Resident Evil: Living Nightmares
Joshua
Joshua sat up and cried out, staring straight up at the sky. He took a few deep breaths then picked up his pistols lying in the trash. He climbed out and walked towards the doors. They were unlocked, he entered and moved down the hall. There was something nearby – he could sense it.
The Licker dropped from the ceiling and lashed out with it's tongue. Joshua threw himself aside just in time to avoid the razor sharp muscle. He fired at the Lickers exposed brain, then dodged again, the Lickers tackle missed and it bashed into the wall. Joshua got close, pressed the gun to the back of its neck and fired.
He pulled away as the brain tissue and bone fragments splattered out around the wound – the Licker thrashed and hissed before flopping to the ground. Dead. The pool of brain tissue and blood spread out and the tongue it had used to kill twitched briefly.
"Die" muttered Joshua. "You freaky scum". He paused…he could hear footsteps…he ducked into the morgue – someone ran past the doors then stopped and walked over. The person was about to enter the dark morgue! Joshua ducked into the corner…the person entered, took something from a desk drawer and left.
Joshua suddenly didn't feel so alone anymore. There was a moaning noise. With a shudder Joshua turned on the light, zombies were crawling from the storage slots in the wall. He checked his guns. "So – it's going to be one of those days out" he fired.
Leon
Ada and Claire took point. They held their pistols at the ready…the progression down the hall was slow and arduous but if they rushed they could die. The shots rang out. Leon flinched and looked around.
"Down the hall" Ada said. "Come on! It might be a survivor!" they broke into a run towards the morgue. Leon shivered with the irony. They slammed the doors open and fired at the zombies swarming about the teenage boy. He was the one from the clinic, dressed in dark denim and carrying two magnum pistols.
"Ah the cavalry" Joshua said. "Get to it point gun, pull trigger, kill the undead – oh look it's my history teacher" the two shots extra did not go unnoticed. Leon fired with his pistol then reached for his shotgun and finished the last one off.
"That was nice" the boy sighed as he walked towards the door. Jim caught they boys arm.
"Not so fast kid…" Joshua grabbed the officer's arm, twisted and flipped him over.
"I have important things to do pal, don't get in my way" he looked at Leon, Claire and Ada. "That goes for all of you. But to say thanks for helping me out here - " he tossed a key to Leon. "That's for the Press Room, you want to know what happened? The answers are there" and then he was gone.
"He's fast" Jim said, regarding the empty hall with a curious eye.
"He's a survivor" Ada muttered. "The armoury is near here – I have a key to it"
"We'll need the power back on" Jim said. "Then we can stock up, come on" they headed down the hall to the generator. Leon examined the fuses and frowned. "That's strange – it looks like someone put a defective fuse in" he murmured. "Dad owned a hardware shop I've seen fuses like this…definitely not a surprise it burned out."
"But was it purposeful?" Claire asked.
Jim had already found a toolbox and spare fuses he set about repairing the generator as the others stood guard. Leon looked over at Ada. She raised an eyebrow and he turned away. "Okay" Jim called, he pulled a few lever. "Done!"
The power clunked on, lights flicked up, shutters sealed and door locks became operational again. "Now – that key can get us some answers" Ada said. "The press room – I know where that is…we should go and find the information there"
Leon nodded. "Agreed, it could help us survive".
Sherry
She'd had to leave the Dark Room, someone had come in, a woman – now she was crawling through an airvent, looking for a new hiding place.
Claire
The Armoury door slid open as Ada swiped the card through it. "An officer I met gave it to me, he was overwhelmed by zombies on the street soon after, I managed to escape but they got to him" she didn't sound remorseful and Claire couldn't help but feel the woman was untrustworthy.
The armoury had been raided but there were things to take. A submachine gun, some satchels, magnum, shotgun, revolver, laser sights, ammo and backpacks. "Okay, let's do this" Jim grinned. "We can take the other staircase up to the Press room"
"While we're down here we could go to the Jail cells, that C4 they quarantined could clear the wreckage" Leon said.
"You and Ada go to the jail cells, I'll go with Jim to the press room, we'll meet back here in 20 minutes. If that becomes impossible then we do our best to make our way back to the secretary office the others are in" Claire suggested.
"Okay" Leon said. "Claire…be careful"
Claire nodded and smiled. She checked her gun and gave her Bow Gun to Jim since his pistol was out of rounds. They climbed the steps to the wing with the Press room near it. There were footsteps, fast and light – Claire rushed up the steps. The little girl was there, she was 12, hardly little, dressed in a grey sweater and jeans with white tennis shoes on her feet. Her blonde hair was tied back by a hairband and a large locket hung around her neck.
"Wait!" Claire exclaimed. But the lithe little girl had already slipped under a broken door. Jim pressed the button to shut the window shutters in the dank brown hall. Claire was already trying to bash down the door when Jim rushed over, and slammed his shoulder into it. "Little Girl?" Claire called. The girl was gone.
"We'll find her again" Jim reassured
"What if we're too late by then?" murmured Claire.
Jim shuddered and took the key from his pocket, he walked over to the Pressroom door, he turned the key and opened the door. The room was a mess – papers and camera's were scattered all around… "The kid expected us to find ANYTHING here?" muttered Jim.
Claire shrugged and examined the papers…she found a laptop. "Here" she said. "This laptop is still functional!" she tapped the keys. "Gimme a few minutes here…and… presto! Hacked in"
"How did you-"
"Oh Computer classes" shrugged Claire. "Look, it's research – a reporter was getting information from a B.V. Apparently he or she was with STARS – and this explains a lot. We have to get back to the others" she picked up a disk from the desk where a bad of things had spilled out. She saved the files to the disk and then closed the laptop and put it into her pack.
There was a thunderous stomp. Claire paused. "What was that?" she murmured. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end.
"I don't know" whispered Jim. The wall behind the desk shattered. The trench coated man stepped in – blank white eyes surveyed the room. He walked towards Claire and Jim. Jim fired his bowgun as Claire fired her handgun. The monster flinched but took a swing at them. Jim hit the wall with a thud but managed to fire a bolt into the thing's face. It groaned and fell back. Claire grabbed Jim's hand and pulled him out the door, taking the bow gun to fire at the monster again and keep it off balance.
"There's too much shit in this place" Jim exclaimed. They ran down the dark hall…Jim cried out and he was wrenched from Claire's grasp. Claire turned around and screamed – Jim was caught by flailing arms in a window, nails slashed his face and arms as they pulled the portly 40 year old out the window – Jim screamed and flailed…then was gone. Claire gasped and ran down the stairs, tears in her eyes as Jim's screams echoed through her mind – there had been a splatter of blood when he'd been dragged backwards – and the inhuman moans had drowned his cries out – he was dead.
Claire leaned back against a wall and gasped in sorrow.
Leon
Ada and Leon progressed down the hall as Claire and Jim made their way upstairs. Leon stopped at the sliding door marked Cells. Ada gave a nod and he pulled the door open for her. She raised her magnum to shoot – but there was nothing there. They approached the cabinet and opened it. The jail cells were empty, doors open but blood splatters indicated the prisoners had met the same fate as the other city inhabitants.
Ada handed Chris the rifle and scope then tucked the C4 and detonator into the knapsack in the locker. "We'd better head back to the others" Chris said quietly. Ada looked up at him and nodded – she had cold eyes…
Leon checked the binoculars, they were beyond use, then handed Ada an electric torch.
"So you're looking for your boyfriend?"
"Yes, John. He was at the mansion in the forest when he disappeared. There was an outbreak I think…I haven't heard from him since – then my agency got a call from a newspaper asking to find Ben Betrolucci… I recognised the name from some notes John had made. Ben was "nosing" around the mansion perimeter and sent packing. So I came down – hoping he knew something" she picked up a crowbar. "This could be handy."
"What else do you know?" Leon asked.
"Not much, I arrived here a day ago, the whole incident was in full swing so I figured Ben would hide where anyone else would…here in the police station. I came after him…and here we are". Leon rooted around the cabinet and pulled a sewer key out.
"We should meet up with the others now" Leon decided.
"Agreed" Ada nodded stiffly. They moved back down the corridor from the prison cells towards the morgue corridor. Leon felt so on edge – he never expected to feel this… worried…first day on the job and hell ahead.
They climbed the steps…Claire was in tears as she came down the hall.
Alone.
"Jim?"
"Dead" she said, wiping her eyes and steadying himself. "The – zombies got him…dragged him away…I saw blood…I don't think he survived or at least not as a human" she shuddered.
They moved on in silence.
Jim was dead. One of their number was lost…there was no doubt more would die. But who would be next? There thoughts were shattered by a cry. Leon moved first, he handed Claire the sniper rifle as he brandished his shotgun and rushed up the steps. The Licker's tongue lashed out and sent Joshua sprawling across the floor. He reaced for his pistol but the creatures tongue snared his throat.
It was able to hear him breathe.
Leon fired into the air, the monster turned and released Joshua. It hadn't been that interested in Joshua anyway. He seemed unappetising. The warm body with the footsteps it could really sense…that was for it. The Licker lunged. The barrels of the shotgun blazed and its head popped open, blood and brain splattered around as the skull split like an opening flower.
Joshua sat up and took his pistols. "Right…that was inconvenient" he picked up the diary in the bunk room and leafed through it, as he tried to walk past the women at the door (and Leon but he was cleaning his gun off) they stood into his path. "Thanks for that assist but I have to go"
"No" Claire said. "It's too dangerous for anyone to be running around alone"
"Yeah well I have people to find and things to make dead" he paused. "Okay – deader".
"Come on" Ada said with a snort. "If you want to save anyone you know you'll need us, we're a group of well armed people, you need us"
"At least let us bandage that cut on your hand" Claire said. Joshua tugged his coat sleeve down over his hand. "Besides we're clearing a way out of here, if you want to help anyone you'll need to know where to go"
"Okay" Joshua muttered. In silence he followed them back into the lobby and up the ladder to the secrtary room. "Marvin" Joshua nodded.
"You" groaned Marvin.
"Ah – you two are acquainted then – that's nice" smiled Sarah. "So who are you kid?"
"Joshua West" he responded. "Most police officer have seen me around – I tend to cause a bit of trouble now and again…I'm a ward of Umbrella Inc". There was a total blank silence in the room. "What?"
"Uh – didn't know they cared" Bob muttered.
"Where's Jim? Who's she?" Sarah asked.
Claire looked away. "This is Ada Wong" she said after a few moments. "She's looking for Ben and her boyfriend John…"
"I see" Ben said. There was more silence. Claire left the room to plant the C4 with Leon. Ada walked over to Ben as Sarah and Marvin examined the wound on Joshua's hand. He explained he'd had a meeting with a window and a steep fall.
"I amn't telling you anything" Ben snapped.
"I just want to know if you-"
"No I don't know anyone called John" he sighed. "The Birkin's were bribing Chief Irons, that was my angle, he spent weekends up in the old Spencer place regularly."
"Yes they paid him in fucked up art" Joshua said as Sarah used a Health Spray on his wound. "Seriously warped stuff. Annette would buy it since William didn't leave the lab too often. Then she'd pass it on to Irons with the bank numbers written on the back for him to access a disposable account with that months payments". Everyone stared at Joshua. "What? I heard them talking, I lived in the lab".
Claire and Leon returned. "Okay. Cover your ears" Leon said. Everyone hunched over as the explosion shook the building. The renewed lights flickered before setting back to normal. "That's us cleared".
"Now we can get to that sick rapist Irons" Sarah said.
"WHAT!" Joshua grabbed her wrist with surprising strength. "What did you say?"
"Uh…Irons he's…got off allegations of sexual assault in college because there was no real evidence to convict".
"Shit…Liss!" Joshua cursed. "No. No! She – she's with him…DAMN IT!" He kicked a trashcan across the room and intot he door. "What are we waiting for?" He brandished his pistols as he ran into the hallway. The wall was demolished and the floor was splintered but it provided a route to the once blocked door.
Claire loaded handed Sarah the Bow gun and checked her weapons. She had the grenade launcher, the sniper rifle and her pistol. Marvin was armed with an assault rifle. Ben had a magnum. Leon was wielding his pistol, a shotgun and a submachine gun from the store. Sarah had a bow gun and a pistol and Ada was wielding a magnum.
Joshua gave a shout as the wood under his feet splintered, he crashed down onto the floor below. "You okay?" Claire called.
"Fine, I'm in an office…I know the way out…I'll catch up – don't worry about me" Joshua called as he pulled a splinter out of his leg and headed out of sight.
"Hey hang on!" Leon shouted. But Joshua either couldn't hear or wasn't listening. Claire and the others nimbly hopped over the hole in the floor. "Wait" Claire said as Sarah, Marvin, Ada and Bob tried to join her Leon and Ben. "We'd better go slow… we'll scout ahead, you guys wait for Joshua to meet up with us"
"Okay" Ada nodded.
"Be careful girlie" warned Bob.
"Don't start with me" muttered Claire.
Claire
As they approached the office Claire braced herself. She pushed open the door, Ben and Leon stood ready to shoot…Chief Irons merely looked at her. "So beautiful isn't she?" he sighed. "Perfect skin, well kept hair and nails, beautiful eyes…athletic…such a pity – a waste…" the girl in the white dress had a blood splatter on her chest. "A zombie attack, I was too late to save her".
Claire felt her throat close up…that looked like a bullet hole. "I see…what happens now?" she asked slowly.
"I must shoot her in the head or decapitate her…the only ways to prevent her transformation into a zombie within the hour - without burning her body that is" he looked up at her with his beady eyes. "Who are you?"
"Claire Redfield…I came to find my brother. My friends are Leon Kennedy a rookie cop who just arrived here and Ben Betrollucci-"
"An insurance sales man" Ben said. Claire didn't look at him. He was a reporter and he was reporting on an armed psychopath. Naturally telling the man what he was after was not the best idea.
"I would like some alone time please…I need to do this deed alone"
Suppressing sickening thoughts and the taste of bile Claire nodded and headed for a door in the corner of the room. "That guy is sick" she whispered as they headed down the hall. A door marked "Fire Escape" was chained shut…that left a dark room. Quietly they entered the room.
"Ben hit the lights" whispered Claire. Ben did so. The small girl tried to race past Leon but Claire caught her as she did. "It's okay! It's okay!" the struggling 11/12 year old stopped, looked at Claire and burst into tears. "Hey, You're okay now…"
"I – I was chased here" she whimpered. "A monster is chasing me and my Daddy is in the building but every time I hear his voice it's far away…"
"Okay, what's your name?" Ben asked as soothingly as he seemed able.
"It's Sherry – Sherry Birkin" she murmured. "I'm 12"
"Birkin. Those were the scientists doing business with Irons" exclaimed Leon. The girl shifted uneasily.
"I didn't like that man - Mom never let me talk to him but…I saw him once – he was creepy. Dad and Mom kept me away from him" Claire nodded – knowing exactly why. "So have you seen my brother?"
"Hm?" Claire asked.
"His name's Joshua and he's looking for his friend Felicity…have you seen either of them?" she asked.
"Joshua's okay" Leon said. "Come on we'll go and find him". He kneeled down beside Claire and whispered into her ear. "I'll make sure the chief is done" he whispered.
Claire nodded and took Sherry's hand. They walked towards the end of the hall. The fire escape burst open. Mr X stomped in. "YOU!" Claire shouted. The monster turned around. Ben and Claire opened fire. Claire loaded her grenade launcher, thankful she'd not left it with the others as she had before. The rounds pounded into the monster, knocking it off balance as Ben pushed Sherry back and fired with his pistol. The creature crashed down.
Claire looked at Ben. "Come on…we have to get out of here" nodding Ben followed her to where they found Leon.
"What was the shooting about?" he exclaimed.
"This muscle bound freak…I saw it before…it attacked…we killed it" she shuddered. "Where's Irons?" she stepped intot he office and looked around. Aside from a splatter of blood on the paperwork piled on the desk where the body had been the Chief was gone.
"I came back and he'd vanished…" his radio crackled. "Yeah? Marvin?"
"Yeah, Joshua's coming your way he just hopped the gap"
The door burst open. "Liss?" Joshua was wide eyed and worried. "Felicity?"
"Joshua?" Sherry ran and hugged her "brother" he hugged her back. "I'm so glad you're alive! I thought something got you…"
"Nah I'm too tough for them to eat – be like chewing an old boot" he said quietly. Then he looked at Leon and Claire. "Where's Liss? Felicity the mayors daughter…"
Leon took a deep breath. "She's dead…I'm sorry-"
Joshua nodded and wiped a hand down his face. "I thought as much…" he whispered hoarsely. "But at least Sherry is safe." He rose and walked over to the desk, forcing his eyes away from the blood splatter. Claire watched as he fought back the urge to scream and shout. "I was always a troublemaker – they thought that was why I said all that stuff about the chief. I just felt there was something WRONG with him…"
Sherry took his hand…then she stopped and kneeled down. Under the big leather chair was a small blue book. "It's a diary" she said as she opened it and inspected the tag inside. "His. Chief Irons' diary."
"May I?" Claire asked. Sherry handed the diary to Claire who opened it out.
Those fools…Umbrella have ruined EVERYTHING. I did what they asked, I covered up the deaths and this is what they do they have destroyed MY town. It was my artwork and they defiled it. I'll make them suffer! Make them PAY!
Claire skipped ahead to the next page. Another paragraph caught her attention
The siege has truly begun, thankfully all the survivors are here I can deal with them all here. That little brat Joshua West can really suffer knowing his girlfriend is in my "care". I'm taking care of my city if I can't rule the roost no one should. This is the end, I'll see to it NO ONE gets out alive.
Claire continued reading and stopped with a shiver at the next paragraph on the page after.
It's done. They'll be massacred. Blood will be everywhere – the throats will be bitten out by friends, family and neighbours. I've sabotaged the power, it should give out soon. The shutters will give, the doors with locks will stop working properly…It seems Felicity has escaped, she claims to have seen Joshua enter the building – I tried to "persuade" her to sit down and be quiet…perhaps pose for me…she ran away. I'll go looking for her now…and then we shall see if she can be my artwork…
Claire shut the book. Leon had been reading over her shoulder. Claire looked into his eyes and he just shook his head. Claire took the radio from Leon. "Marvin? Do you copy? Over."
"I copy, here Claire. Over" Marvin replied.
"You guys can come through…we've hit a hitch but we need to regroup, look for a way out…have you seen Irons? Over."
"Isn't he in the office? Over"
"No. Over."
"Hunh…I wonder…okay we'll be with you now. Over"
Claire put the radio on her belt and checked the sniper rifle. Sherry was looking at the strange Mexican tablet on the wall – her head cocked to one side. The door opened and Marvin entered with Sarah, Bob and Ada. "Rumour has it that the Chief built some sort of secret passage – claimed it was renovations and all that jazz" he touched the engraving and pushed it over. Behind it was a switch in a recess in the wall. Marvin pulled it down and the wall slid away to reveal an elevator with a folding metal cage door.
"How very Dinner Theatre Murder Mystery" muttered Joshua.
"I wonder where it leads" Ada said.
"Wherever it leads might be a way out" Sarah said. "We have to go and see what's happening down there". She checked her bow gun. "So lets go"
Bob shook his head as he pulled the mesh away. "No can do, three people max in here" he sighed. "It's a small one…I'll go"
"So will I" Joshua said. He looked at Marvin as he tried to protest. "Don't fucking tell me I can't, if that scum killed Felicity I'll deal with him whatever way is for the best okay? I can be fucking rational about this or go psycho"
Claire put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm going too, three people, we'll handle this well, play it by ear right?" Joshua grumbled some curses but nodded.
They stepped in and shut the mesh. "We'll all go down in turns…okay?" Claire said.
"Yeah" Sarah smiled. "We're okay here, see you in a few"
The elevator descended for what seemed like a century…finally the doors opened they stepped out into the dark stone corridor.
A gun clicked. "Nobody move" a breathless voice hissed. "Just – move slowly…walk this way and down the hall." Joshua flinched and Claire shuddered – it was Bryan Irons. He was holding a machine gun and was flecked with blood, his sleeves were touched by crimson stains and all in all he looked totally insane.
"Drop the weapons…slowly…now kick them away" with a small armoury at his feet Irons gestured with the gun for them to walk down the hall. He kept the gun trained on them and moved along behind them. "I've been looking forward to having some new subjects…" he giggled.
Claire swallowed deeply.
She felt nauscious.
TBC
The Intricacies of Mr Joshua West
Name: Joshua Michael West
Age: 16
Hair/Eyes: Brown-Black/ Blue
Story: Joshua is an orphan, he has only been told that scientists for Umbrella parented him and nothing more. He was given the last name West because he was born in the West Wing of the Rockford IslandLab before being transferred with Annette Birkin to the Racoon City Lab where her husband worked. He grew up being raised by the Birkin's primarily and was schooled in the lab. Exceptionally perceptive and intelligent Joshua took all the lessons in like a siphon. However he soon rebelled due to a lack of people his own age.
Joshua was diagnosed with a nervous system malformation and has been on medicine all his life for this painful condition. Joshua has looked after Sherry but because of the way he was raised and treated in the research centre he has a slightly violent edge and lacks respect for most people. If he's pushed far enough he might lose his temper and that's something even Umbrella never wanted.