Chapter 4 : Light in a Hell-Hole
The shadows cast by the moonlight seemed to slither around every corner as a teenage boy continued to jog down the path. He didn't know whether he was doing the right thing by being out here right now, but it seemed there was no other choice. His friends would die if they kept following him. Their only hope was to think that he abandoned them, so that they could escape the city on their own, restart a normal life somewhere else. No more danger will be placed on them because of him. Anyway, it was already too late to change anything. Ashton was dead, killed by his own hand, and it plagued the boy's mind with guilt and sorrow. Till now, he could still hear the screaming in his head, the immense booming of a weapon, and the final sound of a body hitting the ground.
A zombie shuffled out suddenly to the boy's right, and he sent 2 silenced bullets straight into its head. Watching its body slump lifeless to the ground, his tears began to flow. Of all times, his emotions decided to kick in now, where he was vulnerable out in the open, but he couldn't help it. If he kept his sadness inside, he would explode in no time, and as he hastily wiped his tears away to continue to his destination, his mind returned to that fateful moment...
X-------X-------X
Ashton flung himself into the Hunters and began to grab them, tearing them apart with little effort. The Hunters emitted high shrieks and tried to counter their new foe, but to no avail, and Julian's eyes widened as Ashton continued to make short work of the remaining Hunters and zombies, their blood staining his clothes in crimson red. Andrew, too, lowered his shotgun in disbelief at the scene unfolding in front of him.
After the bloody massacre, all that was left on the ground were torn body parts, as well as a hell lotta blood. Ashton stood in the middle of it, his breathing loud enough to be heard in the entire room. His body was hunched over, constantly swaying up and down from his heavy breathing. Julian approached him cautiously, his weapon still raised, and then he noticed it.
Black veins had branched out from his injury and spread throughout his entire arm, some beginning to form on his neck and legs. Furthermore, his skin colour had grown to a deep red, a stark contrast to the pale colour just minutes ago.
"...Ashton? Are you-" Ashton tilted his head slightly at Julian's voice, and turned around completely. The expression on his face struck fear into julian's heart almost instantly.
Ashton's face had a look of intense rage and anger in it. Black, bulging veins snaked its way around his face, pulsing slightly. His eyes were red, blood-shot, concentrated on the teenage boy who now stood in front of him, threatening him with a weapon. It so wanted to mutilate the human, to wipe that silly look of its face, to vent his entire anger on it. The sheer thought of basking in another's blood made its own blood hot and excited.
Julian couldn't believe what he was looking at. Hours ago he was talking to a normal person, his face ridden with fear yet filled with kindness. Now, it was nothing more than the face of a nightmare. Ashton suddenly opened his mouth and screamed, no, roared, before charging straight into Julian. He had barely enough time to react as Ashton's shoulder connected heavily with Julian's stomach, sending him flying back and landing hard before screeching to a stop, his gun skidding to the side. Julian gasped as the air was forced out of his lungs from the impact, and saw Ashton turn his attention to a dumbstruck Andrew. He wanted to yell out for Andrew to run, but the pain in his lungs prevented him from doing so. As such, he could only watch as Ashton gave Andrew a clean punch in his jaw, sending him crashing into more chairs and tables. The attack knocked Andrew unconscious, for his body was motionless after it hit the ground.
"No, Ashton. What are you doing!" came Desmond's voice from the corner of the room. It drawed his attention long enough, though, for Julian to fully recover and retrieve his weapon. He struggled to get up and once again, aimed the gun at Ashton. This time, he was braced for impact.
"Ashton, don't make me do this..." Julian warned. His words fell onto deaf ears as Ashton turned and charged at him with his right fist raised. Seeing that nothing could be done to help Ashton anymore, and he seemed intent on beating the shit out of them, Julian pulled the trigger.
3 bullets slammed into Ashton's chest, and another 2 hit him in the face, yet he kept on coming. Julian leapt to the side at the very last moment, felt the whoosh of air as Ashton's muscular body flew past followed by a very loud bashing sound. Getting up from a crouching position, Julian only had time to see Ashton pull his fist out of the stone wall before he had to move again.
Shit, headshots won't kill it! What kind of mutation is this!
Julian sent another 4 rounds into Ashton's torso, and had to dive to the side again. Ashton was tiring him out, making him waste his energy before finishing him off, and Julian had to do something before he faints from exhaustion. Sweat dripping from his face, he quickly looked around for a solution, and found it in the glittering silver of Andrew's shotgun. But it lay too far away from him, Ashton would pummel him before he would even touch it.
BANG BANG BANG!
"Julian, go! Quick!" Desmond shouted. He was standing up and firing his weapon at Ashton. For some reason, Desmond had managed to read Julian's mind when he saw Julian looking at the shotgun, even for a second. The bullets sent Ashton into a rage and he opened his mouth again and roared as Desmond continued firing. He had bought Julian a few precious seconds.
Julian wasted no time. He dashed forwards and made it to the shotgun as Ashton refocused his attention at Julian, seemingly ignoring the bullets from Desmond's gun. Julian snatched the shotgun up and aimed it at Ashton, as he came charging at Julian again. Knowing that 9mms wouldn't do much to Ashton's head, he had to find another way to kill him, preferably by blowing his head clean off with the shotgun, but how was he going to do that with Ashton always charging at them too quickly?
The answer came to him instantly. And as he pulled the trigger, feeling the impressive recoil of the shotgun in his hands, he dreaded what he had to do later.
Ashton's left kneecap exploded in blurr of red. He fell to the ground on his other knee and roared, trying to get up. But with one knee completely mashed up by a shotgun blast, he could only crawl towads Julian slowly. The sight of it made Julian's heart drop. How could Ashton turn into something like this? So hellish, a mindless killing machine. Now, there was only one thing left to do. He glanced at Desmond, and after recieving a shaky nod from him, he whispered out 2 words to himself.
"For Ashton..."
Before aiming the shotgun at Ashton's head, point-blank range, and fired.
X-------X-------X
Julian gazed at his trembling hands again. No matter how hard he had rinsed his hands, the blood from Ashton's exploding head seemed to be fastened to his very skin, possibly a constant reminder of his actions, of what he had to do in order to survive. Clenching his hands didn't help much. The tears didn't stop, highly because he knew that he not only lost a good friend, but he had also left 2 more on their own.
He had left his friends in a zombie-infested city, to die...
No. He told himself again that his family was more important, more specifically, his father. Whether Andrew and Desmond make it out of the city, was up to their own abilities, but could they make it in their current state?
The battle had left its mark on them. Desmond sustained a clean cut across both his elbows when he used them to protect his face from the Hunter's attack. He did what he could, treating it with what anti-biotics they had left, and bandaging it up, though a visible red colour was still seen even through the thick, white bandage. Andrew got a huge bump on his head which left him slightly disorganised. Nothing he could do about that but let him rest and refocus. But how could anyone rest in this kind of environment, with demons lurking around in the shadows as well as inside oneself?
Why the heck am I still going on about this! I made my decision, and I jolly well be happy about it...
Erasing what thoughts he had about his friends from his mind, he wiped the last remaining tears from his face before continueing down the forsaken path. The lab was still a good distance away, but he would make a pit-stop at the Raccoon Police Department, or RPD for short, to see if there were any survivors. If possible, he would salvage, or beg, some ammo for his gun, then wish them the best of luck, accompanied by some hugs and kisses of eternal goodbye, and be on his way. In and out, simple as that. The problem is actually getting into the station without being mistaken as an armed zombie, if there was such a thing. But after seeing what happened to Ashton, Julian couldn't exactly rule out the possibilities of that happening, and trembled slightly at having to run from zombies with rocket launchers.
Speaking of rocket launchers, Julian's mind suddenly thought about the huge creature that Desmond saw passing by the minimart when the rest of them were in dreamland. What would be the chance of him bumping into that creature, if what he saw was real. T'would suck if one had to take on a rocket launcher wielding creature with only 2 small pathetic handguns. My, my, wouldn't that be-
BAM! BAM! BAM!
3 flashes of light came from a window in a building across the street, followed by a very distinct curse. Julian looked up and saw 'Raccoon Newspaper Department' written at the top of the building. Without hesitation, he glanced to and from the roads, and after ensuring that he wouldn't draw any extra company that would end up blocking off his escape, and whoever who was firing earlier, Julian made a mad dash across the streets and into the building. He slammed the door shut, its sound echoing throughout the entire building. He did it mainly because he wanted the survivor to know that at least there was still someone who wasn't hungry for human flesh. That is, unless the survivor has encountered zombies who slam doors shut...
The main lobby wasn't that big a mess, it was only when Julian got to the 2nd floor did he realize the chaos that had occurred here. Papers were strewn across desks and the floor, some stained red with blood. As usual, the chairs were laying everywhere and some of them were neatly broken in two. More dried blood stained the walls and windows. Julian noticed 3 motionless bodies scattered around the entire room, but after seeing a hole in each of their foreheads, assured himself that they weren't going to knaw at his ankle. It did leave quite a mess however, for brain matter were spewed all over the floor, along with some of the zombie's internal organs as well. The gunfire he saw and heard came from the 3rd floor window, but the door was on the other side of the room, which means...
"Oh man. This is disgusting..."
Julian couldn't help but voice his complain softly. Slowly, he began to step over the bodies and organs, making care to not squish anything for fear of attracting more blood-smelling creatures. He cringed his nose as he manuvered past and over the bodies. It smelt like someone puked on a turd, and a very huge puke at that! He slipped against a still-wet puddle of blood at the end and almost fell on his bottom, which got nothing out of him except a muted curse. Finally, after much effort, Julian made it to the stairway door. Ascending it happily, he opened the door to the 3rd floor.
And was rewarded with a gun pointing towards his face. Julian gave a yell and raised his arms in reaction.
"Don't shoot! I'm human!" For once, Julian actually sounded panicky. It's expected, of course, when someone aims a gun at your face, threatening to blow the shit out of your head.
The gun was lowered and Julian got a good look at his 'assailant'. Strangely enough, it was a woman. She was clad in a green colour shirt, and wore blue pants which reached all the way down to her ankles, making Julian wonder how she could ever run in those. Her figure, though, was close to perfect, as she had the waistline of a model. Her blonde hair was short, reaching only to just after her ears, and it ran down on both sides of her head, making her look like some female commando. Her face was pale in complexion, but was perfectly slim and proportionate to her head.
"Sorry, thought you were one of them smart zombies." She said, her voice fluent with an English accent. Well-educated and resourceful was all Julian could think of to describe the woman before he started speaking.
"So I see you've met them, assuming what I saw is similiar to yours." Julian replied. He couldn't help but blush though. This woman was indeed, hot.
"Oh yeah, they're the same alright." The woman said, face screweing up slightly, probably thinking back at what she encountered. " The name's Celine Ashcroft. No need for formalities though, we're still stuck in this shithole."
"Err...yeah, I kinda noticed that already. Julian Lias. So mind telling me what you're doing here?"
"Same goes to you. What made you dash into this building anyway?" Celine asked, studying Julian with intent eyes. Julian didn't like the way she looked at him, so analytical.
"Heard your gunshots, so I came to check it out."
"Saving the damsel in distress eh? Don't expect me to reward you with hugs and kisses, though it's good to see that there are other survivors in the city." Celine said, looking away. Something about her expression told Julian that she probably had to put down many of her zombified loved ones, and made sure that he was more careful with his words.
"You still haven't told me what you're doing in this building." Julian asked, almost demanding a reply.
"None of your business. It's personal." Celine snapped back with a look of agitation on her face.
If she wants to be so secretive, it's fine by me. I don't really care much about what she's doing here anyway.
"What's up with the dual wielding handguns? Think this is some sort of game?" Celine demanded, gazing at the 2 guns held in each of Julian's hands.
"I just had to blow up one of my friend's head and abandon 2 of them. Think I still think this is a game!" Julian retorted, his nerves rising. How could anyone think this is fun, let alone think it's some sort of sick game? His reply shot a look of sympathy across Celine's face, but it quickly faded within seconds.
"...Whatever. I'm headed to the RPD, wanna tag along?" Celine said, walking past Julian towards the door.
"How coincedental, I was headed there too, before dashing in here to save a non-damsel in distress..." Julian replied with a smirk. Having a taste of one's own medicine was by far, the worst insult ever. Period. However, Celine just turned back and smiled sarcastically.
"Just don't get in my way, darling."
The sound of a door closing came floating up from the ground floor, and at once any expression on their faces wore off. Celine's eyes narrowed onto Julian, making him think that she's accusing him of something.
"Did something follow you in?"
"No, I didn't-" Julian wanted to explain, when a loud wailing sound filled the air. It sent shivers down Julian's spine, and he could see the shock and surprise on Celine's face, indicating that this was something she hand't encountered yet in her journeys.
As if reading each other's minds, they both dashed down to the ground floor, with Celine in the lead. Getting trapped in a building was not a very good idea. As soon as Julian set foot into the main hall, he realized that they were gonna be in for a big fight.
"Holy shit..." Celine mumbled.
Right at the front door, lay half a human body. The only difference was that the half body was so massive, that it was almost the same size as Julian himself. Its lower body was gone, and replacing them were 6 thick, ultra long tentacles which flailed about in the air, making it look like a new version of Medusa. The creature's skin looked severly burned, pieces of skin already hanging loose and falling off, along with patches of red and black. Its eyes, though, remained as white and cloudy. The creature looked up and wailed once again, though Julian thought it was roaring instead, before reaching one arm forward and dragging it a good feet across.
This snapped Celine out of her awe, as she stepped forward as well and opened fire onto it.
"Come ON, Julian! You wanna get torn apart by this freak!" She yelled over the gunfire. This also snapped Julian out of his shock, and he unloaded bullets from both his handguns into it.
A dozen rounds penetrated the creature's body, some into its head, others to keep the tentacles at bay. But if there was any effect that the bullets had, Julian could not see it. By the time he realized this, the creature had already pulled itself forward again, closing the distance between them and its deadly looking tentacles by another feet. The main lobby was relatively big, but given the size and range of this creature, it would corner them in no time. Sure, they could run back upstairs, but it would simply pursue them slowly and tear them apart sooner or later. They had to kill it here.
Damn, what is this thing! Some kind of Reacher!
Suddenly, one of its tentacles snapped forward, covering the distance between them in seconds, and slapped Celine across her face. It sent her flying to the side and crashing into the wall. Julian called out to her, still emptying his handgun into the creature, and saw 2 of its tentacles being swung backwards, signifying an attack. He managed to dodge the first strike, which went above his head, but the 2nd tentacle caught him neatly on his ankle, and he landed hard on his belly.
"Damn, this thing is persistent!" Celine yelled, now standing and reopening fire onto the creature. She only fired 3 shots before her handgun clicked empty. "SHIT!"
As Celine hastily tried to reload her gun, Julian raised his head and caught sight of another of the Reacher's tentacle shooting towards Celine.
"LOOK OUT!"
He managed to deliver his warning in time. Celine looked back up from her gun and instantly ducked. The tentacle slammed into the wall where her head had been seconds ago and neatly penetrated through the concrete, raining pieces of rock down onto Celine. A sure death blow if she didn't dodge it. Julian struggled to get back up as she opened fire, her gun reloaded fully.
The Reacher pulled itself forward again, completely oblivious to the bullets which pummelled into its body. Julian looked around for anything, anything at all, and spotted 2 large containers of water resting against the wall, and its position was smach in between the Reacher and themselves. If bullets can't kill it, maybe...
Julian didn't hesitate. He aimed his gun and fired 2 rounds into both containers. This instantly drained them of their contents, which was now all over the main hall. More importantly, the Reacher was already in contact with it.
"Hey! What the fuck are you doing! Bullets go into that thing, not some plastic container!" Celine shouted, extremely furious.
Julian then looked towards the counter desk beside them. Sure enough, a thick, black cable was running against the wall into the computer inbuilt into the desk itself.
"Cover me!" Julian yelled, gazing back at the Reacher and getting only a 'What the fuck!' from Celine. If his plan were to work, he was gonna have to hurry. The Reacher was almost halfway across the puddle of water. Pointing both his handguns at the cable, two sets of bullets were enough to break it, sending white sparks spurting out the broken end. Julian grabbed it and yanked the remaining portion out of the rest of the wall with much effort, while enduring Celine's constant cursing. The cable was heavy, but he didn't have to throw it that far. As such, he hefted it backwards, saw more sparks flying out from the cords, and hurled it forwards towards the puddle of water, already feeling a sense of achievement at his ingenious plan-
only to see the Reacher grab the cable with one of its tentacles. The live end hovered above the puddle of water, useless unless it actually touched the water surface. It pulled the cable back further, looking like it was going to send it flying back into their faces.
"SHIT! Celine, take that tentacle out!" Julian shouted, already firing at the flailing tentacle. If it succeeded in throwing it back at them, it would make it across the puddle of water even before Julian could retreive the cable for another attempt, thus rendering them as DEAD. He couldn't let that happen, not before getting to his father.
For my father! Die you bloody crawling BITCH!
The combined firepower of Celine's Browning HP Handgun and Julian's standard handguns was well worth it. The tentacle which grasped the live cable exploded in the middle portion where they had concentrated their attack. The cable dropped to the ground in a seemingly slow-motion, before erupting in a shower of sparks as its cord touched the water surface.
Julian had to shield his eyes from the sheer brightness of it. The Reacher wailed and howled, its tentacles thrashing about wildly, as its body fried under the high voltages. It took only 5 seconds before it lay motionless, black smoke floating up from its sizzling body. Julian stood up and breathed in heavily, trying to catch his breath, knowing that it was finally over, then bent over and vomitted his guts out. If it was anything, the smell which now filled the entire lobby was worse than anything Julian had smelt before, including putting 3 rotting zombies in a container and sticking his head into it.
When he was done puking, he leaned against the wall and started breathing again, taking care not to inhale too much of the horrid stench, and saw Celine walking up to him, a smile on her face.
"That was gross, now you're gonna ruin my shoes! Oh, and don't expect me to thank you for saving my life." She said, holding a thumbs-up.
"Don't worry, I don't intend too." Celine's tough attitude certainly ticked Julian off, but now he at least knew how to deal with it.
"One little question though," Celine continued, giving a very sarcastic confused look. "how we supposed to get out of this building now?"
Julian looked back at the Reacher's carcass. The puddle of water occupied a good portion of the lobby, and even if they managed to find a way past it by dragging the cable away, the Reacher's corpse itself stretched across the entire lobby, along with its tentacles which branched out from it. They could climb over its body, but Julian didn't even want to touch it with a 10-foot pole, let alone put his hands and legs on it.
"...2nd floor window?" Julian questioned, noticing the pissed off look on Celine's ever-changing face.
"Ah fuck..."