Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is related to House of the Dead. (With all due respect, I don't own it...again.)
Chapter 12
"I know who you are
I see you from afar
I see him in you
I hope that's not true..."
Year: 2019
...He missed. The bullet didn't hit Daniel.
Rogan could swear that he saw the Wheel of Fate flinched when the he pulled the trigger. It gave him a cold glare... A glare that he found quite familiar. The pain hit him again, causing him to recoil. When he saw the blood all over his chest, he groaned. 'Just my damn luck...' Rogan winced when he tried to get up. He would not go down easily just because of some dumb giant guard hit him against the wall. He noticed that the young man tried to approach him again.
"P-please. Let me help you." Daniel knelt down beside Rogan and checked for other injuries. "Back off!" Rogan blurted out and pointed the gun at Daniel again. There was absolutely no way he would let this guy touch him. He never felt so vulnerable before and he hated that feeling. Something wasn't right for Rogan. The big monster with a giant club just hit him to the wall a while ago...how did this guy came in unharmed? Either the monster ignored him which was highly impossible or this guy was the one who caused all this madness...like Curien...'No! This CAN'T be him! He's long dead!' Rogan shook off that thought. '...Then why does he looked like...him?'
The Wheel of Fate was still staring at the injured agent. From its expression, Rogan could tell that it was satisfied that the intruder was hurt badly...but at the same time fumed with rage when it saw the intruder pointed the gun at this guy. The only thing that Rogan was glad about was that it did not come out to kill him.
"Stay still! You'll hurt yourself." Daniel warned but that didn't work and was pushed away when he went too close. Rogan was still aiming the gun at Daniel, refusing to let his guard down. Before Rogan could say anything, both Daniel and Rogan heard moaning sound coming from everywhere. A short glance at the screens, they saw teams of dead commados rose up from the ground, pulled out their combat knives and headed straight to the chamber.
Rogan uttered a curse. Daniel glared at the Wheel of Fate. He knew that the silver being did all of this. Now it sent those commados to get them...'...or is it just coming for this man?' Daniel thought. Either that, he had to get him out. "That's just...damn wonderful." Rogan grumbled. He didn't think that his life was going to end so soon. The creatures that he and his team encountered were completely different from the ones he encountered years ago. It was as if they are getting tougher and...smarter. They ambushed his teams and took them down one by one. They seemed numberless...but that wasn't the thing that surprised him. This facility belonged to DBR corp. so there are always lots of monsters coming out to kill. It was this young man that surprised him. There weren't supposed to be anyone in here...unless he was the one responsible for this.
"We have to get out of here." Daniel told Rogan. "Tell me something that I don't know, Curien." Rogan spat. He still didn't understand it himself why he kept calling this young man that name. 'He looked like him...no!' Rogan ignored that thought. Daniel sighed quietly. Another guy who had a bad history with his father again. Still, he had to keep him safe from the incoming undead. The problem was that no matter what he did to calm Rogan down, Rogan won't let Daniel touch him. A crazy idea came to Daniel but since he had no other options left, that had to do.
"I...I'm so sorry." Whatever the reason it was, those words ticked Rogan off. "Sorry? Sorry?! What are you babbling about?! Sorry for what?!" Rogan roared. The wounds and the feeling of being defeated fueled his anger. Daniel raised his fist up. "...for this." He threw a punch at Rogan.
...
Rogan woke up in a dim lighted room. He never felt so dizzy in his life. He glanced around and noticed that he was on sitting on the chair right in the middle of the room. Behind him, there was a desk with papers all over it. He yelped in pain when he moved. Rogan heard the door opened and saw Daniel walked in with something in his hand. Rogan suspected that it must be a weapon.
"Oh, you're awake. Sorry that I hit you but that was the only way I could move you out from there without making you-" Daniel was interrupted by Rogan's rage "You! How dare you! I'm going to kill you for this!" "I...doubt that you can do that in your current condition." Daniel sighed. "I brought you out of that chamber, nearly got myself killed and went though the messy hallway to get this thing and you wanted to kill me?" Before Rogan could respond, Daniel unrolled the object in his hand. A bandage.
"Stay still this time. I don't want that wound of yours to open any wider than this. You'll bleed to death if the wound isn't treated soon." Rogan turned completely stiff when he heard the last sentence. It came like an echo from the past. That worried expression on his face as he pointed at Rogan's leg. 'Agent Rogan will bleed to death if the wound isn't treated soon...' Roy... the person he helped out of that forsaken building... a friend. Then Sophie screamed for help... That person...that sick bastard that he called a friend hurt his fiance and was responsible for the deaths of many DBR researchers...he stood there, laughing... That worried expression... "...you'll bleed to death if the wound isn't treated soon..."
"...I'm...not going to die, Roy..." Rogan murmured. "...What?" Daniel stopped. No one ever called his father 'Roy' before. He began to wonder whether this guy was his father's friend or foe. Rogan was surprised himself that he said those words. When he saw Daniel looking at him, he winced. "...What are you looking at?!" "...Nothing." Daniel replied. "Just stay still and let me wrap that wound of yours." Rogan glared at Daniel for a moment...then he looked the other way. As Daniel was wrapping the wounds, Rogan did his best to held back his urge to scream. He was completely stiff.
A few minutes later, Daniel walked to the door and peeked through the glass. There was nothing in the hallway. Still, he could feel that the Wheel of Fate was watching him. It must be very furious now. What surprised him though was that those commandos stopped coming for them. At least the guy that he helped was safe...for now. He didn't say a word and always kept his eyes on Daniel.
The silence in the room was very strange. Two men sitting in silence and looking at one another as if they were going to read each other's minds. Rogan, especially Rogan, never took his cold stare off Daniel. Daniel, on the other hand, was feeling very nervous from the way Rogan stare but he did his best not to show it. No one spoke a word for a long time until it felt like hours. 'This is getting old. I even feel older myself...' Daniel frowned. If a person died out of boredom, he won't find that ridiculous anymore.
"Why did you help me?" Rogan finally said something. He probably had the same thought like Daniel about boredom...or something was bothering him so bad that he had to ask. Daniel tilted his head slightly. "You needed help." he answered. The same angry voice came from Rogan again. "I don't need your help! The last thing I need is to be helped by the person who cause this madness and kill my commandos!" "What made you think that I caused all of this? I did not tell those monsters to kill your commandos."
"There weren't supposed to be any survivors left in the place at this point. Either my Intel was wrong or you're the one who created this chaos and let your creations destroy everyone while you hid in your damn lab!" Rogan pulled out a handgun from holster beside his belt and aimed at Daniel...again. 'Geez, how many firearms does this man have with him?' Daniel sighed.
"...sir. Put that gun away." Daniel said with a calm voice. "Give me a good reason why I should listen to you." Rogan spat. Daniel frowned slightly. In less than twenty-four hours, he felt tired of this man's hot temper. "I can give you three reasons for that. First, that's not a good way to repay someone who helped you. I'm not your enemy here. Second, if I die, no one will help you destroy the Wheel of Fate. And for the third reason..." a high pinch screech echoed from the air vents and interrupted Daniel. Rogan glanced around the room. "...oh, no." Daniel looked at the vents. What did the Wheel of Fate send to finish them this time?
The vents shook and a small group of bats flew out for Rogan. "What the?!" Rogan fired the bats. They dropped down on the floor. The last and the smallest of them hid in the dark. It stared at Rogan and Daniel with glowing red eyes. It screeched. "Got you now..." Rogan grinned. The bat suddenly flew out from the dark and headed towards the lights. Rogan fired...but it hit the lights, making the entire room consumed by darkness. "...Oh, great..." Daniel heard Rogan grumbled. A few seconds later, the emergency lights around the room lighted up but they didn't help that much. The last bat was out of sight but both of them knew that it was still in the room.
"And here I thought that those darn vultures outside were bad enough..." Rogan sighed, still glancing around for the last bat. Daniel's eyes widen when he saw it. He pointed. "Sir, it's right b..." "Shut up and stay alert! It might attack us at any moment!" Rogan hissed. Daniel saw it. It was climbing up Rogan's back. It looked like it was going to bite his neck. Rogan won't even listen to him anyway so Daniel had to make his move...again. Rogan saw that Daniel was looking at him. "What are you staring at?" Then he realized that Daniel wasn't really looking at him... 'Oh, don't tell me...'
"Don't make any sudden move..." Daniel whispered as he quietly stepped closer to Rogan, trying not to alert the bat. It was then when Rogan got a glimpse of the pointy wings beside his own neck and he forgot to breathe. Right before the bat strikes, Daniel snatched its wings and stepped away from Rogan. It bit Daniel's hand, broke free from his grip and landed on the desk. It growled at Rogan. "That sneaky little-" Rogan snarled and pulled the trigger.
...no bullets.
"Oh, shoot..." Rogan groaned. 'Why the hell do these things keep happening to me?!'
The bat lunged at Rogan but was stabbed by Daniel. The bat died.
"That...that was close..." Daniel panted. Blood oozed out from the bite marks and down to the knife. Rogan still eyed on the knife that buried in to the dead mammal. '...I knew it that he was armed...but why did he-?' There were doubts and confusion in Rogan's mind. He first suspected that this lad was responsible for all of the madness around the facility...but he saved his life. Twice, if the lad really saved him from that giant guard.
It made no sense at all. If this man didn't cause the madness...then it must be the...the one that he and his team was after... 'How did it do that when it is in that containment?...' Rogan pondered. '...and why is this young man over here is still alive in this facility filled with these monsters? Was he actually involve in this madness or just another victim?...and why does he looked like...oh, I have to stop thinking about that.'
"Are you alright?" Daniel asked while covering his wound with the bandage. "Well, I'm still alive." Rogan answered. He tried to get up but then he flinched and dropped back to his seat. "...and in pain." Daniel frowned at that. "Well, sorry about that. I wish I could help you more but all I could find around here was this ba-" Then there were some noises echoed from the vent again. Both men turned their heads towards the vent. "What?! There are more coming?!" Rogan looked a bit shocked. His gun ran out of bullets and he doesn't think that his own combat knife won't help him that much either.
The noises stopped. Rogan was still keeping his eyes on the vents but Daniel looked somewhere else. That feeling came back again. The feeling of being watched. It didn't come from the vents. It felt like the Wheel of Fate was watching them from the walls and the ceiling. "...it stopped. That...can't be good." Rogan's voice shook a bit. It was a long silence...until the noises went away from the opening. "Whatever that was, it's gone...but I suspect that it'll be back." Rogan said. Daniel knew what it was. He walked towards the door. "I'll be right back."
"?! Where are you going?! There are many of those things out there!" there was concern in Rogan's voice. He wondered to himself why should he worry about this young stranger. "I'll be fine. I'll explain everything when I come back." Daniel left.
Rogan was puzzled for a moment. 'What the?! It was as if he wasn't afraid of those things...' Rogan sighed. This was quite similar to the events that happened to him long ago. It was like déjà vu all over again. He lost his team, couldn't contact anyone, left in the building filled with foul creatures and stuck with a mysterious guy. "Oh, man...What did I do to deserve this?" Rogan groaned. He glanced at the desk again and saw something. He looked closer. He realized that those papers were about the creatures in the facility. "Well...what do we have here?" He carefully reached for those papers and glanced at them.
There were notes and photos of the creatures with their 'enhancement' status. There was a photo of the creature that he assumed to be a sloth, labeled "F-type 0028". He continued reading.
"F-type 0028"
"This subject was slow and not very active. After adding the speed enhancement in its DNA code, it has improved immensely but with some downsides. Metabolism rate also increased, therefore making the subject hungry all the time and started to behave aggressively. Its heighten senses seemed to improve as well, especially its sense of touch and hearing. We have to 'blind' the subject due to its rising aggressiveness every time it sees human.
To subdue the subject, always strike at the hands and feet. Those seems to be the sensitive spot fot it."
"S-type 8830"
"The subject was dying when it was brought in. Following Dr. Curien's instructions, we managed to bring it back to life. (He seemed to like this pink lotus.) Later, we studied its ability to regenerate. Took us months to enhance it. It was beautiful beyond words. Another observation on the flower was that it could now adapt to any environment.
Notes: Four months after we enhanced the lotus, it grew into a gigantic tree about seventeen to eighteen feet tall. It had been evolving by spreading its roots out and absorbed the near by plants. To our horror, it absorbed the extract of the Willow tree that we collected and 'Dionaea muscipula'the carnivorous plant. It also grew tentacles that always move around to snatch anyone who gets too close.
To subdue the subject, strike at its roots, the tip of the tentacles and the parasitic worm that hides in the pink lotus."
...and there were more papers to these horrifying experiments that the researchers worked here. Rogan sighed put the papers back on the desk...then he saw a notebook underneath other research papers. He flipped the notebook open...and his eyes went wide. He recognized those handwritings... He saw the same handwritings on the research papers and notes that other AMS agents confiscated from the mansion... This notebook...belonged to...
"...Roy."
Author's small note: As you can see, the title is no longer related to phobias... That doesn't mean the story is over. Geez...what is in that notebook, you ask? ...It's a secret so I'll keep my mouth sealed.
Note: writing a story/chapter while being sick is a bad move so don't do it.
Stuff and projects are finally done! (Thank goodness and badness!) Now I have more time to do other stuff and this.
Thanks to you all for still reading this...and still review it.
