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.