear for the moment, "That's nice. So we have no way to KILL this thing, is that about the size of it?"
"Um. Yes." Josh looked down, a bit sheepishly, as though disappointed in his inability to get the information.
"Well, that's alright," Nick said, "Enough explosives and we can kill anythi-" The S.T.A.R.S operative was cut off, by the appearance of a dark, canine shape, leaping from the woods at the top of the hill. "Holy hell, what is that?" Nick's eyes went wide with fear, and he stumbled back a few steps."
"Zombie dog!" Josh yelled, just a half-second before the dog leapt up towards Nick. The demolition expert barely had the time to step back and throw up an arm before he felt the hot, humid breath of the beast on his throat. That just about did it for the other S.T.A.R.S operatives. At the same time, all three stopped, dropped down to one knee, and brought their weapons to bear. The sound of gunfire was loud, but brief. Each operative fired off three shots, and all nine of them impacted the dog's chest. Before Nick's eyes, the once-living hound erupted in blood. The animal's ribcage withered under the fire, and the dog was literally thrown backwards, as it was in midair at the time the S.T.A.R.S fired. With a thud, and a liquid-sounding splat, the dog hit the ground, dead.
"Great," David said, completely unattached to what had just occurred. "So we've got zombies, zombie dogs, and a big mother fucker with a rocket launcher, who apparently hates the S.T.A.R.S. What NOW, o' fearless leader?" David turned to Dan, who thought for a moment before responding.
"We look for shelter. We need somewhere to hide and to regroup. I'll split us into two teams, David and Nick, you're the first. Josh and I'll be the second. You guys head West, and we'll check out the East. We'll need to look for somewhere we can easily defend, but has an escape route. We don't want to get cornered, but we want to be able to be relatively safe. Report over there," Dan indicated a nearby overpass, a road that ran East to West, directly across from their current road. "We'll be under that overpass in roughly..." Dan checked his watch, and did a few mental calculations. "Forty minutes. That's four-oh minutes folks. Good luck, and keep safe. Any trouble, or if you find something that we all need to see, just give a yell on the radio." The S.T.A.R.S team all nodded their agreement, and David and Nick, being veterans, saluted Dan. The four S.T.A.R.S split, with David and Nick proceeding at a brisk jog toward the West, and Josh and Dan heading off at a faster pace to the East. None of the four knew exactly how long the night was going to be. But Josh was completely certain of one thing. However this ended, it wasn't going to be pretty at all.