Unlikely Heroes
Chapter 23: The Creepy Village
Well as it turned out one of these threats and problems happened a month after the facility in Russia had been dealt with. This time those from the nether were once again teamed up but only with Leon on a very special mission. After being reunited with him, they learned that the male human had received special training via a secret organization working under the direct control of the President of the United States. The job was to protect his family. Right now though one of these members was missing. That meant it was Leon's job to find and rescue them. He had asked for help from his nether friends since they had helped with the mission in South America. The president had agreed. It found Leon and the rest in a van dressed in longer layers due to the fact they were in a cooler climate. The country this time was Spain in a wild area with no civilization.
Upbeat Spanish music was playing in the car. Besides Leon there were two other male humans, and one of them was driving. They both wore dull blue colored suits and matching caps. "Korkin, why am I the one who always get the short end of the stick?" commented the driver who had a slight accent
"Who are you really?" the second person asked to Leon also with a slight accent. "Come on and tell us. You are a long way from home cowboy. You have my sympathies."
"Guess that's a locals way of breaking the ice," Nicholas replied. For this mission, he had given him and those from the nether a Speak in Tongues rune. With this they could speak and understand any language. As a bonus it would allow them to communicate with one another in a way that demons and other monsters couldn't comprehend. "Anyway you know what this is all about."
"Our assignment is to search for the president's missing daughter," Leon stated.
"What?!" the male in the front passenger seat exclaimed. "Just a small group like yourselves?"
"I'm sure you boys didn't just tag along so we could sing Kymbaya together as some boys scout bonfire. Then again maybe you did."
The same male let out laugh. "Ah you crazy American it's a direct order from the chief himself. I tell you it's no picnic."
"We're counting on you guys," Nicholas said. The two other human males shrugged. A bit latter the car had to stop since one had to get out and take a piss. This left the group to think some things over. It was right before Leon had taken his duties on protecting the president's daughter when she was abducted. That was the ultimate reason he and those from the nether were in this lonely and rural part of Europe. According to the intelligence, there was a reliable information about a sighting of a girl that looked similar to the president's daughter. Apparently she was being withheld by some unidentified group of people. Nobody could have guessed that Leon's first job would have been a rescue mission.
Meanwhile the guy peeing finished up. "It's freezing," he said, zipping up. "So cold all of a sudden." He began to walk back but then stopped and turned to look like something was watching. Nicholas got the feeling to and looked out the window. Both saw nothing. "Must be my imagination," the human said and got back in the car. "Sorry it took so long."
The vehicle continued down the road. After crossing a wooden bridge it came to a stop. "Just up ahead is the village," the driver told the group.
"We'll go and have a look around," Leon replied.
"We'll stay and watch the car," the second human commented. "Don't want to get any parking tickets."
"Right," Napoleon spoke up in a sarcastic tone. "Parking tickets."
"Good luck," the driver said and the group got out. They were immediately contacted on their radio. Answering showed their receiving screen and the caller's screen. The one doing so was a female human dressed professional, wearing a head set, glasses, and had black hair tied back.
"Leon, I hope you can hear me," she said. "I'm Ingrid Runnigan. I'll be your guy's support on this mission."
"Loud and clear," the male human replied. "Somehow I thought you'd be a little older."
"Anyways, the subject's name's Ashley Raham, right?" Nicholas asked.
"That's right. She's the daughter of the President. So all of you try to behave yourself okay?"
The guys in the group scoffed. Those from the nether wouldn't because they already had the perfect girlfriends. "Whoever this group is, they sure picked the wrong girl to kidnap," Logan commented.
"I'll try to find more information on them on my end as well," Runnigan replied.
"Good," Leon said. "Talk to you later. Over and out."
Pulling out their hands guns the group made their way across the dirt path. There were trees but these had no leaves on them. Most of them were to the sides of the path. There was fog as well, just a bit to make the setting a bit creepy. In a little bit everyone came across a two-story house that was a decent size. Leon looked and saw the front door was open. So did Nicholas. "I can smell someone in there," the male werewolf said. "Perhaps they can help."
The male human and the two werewolves in the group decided they would check it out while the rest stayed outside. The inside was just as dull in color as the outside. But they saw someone, clearly a villager bending over a fire while tending to it. The longed sleeved shirt and pants were dull in color to. "Uh… excuse me? Sir?" Leon asked. The villager didn't respond but kept tending to the fire. The group of three went over to him. Only when that happened did the villager look up and turned around to face them. The expression he wore was a neutral one.
Leon took a picture of Ashley out of his pocket. "I was wondering if you might recognize the girl in this photograph." The picture showed a young woman about the same age as the group with dull blonde hair as well as wearing an orange turtleneck.
The villager replied in an angry tone. Liru and Nicholas understood him thanks to their ruin and could tell the person was being very rude with telling them to get out. "Okay… sorry to have bothered you," the male werewolf replied as the male human put the photo away.
The three turned to leave and didn't see the villager pick up an ax used for cutting wood. With a shout the person swung the weapon. The werewolves and human looked up and rolled out of the way just in time. Their cocked their guns at the hostile who slowly walked towards them. "Freeze!" Leon ordered. The villager kept moving.
"He said freeze!" Nicholas ordered using the ruin to state it in the same language. The hostile didn't but raised his ax to strike.
Liru fired at the right knee, causing the enemy to go to that part on the ground. While they saw blood come out, there wasn't really a wound. Leon kicked the hostile onto the back, and Nicholas with his katana, sliced one of the major arteries on the neck. That seemed to do the trick as the enemy rose up with a groan and a wide opened mouth before falling, never to move again. "What the hell just happened?" the female commented. "It was like he was a zombie…"
Suddenly the sound of a truck starting and moving got the three's attention. They looked out one of the windows and could see it heading towards the others outside. "What the hell?!" Napoleon on the outside exclaimed and the rest of the group threw themselves out of the way. Those inside watched the truck head towards the car where the drivers were. There was shouting and the sound of the vehicles being driven over the side and crashing.
"Shit!" Leon stated and decided to make contact with Runnigan.
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"There was a hostile local," the male human explained. "We had no choice but to neutralize him."
"There are still others surrounding the area," Nicholas said after taking a quick sniff and smelled more villagers heading towards the house.
"Get out of there and head toward the village. Take whatever measures necessary to save the subject."
"Understood," Leon replied and ended the call.
Looking down at the corpse saw that the person was carrying a bit of the local currency. The three figured it was best to take it just in case and any more that was found. Suddenly the rest of the group came in. "What the hell is going on here?!" Napoleon asked. "There are hostile locals out there that are acting like zombies!"
"You're asking the wrong person!" Liru replied.
Suddenly they heard the shouting from other villagers. "Quick, upstairs!" Nicholas said. They approached them but a strong smell made them stop for a moment to look and see it was coming from under the stairs. What they saw made the males almost vomit and the female to gasp. They saw human skulls and bones that were infested with flies and maggots. They saw that a lot of people had been killed and hoped Ashley was okay.
Then it was quickly up the flight of stairs. Leon led the way by breaking through the window. The fall to the ground wasn't big at all. Waiting for them were a few more hostile villagers that were wielding tools as weapons. Once again fatal shots from guns weren't enough to kill them. However it only took a few hits to make them go down for good. A couple left behind some money, which was grabbed. Leon then took the lead and the rest followed him on the path that would take them to the village. There was a kind of hut that they quickly found and went in. Inside there was currency and a couple other items that would help. All of this was taken. "Now enough delays let's go," Napoleon stated.
Suddenly Liru cocked her head to the side. "Wait… do any of you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Uma asked. Then the rest heard it; the sound of a whimpering dog. The female werewolf went outside the shake.
"Honey, wait," Nicholas said. His girl stopped. "Let's go together."
The rest followed the sound and right on the side they found the cause; a beautiful grey colored dog with one of the hind legs caught in some kind of bear trap. The females gasped but Liru's was the loudest. "Oh the poor thing…" the female werewolf whispered. The dog looked up at the sound and to her. Liru went to her knees by the head. "Shhh… we'll get you out."
"Yeah, we can't leave this dog here," Nicholas agreed. He went down by the bear trap and pulled the two halves apart. They dog hobbled out and they saw the leg that had the wound but it wasn't a problem for the canine. It shook itself over and then with a bark managed to run off. But not before looking back at Nicholas and Liru one last time.
"I hope he'll be alright," she said and got up.
"It's strange, but I have a funny feeling we'll see him again," the male commented.
With that the group continued on their way. But then in a little bit they spotted something. They stopped and saw a wooden post that had an x made of wood. There was blood on it and two human skulls. "What the hell is it?" Cosmo asked.
"Some kind of warning sign," Leon answered. "I have a bad feeling about this."
They continued a bit further and then heard the shouting of another hostile villager. Spotting the person, they quickly shot him down. Then came another small wooden shack and enemy. The things inside were gathered, and the villager killed. After crossing a small wooden bridge, the group spotted a few more villagers who let out shouts of warning and moved to warn others. Then finally the path led to a stone gate and wooden shack. Inside another villager was killed. Before the enemy died they managed to gurgle out the word lord but a name couldn't be heard. Once the things inside the shack were gathered, the gate was approached. On it was a strange symbol. It was a small diamond that had four arms. Two of them were long that went out and pointed upward. The other two were shorter and went out a little before pointing inward.
Pushing it open, the group found themselves at the edge of the village. There were more of the villagers and buildings all dull in color like the surrounding area. Everyone hid behind some trees and took a peek through binoculars that had zooming functions. They could see a tall tower like it was a church. There was also a huge bonfire burning in the middle of the village. Zooming in showed there was a body that had been one of the drivers in the fire. "Shit," Nicholas said. "If they did that, we'd better sneak in."
"There's no way to," Leon pointed out.
"Then let's go in with guns blazing and catch them off guard," Logan suggested. That seemed to be the best plan and the group slowly crept forward.
"Liru, transform with me," the male werewolf said to his girl and both did so. Napoleon's fangs grew longer as well.
"Hold it…" Leon whispered right at the edge. "Now!"
All hell broke loose as the werewolves in the group came in with snarls. The villagers heard and began to shout but were silenced as Nicholas struck them down faster than they could react. The rest of the group came in as well with guns blazing. Villager after villager was killed. Leon, Napoleon, and Pachira then hopped a fence and went into one of the nearby buildings to see if they could get to the roof. Reinforcements begun to arrive and they slammed the door shut. They could heard the pounding on the door from the enemy. One of the hostiles shouted something out. "Who are these people?" Leon asked. and went to a small window that was perfect for shooting out of.
"What are they planning?" Pachira asked and Napoleon joined them. Everyone then heard a sound they were all too familiar with and saw one of the villagers carrying it.
"Great! Chainsaw!" the male vampire snarled and moved a chest of drawers in front of the door. Suddenly the sound of glass smashing made them look up. Aiko and Cosmo looked to their building and saw a ladder had been placed there so the villagers could enter from above.
"Great!" the male android stated and then had to throw off another villager that had gotten his hands on him. The three inside the building could see the reinforcements pounding on the boarded up windows.
"Son of a bitch!" Leon exclaimed.
Pachira spotted a wooden set of shelves and moved them in front of the windows. Leon and Napoleon ran upstairs to deal with what was coming. The male human spotted a shotgun mounted on the wall and took it. Seeing the ladder that had been placed at the window, the two knocked it to the ground. They also found ammo for the new gun and Leon loaded it. That's when they noticed another enemy, this time a female villager at another window, trying to get in. They shot at her, killing the enemy and called Pachira from downstairs up to them. The three climbed out the window frame and onto some nearby roofs. They could hear the chainsaw still being used, trying to get in. Nicholas saw them make it out and signaled to the others after ripping another villager to shreds. "Keep up the pressure!" he howled, his claws stained red and black from blood and gore.
"Get some together!" Cosmo stated and Liru lured some to him. The android fired a grenade, right on target. An explosion happened, scattering bodies. The group then noticed that the dead villagers when killed, began to dissolve into a bubbling mess and melt away. That definitely meant they weren't human.
"What the hell are these things?!" Logan asked, seeing it happened. "Are them some kind of new zombie?"
"They act like them!" Uma said, firing a pillar of fire at another. Leon, Napoleon, and Pachira came down from the roof to help.
The male human fired with his shotgun, especially on the one carrying the chainsaw. The head was wrapped up by a mask but it was to be noted this enemy could take more hits than the other villagers. Luckily some shots from the shotgun killed the person. However Leon soon ran out of ammo for the gun and had to use his regular one. "How many more now?!" Napoleon asked.
While things were dropped, there wasn't time to gather them. And still more villagers kept coming. That is until the sound of a church bell ringing sounded out. The villagers began to mutter amongst themselves and turned toward the sound of the bell. For some moments they stood still. Then they began to walk, while those with weapons dropped them and slowly followed. It was creepy, like they were all being controlled since it was at the same time. Nicholas with his hearing was able to hear one of them say, "Lord Ladder…"
The group watched the rest of the villagers head into the church and close the door. They all breathed a sigh of relief and gathered in the center of the village. Not one enemy was in sight. Nicholas and Liru turned back into normal forms while Napoleon's fangs shrunk. "Where's everyone going?" asked Leon. "Bingo?"
It was decided it was best to contact Runnigan and she picked up quickly. "We've got some bad news," said Leon. "We've confirmed the body of an officer. Something's happened to the people here."
"Guys you need to get out of there," the female human stated. "Look for a tower. Follow the trail near it."
The group nodded and the call was closed. "Now then, let's look around," Nicholas commented. "That last brawl has shorten some ammo. There has to be more around here. Any money, treasures as well; we're ransacking the place of those things. They won't be missed." Everyone else agreed as these villagers had fully attacked and tried to kill them. However the church door was no good as it was locked. It did have the same symbol that the gate had.
Once everything had been gathered, the group went through two wooden doors to another part of the village. The first item of business was taking out the few villagers here. Then it was onto gathering what could be found here. Then it was through another gateway. They came across a trail that had to be the one Runnigan mentioned. Everyone began to follow it, unaware they were being watched by more villagers from above. The enemies moved a huge boulder and it began to come crashing down. "Shit; run!" Cosmo exclaimed as there wasn't time for him to blow it up.
Everyone ran for it and then dodged so the boulder ended up running into a tunnel and breaking into pieces. Going through it, they found themselves at another building. But there were enemies here as well. This time they tossed some lighted things that when thrown, would explode. "Take them out!" Nicholas stated.
Since the enemy had a number of this weapon, the group had to wait until was thrown in order to make it to the house where they were. Going around the back, the other found a window to get in and take out the enemy. When the villagers were cleared out the group could take it easy for now. "That seems to be the last of them," Cosmo said.
"Wait… I hear something," Liru commented. The rest went silent and heard a slight thud. The kind that someone was making against something wooden.
"I wonder what it is," Nicholas said. "Let's look into it."
Listening closely they found the noise was coming from a nearby house. There was a lock on the door and Leon broke it by striking with his knife. Stepping inside showed it was decrepit and old. But the pounding was louder. Going carefully, the group made their way toward it. They had to be careful as there were small traps blocking the path. There were also some items in here that were taken. Then there was a small wooden shelf in front of a doorway that had to be moved. The path then led to a small room that only had a cabinet for hanging clothes. The noise was coming from inside. "In there," Leon said. Everyone else went to the sides while he took care of the part of opening doors.
The male human did so while everyone was on guard and out fell another human that was also male. He had slightly long black hair and long layers in dull colors. But the brown vest had some designs on it. His mouth was tapped shut and his arms were bound by ropes. From his frantic shaking of his head and muffled shouts, it seemed he was trying to say he wasn't like the villagers. Leon reached over and ripped off the tape. "Ah!" the male exclaimed in a Spanish accent. "A little rough don't you think?"
Nicholas turned the new person over and sliced through the ropes with his katana. "You're… not like them?" the second human asked.
"None of us," the longhaired werewolf replied. "You?"
The human shook his wrists to get the blood flowing again. "Okay I have only one very important question. Any of you got a smoke?"
"Got gum," Leon answered. Suddenly the sound of footsteps made them look up. A few more villagers had shown up. Suddenly another person appeared.
"Perfect," the second male human stated in a sarcastic tone. "The big cheese."
"What?" Leon asked. Looking at the person showed he was much taller than the villagers. One of his eyes was fake and the guy wore a very long dark grey colored trench coat. The guy was bald but had a very long scraggly beard. Both Leon and Nicholas ran forward to kick him. Both were stopped by the tall person who got caught their feet. With a simple grunt and flick he threw the two of them to the others. The entire group landed hard into the wall with groans and were knocked out.
What happened next was unknown at the time if it was a dream or really happening. But they all heard a male voice that was soft and creepy speak. "Feeble humans let us give you our power." They felt something being stuck into their neck like a shot. "Soon you will become unable to resist this intoxicating power." The group felt something being shot into their necks and woke up with a start.
Looking around quickly they saw they were chained up in twos in a different location. Leon saw the second human was behind him. "Hey," the first human said, nudging the other. "Hey! Wake up!"
"Aye yi yi," he moaned and came to. "Crawl out of one hole and into another."
"You want to tell us what's going on here?" Uma asked.
"Amerciano and Japeneso si? Now what brings people like you to this part of the world?" Leon moved his bound wrists. "Ow hey easy, whoever you are." The guy was told their names.
"We came here looking for this girl," Leon said, showing the second human Ashley's picture. "Seen her?"
"What are you guys supposed to be cops or something? Nah, none of you look the type."
"Maybe," Nicholas replied, amused that Leon had been once.
"Okay let me guess, she's the president's daughter," the second human said.
"That's too good to be a guess," commented Napoleon. "Want to start expelling?"
"Physic powers." Those from the nether rolled their eyes. "Nah I'm just kidding with you amigos. I overheard one of the villagers talking something about the president's daughter in the church."
"And who might you be?" Logan asked.
"Ilamo Luis Rarah. I used to be a cop in Madrid but now I'm just a good for nothing guy who happens to be quite the ladies' man."
"Why'd you quite?" Leon asked.
Luis scoffed. "Policia you put your life on the line nobody really appreciate you enough for it. Being a hero isn't what it's cracked up to be anymore."
"Used to be a cop myself," the first male human commented. "Only for a day though."
"I thought I was bad," Luis said.
"Nah, it's not like that," Nicholas stated. "The rest of us were there with him. We were there and dragged him into that incident in the city before it all went to hell with a viral outbreak turning everyone into monsters."
"I know what you're talking about," Luis said. "You know I think I might seen a sample of the virus at the lab department of the police force I worked for."
Suddenly the sound of a heavy ax being dragged on the ground caused everyone to look up. They saw another villager all bloodied, dragging the weapon. He went first for Leon and Luis. "Do something cop!" the second human exclaimed.
"After you!" the first shot back. The enemy raised his weapon up.
"Now!" Leon shouted and both him and Luis pulled away from each other. The ax came down but got the chains instead, breaking them. The two rolled out of the way but the enemy raised his ax again. Leon used his legs to kick at the villager and throw him against the wall. The result was that the neck was snapped, killing the person. Luis in the confusion ran off. The first human picked himself up, and got the others untied. Just then they were contacted by Runnigan and answered the radio.
"It's us," Nicholas stated. "Sorry we couldn't get in touch sooner but we were a bit tied up."
"You're okay, right?" she asked.
"We're fine," Leon answered. "There was a male civilian held captive. According to him Ashley's in a church somewhere."
"What happened to him?"
"He managed to escape."
"Do you have a fix on the location of that church?" Runnigan asked.
"No, but apparently there's a secret passage in the village that leads there," Cosmo answered. "We're heading back to the village." The group ended the call and noticed they still had all their weapons and clothes.
The next thing to do was head out. But before the group could leave, they passed a window that had no glass. Suddenly a hooded figure with a dark bandana around the mouth appeared. The person also had a backpack. "Over here, strangers," he said, the voice showing it was a male. This mysterious person moved and appeared to go around to the side of the house.
"Who was that?" Liru asked.
"I don't trust him," Uma stated.
"I don't know," Logan said. "Something inside me is telling me it's alright."
"I've got it as well," Nicholas commented. "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to see what he wants."
After leaving the house, the group took a sharp left and went around to find the person. "Got something that might interest ya." The guy let out a chuckle and opened his trench coat to reveal weapons and ammunition.
"Now that's what I'm talking about," Nicholas stated with a grin.
"Got a selection of good things strangers!" Leon acquired a riffle and even had the guy tune up the guns he had so far for greater firepower all by using the money that had been acquired so far. Once the business was taken care of, the group said goodbye to the person who they figured was a weapons merchant of some kind.
Going back to the front showed a stonewall was blocking the way with an iron gate. The wall had a couple missing sections that were perfect for shooting from. Looking through these showed that there was a path alone a canyon like structure. And there were enemies here. "Here goes nothing," Nicholas said and kicked the gate open.
Instantly an enemy spotted them and called out but was shot quickly. The group saw others coming, a few even had the explosive kind of weapon fought earlier. Leon brought out his new riffle to help. Everyone took care of the first wave before moving onto the path. Even more villagers showed up but all of them were killed. Then it was onto a small shack that had a couple items and baddies here. Everything left behind was taken before Aiko found a ladder. She went up it and found a chest that had half of an emblem with one half of the symbol seen before on it. The female took it, figuring it would help. Then it was back down the ladder to rejoin with the others and following the path. Taking a slight turn to the left, the group found the other half of the emblem. "This should come in handy," Comso stated, fitting the two halves together.
Turning around they saw a few more enemies coming up the path and killed them. Then it was onto jumping down to the lower levels along with walking to a door that had an indentation that looked like the completed emblem would fit into. Leon placed it in, and the group was able to get pass this. Going in showed things were quiet. "Let's hope we can take a little breather here," Napoleon said.
Looking around showed more buildings and cliff sides. There were a few items to pick up here. The path led to a building. "Careful, who knows what's in here," Logan said after the group went in.
The room that was entered was small but there was another door. Behind it were a few enemies that were killed. Then a shortcut through some windows brought everyone to the next area that had hunting traps used to trap large game and villagers with explosives. It was a simple matter of taking them out and avoiding the deadly spots on the floor. Then it was through one more door that lead to a path that had some water in it. Following it led to some kind of underground passage. "This must be it," Aiko commented.
The group went forward and found a ladder that went to the surface showing it was at a different part. Everyone kept moving until they reached a big house that had two floors. "This one seems different than the other homes we've seen so far," Nicholas pointed out.
"Let's see what's in," Leon said. The group went in and found a door with the same symbol seen before and an orb that had four lines on it. The male human found it could be turned and managed to make the same thing appear on the orb. Something clicked and the door slid away.
Going in, the group saw what appeared to be a bedroom of some kind. There was a drawer open that had a key in it. There was the same symbol at the end of it. This was taken. Leon then noticed there were some kind of papers on the bed and picked them up. "What do you got there?" Nicholas asked and took a look. It was a note from the chief of the village. "This must be his place I'm guessing. That bald guy in the trench coat."
Looking showed it stated the group had been confined and kept alive as instructed by someone named Lord Ladder, the same person that they had heard being mentioned before. It also mentioned how if it were up to the chief he would have kept them separate from Luis and that it was surprising that he would trust strangers like the group. There was also a fact mentioned that if the second male human and the rest did cooperate, the situation could get a bit more complicated. There was mention of an unknown third party. The note then went on to state that maybe it was a plan on this Ladder to make the third party appear and that is was worth the risk. The note ended with that it was his call and that the chief and others would trust his judgment as always.
"I'll keep a hold of that," Nicholas said and took the note.
"Uh guys?" Liru said. "You might want to take a look at this…"
The rest gathered around a painting that she had found in the room. It showed a man in elegant purpled robes that had designs on them. But what got them were the eyes. "He's creepy and scary," Pachira commented with a shudder.
"I don't like the looks of him either," Napoleon agreed.
"Should we move on?" Aiko asked.
"I think it might be best if one of us peeks outside the door," Nicholas answered. "Who knows what's in here."
"You sure that's a good idea?" Uma asked.
"I'll take a look," Leon said. "You guys stay here."
The male human carefully went out the door and heard muffled voices in the hallway. One thing he did pick up was the word Laga as well. He noticed a painting of the chief before sensing someone behind him. Turning around quickly he was grabbed by the throat by the same person himself. With a grunt, the enemy lifted Leon up easily. The grip on Leon's throat got tighter. Suddenly the chief looked at the male human with interest as he saw that the eyes of Leon had changed to orange. He dropped the human roughly to the floor. "You carry the same blood as us it seems," the chief said with an accent as the male human scooted back a bit, trying to get his breath back. "Never the less, you and the others are outsiders. Just remember… if any of you become unpleasant to our eyes, you will suffer terrible consequences."
The enemy walked away and Leon stood up. "What?" he asked. "Same blood?"
The rest of the group came out to him. "Leon, what happened?" asked Logan. "We heard some noises."
The male human didn't answer because he was contacted by Runnigan and answered. "Guys, I've been able to get some new info that might help you," said the female human.
"Fill us in," Nicholas replied.
"Apparently, there's a religious cult group involved. They're called the Los Rilluminados."
"Wow, that's a mouthful," Liru commented.
"Anyway I had an unexpected run-in with the big cheese of this village," Leon stated.
"So that's what we heard," Comso said.
"But you're okay right?" Runnigan asked.
"Yeah… But he could have killed me but he let me live… And he mentioned something about me carrying the same blood as them. Whatever that means."
"'Carry the same blood…' Hmm interesting…"
"Anyway, there are more important things than solving riddles right now."
"You're right," Logan agreed.
"Hurry and find that church guys," Runnigan said. The call was then cut.
"Wait, I hear something coming from the bedroom," Liru stated after her wolf like ears flicked.
"We'll go together this time," Nicholas said. They all went in and waiting for them was the chief of the village. With a shout he knocked everyone to the side with a punch. The group landed roughly on the floor. The enemy then went over to Leon and pressed one of his feet into the male human's chest. Suddenly the sound of two shots was heard. The chief stopped and turned to see who had fired it. The group were able to raise their heads up as well. They could see a woman in a red dress had done it. The enemy then charged towards the window. He crashed through the glass but didn't get her as the female had disappeared.
The group slowly got up. "Who was that?" Logan asked.
"She looked familiar…" Pachira pointed out.
The group went through the rest of the house, grabbing what was useful before heading out the front door. Waiting for them were more enemies, one of them being the kind that used a chainsaw. "Let's just get pass them!" Leon stated. "There are too many!"
The others nodded and made the villagers flinch enough to get pass them. Soon they reached another gate that had a wooden bar. Removing it allowed them to get through to the part of the village they had first come to. There were still enemies here. "Quick! To the building they went into before!" Nicholas stated.
Everyone made it to it and used the key that was picked up to get inside and locked the door. Letting out a breath, the group then found a trapdoor and opened it. Since there wasn't any other path, they descended into a stone tunnel. They could hear the sound of water dripping and saw it was lit by candles. Going in further showed this seemed to be some kind of small underground cave system. Waiting for them near the end was the same merchant. This time Leon got a personal machine gun and after paying the person, the group went forward and found a ladder to climb up. Doing showed found themselves at a graveyard with a church. There was fog so it was a bit hard to see for Leon. But those from the nether were just fine. "That must be it," Nicholas said, pointing to the building.
"Ugh… how creepy," Pachira whispered and shrank close to Napoleon as did the other females with their boyfriends.
"Just stay close," the male vampire commented softly to her.
Going forward the group noticed the same symbol on some of the graves and on top of the church. However the first thing to do was take out the enemies here and get what items could be useful. They reached the front door of the building and found it was locked. But they noticed there was a round hole like something went in there. They decided to contact Runnigan. "It's us," Leon said to her. "The door's locked. We can't get in."
"Didn't they teach you how to pick locks at the academy?" she asked. The male human rolled his eyes.
"Anyways, there's some sort of indentation like something might fit in here," Nicholas commented. "Normally I'd have Cosmo, Napoleon, or Logan unlock it but I think it might be best to be a little discreet. If they were to knock down the door without it, it might cause too big of a commotion."
"Well there's no use standing around. You have to find some way or something to get inside." The call was then ended.
The group went around the church and found a few villagers that were killed. While there wasn't an entrance, they did find some kind of dial that had seven symbols on it. The handle could only turn in shifts of three or four clicks around at a time. Figuring it out yielded a green gem of some kind that was taken. Then it was down to a road made out of wood that formed one across the side of a cliff face. This was a perfect opportunity to use snipping skills for Leon and Cosmo as they were able to pick of the enemies that were in the way but hadn't spotted the group yet. Then it was into a side shack to pick up some items. There was a notice here however. It was taken after being read. According to it, Luis was the top priority with being found, while the others were a distant second. The second male human had stolen something from the cult group and it was far more important than Ashley. Unless the cult got it back, she would be useless to them. Even worse for them, if whatever the stolen thing was fell into the wrong hands, the world would become a totally different place than what Lord Ladder envisioned. Once again the name stuck out as it had been heard before. Regardless, Ashley wasn't going to be let go and to make sure the group didn't get to her, someone had locked the church door were she was being held.
The notice went on to say that there was a key beyond the lake up ahead but it was to be safe thanks to something named Del Rago had been awakened by Ladder. No one would get across the lake alive. There was a final bit saying the same blood crossed through the veins of the group and that it would only be a matter of time before they joined the cult. Once they did, nobody else would come looking for Ashley. Reading this, the group realized there wasn't much of a choice but to head to this lake. But first they had to continued along the path. It wasn't too much longer until a door was reached and opened.
They emerged from a wooden shack and looked around. They could see that they were now surrounded by natural rock walls and a huge wooden one wall. There were signs that the villagers came here. There were even small wooden huts. Everything was looked at and any items of value were taken. There was a large, metal door though that was securely locked. Then they found another door with the same symbol seen before. Going through this led to the inside of a wooden structure. But they could hear water. "I think we may be getting close," Nicholas said.
"I'm smelling someone familiar to," Liru commented. Looking a bit found the same merchant guy from before. Leon went up to him and did the usual business and selling. However, looking around showed this was a dead end so it was back up to the same area from before. A second door was found and the group went through it.
Emerging, Leon and those from the nether found themselves at a path that had cliff walls on either side. They had barely walked forward when they heard the sound of villagers. Looking up showed three of them rolling a huge boulder off the top of one of the cliff walls. "Shit; run!" Napoleon shouted.
Everyone ran for it and made it just fine. After catching their breaths, the group looked and could see some kind of wooden path over water just up ahead. Cosmo and Leon made sure to snipe off any enemy first before everyone went forward. However not all the enemies had been found. Some more showed up, causing the group to hit the water, which was shallow. Once these had been killed, it was onto the next path, which led to another door. "How many of these are there?" Logan grumbled after they went through.
However this would be it as everyone had made it to the lake. It was a quick walk but then they stopped as they thought they saw some movement on the surface. They then brought out their binoculars and noticed there was nothing out on the lake except for a small motorboat. Zooming in showed two of the villagers with a body. It was the one of the cops that had been in the car and was dead. The enemies dumped it in. "Shit!" Leon stated.
The group watched the boat drive off. For some moments nothing happened. Then the surface where the body was began to shake, like something massive was coming. Suddenly the water exploded as a huge mouth erupted, taking the body whole. Shocked, the group took the binoculars away from their eyes quickly and got a glimpse of the creature. They only saw a tail before the monster went under the water again. Quickly the surface was calm again. "So that's it huh?" Nicholas stated. "That's what was mentioned? Well shit."
"We don't have a choice," Napoleon commented. "We can't let this thing roam free."
Heading back to where they had entered, the group noticed a path that led down to the lake's edge. There were two small structures that were looked into before heading down to a pier. There were a few motorboats of the same size that had harpoons for weapons and an anchor each. "Well, after you," Leon said to the females who looked hesitant. The male human got his own boat while those from the nether went in twos for the rest.
The boats went out like a tiny fleet to the middle of the lake. Everyone was on guard, waiting for the creature to strike. What they didn't know was that it had spotted them already. The monster began to surface, heading under the boats first. Everyone in them was wondering where it was. Suddenly it appeared in front of Leon. Everyone was able to see just how big it was. The mouth could easily swallow them all and had some shard teeth and withering as well. There were no eyes but the skin was dull and grey. The thing roared as it emerged before slamming the head down. Leon's boat was lifted off the surface before it came down with a crash. While the vehicle still floated, the anchor had come off.
"You okay?!" Liru called to him. The group looked and saw the creature was moving and had surfaced again briefly before retreating underwater. Suddenly the anchor on Leon's boat got hooked on the monster and it was pulled along.
"Quick! After him!" Aiko stated. Those from the nether punched it on the motors for their boats and were able to keep up with the male human. Leon just had to make sure his boat didn't hit any of the floating logs and other things on the surface since the guy didn't really have control over the boat. Luckily there weren't too many of those things.
"Quick!" Cosmo exclaimed. "The harpoons while the thing is still visible!"
Looking showed the creature was. The guys all threw as many harpoons as possible. A few missed but the rest got the monster. Every time one hit, a stream of blood came out. But quickly the monster was back underwater. It then came out and rammed into Leon's boat, knocking him overboard. The male human didn't waste any time but kicked to the surface and swam to the vehicle as fast as possible. The others saw the creature try to get him, but the human made it before it could. The enemy surfaced again with another roar and the same process happened again. Only this time when the enemy went under, it went deep and Leon's boat stopped. "Okay… where are you?" Logan whispered, his eyes peeled for any sign of the creature.
Suddenly a splash was heard. "There!" Liru shouted.
They saw the monster with the mouth wide open and heading towards the boat she and Nicholas were in. Everyone picked up a harpoon and threw them. All pierced the creature, causing more blood to come out. The chase was on again. Only this time it would be the last one. This was due to the fact that before it could submerge, the amount of harpoons was too much. It let out a roar and the group saw the head once more, before the enemy died by the wounds. Leon then heard the sound of rope being pulled and looked down to see that the very stuff that had been tied to the anchor was wrapped around his right leg. The anchor was still stuck in the monster's flesh. Whipping out his combat knife, the male human cut the rope. He then lay on the floor of his boat with a moan. It had been a tough fight. Getting up, he led the way to the other side of the lake. "Damn that was quite a catch," Logan said with a grin as everyone got out. "Get it?"
"Very funny," Napoleon snarled.
"Hey easy," Uma commented. "He's just making a joke to lighten the mood. What do you think Leon?"
The male human didn't answer but stumbled. Suddenly he coughed, and hard. "Uh, you okay?" Nicholas asked, noticing this but then got a whiff of something that smelled horribly like blood. Leon looked at his gloved hand that had come up for the cough and saw a bit of the exact stuff there. His vision blurred. Suddenly something lurched from inside Leon and caused him to gasp with pain.
"Leon?" Liru asked. Suddenly with a loud gasp, the male human began to fall to the ground. He was caught by Napoleon.
"Shit… he's out cold," the male vampire stated.
"Get him to that cabin over there," Nicholas ordered. "In fact, we should all take a rest in there." They got Leon in just fine and as cozy as possible. Luckily the place was small and abandoned. After making sure it was secure from the outside, those from the nether decided to rest to since this had been a rough start. Little did they know what was happening to their human friend.