Mendell squinted his eyes, focused on the book lying on the floor. Cautiously, he stepped closer and picked it up and scrutinized it intently. Indeed, he was right. He could not forget how it looked, how it felt on his hands as he held it inside his dream - he could not be mistaken. This was truly the book he was concerned about for the past decade. He mustered his courage and slowly opened it, only to find out that it was blank!
He inspected the book from page to page. Not satisfied, he once again checked each page, this time a few seconds longer than the previous time, yet the result remained the same. Even then, his expectation did not lessen, instead, more questions were added.
Mendell closed the book and sighed. "I don't know why it's empty but I'm sure something is missing, and it's all connected to those words I keep on hearing." Without a choice, he placed the book at the drawer table and laid on the bed, not knowing if this night would be another sleepless one.
===================
Mendell yawned loudly as he waited for a vacant taxicab to arrive. Just like his previous nights, he was not able to sleep properly as his dream kept on playing all over again - like a tv rerun. He looked at his watch and grumbled. Fortunately, only a few minutes had passed when he saw an available one.
"Good day. Please take me to the Raccoon Mall, the entrance facing the City Hall."
"Sure. Hop in."
Mendell entered the taxi and leaned against the closed window as he kept on yawning.
The taxi driver started driving as he accelerated his way along Mission Street. He kept on glancing at the rear-view mirror and said, "Looks like you had a rough night."
Mendell chuckled. "You can say it that way." After several minutes, they passed by the Umbrella Raccoon Headquarters. He was still amazed at how modern it looked compared to the other buildings he frequently visited. Truly one of Raccoon City's pride. All of a sudden, he asked, "Have you entered the Umbrella site? Err, what's your name? Mine's Mendell."
"Kenneth. Well, taxis are prohibited inside their compound. And I've got no relatives nor friends working inside Umbrella, so I guess the answer is never."
"Oh." Mendell kept looking outside and saw the Raccoon St. Station just a few meters away. The taxi turned to the left, and they were now in Raccoon Street. "Is it tiresome to drive all day?"
"Nope. I enjoy my work, meeting new people every day, well not the irate ones anyway." Kenneth steered the car to the right corner where Warren Street was and started adjusting the speed. "You studying?"
"Uh, huh. I'm in my second-year college." Mendel once again became silent.
Kenneth noticed that Mendell was not in the mood to talk and drove silently. Then, he remembered that he needed to do something and asked, "Hey, is it okay if we stop by the gas station? I need to pick up something at STAGLA."
Mendell nodded. "I'm not in a hurry, anyway. Besides, it's just straight ahead, right?"
"Yes. Thank you for understanding."
Mendell made a slight sound to indicate that he understood and once again gazed through the window glass. After several minutes, they arrived at the STAGLA Gas Station. At once, Kenneth exited the taxicab and picked up his things while Mendell kept on staring at the Raccoon Press, which was just across the gas station. Only five minutes passed by when he noticed Kenneth entering the cab with a small paper bag, which he placed inside the small compartment. "Thank you for waiting."
Mendell smiled back and leaned against the window. Kenneth started the cab and drove once again, passing Saya's Casual Shoes, Catholic Student Center, Mom's Cafe, until they finally arrived at the Raccoon Mall. To the right was the City Hall.
Mendell thanked him and exited the cab after paying his fare. Then, he walked straight ahead to the mall because he did not want to waste his time. Luckily, all he had to buy right now was some supplies he lacked inside the house. It only took him for about half an hour to finish his shopping and exited the mall after placing the supplies inside his bag. He looked at his watch and noticed that it was still early and decided to spend his time inside L.E. Books, which was located several meters away from the Raccoon Police Department.
After several minutes, he finally reached the end of Warren Street, arriving at the Ennerdale Parking Garage. He crossed the road and what lies before him was the Raccoon Police Department, otherwise known as RPD. He was about to move forward when he noticed the two people several meters away from him having an intense conversation. He wanted to cross the road but he had to pass through them to reach the pedestrian lane. Without a choice, he started walking when all of a sudden, the young man stabbed the female's belly with a sharp object and started running, this time toward his direction.
"Stop him!"
"Help, someone's hurt!"
Several people who were walking beside him ran to the side as if making way for the rushing offender. Some cops noticed the situation and started dashing forward to capture the criminal. Even one of them shouted, "RPD! Stop or we'll shoot."
The young man smirked as he ran faster, his eyes now fixed on Mendell, who was blocking his path as he stood still like a statue. He took out something from his pocket and took a firm grasp as he sprinted.
Mendell noticed that the criminal was holding a pocket knife. Oddly, he was not nervous when facing such a dangerous situation. To others, he looked like he was frozen scared but he knew that he was focused as ever as if he was used to confronting such things.
The young man thrust his knife forward. It was about to reach Mendell's stomach when he swept it down with his lead arm and grabbed the enemy's wrist with his backhand. Without wasting time, he delivered a back fist to the neck. At once, the young man sprawled on the ground, unconscious and defenseless. He immediately grabbed both of the young man's arms, like he was about to handcuff him. It all happened in a matter of seconds.
People who were on the sidewalk gasped. Even some others were shocked as they moved closer to Mendell. When the adrenaline subsided, they started cheering.
"Hey, young man. Good job." The middle-aged man gave him a thumbs-up sign. "That was a good punch to the neck."
Mendell scratched his head as he wondered where his ability came from, considering that it was his first time to get in trouble like this. Even then, he did not act awkwardly and responded with a calm nod and a smile.
The waitress from the Grady Inn cheered as well. "Hey, you're good at combat. You should be in the police."
A middle-aged businessman nodded. "That poor lady. I saw it all. Thank God the ambulance arrived earlier than expected and she was treated right away."
Mendell did not know how to respond to them because he was shocked by what he did as well. All he could do was nod and smile. Somehow, the people misunderstood him and took it differently, claiming that he was humble and an excellent fighter. Uncomfortable, he shifted his glances and sighed in relief when he saw three cops arriving at the scene.
"Okay, everyone. This is RPD. Make way."
Two of the patrol officers were wearing white collared shirts, dark grey patrol trousers, black boots, and pants while the other one was wearing a short-sleeved black jacket with the letters "R.P.D." on the front, which was exposed as a V-neck, and had pads above each shoulder and wore black gloves.
"Officer Arthur, Officer Kreeg. Let me handle this. Just get their statements and we can go home safe and sound," the 6-foot tall man said as he hid his unlit cigarette back inside his inner pocket.
"Sure, Officer Kevin." At once, Arthur and Kreeg did their job and talked with the other witnesses.
Kevin took out a handcuff and placed it on the young man's wrists. When he noticed that the man was still unconscious, he chuckled while glancing at Mendell, "You did sure gave him a nice, sleeping pill."
Mendell shrugged his shoulders as he stood up. "Well, may I go now? I still have to go to the bookstore."
Kevin searched through the young man's clothes thoroughly, looking for any weapon. When he was done, he lifted the young man and carried him on his shoulder like it was nothing. "You mean the L.E. Books?"
Mendell nodded.
"Ah, let's go together after you make a statement back in the police department, after all, it's just a few meter stroll. I was on my way to J's bar when this happened," Kevin explained as he walked, not minding the odd glances he received from the people. "Well, let's start 'talking' now. What's your name?"
"Mendell Toliev. Uhm, are you sure you'd just carry him to the police department like that? Aren't you taking him to the hospital or something?"
"I checked him already. His body's fine, just a usual case of fainting after a good hit against the neck. Besides, I don't wanna waste my time. I still have something important to do back at the J's Bar." Kevin checked the young man's condition again. After knowing that he was still sleeping, he shifted his gaze back to Mendell, "What happened exactly? I was about to shoot his legs to immobilize him but you did it in just seconds."
Mendell recounted everything, which elicited a few 'hmm' sound from Kevin from time to time. When he was done, Kevin further inquired, "You trained in any martial arts?"
Mendell shook his head.
"Then how did you do it? Even though I was far away, I can clearly see how you knocked him off, with a back fist. The neck is a sensitive part of the body, and it required certain power and control to achieve what you did. Are you sure you're telling me the truth?"
"As far as I'm concerned, this is the truth."
Kevin chuckled. "Well, what matters most is you're safe and he is going to jail. And that poor lady was medically treated right away."
"I guess so..."
As they reached the corner, Kevin turned right and quickened his pace. Mendell had no choice but to follow him.
Out of the blue, Kevin asked, "You like basketball?"
"Only in videogames."
"How about baseball?"
"Only in videogames."
"Racing?"
"Only in videogames."
"I'm sure you like football, right?" Kevin gave him a sideglance, his eyes seemed to tell Mendell that he was correct with his assumption.
Mendell rubbed his nape and answered, "Only in videogames."
Kevin stared at him like he was a monster of some sort. "You're kidding, right?!"
Mendell shrugged his shoulders. "Too bad, I'm not."
Kevin gave him a blank look and continued walking, "How old are you, anyway?"
"20-years old."
Kevin seemed to remember something and chuckled to himself. This time, he changed his topic and conversed with a lot of things until they arrived at the gate of the Raccoon Police Department. Several patrol officers were running back and forth the wide door as they entered the main hall.
Mendell scanned the area and the first thing he noticed was the female statue behind the information desk. The next things that made him curious were the paintings across the hallway and the different ornaments that adorned the building. At first glance, he could not tell that the place was a police department. Instead, it was more like a display room or a museum.
Kevin dropped his baggage like it was a sack of potato as they reached the information desk. "Instant delivery at your service, beautiful Jenny."
Jenny rolled her eyes. "Officer Kevin Ryman. Can you at least bring them in a normal way?" She noticed Mendell who was tagging along behind him, and asked, "Who is he?"
"The witness and hero of the day, Mendell Toliev."
"Hello, Officer Jenny," Mendell greeted her as he saw one of the medics nodding after checking the young man's body condition, who was waking up from his slumber.
"Yes, hello, Mendell. Anyway, we don't wanna waste any of our time so I hope you can cooperate with us. Please sit down." Jenny asked Mendell several questions and recorded his statement using the typewriter. When everything was over, Jenny gave him a clearance, indicating that he could leave while several police officers led the arrested criminal to the interrogation room.
Kevin smiled at Mendell. "So, ready to go?"
Mendell was about to nod when he saw a dark-skinned police officer approaching them.
Kevin noticed his reaction and looked behind. His eyes brightened up and saluted as he said, "Good day, Lieutenant Branagh."
Fun Fact: STAGLA is a company operating a chain of gas stations.
It is first seen in Resident Evil 3.