Chapter Text
A Touch of Red
By evolution-500
Genres: Horror/Friendship/Romance
Feedback: Always welcome
WARNING: This story contains violence, coarse language, mature themes and disturbing imagery. Reader discretion is advised.
Disclaimer: KILLER INSTINCT is a property belonging to Rare and Microsoft while RESIDENT EVIL is a property belonging to Capcom. I do not own any of these characters.
Chapter Seventeen: Laughter In The Dark
Everything was set.
Zipping up her green jacket, Orchid finished getting dressed as she spared a glance at the naked security guard, watching as he peacefully slept on the bed, a big stupid-looking grin plastered on his face.
He wasn't the brightest of fellows, but he did make up for it with endurance.
All things considering, not an altogether unenjoyable time, she had to admit.
"Not bad, skippy," Orchid nodded, not caring that he couldn't hear her, confident that he wouldn't wake up. "You really know how to show a girl a good time."
The man snored, blissfully unaware of what was happening.
Reaching into the pocket of her jacket, she pulled out a needle from a secret compartment, then carefully injecting into him.
Pulling the needle away, she checked his pulse.
Relaxing a little, she pulled away, feeling slightly relieved.
If the sex hadn't worn him out before, the injection would certainly do its work and keep him knocked out for a few hours.
There would be a few minor side-effects such as some memory loss, but other than that, there shouldn't be anything more serious than that.
Putting the injector back into the hidden compartment, Orchid then quickly sifted through the guard's clothing before finally finding a keycard.
"Gotcha!" She smiled.
Now that she got what she wanted, it was time to get what she needed and get out of here.
After all, time was money, and she didn't want to stick around when her cover was finally blown.
Of course, she was going to need a distraction.
A very big distraction.
Slipping the keycard into her pocket, Orchid took out a small handheld device and touched the screen, flicking it on.
Hacking into the security cameras was no easy feat, but she managed just the same.
Flicking through the cameras, Orchid paused as she saw that girl, Redfield, as she was being dragged away by another woman.
"Well, well. Looks like you've gotten into some trouble, little mouse." She hummed thoughtfully. Flicking to another nearby camera, Orchid then spotted Billy along with T.J. and Thunder as they pointed and followed. "And it seems your knight in shining armor has also arrived."
Humming, she tilted her head from side to side, drumming her fingertips against her chin.
"Why don't we make things a little more interesting and get the whole cavalry over there?"
She tapped in a few buttons, her eyes focused on the screen the entire time.
"Annnd...done."
Slipping the device into her pocket, Orchid gave one final glance back to the sleeping security guard, blowing him a kiss.
"Kiss you later, handsome."
The front door to the Spencer Mansion opened.
Stepping inside along with T.J. and Thunder, Billy's eyes studied their surroundings, scrutinizing the room's contents.
A luxurious red carpet was laid out in front of the door, lining the white marble-tiled floor of a massive hallway to a grand staircase up ahead that divided up to two separate stairways, both of which in turn lead up to a walkway or landing.
Supported by twelve white round Tuscan stone columns along the sides, with a pair of white fluted Corinthian-styled columns prominently standing right beside the stairs itself, the landing overlooked the hall. Lit by an overhanging chandelier as well as various candles that were hung and mounted on nearby walls and tripods, the place looked like a Victorian dream, with all sorts of elaborate furnishings.
A few pieces of furniture were covered in sheets, while the windows were all boarded up.
"Man, what a mansion!" T.J. nodded, impressed. "I would have loved to have lived in a place like this! I wonder why this place had been sealed off." He suddenly paused, as if struck by a thought. "Didn't the Baron say that there was a gas leak here or something?"
Thunder nodded back. "He did, but I don't smell anything."
"Maybe it's more noticeable in the lower levels," Billy suggested, before shifting gears, "but right now our main priority is finding Claire."
T.J. frowned. "Any idea where to start, though? This place looks pretty big, so it's going to take a while."
"We should split up," Billy replied. "We'll cover more ground that way." He then pointed up the stairs, "I'll check the upper floors and see if she's up there."
As Billy went up the flight of steps, T.J. gave a deadpan look to Thunder.
"White folks," the former said simply.
Chuckling, Thunder patted the boxer on the shoulder. "Come on, let's check down here."
With that, the pair proceeded on in their search.
Claire groaned as she stirred.
"Owww, my head!" She winced. Reaching up with her hands, Claire paused, noticing that her legs and wrists bound, though thankfully the former were tied at the front. "Wha-? Where-?"
Sitting up from the floor, Claire looked around, puzzled at her surroundings.
"Where...where am I? What's going on?"
Softly lit by candle light, greeting the teenager were a pair of soot-covered marble cherubs on Ionian-styled column-like stands that mockingly regarded her, their eyes locked onto hers.
Averting her eyes, she looked past them, and saw a long, winding corridor through a rounded archway that was lined by spears, the brown curtains at the front dusty and covered in cobwebs.
At the far end, she saw a large canvas-covered mirror, while to her right, she saw some candle sconces and various canvas-covered furniture, along with a large door and another passage.
A thick layer of dust covered a lot of the pieces, some of it so thick that it made her sneeze.
Wiping her nose, Claire cleared her throat as she sniffled. "Um...HELLO?! IS ANYBODY THERE?! HELLO?!"
A soft, feminine yet sinister giggle answered from the shadows, causing Claire to nervously swallow.
Glancing feebly around for something to cut her bindings off with, she looked back to her legs, the girl struggling as she dug her fingernails into the knots.
"Come on, come on!" She murmured softly, pinching at them.
Biting her lower lip, she fidgeted and squirmed, until finally she loosened the knot on her legs.
Kicking the sheet off, Claire got onto her knees, pushing herself off the ground.
Looking indecisively in both directions, the teenager started to the corridor to her right, heading straight toward the door, only to hear the giggle again, this closer.
Hearing a creak, Claire was barely two feet away when a tiny, goth-looking girl with pale skin and long black hair stepped out from around a corner, blocking her path.
The girl's eyes were sickly olive in color, coldly aloof yet oddly flat, her clothing consisting of a short black skirt and a white long-sleeved top with a green corset around her stomach, her feet clad in thick brown boots.
Taking a half-step back, Claire watched the girl as she approached, the latter's arms hidden behind her back, as if trying to conceal something from her, a vicious, twisted and ugly sneer plastered on her face.
"So," the girl spoke, possessing a child-like quality, "you're finally awake, sleeping beauty. Good."
Claire wrinkled her brows, eying her suspiciously. "Who...Who are you?"
The girl giggled. "Call me Urchin," she meaningfully spoke. "Lilith Urchin."
Staring blankly at the girl, Claire blinked. "Umm...ooookay? What's going on? Where are we?"
"'What's going on? Where are we?'" Lilith childishly and mockingly imitated, cackling. "God you sound so dumb! Everything about you makes me sick. So pretty and perfect!"
Claire anxiously shifted on the ground, raising her tied up hands in a placating manner. "Listen, I...I don't know who you are, but why are you doing this? What did I do to you?"
"'Why are you doing this? What did I ever do to you? Boohoo!'" Lilith shrilly mocked, raising her hands to her face as she pretended to snivel and cry before laughing at Claire. "You really are an idiot, ya know? You didn't do anything to me, sweetie - you didn't even need to. Y'see, my big brother is in jail servin' a life sentence, and that old kraut is my ticket to springin' him outta there."
Furrowing her brows, Claire gave her a confused look.
A life sentence?
From what she recalled from Chris, life sentences in Colorado were usually reserved for Class One felonies, which were the most serious offences that would include first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, assault while escaping incarceration, and treason. The fact Lilith's brother was serving hard time in prison left no doubt that he did something bad, but why on earth would Lilith even think that Baron Von Sabrewulf would be able to free him?
Swallowing, Claire eyed the girl. "Listen, we don't have to do this."
Lilith hummed, shrugging as she spoke in a deceptively sweet honey-dipped voice, "Sorry, Claire Bear, but I'm gonna have ta. There's too many people as it is in the tournament, and I don't need the competition, honey."
"There's no way that the Baron is going to let your brother go free," Claire shook her head. "You do know that, right? I'm pretty sure that his tournament doesn't apply to convicted felons."
She watched as the smile on Lilith's face grew even wider, reminding the former of the Cheshire Cat. "Then I'll make him. Once I've killed the others, I'll take him hostage. In the meantime, LET'S PLAY!"
With that last exclamation, Lilith suddenly lunged at Claire with a large broken shard of glass, causing the latter to reach up and grab the former by the wrists.
"GET OFF ME!" Claire yelled. "GET OFF!"
Struggling against her opponent, the teenager let out a shout as she felt the glass cut her shoulder, causing Lilith to laugh.
Stumbling away, Claire winced as she inspected the damage, watching as a trickle of blood fell from her arm.
Looking back to Lilith, Claire's mouth curled in disgust as the former started to lewdly and suggestively slide her tongue along the glass, her eyes rolling back in ecstasy as she let out a sensual moan.
Once she finished licking the glass clean, Lilith offered a sickening grin. "Hm. You taste good, Claire Bear - too bad my brother isn't here to enjoy you with me. I wonder what the rest of you will feel like in my mouth."
Twisting her face in revulsion, Claire flinched. "You're sick!" She spat.
Lilith tossed her head back and laughed. "Sticks and stones, Claire Bear," she taunted, her eyes possessing a wild demented shine that Claire didn't like at all. "I bet you'll cut up real nice. I'm gonna have so much fun with you!"
"No no no NO!" Raising her hands, Claire grabbed hold of Lilith's wrists, keeping the little psycho from stabbing her.
Straining against her opponent, the former suddenly reared her head back and slammed her forehead as hard as she could into her assailant's face. Claire heard a satisfying crack, watching as the psychopath stumbled and fell backward, clutching her head as she let out a feral scream.
"YOU BITCH!" Lilith snarled, massaging the spot where Claire struck. "I'M GONNA DO YOU NICE AND SLOW!"
Twisting around, Claire hurried down a corridor, screaming, "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP! PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP!"
"READY OR NOT, BITCH, HERE I COME!" She heard the psychopathic scream behind her.
"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!"
Billy lifted his head. "CLAIRE?!"
He heard a clatter and a crash.
Approaching the stairway railing, he called down to the others. "HEY FELLAS, UP HERE! CLAIRE'S IN TROUBLE, COME ON!"
"ON OUR WAY!" Thunder called as he and T.J. hurried up the steps.
Hold on, Claire, we're almost there! Just stay alive. Please stay alive.
Claire huffed as she rounded corner after corner, trying to evade her pursuer.
To her chagrin, all of the doors were locked; no matter how hard she slammed or kicked, none of the doors in this damn place budged, forcing her to fend for herself.
Ducking away, Claire had barely avoided being stabbed in the head as Lilith impaled the glass knife into the door.
The two kept up their game of cat-and-mouse for ten minutes, running in endless loops down the corridors over and over again before running in reverse.
Cursing her luck, the girl hustled through the archway a second time, a third, fourth and fifth before going the other way, fumbling at the knot on her wrist.
Of all the goddamn times to be in this position!
Here she was, trapped in God knew where, being forced to do ring-around-the-goddamned-rosie with a psycho bitch in an endless series of mirror-filled corridors.
'Ain't life grand?' Claire mused as she panted, her face warm and slick with sweat.
Swallowing, the girl slowed her steps, noticing how unusually quiet it had become, her heart pounding loudly in her ears, her head thumping.
Where are you hiding?
Wiping her face clean of sweat, Claire strained her ears as she listened for the slightest noise, looking in both directions.
'Oh, so that's how you're going to play it,' she thought.
The little bitch couldn't run, so obviously there was now a change in tactics.
Fidgeting with the knot, Claire finally loosened the sheet, freeing her wrists of her bindings.
Massaging them, she felt the wound on her shoulder, wincing slightly.
The cut wasn't too deep, but it did sting, unfortunately.
Clenching onto the sheet, she carefully tied it around her arm, sealing up the injury as best she could.
She wasn't a doctor or anything like that, but it should suffice for now, but first, she had a psychopath to deal with.
It was obvious that Lilith had sealed them both in here, though why, Claire could hardly even fathom.
'Perhaps she just liked the thrill of the chase,' part of her morbidly reflected, her mouth clenching.
The girl shuddered.
How was it possible for such a person to have snuck their way into KI of all places?
As soon as she got out of this, Claire was going to seriously give whoever was in charge a piece of her mind.
A piece of her mind, followed by the Redfield boulder-punching-
Claire suddenly froze.
Something clinked somewhere in the dark corridors, what sounded like heavy chains.
'What the hell?' Claire wondered. 'Don't tell me that that psychopath has found some new toys to play with!'
She heard the chains rattling, followed by a loud scraping.
'Well, isn't this dandy,' Claire sourly thought.
It would seem that Lilith was trying to scare her.
Bitch.
Tiptoeing down a corridor, Claire kept her footsteps light, her eyes searching around, wandering along the various aisles of mirrors, checking each and every single door.
From all indications, it would seem that Lilith locked Claire in, and the only way out would be for her to go through Lilith herself.
Great.
Turning a corner to her left, the girl let out a muffled gasp, startled by her own reflection.
Jesus, that scared me!
Whose bright idea was it to put so many goddamn mirrors in here?!
Looking at her reflection, Claire tidied up her hair and adjusted her clothes.
Pushing the mirror slightly, she adjusted its position when she suddenly became aware of a dark figure hanging from the upper corner a few meters behind her.
Letting out a slight gasp, Claire quickly looked behind her where she saw the shape, only for it to swiftly vanish.
What the hell was that?!
She heard the clinks of chains and something climbing around on the wall and ceiling, followed by an unusually deep, rumbling and menacing laugh that made every hair on Claire's arm stand on end.
God, that laugh!
Never in her life had Claire ever heard anything so bone-chilling!
Looking anxiously around, her eyes and ears scanned the environment, looking for the slightest movement, listening for the slightest sound.
A door loudly knocked from the other side of the maze, causing Claire to flinch.
"CLAIRE?! CLAIRE!" She heard Billy's muffled voice. "CLAIRE ARE YOU OKAY?!"
Billy...
Swallowing, Claire hurried down a corridor, holding her hand out.
"HELP! BILLY HELP-" The girl was cut off as Lilith tackled into her, the latter laughing maniacally as she attempted to stab her with the shard.
"DIE, YOU LITTLE TEASING SLUT!" The psychopath spat, her eyes wild, looking completely and utterly unhinged.
Grabbing her wrists, Claire struggled against her attacker. "GET OFF OF ME! BILLY HELP!"
Punching her in the face, Claire struck her attacker with everything she had, shoving her violently backward.
Recovering on her feet, Lilith rubbed the bruise on her face. "You fucking whore. You fucking dirty slut. I'm gonna-"
Something warm struck Claire in her face, causing the girl to reflexively recoil, her eyes stinging.
Wiping them with the back of her wrists, Claire's mouth parted, her eyes widening as she spotted a large hook with a chain attached at the end protruded out from Lilith's throat.
Coughing out blood, the latter weakly touched the blade, as if in disbelief, before looking up at Claire herself, lifting up a trembling hand, her eyes pleading and filled with fear.
"H-Help...me..."
Claire watched as the chain straightened, the girl yanked violently backward into the shadows, flying off her feet with a startled yelp.
Letting out a trembling breath, Claire slowly backed away, listening to Lilith as she struggled, her screams mixed with what sounded awfully like something...eating.
Looking down at her shaking bloodied hands, her fingers warm and wet, the auburn-haired teen let out a whimper, wiping her hands on her clothes as she silently tried to back away without drawing attention to herself.
Hurrying quietly away, she headed down to the door at the end, the girl letting out a loud, shrill and terrified shriek as a strong arm grabbed her and dragged her into darkness.
He and the others heard Claire's scream even from outside the hallway. "CLAIRE!"
The three men rammed their shoulders into the door, slamming over and over into it before kicking it wide open with a crack.
"CLAIRE!" Billy shouted, rushing inside. "CLAIRE?!" As he stepped into the room, he looked around. "...Claire?"
T.J. frowned. "Shit, she's gone."
"I see blood here," Thunder grimly noted as he knelt down on the floor and examined it.
Billy hurried down one corridor, then another, and another, before finally looping around back to T.J. and Thunder.
"Where'd she go?"
Claire's head rang as she winced, pushing herself off of a grimy floor.
"God...damn it," she groaned. Pushing herself onto her hands and knees, the girl sniffed the air, wincing. "Oh! God, what is that smell-?"
Clare barely finished her sentence when her hand made contact with something, causing her to look up and let out a startled yelp and crawl backwards.
Various bones of all shapes and sizes lined the floors, while a few skulls grinned directly at her.
Scrambling from off the floor, Claire hastily wiped her hands and dusted herself. Lifting her head up, the girl froze, her features paling, her eyes widening in fright as she finally took stock of her surroundings.
From her position, she was in the middle of a massive, spacious grey room or chamber that must have been over a hundred meters long on all four sides and fifteen feet high, all of it sparsely lit and made of a mixture of concrete and stainless steel. Three lines of fluorescent lights distantly lined the top, middle and bottom sections of enormous walls that encircled the entire room, all of them far from where Claire was currently standing, while the vast majority of those that lined the ceiling were either dead, broken or flickering.
Counting the lights that remained, Claire estimated that a good seventy to eighty percent of the room was unlit, resulting in a thick veil of darkness that blanketed over everything, the shimmering lights distant and taunting.
Searching around, the girl raised a hand to block out the glare of the lights, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She couldn't see much admittedly, but from what little that she was able discern, there were a number of large overhead vents with fans along the ceiling, but the fans themselves were turned off, resulting in foul unfiltered air.
Claire coughed in spite of her self, gagging as she attempted to cover her nose with the collar of her own shirt.
Speaking of unfiltered air, good God, when was the last time this place was ventilated?!
Jesus Christ, the smell was so overpowering! Never in her life had she ever smelled anything so pungent and awful, a horrible mixture of rotting flesh, freshly spilled blood and feces all combined into a disgusting cocktail, so thick and overwhelming that she could practically taste it all in the air.
'Don't throw up, Claire,' she told herself.
Don't throw up, please don't throw up. Please don't-
Parting her mouth, Claire vomited to the side, retching loudly as the smell became too much for her to handle.
Gasping and panting, she spat and wiped her mouth clean with the back of her gloved hand as flies buzzed everywhere, some of them so damned large that they seemed almost as large as her thumb, their incessant buzzing so loud and overbearing that it almost sounded like an entire hive down here.
Various industrial concrete pillars and columns lined the center in rows of nine, all of them stretching all the way back to a great veil of pure darkness. A few had fans built into them, but as far as Claire could discern, the turbines were not operating.
Occasionally a light bulb or two would flicker in that veil, and what Claire saw through the brief glimpses of light afforded to her turned her insides to ice.
Through the intermittent flickers, she saw bodies - dozens of horribly mauled and mangled corpses, some of them whole, some in pieces, and some stripped down to the very bone.
Many cadavers hung from chained hooks from the ceiling, while in other sections of this hellhole, Claire was able to make out various bloodied gurneys, restraining tables, surgical tools and chemical bottles, along with several different three-foot box-like containers of transparent plexiglass, torture devices and chainsaws.
In some sections, she spotted a series of drum winches on the floor, some used to suspend carcasses and limbs as if they were twisted trophies or decorations, while those yet unraveled remained untouched, as if waiting for the next victim to be strung up.
'What the fuck is all this?' she sickly wondered.
Just what sort of fresh hell did she just step into?
This was like a serial killer's wet dream come to life!
But even worse, from a nearby hook, Claire saw the remains of Lilith as she lifelessly hung like a freshly slaughtered animal, her face and torso all but stripped clean of clothing and flesh.
'Couldn't have happened to a nicer person,' came the bitter thought.
Granted, it was a horrible way to die, let alone think, but still, considering not too long ago Lilith tried to kill her, well...
Looking wildly around, Claire carefully considered her options.
She couldn't see any doorway anywhere in this place, and based on Lilith's body, she wasn't alone, meaning that whoever...or whatever...had attacked her was still here.
Meaning she was next on the menu.
Swallowing, Claire looked around for a weapon, preferably a gun or a knife that wasn't covered in so much blood.
Finding nothing, the girl swept her anxious hands through her auburn hair, pacing furiously back and forth.
Not good, not good...
'There has to be a weapon around here that I can use,' she reasoned.
Approaching a table near a swinging torso that hung from a nearby hook, Claire shrieked as the body suddenly came to life and grabbed at her with its singular arm, the girl leaping out of the way as it clawed at the air and snarled.
Staring wide-eyed at the body as it swung back and forth, Claire watched in horror and disbelief as it writhed around, undulating on the chains, its eyes pale and empty, its lipless mouth glistening with saliva.
'That body...it's alive!' She thought.
There was a horribly mangled body with just the barest strips of flesh holding it together, and it was still alive somehow, its singular eye dead and staring directly at her.
How was that even possible?!
To Claire's ever growing horror, the chamber itself suddenly came alive with laughter, moans and growls, a hellish choir punctuated with the sounds of rattling chains and cracking limbs as every body spiked and hooked up started to twist, writhe and move.
Looking all around her, Claire beheld horror from every angle as she anxiously wrung her own hands, the whole room spinning around as she was assaulted from every direction at once with all the twisted sights, smells and sounds.
Laughter, moans, snarls, growls and buzzing struck her from every position, distant and near.
Running blindingly through the columns, the girl feebly whimpered as she searched for a door or weapon, looking for a way out.
'It's not real,' she told herself. 'It's not real.'
It was just a horrible nightmare, and any moment now, she was going to wake up in her bed with Chris standing over her.
This isn't real. This is all a dream, isn't it? That's right! It's all a bad dream-
An unexpectedly deep, rumbling and sinister laugh called from the shadows, accompanied by the clinking of chains, as if announcing its presence to her, causing Claire to tense and slowly turn toward where she heard the sound.
In the distance, Claire spotted a massive dark silhouette approaching, every wet footstep it made punctuated by chains.
Stepping underneath a flickering set of fluorescent lights that were on the ceiling, Claire's eyes widened in alarm as she got her first look at the figure as it stopped a few feet away from her, leering at her, as if it were enjoying her terror.
Though the thing looked like a man, it clearly wasn't. More like a twisted bastardization of a man.
The creature was tall, about six-foot four, broad in shoulder and ripped, looking as if he weighed over two hundred and thirty-five pounds of muscle. Dressed in a grey one-piece boilersuit, it stood barefoot, with one sleeve torn, revealing heavily muscled muscled biceps and deltoids. Wrapped around part of its torso and its left shoulder, along with both arms, were long thick chains, its hands clenched around a pair of what appeared to be enormous chained hooks.
Swallowing at the sight of the latter, Claire warily eyed them, the hooks so thick and sharp that part of her couldn't help wondering if they had been anchors from a boat or something.
The creature's face was largely concealed by a strange mask held by a string, looking like it had been fashioned from the corner of a broken, dirty metallic box. The only eye openings that Claire was able to make out were eight curiously tiny little holes or vents, four for each side side, almost looking as if the creature had jabbed pencils into it or something.
The one part of its face that was exposed, however, was its mouth, which was its most noticeable and distinctive, if not the most disturbing, feature; a wide, lipless, blood-covered grin flashed at her in a terrifyingly horrific manner, revealing sharp stained yellow teeth, making her shudder in revulsion.
Letting out a maniacal chuckle, the being worked its bloodied mouth in a wordless manner as saliva spilled down its filthy boilersuit, eying Claire as if she were meat.
Taking a threatening step toward her, the chuckle grew as it thumbed the hooks in its hands in horrible anticipation before suddenly rushing toward her with wild swinging arms with a burst of speed that startled Claire.
Twisting around, Claire ran as fast as she could as she tried to place distance between herself and the creature, the latter's maniacal laugh bludgeoning her like a sledgehammer.
Stepping behind a table, the girl carefully used it as a way to keep her attacker at bay, keeping the table between them as it mimicked and followed her movements, no matter the direction, much to her frustration.
Springing up onto the table with a surprising level of agility, the creature laughed as it bounded after her, forcing Claire to flee as she dodged its frantically waving arms as it attempted to cut her.
"HELP!" She screamed. "HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"
Dodging to the left, Claire duck and weaved as it slashed into a pillar, leaving a long gash in the grey concrete.
Claire's face and legs burned, her teeth tightly clenched as she ran all the way down with the massive laughing brute in pursuit behind her.
Pushing into the side of a swinging limb, she swung it toward her attacker, then swung another, all the while blindly running ahead.
A legless torso with one arm let out a growl as it grabbed Claire by the hair, causing her to shriek as she fought to keep it from biting her.
Socking it in the face, Claire struck as hard as she could before flinging it toward her attacker, watching as it latched onto him, the two biting and clawing at one another.
Using its distraction as an opening, the teenager frantically ran and checked all the tables, looking for something, anything!
A key, a gun, a pipe, a bazooka, anything to help her!
Hearing a wet snap, Claire turned to see the masked creature rip the bodiless torso effortlessly with its bare hands, its grinning visage turning in her direction.
Grabbing beakers and jars, the girl threw everything that she could find at the creature, screaming at it in fury.
Potted plants, chairs, cups - anything small and not covered in blood she threw regardless, including various folders and papers before turning around and fleeing.
Claire screamed bloody murder as she flung body parts, hands, dismembered feet, and heads, swung struggling cadavers still attached to chains, doing anything she could to slow her pursuer down.
A few of the creatures managed to wrench themselves free from their chains, even started to crawl and lumber toward her in spite of the various horrific and most certainly fatal wounds on their being.
Delivering a series of combinations to one, she cocked her fist back and swung with everything she had, her fist connecting with its jaw, a punch worthy of the Redfield name that she was certain would have moved any boulder.
Dropkicking another, Claire recovered quickly and roundhoused a third, finishing it off with a curb stomp onto its head, feeling its brains giving way with a sickening crunch.
As another appeared, Claire flailed wildly, screaming like a maniac before knocking it down to the ground and curb stomping its head over and over, cursing with each stomp.
"DIE! YOU! FUCKING! BASTARDS!" She shrieked, her boot and pant leg all bloodied.
Claire screamed at the top of her lungs as she stomped their heads over and over, her clothes becoming slick with gore.
All around, the dead were writhing around on chains, snarling, laughing, growling, and moaning, all of them making the most horrific noises imaginable, while her masked friend devoured several creatures after tearing them up with its hooks before looking back at her with that damned smile.
It was insanity. Pure, unadulterated insanity, and Claire was in the thick of it.
Twisting on her heel, Claire ran down one side of the room, then the other, trying to find a door, keycard, radio, hammer or gun, anything to get this bastard off her back.
"GO AWAY!" She screamed, kicking a bucket in its direction before turning around to flee as it doggedly pursued after her with unrelenting single-minded purpose.
The creature replied back with a maniacal laugh, crouching low and bounding off the ground before suddenly jabbing its hooks into the ceiling, swinging wildly around like a horrible demonic monkey.
Moving around a column, Claire kept her eyes focused on it, matching its movements as she tried to maintain the distance between them.
Whatever the hell this damned thing was, it was fast, and right now she needed to keep on top of it, otherwise it was going to overwhelm her.
She wished that she had a knife, a gun, an axe, something!
But no - apparently, karma wanted to give little ole Claire Redfield both the middle finger along with a nice wet fart.
She kept running from one end of the massive room to the next, back and forth, stumbling and banging into every table in her way while the creature effortlessly swung from the ceiling, using its hooks as if it were a demented and demonic version of Tarzan before leaping ahead of her.
Skidding to a halt, Claire hastily pushed a tray over, turning on her heel, the girl letting out a sharp yell as her right knee made contact with the corner of a table that she didn't see in the darkness, causing her to stumble and fall.
Hitting the ground hard, Claire let out a whimper, rolling quickly to the side as a hook came down, slamming hard enough into the floor to create sparks, just nearly embedding itself into her skull.
Sliding around on her belly, she pitifully tried to hide under the table when she felt a strong, vice-like grip grabbed her by the leg and started to drag her out.
Claire screamed as she felt the unexpected pressure on her right leg, the girl panicking and flailing in every direction as she frantically clawed at the tiles on the bone-covered floor before being forcefully yanked out.
Rolling onto her back, she shrieked into the face of her attacker as it kneeled over her and laughed, its hot stinking breath thick and loathsome.
Grabbing a skull nearby, Claire swung with all her strength, knocking her opponent off, allowing her a chance to escape.
Sobbing and whimpering, the girl limped away and looked around in desperation, her eyes widening as they became fixed on an unused hook and drum winch nearby.
Time to fight fire with fire.
Hobbling toward it, Claire winced at the pain in her bruised leg and body, the former protesting.
Finally, once she was in range, she fell upon it and hastily grabbed the hook, pulling as much of the chain out as possible, before turning to face her laughing friend as it approached, its thumbs running along its blades like a hunter anticipating the kill.
Clenching her jaw, she tightened her grip on her weapon and started to swing them around in a vertical loop, building up momentum, her speed growing.
Locking eyes with her opponent, Claire waited for it to approach, bracing herself.
"Come on, fucker!" She snarled, baring her teeth at the grinning maniac. "You want some of this?! Then come and get it! I got your meal right here!"
As if spurred on by her remark, the creature charged toward her, swinging its arms wildly around, its hooks cutting wildly through the air.
Once it was within range, Claire let out a roar of her own and delivered a horizontal swing, whipping it as hard as she could against its masked face, the teenager feeling a tinge of satisfaction at seeing the big figure jerk its head and stumble to the side.
Retracting her hook quickly, Claire started to loop it around again, this time going for a vertical overhead swing, slamming the chain down onto its back.
"YOU LIKE THAT?!" She shrieked. "HUH?! FUCKING BASTARD!"
She whipped the chain down onto its back, causing it to stumble.
Retracting the chain again, Claire whipped the hook again, only this time, the creature caught it with one hand, its grin wide and mocking.
Startled, Claire struggled to pull the chain from its grip, straining herself as she dug her feet into the dirty floor, her face warm and sweaty, her teeth grit.
Letting out a laugh, the creature flung the hook back to its owner, the girl letting out a slight yelp as the back of it struck her square in the left shoulder, knocking her to the ground.
Arching her back off the floor, Claire groaned, wincing as she clutched her arm, only to let out a startled shriek as the creature suddenly leapt onto her.
Grabbing her by the ponytail, the beast laughed in her face, raising its hook to deliver the final blow.
Looking frantically around, Claire spotted the hook nearby and grabbed it, jamming it straight into the creature's chest, causing it to let out a loud shriek before pushing it away, prying her ponytail free.
Letting out a whimper, the teenager quickly hobbled away, her eyes splotchy and running as she tried to put as much distance between her and the creature as possible.
"HELP ME!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
She was going to die here.
Nobody was going to come to her rescue, and nobody would ever know.
She could hear the creature charging after her again, the chains creaking with every movement it made.
She could hear it gaining on her, knocking over every table, bucket, shelf or piece of equipment in its way.
Claire ducked under a table, running blindly into the darkness, banging into every obstacle in her path.
"HELP ME!"
She could hear the insane laughter behind her in, closing in on her like a shark.
Slipping on a section of wet floor, Claire kicked her feet up into the air, crashing down with a resounding thud, the girl groaning.
Hearing the quickly approaching footsteps, her eyes widened, the teenager frantically crawling backward.
It was six feet away.
Five feet.
Four feet.
Three feet.
Two-
There came a disturbing loud squelch as the hook buried in its chest suddenly tore downward, spilling out its intestines in a sickening display. From its heart to its groin, a bloodied horrific gash, spilling out everything.
To her ever-growing horror, the creature kept coming, as if unbothered by the fact that its own entrails were outside of its body.
Raising her hands defensively, Claire screamed at the top of her lungs as the creature prepared to finish her off, lifting its hooks up to the ceiling.
Chris, I'm sorry...
"HEY FUCK-FACE!"
"Huh?" Claire heard a loud crunch as a pipe swung into its head, knocking the creature off its feet.
"NOW, GUYS, WHILE HE'S DOWN!"
Claire watched as three tall dark figures surrounded the masked creature, all three of them beating it with pipes and curb stomping it.
"DIE, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"
For several minutes, the three of them kept up their assault, the sounds of metal hitting flesh and bone crunching under booted feet punctuating each strike.
Finally, the beatdown stopped, leaving all three winded and panting.
"Jesus Christ," a familiar voice groaned.
Blinking, Claire sat up, recognizing it. "B-Billy?" she timidly called. "Billy, is that you?
Turning to face her, Billy approached, a look of concern on his face as he kneeled beside her, his shirt covered in blood. "Hey Claire. Yeah, it's me, along with T.J. and Thunder." The aforementioned men nodded, with T.J. giving a salute with his index and middle fingers. "You okay?"
Claire said nothing as she stared, the girl finding herself unable to properly speak.
Feeling her eyes well up, Claire launched herself at Billy and wrapped her arms around him, catching the former Marine by surprise as she broke down and hugged him tightly, letting out heavy sobs.
Sighing, he returned the hug, patting her on the back.
"It's okay, Claire," he said softly. "It's okay. I got you, Claire. You're safe now. It's okay. I got you."
Claire tightly held on as long as she could, her form shaking and trembling against his.
"Thank God!" She wept. "Thank God! Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I thought I was going to die down here!"
"You're safe now, Claire," Billy nodded. "Everything's okay." Pulling away, he brushed some bangs from her face. "Are you hurt?"
She swallowed. "Um, I, uh, bumped my knee into the corner of a table. It kind of hurts to walk."
"Which leg?"
"My right."
"Can you walk?"
"I can," Claire nodded. "Well, hobble, mostly."
"Let me help you up," Billy offered, draping her arm around the back of his neck as he lifted her, moving to her right to support her.
"Thank you, Billy," she nodded. "You have no idea how much I appreciate your help." She looked up at Thunder and T.J., smiling at them. "You as well, guys. Thank you."
Smiling back, T.J. gave a thumbs up. "No prob, kid." Turning his attention to the rest of the room, he placed both hands on his hips, standing akimbo style. "So then, any idea what this place is?"
Beside him, Thunder crossed his arms. "It looks like some kind of lab, but what the hell happened here? Look at the state of everything!"
All around, the bodies started to writhe and growl, startling the boxer.
"Shit! Did those bodies just move?" T.J. swore.
"They did," Thunder confirmed, grimacing as legless torsos stripped down to the bone, little more than meat, were flailing their arms around, making the most awful noises.
"What the fuck is this place?"
Claire watched as a frown appeared on Billy's face. "Dunno, but let's get the hell out of here."
"Agreed," she quickly nodded.
"Uhh, guys?" T.J. spoke up. "We got a problem here!"
Looking up from Billy's shoulder, the group froze as the creature that they had beaten down rose back up to its feet, its grinning mouth bleeding freely.
Letting out a laugh, it charged.
"ENDOKUKEN!"
Startled by the cry, Claire leapt as a green fireball suddenly struck the creature in the chest, the blast causing its torso to explode, sending pieces of it scattering while the rest was flung several feet back.
Blinking, the four of them turned in the direction from where it came, where an unexpected figure stood in a horse stance, causing Claire's eyes to widen at the sight of his outstretched hand as it glowed, his fingers curled like claws.
"...Jago?"
Straightening, Jago bowed his head. "Hello. Are you all alright?"
The group eyed the Tibetan monk, each of them sparing uncertain glances at each other before returning them back to him.
"Um...y-yeah," Billy spoke up, drawing Jago's attention. "Yeah, we're fine. Thanks for your help." Looking over to the charred body, he glanced back to the Tibetan monk. "...How did you do that?"
The Tibetan monk placed his hands together. "I will answer your questions later, but first, may I have your permission to examine your leg, Claire?"
Blinking, Claire looked at the others in confusion before returning her eyes back to Jago. "Um...sure?"
Claire watched as Jago approached and kneeled down, raising up her pant leg to reveal swollen purple flesh, the movement and touch causing her to flinch. "OW! OW."
"It looks like you sprained your leg," Jago noted, studying the injury. Raising his eyes, he continued, "With your permission, may I treat it?"
Claire winced. "S-Sure."
Looking back to the swollen flesh, Jago placed his hand over the injured knee, closing his eyes.
To Claire's shock, his hand started to glow.
"What the fuck?!" T.J. gasped.
A strange yet oddly comforting warmth washed over her, from her leg, to her thighs, stomach, arms and entire body. Every ache and pain that she felt vanished, leaving her feeling oddly reinvigorated, the pain and bruises that she was certain of having gone.
When he was finished, Jago pulled his hand away and straightened, nodding his head. "It is done."
Letting go of Billy, Claire stared wide-eyed in wonder down at her leg, touching her exposed knee.
"Are you okay, Claire?" Billy spoke, looking equally mystified.
"Y-Yeah," she nodded. "The pain...it's...it's gone."
Lowering her pant leg down, Claire looked back up to Jago, giving an appreciative nod. "T-Thank you. I have no idea what you just did, but...thank you."
Jago's eyes lit up as he placed his fist into the palm of his hand and bowed. "My pleasure."
The four fighters glanced at one another, uncertain what to make of the mysterious masked man.
Brushing some bangs aside, Claire spoke. "So, um, what-what brought you down here, Jago? I didn't expect to see you."
"To be honest, I was here to save you," Jago explained.
Claire blinked. "Save me?"
"Yes," he nodded matter-of-factly. "I had heard you screaming for help earlier. When I arrived, I saw someone suspicious heading into Spencer Mansion, so I thought that I would follow and see what was the matter." Shifting on one foot, he scratched the back of his head, looking slightly abashed. "Admittedly...I had gotten...lost...while searching for you, but...that was before I heard you down here."
Letting out a slight laugh, Claire shook her head. "Well, you came just in time. That explains some things, but...what was that green fireball that you shot out?"
Jago frowned. "I can tell you later, but first, we all need to leave. Come."
Gesturing to a large door nearby, the five of them started to make their way toward it when it suddenly opened, revealing a bunch of gas-masked soldiers dressed in black combat gear as they all pointed assault rifles at them.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" One soldier yelled, his red-lensed gas mask standing out from the others. "PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR AND GET ON THE GROUND!"
Flinching, Claire raised up her hands in a placating gesture. "W-Whoa there! Listen, this is not what it looks like-"
"GET ON THE GROUND, NOW!"
Exchanging hesitant looks with one another, the five fighters complied, kneeling down to the floor with all of their hands raised.
"I don't suppose you have any more magic tricks up your sleeve, Ninja Boy?" T.J. leaned into Jago.
Jago shook his head. "I don't, nor would I recommend such an action."
"Move in and secure the intruders," The soldiers' leader waved. "The rest of you spread out and make sure the rest of the area is secure."
"Roger."
Claire watched as the soldiers came in, watching them all as they dispersed.
One soldier grabbed her by the wrists and bound them together with a zip tie, while others went around gunning down every undead creature in the room.
Lifting a hand to his helmet, the commanding officer pressed into his built-in headset. "Command, this is Alpha Team. We've found what appears to be some sort of hidden lab down here. None of the maps on our HUDs for this mansion show this place to exist."
Claire blinked in surprise.
None of their maps? So not even Ultratech knew about it?
Swallowing nervously, Claire watched in silence as the man listened to the voice on the other end.
"Umbrella's 'Disassembly Room', you say? I see." He then turned in her direction, the red lenses eying her. "Confirmed. We've found five intruders down here, four men and one woman. No indications that they're infected. What are your orders?"
Infected?
Glancing to her companions, Claire wrinkled her brows with worry, her unease growing.
'Infected with what?' she wondered.
"Acknowledged. Over and out." Lowering his hand from his helmet, the gas-masked man gripped the barrel of his assault rifle. "You shouldn't have come here."
The last thing Claire saw before she lost all consciousness was the butt of the man's gun as it struck her.
Author's Note: And that concludes this chapter! So, for those of you wondering, Lilith Urchin was going to be the protagonist of Rare's cancelled "Project: Urchin", which had been described as a dark fairy tale horror game with a protagonist that was - to put it mildly - morally dubious. I kind of wanted to have a character that both showed the variety of faces coming into the tournament - the good, the bad and those in between - as well as have someone that served as a much blacker and more twisted reflection to Claire's character, and because of that, Lilith was selected and was made more of a deranged serial killer.
Initially, I had wanted the confrontation between her and Claire to occur in the arena like the other characters, but after consideration, it sort of made sense for Lilith to stand out more by attacking and killing the other competitors one at a time imo, thus Claire ended up being attacked in this manner. A friend of mine, Egyptianmaus, had also mentioned that Lilith's design reminded her of Bloody Mary and had suggested that perhaps I should take inspiration from that, and the moment she did, the little grey cells went to work.
"What if the encounter were to occur in the Mirror Corridor of the Spencer Mansion from RE1?"
It seemed like a perfect way to tap into that Bloody Mary angle while also doing something that both references the game as well as provides a more (hopefully) interesting, if not more novel character encounter that made it stand out a little more.
Eagle-eyed RE fans will be able to spot some of the references to the games, including an enemy known as "the Laughing Killer", who was this creepy, giggling fuck with hooks. I was introduced to this character by Egyptianmaus ages ago, and it's a damn shame it didn't make its way into "Darkside Chronicles" imo, just because design-wise he looks awesome.
So, I sought to rectify that.
Of course, finding a stage for it, if not an explanation of its presence, proved something of a challenge. So, I looked around at both the games and the movies, and lo and behold, it came to me - the Disassembly Room from "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter". For those of you who aren't familiar with that movie (bit of a spoiler), the Disassembly Room was an area within the Hive where Alice fought a modified version of the Bloodshot creature from RE6. The editing for that movie by and large was fucking awful (I had thrown up after watching it in 3D), but by the same token, that area and setting was terrific in how it looked. I just find it a shame that more suspense and atmosphere wasn't used for that scene, as it could have been a potentially memorable and scary moment in the film itself.
Thus, the Bloodshot's lair ended up becoming the Laughing Killer's in the context of this story.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.
Stay safe and healthy, everyone! :D