Resident Evil: Fallen Paradise - 3. Recon

Three armed men strolled through small alleyways to avoid contact with the flesh-eating creatures on the main roads. Their breathing was controlled and precise. They were trained mercenaries for such situations. But the situation in Raccoon City was uncharted territory.

They were used to gunning down people left and right and get shot back. One shot to a vital organ should be enough to incapacitate a threat. Their mentors had always told them to aim for the body since it was the bigger target. Most people would aim for the head, but it would always be a battle who gets incapacitated first.

Not this time.

Headshots were the only way to kill those things. And the best way to get a headshot is to get near for a better aim. That was a problem, too. The last thing you would want was to approach these rotten threats. Because they can easily overwhelm anyone with sheer numbers.

It was a tricky game of cat and mouse. Sadly, they were the mouse this time.

[The Nemesis Project has been dispatched.] Their radios suddenly buzzed in. It was their control center. The trio nodded at each other and pressed forward, dealing with some of the creatures along the way. As silently as possible. [Proceed to your rendezvous point with Dr. Ashford.]

“Sgt. Lewis.” One of them spoke. Driving his knife behind another creature’s head. It groaned silently downwards, more lifeless than ever. “We still haven’t been oriented with this Nemesis Project they kept talking about.”

“Neither have I.” Their leader replied. He checked the buildings around them. They were pretty close to the northern part of the city. “I’ve tried to investigate on it on my own but I don’t have the rights to access that classified information. We just have to wait and see what it is.”

A rumble of gunshots and series of screams were heard from the distance. They knew what it meant. Umbrella had finally used deadly force to push back the citizens away from the only available exit in the city. The three knew those instructions well. It was heartless. And it was pure madness, too.

All in the name of research.

“I never liked the plan.” Sgt. Lewis admitted. “But orders are orders. We just have to wait and see how the management will deal with this.”

The other two just fell silent. Wait and see.

-

Caleb slowly opened his eyes. There were no more threats. The rabid creature that jumped on him laid lifeless a couple of feet away from him. He slowly stood up and inspected the handgun in his hands. It was a standard Beretta 92FS semi-automatic that was issued to RPD officers. The boy checked the clip and saw the bullets left.

12 rounds. Better than nothing.

He dusted off the dust and grime on his black leather jacket. It was already below 20.0 C since it was already late September. The roads were getting colder and colder each day that passed by. And it’s about to get even colder in the dead city.

The boy got back to the dead officer and took the remaining clip that was still full of bullets as well as an extra combat knife. He strapped the holster to his legs and took the small flashlight on the officer’s belt. The guy was still fully equipped and wondered how he was infected after all that.

But Caleb knew why. The guy was probably hesitant to shoot a civilian. It was the same hesitation he had before taking down Cole. Turning around, he pressed forward into the small alleyway and checked for the doors.

Armed with a flashlight and a handgun, Caleb slowly waked through the alleyway, checking each back door that appeared. He was hesitant every time. There was no way of know what was on the other side. Then he would immediately check by his shoulder to make sure he was not being sneaked up on.

He remembered when he trained with his dad a year before.

Make sure you always check your back. The voice echoed in his head. It would always be best if you have someone with you, you would have to think that a threat will arise any second. Be alert. And don’t hesitate to use deadly force to protect yourself.

Being part of the military was a Hawkins family trademark. Even his grandfather served in the military during World War II and his stories would always leave him with awe. His aunt who was his dad’s youngest sister even served as a field agent in the FBI.

Even he was planning to follow the footsteps of his dad. He was quite luck to marry a woman who was a doctor.

That would be the second goal after securing his survival. That was to look for his mother next. Her survival rate was pretty low given that all the injured will be dealt by hospitals.

Caleb bit his lip at the thought of his mom.

When that had hit him, his knees trembled. His breathing shortened. And he felt the pulse of his heart on his temples. Even his eyesight was throbbing and there was a dizzy spell trying to pry open his psyche.

But Caleb gathered his guts and still pressed forward. His parents weren’t weak. And he was sure his mom would have found a way to get away. She always did. Even in the worst possible circumstances. Surely, she was worried for him yet she also trusted him enough to take care of himself.

The end of the alleyway split into two pathways. To the left was a clear alleyway. But to the right was a mind-boggling scene. A few of them was savoring the body of another dead individual. The bloody intestines of the person were being dragged outwards like an awful spaghetti meal.

“Holy fuck.” He muttered under his breath.

Caleb felt his stomach churned at the slight of too much blood. Normally, he wasn’t afraid of the crimson red liquid. But to see a person being dismembered from the inside out was a horrible sight.

And the imagery would be stuck in his head in the months to come.

He slowly veered to his left and walked away. At the end of the other alleyway was a dead end. But there was a closed gate on its side with a couple of the creatures banging on it. The gate was supposed to be pulled and the hostile couple was pushing on it. No wonder why they couldn’t get through.

BRATATATATAT!

Caleb was alerted at the sound of an automatic rifle on the other side of the gate. It wasn’t that loud. Just enough to echo through the silent alleyway. He gulped and looked behind him immediately. That sound was too brittle and the suddenness of it surely attracted the small horde of creatures. It was too late to backtrack and the only way out was through the small gate.

Even the couple that was banging on it got even more agitated.

It was a decision he needed to make. And he urged himself to make one fast. There were at least four hostiles behind him and two before him.

Caleb quickly aimed at the duo by the gate. He took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. A 9mm bullet flew directly at one of the napes that jolted its head forward from the impact, banging on the metal railing. The noise took the intention of the other one and faced him.

It was Mr. Carrow. He was supposed to fire again but stopped midway. The guy was too far from where Caleb last saw him. That was quite a weird thing to see. Caleb’s teacher stepped forward with flailing arms. Half of his face was eaten and one of his cheeks was reduced to a gross open wound.

“Nothing personal, Mr. Carrow.” Caleb fired again, dropping the teacher dead.

The boy moved forward and pull the door. He got inside and bolted it to make sure no one else can move behind him. It was the backside of a small restaurant a few streets away from the RPD. He moved inside carefully, making sure he was fully aware of his environment.

When he got to the kitchen, he peeked through the small window to see a fairly large dining room. Thankfully, there was no one there. And he also checked if he could at least scavenge anything on the cupboards.

Nothing. The restaurant was empty.

Caleb sighed and inspected the restaurant’s kitchen and back offices. It looked closed for the day and not a single clue of a person was there. Nothing interesting nor helpful either. It was a good place to rest for the meantime.

But when he lowered his flashlight, he saw a few drops of blood on the floor. It wasn’t many. Yet it could be traced coming from the backdoor, too. Someone wounded had been there. He raised his firearm and traced the trail towards the dining room.

He knelt on his knee to inspect it. The boy didn’t need to touch it. It was fresh.

Caleb braced for any hostiles and slowly moved inwards the dining room. His eyes were focused on the red trail that led him to a corner. And he finally found where the blood was coming from. Pity was only in his eyes as he looked at the bloody figure.

“Skyler.” Caleb groaned and approached him.

“Hey.” The younger boy managed to croak. He was clearly drained of blood. No color was found on his gentle face. His smile was lifeless and the blood on his shirt even darkened. “Angela got away. She ran after the men outside to get help.”

His lips were chapped and dry. And his breathing was too shallow. Caleb touched his forehead and felt the raging fever that was trying to helpless fight off whatever infection that got the boy.

“Why did you not come with her?” The older boy asked. A quick flash of anger in his voice. “You should have asked help from her and drag you along.”

“I’m not stupid Caleb.” He replied. “I’m done for.”

The older boy just sighed.

"I guess I'll never get to fuck a tight, wet hole, huh?" The little boy chuckled dryly. But Caleb's face was grim. "I never even got to know what a good beejay feels like!"

"Now's not the time to make a joke like that." Caleb replied. His voice was filled with a mix of pity and agony for the little boy. Yet he added a sidecomment, too. Such hypocrisy in the midst of danger. "You'll never know how many horny girls are out there waiting to get laid. It's the end of the world. Beggars can't really be choosers. Besides, you're quite cute yourself."

"Who said I like girls?" Skyler grinned with a devilish hint.

"Oh." Caleb wanted to admit it, too. His deepest and darkest fantasies were on the tip of his tongue. The boy was dying. It would be a safely kept secret. No one else would know because Cole was dead. But he went against it. "I…don't know what to say."

A short silence erupted between them. Nothing but Skyler's shallow and painful breathing could be heard.

“You’re gonna be okay!” Caleb lied. His anger flared even further. He wanted to give this boy hope. But he wasn’t the answer. Never was. “Help is just outside! We can do this.”

Skyler slowly reached for Caleb’s gun and slowly directed to his forehead. Then he closed his eyes. Tears were streaming down his grayish cheeks. It used to be rosy and full of life. Used to be.

“Do it.” The blonde-boy pleaded. “I wanna see my mom and dad now. I’m sure they are waiting for me on the other side.”

“No!” Caleb objected. The older boy gritted his teeth.

BANG!

He pulled back his gun and was startled at the gunshots outside.

BRATATATATATAT!

BAM! BAM! BAM!

It was a warzone out there. Caleb stood up and looked at dying boy by his feet. So helpless and feeble.

“Stay there.” He commanded. But Skyler just looked at him with anger.

“Please. I don’t wanna be like them.” The younger boy cried.

“I won’t let you. I promise.” Caleb replied. “I’ll go get help outside!”

The older boy left him by the corner and approached the main door. He went through the main entrance and scanned for hostiles. Nothing but rubbles and cars that were stranded in traffic.

Then he started scanning the place from afar. He heard some people shouting at the end of the road and it be followed by a series of gunshots. With the most that he can make out of them, there were wearing blue colors.

Police Officers. And they were the only source of help.

But the ground shook. His whole body the monstrous tremor. A huge black object dropped from above. And it was just behind him. Caleb’s heart did a cartwheel in his chest and slowly turned around with his aim at the ready.

His bright blue eyes went wide with shock and fear.

What he aimed at was just blackness. Because the thing was way taller than him. His eyes hesitantly drifted upwards. Slowly. And filled with panic.

It was a 7-foot tall creature clad in black leather.

That thing had a tremendous build and could probably rip a person in half. Tentacles were protruding just by its shoulders. And its bald head was filled with random lumps with metal surgical staples rammed on its face. The lower head was just teeth and gums because its mouth was stretched apart. Its skin was brown and corroded. Even its nose was misplaced.

The monstrosity was barely human. Because the only human thing that was left on its face was the left eye that was white with cataracts.

Caleb’s breath never left his lungs. He just looked at the creature before him.

On its huge left arm was a rocket launcher and on its right was a huge gun that seemed to be a Gatling gun. Its leather coating were recognizable as materials for Kevlar. The coat covered most of its body except the upper chest that displayed a mix of muscles and tentacles ripping the thick skin from the inside.

A majestic growl was heard. And all the hair on Caleb’s body stood up.

“STAAAAAARSSSS!”