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 Thirty: Unstoppable
The columns trembled as titanic feet stomped their way around the main hall, their owner moving with a slow and methodical stride as bullets pinged off his armor.
Chris fired his pistol, backing away as the giant came closer. "Come on, come on! Just fucking die already!"
Jill exchanged magazines. "It's no use - bullets aren't doing anything to him!"
Chris watched as she dodged to the side with a yelp, just narrowly avoiding the creature's swinging fist as it punched straight through the door leading to the art gallery, knocking it off its frame and hinges with a crash.
"JILL!" Chris yelled. "Jill are you okay?"
Jill nodded. "I'm fine, just a close call."
Hearing a loud boom, Chris turned to see Joseph firing his shotgun at the beast's head from behind, his shots deflecting off its helmet.
"Yeah! Yeah! Come on, you bastard! I ain't fuckin' scared!" he yelled between shots. "Fuckin' bastard! You think can take S.T.A.R.S. on?! You want S.T.A.R.S.?! Fuck you!"
"Joseph get out of there!"
Turning around disinterestedly toward him, the creature backhanded Joseph away, causing the survivor to let out a grunt as he hit the floor hard.
"JOSEPH!" Chris yelled as he saw his friend collapse to the floor.
The doors to the dining hall opened, drawing everyone's attention, revealing Richard as he came out with his pistol raised.
"Richard?" Jill said in surprise.
"Hey guys!" He greeted, his eyes locked on the armored giant, "Am I late for the party?"
"Just about made it," Joseph grunted as he unsteadily got back up to his feet, the survivor rubbing his face. "Owwwww."
Chris hurried over and helped him up, looking concernedly at him. "You okay, buddy?"
Joseph waved him off. "Yeah, I'm cool. Just pissed, that's all." He narrowed his eyes at the giant creature as it regarded them all. "Fucker."
The titan cracked his knuckles, as if in response.
"What do you think, Chris?" Richard asked as he eyed it uneasily. "How do you want to go about this?"
The Point Man looked around the room, frowning.
"We should probably split up rather than stay together, just to keep ourselves from being JESUS!" he shouted the last part, the three of them leaping to the side as the armored giant charged and punched a hole straight through a wall, the officers rolling on the ground before quickly climbing back up to their feet again.
Bullets pinged off its armor as the creature turned around and pulled out its arm, leaving behind a giant hole that made Richard's eyes widen like saucers.
"Fucking shit, how much punishment can this goddamn thing take?!" The Bravo swore as he continued firing his weapon, backing away as the beast advanced. Three very long strides forward and it was on Richard in seconds, grabbing hold of the struggling police officer as it effortlessly threw him up a level, the Bravo screaming as he crashed through a rail.
"RICHARD!" Jill yelled. Looking back, the woman yelped as she ducked the juggernaut's incoming swing, his fist pounding straight through a picture frame.
Joseph charged toward it, yelling as he fired every round of his shotgun.
"Go check on Richard!" he yelled to Jill, his attention fixed on the giant being. "I got you covered."
"On it."
Chris swapped magazines, then aimed, firing at every section of the creature, the rounds harmlessly pinging off its armor.
"We need to get that armor off somehow. I'm open to any suggestions right about now!"
Wiping the sweat from his bandanna-clad forehead, Joseph cocked his shotgun.
"I say up-close and personal." Stepping close to the creature, the duo fired round after round. Bullets and shells clattered the floor, the air thick with the smell of discharged gunpowder.
"Jill, what's Richard's status?" Chris said as he swapped magazines.
"Unconscious, but still alive," she called.
He frowned. This wasn't good. They needed to retreat.
"Joseph we need to get out of here."
The aforementioned Alpha was too fixated on the creature, firing his weapon.
"Joseph, we need to go!"
"Come on, come on!" Joseph growled, his words punctuating every blast. "Die! You! Mother! Fucking-"
Stomping casually toward him, the giant nonchalantly gave a small flick of its oversized mechanical index finger, the blow sending the survivor stumbling back before his head collided with the embedded axe's shaft, eliciting a grunt from him as he fell unconscious to the floor.
"JOSEPH, NO!" Raising his eyes to the beast, Chris hatefully glared, raising up his pistol. "Bastard!"
Click.
Blinking, he looked back down to his weapon as he pulled the trigger several times.
"Oh fuck," he groaned as he felt the thundering steps approach.
Looking up, Chris barely had time to react as the thing backhanded him, throwing him off his feet as if he were nothing more than a ragdoll.
"CHRIS!"
Grunting, the Alpha raised himself up from the floor, staggering as he struggled to stand up straight.
"Get out of here, Jill!" he yelled, raising up his fists, the floor shaking. "I'll hold him off!"
He wasn't able to avoid its first punch. Not even its second.
Coughing up blood, he threw a punch of its own, the blow catching it in the stomach.
He should have known better than to do so, for the moment he had, pain flared right up his entire arm, every bone in his hand aching. Chris clenched his face in a tightly-held grimace as he inwardly screamed in agony, doing everything he could not to cry out. A sharp, high-pitched whine escaped from his mouth as he did everything in his power to ignore the searing pain and not scream at the top of his fucking lungs as he pulled his hand away and massaged his tender knuckles.
"Chris you dork, get out of there! You're no match for it!"
Shaking his head, Chris waved his injured limb around for a few minutes and blew on it before lifting up his eyes to meet the giant's unblinking lensed mask as it wheezed.
Taking out his knife with his uninjured hand, Chris brought it up and got into a pose.
"Come on, you bastard!" he taunted with his knife raised, ready to strike.
Grunting underneath Richard's weight as she carefully dragged him down the stairs, Jill watched as Chris slashed at the creature's armored chest, his blade scraping along the metal and producing sparks.
That stubborn-
What was it about men and their need to show off how macho they were?
While Chris was admittedly faring well against the creature, slashing and stabbing at it as he ducked under its blows, none of his attacks, it seemed, were having any sort of effect. No matter where he struck, no matter what angle, nothing seemed to faze the creature.
Hell, it didn't even look as if he were able to even scratch the armor itself.
Jill's brow furrowed as she tried thinking of a solution.
If only only there were a way to get rid of all that armor, or at the least a way to somehow immobilize it, but how?!
Looking around the main hall, Jill pondered to herself, her brows furrowed in concentration. The logical thing to do would be to retreat, but that freak was bound to follow.
Even worse, there was no way the two of them would be able to get very far while towing both Richard and Joseph at the same time.
There had to be a way to slow it down somehow, just to buy them some time.
Frowning, Jill glanced around, looking from left to right, weighing her options. As she happened to look at one of the nearby columns, Jill paused, a lightbulb going off in her head.
Perhaps there was a way to help deal with the situation after all.
Once she got to the landing, she carefully placed Richard down on the floor.
"I promise I'll be right back, Richard," Jill said to the unconscious man as she hurried to the bottom of the stairs, exchanging her Samurai Edge for the Colt Python.
Chris tumbled to the ground, his body rolling as he hit the floor hard.
Looking up, he saw the beast glower over him, taking a threatening and decisive step forward.
"HEY!"
Pausing, the creature turned away from the Point Man as bullets pinged off its helmeted head. Chris followed its gaze, and saw Jill standing by a column close to the dining hall, waving her arms wildly.
"COME ON!" Jill yelled as she fired her weapon. "YOU ARE AS UGLY AS YOU ARE STUPID!"
Letting out an angry loud roar, the titan ran toward her at a frightening speed, an unstoppable freight train of death that was ready to crush her.
"JILL GET OUT OF HERE!" Chris yelled as he struggled to get up, his vision darkening. "Jill..."
Jill kept her eyes on the charging titan, carefully timing herself.
Just a few more...NOW!
Once he was within range, the B&E Specialist dodge-rolled out of the way, causing the beast to crash straight through two columns by the dining hall doors. Overhead, she heard loud creaking. Looking back to the beast, the Alpha stuck her tongue out, taunting it.
"Ooh, you were soooo close!" Jill said in mock disappointment to the creature. "Try a little a faster!"
Turning around, the beast let out an enraged moan as he stomped toward her. Backing cautiously away, Jill made certain to line herself up with the next column to the left of the dining hall. As the creature reared back and swung, Jill ducked to the right, letting out a yelp as she felt its fist just whisk by her hair, her heart leaping with a start as she narrowly avoided her head getting crushed.
Wood splintered and marble cracked as the column standing next to her exploded into fragments, sending up debris in all directions as the landing overhead creaked and groaned noisily before collapsing onto the behemoth, the beast letting out a roar of surprise as it all came crashing down.
Picking herself up from the floor, Jill cautiously stared at the debris pile, watching as a cloud of dust filled the air. Letting out a cough, she fanned the air around her and peered through the debris, searching for signs of movement.
Nothing.
Exhaling, Jill turned back to the weakly-moving Chris with a relieved smile.
"I think we got it!"
No sooner had those words left her mouth when there came a violent crash, drawing her attention back to the dining hall entrance. To Jill's horror, she watched as the beast rose up from the debris pile, its armor colored a dusty and dirty grey, its armor sporting dents and cracks.
Shaking itself off like a giant armored dog, the titan glared at her through its cracked lenses, its breathing harsh and heavy, its fists trembling with unbridled rage.
Backing herself away, Jill swallowed nervously, her eyes focused on the entity as it stepped toward its bardiche. Pulling it effortlessly out from the floor, the creature gripped the axe's handle as it stomped over to her, carrying the weapon effortlessly with one hand.
Raising up its mighty weapon with both hands, the creature reared back as it prepared to swing like a golf player ready to hit a ball.
"JILL!"
Hearing the cry, Jill barely had a chance to respond as she was pushed out of the way, throwing her to the floor.
Looking up, the woman watched in horror as the giant swung in a downward arch, the side of the axe striking Richard off the ground with a cry.
"RICHARD!" Jill screamed, helplessly watching Richard's body was propelled through the air, disappearing from view.
Looking up, the B&E specialist rolled out of the way again as the bardiche's blade slammed into the space where she initially lay, creating huge spiderweb-like cracks and craters.
Scrambling to her feet, Jill barely managed to evade the other swings as the beast single-mindedly pursued after her, swinging horizontally and vertically, the blade slicing through the columns along with her hat, vest and shirt, even a few strands of hair as she ducked low to avoid being beheaded.
It swung again, this time to the right, forcing Jill to duck down again as it ploughed through more columns. Overhead, ceiling beams buckled and creaked before finally crashing down onto them both, sending up smoke and dust.
Pushing herself out of the debris pile with a groan, Jill groaned as she forced the pieces of wood off her, wiping her eyes with the back of her gloved hands, spitting out dust from her mouth.
"God, this sucks," she muttered aloud.
As she attempted to push herself up, Jill let out a strangled cry as she felt a sharp pain in her right leg. Glancing down, the Alpha noticed a huge chunk of splintered wood, probably 9 or 10 inches long, embedded into the back part of her upper leg, just above the knee.
Gritting her teeth, Jill turned her attention ahead as she slowly crawled along the floor, dragging herself indelicately along on her belly like an alligator, every part of her body bruised and aching, her eyes tearing up in pain. After crawling ten feet away from the debris pile, Jill collapsed onto the ground, panting loudly as she rested her forehead against the cold marble floor.
Creaaaaaaak.
Looking up, Jill's eyes grew large as the creature rose from the debris pile with the bardiche in a hand.
"Shit."
Pushing herself up, Jill yelled out in pain as she collapsed back onto her belly, then glanced back at her pursuer as she started to feebly crawl along the ground.
"Come on, Jill," she encouraged herself as she pulled herself along the ground.
Jill's heart raced as she felt the entire room shake with heavy thudding steps.
"Come on, Jill, move fast-"
The Alpha was cut off as a heavy boot kicked her hard in the stomach, lifting her straight up into the air as she hit the ground rolling.
Coughing, Jill spewed out the contents of her meal, the room continuing to shake. Looking weakly back up, the Alpha helplessly watched as the titan made its way toward her, its bardiche primed and ready for its next victim.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
As the sounds of gunfire rang out, Jill barely had time to react as the priceless hanging chandelier fell from the ceiling and landed on top of the entity below with a wicked crash, shattering the ornate glass pieces and causing the Alpha to recoil at the noise.
Looking back up, she saw the titan pinned beneath the chandelier, its form unmoving. Letting out a shaky breath of relief, Jill felt herself relax, then glanced around before pausing at the sight of Chris as he lay on his side, his Samurai Edge smoking.
"...You okay?" he called.
Smiling in spite of herself, Jill nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Chris."
As Chris weakly nodded back in acknowledgement, he lost consciousness.
"Chris!" Jill rasped as she attempted to weakly crawl toward him, dragging herself painfully along the ground one inch at a time, her vision dimming.
Finally, she collapsed, lying sprawled out with her coworkers along the ruined floor of the now freshly destroyed main hall.
Barry sat quietly as he stared at the floor, contemplating his next course of action.
Letting out an audible and tired sigh, he got back onto his feet and turned to face the still form of Wesker, leaning over him.
"Wesker? Wesker?" Barry said as he shook the S.T.A.R.S. Captain's shoulder.
He watched as Wesker groaned on the bed, stirring awake.
"...Barry?" he said in surprise.
"You alright?"
Letting out a groan, the corrupt police officer sat up and took off his sunglasses, taking Barry aback.
Was he finally going to see Wesker's eyes?
"What happened?" the S.T.A.R.S. Captain muttered, his face staring to the floor as he pinched the bridge of his nose, concealing his eyes from him.
"You don't remember?"
Wincing, Wesker placed his sunglasses back on, not giving Barry a chance to see what his eyes looked like, much to the Alpha's disappointment.
"I remember being attacked by that...thing," he answered slowly and cautiously. "Is it still alive?"
Barry shrugged. "I think so."
"Hm," the blonde hummed. Raising his concealed eyes to Barry, he stared at him quietly for a minute, then gave a slow, grateful and acknowledging nod. "Thank you."
The Weapons Specialist frowned. "Don't thank me. Thank your kid."
For a brief moment, Wesker's stoicism cracked, his mouth parted, his eyebrows raised in surprise. For a brief moment, Barry could have sworn he saw a flicker of humanity behind the stone-cold façade that he usually wore.
"What?"
"It's true," Barry nodded. "The kid went to great lengths to save you, even going so far as to fight that thing for you. Still fighting with that thing, I think."
"Is that right?"
"Yeah."
Barry watched as the Captain's brows knitted, the man's head tilting to the side in thought.
"Hm," he hummed, the stoic mask returning. "Interesting."
The Weapon Specialist scowled.
Of course that's all Wesker was going to say. What, did Barry expect him to suddenly become sentimental? Did he actually expect him to be remorseful? Appreciative? That he would have a sudden change of heart and renounce his ways?
What could he possibly expect from a man whose soul was carved from granite?
Checking his revolver, Barry counted up his ammunition, turning his attention away from the man he had once respected.
There was a point where Barry himself would have done anything for Wesker.
Now, however, he just wanted to get away, lest should he do something that he might regret.
Once he was sure that his revolver was full, he snapped the cylinder back into place.
"Must be nice having someone care that much about you," he grunted to Wesker, "...even when you don't really deserve it..."
He gave one last meaningful and contemptuous look over the shoulder at the S.T.A.R.S. Captain, then turned around and left without saying another word.
As Barry left, Wesker looked quietly away, the big man's words lingering.
Author's Notes: I am so sorry for not having post this sooner. Due to a really busy university schedule, I have to put things on a temporary hold for the time being. Since Halloween is just around the corner along with the upcoming "Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City", though, I thought that I would post this up for those of you who had been itching to see more "House of the Dead"/"Resident Evil"-related stuff.
Stay safe and healthy! :D