Chapter Seven: Vampires
Oh sh-Teeth sought for his neck. He jerked his head sharply to the left and they closed on his shoulder instead. Wesker wrenched it free. Blood seeped through his dark clothes for a second before he felt the wound heal, skin knitting together. The bite wasn't deep but served to stir him into motion. Using all his strength, he pushed the 'vampires' to the side. The attackers collapsed to the ground like a circus troupe failing to form a pyramid.
He leapt to his feet and kicked the nearest viruser in the stomach. The blow was not acknowledged. Undeterred, Wesker slammed his fist into its head. It imploded on impact and splattered the others. They turned to him accusingly.
Wesker had no time to fight all of them, though he wanted to. It was not your average zombie who could take a bite out of him. Turning on his heel, he hurried after Sena. Though fast at close quarters, the vampires were definitely not long distance runners. When he found her again, Sena was still sprinting. He stopped her before she toppled into the sewage below. He put a hand on her shoulder and guided her through the tunnels.
"Are they following?" she asked timidly.
"Probably. But we can be faster than they are. I can handle them it I need to. Probably. And there's bound to be more than one way out of this place. " She nodded, not really focusing on his words. "Are you all right?"
Sena made a vain attempt to regulate her breathing. "Yeah. Just claustrophobia."
Wesker frowned. "Is that why you ran-off?"
Sena managed a weak smile. "No. I thought you would get lost. Stupid, ay?"
"No, brave." He gave her an awkward hug, the action feeling unusual. "Thanks for the thought."
"You're welcome. Can we get back to the others? Do you know a way out of here?"
Wesker paused. "We can't go back the way we came, but I think I might be able to get us out of here, as long as we don't get ambushed by those creatures."
"What about that torch? Can we use it?"
"Probably not. I'm not going to take any chances. It could lead those creatures to us."
"But I can't see!" Sena protested. Wesker didn't answer. They walked in silence for what seemed like an age. All that could be heard was a hurried scampering from the tunnels behind them. The acoustics of the sewers were misleading, giving the illusion that the creatures were closer than they really were.
So…What are those things?"
"Do you want the story or the real version?"
"…Real?" she ventured.
Wesker took a deep breath. "This might sound unbelievable…"
Wesker and Sena continued through the sewers. The smell of fresh air was faint this far under the city, but Wesker could easily follow that fresh scent to lead them out or at the very least, find the others.
His story might have distracted Sena, but he was uncomfortably aware of the creatures following him.
***
Chris bullied the teenagers into following them. Confused and scared, they did not take much persuading.
"We should stick together from now on," Chris muttered to Barry and Jill. "I don't want to know what 'vampire children' are that Aaron was talking about, but if we do find out, I'd rather it was as a group."
"I agree. How big are these sewers?"
"Very big," Rosanna said, evidently eavesdropping on the conversation. "Every time something is built there has to be an excavation dig. Like that shopping mall, they found underneath it a medieval mass plague graveyard."
"This town is built on layers," Ian continued. "Graveyards, mines, sewers and civilizations. They run deep and spread far. That's why the sewers are so dangerous."
"I don't know why anyone would want to come here though," grumbled Ben. The stench had faded though, and the darkness was not as depressing. Ben guessed he was getting used to it.
Chris, however, felt disturbed by the knowledge the sewers were so large. It meant Celia and Sena may never be found. Also, eradicating the virus threat would be difficult, but he had no desire to bomb the place. They would have to find another way.
Jill was also thinking disturbing thoughts. The mention of plague graves… the swirling liquid on the surface of the sewerage… Could the virus, on being exposed to chemicals and possibly remains of bacteria like persinia yestis, the cause of the plague, mutate? With her experiences, it seemed more than likely.
Behind them by a couple of steps Claire and Rebecca talked quietly with the teenagers. Because of the smaller difference in ages, they got on reasonably well. At the moment, Rebecca was picking their brains for information about the sewers and possible contamination.
"So if these sewers are built in layers, and all sorts of things are down here, it is not surprising many people go missing?"
Ian thought quickly. "I guess not. But not many people actually go missing. Only a few every year, most of them children who came across an unmarked mine shaft."
"So more people should go missing?"
"Yes, no. I have no idea. I guess sometimes tramps and travelers are lost but no-one knows about them."
"Hang on," interrupted Claire. "When we talked to you on the field, you said there were three disappearances in three weeks!"
"Oh yeah… the first was a homeless guy. We only know he was missing 'cos his body was found at one of the entrances. The police did a background check and found no one had seen a few days before the body was found."
"Where is the body?"
Rebecca talked over here. "When did these disappearances begin?"
"After the death of Arben Reeves' daughter," Rosanna replied.
"You've mentioned that name before, haven't you?" asked Claire.
"Yeah, I don't know much about her though."
"I do," said Ben, "when I was talking to Amy-"
"- And she told you about the moose-" Ian added.
"Yes, that- she was telling me about these myths concerning the forest and the games they played."
"How did you know to ask about that?" Ian marveled.
Ben shrugged. "I didn't. I was just trying to stop her from pestering everyone about not being able to go."
"What did she tell you?" Rebecca asked, interested.
"A story…"
Mwahahahah… that's for not giving me many reviews for my last chapter!! *grins evilly* Sorry, Shady Triple 7, *gives a cookie shaped like a zombie,* but thanks for reviewing. Anyhoo, really only a filler chapter this time, but the next one will be this story Ben's talking about.
Ben: I'm looking forward to it and you should too. I'm a much better writer than Sych.
Sych77: Oi!
Roz: He's got a point you know.
Sych77: …. *blink* ….Right that's it! I'm going to kill off both your characters as soon as possible!
Roz & Ben: Ahhh! Help us reviewers, change her mind, by pressing the purple button in the bottom left of your screen and submitting a plea on our behalf!!!!
*hint, hint*
Whaddya reckon? Should I begin killing people off? REVIEW PLEASE