Subject: (UW!) Into The Forest
From: "ZombieEater" stuconser@prodigy.net
Date: Thu, 02 September 1999 01:50 AM EDT
Message-id: <7ql3bi$2jja$1@newssvr03-int.news.prodigy.com>
Messed up the first time.
Two weeks passed after what had happened to Charlie. He had finally gotten
the nerve to
return to his mothers house, and to his delight there didn't seem to be any
'living dead'. If
that's what it was. He had also gotten a small apartment in the middle of
town, not much
but better than nothing. Needing a car, he rented one at a nearby used car
rental place.
He had also been going over the whole S.T.A.R.S. thing. In about the two
weeks time he
had the application, he had had enough time to research exactly what had
happened that
one frightful night. Apparently, according to the newspapers he found at the
Raccoon
Library, hikers had been mauled by dog-like creatures outside of Raccoon
Forest. Many
more had disappeared. The Special Tactics And Rescue Squad had been sent in
to
investigate.
Charlie frowned. It didn't go into much detail. It just said that they were
forced to land and
were attacked. They escaped, barely, into a old mansion and barely escaped
when the
place had exploded. That's all he could find. But from what he had heard
from locals, the
entire thing had to link with the Umbrella Company.
He shook his head. "Just what I need, a conspiracy." Charlie sighed. "I'm
not going to find
anything here. I need to go to the source." He thought for a moment. "I need
to get to
Raccoon Forest."
Charlie returned to his apartment and made up his mind. He would go. But he
couldn't just
leave on his own. He had gone hiking through the forest several times, but
that was years
ago. And he didn't know what type of things he just might find. Walking into
his bedroom,
he grabbed a duffel and began filling it with things. Clothes, supplies,
food. And a
handgun. He didn't want to bring it, it wasn't even loaded. But just for
safety.
He slipped the gun into the bag, along with a few clips, and made his way
out. He got into
his car. He drove by the RPD, hoping to see Deputy Chief Tailor. But he saw,
he didn't
expect. Several squad cars were leaving, heading in the direction of the
forest. "What the
hell?" He said to himself. Speeding up, he began to follow them.
After some time, the cars made it to their destination. From the looks of
it, it was the
Raccoon Retreat. Charlie had visited it a few times when he was young, but
it seemed
pretty run down. "So, what are you doing here?"
Stopping the car a several hundred feet away from the squad, Charlie slowly
got out. It
appeared that they were searching the place, but for what? He slowly walked
up and saw
several people, not just police. FBI cars were parked nearby. He didn't want
to seem as if
he were deliberately looking for trouble, so he made his way carefully.
An officer noticed him almost immediately and waved him over. "What are you
doing
here?" His voiced seemed a bit shaky, as if something had just happened.
"I was just passing through, when I saw all these cop cars. What the hell is
going on
here?" Charlie asked the young officer.
"It's none of your damn business. You should continue on your way, there's
nothing to see
here." The officer scowled at Charlie and walked away.
"Oh sure." Was all that Charlie could say. Sure I'll leave, he thought to
himself, as soon as
I find out what the hell is going on. He grinned and started off toward the
back of the
retreat. When he made it, the other door didn't even budge. Luckily, there
were several
windows.
Looking through, Charlie was horrified by what he saw. Bloody, dead bodies
were thrown
about what looked like the main building. He gagged as he saw them.
"Murder?"
Charlie turned and started back toward his car. This was just too much for
him. "Perhaps I
shouldn't have asked." Running, he noticed that everyone had left the
building. He saw
Deputy Chief Tailor, who seemed to be giving out orders to everyone.
Something was
wrong, he had never seen so many dead bodies in his whole life.
Getting into the car, Charlie turned the key to start the engine. He growled
when nothing
happened. "Last time I buy used." All he wanted to do was get out of here!
The engine
just didn't want to turn over. Getting out, he opened up the hood. Steam
rose up and
nearly blinded him. It appeared he was stuck.
Sighing, Charlie kicked the car. It was getting pretty late, and he was
miles away from
civilization. It was quiet, with just the sounds of birds and wolves in the
distance. Actually,
the howling seemed to be fairly close. Looking around, he began to sweat.
Wasn't this
near the same place of the murders?
A dog bark spooked him back into reality. "What the hell is a dog doing
here?" About
twenty feet in front of him, stood what looked like a Doberman. But it was
just standing
there. Smiling, Charlie walked closer to it. "What are you up to, boy?"
The closer he got, the clearer the dog got. But something was wrong. It just
didn't look
right. Suddenly, he noticed that it was missing half it's face. He could
clearly see it's ribs
and blood was dripping from it's teeth. This 'dog' wasn't a dog at all. It
was dead!
Charlie slowly walked back to the car, trying not to make any sudden moves.
But that was
too much for it. Starting off at a slow walk, the dead dog was soon after
him. Charlie
turned and ran, trying to keep his distance. But it was much more faster
than he was.
Making it to the car door, he tugged the door handle. It was locked. "Damn!"
He stuck his
hand in his front pocket and grabbed his keys. Quickly, he jabbed the first
one into the
lock. "Come on, come on." He quickly chanted.
The dog was nearly on top of him. It didn't look like he would get the door
open in time.
Turning, Charlie saw the dog jump, jaws open and ready to bite. He flinched
and almost
didn't notice the bullet hit and throw the dog down, inches in front of him.
"You know, you should be more careful."
Charlie looked over to the voice. "Tailor." He said, as he saw the black
man. "Um,
thanks."
Tailor walked over to Charlie and nodded. "No problem." He looked down at
the dog.
"What was that?"
"A dog, but badly mutilated. It almost looked dead." Charlie shuddered at
the thought.
"Yeah. So, what are you doing here?" Tailor said, quickly changing the
subject.
"I actually came here to investigate the S.T.A.R.S. conspiracy." Charlie
started.
"That was a year ago, Charlie. You need to keep up with the times." Tailor
said with a
grin, slipping his gun back in his holster.
"I think I know that. But I just wanted to see the place where it occurred.
I thought I
might learn something else." Charlie turned to the Deputy Sheriff. "Then I
saw your cars,
and followed you. What's going on here?"
"I wish I knew exactly. A lot of murders, I can tell you that." He sighed.
"We're going to
investigate it."
"Do you think it may have something to do with the disappearances? And
this?" He
pointed to the dead animal.
"Can't say. Right now, they have nothing in common." Tailor answered.
"Right..."Charlie trailed off. He just wished that he could believe that.