The door was secure so no more of those dog-monsters would be getting in. Enrico stepped forward, examining the scene. They were in what appeared to be a rather grand hall or foyer or whatever it should be called. Directly in front of them was a large staircase with red carpeted steps that led up to a second story. To the left was a wooden double door and to the right were two other doors. This place was well furnished and by the sign of the burning lights all through the hall, someone was using this place. The Captain stopped and began to reload his weapon as the other Bravos looked around. The first voice to break the silence was Forest.

"Somebody has a fat bank account. This place is huge…..Whew…."

Forest ended his speech with a loud whistle as Enrico slipped his handgun back to his side and turned to look at the rest of his team. They had escaped the threat outside, but their helicopter was abandoned, one of the team was dead, and worst of all, the radio and the weapons were still on board. He ran a hand through his thick hair and sighed. Something had to be done.

"My best guess is this is the old Spencer Estate. We're in the right position and I doubt there are many mansions out here in these woods. This isn't over yet. We lost Edward but that doesn't change our mission; we still have to find the killers. There's a good chance they may be using this house as a hideout, so we have to search it."

The remaining four Bravos moved to stand next to their leader and each nodded in agreement. Edward wouldn't die for nothing and this house had to be a hideout. It was right in the middle of the attack zone and the fact the lights were on showed someone was definitely using it. Umbrella may shut it down, but it was definitely in use at the moment. Enrico began to pace in front of them, his hands clasped behind his back, it was his classic pose for when he gave orders.

"We need to split up and search the house. We can cover the most ground that way. Forest, Richard….You two take the upstairs, Ken, I want you to check out the bottom west. The rookie will come with me to investigate the east side of the house. Are we clear?"

The four nodded and began to head their separate ways. Forest and Richard sprinted up the stairs and parted, Richard took the west side and Forest the east. Both men disappeared through doors and slowly the sound of their footsteps faded. Kenneth opened the door on the west and peered in. He looked back to Enrico and Rebecca.

"It's a dining room."

Enrico nodded as Kenneth went in. With the three men gone Enrico looked down to Rebecca and gave her a small grin. He knew she was afraid. This was her first official S.T.A.R.S. mission and already they had lost a member of the team and been chased by those killer dogs. She was already green and didn't need to be afraid which is why he had decided to take her along with him. He moved to the east side of the house and grabbed the knob that led through a blue door.

"Chambers, sweep. One…two…."

On three Enrico shoved the door open and Rebecca quickly stepped in with her weapon raised. The room was empty. The only thing she were a few paintings on the wall, a statue of a goddess holding a water vase, and then a door on the back wall. Enrico stepped in behind her and closed the door, surveying the room himself. It was empty and calm, which was a good thing. He gently placed a hand on Rebecca's back and pushed her forward, leading her through the room. As she pulled open the door in back the only thought he had was of what the rest of the team had found.

The sound of boots softly plodding against carpet filled the small hallway as Richard stepped through. The house had been empty on his side so far, the only thing out of place was the amount of dust on everything and the faint odor of something gone bad. It reminded him of old fruit or rotten eggs. Whatever it was, it sure did smell awful and worse, the smell became stronger as he moved through the winding hallway.

A few feet ahead he saw someone standing idly in place. The man was dressed in brown slacks and had a long white coat, the kind that scientists wore. His hair was scraggly and he was missing a few large patches in the back. It took Richard less than five seconds to realize the foul odor was coming from the man who stood before him. The man still didn't move, he just stood there as if he were sleeping. As Richard watched him, thoughts began to run through his head. This place was built by Umbrella and then shut down. It was supposed to be empty. What if they had reopened it and were conducting work? That would explain the man dressed like a scientist before him.

"Excuse me…..Hello?"

The man didn't react. He still stood there in his daze. Richard took another step forward and called out to him again. Very slowly the man turned to face him and then Richard instantly took a step back. His face was dried out and his skin drawn tight, his eyes were sunk down into his skull. The only sound he made was a low moan and then took a step forward. His hands raised and Richard saw the skin on his hands was in the same condition. Richard stepped back again.

"I'm Richard Aiken from S.T.A.R.S. There's no need to be alarmed."

It didn't help. The man still moaned and was reaching out to grab him. Was he sick? If this was a lab of some type, maybe something happened. He kept getting closer and Richard did the only thing he could do. He raised his shotgun and pointed it right at the man's face. Even a loaded weapon being pointed at him didn't deter his advances. Richard kept moving back to keep distance between them.

"Freeze! Don't make me shoot you!"

Still nothing. This man was sick, it was obvious. He looked like hell, smelled like it too, and wasn't stopping. When he got close enough Richard swung his shotgun around, smashing the stock into the man's face. A spew of blood and teeth flew from his mouth and he fell down to the floor. As if pain didn't register he slowly sat up and climbed to his feet. Richard gasped as the man began advancing again. He was bleeding from the mouth and some of his teeth were missing, but it didn't seem to affect him. Moving quicker this time the sick man managed to grab Richard and bit at him, what was left of his bridge sinking into the material of his vest. The man pulled back with a slab of Richard's vest in his mouth and began chewing. Richard shoved him away and then took aim with the shotgun. The trigger squeezed and the powerful spread shot went out. The man gasped and then tumbled to the floor, oozing blood from his torso. His body twitched a few times and then stopped. He was dead.

"Son of a bitch bit me…"

Richard mumbled to himself as he looked down to his shoulder. A piece of the thick vest was gone, but otherwise he wasn't hurt. Without the vest the man would have bitten right through his shirt and into him. His eyes moved to the downed man who wasn't moving anymore. He really was dead, but it was an act of self defense. Richard rubbed at his shoulder and then moved on, stepping over the dead man.

Ken Sullivan looked up from kneeling next to a fireplace in the large dining room. He heard the muffled shot from upstairs and judging by the loudness, it had to be Richard's shotgun. He stood to his feet and looked into the mantle, noting the wooden plaque there. His area of skill was in scouting so right now he was investigating the large dining room on the first floor. Maybe there was some clue somewhere that would tell him something about this house and the people who were using it. When the mantle turned up nothing he stepped through the side door and found himself in a hallway. A quick turn to his left revealed a sitting area and then he looked right – and promptly stumbled backwards over his feet.

"OH MY GOD!"

The Bravo Scout yelled out as he saw the figure moving towards him. It was a man dressed in dark blue pants, a ripped up white button down shirt, and topped off by a tattered coat which was covered in mildew. He was completely bald and his skin looked like it was dried out and flaking away. The most disturbing feature was the large chunk from his bottom lip that was missing, showing his gums and bottom row of teeth. He greeted Kenneth with a low moan as he staggered down the hall.

"STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

Kenneth stumbled up to his feet and grabbed at his side, reaching for his 9mm. He drew the gun with shaking hands and aimed at the approaching creature. He squeezed the trigger and the shot flew right by the man's head, not even touching him. Staggering back Kenneth fired again, this shot flew by the left side, missing once again. He fired a third shot and this time the slug slammed into the man's right arm. It did very little do slow him down. He kept moving forward and Kenneth could feel his heart pounding in his chest, echoing in his ears as he pulled the trigger again.

"AHHHHHH!"

The bullet struck the man in the stomach but he still didn't react. He reached out and grabbed at Kenneth's shirt and the Bravo fell backwards, landing on his back. The crazed man fell atop of him and leaned over, biting into the side of his neck. Kenneth let out a blood curdling scream as the creature's teeth sunk into the side of his neck and pulled away. As the blood poured down from his neck the creature chewed greedily at the chunk of flesh in its mouth. It swallowed and then leaned down again, this time biting into Kenneth's cheek. He screamed again and reached out, trying to grab for his gun that had fallen during the struggle but it was out of reach.

He grabbed at the monster's collar and tried to push him away but he was getting weak and dizzy from the blood loss. His neck wound was running like a faucet and he could feel his head getting lighter and the blurring of his vision. As his breathing escalated and his vision started to fade the last thing he saw was the pale, white face leaning in again.