"SitRep"
"No injuries, low on ammo," Chris responded to my question after looking around.
Sigh, "Check your weapons and gear, let's figure out exactly what we have," I said to everyone.
The team took a moment and started to go through their weapons and gear as I started to look around.
Found it. The dead body that is always in the kitchen. I got close to it and decisively plunged my combat knife into its skull, making sure it would never turn.
"What are you doing?" came the sound of Barry right behind me, full of suspicion and contempt.
"Making sure it stays dead."
"Not what I meant." Barry's voice was sharp.
"Not the time, Barry," I said, cutting the conversation as I got back up and walked past him.
As I was walking back to the rest of the team, Chris was in the middle of checking the equipment Frost had. Jill was looking between me and Barry and asked, "Is everything okay, Captain?" That attracted Chris and Frost's attention. "Found a dead body. Looks old, maybe a few days. No ID, and he seemed to have been attacked." Jill looked surprised but also seemed to have realized that I was evading her real question.
"We have two Beretta magazines with 15 rounds each and the grenade launcher, but the shotgun is out. No major injuries, just some scratches and scrapes," Chris shared. Funnily enough, Barry didn't share any information about his ammunition status specifically, since he carried a Colt Anaconda chambered in .44 Magnum rounds—a weapon iconic in the RE universe for killing anything with one round.
"Did anyone get bitten?" I asked, knowing that would raise some questions.
Looking around, everyone shook their heads side to side. "Good." I visibly relaxed, hearing that we were good. I'm not sure if I could do anything if someone got bitten.
I reached for my radio and said, "Let's see if the radios are still functioning." And I held the transmitter and said, "Check."
Crackling sounds came from the other radios, full of static—so much, in fact, that no one could hear anything I said.
"Shit, that's just great."
"Can it, Joseph," Jill snapped at Frost.
As Frost was about to snap right back at Jill, I cut in, "We are in an unfamiliar place with whatever is happening outside. We can't go back out, not with the little ammo we have, which means we look for Bravo Team. If we can rendezvous with them, we might be able to get a better understanding of the situation we're in." I raised my and said, "And before you ask—no, we are not splitting up. The radios are out, so we can't communicate, and we are low on ammo as is."
"We could stay here. Besides the smell, this place seems cozy." Frost smiled, trying to lighten the mood.
"I'm worried about Bravo. If they encounter those monsters, then…"
I put my hand on Jill's shoulder and said, "They are strong and resourceful. I would know," I said with a smile, hoping that would put her at ease.
She looked surprised, and her cheeks flushed red like a tomato. She stammered, "Yes, Captain, you're right," and took a step back.
Great job, dumbass. Not only did you scare her away, the others are now looking at me like I'm some kind of wolf that just cornered a little rabbit and tried to take advantage of her. Fuck me for trying to be nice. I really need to remember that OG Wesker is an asshole and cold toward everyone. On second thought, fuck that—I need to make them see me differently, so fuck it. If this is what it takes, then fine, I will have to deal with it. Also, why the fuck did Jill look at me like that and get all red? Nowhere in the RE lore does it ever say that Jill was interested in or even liked Wesker. Sigh, whatever. I don't have time for this. I have to get to Rebecca as soon as possible. If this timeline is from the remake version, then Rebecca would be in the small library on the second floor (2F) of the mansion, about to be killed by a scary-ass monster called a Hunter. If this timeline is like the original Resident Evil, then she would be in the storeroom west wing of the mansion first floor, which is closer—but I really don't know which, and with the changes that are happening, I can't afford to fuck this up.
"Captain?" Chris said, looking worried.
Shit, I just stopped talking and stood here like an idiot.
However, to the team, Wesker looked worried and seemed to have been deep in thought.
"What's our next move?" Chris asked, snapping me out of my thoughts again.
"Chris and Jill, you each take a Beretta mag. Conserve your ammo and only use it during an emergency. I will take lead."
"Captain—" both Chris and Jill said at the same time.
I raised my hand to stop them and said, "I know, and my decision is final. Jill and Barry cover the rear; Frost, hold on to the GL, but don't use it unless we are all about to die. Chris, cover my blind spots. Any questions?"
Both Chris and Jill tried again to voice their objections to me leading. "Captain, you don't have to take point," said Jill. "At least take the ammo," said Chris as he reached for his handgun.
"I know what I am doing, Jill." I looked at her with a gentle smile and tried to put on my best brave face. "And Chris, you are the best shot on the team. Plus, you're not using the ammo unless it's an emergency anyway, so take out your knife," I said to Chris with a sly smirk. Chris shook his head, a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth, and pulled out an identical S.T.A.R.S combat knife like mine from the bag Frost was carrying.
Yeah, punk, you're in the same shit as me, boulder puncher.
"Ready." I looked back, and everyone looked at me, eyes full of resolve. I smiled and nodded. "Let's go!" as I opened the door leading into the first floor of the mansion. Just as I expected, a narrow set of steps, and at the top an old-fashioned elevator was to our right as soon as we got up the steps. The elevator had no power, and the door was shut.
We rounded the corner to our right, and there was a long hallway with multiple doors on either side, and at the end of the long hallway you could barely see a hunched-over figure with strange sounds coming from them.
The team moved cautiously toward the hunched figure. The distance wasn't too far, and the closer we got, the louder the sounds became. I know what this was—I had seen it hundreds of times playing the game.
Squelch, slurp, crunch
The sound of eating got louder and louder, which made the whole team go stiff.
Within 20 ft of the figure, a flash of lightning outside illuminated the gruesome scene.
A figure with a tattered green jacket and pants was hunched over, shoulders trembling as if he was hurt. Then the man began to turn—slowly, unnaturally—toward the team. Its skin hung in gray strips, cracked and torn, revealing the muscle beneath like spoiled meat. The right side of its face was missing flesh, and you could see the bone and teeth beneath. Blood smeared all over its mouth, dripping down its chin. Its eyes were clouded over white, as if it had been dead for a long time. It focused on the approaching team, its jaw shaking, closing and opening as if chewing on something. No—not something, someone. Kenneth J. Sullivan, Bravo Team's scout and chemist, was convulsing uncontrollably beneath it. His neck was torn open, blood gushing out. His eyes and mouth wide open in an eternal scream and shock.
Everyone, including me, stood frozen. Hearts hammering so loudly you could hear them reverberating off the walls. Faces pale and eyes wide open in shock, much like Kenneth.
Holy fucking shit! I can't move. My body isn't responding. The games were one thing, but here it's so much worse. I can smell the copper and rot in the air, hear the choking and gurgling of Kenneth. It's getting closer, god damn it—move!
It stretched its arms out and let out a guttural groan. That's when I finally moved.
I closed the distance, and when I got within 2 ft of the zombie, the fucking thing lunged at me. I jumped to my right, kicked off the wall with my right leg to jump higher, twisted in the air, and came down on the back of the zombie from above with my full body weight, pressing my knee to the back of the lunging zombie, slamming it hard to the ground and effectively immobilizing it.
"Snap out of it," I barked at the frozen team.
Chris was the first to move, getting closer to help me subdue the zombie. Jill and Barry didn't move closer, but Jill had her gun aimed at the zombie while Barry covered her back. Frost just kept staring at Kenneth.
"Don't come any closer, Chris. This thing isn't human—it's some kind of monster," I said, trying to get them to understand the shit show we were in and how to deal with zombies. To demonstrate my point, I stabbed my knife into the back of the zombie, right in the spine. Just as expected, nothing happened, and the damn thing just got rowdier. "Look, no reaction. This thing is also cold like a corpse," I said as I stabbed it again where the heart should be and locked eyes with Chris. "It's not dying. First spine and now heart, but this thing is still moving. One more spot." And I plunged my knife into the zombie's skull with a sickening thwack. Suddenly and abruptly, the damn thing just stopped, like a puppet with its strings cut.
"Looks like the head is the only vital spot," I said to Chris as I wiped the sweat off my face.
"What the fuck is that thing?" Chris said, looking disgusted.
I pulled my knife out of the zombie's skull, cleaned it using its clothes, and got up, moving toward Kenneth. "I don't know, but we need to be very cautious moving forward."
"God… Kenneth." Jill put her hand over her mouth as she saw Kenneth dead.
I knelt down and closed Kenneth's eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry." I grabbed the two Beretta magazines on Kenneth's duty belt and his Beretta 92 that was still in his hands. I took out the magazine from Kenneth's Beretta and replaced my Samurai Edge magazine and looked at Frost. "Heads up." As I tossed the two magazines to him, which he fumbled and dropped. That little display lightened the somber mood a little.
"Look," I said, pointing the edge of my knife to Kenneth's neck, around the bite wound.
"God, the veins look black, and the skin looks like it's cracking," Chris said, kneeling next to me.
"Yes, this could be a possible viral infection, which would make sense looking at that thing," I pointed back to the zombie.
"Are you saying this is some kind of virus?" Jill asked as she got closer to us.
"Possibly. That's why we need to be cautious. If this is something that can be transmitted, coming into contact with any infected could put us at risk."
"God… wait, Captain! What about you?" Jill said in panic as she got closer to examine me.
"I'm fine, Jill. No bodily fluids got on me."
"But you just said—" Frost jumped in, and I cut him off. "I know. If whatever this is was airborne, then we would have all been long dead." With that, everyone let out a breath they were holding, visibly relaxing a little.
"That thing was a corpse that seems to have reanimated, which means…" I trailed off, looking at Kenneth.
"Are you sure?" Chris asked as Jill looked on in horror.
"As much as I can be with the limited information at hand." Then I proceeded to take out my handgun. "This is my responsibility. Please give me a minute."
With that, Chris gently pulled Jill away, and Frost, with his head hung low, turned around. The only person that was looking at me with murderous rage was Barry; his hands clenched into fists, shaking from the fury coursing through his body. He looked like he was ready to rip my head off, and the only reason he didn't was the life of his wife and daughters. He knew if he did anything, Wesker wouldn't hesitate to have them killed.
Seeing Barry from the corner of my eye—Jesus Christ, Barry, you're going to light the whole damn place on fire with those eyes. I'm not the bad guy here. I mean, Wesker is, but I'm not. Fuck, this is so fucked. How am I supposed to fix any of this shit? Sigh, looking down at Kenneth, I'm really sorry that I couldn't save you, but I promise that I will keep the rest of them safe.
Bang!