Yeah, sorry about that. Some homicidal jerk had stolen an armoured van, packed it full of explosives and tried to ram it into the White House. Fortunately, a nice dose of a new EMP weapon stopped him in his tracks. Literally. Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, our good friend, our good friend, the 'big cheese'. I decided to talk to Hunnigan.
'Ingrid here. You okay, Leon?' She sounded concerned. She knew I was not to call her unless it was an emergency, in case anyone tracked me or her by my radio.
'I'm okay, but I had another run-in with who I think is the chief of the village..' I replied.
'You're still alive?' Huh. She didn't think I could handle myself. Then again, he did catch my roundhouse kick.
'Yeah. He let me live. But he mentioned something about having the "same blood".' I told her.
'"Same blood?" She sounded confused. An unlikely state of mind for someone in her position. 'Thanks Leon. I'll get back to you.' The radio buzzed, then died. Oh well. I decided to go back into the bedroom to see if I could find anything. The bedroom was still the same. I went over to the bookcase to see if I could find any clues as to what the hell was happening, when I heard a noise. I took out my pistol and turned towards the source. Hmm. Nothing. I turned back and got embraced by two very big, fat hands. Belonging to the chief. Bugger. He threw me on the floor and prepared to finish me off, when I heard three gunshots. The chief staggered a bit. I tried to look out the window, and there was someone in a red dress pointing their gun at the chief. After two more shots - with no effect - the woman hoisted herself up to the roof with a grappling hook of some kind. The chief jumped out the window to get her, but fell to his doom. I hope. I decided to venture downstairs. To be honest, it wasn't that bad. There wasn't a toilet, but apart from that, it looked like a normal home. There were bookcases (with English books, for some bizarre reason), a kitchen, a table, a few pictures on the walls. It looked like a normal household. Apart from that it was dark, dreary and most of the windows were boarded up. I spotted one picture, however, that took my interest, made love to it, married it and started a family of little interests. It was a picture of a church. Wait…Luis said that Ashley was in the church…they could be one and the same! Or not. Still, it was worth looking. I grabbed a grenade from a storage cupboard (why it was there, I still don't know), grabbed an egg that was lying in the oven (strangely, it was still fresh. Odd.), and made my way out through the front door.
A lovely scene greeted my eyes. A slightly clear sky, some dead and overgrown plants, a few small half-sheds, and a few villagers. And a man with a bag on his head. Holding a chainsaw. A bloody chainsaw. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre bastard. Time to teach these punks the meaning of the word respect. I took hold of Mr. Grenade and threw it amongst the fools. They went flying. Then I took out my trust shotgun and made mincemeat of them. Except the dude I shall lovingly christen 'Baghead'. Anyway, Mr. Baghead. Tried to ram his chainsaw through my neck like some medieval executioner. I'd had enough, so I fired some shotgun rounds into his back while he wasn't looking. He fell to his knees. I put one final round into the back of his bag and he toppled. Serves him right. I ransacked the bodies and found a grenade and some gems. I thought I might use them to barter with the creepy merchant. I continued on my way, bypassing a nice little house. I went in, shot the occupant and took some ammunition that was lying about. Then I continued on my way until I reached the village gates. I unbarred it, opened it as quietly as I could and slipped inside, hoping to sneak in unnoticed. I closed the door, confident of a job well done. I turned around, smug as anything and came across twenty very angry psychopathic villagers blocking my path. I fished in my pocket and found a grenade. I took out the pin and let the villagers squabble amongst themselves for the rest. It went off, and it was then that I realised that it was an incendiary grenade. Still, it had the desired effect, burning the villagers to a crisp. The others I shot until they screamed horribly creepy broken Spanish at me no more. I decided to stroll over to the door with the weird insignia. I did have some kind of key, after all. With the door's insignia. First though, I paid my respects to the cop who was burnt on the stake, his body hanging there like a burnt doll. Poor bastard. I walked over to the odd house at the end of the, for want of a better word, street, and got out my key. I slotted it in and turned it. What do you know, it fits. I pushed the door open and cocked my pistol. No one inside. I holstered it, taking the little trinkets that were hanging around. Nothing much, just some ammunition, really. I continued round the corner, and found a lamp. I shot it down, grabbed the gem I found in it and stepped on a trapdoor. I pulled my foot out, then opened it. I climbed down, walked a little forwards then consulted my GPS. I then looked at my map that the merchant had slipped to me. There was a star drawn on right were I stood. I looked up. I couldn't see anything-BLAM! My gun went off and shot the lamp. It fell to the floor. Suddenly, three gems sparkled. Goodie. I shot them down. One appeared to be a very elegant headdress. I walked on, coming across a merchant. I sold the stuff I didn't need and tuned up what I did. I bid him good day, opened the door on my left and climbed up the ladder.
It was the church. I was sure it was. The gravestones and the bloody great spire on the roof gave me a clue. I killed a few villagers, shot some medallions that were hanging around and crossed them off on my map. Then I strode up to the door and tried to open it. Ah. No luck there. I called Miss Hunnigan.
'Ingrid, I'm at the church where I think Ashley's being held, but I can't get in.' I waited for a reply. Please don't be getting a coffee, please don't be-
'Didn't they teach you lock-picking in the academy?' Ah yes, I love that sentence. My girlfriend said it to me once when we lost our keys for the house. I decided to ignore her know-it-all tone and told her about the hole in the door.
'There's a hole in the door.' I said. 'I think that's where a key must fit.'
'Okay Leon. Find a way in and rescue Ashley ASAP.' The radio returned to buzzing. I turned it off and went round the back, hoping for a back door. I didn't find it. What I found was a villager and his mistress, trying the carve a piece out of me. I shot them in the head. I shot another medallion that was hanging from the roof, then went over to the little pillar. I managed after a little confusion to get the gem out of it. It fitted perfectly into my odd beer mug. Fancy that. I then decided to shoot the bell, just for fun. About five bullets hit the spot. Then I realised my mistake. I heard the villagers screaming and heading my way. This was going to take a while.
After I pounded the villagers into the dust, I continued on my way towards a little hut. More medallions hung from the bridge that I crossed. It a few gaps in. Stupid carpenters. I jumped along until I reached a big door. I shoved it open and walked right into a big clearing. I heard some growling. I detected the source of it from behind two great big doors. They were barred, and looked incredibly tough. But it sounded like a very pissed-off sound. I backed away, and continued to two doors. I took the one in front of me after consulting my map. On the other side was a hut and a winding path. I walked into it, just as a giant boulder fell right behind me. Screw this, I thought, and ran. I ran until I felt my legs try to collapse underneath me from sheer terror. I would not get this far to be flattened by something out of some Harrison Ford flick! I dodged to the side, and the boulder smashed into the wall in front of me. I looked at the surrounding area. It was a swamp. There was no other way to put it. I walked around the raised platforms, only to find it led into the water. I found a few more of those stupid dynamite traps as well. And some villagers. I put two and two together to make a large blast as the villager I shot at fell onto the trap. Served him right. I waddled around in the water for a bit, finding a hand grenade, shooting a few more of those maniacs, shot down a glittering nest to find a pipe with a detailed carving which I stuffed into my pocket and ran out of the area, picking up some ammunition as I went. I pushed open the door and found a fork in the road. I took the left, and found myself on a small cliff overlooking a lake. I took out my binoculars and saw two villagers throwing the body of the other cop into the lake. Then they rode away. That wasn't the good part. That happened when a gigantic lizard like thing jumped out of the water and ate it. It was about twenty five to thirty metres long. It was sodding enormous! I continued down the other path, taking a moment to shoot down a nest, shaking in terror. This was a monster. Like that Nemesis thing, only worse. I resigned myself to the fact that I'd have to cross the lake, so I got in the boat and took off towards the other side. Then it happened. I felt the water rumble. My boat shook, then suddenly- BANG! It hit me. I shot out of the water and hit my boat, knocking the anchor off the side. I tried to regain my senses and reached for a harpoon. Then there was a massive jolt and I fell to the floor. The anchor and fallen on the damn thing's tail!
The boat shot after it and it was all I could do to stop the boat from crashing into the debris on the lake. I managed to throw a harpoon into the it and blood shot out. The creature seemed to notice, as it went underwater. I waited a few seconds, and then it hit me. I was thrown from my boat, and I frantically swam for it. The thing was coming up behind me, like the shark out of Jaws. I managed to get in the boat in time as it smashed through the water that I was in a few seconds before. The creature then shot off. I handled myself better, getting a few harpoons into it. Then, however, it slid into the water. I looked around, but I couldn't see it. I grabbed a harpoon just in case. I heard a splash, I turned round and I saw the damn lizard thing heading towards me, mouth open. I drew back my throwing arm, readying to fire. Just a bit further, just a bit further…NOW! It was about five metres away when I hit it right in the throat. It groaned, blood gushed out and it tumbled into the depths. I watched it go. Then, out of nowhere, the anchor rope wrapped around my leg. It was dragging me under! I slashed at the rope with my knife, hoping to cut it loose before the boat sunk. I finally cut through and the boat bobbed back up. I then steadied myself and drove to the other side of the lake.
When I arrived, I felt very ill. I shoved open the door to the hut next to the lake, and coughed some blood. My vision focused in and out. I then collapsed on the floor.
Tip: Animals are our friends. Not so in this game. From the deadly dogs to the downright lethal Del Lago, all animals want you dead. Except the dog at the beginning. He's cool. Since all other animals want you dead, repay their ferocity by shooting all crows, chickens, cows and especially nests. Crows money and sometimes ammunition, chickens give you eggs, I don't remember what cows give you, but the bird nests are the best. Shoot one down and you'll either get something that you can combine with another treasure, or a stand-alone treasure that is worth at least 10,000pst. Just remember to be nice to animals outside the game.
Stranger, Stranger, now that's a weapon:
Today's topic: Shotguns.
Unlike the handgun, shotguns are big, slow to aim and are very bad at long range. However, they more than make up for it in power. It's amazing. It can blast through a shield in one go, sometimes taking the holder with it. Anything hit by it in the head - apart from the more advanced enemies - at least stumbles back. The most powerful weapon in the game, not including the rifle. There are three shotguns throughout the game. The normal shotgun, which you find upstairs in one of the village houses; the riot gun, which only has 1 point better of power and isn't really worth buying, even though it aims quicker; and the striker, the best of the best. This starts out at a firepower of 6, but it really stands out due to its executive upgrade. This allows it to have a maximum ammunition of 100. Yes, you heard me correctly. 100 shotgun shells. World, start running. Oh, and the striker also has up to 12 firepower and is very fast at aiming. It also has a longer range than the shotgun.
Price: About 50,000-150,000pst.
Upgrade costs: About 2,000-150,000pst.
Ammunition: Shotgun shells.
Rarity: Uncommon.
Price per shot: 120pst.
Sorry: Last chapter, I spoke about the handgun's cost. I was wrong. It's from about 15,000-50,000pst. Also, the upgrades were about 1,000-100,000pst.