I wanted to have somebody singing that Felis Aveda Christmas carol, but I don't know how to spell any of it except the part 'I wanna wish you a merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart' so I couldn't. Sorry!

Bonza! I have 35 reviews! Excellent *steeples fingers like Mr. Burns* my plan for world domination is succeeding! Umm, I mean, thank you! *smiles sweetly*

Candy canes for all!!

Shady777: Thank you! When I read you review I thought "Essentials? Huh?" and then I re-read chapter 12 and found that yes, I did say 'include light pack full of essentials.' This is funny, cos I don't remember doing that. Maybe it's one of those things my past self did to piss off my present self and my present self makes a pact with my future self never to do the same thing and then my past self screws it up again.

Yes, I am crazy…. Anyway, thanks for reviewing! Just try to ignore the random plot-hole that sees Barry shooting Celia and go with it. Please??? I'm allowed one screw up, right? (BTW, can you please update Crimson Africa soon? As well as being killed by suspense, without Wesker's cooking I am becoming very hard to see sideways on. ^_^)

Zarbok: Here's a hamburger! Made especially for you! Thanks for reviewing! (Glad you liked the gingerbread man. I'll keep that in mind for when Wesker finally stops being on strike *glares at the evil guy*)

: here's more! Thanks for your review!

*Gives all reviewers/readers candy canes* A very Merry Xmas to everybody! This is my first fight sequence, so be nice! (Please?) I realise I don't go into much detail. The idea is for you guys to fill in the blanks yourselves. Well, tell me what you think of it!

Chapter 13: Aaaattaaaack!

Leaving the STARS behind was possibly the most trying thing Ben had done in his life. Well, that and leaving Celia behind to her death. All he could think of was how much it sucked to 'Be Useless'.

It was some time before they caught up with Rosanna and Ian. No one felt much like talking and proceeded under a grim shadow of silence. The laughing had started, much to her Sena's distaste. It was the most aggravating sound imaginable. Of all the sci-fi and horror creatures, we have to be chased by the chuckling ones… Life is so cruel…

~ (AN: Seriously, imagine being chased through these grimy sewers under a city at the dead of night no pun intended by mysterious gigglers. That feeling isn't one of happiness, is it? It's full of the same sort of dread that you get when you read a Mary Sue fanfic. Argh, the humanity!)~

Ben had taken the feeling of Being Useless to extreme lengths. Rosanna had asked him to signpost their route on the corner in chalk. To this request he replied "why should we? Because we're useless there won't be anyone to follow."

Damn pessimistic prick.

The laughter stopped. That's never a good thing. Sena exchanged a glance with Rosanna. Her friend began to jog. Sena quickened her pace to keep up.

~*~

The laughter stopped. The silence that followed was unnaturally loud, if such a thing is possible. Chris shifted slightly, checking he was indeed ready for a confrontation. Behind him, Rebecca and Claire had their torches on. For the umpteenth time that night, Chris gave himself a mental bruising. Night-time, subterranean area. What guns do we bring? Ones that require light. Good going, Chris…

In the dim light provided, Chris could see the creatures more or less clearly. They were definitely the results of viral experiments. Although they looked healthier than T-Virus zombies, the vampires could never be mistaken for a healthy human in good light. They could pass for a very ill person, though. Their eyes glinted purple in a pale form of Wesker's. Is this part of where his unique mutation comes from?

Brushing questions and doubt aside, Chris eyeballed the aggressors, ready to make up for his previous 'weakness' that night. They stared back confidently, led by a tall willowy vampire which was obviously once a boy in his early teens. Barry seemed to be bored by the stand off for he opened fire on the vampires. Chris did realise though, before he was drawn into the fighting, that Sena had been wrong; there were only fourteen.

In the gunfire that followed Chris went through a whole cartridge. Unfortunately, Jill and Barry also had to reload at that precise time. Luck isn't always good. With nothing to hold the vampires back, they attacked twelve-strong. Only two had been killed by the shooting; it was going to be hard to take them down.

The leading vampire had a distinguishable scar from the left eye to clavicle, trailing over the corner of his mouth. He was wearing the remains of a striped checkout worker's uniform, complete with a grubby plastic name tag reading 'Bill Southerland'. Bill was by far the tallest vampire at maybe five foot. The others were a head shorter, on average. If you think that would give the STARS and advantage, think again. The smaller creatures could duck and weave avoiding the blows STARS strove to deliver. Chris later swore he saw one dodge bullets.

Bill Southerland approached Barry. Barry decided to abandon reloading for the moment and hit Bill squarely in the face. The nose splintered, sending cascades of a dark viscous liquid that could only be the vampire's blood over its face and body. Enraged, Bill roughly pushed Barry. Now Barry isn't exactly light. It is a well known fact that muscle is heavier than fat, and he was in good shape. Bill was over a foot shorter than him but with one shove sent Barry flying, pack and all, into a wall. That's approximately 210 lbs of flying weight, with only one push. He slumped at the bottom of the wall, motionless. The vampires crowded around him.  Being at the same height as these attackers clearly wasn't safe. STARS focussed their efforts on clearing the vampires away from their fallen team-mate.

(AN/ thank you Shady 777)

The area surrounding Barry clear Chris concentrated on shooting down Bill. Claire took up Barry's position in the formation. The vampires were too close for comfort now. In her peripheral vision Jill saw Chris lunge at the nearest and shoot it in what was presumably the stomach.

Or an area close to that which would cause incredible pain if shot.

Jill then had no time to watch. A vampire lunged for her, super quick. It bit her side and ripped a sizeable hole in her shirt and her flesh. She screeched in pain and pushed it away, unwittingly along with her gun. Blood seeped steadily down her side from the wound.

Weakness and pain forced her to her knees. She watched the vampire as it came for another attack with a considerable amount of dread. It grabbed her chin and firmly pulled her head up, exposing her neck and leaving no room for resistance. The elongated canines looked very sinister when considered from Jill's point of view. She shut her eyes and winced in apprehension as those teeth came closer, only to find no climax but a loud BANG. She opened her eyes cautiously and saw the still form of the child who had attacked her.

Rebecca watched Jill carefully over the barrel of a smoking gun with her torch hooked in the crook of her elbow. Wow, Jill thought, and there I was doubting her. There was no time for any acknowledgement of thanks but a brief thumbs up before Jill was brought back into battle. Lack of blood was making her woozy. Black spots danced in her vision as she fought her opposition forcefully. Jill hadn't been a Green Beret and learnt nothing; if she knew anything about sparring, it was how to fight dirty.

And Rebecca wouldn't have been the medic if she didn't know anything about healing. She had two people in dire need of attention; Barry and Jill. And no time to see to them. Jill's legs gave way and she crumbled to the floor again. Rebecca rushed to her side and joined the fight from there.

The vampires had some of the same weaknesses as zombies. For one, destruction of the head was an effective way of killing them, and this could be done with an accurate head shot. The difference was their height and swiftness added to the lack of light, now Rebecca was fighting she couldn't hold the torch, which made it near impossible to get an effective shot. No one was going to risk firing in case they hit a team mate. In this particular situation allies were a hindrance. But hopefully not a fatal one.

Rebecca used all her skill to avoid being bitten or badly injured. Survival became a dance of flying fists and gnashing teeth. Unfortunately, her strength was not enough to severe one's head from one's body. The vampires wearied easily. Actually, they didn't. Their speed just fell with time until it reached some point and levelled off. Apart from that, the fight was still as brutal and dangerous as it had been at the beginning. The vampires had some brilliant endurance that allowed them to continue an assault doggedly. When the STARS inevitably wearied, it was all over.

All over. At least either way I won't have to listen to that f@#$king laughter anymore…

***end chapter~

So what did y'all think? My first fight chapter. Okay, so I skipped some fighting but you can fill in the 'fight-holes' for yourselves, right? I know, another cliff-hanger, but what did you expect?

Well, I sort of suck at action fights cos I run away from school fights like a big nance. I do kick A at verbal abuse fights though.

REVIEW PLEASE! (Darada darada DA! duhdada DAH!) *dances*