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 Twenty-Three: Strange Encounters
Joseph stared at the redhead, his mind reeling from her admission.
"...I'm sorry...what?" he said dumbly.
Regina shook her head. "You heard me. It's supposed to be May 2009."
The Alpha wiped his forehead.
"Hoo boy, I must be loaded on some serious drugs or something," he commented. "If so, this is one hell of a trip." Joseph then looked at Regina from top to bottom. "Although I do appreciate the view..."
Regina frowned.
Goddamn she's sexy!
"Be serious."
Joseph laughed. "Are you kidding? How can I? How do I even know you're real?"
Regina sighed, then stepped toward him, pinching his arm.
"Ow!"
"Satisfied now?"
Rubbing his sore arm, a thought occurred to him. Closing his eyes, he cleared his throat.
"Doesn't prove anything," Joseph replied.
"And what will convince you?"
He pretended to think about it.
"Hmm, what about...a kiss?" he said, putting on his most charming smile.
Regina shook her head. "Ah, what's the use? You're hopeless," she sighed.
"Hopelessly in love!" Joseph blurted out.
He suddenly froze as Regina raised a questioning delicate brow, taking a slightly irked step back.
"...I just said that aloud, didn't I?" The Alpha muttered.
"...Yeah."
Joseph smiled as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Uhh, sorry about that."
The redhead pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Let's just find a way out of here," Regina said in exasperation.
He cleared his throat. "Yeah."
Curien watched as the subordinate looked up from the monitors.
"Sir, I'm getting some temporal anomalies. Multiple signals."
"Damn damn DAMN!" Curien yelled, sweeping both hands through his hair. "I was afraid of something like this happening. Show me where."
Wandering through the halls, the duo continued on in awkward silence.
"...Sooo..." Joseph began, "...you're from the future."
Regina shrugged. "Apparently."
"...Do we get hovercars?"
She gave him a curious glance. "Sorry?"
"In the future," he clarified. "Do we get flying cars?"
She shook her head. "Afraid not."
Joseph clicked his tongue against his teeth in disappointment.
"Damn. And here I was hoping for a flying motorcycle."
Regina gave a small scoff.
"So who's this 'Dr. Kirk' guy you mentioned?" Joseph asked, changing the subject.
At the mention of the name, Regina gave him a suspicious glance.
"Hey, don't look at me like that, future girl," Joseph said defensively. "You're the one that mentioned him."
She scowled. "True."
Joseph sighed. "Look, I gave you all of the intel I know, so why not give some my way? Could you tell me what is going on?"
The woman shifted uncomfortably, looking as if she were deliberating with herself over whether she should open up.
Relenting, Regina shook her head, exhaling. "I'm afraid I don't really know," she said honestly. "I had been sent to Ibis Island with a team to find a Dr. Edward Kirk, and now I've been separated from them."
Joseph nodded. "You too, huh?"
The redhead shrugged. "Seems so."
Joseph shook his head. "Jesus, this night has been one thing after the other," he muttered. "Ever since I discovered my Captain had a kid, it's like everything has become part of the Twilight Zone."
Regina gave him a curious look. "Am I missing something?" she asked. "What's so odd about that?"
Joseph frowned. "You've never met Captain Wesker, so you wouldn't know," he replied. "He's one of those guys who seems like he's...too cool to even date anyone. A scary-ass dude with sunglasses. And then I learned he has a son, right after I hit him no less!"
Regina winced. "Ooh."
"Yeah," he nodded. "And his kid...Jesus, Wesker is scary on his own, but his son is fucking terrifying!"
She perked up interestedly. "Really? Worse than his father?"
Joseph opened his mouth, then paused. "...Well, personality-wise, he doesn't seem too bad, but physically? Christ!"
"Why?" Regina asked curiously.
"He's an albino. Biiiig fucking guy that's like seven or eight feet tall!" He raised his arm in the air to indicate the aforementioned person's height. "Waaaaay up there!"
"Really?"
"Yeah!" he nodded, bringing his arm back down, "He also has the weirdest eye condition I've ever seen, with sharp dog teeth and is covered in scars!"
"Dog teeth and scars?" Regina repeated.
"Yeah! Like he was-"
It was then that he paused. Something in his mind clicked.
Raising his eyes to meet Regina's, he could see her giving him a concerned look. She didn't have to say anything, and yet Joseph could tell just from looking at her that she seemed to know what he was thinking.
"...Are you even sure that the person you have with you is your Captain's son?" Regina asked in a low voice.
Joseph swallowed. "I...I don't know! Until now, I kind of had been working with the assumption that he is, but with everything that's happening, I-I never made the connection."
His gloved hands felt slick with sweat as he palmed his Mossberg. "You think..."
Regina placed a hand on her chin, then shook her head.
"I can only go off the information that you provided me with," she shrugged, then looked at him seriously, "but if I were you, I'd look into that possibility."
He stared at her for a moment, then gave a slow nod. "Yeah," he agreed. "Yeah. I should do that."
The duo continued on down the endless corridors.
"So what's the deal with this Dr. Kirk, then? Is he using viral weaponry like Umbrella?"
Regina shook her head. "No, as far as the intel is concerned, he has not dabbled in any of that," she replied. "Kirk is a renowned physicist, a world leader in his field on energy research. He rose to prominence after publishing his paper on his Third Energy theory at the age of twenty-five."
"..."Third Energy"?"
The redhead frowned. "To be honest, I'm a bit reluctant to discuss this with you," she said, "partially because you are a civilian, and also because, if what you say is true, you are from the past."
Joseph was starting to get the picture. "You don't have to worry about me blabbing to anyone. Besides, who the hell is going to believe me when I tell them I fought zombies and dinosaurs in a single night?" he asked. "You can count on me - I can keep my mouth shut." He raised his hand. "Scout's honor."
She raised a brow. "You were a boy scout?" she stated doubtfully.
"I was," he nodded. "Not a good one, but still, it counts."
Regina studied him for a moment, then looked ahead. "In my future," she began, "the world's fossil fuels have been drained. Because of that, Nuclear Power - the "Second Energy" - has become a necessity."
Joseph winced. "Ouch. That bad?"
She nodded. "I'm afraid so," Regina said sadly. "Because of their hazardous nature, a third means was sought out, one that would be inexhaustible and cleaner, that wouldn't produce harmful waste material."
"And that's where this Third Energy fits in."
"Correct."
"And Kirk found a solution for this?"
"Supposedly. He had been given government backing and was leading the project. When they cut his funding, however, Kirk was reported to have died in a lab explosion in 2006."
Joseph looked at her. "Let me take a gander - he faked his death."
Regina gave a close-mouthed smile.
Holy fuck SHE'S HOT!
"Not bad, cave man," the operative replied with an amused glint in her eye.
"Ooh ooh!" Joseph grunted, mimicking a chimp. He then looked at her seriously. "This pink lightning shit I've been telling you about...do you think Kirk's Third Energy research is connected to that?"
Regina thought for a moment, then lowered her chin.
"I don't know. It's possible, but...I don't really know myself," she admitted. "It would seem to be, but I can't say with certainty."
Joseph sighed. "First I encounter winged dogs, then I discover that my Captain has a mutant kid, then I end up in a mansion where the dead come back to life, and now dinosaurs. Could our luck get any worse?"
Coming up to a door, the duo leapt back in surprise as it flew open. Two men armed with what looked like futuristic-looking versions of .44 Magnums quickly stepped through with weapons drawn, causing the two to draw up their own.
Regina glared at her companion. "You and your big mouth."
"What the fuck?" Joseph muttered.
"Hold it right there!" The bigger of the pair spoke.
Joseph and Regina stared at the new arrivals, sharing with each other confused looks briefly before turning their befuddled attention back to their "guests".
The first man was an African American in green combat fatigues with a backwards cap.
The second man, though, was a huge Caucasian fellow with an orange crewcut, his form buff and muscular like a bodybuilder's, looking as though he had been hitting it hard at the gym, probably 6'8 and over two hundred and fifty pounds. Wearing grey pants with kneepads, a brown ammo pouch around his waist and a blue flak jacket with a pair of automatic shotguns strapped to his back, the right side of the man's face had some sort cybernetic implant, the eye glowing red.
"I'm Officer Frost of S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team. Drop your weapons!" Joseph snapped.
"That's my line, punk! I'm Detective Sergeant Gelzer of the Neo-Raccoon City Police Department!" The big man spoke. "Drop the weapons now or I will start firing!"
Joseph blinked. "Neo-Raccoon City?" he repeated in confusion.
"And here I thought 'Raccoon City' was just plain stupid," Regina quipped.
"Watch your mouth, missy!" The African American snapped. "That's my city you're making fun of!"
The big man, Gelzer, pulled back the hammer. "You have three seconds to comply," he said, his tone and demeanor leaving no room for doubt.
The two groups stared each other down.
"Three-"
"Wait!" Regina held up a hand. "There's no need for violence. We all got off of the wrongfoot, so why don't we all put our weapons away and talk, alright?"
Gelzer's eye narrowed. "No funny business."
Slowly, everyone withdrew their weapons, though they kept a wary on each other.
"My name is Regina," the redhead introduced herself. "I'm a government agent on assignment."
The African American scoffed. "You got any identification on you?"
She shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't."
"I do, though," Joseph spoke up.
Gelzer turned his eyes over to him, the cybernetic lens narrowing its bright light in his direction. "Do it slowly."
Joseph chuckled as he glanced in Regina's direction. "That's what she said."
Regina glared, elbowing him as he reached into his pocket. Taking out his wallet, he tossed it over to African American, who caught with one hand. Looking down, he scowled, then handed it to Gelzer beside him.
"What do you think, Gelz?" The man asked.
"Nothing, Dewey," Gelzer replied, shaking his head. "I'm not picking up any record of a "Joseph Frost" anywhere in my database, but then again I've been getting a lot of interference lately." He paused. "Your ID says 1998."
Joseph groaned. "God, not this again!"
"What year is it?" Regina asked.
Both men raised up their heads. "What?!"
"I said what year is it?" Regina pressed.
Gelzer blinked with his one good eye. "What have you been living under, a rock?! It's 2309!"
Joseph's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?!"
"Of course we are!" Dewey retorted.
"Let me see your badge," Joseph demanded.
Gelzer reached into his pocket and pulled open his wallet. Taking it, the Alpha studied its contents.
"'Detective Sergeant Richard Gelzer, Neo-Raccoon City Police Department'...'" He hesitated. "...'S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team'?!"
"Yeah," the big man nodded.
Joseph stared. Who'd have thought there would be a "Neo-Raccoon City" with a similarly named task force no less? And in the year 2309?
"Huh. Well I'll be damned. Who'd have thought," he said as he handed back the wallet.
Regina folded her arms. "Why are you here?"
"My team and I are on a missing persons case," Gelzer explained, putting the wallet back into his pocket. "A woman's son was reported to have been kidnapped."
"Why the extra firepower?" Joseph asked, eying the shotguns and various equipment strapped to him. "You fellas look like you're gonna go to war or something."
Dewey frowned. "There had been reports of cult activity in the outskirts of Neo-Raccoon City, so we had to come prepared."
"And let me guess, you were chased by winged dogs, got separated from your team and were forced back to a mansion hidden in the woods, right?" Joseph said sarcastically.
Gelzer and Dewey exchanged looks.
"...How did you know?" The former asked.
Joseph blinked. "Wait, what? The same thing happened to you guys as well?"
"You mean we're not the only ones?" Dewey asked.
"My team were looking into cult activity as well!" The Alpha then hesitated. "...Do you know of a company called Umbrella?"
"Sure we do," Gelzer nodded. "They're one of the most powerful corporations in the world, alongside Mishima Zaibatsu, Gentek, DBR, Ultratech, SinTEK, and Horzine Biotech."
Regina shook her head. "I've never heard of any of these businesses."
Joseph stared at him, then glanced to Dewey, then looked at Regina. He couldn't possibly be here, listening to a cyborg from the distant future, hanging out with a hot government agent while simultaneously fighting zombies, monsters and dinosaurs.
...Could he?
"Hey boys!"
Whipping around, Joseph and Regina found themselves aiming at an attractive woman with dirty blonde hair, dressed in a red tank top with a black skirt and a red sweater tied around her waist.
Okay, now he was sure he was dreaming.
"What is this, a fashion show?" Joseph muttered, looking her up and down, taking note of her high heels.
The woman had a pistol aimed at them. "Put your weapons down."
"You some sort of model, lady? I think you might be at the wrong place, honey," Joseph replied. "I don't see any catwalk around here."
The woman gave him a steady stare.
"My name is Alice," she introduced. "I'm an Umbrella security guard, and I've come to save you-"
No sooner had those words left her mouth when she suddenly burst into flame.
"HOLY SHIT!" Joseph yelled.
The woman, Alice, screamed in agony as she ran around in several different directions trying to douse the fire before collapsing onto the floor in a heap.
'She was an annoyance.'
Everyone tensed as they all heard the echoing voice from down the hall. It was the scariest sound that Joseph had ever heard in his life; not once could he recall anything that sounded so...unearthly.
"The hell was that?!" Dewey said in a frightened tone.
Gelzer frowned. "Shit, I'm getting a lot of interference."
"How do you want to do this?" Joseph anxiously asked Regina.
The redhead kept her weapon trained down the hall.
"Listen, fellas, let's settle our differences later. We've got a problem."
"Agreed," Gelzer nodded. "I'll take point."
"And I'll cover the rear," Dewey added.
Moving down the corridor, the reluctant survivors departed quickly, nervously looking over their shoulders as they fled.
As he followed close, Joseph cast several glances over at his companions, he regarded each and everyone of them with curiosity.
Was he dreaming?
'What kind of beer did Kevin give me to come up with something this elaborate?' Joseph wondered. Hell, what did he slip into his drink?
If it was a dream, then it was a hell of a trip. He looked at Regina with interest, then concentrated hard.
'Any moment now, the two dorks with me will disappear and Regina will strip naked and say "Come and take me, big boy!"' Joseph thought lecherously.
As if sensing her being stared at, Regina turned, her eyes meeting his.
"...What are you doing?" she said tiredly with her hand on her hip.
He frowned. Damn it, why is it that even his own dreams reject him?
"Sorry," he muttered.
Regina watched him, then turned away. "See anything, fellas?"
"Negative," Gelzer responded.
"Ah, that's a no," Dewey added.
The group navigated their way through the vast halls, twisting and turning through various doorways and arches.
"Just out of curiosity, Gelzer," Regina spoke up, "you had mentioned that you were looking for someone. Who exactly?"
Reaching into his pocket, the big man took out a small photograph and handed it to her.
"His name is David Giltbert, age 18," he replied. "His mother reported him missing just a few hours ago."
Regina studied the photo, then made a face. "Ugh!"
"What?" Joseph asked.
She handed the photo to him. "See for yourself."
Taking it, Joseph looked curiously at the picture, then did a double-take. "What...the...?"
Staring back from the photo was Junior...or someone closely resembling him.
"Holy shit, that's Captain Wesker's son!" Joseph exclaimed.
Everyone whipped around to face him.
"What?! What are you talking about?" Gelzer demanded.
"He's...wait." He brought the photograph closer. "I see some differences, but he looks exactly like a guy I know!" The Alpha tilted his head at an angle. "There are...slight differences with how the scars have been cut," Joseph continued, "but...it's so weird! They could be twins!"
Gelzer took a step forward. "Do you know where I can find him?"
Joseph shrugged. "The last time I saw him, I was at a library. I could try using my radio and see if anyone picks up," he suggested.
"Do it." The words came out as a harsh demand.
"Okay, okay! Jeez," Joseph said with his hands raised.
Bringing up his radio, he tried calling out. Flicking through the channels, he tried again, then shook his head.
"I can't raise anyone," he said regretfully. "I'm getting nothing but dead air."
"I had tried my radio as well," Regina nodded. "I wasn't able to pick up anyone from my team either."
"There must be some way of getting communication around here!" Dewey said in exasperation.
"We'll just have to keep searching," Regina shrugged.
"Agreed," Gelzer replied, nodding. "Let's go."
The survivors continued down the hall, moving forward until they found themselves standing before a door. Reaching out, Regina was about to grab the handle when a raptor came crashing through, knocking her off her feet.
"REGINA!" Joseph yelled as he charged, firing at the animal alongside the others before tackling straight into it, knocking it off balance. Watching as the raptor struggled to get up, he quickly stuffed the shotgun into its mouth. "Eat this!"
Pulling the trigger, he watched as the animal's head exploded, painting the wall, floor and himself with brain matter.
Dewey eyed the smoking remains of its head. "Ouch."
Ignoring him, Joseph quickly moved to Regina's side to check on her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Regina winced, nodding. "Yeah, just had the wind knocked out of me, that's all."
Helping her up to her feet, Joseph scanned her for injuries.
"Doesn't look like you've been cut," he said. "I think you'll be okay."
Gelzer nodded. "I agree with your assessment. Scans indicate minor bruising."
As she turned to face Joseph, Regina paused.
"...You have some on you," she commented, wiping away some brain matter from his vest and shoulder.
"Oh," Joseph said as he wiped his face. "Yeahhhh, I completely forgot about that. I was more worried about you, to be honest."
Regina let out a slight laugh, causing his heart to flutter.
"Me? You were the one that tackled the raptor!" she giggled.
Joseph grinned, not missing a beat as he added, "You should see me do it naked, and in slow motion."
His grin grew larger at the sight of a slight blush coloring her face while Dewey chuckled. Gelzer remained stoic, although a corner of his mouth curled upward in amusement.
"...Annnnd you had to open your mouth," Regina deadpanned, her look softening somewhat. "Thank you, Joseph."
He nodded. "Anytime," Joseph replied, then gestured to the door. "Shall we?"
"Let's," she nodded back.
Stepping into the room, the survivors stared silently in awe. It was a massive and spacious black room, hundreds of meters wide and high, all of it colored by the green and blue hues of three dimensional holograms of some sort, each one showing some scene from what appeared to be different time periods.
What caught the groups' attention, however, was a figure in the room's center, suspended high up in the air with his back facing them.
A humanoid being with strong, masculine features and a smoothly metallic and muscled body with spiked elbows, two rows of spike or horn-like appendages trailed all the way to the back of its head like spiked-up hair, while a great, multilayered spiked ring that sparked and crackled with electricity floated freely around its whole being.
Joseph stared at the thing as it studied the various holographic screens and heads-up displays.
Even though the creature...or robot, or whatever the hell it was, had done very little, Joseph felt himself tense up, the hairs on his body rising up as if exposed to static electricity.
There was an indefinable quality that put him on edge, something about the very air itself that suggested he was in the presence of something strong.
Powerful.
Dangerous, even.
Looking to the others, Joseph could see on their faces that they seemed equally wary.
The creature remained suspended in the air, staring straight ahead with its back toward them.
Then, as if suddenly noticing their presence, it tilted its head slightly, glancing over its shoulder before fully turning around to face them.
The creature's face was stunningly handsome and aristocratic, sculpted with hard features, but its eyes shined with a blueish white electrical light. On its chest was a glowing white symbol - six isosceles triangles surrounding a large circle that must have been a foot in diameter.
Wait, that emblem-
"You shouldn't be here," the being spoke, its voice a low but powerfully deep, robotic and hissing growl, like a series of electrical coils given voice.
Raising up its hand, Joseph tensed up and raised up his weapon along with everyone else as the spike ring stopped directly over its head. Holograms containing various symbols appeared, and a white column of light shined over each one, reminding Joseph of the gameshow "Wheel of Fortune", only he didn't think the "prizes" being offered were anything that he would want.
"What is it doing?" Dewey asked.
"I don't know," Gelzer said as he raised his pistol, snatching hold of one of the shotguns strapped to his muscular back as he took aim, "but I don't plan on waiting and finding out when that wheel stops!"
The survivors unleashed onto the floating target, their shots echoing and deflecting harmlessly off the creature's metallic body.
The column of light stopped on a particular symbol, representing a portal. The next thing Joseph knew, sections of the ground and floor started to peel away. Dewey disappeared in a flash of white light, then Gelzer.
"JOSEPH!" Regina yelled, reaching out to him before disappearing.
"REGINA NO!" Joseph yelled. Letting out an enraged roar, he raised his weapon and fired at the creature. "Son of a bitch, what did you do?! What did you do to them?!"
He kept unloading into the metallic being until his weapon emptied. The creature merely stared at him, not moving as rounds deflected off of its armored body.
"Bastard!" Joseph roared as he reloaded. "I'm gonna kill you!"
"Fear not, Joseph," the robotic being spoke. "Regina and the others are alive - I merely sent them back to where they belonged. Now it is time for you to go back as well."
As the entity raised its hand, Joseph felt the air around him tingle as a blinding white light consumed his vision.
"Joseph! Joseph?!"
Groggily opening his eyes, Joseph massaged his temples as he stared up at Jill.
"Fuck," he grunted, wincing. "What happened?"
"Not sure. I think you fell," Jill replied as she kneeled beside him "Does it hurt?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine," he waved, sitting up as he rubbed his eyes. "Just a headache. Man, you wouldn't believe the dream I've been having." Joseph paused. "Wait...where are we?"
"We're back at the library," she answered, her nose twitching as she sniffed. "Phew! God, Joseph, you smell!"
He huffed. "Well you don't exactly smell like roses yourself, Jill."
"I'm serious!" she coughed. "You smell like rotten eggs!"
Sniffing the air around him, Joseph then raised up his arms, then, upon noticing a particular stain on his shirt, froze.
"...No way," he muttered quietly. "No fucking way."
"What?" Jill asked.
Pushing himself off the floor, Joseph glanced around questioningly, then sniffed his Mossberg. It had been recently fired. Checking his pockets, he counted up the number of shells he had. As he finished, the Alpha looked around with bulging eyes, his form shaky as he eyed everything around him with suspicion and dread.
"Joseph," Jill said slowly, "...you're scaring me. What is going on?"
There's no way that had all been real. There's no way in hell all of that had happened.
"Joseph, talk to me."
He remained still for a moment, then swallowed nervously, exhaling shakily through his nostrils as he wiped his sweaty face.
"I don't know what the hell is happening around here, Jill," Joseph started, "but I do know one thing - this place is completely and utterly fucked. We need to get out of here. Right. Now."
Even though he gave no explanation, the urgency in his tone was enough to make Jill drop the subject. At least, for now.
Right now, he wanted to go anywhere but this place. As the survivors quickly hurried to the exit, Joseph gave a slight glance over his shoulder, then suddenly leapt with a start.
"THERE!" He yelled, forcing Jill to whirl around with her weapon raised.
"Where?!" Jill exclaimed.
Joseph stared into the distance, his mouth and eyes gaping wide open in shock. He blinked, then tilted his head, listening, peering around as he eyed the room itself.
"Let's get the fuck out of here," the Alpha said in a hushed, worried voice.
Turning back to the door, he quickened his step out from the room as Jill tried to keep up, his brain trying to process everything.
Jill watched Joseph with concern as she followed.
"Joseph, for God's sake, you're scaring me," she said. "What is going on?"
He stopped, swallowing anxiously. "...I saw it."
Jill gave a confused look.
"...It-it had been standing- no. I mean.." He shivered, putting a hand over his mouth. "Jesus fuck! It had-it had been hovering just a foot off the fucking ground!" Joseph put a hand to his mouth, his skin losing its color.
Jill felt an uncomfortable sensation form in the pit of her stomach as he continued, "It was-it was just out in plain sight, out in the open, just looking at me! The bastard just-just had this...this look on his face, like he was-"
"Smirking," Jill finished.
He nodded vigorously. "Yeah! And-and he moved so fast! Jesus Christ, he was so goddamn fast!"
Every part of Jill shook and trembled as her joints tightened and locked, her palms sweaty while her whole body felt like lead. She felt physically ill as goosebumps dotted her skin, the Alpha strongly resisting the urge to look over her shoulder with every ounce of willpower that she could muster.
"Let's go."
No sooner had the words left her mouth that the survivors ran. They didn't walk, they didn't jog, they just straight up ran for their lives, refusing to look behind them.
Not even when they heard something that sounded suspiciously like a deep, twisted laugh.
The air was still as Rebecca sat on the ground and stared straight ahead into the dark forest.
"...This is crazy," Chris said, shaking his head. "None of this makes any sense. What just happened?"
The medic swallowed. "To be honest...I don't know."
He turned to face her. "Do you think this is Umbrella?"
Rebecca shook her head slowly. "I...I don't know."
"You must have some idea or theory, don't you?"
"I don't," Rebecca admitted. The past twenty-four hours alone had been surreal, but with this new discovery, it felt as if all of reality was crumbling around her, barely held together by a thread, and at any moment it will all spill. She didn't know what to expect anymore. At first, she believed it to be hallucinations, lights from some unknown military vehicle, but this...it bordered on insanity!
Chris fidgeted. "There has to be some sort of logical explanation for this," he said aloud, whether to her or to himself Rebecca wasn't sure.
At this very moment, the two of them were alone, both standing close to the edge of madness itself. Neither knew what to expect from this place anymore, for every time they moved forward, something would usher them further into the darkness. The line between dream and reality has become so blurred that the two have become indistinguishable, and that fragility terrified the two survivors.
As Rebecca pondered the strange pink lightning, her imagination ran wild with various different possibilities.
"...Do you..." Chris swallowed, letting out a shaky, nervous breath, "is it...is it possible the T-Virus is making us...see things?"
Rebecca felt her skin creep.
"...It's...possible," she admitted uneasily, despite every part of her not wanting to do so. "I don't know anymore than you do." She gave him an uncertain look. "Do you have any thoughts in terms of what's going on?"
Chris looked to the trees, sweeping a hand through his hair. "A couple, but...you'll think I'm insane."
"Try me."
He frowned. "I don't know. I mean, it could be anything at this point, really." Chris shrugged. "For all we know, it's Killer Clowns from Outer Space. After all, we got a whole circus here with the various monsters, you know?"
Rebecca let out an amused snort, the girl shifting uneasily on the ground. "...So...what do we do?"
Chris exhaled. "Honestly...I don't really know. I think for now, though, we should find our way back to the house and regroup with the others. I don't want to stick around to see what else that pink lightning brings."
She nodded. "Agreed."
Chris helped Rebecca up to her feet. Once she finished dusting herself off, she followed him along the path, tracing their way by the fence line.
The fog had deepened considerably as the survivors progressed, shrouding everything in light grey. Turning her head to Chris, Rebecca paused at the sight of his pants.
"Is something wrong, Rebecca?" Chris asked.
"...What happened to your pants?" she asked curiously.
He shifted in discomfort. "...They...got dirty. Star helped out by getting me a pair from a closet you two found."
She nodded in understanding. As the pair traveled on, Rebecca shifted nervously as she looked around. The fog was so thick that she could practically cut into it with a knife.
"So," Chris spoke again, "how did you get all the way out here?"
As Rebecca opened her mouth to respond, Lisa's cries cut her off, her shrill screams mixing with the rattling chains.
"RRRREEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDMAAAAAANNNNN!"
Chris shuddered. "Jesus, that scream! What the hell is that?!"
Rebecca's eyes drooped. "That's Lisa Trevor, the daughter of the architect that built this place. Umbrella...they did something to her."
Hearing the softness in her voice, Chris looked at her for a moment, then looked back ahead to where the calls were coming from, his gaze hardening along with his fists.
"...Bastards," he spat lowly.
Rebecca nodded in agreement. "Yeah."
"RRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDMAAAAAAAAAAAN!"
The Alpha scratched the top of his head. "Why does she keep saying that? Who's 'Redman'?"
Rebecca shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine," she replied. "When I first heard it, I actually thought it was referring to you. You know, because 'Redfield'."
"RRREEEEEEEEEDDDDDMAAAAAAAAN!"
"From the sounds of it, she's not after me," Chris nodded. "Whoever this 'Redman' guy is he better watch out - it sounds like she's out for blood."
Rebecca nodded in agreement. "No kidding." She then looked at Chris. "...So...how is Star? Is he alright?"
The Alpha nodded. "Yeah, yeah," he answered. "Last time I saw him he was okay. He was doing that ventriloquist thing with a lot of the zombies." He shook his head. "I have no idea how he does it. Really creepy stuff, although given everything I've been seeing lately..."
Rebecca shrugged as he trailed off. "True." She looked at him curiously. "Have you seen him do his impersonations?"
"Nope."
"He's quite good. He can mimic voices and sounds perfectly."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah! Apparently he had been a circus performer when he was a kid."
Chris paused, looking as if he were contemplating something, his brows scrunched together.
"...Is something wrong?" She asked.
Chris turned to face her. "How...do you feel about him, Rebecca?"
Rebecca blinked. "What do you mean?"
He opened his mouth to answer, then frowned. "...Never mind."
"What?"
"Really, it's nothing." Chris waved.
Rebecca gave him a questioning look.
What was that all about?
Lisa screamed again that name.
As the voice echoed, Rebecca suddenly stopped, a thought crossing her mind. Wait a minute...'Redman'...could it be...
Her eyes widened in realization. "Oh my God."