Chapter 3
I took out my gun, and whirled around quickly. I couldn't see the zombie, but I knew it would be right around the corner. I decided that I had better shoot him before I get trapped. I ran into the room, and the zombie was facing the other way, apparently not hearing (or caring) that I just crashed into the room.
I too a breath, and aimed my gun. I had to be careful, otherwise, it would rob me of the element of surprise.
I pulled the trigger, and I hit him square in the head. The reaction was quite peculiar. His head exploded instantly, and slowly slumped to the ground. I looked at him, unaware that I was breathing like I had run a marathon and I was still aiming the gun. After a few moments, I relaxed a little.
I figured I would be ok for a while. I didn't know how many bullets the gun had in it, but I had plenty of clips. Soon my thoughts strayed to Barry. Was he ok?
I was about to go see if I could break down the door, when I heard another moan. I froze, and looked for the source of the noise. For the first time, I realized that there was a staircase in the room. I looked up, and I saw the zombie, slowly shuffling towards the stairs. I took aim.
I fired once. It hit him in the shoulder area. No good. It barely fazed him. I fired again. This time, it hit him in the chest. The zombie stopped for a moment, but then continued lurching down the steps.
I began to panic. My mind was racing. Sure, a gun had been an effective weapon so far, but it didn't seem right. Vampires had stakes, werewolves had silver bullets, but what was guaranteed against a zombie. I tried to push the thoughts away and fire once more.
Closing my eyes, I pulled the trigger. I heard the zombie yelp in pain, and then fall on the stairs. I opened my eyes. Whew. Must have been one of those Hail Mary shots. However, I was still uneasy. I waited a full 5 minutes before I was sure he was dead.
Cautiously, I walked over to him, kicking him with my foot. Nope, still dead. I breathed a sigh of relief. Two down, Lord knows how many were in this place. I headed up the stairs. Maneuvering carefully over the fallen zombie, I noticed some pictures on the wall. However, their faces were painted out. Maybe I should do that to the pictures of my brother when I get out of here. More like if I get out of here, I thought grimly.
I looked around. One end of the hall was shadowy; the only light was coming from the windows. I decided to head the other way. I wanted to avoid the windows as much as possible, considering what just happened. On the other side, were two doors. One of them didn't have a doorknob, so obviously, I had to go the other way.
I opened the door, and looked out. No sign of life, just a dirty, dingy hallway. Lovely. Maybe instead of sending Martha Stewart to prison, they could just send her here. It would keep her busy for a lifetime. I walked along the hallway, trying to avoid the pieces of broken glass and plates scattered on the floor. I walked by some heavy iron doors, but decided not to go in because they looked too ominous. And in a house such as this, that was quite an accomplishment.
I kept walking and another door showed up. I paused and tried to determine whether or not to enter. However, a sudden cry of pain rang out behind the door, and I rushed in, gun ready.
A young man was slumped against the wall, his arm bleeding profusely. I went over to him. I clearly scared him, but when he saw I wasn't a zombie, he calmed down a bit.
"What happened to you?" I asked him. I looked at his arm. It was too big and deep to be a zombie's bite.
"S. s-snake." He managed to get out. He was very pale and had a hard time getting his breath.
"What can I do?" I asked, trying desperately to sound calm, but failed miserably.
"I. I need. serum." He gasped. He took out a map and marked something with his own blood. "Go to. this room. Y-you can. find. it there." He pointed to something else on the map. "This. is where. we are. At the end. of this. hall." he paused, struggling to speak. "Is the. main hall. You can. find it... from there."
I nodded and took the map from him. "I'll be right back. Hang on!" I said to him, and ran out of the room. I tore down to the end of the hall, and opened the door. Like he said, I was back in the main hall. I checked the map quickly, and ran to the double doors across from me. Past them, I saw, was the place where I had accidentally smashed the statue.
I checked my map again, and went through the correct door. I looked, and saw a staircase.
"Ok, if this map is correct, the serum should be in the room at the bottom of the stairs." I said to myself aloud. I ran down the stairs, and went into the room below them.
Inside was a medical room of some sort. There were shelves upon shelves of little bottles. I scanned them quickly. To my dismay, there must have been about 100 different types of serum on the shelves. Mysolopriph Serum. Therahyldride Serum. Serum Serum?
I was about to give up hope, when I caught sight of the word 'snake' on one of the bottles. I picked up the container and read the label: Serum For Those Bitten By A Large Mutated Snake On The 2nd Floor Of A Mansion Infested With Zombies And Located Conveniently In The Middle Of A Forest Where No One Can Hear You Scream, Endorsed by the Umbrella Corporation.
Well. That's oddly specific. I grabbed the bottle and was on my way out the door, when I spotted a large aerosol can on the floor. I looked at the label, and read that it was a First Aid. Spray? Well, whatever. Unless there was any 'Serum For Those Magically Transported Into A Video Game' I wanted to get out of this room as fast as possible. I grabbed the can and backtracked to the room Richard was in. When I arrived, he was even paler than before and shaking uncontrollably.
"Here!" I said, handing him the bottle. He took it, and took a needle out of a box he had in his pocket. He attempted to administer himself a shot, but he was shaking too severely.
"Give me that. I'll do it." I said, taking the needle from him. I was a little nervous, since I've never given anyone a shot before, but I sprayed the wound with the First Aid stuff, and managed to give him the shot without too much difficulty. He immediately started to look better. The man attempted a smile, but exhausted from the whole ordeal, he passed out. I looked at his uniform. Although covered in blood, I could make out the name 'Richard Aiken' sewn on his shirt. The letters B.R.A.V.O. were also stitched on the front of the uniform. I wonder how many of them are in here? Or how many of them are still alive?
I didn't really want to leave Richard there, but I couldn't move him, and the room looked safe enough. I looked at him. He was breathing quietly, and the wound wasn't bleeding too badly anymore. I looked around. There was another door in the room. Could a zombie come in? Snakes obviously couldn't open doors. but still.
I decided to check it out. I had to make sure there wasn't going to be any zombies to feast on poor Richard here as they did Kenny. I stopped there.
I went thought the door. The room was dusty and I had trouble breathing. Everything looked normal, and I noticed there were two more doors. I wasn't going to bother with it, but I heard a large crash that came from behind one of them. I went up to the door that was the source of the noise. It was the dustiest of all, and I hesitated.
No, you have to make sure Richard doesn't get hurt anymore, I told myself. I opened the door. The doorknob coated my hand with grime. Inside, the room was clearly abandoned; dust and color webs covered the walls. I didn't see anything that caused the crash. I was about to leave, when I saw a shadow move around the back of the room. I took out my gun and waited for it to come out into the light.
It seemed like hours until it appeared. I gasped. The creature was huge; it seemed to take up the whole room. Its eyes burned through me, almost looking at me with a sort of smile. I was frozen. I couldn't move or think. I could only utter one word.
"S... s-snake."
I took out my gun, and whirled around quickly. I couldn't see the zombie, but I knew it would be right around the corner. I decided that I had better shoot him before I get trapped. I ran into the room, and the zombie was facing the other way, apparently not hearing (or caring) that I just crashed into the room.
I too a breath, and aimed my gun. I had to be careful, otherwise, it would rob me of the element of surprise.
I pulled the trigger, and I hit him square in the head. The reaction was quite peculiar. His head exploded instantly, and slowly slumped to the ground. I looked at him, unaware that I was breathing like I had run a marathon and I was still aiming the gun. After a few moments, I relaxed a little.
I figured I would be ok for a while. I didn't know how many bullets the gun had in it, but I had plenty of clips. Soon my thoughts strayed to Barry. Was he ok?
I was about to go see if I could break down the door, when I heard another moan. I froze, and looked for the source of the noise. For the first time, I realized that there was a staircase in the room. I looked up, and I saw the zombie, slowly shuffling towards the stairs. I took aim.
I fired once. It hit him in the shoulder area. No good. It barely fazed him. I fired again. This time, it hit him in the chest. The zombie stopped for a moment, but then continued lurching down the steps.
I began to panic. My mind was racing. Sure, a gun had been an effective weapon so far, but it didn't seem right. Vampires had stakes, werewolves had silver bullets, but what was guaranteed against a zombie. I tried to push the thoughts away and fire once more.
Closing my eyes, I pulled the trigger. I heard the zombie yelp in pain, and then fall on the stairs. I opened my eyes. Whew. Must have been one of those Hail Mary shots. However, I was still uneasy. I waited a full 5 minutes before I was sure he was dead.
Cautiously, I walked over to him, kicking him with my foot. Nope, still dead. I breathed a sigh of relief. Two down, Lord knows how many were in this place. I headed up the stairs. Maneuvering carefully over the fallen zombie, I noticed some pictures on the wall. However, their faces were painted out. Maybe I should do that to the pictures of my brother when I get out of here. More like if I get out of here, I thought grimly.
I looked around. One end of the hall was shadowy; the only light was coming from the windows. I decided to head the other way. I wanted to avoid the windows as much as possible, considering what just happened. On the other side, were two doors. One of them didn't have a doorknob, so obviously, I had to go the other way.
I opened the door, and looked out. No sign of life, just a dirty, dingy hallway. Lovely. Maybe instead of sending Martha Stewart to prison, they could just send her here. It would keep her busy for a lifetime. I walked along the hallway, trying to avoid the pieces of broken glass and plates scattered on the floor. I walked by some heavy iron doors, but decided not to go in because they looked too ominous. And in a house such as this, that was quite an accomplishment.
I kept walking and another door showed up. I paused and tried to determine whether or not to enter. However, a sudden cry of pain rang out behind the door, and I rushed in, gun ready.
A young man was slumped against the wall, his arm bleeding profusely. I went over to him. I clearly scared him, but when he saw I wasn't a zombie, he calmed down a bit.
"What happened to you?" I asked him. I looked at his arm. It was too big and deep to be a zombie's bite.
"S. s-snake." He managed to get out. He was very pale and had a hard time getting his breath.
"What can I do?" I asked, trying desperately to sound calm, but failed miserably.
"I. I need. serum." He gasped. He took out a map and marked something with his own blood. "Go to. this room. Y-you can. find. it there." He pointed to something else on the map. "This. is where. we are. At the end. of this. hall." he paused, struggling to speak. "Is the. main hall. You can. find it... from there."
I nodded and took the map from him. "I'll be right back. Hang on!" I said to him, and ran out of the room. I tore down to the end of the hall, and opened the door. Like he said, I was back in the main hall. I checked the map quickly, and ran to the double doors across from me. Past them, I saw, was the place where I had accidentally smashed the statue.
I checked my map again, and went through the correct door. I looked, and saw a staircase.
"Ok, if this map is correct, the serum should be in the room at the bottom of the stairs." I said to myself aloud. I ran down the stairs, and went into the room below them.
Inside was a medical room of some sort. There were shelves upon shelves of little bottles. I scanned them quickly. To my dismay, there must have been about 100 different types of serum on the shelves. Mysolopriph Serum. Therahyldride Serum. Serum Serum?
I was about to give up hope, when I caught sight of the word 'snake' on one of the bottles. I picked up the container and read the label: Serum For Those Bitten By A Large Mutated Snake On The 2nd Floor Of A Mansion Infested With Zombies And Located Conveniently In The Middle Of A Forest Where No One Can Hear You Scream, Endorsed by the Umbrella Corporation.
Well. That's oddly specific. I grabbed the bottle and was on my way out the door, when I spotted a large aerosol can on the floor. I looked at the label, and read that it was a First Aid. Spray? Well, whatever. Unless there was any 'Serum For Those Magically Transported Into A Video Game' I wanted to get out of this room as fast as possible. I grabbed the can and backtracked to the room Richard was in. When I arrived, he was even paler than before and shaking uncontrollably.
"Here!" I said, handing him the bottle. He took it, and took a needle out of a box he had in his pocket. He attempted to administer himself a shot, but he was shaking too severely.
"Give me that. I'll do it." I said, taking the needle from him. I was a little nervous, since I've never given anyone a shot before, but I sprayed the wound with the First Aid stuff, and managed to give him the shot without too much difficulty. He immediately started to look better. The man attempted a smile, but exhausted from the whole ordeal, he passed out. I looked at his uniform. Although covered in blood, I could make out the name 'Richard Aiken' sewn on his shirt. The letters B.R.A.V.O. were also stitched on the front of the uniform. I wonder how many of them are in here? Or how many of them are still alive?
I didn't really want to leave Richard there, but I couldn't move him, and the room looked safe enough. I looked at him. He was breathing quietly, and the wound wasn't bleeding too badly anymore. I looked around. There was another door in the room. Could a zombie come in? Snakes obviously couldn't open doors. but still.
I decided to check it out. I had to make sure there wasn't going to be any zombies to feast on poor Richard here as they did Kenny. I stopped there.
I went thought the door. The room was dusty and I had trouble breathing. Everything looked normal, and I noticed there were two more doors. I wasn't going to bother with it, but I heard a large crash that came from behind one of them. I went up to the door that was the source of the noise. It was the dustiest of all, and I hesitated.
No, you have to make sure Richard doesn't get hurt anymore, I told myself. I opened the door. The doorknob coated my hand with grime. Inside, the room was clearly abandoned; dust and color webs covered the walls. I didn't see anything that caused the crash. I was about to leave, when I saw a shadow move around the back of the room. I took out my gun and waited for it to come out into the light.
It seemed like hours until it appeared. I gasped. The creature was huge; it seemed to take up the whole room. Its eyes burned through me, almost looking at me with a sort of smile. I was frozen. I couldn't move or think. I could only utter one word.
"S... s-snake."