Here we go again. 11 Years ago today(yesterday now as Fanfiction wouldn't post the damn thing), I posted the original Enduring the Evil. I already had this done and could have posted it a good while ago, but I wanted to make this a special post, and figured what better way to post it than on the day I published the very original story that started it all. Now, after all these years, learning and improving my writing skills, just a little, I'm here to begin the REwrite of the first story. Sorry to say, but so many things happened, life-related things that got in the way and I was unable to write the whole thing like I said I would, so I settled for just publishing this on the anniversary of the original.
Now, to be clear, these REwrites aren't necessarily a reboot of the original stories. While it follows up from Enduring the Evil 0, they're still based on the original stories. I just decided that the stories were better off being Rewritten in a more, organised manner while tidying up some things here and there, and I honestly can't say I liked my original stories looking back at them now. So this is just a chance for me to write them better basically, make some changes, some minor and some major, so that when I eventually get to Enduring the Evil 4, I'll have established everything I wanted to in the first place.
That said, I'll be quite pissed if Capcom decides to remake Resident Evil 0 and 1 after I finish writing this and the Rewrites after, but hopefully a Remake of Code Veronica gets done before I get to that story.
Disclaimer: Resident Evil and its characters belong to Capcom obviously, any Original characters in this story belong to me.
Summary: STARS Alpha Team is left scattered and lost when they are forced to seek refuge in a Mansion during their search for Bravo Team. Meanwhile, a small band of friends, in search of their lost brothers, suffer the same fate. With distrust among them and monsters lurking around every corner, they will all be put to the ultimate test of survival.
Enduring the Evil: REwrite
'Prologue'
"What do you mean the engine's dead?!"
Andrew rolled his eyes at Scott's outburst as he pulled away from the hood of the car, repeating the bad news he just broke to the group.
"Exactly what I just said. Apparently the engine isn't interested in allowing the car to carry us the rest of our journey."
Feeling a migraine coming on, Alex held out a hand to stop Scott from having another outburst. "Please, calm down."
Scott glared at him for a brief second before taking a breath, proceeding to compose himself. He stepped out of the car and walked around to take a look at the engine. After giving it a good lookover, he turned and called out, "Connor! I thought you said the car was fine!"
Connor stepped out of the car next, shrugging in response to his friend's comment. "I did bro! It certainly looked like it was fine!"
"Oh! It looked like it was fine?! You didn't think maybe it would have been a fucking smart idea to get the damn thing checked out first BEFORE we drove halfway out in the middle of fucking nowhere?!"
Before Scott could continue his outburst, Andrew raised a hand, silencing him. "Technically speaking, we're still on the main roadway. It's just that we're so far out now, we have the forest standing between us and the city."
Alex glanced around.
It was true. All they saw around them were the trees of the forest that seemed to go on for miles, and the lone roadway between it all that went solely in two different directions. Due to the distance that they had already travelled, turning back in one direction for repairs was no longer an option; yet the same was just as true for the other direction.
"We should've stopped at that gas station we passed along the way," Jamie called out casually from inside the car. "Or better yet, we should've just stayed in the damn house."
Scott peeked around the car, glaring at him. "You got something to say Jamie?"
"Calm down!" Alex shouted, silencing everyone around him.
Thankfully, everyone remained quiet and returned to doing their own thing; Connor and Scott continued to look over the engine while Jamie relaxed in the back of the car.
Andrew meanwhile continued to slowly glance around the area, seemingly deep in thought.
"Something on your mind?" Alex asked as he approached his friend, taking note of his curious glances, as well as the occasional glance at the darkening sky.
Despite having heard him loud and clear, Andrew gave no response. Instead he continued to glance around, scanning the area, arms folded with a hand raised to his chin. It was a gesture he only ever made when he did not want his thoughts disturbed. Something he only did whenever it was important.
Alex knew this, and chose to remain silent for the moment to let him think in peace.
He watched his friend slowly pace back and forth, and glanced a few times back at the car to see if Scott and Connor had any luck with the engine; they did not unfortunately. Jamie had also exited the car to stretch his legs, though he did not look like he was planning on helping with the car.
Soon enough, it started to grow foggy.
Alex mentally cursed at the thickening fog as it proceeded to shroud many of the surrounding trees around them. It was bad enough that it was dark, the fog only made it that much worse now.
"I think we should consider weighing our options."
The fact that Andrew was only now realising that frustrated Alex a little. "No shit. I'm trying to come up with some right now."
"What do you think I've been doing?" Andrew asked, brow raised.
Alex mentally retracted his comment and turned to his friend, motioning for him to continue.
Nodding, Andrew called the others over; Jamie reluctantly approached last.
"I don't need to state the obvious but, it's late." Andrew started, gesturing at the surrounding area where they stood. "It's dark, it's foggy, the car isn't going anywhere and we're about halfway to where we were supposed to be going."
The others slowly nodded in agreement, whereas Jamie just shrugged. "Is this the part where you admit I was right and you were wrong and we should have just listened to me or...?"
Andrew shook his head. "No. This is the part where I present you guys with the limited options we have available and we all decide unanimously on the best course of action to take next."
He then raised a finger.
"Option one; we turn around and head back the way. If that gas station we passed is still open, we might be able to solve the engine problem."
Everyone said nothing, though their mixed reactions said enough. Alex and Connor looked unsure, Scott continued to stare passively while Jamie was lightly shaking head.
A second finger. "Option two; we search and see if anyone is living around the area. Maybe ask if we can stay for the night."
The reactions to the second choice were the same, though Jamie looked just slightly more inclined to agree.
"Third option..." Andrew started as he raised a third finger. "We continue on foot. Maybe take a detour through the forest."
An instant "Nope." was Jamie's response.
The rest of the group however were exchanging looks with each other, pondering their choices carefully.
Scott was the first to speak.
"While I don't have any problems with either choice, the first one sounds the most logical." He said. "If the gas station is still open, I can get someone to lend us a hand if needed."
Alex nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sounds like a plan. Connor?"
Connor just shrugged. "You do you man, I'm just goin' with the flow."
"Well I'll be staying right here then." Jamie chimed in.
"Yeah whatever." Scott replied. "We don't need all of us heading back there anyway. At least two of us will be enough."
Andrew looked around at each of them and then asked, "Any volunteers then?"
"I'll go. You fuckin' pussies can stay here with the car." Scott replied almost immediately, having apparently sensed their hesitation. He then made his way to the back of the car, opening the trunk to retrieve something.
Turning to the others, Andrew then asked, "Anyone else?"
"Hell no, I'm stayin' with my baby right here." Connor replied as he patted the hood of the car.
Jamie just gestured at his brother, silently agreeing with him.
Once Andrew's eyes landed on Alex, the latter simply shrugged. "I guess I'll go and keep an eye on Scott. Assuming you guys will be fine without us for a bit."
"We will. As long no one decides to wander off." Andrew replied.
Before they could continue their conversation, Scott returned from the car. "Ok, let's go."
The four of them just stared at him for a few seconds, more specifically, eyeing up the pistol that was holstered on his waist. "What?" Scott said, looking back and forth between each of them before following their gaze to see what had their attention. "So?"
"So? Whaddya mean so?" Connor replied, pointing at the pistol. "You're just heading back to the gas station to get some help Scott. The hell do you need that for?"
Jamie nodded in agreement. "He's right. Besides, who the hell walks into a gas station with a firearm anyway?"
"Welcome to America." Was all Scott said before going on his way. "Whichever of you dumbasses are coming with me better hurry the fuck up or I'll just leave you."
Andrew exchanged a long glance with Alex, who simply shrugged at the harsh comment.
Before Alex could follow though, Andrew stopped him, and quietly asked, "When we get home, think you could fill me in on what happened with him?"
Glancing back at Scott, Alex gave his response some thought for a moment.
"...It's really not my business to say." Alex replied, adding, "I'll see if he's willing to talk about it himself though."
"That's all I can ask." Andrew said, somewhat satisfied with the response. "You be careful." He said, patting his friend's shoulder.
With that, Alex took his leave, quickening his pace to catch up with Scott, not wanting the latter to get too far ahead on his own.
Andrew and the others watched in silence as their two friends walked away down the street.
They walked and walked, slowly fading into the fog.
Until eventually they were no longer in sight.
30 Minutes Later
Andrew stood alone outside, arms folded as he stared into the endless fog.
There were a number of thoughts going through his head right now. He tried pushing several at the back of his mind in order to prioritise figuring out what may have happened to Bryan and Danny. Yet no matter how many scenarios he came up with, none of them would have made logical sense.
Even he started to worry that something bad may have happened, yet he never showed it. His expression remained stoic as ever, unwilling to allow the current situation to break his facade.
While Connor called out to him and suggested he sit in the car where it was warm, Andrew casually but politely waved off his suggestion.
It was easier to think when things were quiet, with no one to disturb his thought process.
Right now, thinking was all he could do. At least until Alex and Scott returned, hopefully with some help to deal with their engine problem.
The sound of the car door opening and closing then caught his attention, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps.
"You'll freeze if you stay out here for too long."
Andrew scoffed lightly at the comment. "Glad to know you care about my wellbeing Jamie."
Jamie rolled his eyes at the dismissive response and stopped just a few feet away, also surveying the fog filled area.
"You're not gonna see much out here." He said.
"I know. I just wanted peace and quiet." Andrew replied. "Maybe I'll take a walk around the forest."
It was Jamie's turn to scoff this time. "Yeah right. You would get lost."
An awkward silence then followed.
Out of the entire group, Jamie and Andrew were the least friendly towards each other. The two smartest of the group sure, but Jamie was always prideful of his smarts, and whenever Andrew would outsmart him or make him look less smart in front of the others; it would never sit well with him.
Andrew would always pick up on it, but he never bothered to speak with Jamie about it, figuring the latter would be smart enough to know there was no need to make everything a competition between the two.
But clearly he had yet to realise that.
Which reminded Andrew of their last little debate.
"You were pretty adamant on not coming out here to look for Bryan and Danny. Why is that?" Andrew asked.
Jamie shrugged. "Because I knew something like this would happen."
"Bullshit." Andrew said, glaring calmly at his friend. "They're our friends. We've known them for years. And something may have happened to them. Why the hell would you not want to go and see if they were okay?"
Again, Jamie shrugged. "Oh I dunno. Surely it couldn't have anything to do with the fact that there have been a number of cannibalistic murders taking place out here. Could it?"
The sarcasm in Jamie's voice irritated Andrew, but he did not show it.
"All the more reason why we should be coming out here to find them." Andrew reasoned. "To make sure they're safe."
"Did we need the whole gang for that though?" Jamie asked. "Couldn't you have gone and asked Marc or Stuart for help. Hell I'm pretty sure Nathan would've been thrilled about the idea of travelling out into the illegal mountains."
Andrew sighed, seeing how pointless it was to debate the issue with him. "So you're just lazy then. And an asshole friend."
"Think whatever you want man." Jamie shrugged again. "I have good reason for everything I do. This was no different. Only reason I agreed was because the whole group was heading out. And I wasn't about to get left alone at home."
Curious, Andrew then asked, "Ok, so what was your reason for not wanting to come out?"
"None of your business." Jamie answered.
Andrew wasn't willing to budge just like that however. "Maybe I want to make it my business." He said before fully turning to face his friend. "You were hellbent on us not coming out here. That to me, says you are either the biggest asshole friend in the world, or you're hiding something."
Jamie glanced subtly and very briefly almost instantly as soon as those last three words were uttered.
Subtle as it was, Andrew picked up on it, but he did not follow up on it just yet. Instead wanting to hear if his friend had anything to say first.
Before Jamie could give a response however, a sound caught their attention.
Something moved in the bushes nearby, and it was enough for both of them to drop the topic and divert their full attention on whatever caused the sound. The snap of a twig and the rustling of leaves prompted them to inch closer to the car.
Another twig snapping was enough to confirm something was watching them, and they closed the gap between them and the car a little quicker.
Just as they were about to take another step, they heard another sound. This one more faint.
Yet it got louder and louder as it neared their position. Until it was close enough for them to make out what it was.
"A helicopter?"
The two of them, and Connor who peeked his head out the window, looked up at the sky just in time to catch the shadow of the helicopter through the fog; flying overhead and deeper into the forest.
Andrew watched it fade into the fog just as quickly as it appeared, before turning to Jamie.
Jamie could tell immediately that Andrew had an idea in mind. An idea he already looked like he was not going to agree with.
"Absolutely not."
Later...
"Alpha Team is flying around the forest zone situated in northwest Raccoon City, where we're searching for the helicopter of our compatriots, Bravo Team, who disappeared during the middle of their mission."
"Chris you haven't found it yet?" The pilot called out with concern as he flew the helicopter over the Raccoon Forest.
"No, not yet Brad." The STARS officer, Chris, responded.
Not the response the pilot hoped for, but nonetheless continued the search.
Brad hovered the helicopter over the forest, scanning the terrain with the searchlight hoping it would hasten their search.
There had to be some sign of Bravo Team around here, at least that's what they kept telling themselves, simply hoping that nothing bad had happened to them. Despite their determination to find their fellow STARS officers though, there was that nagging feeling at the back of their minds telling them that something did indeed happen to them.
And the more Chris thought about it, the more he thought about the reports he had recently heard about on the news.
"Bizarre murder cases have recently occurred in Raccoon City. There are outlandish reports of families being attacked by a group of about ten people. Victims, were apparently...eaten. The Bravo Team was sent in to investigate, but we lost contact."
"Look Chris!"
The voice of his partner, Jill, broke Chris out of his thoughts, prompting him to take a look, eager to find out if they discovered anything related to Bravo Team.
It was dark so they weren't sure at first, but once they used the searchlight to get a better visual, they finally found a sign of Bravo Team.
Their helicopter.
And it was in one hell of a state.
"Bravo Teams helicopter was a derelict."
Another STARS officer, Joseph, investigated the ruined helicopter while the rest of the team surveyed the surrounding area, hoping to find any clues.
Though they didn't seem to have any luck so far in their search, Joseph's wary inspection of the downed helicopter eventually yielded one result inside the cockpit, slumped over the edge of the seats. Just not the result they were hoping for.
"Save for the remaining body of Kevin."
Joseph got the biggest scare of his life upon identifying the dead body Bravo Team's pilot, Kevin, all torn, slashed and ripped apart, prompting him to run off in a panic and inform the others of his discovery.
The state of the pilots body put them all on high alert and, not taking any chances, continued an armed search for the rest of Bravo Team.
"We continued our search for the other members, and it turned into...a nightmare."
Slowly, the STARS officers made their way through the forest, spread out across the area so they could cover more ground. But despite their best efforts, the heavy fog made their task all that more difficult, and given how dark it was, it simply made it even more difficult to find any signs of Bravo Team.
This forced them all to patrol through the forest at a snails pace, so they wouldn't risk missing any clues, not that there seemed to be any so far.
Joseph started to fall behind the rest of them, his cautious nature leaving him no choice but to scan the area multiple times to ensure the area was clear. Eventually however, a sound forced him to a complete stop.
A growl, more specifically.
The STARS officer swiftly glanced around the area, keeping his shotgun at the ready as he tried to find the source.
Nothing.
In the silence that followed, his heavy breathing and the rustling leaves were the only sounds he heard now.
He remained in place for the longest moment, just scanning his surroundings. Once he was certain the area was clear however, he finally turned to move on...
...Until something emerged from the fog, charging at him faster than he could react.
Before Joseph knew it, he was tackled to the ground by a pack of dogs.
His gun went off in response, alerting the rest of his squad.
While he fired off his gun in an attempt to fend off the dogs, Jill, who had rushed back to help him, also fired her gun at the dogs in an attempt to assist. Joseph's screams started to diminish however as the dogs ripped apart his flesh and continued to tear him to pieces.
Screams and gunshots lasted for a brief number of seconds.
And by the time Joseph became silent, Jill was left staring in shock, her gun clicking with each slow pull of the trigger, the magazine having gone empty in her attempt to save her comrade.
She remained frozen in place, out of fear and horror, still unable to comprehend that one of her teammates and friends had just died in a matter of seconds. She was used to seeing police officers, especially the rookies, get wounded in the line of duty. But this went way beyond that.
Joseph was one of the best on the police force. That's how he got into STARS in the first place.
Only the best of the best ever made it into STARS.
Yet despite all of the training, despite all of the missions they went through, everything they all learned together; it all failed him within a matter of seconds.
Jill was so caught up and distracted by her own thoughts that she had not even realised one of the dogs already sprinting towards her.
She fell down almost instantly, but just as it leaped towards it, it got blasted aside, the bullet responsible having saved Jill by the skin of her teeth.
"Come on!" Chris was at her side immediately, helping her back to her feet just as the rest of the pack of dogs had ceased devouring Joseph's remains; turning their full attention towards the two living STARS officers now.
Neither of them wasted any time making a run for it.
The dogs instantly went into a full sprint after the two of them, their hunger clearly having not been sated by Joseph alone.
As the two STARS officers ran on blindly through the forest, they could see their chopper flying overhead; and away from them.
"Hey! Brad!" Chris called out to no avail, the chopper continuing to distance itself from him and Jill. "Where the hell's he going?!"
Eventually, the two could tell the dogs were gaining on them and turned to prepare to deter them yet again with their weapons. However, the dogs had closed the distance much quicker than they expected, and Chris could only brace himself as one had already jumped towards him.
He raised his arm, prepared for the worst...
...The dog was then shot aside. Chris glanced in the direction the bullet came from, identifying the one who saved him to be his Captain, Wesker.
"Chris this way!" Wesker called out, keeping his weapon firmly locked onto the other dogs; covering them while they continued to make a run for it.
Barry assisted, firing off a few shots as they all retreated further into the forest. Several shots successfully hit their mark, but despite that the dogs still continued to give chase. One did eventually succumb to the bullets, but the rest still continued to run after the STARS team.
"Dammit!" Barry cursed as he ceased firing before going into a full sprint.
Chris tried to slow down their pursuers with a few more stray shots, again however, they made no difference; the dogs continued to chase after them as if they were unaffected by the injuries they were dealt.
Just as they started to worry about the dogs catching up, they saw lights ahead in the direction they ran; the further they got the more clearer the refuge ahead became. Relief settled briefly, but they were not out of the woods yet.
"Make for that mansion!" Chris called out as they all closed the distance between them and the mansion ahead.
He could see Jill and Wesker keeping up at his side, but as they neared the doors to safety, he lost eyes on Barry.
Worried as he was, he knew they had no choice but to continue on; and they did not hesitate to enter the mansion and slam the doors shut behind them.
"There are only three STARS members left now. Captain Wesker, Jill, and myself. We don't know where Barry is."
Author's Notes
Writing this was a pain in the ass for the simple fact that I've been too distracted with other projects to focus on it, and any time I got back to it, I always ended up forgetting what I originally intended to write.
Anyway, it's done now. Again, I apologise for not writing the full story first as I originally intended, but plans change unfortunately. Obviously I can't make any promises that I'll be able to work on this at a consistent pace, especially with my other projects that have my full attention, but I'll do what I can. I might go back and play through Resident Evil HD Remaster again to try and get me back into the zone or something though.
As for the topic of Reader submitted OC's, if you've been following my stories since the beginning(and I really appreciate you still being here if you do) and are still interested in your characters showing up like they did in the original stories, send me a PM. It's been a long time, and honestly for most I can't remember which character belonged to who as some of those people have either disappeared or changed their profile names. But if you're still around and you still like Resident Evil, send me a PM and I'll see about reintroducing some familiar faces.
Anyway, that's all for now. I'm gonna go play some Resident Evil. Hopefully it'll get me back into the RE writing zone. Again.