Resident Evil: End Game
Chapter 6
The world around seemed to crumble, to burn, to die... There was almost nothing left in the matter of hours after the first cannibalistic attack, and people were running everywhere, screaming madly and trying to escape the clutches of the monsters roaming the area. A few were able to get away from the blood-hungry beasts, while others had not been so lucky, and either were sprawled upon the ground, disembodied, or walked with the army of undead that marched through the city, wailing out for more victims, somewhat disdained to see that they were running away. Those humans would be caught sooner or later, for, at the edges of the town were barricades the police had set up... They would either be devoured, or shot by the Umbrella soldiers that secured the area.
*But the northern barricade is out. It's been destroyed, the soldiers dead...And I know exactly what got through them...*
Such thoughts passed through Albert Wesker's mind as he sifted through the rubble left in the wake of the zombies. He sneered, looking around, worry and excitement shining in his eyes, which would've been seen by the few survivors that still remained in the area, had he not been wearing his sunglasses, like he always did. He didn't want to give away the secret that he was, in a sense, a superman, or the secret that he wasn't even human anymore... The fact that the town called Manitou was falling apart by another attack of cannibals, of zombies, of demonic dogs and other creatures, made him unusually happy... It made him feel like Raccoon City had been rebuilt and renamed. The screams in the air added to the maniacal joy he held as he watched people and animals alike become food for the hungry monsters nearby, as he watched unsuspecting people get jumped and killed by one of Umbrella's bioweapons. In a sense, he felt like he was home...this was where he belonged, where he felt he was one with the atmosphere... although the zombified critters in the area didn't see him as one of their own kind. He had to, sadly, put down a few that had tried to take a nice clean bite out of him, although, so far, he didn't have a scratch on him.
Another scream erupted to his right, and he swung around, watching as a young man, no older than fifteen, narrowly dodged a lethal snap from a pair of rotting dogs, and took off down the road, glancing over to Wesker quickly, but never stopping or calling for help. A smart move on the kid's part...Wesker wouldn't help him anyway. Just shoot his legs out and let the dogs feast... But even then, Wesker didn't want to waste his time. This city was infected, and the nearest ones, Topeka and Birchenville, would probably be next, since the northern Umbrella barricade was destroyed, allowing the monsters a passage through the forest to Topeka. The situation was out of Wesker's hands, and, for all he knew, Umbrella would nuke the cities, like they had done to Raccoon and the other places that had become infected in the past. That was Umbrella's problem, he had another mission: to find the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members he had on his team back in the day. He had kept their location secret, never letting Umbrella know of it...he wanted to handle this on his own, to soak his hands in their blood...
And then he would take care of Rowan and Sherry... He wanted revenge for the 'nut-cracker' Rowan had been able to nail him with when they last met five years ago, and he wanted to get rid of Sherry, just because of the fact that she had associated with the former S.T.A.R.S. members... But he would take care of them later.
Smirking slightly, he began to head towards the left, towards a dark alley that would lead to a fire escape, which he would climb to get atop the roofs of the buildings. He would be able to get somewhat of a bird's eye view of part of the city from there, and it would be an easy route for him to travel on, without interference from any more of Umbrella's B.O.W.s, unless there were a few birds with a strain of the T-Virus in their bloodstream. He turned on his heels, and was halfway towards the alley before a scream cut through his thoughts. Normally, it would have averted his attention a little, but, since his hearing had been magnified when he changed into his 'super-human' strength, it was earsplitting, and felt horribly like somebody drilling an ice pick through his skull, or like a bad headache. Growling and clutching his head, he swung towards the source of the scream in time to watch a woman running towards him blindly, her fiery red flowing behind her like a blaze, bright green eyes riddled with anxiety and fright. Behind her...well, that was another story... It seemed a frog nearby had been infected.
The creature was huge, about five feet tall, and its skin was a deep forest green, covered in what looked like slime. Its legs, arched and built to lunge at great distances and hardened with firm muscles, were tipped with flat-footed and webbed feet, which each had three long, incredibly sharp claws. Its arms were almost as muscular, and were tipped with webbed hands, which, like the feet, acquired three long claws. Its face was curved and its jaw was rounded, like a frog's, but, unlike a frog's mouth, it had small, razor-sharp teeth lined along both jaws. It had no eyes, but it didn't need them, for its sense of smell was extremely keen, and, as far as Wesker could tell, it had a full intent of eating this woman alive. The woman, in the meanwhile, was a different story. She was running as fast as she could, not stopping to take a breath, although it was clear she was very tired and about ready to collapse.
Wesker stared for a moment, then grinned softly. This woman looked like someone that was on one of Umbrella's files...somebody who knew about the virus and the conspiracies, and who had never been caught by the pharmaceutical company, no matter how long they chased her since they started five years ago, after Rowan, Sherry, Rachel, and Brad escaped the facility. This woman was the aunt of Rowan, and the supposed Foster mother of Sherry Birkin. If all of this was true...then she'd be a good host for him, and he might be able to get information out of her about the S.T.A.R.S. members...particularly Brad. And wherever Gartha was, Rowan and Sherry would probably be nearby...
*Excellent stroke of luck.*
His right hand flew down to his waist, reaching for the Colt Python that was sheathed on the belt he wore. A grin appeared on his face as he placed a finger through the trigger space, and lifted it up with great agility, twirling it and swiftly pointing it at the creature, a Hunter Gamma, he identified it as, before pressing against the trigger without falling back from the backfire of the gun. The monster squealed indignantly, refusing to give up as the bullet tore through its lower torso, and lunged at the woman again, letting out a beastly roar before swiping at her with its claws, only to fall back as another bullet struck its target, right in the center of its forehead. It swayed there for a moment, the blank look on its normally fierce face showing before it fell limply to the ground, where it stayed.
Gartha froze where she was running, and stole a glance behind her to see the dead body of the already dead monster, unsure of what to say or do as she turned to face the one who had saved her life. She didn't know who this man was, and she felt somewhat uncertain about trusting him, but, she stumbled forward a little, gasping for breath before rasping out, "Thank you...so...much..."
"All in a day's work," Wesker replied smugly, twirling the gun in his hand before shoving it back into the sheath, a grin on his face again as he advanced towards her. Around them, the undead who wandered the streets began to stumble towards them, crying piteously and without reason, although it would take a while for them to reach them, unless a few dogs or other mutations would decide to join the army. Quickly, Wesker held out a hand, placing it reassuringly on her shoulder, meant to be in a comforting way, but causing her to tense up. "Are you alright, miss?" he asked in a soft tone, although it was covered in lies.
"Y-Yes," she stammered, looking up at him softly, smiling weakly... but Albert could see the distrust deep in her eyes. She was afraid, yes, but he doubted she knew who he was. "I...thanks..." Another brief pause passed by, and she looked up at him yearningly. "What's...how did this shit happen?"
"I wish I knew," Albert lied, frowning softly. "When I came out of my house, this happened...there was nobody left alive in the area."
"Which can't be good," Gartha whispered hastily, more to herself than to Albert. "Oh my God...," she said again staring at him, "sir...I need your help... You see, my two daughters..."
"Yes?" he cut in, blinking. Weren't they with her? They should be...unless they got away... "And my name is...Jack." A change of name was a good thing...perhaps the S.T.A.R.S. members informed her about him...then she would be more wary.
"I'm Gartha," the woman responded, sighing. "And my daughters...they went to Topeka and Birchenville to pick up their friends...I'm afraid what happened to them... Those cities are safe, right?"
"Not neccessarily," he replied slowly, as if he was in thought for a few seconds. "It's possible that whatever happened here happened there as well."
"No...no, that can't be...Rowan and Sherry...they're my daughters, you see...they're in danger, I have to get to them-"
"-GARTHA!! Oh, thank God you're alright!" an all too familiar voice rang out, one of a man with a slight New York accent. When Wesker, a.k.a. 'Jack', looked to his side, he saw a group of ten people running to them, guns in their hands, acquired from a local gun shop or something. A look of recognition flickered across the man's eyes as he saw who spoke, and as he saw the rest of the group. This was them...this was the S.T.A.R.S. team...and 'Chickenheart' Vickers was speaking "We thought you were..." Brad froze almost immediantly when he saw who was standing beside Gartha, and his breath caught in his throat.
Behind him, Chris Redfield stepped up, rage flickering like a flame in his eyes, a frown finding its way to his lips. Instinctively, Chris placed a hand on his chin, a place where Wesker had struck him when they fought in Antarctica. When he spoke, his voice was of malice. "Wesker...? What the hell-"
"You've arrived quickly enough," Albert hissed hastily, abandonning his kind tone and replacing it with one that matched the rage in Chris' voice. He roughly shoved Gartha ahead and into Rachel, who quickly began to support her, while he grinned and stared at the Redfield brother for a moment, smirking. "I see you've remembered where you've been struck the last time we've met," he said again, nodding to where Chris rubbed his chin as he recalled the memories. "Do you care for a rematch?"
"Any day, you son of a bitch!" he hissed suddenly, then lunged forward, only to be pulled back by his sister, Claire, and his partner, Barry. Chris howled out in rage, wanting to rush forward and tear the enemy apart, but he was restricted to do so...
"Chris, don't be an asshole!" Jill snapped suddenly, looking over to the man and placing a shoulder firmly on his shoulder. "He's not human any more...more like a goddamned freak! You'd be no match...!"
"Yes, listen to you friend, Chris," Wesker hissed again, smirking. "Listen to your friend, the one who was almost killed back in the mansion by *my* traps!" He was coaxing him into trying to fight with him, and Wesker was enjoying watching Chris screw his face up in rage, bearing his teeth and snarling in a feral manner. He smirked again, before turning once more to face the rest of the group, remembering each one as if he had only seen them in the mansion yesterday.
"It's so...*excellent* to see you all again," he snarled venemously, grinning. "All of you...my former S.T.A.R.S. team! The newcomers! Traitors to Umbrella!" He smirked and looked over them all, meeting the death glare from each person, while his glare was of wry glee. "I've known plenty of you before...some of you are new faces...but you...you aren't," he added, turning to look at Alice, leaning towards her a little bit, watching as she tensed and Carlos got a little protective, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I remember you from the Hive..."
Alice recoiled at that, and growled softly, narrowing her eyes until they were slits. "How do you know about the Hive?" she snapped. "How do you know about *me*?!"
"I was watching you...you and your pathetic friends...Kaplan, Spence, Rain...even that poor boy Matt. He made a good Nemesis, wouldn't you say, Jill? Brad? Carlos? He made a great B.O.W.!"
"Shut up!" Alice shouted preparing to lunge at him, hands clenched into fists as she was ready to pounce his skull in, but Carlos held her back, much the way Jill and Barry held Chris back. Wesker smirked at her reaction before looking over to them all.
"Your insults won't work on us, y'know," Brad whispered softly, the fear and memories that had died so long ago bubbling up inside of him. Wesker looked over to him and grinned.
"You know, Chickenheart, you've actually grown a backbone!" he snapped, cracking his knuckles a little bit and watching the other boy recoil slightly. "Yes, yes...all of you've changed...grown stronger. Perhaps you'll be better game for me."
Gartha looked up at him, eyes narrowed. "Why did you help me if you're only a goddamned heartless bastard?" she hissed, unsure of what to do.
Wesker nodded to her. "For information. I know who you are...You're Rowan's aunt...Sherry's Foster mother." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leon and Claire come to attention when the little girl's name came to their ears. "You're a friend of S.T.A.R.S. ... I figured you'd be able to tell me where everyone was... Well, I don't need to know where this group is, they've come to me, but I *do* know where your precious little brats are..."
"You lay one hand on them-"
"Oh no, *I* won't, but one of my pets will." He frowned. "I will deal with you right now...I'll eliminate all of you now."
He turned suddenly, and flung himself at Chris, who recoiled back in surprise before Wesker's fist connected with his stomach, sending him flying back and onto the ground some feet away. Jill shouted out in shock, and lunged at the former S.T.A.R.S. captain gone traitor, only to be grabbed by the throat and lifted into the air, then tossed precariously to the side. Brad and Barry both managed to grab their guns, but they were kicked out of their grasp by a swift movement from the super-human's legs, and both people were knocked to the ground with another kick. Rebecca and Claire began to jump for him, and were thrown roughly to the ground, clutching the ribs were Wesker's fist had tenderized. Carlos nodded to Chris, and both reached for their weapons, and were unable to get ahold of them, for Albert had struck them down as well with his two fists, and was about to crush their vertebraes when a fist connected with the base of his skull. He recoiled, then swung around to meet the blazing eyes of Gartha, and quickly thrust his fist against the side of her head, narrowly missing the temple and sending her collapsing to the ground. Before Alice or Rachel could react, they too was tossed upon the ground, and Wesker stood over all of them, reaching down to his waist and grabbing for the Colt Python, ready to anhialate his enemies once and for all-
-but something pierced the skin of his back, just missing his spine, and tore through his stomach, coming out on the other side and landing in the ground in front of him. The one drawback at having super-human powers was that he still felt pain, no matter how little the pain was. Normally, it wouldn't bother him, for he was so used to getting shot at, swiped at, bitten, as he was, all in all, a creation of Umbrella, and was often pitted against creatures to show off his skills...but having a Caliber's bullet tear through your flesh is a painful experience, a very painful one at that. But who did it?
He swung around quickly, meeting the gaze of the same fifteen year old boy he had seen running from the two Cerberuses before, who was now clutching a .45 Caliber Pistol between his two hands, pointing it at him, eyes narrowed, teeth bared. From the look on his face, he was pissed, probably because he was getting chased by monsters, and nearly killed a few times. Wesker frowned and began to advance towards him, but another bullet shot through the air, striking his neck, striking what would've been the jugular, although there was no real blood in it. The blood that spilled was dead and lumpy, coagulated...but the pain was overbearing. Clutching his throat, he fell to the ground, completely still, and temporarily unconcious.
Cole Taylor lowered his weapon, staring over at the fallen corpse of the man before walking swiftly towards the group on the ground, holding out a hand and helping them up, one by one, until they all stood, clutching their sore areas painfully. He stared at them for a minute as they began to regain composure, and waited until they were done before he cleared his throat and looked over to them awkwardly, unsure of what to say. Leon looked up at this, and made his way to the boy, smiling down at him and leaning down to be the same height as him.
"Hey," he said quite softly, "thanks for that. You saved our lives."
Cole grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in embarrasement. He hadn't been used to this kind of attention. Come to think of it, he didn't have friends in a long time. Instead, he looked up and nodded, grinning softly. "Uh...no problem..."
"I'm Leon Kennedy. These are my friends..."
"I'm...Cole Taylor," he whispered in reply, sighing. "It's nice to meet you...but...uh..."
"Yeah?"
"What's going on in this town?"
In all honesty, this felt like déjä vu for Brad and Jill...it felt like when they first met Rowan in Raccoon City five years ago...five long years. Now, they were good friends, more like a family...and, for a moment, the meeting between Cole Taylor and Leon felt like a blast from the past. Leon looked to COle, then nodded softly, turning to look down the road, sighing.
"We've made a safe spot in the city... a lot of people are there," he said quietly, looking back at the boy. "When we get there, we'll tell you what's going on...we'll tell everyone."
"I like that idea," Cole said with a grin, nodding.
"Do you have any family, Cole?" Leon asked. "We'll go look for them, if you want."
Cole looked uncomfortable for a moment, then shook his hea,d looking down at the ground. "I've lived as an orphan for about...waht, five, four years? I don't remember...but my parents are dead... I've no relatives that are nearby, either."
Leon shifted his gaze to the ground for a moment, then stood up, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder before turning to look down the street again, then back down. "Let's...get you outta here, to the safe spot." He paused, then looked over to the rest of the group. "And...then we'll let the world know...about Umbrella."
The rest could only nod, while Cole grinned softly, the sadness in his eyes being replaced with a little bit of joy of having met survivors, survivors who knew what was happening to this town... Silently, he sighed, walking beside Leon and the others while they trudged down the road, weapons out, occasionally firing when a monster got too close...for the monsters had fled to the north, as well as towards where everyone else was. If any monster was left here, it would go after them... As they walked, Cole got to know who these people were, and learned their names, as well as making short conversation with them. Perhaps this tragedy that happened to the town of Manitou would end up with a good outcome...and a family for Cole.
On the ground behind them, Wesker stirred, rubbing his head softly, and grumbling something incoherent under his breath. He heard the conversation, for he was about half-concious, and he knew where they were heading...for he, too, could smell the strong scent of flesh coming from both the north and down the road...but he had an idea. Slowly, he began to push himself off of the ground when he was sure there was nobody nearby, then made it to his feet. With one last look down the road, he took off to the alleyway he tried to get to before...
*~*~*~*
Alright...good chappie? We'll go back to Rown and Sherry and the others in the next chapter, so, R&R!! plz?
Chapter 6
The world around seemed to crumble, to burn, to die... There was almost nothing left in the matter of hours after the first cannibalistic attack, and people were running everywhere, screaming madly and trying to escape the clutches of the monsters roaming the area. A few were able to get away from the blood-hungry beasts, while others had not been so lucky, and either were sprawled upon the ground, disembodied, or walked with the army of undead that marched through the city, wailing out for more victims, somewhat disdained to see that they were running away. Those humans would be caught sooner or later, for, at the edges of the town were barricades the police had set up... They would either be devoured, or shot by the Umbrella soldiers that secured the area.
*But the northern barricade is out. It's been destroyed, the soldiers dead...And I know exactly what got through them...*
Such thoughts passed through Albert Wesker's mind as he sifted through the rubble left in the wake of the zombies. He sneered, looking around, worry and excitement shining in his eyes, which would've been seen by the few survivors that still remained in the area, had he not been wearing his sunglasses, like he always did. He didn't want to give away the secret that he was, in a sense, a superman, or the secret that he wasn't even human anymore... The fact that the town called Manitou was falling apart by another attack of cannibals, of zombies, of demonic dogs and other creatures, made him unusually happy... It made him feel like Raccoon City had been rebuilt and renamed. The screams in the air added to the maniacal joy he held as he watched people and animals alike become food for the hungry monsters nearby, as he watched unsuspecting people get jumped and killed by one of Umbrella's bioweapons. In a sense, he felt like he was home...this was where he belonged, where he felt he was one with the atmosphere... although the zombified critters in the area didn't see him as one of their own kind. He had to, sadly, put down a few that had tried to take a nice clean bite out of him, although, so far, he didn't have a scratch on him.
Another scream erupted to his right, and he swung around, watching as a young man, no older than fifteen, narrowly dodged a lethal snap from a pair of rotting dogs, and took off down the road, glancing over to Wesker quickly, but never stopping or calling for help. A smart move on the kid's part...Wesker wouldn't help him anyway. Just shoot his legs out and let the dogs feast... But even then, Wesker didn't want to waste his time. This city was infected, and the nearest ones, Topeka and Birchenville, would probably be next, since the northern Umbrella barricade was destroyed, allowing the monsters a passage through the forest to Topeka. The situation was out of Wesker's hands, and, for all he knew, Umbrella would nuke the cities, like they had done to Raccoon and the other places that had become infected in the past. That was Umbrella's problem, he had another mission: to find the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members he had on his team back in the day. He had kept their location secret, never letting Umbrella know of it...he wanted to handle this on his own, to soak his hands in their blood...
And then he would take care of Rowan and Sherry... He wanted revenge for the 'nut-cracker' Rowan had been able to nail him with when they last met five years ago, and he wanted to get rid of Sherry, just because of the fact that she had associated with the former S.T.A.R.S. members... But he would take care of them later.
Smirking slightly, he began to head towards the left, towards a dark alley that would lead to a fire escape, which he would climb to get atop the roofs of the buildings. He would be able to get somewhat of a bird's eye view of part of the city from there, and it would be an easy route for him to travel on, without interference from any more of Umbrella's B.O.W.s, unless there were a few birds with a strain of the T-Virus in their bloodstream. He turned on his heels, and was halfway towards the alley before a scream cut through his thoughts. Normally, it would have averted his attention a little, but, since his hearing had been magnified when he changed into his 'super-human' strength, it was earsplitting, and felt horribly like somebody drilling an ice pick through his skull, or like a bad headache. Growling and clutching his head, he swung towards the source of the scream in time to watch a woman running towards him blindly, her fiery red flowing behind her like a blaze, bright green eyes riddled with anxiety and fright. Behind her...well, that was another story... It seemed a frog nearby had been infected.
The creature was huge, about five feet tall, and its skin was a deep forest green, covered in what looked like slime. Its legs, arched and built to lunge at great distances and hardened with firm muscles, were tipped with flat-footed and webbed feet, which each had three long, incredibly sharp claws. Its arms were almost as muscular, and were tipped with webbed hands, which, like the feet, acquired three long claws. Its face was curved and its jaw was rounded, like a frog's, but, unlike a frog's mouth, it had small, razor-sharp teeth lined along both jaws. It had no eyes, but it didn't need them, for its sense of smell was extremely keen, and, as far as Wesker could tell, it had a full intent of eating this woman alive. The woman, in the meanwhile, was a different story. She was running as fast as she could, not stopping to take a breath, although it was clear she was very tired and about ready to collapse.
Wesker stared for a moment, then grinned softly. This woman looked like someone that was on one of Umbrella's files...somebody who knew about the virus and the conspiracies, and who had never been caught by the pharmaceutical company, no matter how long they chased her since they started five years ago, after Rowan, Sherry, Rachel, and Brad escaped the facility. This woman was the aunt of Rowan, and the supposed Foster mother of Sherry Birkin. If all of this was true...then she'd be a good host for him, and he might be able to get information out of her about the S.T.A.R.S. members...particularly Brad. And wherever Gartha was, Rowan and Sherry would probably be nearby...
*Excellent stroke of luck.*
His right hand flew down to his waist, reaching for the Colt Python that was sheathed on the belt he wore. A grin appeared on his face as he placed a finger through the trigger space, and lifted it up with great agility, twirling it and swiftly pointing it at the creature, a Hunter Gamma, he identified it as, before pressing against the trigger without falling back from the backfire of the gun. The monster squealed indignantly, refusing to give up as the bullet tore through its lower torso, and lunged at the woman again, letting out a beastly roar before swiping at her with its claws, only to fall back as another bullet struck its target, right in the center of its forehead. It swayed there for a moment, the blank look on its normally fierce face showing before it fell limply to the ground, where it stayed.
Gartha froze where she was running, and stole a glance behind her to see the dead body of the already dead monster, unsure of what to say or do as she turned to face the one who had saved her life. She didn't know who this man was, and she felt somewhat uncertain about trusting him, but, she stumbled forward a little, gasping for breath before rasping out, "Thank you...so...much..."
"All in a day's work," Wesker replied smugly, twirling the gun in his hand before shoving it back into the sheath, a grin on his face again as he advanced towards her. Around them, the undead who wandered the streets began to stumble towards them, crying piteously and without reason, although it would take a while for them to reach them, unless a few dogs or other mutations would decide to join the army. Quickly, Wesker held out a hand, placing it reassuringly on her shoulder, meant to be in a comforting way, but causing her to tense up. "Are you alright, miss?" he asked in a soft tone, although it was covered in lies.
"Y-Yes," she stammered, looking up at him softly, smiling weakly... but Albert could see the distrust deep in her eyes. She was afraid, yes, but he doubted she knew who he was. "I...thanks..." Another brief pause passed by, and she looked up at him yearningly. "What's...how did this shit happen?"
"I wish I knew," Albert lied, frowning softly. "When I came out of my house, this happened...there was nobody left alive in the area."
"Which can't be good," Gartha whispered hastily, more to herself than to Albert. "Oh my God...," she said again staring at him, "sir...I need your help... You see, my two daughters..."
"Yes?" he cut in, blinking. Weren't they with her? They should be...unless they got away... "And my name is...Jack." A change of name was a good thing...perhaps the S.T.A.R.S. members informed her about him...then she would be more wary.
"I'm Gartha," the woman responded, sighing. "And my daughters...they went to Topeka and Birchenville to pick up their friends...I'm afraid what happened to them... Those cities are safe, right?"
"Not neccessarily," he replied slowly, as if he was in thought for a few seconds. "It's possible that whatever happened here happened there as well."
"No...no, that can't be...Rowan and Sherry...they're my daughters, you see...they're in danger, I have to get to them-"
"-GARTHA!! Oh, thank God you're alright!" an all too familiar voice rang out, one of a man with a slight New York accent. When Wesker, a.k.a. 'Jack', looked to his side, he saw a group of ten people running to them, guns in their hands, acquired from a local gun shop or something. A look of recognition flickered across the man's eyes as he saw who spoke, and as he saw the rest of the group. This was them...this was the S.T.A.R.S. team...and 'Chickenheart' Vickers was speaking "We thought you were..." Brad froze almost immediantly when he saw who was standing beside Gartha, and his breath caught in his throat.
Behind him, Chris Redfield stepped up, rage flickering like a flame in his eyes, a frown finding its way to his lips. Instinctively, Chris placed a hand on his chin, a place where Wesker had struck him when they fought in Antarctica. When he spoke, his voice was of malice. "Wesker...? What the hell-"
"You've arrived quickly enough," Albert hissed hastily, abandonning his kind tone and replacing it with one that matched the rage in Chris' voice. He roughly shoved Gartha ahead and into Rachel, who quickly began to support her, while he grinned and stared at the Redfield brother for a moment, smirking. "I see you've remembered where you've been struck the last time we've met," he said again, nodding to where Chris rubbed his chin as he recalled the memories. "Do you care for a rematch?"
"Any day, you son of a bitch!" he hissed suddenly, then lunged forward, only to be pulled back by his sister, Claire, and his partner, Barry. Chris howled out in rage, wanting to rush forward and tear the enemy apart, but he was restricted to do so...
"Chris, don't be an asshole!" Jill snapped suddenly, looking over to the man and placing a shoulder firmly on his shoulder. "He's not human any more...more like a goddamned freak! You'd be no match...!"
"Yes, listen to you friend, Chris," Wesker hissed again, smirking. "Listen to your friend, the one who was almost killed back in the mansion by *my* traps!" He was coaxing him into trying to fight with him, and Wesker was enjoying watching Chris screw his face up in rage, bearing his teeth and snarling in a feral manner. He smirked again, before turning once more to face the rest of the group, remembering each one as if he had only seen them in the mansion yesterday.
"It's so...*excellent* to see you all again," he snarled venemously, grinning. "All of you...my former S.T.A.R.S. team! The newcomers! Traitors to Umbrella!" He smirked and looked over them all, meeting the death glare from each person, while his glare was of wry glee. "I've known plenty of you before...some of you are new faces...but you...you aren't," he added, turning to look at Alice, leaning towards her a little bit, watching as she tensed and Carlos got a little protective, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I remember you from the Hive..."
Alice recoiled at that, and growled softly, narrowing her eyes until they were slits. "How do you know about the Hive?" she snapped. "How do you know about *me*?!"
"I was watching you...you and your pathetic friends...Kaplan, Spence, Rain...even that poor boy Matt. He made a good Nemesis, wouldn't you say, Jill? Brad? Carlos? He made a great B.O.W.!"
"Shut up!" Alice shouted preparing to lunge at him, hands clenched into fists as she was ready to pounce his skull in, but Carlos held her back, much the way Jill and Barry held Chris back. Wesker smirked at her reaction before looking over to them all.
"Your insults won't work on us, y'know," Brad whispered softly, the fear and memories that had died so long ago bubbling up inside of him. Wesker looked over to him and grinned.
"You know, Chickenheart, you've actually grown a backbone!" he snapped, cracking his knuckles a little bit and watching the other boy recoil slightly. "Yes, yes...all of you've changed...grown stronger. Perhaps you'll be better game for me."
Gartha looked up at him, eyes narrowed. "Why did you help me if you're only a goddamned heartless bastard?" she hissed, unsure of what to do.
Wesker nodded to her. "For information. I know who you are...You're Rowan's aunt...Sherry's Foster mother." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leon and Claire come to attention when the little girl's name came to their ears. "You're a friend of S.T.A.R.S. ... I figured you'd be able to tell me where everyone was... Well, I don't need to know where this group is, they've come to me, but I *do* know where your precious little brats are..."
"You lay one hand on them-"
"Oh no, *I* won't, but one of my pets will." He frowned. "I will deal with you right now...I'll eliminate all of you now."
He turned suddenly, and flung himself at Chris, who recoiled back in surprise before Wesker's fist connected with his stomach, sending him flying back and onto the ground some feet away. Jill shouted out in shock, and lunged at the former S.T.A.R.S. captain gone traitor, only to be grabbed by the throat and lifted into the air, then tossed precariously to the side. Brad and Barry both managed to grab their guns, but they were kicked out of their grasp by a swift movement from the super-human's legs, and both people were knocked to the ground with another kick. Rebecca and Claire began to jump for him, and were thrown roughly to the ground, clutching the ribs were Wesker's fist had tenderized. Carlos nodded to Chris, and both reached for their weapons, and were unable to get ahold of them, for Albert had struck them down as well with his two fists, and was about to crush their vertebraes when a fist connected with the base of his skull. He recoiled, then swung around to meet the blazing eyes of Gartha, and quickly thrust his fist against the side of her head, narrowly missing the temple and sending her collapsing to the ground. Before Alice or Rachel could react, they too was tossed upon the ground, and Wesker stood over all of them, reaching down to his waist and grabbing for the Colt Python, ready to anhialate his enemies once and for all-
-but something pierced the skin of his back, just missing his spine, and tore through his stomach, coming out on the other side and landing in the ground in front of him. The one drawback at having super-human powers was that he still felt pain, no matter how little the pain was. Normally, it wouldn't bother him, for he was so used to getting shot at, swiped at, bitten, as he was, all in all, a creation of Umbrella, and was often pitted against creatures to show off his skills...but having a Caliber's bullet tear through your flesh is a painful experience, a very painful one at that. But who did it?
He swung around quickly, meeting the gaze of the same fifteen year old boy he had seen running from the two Cerberuses before, who was now clutching a .45 Caliber Pistol between his two hands, pointing it at him, eyes narrowed, teeth bared. From the look on his face, he was pissed, probably because he was getting chased by monsters, and nearly killed a few times. Wesker frowned and began to advance towards him, but another bullet shot through the air, striking his neck, striking what would've been the jugular, although there was no real blood in it. The blood that spilled was dead and lumpy, coagulated...but the pain was overbearing. Clutching his throat, he fell to the ground, completely still, and temporarily unconcious.
Cole Taylor lowered his weapon, staring over at the fallen corpse of the man before walking swiftly towards the group on the ground, holding out a hand and helping them up, one by one, until they all stood, clutching their sore areas painfully. He stared at them for a minute as they began to regain composure, and waited until they were done before he cleared his throat and looked over to them awkwardly, unsure of what to say. Leon looked up at this, and made his way to the boy, smiling down at him and leaning down to be the same height as him.
"Hey," he said quite softly, "thanks for that. You saved our lives."
Cole grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in embarrasement. He hadn't been used to this kind of attention. Come to think of it, he didn't have friends in a long time. Instead, he looked up and nodded, grinning softly. "Uh...no problem..."
"I'm Leon Kennedy. These are my friends..."
"I'm...Cole Taylor," he whispered in reply, sighing. "It's nice to meet you...but...uh..."
"Yeah?"
"What's going on in this town?"
In all honesty, this felt like déjä vu for Brad and Jill...it felt like when they first met Rowan in Raccoon City five years ago...five long years. Now, they were good friends, more like a family...and, for a moment, the meeting between Cole Taylor and Leon felt like a blast from the past. Leon looked to COle, then nodded softly, turning to look down the road, sighing.
"We've made a safe spot in the city... a lot of people are there," he said quietly, looking back at the boy. "When we get there, we'll tell you what's going on...we'll tell everyone."
"I like that idea," Cole said with a grin, nodding.
"Do you have any family, Cole?" Leon asked. "We'll go look for them, if you want."
Cole looked uncomfortable for a moment, then shook his hea,d looking down at the ground. "I've lived as an orphan for about...waht, five, four years? I don't remember...but my parents are dead... I've no relatives that are nearby, either."
Leon shifted his gaze to the ground for a moment, then stood up, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder before turning to look down the street again, then back down. "Let's...get you outta here, to the safe spot." He paused, then looked over to the rest of the group. "And...then we'll let the world know...about Umbrella."
The rest could only nod, while Cole grinned softly, the sadness in his eyes being replaced with a little bit of joy of having met survivors, survivors who knew what was happening to this town... Silently, he sighed, walking beside Leon and the others while they trudged down the road, weapons out, occasionally firing when a monster got too close...for the monsters had fled to the north, as well as towards where everyone else was. If any monster was left here, it would go after them... As they walked, Cole got to know who these people were, and learned their names, as well as making short conversation with them. Perhaps this tragedy that happened to the town of Manitou would end up with a good outcome...and a family for Cole.
On the ground behind them, Wesker stirred, rubbing his head softly, and grumbling something incoherent under his breath. He heard the conversation, for he was about half-concious, and he knew where they were heading...for he, too, could smell the strong scent of flesh coming from both the north and down the road...but he had an idea. Slowly, he began to push himself off of the ground when he was sure there was nobody nearby, then made it to his feet. With one last look down the road, he took off to the alleyway he tried to get to before...
*~*~*~*
Alright...good chappie? We'll go back to Rown and Sherry and the others in the next chapter, so, R&R!! plz?