Anomaly (2)
Black Tiger was the Boss roaming in the Underground Catacombs. Even though it was the easiest Boss that could be encountered in Resident Evil 1, the fact that it was a giant spider still made Mendell worried. This small space - as a trap - betrayed his memory about the mansion. And now, the spiderlings being present in this area made him more confused.
The spiderlings were almost a meter long, with its eyes glittering as it skittered across the walls. Even though it was smaller compared to the Black Fang, they were fast and venomous. Its fangs were large enough to mangle human skin. Even its dark-colored body made it more menacing to look at.
At once, Mendell placed his log and bag on a corner and took out his gun. Then, he started shooting.
As soon as the spiderlings saw one of their kind fell on the ground, they created screaking sounds and jumped toward the duo.
Mendell shot the left spiderling that was crawling on the wall and punched the other one with his left hand. When he noticed a spiderling leaping at him, he shot it on its head, which then crashed against the floor. He saw that it was still moving, so he stomped on it as hard as he could, squashing its body.
Enrico inserted his Steyr AUG through the spaces between the metallic gate and shouted, "Kenneth! Take this!"
Kenneth grabbed the gun swiftly. After a few adjustments, he began shooting. He knew that his aim was not good but the full-auto Steyr AUG could help him kill the spiderlings much faster.
As soon as Kenneth started firing, Enrico stepped back to give more leeway for Forest and Edward. Then he took out his Samurai Edge and started shooting as well.
Forest and Edward had an easier task this time because they discovered that it only took one shot on the head to kill a spiderling. Even though the spiderlings were fast, they noticed that it usually stopped after every jump, making it easier for them to aim and shoot. They picked them one by one, making sure that they would not miss, thus, saving more bullets.
Richard and Kevin wanted to help but they were assigned as rear security, guarding the group against any possible sneak attacks from behind.
The spiderlings kept on coming. The nasty smell of guts almost filled the area but they did not let it affect their enthusiasm to kill the critters.
Mendell noticed that some of the spiderlings were on the ceiling. "Kenneth, I'll deal with those spiders above us. Stay focus."
"I will," Kenneth answered as he killed another wave of spiderlings before him.
Even though the ceiling was high, Mendell had heightened vision and it was easy for him to hit the spiderlings accurately. He wasted no time and started firing his gun. The spiderlings dropped one after another. Even a dead spiderling fell on Kenneth's head, which frightened him. If Mendell was not there to remind him that it was dead, he could start panicking and be overwhelmed by the spiderlings.
No more spiderlings were appearing from the entrance but there were still many critters inside the area.
"I'm out of ammo!" Kenneth shouted as he took out his Samurai Edge.
Enrico heard this and was about to give him some magazines when he heard shooting sounds behind them.
"ZOMBIES!" Richard shouted as he kept on shooting. Kevin was beside him as well, killing as many zombies as he could.
Enrico signaled Forest to help Richard and Kevin. At once, Forest stood up and rushed as fast as he could. As soon as he reached them, he knelt and sniped his targets.
Mendell heard what was happening and frowned. These spiderlings, although lethal, were not infectious unlike zombies. They could still survive the threat if bitten but a zombie bite would instantly finish the team. Without hesitation, he exclaimed, "Enrico! Don't mind us here! I can deal with the remaining spiders! Don't let the zombies reach you!"
Enrico hesitated but after analyzing everything, he opted to trust Mendell once again. He instructed Edward to help the rest of his team.
Edward stopped what he was doing and immediately executed his command. At once, he grouped with his fellow Bravo team and started killing the zombies.
"Kenneth, here are some ammo!" Enrico bellowed as he held the ammunition on his free hand.
"No, you should use your gun, Captain." Kenneth returned the Steyr AUG to him as he shot a nearby spiderling. "We have few enemies left."
Enrico nodded and grabbed the Steyr AUG and reloaded it. After a few adjustments, he ran to his men and shouted, "Plan C!"
The zombies kept appearing from the left corner. Enrico knew that they had killed all the zombies in this area, so he was puzzled as to where this group of zombies came from. Slowly, they moved forward as they killed the zombies, intending to push their way until they could find out where they were coming from. Luckily, they had enough bullets to use because they carried the ammunition case with them.
While Enrico and his men were busy with their predicament, Kenneth and Mendell were left alone to deal with the remaining spiders.
Suddenly, ten spiderlings attacked them simultaneously. Five of them were from the ceiling while the remaining five came from the west direction.
"Shit!" Kenneth started to panic, thus killing only one spiderling that was from the west wall.
Mendell noticed Kenneth's behavior and remembered how the chemist died in the original plot. Maybe because he was panicking that he could not kill that single zombie, he thought. Nevertheless, he had to do something fast.
He shot the nearest one but his eyes squinted when he realized that he was out of ammo. Eight spiders. These were the number of enemies he had to kill to win this fight.
Mendell threw the gun against the nearest spiderling, pushing it away from him. He slapped the other one as hard as he could, letting it crash against the wall and grabbed the next one with his two hands. When he felt that a spiderling was on his back, he leaped backward against the wall, and he felt the guts all over his back. He then tore the spiderling's body apart and the blood splattered all over his face and chest.
"AAAAH!" Kenneth screamed as he fended off a spiderling, who had successfully bitten his arm. He moved back until his back reached the wall, and he started shooting the spiderling. Another one reached his leg and bit him, which elicited another scream from the guy. He was about to shoot the spiderling but his vision started to blur.
When Mendell noticed that Kenneth was hurt, he picked the nearest table and threw it against the spiderling sneaking a few meters away from Kenneth, crushing its head. He then leaped forward and kicked the one that bit Kenneth and finished it with a strong stomp attack. He grabbed the birdcage before him and hurled it against another spiderling that was resting on the wall. While he was doing this, a spiderling that was on the floor skittered toward him, landed on his stomach, and bit him.
There was a slight gash on his belly but he did not mind it. Instead, he grabbed its head and squashed it. Not contented, he threw it against the ground and stomped as hard as he could.
He was bleeding and he needed to mend it fast. He rushed to the corner and picked up his bag. Then, he approached Kenneth who was barely breathing. He took out several bottles from his bag, which contained the mixture of herbs he prepared along the way.
Mendell removed some of the clothes that hindered him from treating Kenneth's wounds. When he was done, he washed it water from his unused bottle. He patted it dry and applied the mixtures of three herbs on the open wounds, both on Kenneth's left arm and right leg. He then took out a clean shirt from his bag and cut it and bandaged it properly.
Then he took off his shirt and cleaned the wound on his belly. After treating it the way he did with Kenneth, he leaned against the wall and exhaled deeply. He could still hear the gunshots in the opposite direction, so he knew that Enrico and the rest were still fine.
He checked Kenneth's condition and observed that his complexion was getting normal. This time, he was sure that the herbs worked. He could not imagine what would happen if the spiderling's venom were as potent as the Yawn.
Slowly, he felt his eyes getting heavy. He slapped his face to stay awake and even washed his face, which somehow worked. He took out the phone from his bag and whispered, "Almost midnight..."
Mendell remembered that he still had a day to face the nightmare of the Spencer mansion.
Unconsciously, he did not realize that he was sleeping already.