Survival: The Attic
Part One
The gun trembled in my hand, and my body followed suit. Walking through the eerily quiet, softly-lit hallway, I heard a slight scream through one of the doors. I nearly squealed myself, but kept my composure as I hurried over to it, gathering my wits. After a few seconds, I opened the door and rushed in, handgun at the ready. What I saw nearly cost me a loss of lunch. A man was crumpled against a wall with his shotgun propped up beside him. Something that frightened me was the amount of blood pooled around him.
"Richard!" I exclaimed, jogging the small distance to him. Having thought I was one of the undead, he'd had a hand on the shotgun until he'd seen me. "Chris..." he mumbled weakly, and before anyone could say another word, the door opened again. Quicker than I'd thought I could, my gun was out and aimed behind me. My muzzle was pointed at a girl, by the looks of it not even 20, who shrieked and cried "Don't shoot! I'm Rebecca Chambers, S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team!"
Before she'd even finished the sentence, my weapon was lowered. As long as she wasn't one of the flesh-eating freaks, she was okay. "Chris Redfield, I'm from Alpha Team. We came here to rescue you, but things went downhill fast," I explained quickly. "Enough about that, though, we have to help Richard!" Stepping aside to reveal the Bravo Team's communications expert, I watched Rebecca most to his side instantly. "Oh my! Richard, what happened?!"
Coughing, the man replied slowly. "I was... in the attic... Out of this hole in the call came-- Agh!" Cringing, Richard screamed again, causing another intense chill to shoot down my spine. "These cuts..." Rebecca whispered. "They're not too deep, so they shouldn't be bleeding so bad. Look at this, though..." Indicating the swollen, purple skin around the cuts, she continued. "It has to be poison. As a medic, I can tell it's potent. Some serum is in the medicine room downstairs, I should've grabbed it!"
Gripping my firearm tightly, I made up my mind and said quickly "I'll go get it. Rebecca, stay here and do what you can. Richard... hang in there." Before either could respond, I was out the door, sprinting through the halls as I made my way to the room with the staircase leading directly beside the medicine room. Trouble was... it was on the other side of this large mansion.
On my way, I encountered some of my not-so-alive friends. A few bullets to the brain, and they were down for good. Having to run over them to reach my destination, the sickly stench burned my nostrils. Decay was one thing on the list that did not smell like flowers. Finally reaching the staircase, I launched myself down at record speeds and stumbled into the wall at the bottom. Recovering swiftly, I opened the door beneath the staircase and entered the medicine room. Checking the packed shelves hurriedly, one bottle caught my eye. "High-level Toxin Serum" was written across it, along with the Umbrella Inc. logo. "I'll get you for this..." I growled at the label, snatching up the small bottle and heading straight back for Richard.
It took a few minutes to run through the cramped halls, but I finally made it back and shoved the bottle into Rebecca's hands. She wasted no time in pulling off the top, which doubled as a syringe on the bottom. "I'm going to give you a shot, Richard." Filling the small syringe, she stuck it in his arm and depressed the spring, forcing the liquid into his system. Richard's head hung for a second and I gulped, fearing it was too late. However, a moment later he looked up and chuckled. "Does it always hurt that much?"
Relief practically shoved its way into me as I leaned back against the wall. "Chris. I saw one mast by the hole in the wall. It's part of a puzzle I found that could get us out of here. I couldn't grab it before I was attacked..." Richard muttered while Rebecca started patching up his cuts and bruises. Knowing what he wanted me to do, I nodded. "If it'll get us out, I'm all for it." Smiling, Richard weakly lifted his shotgun up for me to take, which I did. Along with it, I was given a satchel of shotgun shells. At the same time, Richard and Rebecca both wished me good luck. With that, I disappeared behind the only other door in the small room.
There was a small room branching off down a dark hall, and four or five steps in front of me leading to the attic. This I knew because the door was old and dusty, with cobwebs hanging off of it. Anticipation for a chance to escape mixed with apprehension of just what this attacker was. I should've asked... I thought to myself. The two were right behind me in the next room, but I felt confident. Afterall, I was the marksman of my team; Richard was the communications expert. Stepping up to the door, I opened it and walked in.
Quietly shutting it behind me, I looked around the dark, dilapidated dump of an attic. Moonlight was the only helper in here, glinting off a mask in a corner with a large hole in it. You can do it, just sprint for it. I told myself in my mind, confidence failing me now. In a flash I was there, gripping the mask tightly as I started running back for the door. Before I even got halfway, a large head obstructed my path. Beady slits started into my eyes and a mouth opened wide, letting out a hiss that smelled of death.
My heart nearly stopped. A giant snake, at least twenty feet wide and nine or ten around, was getting ready to make me food. Tensing up, I jumped to the side at the last minute to avoid its humongous jowls. Without hesitation I lifted my only hope and fired at the monster. The shotgun blast rang on in the attic like a bomb and a bell, but I ignored it. Pumping again, I quickly shot the monster again. Blood poured from the wounds, though the beast didn't notice. Lunging again, I had merely a second to move. "Agh! No!" Its venomous tooth scraped my skin and I shot its slick, scaly body once more. Hissing, the horrid creature slid back to its hole.
Knowing I needed serum, I ran back out the door and into the room with Rebecca and Richard. "Got it!" I exclaimed. Pulling the mask into view, I tossed it to the two. Out of left field, pain flourished in my arm and spread up to my torso. Could venom be this... The thought never finished as I hit the floor.
