Chapter 4

Nemesis

            Alyssa didn't know what to make of the large letter N on the front side of the demolished canister. She frowned, wishing she could understand but she knew in the back of her mind that this was one of Umbrella's newer creations…

            Does that surprise you? You know about all Umbrella's monsters, the stage two's, threes and then the hunter series…what makes you think that they can't make other things? Other Tyrants?

            "What is it?" Yoko had climbed through the hole in the aluminum, and had scrambled towards Alyssa. She shook her head in disbelief, "I don't understand…how could a person be air dropped in like that?"

            Suddenly there was gun fire that could be heard. Alyssa's head spun around, and she saw a man in green cargo pants and a yellow vest come springing out of the shadows. He was holding a nine millimeter handgun, and his sandy blonde hair was short and obviously smoke stained. His shirt was blood riddled, and his trembling fingers were practically dripping with sweat as he pulled the trigger.

            Brad Vickers…you interviewed him a few times. He was at the Spencer Estate…the pilot who left the STARS in the Arklay Mountains

            "Brad!" She shrieked, her maroon business suit tearing at her knees as she pressed her hands against the concrete and pushed herself to her feet. Yoko didn't move, seeing the shadow that drew out from behind an alleyway.

            "No, Alyssa get back! Get back!" Brad cried, the fear rising out of him in his high pitched voice. He put his hand on her shoulder, as if to protect her from the massive beast that lurched out in front of her on tree trunk legs.

            Jesus…what is that?

            The monster was at least nine feet tall, and equally as bulky. The thing was humanoid, dressed in a black trenchcoat and a utility belt strapped firmly around its wide waist. Wearing combat boots and thick leather gloves, Alyssa could make out something writhing underneath his clothes…

            Tentacles…

            And his bald face was missing one eye, a slit with stitches every half inch running from the back of its light brown scalp to mid cheek. And its mouth…

            That lipless grin…those teeth…what is this thing?

            And then it moved; a gigantic leap towards Alyssa and Brad. Alyssa shrieked, Brad pushed her out of the way and dove to the right. The massive fist of the creature slamming into the ground creating a rippling effect in the cement.

            "Alyssa! Head for the train station! Here are the jewels for the City Hall gate!" Suddenly two stones flew from Brad's hand, a green and blue, and Alyssa caught them, "Hurry!"

            Then the creature spoke, something Alyssa had never dreamed of.

            They can create actual, speaking monsters now…

            "Stars…"

            Yoko stood in wide eyed fear as the creature took a devastating swing at Brad, who ducked just a second early. And to her horror, instead of backing off, the Nemesis clenched his fists together and drew them into the air. In one devastating blow, he tried to pulverize Brad with an overhead crush.

            "Brad look out!"

            Alyssa cried to Brad, who was still recuperating from the last dodge, when suddenly he jerked back and spread his legs in a v shape and the fists of the massive creature punched a hole in the cement right before him. Brad jumped to his feet and checked the monster, which stumbled backwards and buckled under its own weight. It crashed to the ground and Brad took off running.

            "Stars…"

            It cried, Brad already disappearing into the Arcade Mall.

            Alyssa looked around, realizing that from where they were standing the newspaper building was back around the corner, the arcade mall in front of her and the City Hall gates right behind her. The Nemesis was getting to its feet and the girls knew they had to make their move now.

            "Yoko! Catch!" Alyssa threw the green jewel to her, "Put it in the right slot, quick!" Alyssa and Yoko dashed for the City Hall gates. There was a statue beside it, with a rainbow arrangement carved perfectly, etched in stone; there were seven colors, and two of them were missing their aligned stone. Yoko pushed the green in and Alyssa the blue.

            Suddenly the gates slid open and revealed a greenish colored door. Before Alyssa could make it through the door, she had to-

            -have to take another look…I can't let this go…I NEED to know what it is!

            And then when she turned around it was already gone, following Brad through the hole it had created in the wall when Yoko had seen it earlier.

            "Where did it go?" Yoko said, holding the large door open, beckoning Alyssa to follow.

            "I don't know, but I don't want to be around when it comes back," Alyssa said, still staring in its direction, "We need to move fast. Hopefully the cable car is still in tact. We can take it to the clock tower station. Maybe there we can signal for a rescue."

            "Good plan," Yoko said.

            "Lets get going."

            Alyssa still stood for a moment staring at the canister, wishing she had a camera so she could sell the picture that would probably be worth millions to the right buyer. But the Nemesis, as she had called it, was gone and so was Brad. Silently, she said a prayer for the lone STARS member and followed Yoko, then saying one for herself that she would make it out of this ordeal alive.

            Emily stumbled across a cold metal bridge, holding her gut as she did. It hadn't been easy to get there, a labyrinth of tunnels existing underneath the city streets had proved to be infested with the monsters.

            And your bleeding…you're infected with the cannibal disease just like everyone else.

            "Uncle Brian!"

            Suddenly the man who she'd known her entire life, Brian Irons, the police chief, appeared climbing down a ladder from somewhere up above. She had never really been fond of him, and she knew there was something sick about him, but she needed him now more than ever. Emily stumbled forward, grasping a metal bar on the side of the platform for balance.

            "Uncle Brian! Help me! I've been hurt, I need a doctor or something…my stomach…something scratched me."

            Brian Irons turned as he hopped off from the ladder and turned, and suddenly Emily's hopes of recovery had faded away. He was holding a big gun, what looked like a shotgun or something, and was pointing it right at her.

            "Well, I'm surprised you've made it this far alive, Emily. I can't allow you to witness any more horror."

            Oh god…please don't let this be it…please, I don't want to die.

            "Uncle Brian, what are you doing? Why are you pointing that at me! Just get away from me!"

            And then there was a big noise, a gunshot, and more pain ripped through her. Right at her waistline, Emily felt the bullet crush through her stomach and spray out through her back. She let out a yelp of pain and fell onto her back, knowing that she was dying. She breathed her last breath and opened her eyes, her blonde hair falling somewhat off the side of the platform.

            "I'm sorry it had to end like this, darling. Sleep now,"

            Uncle Brian whispered softly to her, and Emily shut her eyes.

            Annette scrambled up a ladder and found herself at yet another manhole. She pushed it open with all her might and to her surprise she was in a dog kennel, somewhere in the police station.

            Peachy…maybe Irons is here somewhere. He is who you want to see after all, isn't he? Ask him where Sherry is…she should be around somewhere. He may know if he hasn't shot her already.

            "Shut up," she whispered to herself as she shut the manhole again. There was a small pistol on the counter top next to the manhole, covered in dust but still loaded. She took it and held it her shivering hands. She smelled like shit, like pure sewage, and she felt like throwing up just by being by herself.

            Could life get any worse?

            Just as the thought left her mind, the kennel latch could be heard slamming off its hinges and suddenly one of the infected Cerberus leapt from its cage. Annette didn't have time to think, so she burst through the first door she saw and slammed it shut, the sound of the canines paws silently dissipating as she felt herself get weak.

            Need…another shot…

            She was losing her high…but there was no time to get back to the lab. She needed to find Irons to find where Sherry was…then she could go back.

            But until then…

            Annette crumpled to the floor in weakness and felt safe in the privacy of the dull hall. She shut her eyes and slept, handgun clenched tightly in her fist, and dreamed of when she and William would be back together. She would start her family then, William still working on his G Virus, Sherry at school, herself admiring her husband's precious work…all would be well…soon.

            Irons carried Emily's limp body back up the ladder, and through his sanctuary and then through the stone hall and into the elevator. He stared at her corpse, laughing silently to himself.

            Cut the power…the phone lines, the cable…the blockades are up, the ammo is gone…everything is going according to plan.

            He grasped his shotgun in his hand, the shotgun that had decapitated so many undead…and so many living as well. He had taken a liking to hunting down the surviving police men in his mad rage and fury. They were so confused. Why were they dying? What for? Who was killing them?

            "Heh, those bastards never stood a chance." Irons chuckled as the elevator stopped on his private office floor. He had left the sliding door open, so he grasped Emily's armpits and dragged her through the hall, a trail of sticky black blood left behind. Finally reaching his office, he lay her on top of his desk in such a dramatic pose.

            She was lovely.

            Such perfect skin, not a hint of imperfection. Hair a silky blonde, her gorgeous blue eyes. Rest for an eternity my darling, my true love…

            He stroked her hair and it draped over the side of his desk in such a wonderful fashion. He couldn't have dreamed for anything more.

            Brian pushed a button for his music, the beautiful symphonic sounds of Mozart.

            "Nothing can happen now, everything is fine." He reassured himself.

            He drifted to sleep as the sounds of the orchestra bathed Emily and himself in such harmony. A smile wiped across his face as he assured himself again that no one would make it out of his city alive.

            Mark and George stood in front of the large cable car. There was a large fire burning to the left of them, and they had had to trek at least a good half hour to get to where they stood. There were a few oil canisters laying around, spilling their contents all over the cement station and making it impossible for them to really do any amount of damage to something that came through. The gunfire would be dangerous…

            "Lets check it out." Mark said, pushing the door open. He climbed up a small step and found the quaint little bus-like car quite clean. The power cord, fuse and oil all seemed to be in check, so Mark headed for the front of the train.

            George was about to shut the door when suddenly two figures appeared from the darkness.

            No…not now…

            George leapt out, hoping the he would have enough strength to hold the monsters off for now.

            And the he heard talking, muffled sounds over the fire but still talking…

            Survivors!

            "Hey! Hey! Over here! Are you okay?"

            George raced forward, looking at the two women who had just appeared. One was oriental, probably in her early twenties or late teens, and the other obviously a reporter, her identity tag naming her "Alyssa".

            "I didn't think we'd see anyone else alive," Alyssa said to him, "My names-"

            George cut her off and pointed to her nametag.

            She started again, obviously feeling a bit embarrassed, "Right…well this is Yoko. I'm a reporter for the Raccoon Press."

            George admired her. She was outgoing, bold, beautiful…

            Why don't you ask her on a date, George? Oh wait, yeah, that's right, the city is crawling with mutants. Keep your hormones in check before you get yourself in real trouble.

            "Are you injured? I'm a medic…I can treat your wounds if you're hurt."

            Alyssa shook her head.

            Yoko suddenly looked excited, and George couldn't imagine why.

            "The cable car. It goes to the clock tower, correct?" the tone in her voice was eager, not distressed but still sort of anxious, "If we get there, we can signal for a helicopter rescue. The clock tower should be a safe haven. If we can make it there, we can use the cable car as protection."

            George smiled at the girl.

            Not twenty…probably younger. So sad she's got to be here in this…

            "Good plan. Lets get going before something decides to make us its next meal." George said, smiling at the girl. She was probably very smart, and he was jealous. At twenty, where had he been?

            Cant remember…everything is such a blur…

            Once inside the cable car, George introduced Yoko and Alyssa to Mark, who had already began to activate the train. The fire in front of them hadn't been too bad, so they were going to go before it spread any more.

            Suddenly, after a moment of silence, Alyssa mentioned that there was something out in the streets, something she called a Tyrant. George didn't know how to understand this, but she said something about how everything was Umbrella's fault…could that possibly be true? Could Umbrella really be the cause of all the hell in Raccoon City?

            Kevin pushed through the RPD main doors, and Cindy followed. She was scarred as she had ever been. They had taken a long hike to where they were. Down main street, through the Kendo gun shop, the alleyways and then through a bus, riddled with corpses. Cindy didn't know what to think, she was so scarred. Never had she ever seen anything as horrendous as Raccoon City…

            Just breathe…

            "Theres a dog kennel, and then a sewer entrance that we can make it out of town in. We just need to-"

            Bam! Bam! Bam!

            "Cindy!" Kevin pushed Cindy down the small flight of the steps and she rolled, falling flat on her face. Kevin dodged the three bullets like a dancer, and then Cindy looked up to the second floor balcony that over looked the main hall and saw a woman standing, in a white coat. She was loading another clip into the pistol.

            "Kevin!" She cried, and he was already helping her to her feet, returning fire to the woman on the balcony. They raced across the large mat on the floor with the RPD insignia and finally made it to the receptionist desk, where Kevin pushed Cindy underneath the counter top for cover.

            "Stay here, I'm going to go find out who that woman was."

            "But I want to come with you." Cindy cried, "I can help, I won't get in your way."

            "No. You need to stay safe."

            "But this station isn't safe! How can you be sure?" She wailed, "Please, let me come with you Kevin?"

            He shrugged, "Fine, but hurry! She could be anywhere by now.

            Suddenly the door to the upstairs library opened and shut, and Kevin seemed to know exactly where she was headed-

            "Hurry!"

            There was an emergency ladder that had been released that led up to the second floor, and Kevin scaled it quickly, Cindy slowly following behind. He pulled her over, and together they raced after their attacker that had so suddenly disappeared.

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