Spencer Mansion (1)

Mendell looked at the newcomers and realized that they were Enrico Marini, Kenneth Sullivan, and Richard Aiken.

Enrico was taken aback when he recognized the young man who was fighting against the horde of unknown humanoid creatures. "It's you!"

Richard seemed surprised as well, not expecting that the young man whom he thought as harmless would be this violent. Even then, he was still able to stay calm and said, "Waiting for your instructions, Sir."

Kenneth sensed that the situation was not right so he just took a hold of his gun and stared at Enrico.

While this was happening, Forest Speyer appeared behind the trees, his eyes squinting when he saw the zombies.

When Kevin saw them, he shouted, "Captain! Mendell's on our side! He's fighting against those monsters!"

Edward moved out from where he was hiding and waved his hands. After that, he knelt and started shooting again.

Enrico nodded and signaled both of his men, who at once complied with his commands. When he saw Richard and Kenneth shooting at the zombies, he shifted his eyes back to Mendell, and stated matter-of-factly, "You have a lot of explaining to do, civilian."

Mendell shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, better tell your men to keep a distance from zombies. A scratch or bite from them is all it takes to completely infect you, thus turning you into a mindless monster like them as well."

"I'll take note of that," Enrico replied as he started shooting the zombies with his Steyr AUG.

Mendell started his slaughter by hitting the zombies with his usual tactic, and he was getting more proficient as time passed by. He noticed this and smiled as he whispered, "Practice makes perfect."

Edward stood up and went closer to where Enrico was and sat in a sniping position once again.

Meanwhile, Kevin ran toward Enrico and aimed his gun, guarding the spots behind his team members. "Captain, you can trust Mendell. Well, at least for now."

Enrico continued his shooting spree as he downed another zombie, and replied, "Why did you leave the helicopter? Did you find out what happened to the engine?"

Kevin shook his head and started recounting his investigation, the Cerberus pack attacks, from the time he met Mendell until this very second. When he was done, he finally remarked, "a young mercenary. He can be a nice addition to the team if he wanna join us. Of course, after he passes the test."

"Well, no more talking. Let's finish this," Enrico replied as he started shooting.

Everyone was busy with their roles. After a few minutes, all the zombies present were finally killed. Enrico instructed everyone to secure the area, and they started doing their jobs.

Enrico stared at Mendell as he folded his arms on his chest. "Kevin told me about you. First and foremost, I'd like to thank you for helping him fend off those, uh, Cerberus."

"It's not a big deal. I was searching for my parents and sister when I heard a loud explosion. Along the way, I met a murder of crows before meeting those dog-like monsters."

"So, what do you know about this mansion? I keep hearing about those engineered monsters, do you know the group that's responsible for this?"

Mendell knew full well that he had to be careful with his answers, afraid that he might spill out secrets that were not supposed to be told in this current part of the story. Besides, he remembered that Enrico himself would discover the terrible secrets of the Umbrella Corporation while he was in NEST. Too bad, he was killed by Albert Wesker before he could tell it to Chris Redfield. After contemplating, he answered, "I'm not sure about the responsible group but I believe that somewhere in this place, there's something that can reveal their identity. As for the mansion itself, all I know is that it's filled with these monsters. And much more."

Enrico looked at him for a minute or two before nodding. "Anyway, we're already here, so might as well investigate this place. Who knows, we might meet the criminal hiding inside the mansion as a living being or a corpse."

"Maybe," Mendell said weakly. He finally remembered that this group would never see Billy Coen in this mansion, regardless of what they did. He forgot that both Billy and Rebecca would separate ways after defeating the Queen Leech back at the Executive Training Ground.

Enrico noticed his expression but he did not bother asking him what his thoughts were. Instead, he waited for his men to finish what he told them before attempting to enter the manor.

Mendell saw what they were doing and wondered what would happen this time, considering the Bravo Team was still complete. "Whatever..." he said as he approached them, who was now assembled just beside the mansion's entrance. He toggled the night vision off, only to find out that he could still use the shade normally. With this, he did not need to resummon it every time he wanted to use the Night Vision Shade.

Enrico nodded and pushed the door open, and everyone entered the mansion as they aimed their guns in different directions. After making sure that the hallway was clear, he said, "Kenneth, close the door. We don't want anyone attacking us from outside."

"Roger that." Kenneth pulled the huge door and the mansion was closed.

Kevin looked around, noticing the peculiar style and decoration inside this place. "Wow. I can't believe there's a Victorian-style mansion in the middle of a dangerous forest. It looks like a good script for a good horror story. Maybe someone's living in this place."

Kenneth nodded. "But the weird thing is this hall's not musty. Well, I guess Kevin's theory is correct."

Richard traced his hands along the stair railings and knocked his hands against it. "Sturdy."

"Even the carpet is still in good condition. Such a fancy place," Forest added.

Enrico scanned the area and paused for a few seconds before turning his attention to Mendell and asked, "You've said your teammates were attacked inside this mansion. So, can you describe the place you've visited and the possible dangers that we could face while we're here?"

"Zombies, Cerberus, infected crows - these are the three monsters that my team encountered while inside this mansion." Mendell pointed at the west door, - "this door leads to the dining room," and he pointed again, this time, at the door at the end of the stairs, - "and that leads to the courtyard."

"Okay. Kenneth and Kevin, check the west area. Forest and Edward, investigate the east area. Richard, you better check the house adjacent to this mansion. And you..." Enrico paused for a few seconds, and continued, - "I don't have any authority to give you any command but please help us in any way you can. We need more hands. You seem capable enough to fight those monsters."

Mendell had to make sure that this mansion was similar to the ones in the plot. He knew he had to do something or the same thing would happen again - Kenneth being chomped by a zombie while Forest being pecked to death by crows. He raised his hands to get their attention, "Wait."

Enrico gave him an inquiring look. "What?"

"I think you're forgetting something. I told you our team was overwhelmed by a horde of monsters. Dividing our strength like this will only expose us to potential dangers, even death."

"I see what you mean." Enrico paused for a few seconds and commanded, "Okay. Let's clear the west area first. Since we already know what possible monsters we can encounter, then let's eliminate them."

"Yes, Sir." Everyone said in unison.

Kenneth, being the Pointman, stood at the front right while on his left was Richard. Behind Kenneth was Forest, the Omni-man while Enrico was posted behind Richard. The remaining two - Kevin and Edward - served as the Rear Security.

Mendell looked at his log weapon and scratched his head. He forgot that there were narrow hallways inside this mansion. Such a large weapon was not practical to use. "Let me use this for now. Maybe I can find something inside."

Kenneth opened the door cautiously and peeked inside.

There was a long table filled with candelabras and eating utensils. Even the chairs were neatly arranged. Just like what Mendell said, it was a dining room.

Kenneth did some hand signals and everyone nodded their head. At once, they entered the dining room and quickly searched the area.

While everyone was busy with their investigation, Kenneth saw a pool of blood just beside the fireplace. He stooped down and touched the murky liquid. He even smelled it and looked behind, "Captain! There's blood here."

Enrico approached Kenneth and noticed the blood he was referring to, which made him believe that Mendell was telling the truth. He looked at Mendell, who was busily looking at one of the candelabras and asked, "Do you know anyone who's hurt in this room?"

Mendell shook his head. "Not sure."

"Okay." Enrico saw that Mendell was still carrying the log on his shoulders, "Are you sure you're gonna use that inside this mansion?"

Mendell scratched his head. "I don't have any gun nor a decent knife. And we already have made some moments together so I guess it's okay."

Enrico snickered and took out a gun and some magazine. "Here, take this. You're a mercenary, so I guess you know how to use a gun, right?"

Mendell received the gun and inspected it. "Samurai Edge, courtesy of Joe Kendo. A decent one."

"So you know your gun, huh? Beretta 92F STARS Special. Hope you put it into good use," Enrico remarked.

"Thanks." Mendell secured the gun on his waist but the rest never expected that he would still carry the massive log.

Enrico chuckled and urged everyone to go back into position. Mendell, who had no specific role, opted to stay at the back, becoming the protector of the two rear security.

Kenneth opened the door and observed that it led to a narrow hallway. He saw Enrico pointing east, and he nodded and started walking forward. Slowly, they traverse the narrow path until they reached the corner leading to another hallway.

Kenneth leaned against the wall and peeked in, only to find two zombies several meters away from them. There was a door at the end of the hallway. He relayed everything he saw to Enrico.

Enrico signaled them to kill the zombies that blocked their way.

Richard and Kenneth both shot their respective zombies until they were killed. They were about to move forward when they heard the sound of breaking glass. Enrico and the rest of his team felt their blood went cold when they saw two Cerberus at the west end of the hallway. To make matters worse, they could hear several growling sounds getting stronger, which reverberated across the tiny space. There they noticed twenty zombies appearing just beside the Cerberus.

Mendell realized that these zombies came from the spot where Kenneth died in the original plot. He was about to step back when he heard Enrico shouting, "Run to the door!"

At once, everyone sprinted as fast as they could until they reached the door.

Kenneth turned the knob, only to find out that it was locked. He stepped backward and shot it until the knob was destroyed. He kicked it open but something was blocking the door from the other side. Once, Twice. He kicked it several times but the door did not budge.

The two Cerberus, seeing their prey escaping, sprinted forward while the zombies behind slowly made their way to the east.

And Mendell was the first one to receive their attacks.