The Mansion Incident

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Chapter Four

The helicopter hovered fifty feet off the ground above a clearing, battering the trees around them with wind from the spinning blades. The forest swayed back and forth like a crowd at a rock concert. Below the chopper was another one just like it, smashed into the ground, front end crumpled like a tin can, blades snapped off like weak tree branches.

“Jesus,” Brad mumbled. “No wonder they didn’t come back.”

“Land this thing,” Wesker ordered, looking at the wreckage from a side window. “Someone might be down there.”

“I thought they said they reached their destination,” Barry said. “So how did their chopper get destroyed?”

“How the hell should I know?” Wesker snapped. “Maybe they were coming back. But if they were in the chopper, why didn’t they radio in?”

“Nothing’s moving down there,” Brad said nervously, keeping the helicopter steady.

“I said get on the ground!” Wesker shouted. “Right now! Someone might be hurt down there!”

Brad, sweat breaking out on his forehead, lowered the helicopter into the clearing until the landing gear rested on the ground. The blades continued to spin, ready to lift the chopper back into the air at the slightest twitch of the control stick.

Chris slid the door open and jumped out, followed by Jill and Joseph. Chris ran immediately to the downed helicopter, peering into the cabin. Jill drew her pistol and looked into the trees. Joseph shouldered his assault rifle and crept to the edge of the clearing, aiming out into the darkness. The helicopter blades continued to spin rapidly, causing all the vegetation to move and making so much noise that Jill couldn’t hear anything clearly. Trying to look into the forest, she might as well have been blind and deaf.

Wesker hopped out of the helicopter and smacked the front windshield with his hand, looking into the cockpit. “Turn those rotors off and get out here!” he shouted.

Brad shook his head fiercely. “I’ll keep it running in case we need to get out of here fast!”

“There’s nothing out here! We all need to start looking for Bravo!”

Barry unbuckled himself and climbed out. He pulled out his Colt, ignored both Wesker and Brad, and walked straight to Bravo’s wrecked helicopter. Chris stood up and looked around.

“No one’s here,” he said, putting his hands on his hips. “Doesn’t look like anyone was injured in the crash, either. No blood or anything.”

“Any idea where they went?” Barry asked, looking inside.

“No clue. It rained last night and covered up any tracks they might have made.” Chris looked over Barry’s shoulder at Wesker, who was still yelling at Brad. “What’s he doing?”

Barry glanced back. “Brad’s too scared to cut the engine. I don’t know what’s got him so spooked. He should be out here helping us look.”

Barry looked over at the chopper and then scanned the swaying trees. With all the noise the chopper was making, if there really was anyone or anything in the forest preparing to attack them, they could probably get all the way to the edge of the trees without being noticed. Right off the bat, the whole mission was going sour.

Jill walked over to them. “I can’t see or hear anything in those trees. Tell Brad to turn the stupid thing off,” she said.

Wesker was still arguing with Brad. “Turn the engine off and get out here! That’s an order! You’re giving away our position!”

“We should search from the air!” Brad shouted back. “It’s safer that way!”

Chris ran up to the helicopter and joined Wesker. “Brad, what are you doing? Cut the engine! We can’t see anything with the wind making the trees move!”

“Let me take off, then! I’ll search from the air and pick you up when you need me!”

“Shut the damn chopper down!” Wesker shouted.

Jill turned back to the forest, her breath coming faster, the hair on the back of her neck beginning to stand up. She did not like how this was going. Bravo was gone, their transport destroyed, and now Alpha was standing around like a bunch of fools without a clue. This was not how it was supposed to happen. Wesker told them that once they reached the target, they would land and debark at once. All of them, including Brad, would spread out in a search pattern. But the sight of the crashed helicopter changed their plans, and now Brad was screwing up the mission.

Joseph stood at the other side of the clearing, staring into the trees even though Jill doubted that he could see anything. He hefted his rifle higher on his shoulder and started walking toward Jill. She sighed and looked at the helicopter, which was still barely touching the ground, despite Wesker, Chris, and even Barry ordering Brad to turn it off. When she looked back at Joseph, she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

“Joseph!” she screamed, raising her pistol.

The dark shape bolted from the trees and came right at him. He spun around and opened fire, the roar of the rifle reaching her ears, the bright muzzle flash illuminating the clearing like a chain of firecrackers. Jill squeezed off two shots at the running creature.

It was a dog. Or at least it used to be ...

Joseph sprayed it with bullets and it jerked into the air, hitting the ground with blood squirting from its hide. But before Joseph could even lower the gun, another hound came out of the forest and jumped on him. Jill screamed and fired again, but the animal struck Joseph right in the chest and knocked him to the grass. He swung his arm up but the dog was already at his throat.

And then everything went to hell.

She heard Wesker shouting furiously as the helicopter rose into the air, lifting up above their heads. The unmistakable sound of Barry’s Colt rang out, and the dog mauling Joseph snapped back and crumpled to the ground. Chris shouted something but she couldn’t understand what he said. She ran to Joseph’s side and cried out at the sight of his throat, which was ripped open, blood splattering his body and the surrounding grass.

His hand still held his rifle, his finger on the trigger. His dead eyes stared straight into the dark night sky.

The chopper was in the air, high above them. Barry and Wesker were screaming into the air, waving their arms. Chris came over and grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet.

“Come on!” he shouted.

Two more shapes came out of the forest, right at them. Dogs like the others, glistening and bloody, their skin missing, their eyes burning red. Chris raised his pistol and hit one right between the eyes. It fell on its face and rolled to a stop, while the other one jumped past them and headed for Barry and Wesker. Jill pulled free of Chris’s grasp and fell to her knees.

Wesker saw it first and whipped out his gun. Just as it jumped, Barry fell to the side and Wesker fired, his pistol flashing orange in the gloom. The dog sailed right over his shoulder and stopped moving. Barry got to his feet, glanced at Wesker once, and ran over to Jill and Chris. Wesker looked back into the sky once more and joined him.

“What are they!?” Jill screamed. “They killed Joseph!”

“We have to get out of here!” Wesker shouted. “We aren’t safe out here!”

“Tell Brad to get down here and pick us up!” Chris yelled.

Barry shouldered past them. “Brad ain’t gonna come down here for all the money in the world. He’s gonna stay up there where it’s safe.”

“Come on!” Wesker shouted, ignoring Barry. “We have to get moving before more of them come after us!”

“But what are they?” Jill cried, staring at Joseph’s mauled body.

“Who cares?” Chris snapped. “I’m with Wesker. Let’s get out of here.”

“Where?” Barry asked. “Where do we go?”

“I saw a building in the forest when we flew over,” Wesker said quickly, pointing into the trees. “That way. Maybe that’s where Bravo went.”

“I didn’t see any building,” Jill said, her voice quaking in fear.

“Anywhere is better than out here,” Chris said, grabbing Jill again and pulling her to her feet. “Now let’s go.”

They headed off into the trees, following Wesker. Jill could not stop shaking. Her gun rattled in her hands. The thing that attacked them was a dog, but not a dog. It was like some kind of hellhound. Not a creature that belonged in this world. She gripped her pistol even tighter and stared out nervously into the woods as they ran.

“Next time I see Brad, I’m going to kill him,” Barry muttered. “He abandoned us down here. The coward deserted us.”

“I won’t kill him,” Wesker said, “but if I have my way, I’ll see him arrested and thrown in jail.”

“Can we worry about him later?” Chris said. “What were those things? They looked like dogs, but they didn’t have any skin.”

“They killed Joseph,” Jill whimpered.

Before Wesker could respond, they heard something. It was another dog, barking from somewhere nearby. Jill’s blood froze in her veins. The sound was like a choking roar rising up from a pit to the underworld.

“Run!” Wesker cried out, taking off.

And so they ran. In the darkness, it was nearly impossible to see where they were going, but they ran through knee-high weeds and between the trees as fast as they could. Branches snagged on their clothing like skeletal hands, and the wet, muddy ground sucked at their boots, trying to pull them under. The demonic barking got closer and closer, until Jill was sure the dogs were right behind them. She ran even faster, running blind through a pervasive wall of shadowy black. And then, incredibly, she saw spots of light in the distance through the branches.

“It’s the building!’ Wesker shouted triumphantly. “Come on!”

They ran through a line of trees and found themselves in a wide, well-maintained lawn. A huge Victorian mansion loomed in front of them like a beacon of order in them middle of a chaotic wasteland. Seeing the building made tears appear in Jill’s eyes, she was so relieved to see a place of refuge out here in the wilderness. Lights burned behind most of the windows, and decorative pillars stood tall on each side of the wide front porch. Off to their left, there was a paved parking lot lined with large potted plants. Jill didn’t look too closely, she just kept running. The promise of safety called out to her, just a few hundred feet away.

She heard a strangled cry and a crash and looked briefly over her shoulder. Chris was on the ground, rolling onto his side. Jill stopped and called his name, but then the dogs were upon them. Three of the glistening beasts emerged from the woods and Jill turned and ran before she realized what she was doing. Wesker and Barry were far in front of her. She thought she heard a gun shot from behind her, but the horrible sound of the dogs chasing her drowned out any other noise.

They reached the porch and ran up the steps to the huge front door. Wesker pushed it open and ran inside, followed closely by Barry. Jill, completely out of breath, made it up the steps and through the door, and then her legs went out from under her. She tumbled to the hardwood floor, gasping for air and quaking with fear.

Wesker slammed the door and pressed his hands against it, as if the dogs were strong enough knock it down. Outside, they scratched and pawed furiously at the door, barking those horrible, hacking barks. Wesker backed away from the door, his hands shaking, his breath ragged. Jill scrambled onto her back and sat up, scooting away from the door.

Large bay windows were on either side of the door. Suddenly, one of the dogs jumped up and pressed its paws against the glass, barking at them. Blood from its snout spattered across the glass. Barry raised his gun, but Wesker grabbed his arm.

“Don’t waste your ammo. I don’t think they can get in.”

“What if they break the glass?”

“Shooting them would break the glass just as quickly.”

Just then, the dog reared back and leaped at the window. It struck the glass and fell back down, streaking the glass with blood. Jill screamed at the sight, fumbling with her pistol. But the glass didn’t break.

“My God,” Barry said, “Where’s Chris?”

Jill gasped a sob, feeling the tears on her face. “He ... he fell when we were running. I tried to go back ... but then the dogs came after us ... and ... and ...”

“We have to go after him,” Barry said, reaching for the door.

Wesker pushed him back. “Don’t be stupid! We don’t know what else is out there!”

“Are you just going to leave him out there?” Barry demanded, shoving Wesker away.

Wesker shoved Barry right back. “If the dogs got him then he’s already dead. There’s nothing we can do, Barry. It’s too late to go back and save him.”

“So we just abandon him, like Brad abandoned us?” Barry snapped.

“Yeah, and just like we abandoned Joseph,” Wesker snapped back. “We can’t help him now, Barry. If he was still alive, he’d already be here with us.”

“I think ... I think I saw one of the dogs attack him,” Jill whimpered, trying not to break down into tears. She tried to stand up but her legs would not hold her.

Barry put his hands to his head and turned away, stepping into the middle of the room. Jill realized that it was actually a large lobby with a huge chandelier above their heads. The floor was shining hardwood and a red carpet lined the center of the floor. Right behind them was a carpeted stairway splitting to the right and left, heading up to the second floor. The entire lobby was ringed with an interior mezzanine on the second floor. Jill did not have time to take in the sights, but she could not help but notice their lavish surroundings.

Wesker pulled out his walkie-talkie. “Brad, this is Wesker. Respond.” The fury in his voice was unmistakable. There was no response. “Brad, if you don’t respond right now, I’ll see to it that you’re thrown off the police force! Chris is dead because of you! Now respond!” There was nothing but the quiet crackle of static. Wesker stared at the walkie-talkie for a second, and then hurled it against the wall. The case cracked open and it fell to the floor, broken.

Jill wiped her face and caught her breath. Her heart still pounded in her chest like a machine gun, but she forced herself upright. Carefully, she got her legs under her and stood up. Her pistol remained firmly in her hand. She didn’t intend to holster it until they were back in Raccoon City.

If they ever got back to Raccoon City, she thought with a sense of impending dread.

“Listen,” Wesker said after a few seconds, regaining his calm. He ran a hand through his short blond hair. “I think it’s possible that Bravo came here after the crash. This is probably the government facility they told us about. It must be the only building for miles.”

“But there’s no one here,” Jill said. “They must have heard us shooting. They must know we’re here, so where is everybody?”

“I don’t know, okay? I’m just as freaked out as you are, trust me.”

“There’s got to be someone here,” Barry said, turning around to face them. His eyes were red and puffy, and he wiped them with the back of his hand. “This place can’t be empty. There are lights on all over the place.”

“Right,” Wesker said. “There must be someone here. We just have to find them. Maybe they’re hiding or something.”

“From what?” Jill asked, her panic threatening to return.

“I have no idea. But we’ve got to assume something happened here. The fact that we haven’t seen anyone tells me it’s more than just the dogs outside.”

“Those aren’t dogs,” Barry muttered. “They’re monsters.”

“Whatever they are, I don’t think they’re the only thing we have to worry about. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I don’t think Bravo completed their mission. Maybe they were trying to edcape this place when the chopper crashed.”

“Then where are they?” Jill asked.

Wesker could only shrug. “I have no idea.”

“What do you think we should do?” Jill asked. As far as she was concerned, Wesker was still her commander and she was prepared to follow his orders. “Maybe we can find a phone and call for help?”

“That’s a good idea,” Barry said.

“I agree,” Wesker said. Jill knew that Wesker owned a cell phone, but he didn’t take it out or look at it. They probably had no cell signal out here in the mountains. She was about to ask him to check his cell phone anyway when Barry spoke again.

“Should we split up?” he asked. “Maybe we’ll find someone who knows what in the hell is going on here.”

Wesker shrugged again. It was a odd gesture from someone who usually knew exactly what he wanted. “If you want to. You know I would prefer to cover as much ground as possible, but I understand if you don’t want to be alone.”

“I can handle myself,” Barry said. “What about you, Jill?”

Jill took account of her unsteady legs and trembling hands, and shook her head. “No, I don’t want to go off by myself. I’m sorry, but not now. I just can’t.”

“It’s okay,” Wesker said. “I know how you feel. So let’s keep it simple. Check out the first floor only. Be careful when you open any doors. Who knows if any of those dogs are inside. If you find a phone, call for help. We meet back here in the lobby in ten minutes.”

Barry nodded his consent. “Okay, ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes. Then we meet back here and decide what to do next.”

He gave them a nervous smile, touched Jill’s shoulder in a surprisingly reassuring way, and walked over to right side of the lobby. There were two doors, both solid oak, and he waited by the first one. Barry and Jill went to the left side of the lobby with its single door.

Barry tried the handle and found it unlocked. He gently pushed it open and poked his gun through the opening. Jill stood just beside the door, acting as backup. It was dark in the room beyond, but they could see inside. They both glanced back at Wesker, who nodded and carefully opened his own door. After a moment, he crept through.

Jill returned her focus to the door in front of her. Barry walked through the doorway and Jill followed him inside, her gun aimed in front of her. Whatever the room was, it was huge. Hazy twilight shone through at least a dozen windows running down the left side of the room. Barry found a light switch and turned it on.

The room exploded in light. Both of them were stunned momentarily by the grandeur of it. The center of the room was taken up by an incredibly long dining table covered in a lace table cloth. Half a dozen silver candlesticks decorated the table, along with a large flowery centerpiece in the middle. The floor was white marble tile waxed to a perfect shine. Like the lobby, there was an inner mezzanine running around the entire circumference of the room at the second floor.

“What a spread,” Barry muttered. He pointed to one side of the dining table and then walked along the other. Jill, trying to remain calm, walked slowly along the other side. She looked through the windows to the front yard and forest beyond, bathed in gray twilight. They walked the length of the room, making their way to the other end of the long dining table. An empty fire place took up most of the far wall. An elaborate coat of arms decorated the wall above it.

On the floor in front of it, a mass of blood stained the white tile floor.

Jill gripped her gun tighter. “Is that blood?” she whispered.

Barry knelt down but did not touch it. He looked closely and nodded. “Looks like it. Looks like its been here awhile, too.”

“There’s no body.”

Barry looked at the floor around the blood stain. There was no sign of anything being dragged through it, and no bloody footprints that either of them could see. Usually, in a case like this, there was some sign of where the owner of the blood was. Either a long smear indicating the body was dragged away, or a trail of blood or bloody footprints indicating that the victim got up and left under his own power.

“What do you think –” Jill started to say.

And then a terrible scream shattered the calm like a sudden explosion, nearly scaring them both out of their skins. Barry leaped back to his feet, and Jill almost fired off a round in fright.

And then, before either of them could speak, a single gunshot rang out, so close it might have been in the next room. Jill’s heart pounded in her chest like a jackhammer and she breathed quickly, gun raised. To their right was a door. The sounds came from right behind it.

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