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 Nineteen: Eye of the Tiger

Richard winced at the bright light that flashed in his eyes. Shielding them with a raised hand, he let out a groan as he sat up and massaged his temples.

"God, my head! What the hell was that?!" the Bravo muttered aloud.

Opening his eyes, Aiken found himself in a tight-fitting room with a pair of hanging candleholders and a large stone tiger bust that stared down at him.

"Wh- How the hell did I get here?!"

Hearing his radio go off, Aiken looked down in surprise.

"...Hello?" he called uncertainly into the speaker.

"You are awake, I see. Good."

"You again," Aiken shifted, his body tense and alert as he looked around. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Fear not, Richard," the voice said from the other end. "Look to the statue. I left you something."

"What is it?"

"The statue, Richard. Look. To. The. Statue."

Pushing himself off the floor, Aiken complied. At the base of the statue was a perfectly cut blue gemstone. Picking it up, Aiken studied it.

"Oookayyyy…." he said expectantly, "...now what?"

"Surely it's obvious to you, Richard?" The voice snidely remarked.

Aiken narrowed his eyes. "Listen, asshole-"

"Do you see anything wrong with the statue?" the voice interrupted.

Opening his mouth to answer, Aiken paused. The eyes sockets were empty. At the base of statue was an inscription that said "Some tigers have a red eye and a blue eye." Glancing down questioningly at the gem, he looked back to the sculpture.

"From the silence on your end, it seems that it finally clicked, hasn't it?"

The Bravo repressed the urge to make a retort.

Fucking jerk.

Raising a hand, he inserted the blue gem into a socket, then watched as the whole thing spun to the left, revealing a Colt Python handgun with a box of .357 Magnum ammunition and an octagonal crest. Taking the latter, he studied the strange coin-like item. Carved onto its side was a stylized face representing what appeared a blowing sky or cloud. Shrugging, Aiken pocketed it, then turned all of his attention to the weapon. Picking it up, Aiken studied the Colt Python, checking its condition as he opened the cylinder, staring down the barrel. Giving a satisfied nod, he then loaded in some fresh rounds, the Bravo sighing with relief as he raised his radio.

"I got your 'present'," Aiken spoke, snapping the weapon closed. "So what do you want me to do now?"

Star looked left, then right, staring down the mirror-filled corridor.

Was he going in circles?

He could have sworn he had already passed through this corridor already.

Letting out a tired sigh, Star shook his head. All the rooms were beginning to look the same. Just as he was about to continue on, the albino then paused at the sight of a door.

How could he have missed that?

'Whatever,' the albino thought as he approached. Grabbing the handle, he pushed the door open, then stepped forward. He barely had any time to register the sudden drop until it was too late, letting out a loud, startled yell as he fell three feet down onto his back. Wincing, the albino felt pain flair through his body as he writhed on the ground.

"Owwww. Damn it," Star swore.

Sitting up, the albino massaged the sore and sensitive parts on his back, rear and upper arms. As the pain slowly faded, Star turned his head to look at his surroundings, then froze.

"What the?"

The room was a large and very spacious area with a white floor and a chandelier in the middle, but...why was it upside down and chained to the floor?

Pushing himself off from the floor, Star approached it curiously, looking at the chandelier from top to bottom.

Tilting his head from side to side, the albino then circled around it.

'What a strange piece,' Star thought.

Reaching out, the teenager poked the upside down chandelier, then watched as it swayed from side to side. Touching the chain, he was surprised to see it yield under his grip like a balloon yanked down on a string. Letting go, he watched as the chandelier suddenly reverted back to normal, the chain straightening.

Star scoffed. "Spencer has some really strange tastes."

Raising his eyes up to the ceiling, he then suddenly leapt back in surprise, nearly shouting an exclamation as he stared incredulously at the sight; straight above him was a perfect recreation of the main hall entrance complete with tripods and checkered floors! Even the bloody stairs were up there!

"What the hell?!" Star gaped.

To see such attention to detail...it didn't really make sense.

What was Spencer's purpose in having this room built? What could he gain from-

Wait...the flames on the tripods...

Even though everything was upside down, the flames were moving and flickering straight at him, but...that was impossible. Fire, he recalled, had less density than the surrounding cooler air, which was why when lit it would point upward to the sky. And yet, what Star was seeing here completely defied logic. Why would it be pointing to the floor than curve upward? How was it possible for Spencer and Trevor to-

Star's reflections were cut off as one of the side doors opened up above, then stared in shock as Officer Redfield wandered along the ceiling, casting his eyes around.

"Hello?" he called.

Staring up with uncomprehending and overwhelmed eyes, the albino trembled, his lips quivering as he struggled to respond. His mind reeling, he stumbled backward and fell onto his rear, crawling toward the wall behind him, staring up at Redfield as he walked around up above, a scream building at the back of the albino's throat.

Star watched in horror as Redfield called, the teenager shaking at the insane sight.

"Jill? Rebecca? Kid? Where are you?"

Upon hearing the Alpha's voice, Star screamed.

Letting out a surprised yell, Redfield then looked straight at the albino, his eyes widening in shock.

"Star?! What the hell are you doing up there?!"

"What do you mean what I'm doing up here?! What are you doing up there?!" Star responded.

"Wha- I don't know what you're talking abBAAAAAHHHH!"

The Alpha suddenly plunged down, his form crashing down right in front of the teenager with a sickening crunch, the youth recoiling as Redfield's neck snapped at an awkward angle, his head cracking open like a melon. The albino felt something warm hit his cheek as he watched Redfield's blood and brains spill across the floor.

'It's not real,' he thought to himself as he looked away and closed his eyes. It's not real.

Oh, how you would love to believe that, wouldn't you?

Star jerked up, startled.

"Who said that?!" he demanded. "Who's there?!"

Something snapped. At first, Star had believed it to be his sanity, but as the noise continued, he found himself looking back to Redfield's corpse as it raised its broken neck and smashed-in head. Blood and brains oozed from the wound, the eyes crying bloody tears while red liquid and saliva seeped out from the mouth as an ugly smile started to form.

Star pushed himself against the wall, pressing himself into a tight ball as he whimpered, the insane vision letting out an awful gurgling laugh.

"What's the matter, little Star?" Redfield sneered in a gurgling voice, his teeth falling out. "It's not as if you haven't seen blood before!"

Star raised his hands to his ears, trying to block out the sight and sound as the dead man chuckled.

"It's in your head," Star whispered to himself. "It's all in your head."

"Yes, it is!" The voice gleefully agreed, the sound making the albino physically ill the more he listened. "Why don't you do something about it, little one?"

Star shook, closing his eyes as tight as possible, turning away from "Redfield". From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of crimson teeth flashing in a repulsive, broken and bloody vampiric grin.

"Poor little Star, all alone with nobody to protect him," the crimson-stained mouth taunted.

"It's not real," Star whispered. "It's not-"

The albino jerked with a yell as Redfield suddenly grabbed hold of him, his yells turning into screams as the Alpha held him by the shoulders, grinning a demented bloody smile. Mucus oozed from his nostrils in thick greenish globs, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

Star struggled beneath the man's grip, pushing and clawing at his arms and chest, screaming all the while. Reaching up, he clawed at Redfield's face, then watched in horror as his flesh tore easily away to reveal a bloody skull.

"Pray for death."

With those last three words, Redfield shuddered violently, his skin suddenly starting to peel itself off bit by bit, coiling in long snake-like strings up into the air, disappearing through a door as Star shrieked at the top of his lungs. Once the skin was off, the tendons, ligaments and various other muscles followed, leaving a bloody yet clothed skeleton that collapsed onto the screaming youth.

Pushing the bones onto the side, the albino scrambled, running around screaming.

"HELP ME!" he screamed shrilly. "SOMEBODY HELP ME! PLEASE HELP ME!"

Something else snapped this time. It began with the upside down stairs. Parts of it were cracking. Pieces of the bannister fell around the albino, followed by the tiles, then parts of the wall. Wallpaper swelled, forming grotesque abscess-like bubbles that popped open, flaking off like dead skin. As the floating chandelier crashed down with a clatter, everything else started to fall apart, causing the youth to cower and whimper fearfully. Once the walls and ceiling were gone, Star suddenly felt the floor beneath him give way, causing him to plummet screaming through the vast shadows that extended to infinity down below.

Jerking up with a start, Star looked around wildly, his eyes wide with fright. He was on the floor of the library.

Closing his eyes with a shaky exhalation, Star tried to swallow, but stopped, his stomach feeling as if it were being squeezed from the inside. Wrapping his arms around his midsection, he rocked himself back and forth, shivering at that...memory.

God, what on earth was that?!

He took deep, slow breaths, keeping his eyes closed. Once he got himself under control, Star opened his eyes, then took in his surroundings.

'How did I get here?' he wondered as he got back onto his feet.

The last thing he remembered was being in a hallway somewhere, and as far as he was aware, he hadn't been anywhere remotely near the library. So how-?

Star tilted his head. "...Rebecca?"

The library remained quiet.

"Officer Aiken? Officer Frost? Officer Red-"

He halted himself from mentioning the latter, the memory of that...incident coming back with such vividness that it caused the teenager to shudder.

God, that was awful! He remembered the sound of his voice. And that smell!

'Don't even think about it,' he thought to himself. 'Focus on other-'

Star's eyes rolled upward as he stumbled and grabbed onto a nearby shelf for support.

He was doubled over a garbage can, retching loudly.

"Jesus, you alright, kid?" the man in grey said with a mixture of concern and disgust.

Turning to say something, he opened his mouth to respond when he caught sight of the giant body that lay on the street a few feet away. A massive headless golem with spiked shoulders, it was a loathsome thing made from car parts, corpses and rats. Its master, a decomposing winged child, lay close by. As his eyes fell upon their oozing, bullet-riddled forms, he then averted his attention back to the garbage and threw up once more.

"Rough stuff, for sure," the man said sympathetically. "My first day I was the same way. Puked my guts out until I had nothing left."

Wiping his mouth with a napkin taken from his coat pocket, he remained near the garbage can, refusing to move.

"How are you not affected by any of this?" he asked, his body shivering.

The man in grey shrugged. "I learned to shut myself off ages ago. It helps me sleep at night." He then gave a sympathetic nod. "It gets easier as time goes by, kid."

Staring into the garbage can, he shook his head slowly.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this, James," he shuddered. "This is so...inhuman! I mean, Jesus, that was a ten-year-old kid!"

"Was a ten-year-old kid, rookie," James corrected. He could tell from his tone that the more experienced man had a frown on his face. Hell, he could practically feel James staring at him. "You hesitated."

He sighed. "I did."

"I thought you were a cop."

"I was, but that doesn't mean I shoot kids-"

"You knew what you were getting yourself into when you joined the AMS, remember?"

"I know that, but-"

"But nothing!" James said sharply. "There is no room for either sympathy or error in the mission. If you hesitate, people die. Do I have to worry about you, rookie? Is this going to be a problem?"

He sighed.

"No, sir." It was all that he could say.

James was quiet for a moment.

"Good," the man in grey said coolly.

Turning to face him, he looked down with a guilty expression. "I'm-I'm sorry, James. It won't-it won't happen again."

"It better not," came the reply.

"Still doesn't mean I have to like it," he added under his breath.

The man in grey checked his watch.

"It's getting late. We need to leave before more of this spreads across the damn country. Come on!"

Wiping his mouth, he then got out his comb and brushed his hair. What a first day this has been so far!

Star massaged his eyes and head.

"I'm losing my mind," he said to himself.

He needed to find Rebecca and the others - time was running out. Perhaps he wasn't free from Umbrella after all. He was wrong to have assumed such. After all, what certainty was there? Perhaps there was a time limit before all free will ceased to be his altogether.

'I must find Rebecca and Father and get them to safety.'

Just as the albino was about to leave, he paused.

'...Wait...where are my bags?' he wondered.

'You can worry about it later,' he thought to himself. Right now he needed to find the others before it was too late.

Raising a hand to his coat, he felt around his pockets, then froze, wincing.

How could he have forgotten? Officer Redfield had his weapon, leaving him back to square one.

"Well isn't this dandy," the albino remarked sourly.

What was he supposed to do now?

Exhaling miserably, the albino glanced around the library, then stopped - just six feet ahead of him on the floor was a pistol. Looking confusedly around, Star turned back to the weapon.

He could have sworn that that hadn't been there.

Moving toward it, Star picked up the weapon and checked it, frowning at the empty chamber.

'Great, now I have a weapon, but where am I going to find-'

He cut himself off as he caught sight of a single bullet on the floor, pointing up.

"What the hell?" Star murmured.

Snatching the bullet, he inserted it into the clip, then looked around again, then froze at the small line of bullets leading toward the door.

'Okay, I know those hadn't been there before.'

He looked around suspiciously.

"...Hello?"

Star checked around the shelves, then looked up at the second level. Finding nothing, he turned his scarred eyes back to the bullet trail.

Alarms blared in the albino's mind, warning him against following the trail...and yet he followed just the same, loading in his clip as he went along. Once he finished reloading, Star cocked his pistol, then grabbed for the door.

Stepping out of the library, he proceeded down the tight-fitting corridor, moving past the raised flooring, stopping as something brushed past him, causing him to stumble slightly.

"Wha-?"

Hearing stone scraping loudly somewhere behind, Star turned around to see the piece of flooring sinking down, the key gone. Walls closed in all around him, a statue sliding in with a bang. Turning back to the front, he watched in horror as another knight statue with a spinning bladed shield rolled along the track toward him.

Star's eyes widened as he backed away. Panicking, he spun around, pounding at the walls and on the statue behind him.

"HELP! HELP!" Star screamed. "HELP ME! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

The statue rolled toward him, the bladed spiked shield spinning rapidly.

Raising his pistol, Star fired, shooting five rounds, but no matter the angle or spot hit, the statue continued on.

Turning away, Star pounded and clawed along the walls frantically.

"HELP ME! HELP ME! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! PLEASE! HELP!"

Looking back with frightened eyes, he watched as the statue drew nearer. Any moment now he was going to be crushed.

Recoiling, Star drew up his arms and screamed, bracing himself for the inevitable as he held his eyes shut.

The albino felt the room shake, his form trembling as he heard and felt the whirling blades.

The room shook again, and again, and again, until suddenly Star heard a loud crash that made him look up...only to regret doing so.

Standing before him was the armored gas masked golem, its huge hand holding the torn and crumpled remains of the statue, exposing damaged wires, the blade ceasing to function.

Scrambling backwards into a corner, Star stared up fearfully as the creature carelessly threw aside the broken statue with a crash, lumbering toward him.

Raising his arms, Star screamed as it grabbed hold of him and lifted him effortlessly into the air. Struggling in its grip, the albino punched at its arm and at its head, but it took no notice.

Holding him up into the light, the creature studied him, its red lensed eyes showing no indications of its intentions.

Something rolled along the ground.

Before either had a chance to see what it was, Star saw a bright flash and a loud bang, causing his ears to ring.

Letting out strangled cries, the albino felt the armored giant let go of him, dropping him onto the floor.

Crawling away, he pushed himself up, stumbling around. He heard a murmur, but he couldn't hear the words being spouted, nor could he see - all that he saw was a white light.

Flinching as he felt a pair of hands touch his arm, he felt himself being pulled in a particular direction. All Star could do was follow blindly along until he tripped and fell.

The last thing he remembered as the back of his head hit the floor was a sharp pain, then darkness.

When he awoke, Star found himself on a bed. Standing over him was Officer Valentine.

"Hey," she said softly. "You okay?"

Star swallowed. "Where...where am I?"

"We're back at the west storeroom," she answered. "How are you feeling?"

He groaned, massaging his head. "My head is killing me."

"You took a pretty nasty fall," Valentine nodded. "No cuts or any sign of bleeding, but there is a slight bump."

She looked at him questioningly. "Where is everyone?"

He shook his head slowly.

"I...I don't know," he replied. "We were all at the library. I was with Rebecca when some invisible force...took her."

Valentine blinked. "Invisible force?"

He shrugged. "I don't know anything more than that. I think it also took the others as well, just because when I returned back to the library seconds later they were all gone, although I did encounter Officer Redfield before he disappeared again."

He rose up from the bed only to feel her hands on his shoulders.

"Easy. You need to rest."

"But I-I can't!" Star insisted. "I need to help Rebecca, Father and the others!"

"We will, but right now you're in no condition to move."

"To hell with my condition!" He retorted, sitting himself up. As he attempted to get up from the bed, he stumbled, causing Valentine to grab hold of him.

"Look, I know you want to help find them, but you need to stay here. Just take some time to recover, okay? I'll go look for them," she assured. "If you need anything or if you just want to talk, my radio channel is on two."

Settling back onto the bed, Star sighed in resignation. "Okay."

Giving him a nod and assured smile, Valentine patted him on the shoulder.

"Everything will be okay," she assured. "We'll find them."

As she turned around to leave, Star spoke.

"Thank you, Officer Valentine."

She smiled. "Call me Jill."

With that, she left, leaving the albino alone. Looking to the ceiling, Star let out a sad sigh.

So much for proving himself.

When Rebecca awoke, she felt cold. Opening her eyes, she found herself lying on the muddy and leaf-covered earth floor, her clothes stained with dirt.

"What happened?" she murmured softly. "Where am I?"

The last thing Rebecca remembered was talking with Star in the corridor, but...the rest was such a blur.

'God, the others must be worried,' she thought as she felt around for her radio, pausing when she noticed its absence.

Her heart stopped.

"Oh no."

Looking frantically around, Rebecca checked her pockets, then took off her backpack.

"Where is it? Where is it?!" she said to herself.

Once she finished, Rebecca sat there on the ground, raising her hand to her mouth in alarm.

Her radio was gone. She was out in the middle of the woods with no way of getting in touch with anyone.

Rebecca did everything possible not to cry; it took every ounce of willpower she had not too. God knew, she really wanted to.

Closing her eyes, she took in deep, slow breaths.

A few seconds later, she reopened her eyes again, taking in her surroundings as she pushed herself off the ground. Dark trees loomed before her. Up above, the moon peeked from behind thick clouds like a massive eye, watching her. Looking around, Rebecca saw a picket fence and a cabin with a lit lamp behind her.

"Hello?" she called uncertainly.

Nobody answered.

Approaching the door, Rebecca pulled it open and stepped inside. Greeting her was a dark and dusty L-shaped corridor, the place covered in spider webs.

"...Hello?" she called again.

Moving toward the end of the corridor, Rebecca heard a crackling, then peeked into the next room, where she saw a lit fireplace near the doorway. Approaching it, she raised her hands and basked in its warmth, rubbing and blowing on her arms and hands, her whole form shivering.

God, how long had she been outside for?

She waited several minutes until she felt somewhat better, then looked to her left and did a double-take.

"Wha?"

On the wall were a number of bandages that had been hung up, each of them marked with brown stains. Approaching them curiously, Rebecca studied them, eying the stains themselves.

Blood.

Rebecca cast her eyes around.

"Is someone there?" she called.

She waited for an answer.

"My name is Rebecca Chambers," she spoke again. "I'm a police officer, a medic for S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team. You don't have to be afraid."

The hearth crackled and popped, embers dancing.

"Are you hurt? If you are, please, let me help you. You don't have to be afraid. My team are here to rescue you."

When no answer came, Rebecca sighed.

"Looks like I'm on my own."

Turning to the left, she climbed up a small set of stairs, pausing as she saw a map on the wall. Pulling it off, Rebecca studied it curiously.

So she was still at the damn mansion after all; she was just somewhere in the courtyard.

But how?

It was then that the memory came back to her. She remembered a mysterious force pushing and dragging her away. She remembered Star reaching out and holding onto her, screaming for help as they were both being dragged at the same time.

She also remembered the...thing that loomed behind the albino, sneering down at them both with its pale eyes.

Rebecca shuddered.

God!

She looked worriedly around. Was it still here with her?

Rebecca hoped not.

Reaching into her holster, the medic drew out her pistol, tilting her head to the side as she listened. Looking to the doorway at the left, she crept through, letting out a cough as she covered her nose. Inside was a small bedroom with a tiny crude bed in the near left hand corner, a cobweb-covered desk in the corner that had a lit lamp, and an open barrel or garbage can that sat in the far right hand corner beside an open doorway, what she presumed to be (although she desperately hoped it wasn't) the cabin's toilet.

Turning to the latter, Rebecca approached, then paused, picking up an old, wrecked black and white photo.

It depicted three people, what seemed to be a family seated on a couch - a father, a mother, and a daughter.

The first figure wore a buttoned up shirt with black dress pants, but the father's face had been torn.

The mother's smiling face was partially damaged, but from what Rebecca could see, she had been an attractive woman with an aquiline nose, a short bob cut, a dark blazer and white blouse with a black skirt.

Sitting between both parents, clinging tightly to the woman was a smiling girl. At the corner were the words "My dearest Lisa." Seeing the picture, Rebecca felt tears well up in the corner of her eyes as she thought of her own mother back home.

'Momma...'

Wiping her eyes, she shook her head sadly, staring at the photo.

'My dearest Lisa.'

Rebecca paused.

Lisa...where had she heard that name before?

Something about that name stuck out to her, but...she couldn't quite place it.

It was then it came back to her. Shrugging off her backpack, Rebecca took out George Trevor's journal, flipping quickly through the pages before finally stopping on the lines she had been searching for.

'It doesn't matter now. It's too dangerous here. My family... I hope they are all right.

I've decided to escape... Jessica, Lisa, I pray you are safe.'

Closing the journal, she pocketed the items, looking around.

Could it be possible...that Lisa Trevor was still alive?