RESIDENT EVIL
A N A M N E S I S

Written by Nick Blackford
Based upon Capcom's Resident Evil created by Shinji Mikami

Chapter Seven: The Sky Gave Way

The walk through the alleyway had proved to be a safe shortcut and now Celeste, Nathan, Lisa and Mike stood at a fork where the alleyway broke into opposite directions.

"The hospital is just down there." Lisa pointed.

"I guess this is where I split." Nathan said looking down the other alleyway. He knew it would be a much longer journey where he was going.

"Don't you think it would be safer to come to the hospital with us?" Celeste asked in a vane attempt to get Nathan to change his mind. It didn't seem right that anyone should make such a journey alone.

"Don't worry about me. I have to find Amanda." Celeste couldn't argue, she imagined herself in his position. It made her envy him slightly, she had no one to worry about and while it was a burden she didn't have to carry, it also reminded her of how alone she was.

"Let me come with you," Celeste blurted. She couldn't quite believe she'd said it. She didn't feel she had responsibilities towards Lisa and Mike; they would be okay with the hospital being so nearby. She also knew that no matter how arrogantly confident Nathan had acted about making the journey alone, he would appreciate the company. "I won't slow you down." She insisted, still holding her broken bottle by its neck at her side. Nathan made sure he didn't look shocked at Celeste's forwardness.

"It's far." Nathan reminded her.

"I know." Celeste said. The idea of going to the hospital had appealed to her less and less since they had left the café.

"You sure about this?" Lisa asked Celeste. To her, the hospital was obviously the safest option; she couldn't make sense of Celeste's decision.

"You're a nurse," She turned to Mike; "and you need your leg looked at. I'll only be in the way; I'd rather get nearer home with Nathan. Go to the hospital, we'll be alright." But Celeste wasn't being entirely honest, there was nothing waiting for her at home and she knew that. She was leaving with Nathan because he was faster and stronger than Lisa and Mike, they would slow her down if they got in trouble. She knew deep down that if going to the hospital wasn't the right decision, she'd wish she'd made another decision.

"Okay then. Well, I hope you find your girlfriend." Lisa said to Nathan.

"I will." Nathan replied. "But will she be alive?" he suddenly wondered. Throwing the thought out of his head he turned to Celeste. "Let's go."

With a final farewell, the group of four was split. Lisa and Mike didn't have far to go, but for Nathan and Celeste it was a very different story. They knew the journey ahead of them would be a dangerous one, but at that moment they still had no idea of the atrocities that waited for them deep in the shadows, around every corner of Raccoon City.

"It's probably better if we don't cut through the park; we should still to the main roads where it's lit." Nathan said as the couple walked. The alleyway was filthy, only one distant streetlight illuminated it; its incessant flickering meant that Nathan and Celeste were constantly plunged in and out of darkness.

The pair walked for a while before exchanging any words. Nathan was thinking about Amanda, picturing himself arriving at the house, too late, finding the front door swinging open in the breeze, letting in dead leaves and whatever else lurked outside. He imagined himself running up the stairs to his flat, unsure of what he would find. Celeste was thinking about what her boss Leila had told her earlier that day on the phone, about how bad the business at Carnegie Love had been recently.

"How long had things been going wrong before I even noticed?" Celeste thought to herself, she supposed for someone as lonely as she was, a lot longer than most.

"You think they'll be alright?" Celeste asked as they shuffled passed a collection of rusting trashcans.

"Dunno," Nathan said, "Depends what kind of state the hospital is in. And if they run into any of those crazies on the way." He was checking his phone again but it still wasn't getting a signal.

The trashcans they had passed were all of a sudden thrown into the walls of the alleyway with a tremendous crash. Both Nathan and Celeste buckled from the sudden explosion of sound. Spinning around they watched as one of the trashcan lids clumsily rolled towards them before clashing to the ground. They both stared in silence, waiting.

"I don't see anything." Celeste whispered.

"On the wall." Nathan whispered back.

There it was, now so obvious Celeste couldn't believe she hadn't spotted it. Sprawled across the wall above the bins was what at first sight looked simply like a man. It was difficult to see in the poor light but it was clearly skinless, its surface was raw and wet, shimmering in the dark. Its hands and feet were lengthened claws that pinned it to the brickwork effortlessly, its face a tort, featureless stretch of meat which was home to only a mouth and the base of the brain that sat upon its head, exposed.

Like a snake, the creature moved precisely, silently towards them for a couple of yards. Its movement was acute and fluid but slow, much like that of a tarantula. As Celeste gasped the creature raised its head and let out a lengthy hiss, the kind of drawn out death rattle a person makes seconds before becoming another victim of a terrible cancer.

Nathan nudged Celeste and as she turned to him he put his finger to his lips. Celeste held her breath and looked back at the creature which was now a good distance closer. It was perfectly still, a statue, as if it hadn't moved at all.

Nathan quickly threw his knife, flicking the handle as he let go so that it span, picking up speed as it propelled itself through the air. The knife missed the creature but sparked off the brickwork with a loud ping that caused it to retract its head and shoulders.

Celeste felt Nathan grab her hand quickly; the creature began to scream as they turned around and ran as fast as they could. The scream bounced off the walls of the alleyway, the high-pitched shriek of an eagle but with the hoarse undertone of a snarl. It was a terrifying, piercingly shrill sound that seemed to last forever.

The creature sprang from the wall suddenly, its full weight thrown into the darkness above the running couple. It fell behind them, landing perfectly, perched like a dog. It had landed precisely where it wanted to; its skinless brow lifted its top lip as its jaw snapped open. With perfect timing, an endless tongue whipped out of its warped mouth and slapped itself tightly around Celeste's ankle, sending her to the ground and dragging her backwards towards it.

She had lost her grip of Nathan, hitting her face and arms badly in the fall, now she was being dragged across the coarse, wet ground adding insult to her injuries. She yelped, spinning quickly onto her back. Although the broken bottle was now more of a broken bottle end, she realised she still had an effective weapon and readied herself to use it among the confusion of the attack.

Nathan had begun to run towards Celeste but the creature had stopped dragging her. It had her where it wanted her now and quickly scuttled over her, its tongue quickly slithering back into its grisly face. Quickly she plunged the bottle into the creature's face, the glass sank in and scraped downwards against bone as she pushed. Its skin broke and the muscle beneath it tore quickly as the rigid glass clung into it, ripping it downwards and spilling small rivers of blood. The creature perched itself again, flicked back its head and let out another deafening cry.

Nathan fiercely kicked the creature's blooded face and readied his knife in front of him; it had tumbled backwards awkwardly and was now on its back thrashing both arms and legs above itself like a dying insect.

As Nathan pulled Celeste to her feet the sky gave way with a loud crack and heavy rain began to shower them. The creature propelled itself back into a sitting position with effortless strength; quickly it laid its belly flat with the soaked ground and began to scamper towards them.

They burst out of the alleyway sprinting, back onto the main road and straight into the path of an ambulance. It screeched to a stop and the doors popped open.

"Get in!" a woman yelled. Running around the ambulance, Celeste and Nathan were met by Lisa. She slammed the doors behind them as they climbed aboard. Mike was driving and made sure they sped off with haste.