A Star's Descent: Book Two: Star Fall
By evolution-500
Disclaimer: House of the Dead and Resident Evil are properties belonging to SEGA and Capcom respectively. I do not own any of these characters.
WARNING: This story contains violence, coarse language, mature and disturbing themes and imagery. Reader discretion is advised.
Chapter Two: Awakening
When Chris and Joseph got back to the entrance, they found it empty.
"The hell?" the former muttered. "Captain? Barry? Jill?"
"Where did they go?" Frost asked.
"Good question," Chris said as he lowered the girl down carefully, leaning her back against a column.
"Uh Chris? Could you help me with this guy please?" the Omni Man begged.
Moving to Joseph's side, Chris helped grab hold of the albino.
"Jesus, how much does this guy weigh?!" the Point Man said with grit teeth.
The duo grunted with exertion as they carefully placed the giant down to a column beside the stairs. Straightening himself up, Chris wiped his forehead and rolled his sore shoulder, producing an audible crack.
"Woo!" he sighed. Raising his radio, he clicked the transmit button. "Captain are you there? Captain?"
After several attempts at hailing the Team Captain, Redfield lowered it, growling in annoyance.
"Fucking Irons," he muttered. "Where did he get these shitty things from, the cheap discount section from RadioShack?"
"No," Joseph shook his head, "probably the dumpster outside of it."
A creak from the other end drew the Alphas' attention. Drawing up their weapons, Chris paused, then lowered his upon seeing who it was. Emerging from a pair of double doors at the opposite side were Jill and Barry as they escorted a bald pale man wearing green clothes with a thick red silky cloth entirely wrapped around his mouth, his arms cuffed behind his back.
"Stop struggling!" Barry grunted as the man flailed about, the Weapon Supplier massaging his rear end.
"Good to see you two," the Alpha Point Man nodded.
"Same," Jill said.
"Where's Captain Wesker?"
"He's not with you?" she asked.
"No I thought he was with you."
The B&E specialist frowned. "He said that he was going to stay behind to secure this area. I wonder where he went?"
"Who's this?" Joseph asked, pointing to gagged man.
"We found him in a hallway eating some guy," Barry said moodily. "Crazy bastard tried to take a bite out of us. Safe to say he's one of our cultists."
"You okay, Barry?" Chris asked. "You seem to be in a bad mood."
"You would be too if some shithead literally bit you on the ass!"
"He bit you on the ass?!" The Point Man repeated in shock.
"Yeah!"
Joseph laughed. "Fuck off! You're serious?!"
"Of course I am!"
"Why would he do that?"
"I don't know!" Barry retorted. "Apparently he thought my rump was a Big Mac!"
He grunted.
"Stand fucking still!" he snapped at the prisoner. The man ignored him, continuing to flail about. Looking back to his coworkers, he continued, "The guy must be loaded up on something - tasers didn't work for shit."
Redfield looked at him in surprise. "Tasers didn't affect him?"
"Yeah. Probably some real hardcore drugs," Barry hypothesized. The man struggled. Letting out an annoyed growl, the Weapons Supplier slammed the butt of his Colt Anaconda into the back of the guy's head, causing him to stop moving.
"Jesus," he muttered. "Fucking finally!"
He and Jill lowered the unconscious man to the floor, then straightened themselves back up.
"Are you bleeding?" Chris asked.
"No, I'm fine!" Barry answered as he massaged his sore rear. "His teeth didn't break through either the skin or the fabric of my pants, but hoo boy does it sting! It's going to leave one hell of a mark in the morning!"
Jill eyed the figures leaning against the columns.
"I see you two have been busy as well," she pointed. "Is that the new girl?"
"Yup," Joseph answered.
She turned her head to the albino. "And is that-"
"Yup," he nodded. "Another cultist. Probably one of the big dogs, if the coat is anything to go by. When we found him he had just finished butchering Kenneth."
She stared in shock. "What?!"
"Yeah, completely dismembered him," the Omni Man said. "He also killed Edward as well and was moments away from doing the same thing to her."
Barry narrowed his eyes angrily at the red-clad figure.
"Bastard!" he growled.
Jill closed her eyes.
"Poor guys," she murmured.
Chris nodded. "I know."
Jill couldn't believe it.
Three of her coworkers...dead? Part of her wanted it to be some sort of joke, if only to assure herself that it wasn't true. No more than twenty-four hours ago she had been joking with these same guys, but now...
Lifting her eyes, Jill turned her attention to the figure in red. Gigantic in height, what struck her the most, outside of his horrific cross-shaped facial scars, long pointed ears, pale skin and silver hair, was his youthful appearance. Stepping toward him, Jill approached the unconscious figure, intrigued as she kneeled down to examine him.
"Who is this guy?" she asked.
"ID from his wallet says that his name is Jack Wolf," Joseph said. "Age eighteen. University student from Arkham, Louisiana."
Leaning forward, Jill studied the young man, running her fingers along the cuts on his cheeks and brows as she turned his face from side to side.
"Nasty-looking scars," she commented. "Look pretty old. I take it was you that gave him the bruise, Chris?"
"Well," the Alpha Point Man said as he massaged the back of his head, "...yeah. Frost and I both had."
As Jill studied the albino, she felt this nagging feeling at the back of her mind. For a brief moment, the B&E specialist was given the impression that she was looking at something...inhuman. Like he was some sort of creature wearing human skin...
She frowned.
'You're imagining things, Jill,' she told herself.
And yet...that feeling remained. Jill eyed the bruise and the scars.
"Shame," she commented. "He looks pretty cute."
Joseph laughed. "I didn't realize you have a thing for pasty psychos, Jill," he teased.
She scoffed. "No, just saying," Jill replied, then looked over at the girl. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine, just unconscious," Chris said.
Jill stood up and went over to her. "We should wake her up and ask what happened, see what we're up against. We still need to find the rest of Bravo, plus the Captain."
"Agreed." Approaching the girl, Redfield kneeled down gently shook her by the shoulder. "Hey! Hey rookie, are you okay?"
The girl's eyes fluttered open as she groaned, revealing green eyes.
"Wha…" she trailed off. "Who-"
"Shh, it's okay," Chris spoke softly. "We're Alpha Team. I'm Chris Redfield. This is Joseph Frost."
Joseph gave the peace sign, smiling. "Hey there."
"I'm Jill," the B&E specialist spoke up. "What's your name?"
The girl inhaled.
"Rebecca," she spoke, massaging her temples. "Rebecca Chambers. I'm Bravo Team's medic."
Jill nodded. "You're the newbie, right?"
She nodded back.
"First day on the job," she replied, swallowing.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Rebecca," the Point Man smiled. "Now, just relax. Could you look up at me please?"
Taking out a small flashlight from his pocket, he checked her pupils, shining it on her eyes.
"Pupils look normal," he said. Putting the light away, he raised up his hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Five," she answered.
He folded three fingers down.
"Two."
He folded down his thumb.
"Four."
"Does anything hurt?" Jill asked concernedly.
She groaned.
"The back of my head," she answered. Tilting her head to the side, the girl's eyes suddenly widened with worry. "STAR!"
"Huh?" Chris said confusedly. "Who's-"
Pushing herself away from the column, Jill watched in surprise as Rebecca moved toward the unconscious albino.
"Star? Star?" she called. The Bravo medic then studied his face. "Oh God..."
"Why do you call him that?" Jill asked.
"That's his name," Rebecca answered.
"But his wallet says it's Jack Wolf-"
"That's his adopted name," she clarified. "His real name is Star."
Joseph smirked.
"'Star'?" he repeated. "Sounds like a stripper name."
Rebecca looked up at them. "What happened?" she asked.
"He and his cultist buddies attacked you," Chris said.
Rebecca blinked. "Cultist-?" she repeated. "It's not cultists that are responsible-"
"Rebecca, we know for a fact that they are," Jill said slowly. "We saw what they did to Kevin. Barry and I also found a statue of the demon that they worship."
"Kevin?" the Bravo repeated. "Statue? What-"
"We also know that Wolf killed Edward and that civilian in the dining room," the B&E specialist continued, interrupting her. "Look, you've been through a lot these last couple of hours, but you don't have to worry, Rebecca - he's not going to hurt you. Not anymore."
"You've got it all wrong!" Rebecca exclaimed. "Star didn't kill Edward, nor did he kill Kevin!"
"Well he definitely killed the civilian in the dining room! He definitely killed Kenneth!" Joseph retorted. "And he was just about to do the same to you. We got there before he could finish the job."
The girl looked at them carefully. "Are you sure that's what you saw?"
"I have fucking eyes!" the Omni Man snapped. "I saw that pasty bastard kneeling down over you!"
"Joseph, shut up!" Jill said. She looked back to Rebecca, "Listen, I know this is all confusing-"
"This isn't the work of cultists!" The medic said in exasperation. "Please, listen to what I have to say! Umbrella is the one responsible!"
The Alphas looked at each other in puzzlement.
"Umbrella?" Jill said, confused. "You mean the pharmaceutical company?"
Rebecca nodded. "Yes. The cannibal murders aren't part of any cult - they're the result of a viral infection."
Chris blinked. "A viral infection?" he said doubtfully.
"Yes! A viral infection with similar symptoms to rabies! Umbrella has been conducting illegal experiments here in the mountains for the purposes of creating a weapon, and now thanks to carelessness and sabotage, it's spilled out into the forest!"
The Alphas stared at her.
Chris leaned forward, looking at the medic. "Did he slip you anything?"
"No!" Rebecca said exasperatedly. "Star saved my life! It wasn't him that knocked me out, it was Kenneth! Kenneth was a spy for Umbrella!"
The albino groaned. Jill watched as the medic turned to face him.
"Star? Star?"
The youth's eyes fluttered, wincing open in pain.
"What the hell?" Barry muttered.
"Oh my God!" Jill gasped.
Squinting up at them dazedly were a pair of violet-colored eyes with slit pupils.
"Star, are you okay?" Rebecca asked in concern.
Hearing her voice, the albino looked over at her and gave a small smile.
"You're alright," he said quietly in relief, wincing. Closing his eyes, he swallowed and leaned forward.
"Easy," she said gently. "Just relax, I think you might have a concussion."
"Probably," he agreed. "I have one hell of a headache right now. You don't happen to have any Tylenol, would you?"
"I do," she said as she took out a bottle from her pants pocket and emptied one out into the palm of her hand, offering it to him. Taking it into his mouth, the albino swallowed, then leaned back, sighing as he did so.
"Can you get me out of these, please?" he winced.
"The cuffs stay on," Jill said, stopping Rebecca in her tracks.
Hearing her voice, the albino turned his head questioningly in the B&E specialist's direction, then froze.
"You're Jill Valentine," he said in surprise. Before she could say anything, he turned his head over to Barry. "And you're Barry Burton!"
Barry eyed him warily. "Uhh, yeah. So what of it?"
The youth raised himself up from the floor, causing everyone save for Rebecca to reach for their weapons.
'Jesus he's tall!' Jill thought as she watched him reach his full height. And he was just a kid!
Looking at his figure, the B&E specialist studied him curiously. A strange mixture of delicacy and strength, kind of like a greyhound, the youth had a wiry though lean frame with broad sloped shoulders. With his red coat, his arms folded behind him and his strange eyes, he looked like a bird of prey or like a snake, a cobra.
The albino arched his back as he stretched, stumbling for a moment.
"Easy, Star," Rebecca warned as she moved to his side, grabbing his upper arm. "Easy. You shouldn't be on your feet."
"I'll be alright," he assured, pulling away as he looked excitedly around. "Captain Wesker? Captain Wesker? Captain Wesker?! Captain Wesker?"
Jill watched the youth as he called, somewhat bemused by the change in demeanor. He almost seemed like a giant puppy wagging its tail that just learned its owner was coming home, the corners of his mouth pulled back into a small smile, his eyes lit up as he searched eagerly around the room.
"What's with him?" Barry said in confusion.
Rebecca giggled, her expression one that said "I know something you don't!".
Dropping the smile, the albino looked at them all, returning back to them. "Where's Captain Wesker?"
"We don't know," Chris said.
"What's it to you?" Joseph asked. "What, are you the Captain's secret gay elf lover or something?"
The albino glared at him. "Don't be disgusting!" he retorted.
"Then what are you to him?" Jill asked.
He opened his mouth, then stopped, looking down uncomfortably.
"Well?" she said expectantly.
Rebecca looked to the red-clad figure.
"Tell them," she encouraged.
He sighed. "I can't," he said quietly. "It's too personal, plus I don't even know if it's true or not."
She nodded understandingly.
"Ah!" The albino's eyes widened with a start, a look of alarm on his face. "We have to find Captain Wesker! He has to be warned!"
"About what?" Jill asked.
"About Umbrella!" he said excitedly.
She frowned. "We already heard this story-"
"No, you don't understand!" The albino interrupted. "Officer Sullivan said that Umbrella has plans for S.T.A.R.S.!"
"Plans for S.T.A.R.S.?!" Rebecca repeated, stepping toward him. "Are you sure that's what he said?"
"Yes!" he nodded. "I think they intend on using you all for their sick experiments!"
Frost frowned. "Why are we listening to these two for?" he asked. "It's obvious they're both under the influence."
"Are they?" Chris asked uncertainly.
"Come on!" the Omni Man retorted. "Of course they are! Since when does a disease produce winged dogs?"
Rebecca and the albino stared in his direction, blinking bemusedly as if wondering if they had misheard.
"Uh, I'm sorry, but did you say...winged...dogs?" the latter said.
"You heard me," Frost said icily. "You and your buddies went all out with the costumes. Making dogs that looked skinned, dressing some of them up in scales with bat wings. Very creative stuff! Pretty scary."
The red-clad figure shook his head. "I'm entirely ignorant of these 'winged dogs'," he replied.
"What about the statue?" Jill said.
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh come on, don't play dumb with us, kid!" Barry said irritably. "It just so happens that this "secret lab" has a statue of the Devil tucked away?"
The albino's brows knitted together. "Statue of the Devil-"
He froze, then looked at Barry seriously. "...What does this 'statue' look like?" he asked, his voice low.
"Tall," Jill answered, "with wires and hoses on parts of its arms and legs. It also had a pair of chrome steel horns."
The two teenagers exchanged worried looks with one another, then turned back to her.
"Show me," Rebecca said seriously.
Jill pointed to the double doors behind her. "It's through here."
Turning around, she guided the girl back through the exhibition room to the storage space. Once she was inside, she paused.
"Wha-"
The statue was gone.
"It was here a couple of minutes ago," Jill said as she scratched her head.
Looking to Rebecca, she watched as the girl trembled furiously.
"Rebecca?" she called. "Rebecca are you okay?"
The girl didn't answer. Instead she was glancing about fearfully, tilting her from side to side, listening and looking around conspiratorially.
"Rebecca?"
The medic swallowed slowly. "We have to get out of here," she said, her voice a hushed whisper.
Turning around, Jill followed after the girl as she quickly scampered back into the hallway.
"Well?" Chris asked expectantly.
"It's gone," Jill said.
Rebecca hurried over to the albino and whispered something in his ear, causing him to pale even further.
"Gone?" Barry repeated.
"Yeah, someone must have snuck in and took it while we were detaining the suspect."
As if on cue, the man let out a muffled moan as he stirred on the floor, drawing everyone's attention. Jill watched as the medic exchanged worried looks with the albino, then back to her.
"Who is that?" Rebecca asked.
"John Doe," Jill replied. "Another cultist."
Rebecca stared at the figure. "Did he attack you?"
"Yup," Barry acknowledged. "Little bastard tried to chomp my rump."
"Did he draw blood?" Rebecca asked concernedly.
"Nah," Barry waved. "I'm fine. Didn't break the fabric or the skin."
"Could I have my weapon back please?"
Jill looked at her. "Why?"
"He's infected," the medic said, her eyes fixed on the figure in green. "If he cuts or bites you, he'll transmit the disease. He has to die."
The Alphas exchanged confused looks with each other, murmuring amongst themselves.
"Rebecca, we're not going to kill this guy!" Jill said.
"He's not a 'guy', Jill!" Rebecca said. "Not anymore! He's a zombie!"
The B&E specialist stared.
"...A zombie," she repeated.
"Yes! Look," Rebecca said slowly, "I know this is all hard to believe, but you've got to listen to me - he has to die! Look at him! Look at his skin - it's rotting! Can't you see that?!"
The man moaned as he writhed on the floor. As he looked up at Jill, the Alpha suddenly felt revolted and afraid. His eyes were pale with whited out irises, his eye sockets sunken in. And his skin...
For a moment, Rebecca was starting to make sense.
The Bravo medic frowned. "For God's sakes," she muttered, then tried to grab for Jill's weapon.
"Hey!" Jill yelled as she quickly spun the medic around and put her into an armlock, causing the younger girl to cry out.
"Don't hurt her! Please!" The albino pled as Chris restrained him.
"This is for your own good, Rebecca," Jill said as she took out the handcuffs.
The man crawled up to his feet, moaning. Barry approached and grabbed the suspect.
"Settle down!" he growled.
"Check his pulse!" Rebecca said.
Chris frowned. "Rebecca-"
"Check his pulse!" she pleaded. "Please!"
Jill sighed, then nodded over to Barry.
The Weapons Supplier frowned. "Jill-"
"Just do it," she said.
Letting out a huff, the heavy-set man placed two fingers on the struggling man's neck, then paused.
"...What the hell?" he muttered.
He continued feeling around.
"What's wrong, Barry?" Chris asked.
Barry stared at the writhing figure in his hands. "I'm not feeling anything!"
"Bullshit!" Joseph swore. "You missed the vein!"
"Come here and feel for yourself!" he snapped. "I know how to count!"
The Omni Man sighed as he stomped over to Barry, putting up two fingers. Joseph's brows knitted together in confusion.
"What the fuck...?" he said. "The guy has no pulse!"
"I told you!" Barry scolded.
"But...that's impossible," he replied, looking to the struggling man. "His skin is cold and there's no pulse! How...how is he still moving?"
"I told you!" Rebecca exclaimed. "He's a zombie! Umbrella made a virus that turns people and animals into monsters and you're touching one of them!"
Jill stared open-mouthed, her mind overwhelmed.
"Barry let me see," she said. "Hold onto her and let me see."
Barry changed places with her.
'It couldn't be true! Barry and Joseph made a mistake, that's all! A simple mistake! Poor kid is just confused! That freak in the red coat must have given her a large dose of some powerful drugs! Or maybe he slipped some to this guy, which explains the condition of his skin!'
Reaching up shakily, Jill felt around for a vein. The skin felt cold and clammy, reminding her unpleasantly of a chicken that had been left in a refrigerator.
"This-this is crazy!" she said uneasily. "How is this even possible?!"
There was no pulse whatsoever! She waited for five whole minutes, and not a single damn beat!
"Chris," Jill said, turning to the Point Man, "he has no pulse!"
"Now do you believe us?!" Rebecca demanded. "Shoot it!"
The man started to gurgle, causing the red cloth to darken around his mouth. Steam rose as the fabric started to dissolve.
"What the fuck?!" Joseph swore.
Twisting around to face the Omni Man with a moan, the man lunged, snapping his jaws through a small hole.
"GET HIM OFF ME!" Joseph yelled as he held him back. "GET HIM OFF!"
Barry slammed the butt of his gun into the guy's head, bludgeoning him over and over.
"What the fuck?! Why won't this guy go down?!" he yelled.
Delivering a fifth blow to the head, Barry backed away as the man lunged at him, knocking him down to the floor, causing him to discharge his weapon accidentally into his chest. The Alphas stared.
"He's still going?!" Chris said disbelievingly.
"GET HIM OFF!" Barry yelled as he pushed at the guy's chest.
Moving to his side, the Alpha Point Man grabbed hold of the man and pulled him off, pushing him away as he drew up his weapon.
"Back off, man, or I will fire!" he warned.
The man stumbled drunkenly toward him. Chris fired, shooting him in the chest. Nothing.
Jill stared. "What...the..." she murmured.
"Shoot it in the head!" Rebecca said. "Body shots are useless! You have to destroy its brain!"
The man moaned as he approached Chris.
Chris fired again, this time hitting it directly in the face. It still kept coming.
"What in the world?" the albino gasped.
Chris fired a second, then then a third, fourth, fifth and sixth shot. Seven shots later, it finally fell to the floor with a thump. Jill stared, her heart thumping in her ears.
"What was that?" she spoke, her voice a strangled parody of itself.
"I told you!" Rebecca said. "Umbrella has been making viral weapons! Now will you listen and get us out of these cuffs?!"
Upon hearing that, Jill hurried over to Rebecca, taking out her handcuff keys. Once she uncuffed her, the medic rubbed her wrists.
"I'm sorry, Rebecca," she apologized.
Rebecca nodded, then pointed to the albino. "Now Star."
Chris frowned. "Rebecca-"
"He is on our side, Chris," she said. "He saved my life!"
"Even so, he killed Kenneth!" Joseph said pointedly.
The albino looked at him.
"I swear on my life that I haven't," he replied. "As hard as it is to believe, I had nothing to do with what happened to him. I give you my word."
Frost scowled. "Your word!" he repeated mockingly. "Then what did happen?"
He opened his mouth, then looked away.
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," he said quietly. "Look, if you want to keep me handcuffed, fine, but please, you have to find and warn Captain Wesker!"
"Why do you care?"
The teenager in red looked conflictedly at the group.
"Go on, Star," Rebecca encouraged. "Tell them."
"Tell us what?" Chris demanded.
The albino stood there for a moment, then took in a deep breath.
"I..." he said slowly, hesitating. Exhaling, he frowned.
"He's Captain Wesker's son," Rebecca finished.
The Alphas were still for a moment, the hallway so quiet that everyone would be able to hear a pin drop.
Moments later, the police officers burst into fits of laughter.
"That's really funny, Rebecca!" Jill said through her chuckles.
"I like her!" Barry howled. "Who'd have guessed the rookie has a sense of humor!"
"Nice joke, rookie!" Chris laughed heartily.
As she continued to laugh, Jill noticed the two teenagers looking at them. Neither were laughing.
"...I am," Star spoke, causing their laughter to cease in stunned silence.
Joseph blinked. "Wait, what?" he said. "You're serious?"
Rebecca nodded. "He is."
Jill stared, her jaw dropping to the floor. Chris looked like a fish out of water, his mouth forming a perfect open 'o'.
"Ummm," the figure in red said uncertainly, then gave a sheepish expression, "...surprise?"
The room was quiet for several minutes.
"Holy shitballs!" Barry said in a low voice.
Richard Aiken opened his eyes, wincing at the bright light.
Looking to the bed and around the room, Aiken was surprised to find himself all alone.
"Hello?" he called.
Nothing.
"Guys?"
Where did they go?