"That damn genius—William Birkin—was responsible for the project. I'm sure you've already had the pleasure of meeting his little daughter. What was her name again… ah, right—Sherry!"
Somewhere behind me, two surprised gasps came from the girls who had just realized exactly who it was we'd slipped past upstairs. They were echoed by a similar gasp from an even more shocked Miss Redfield.
"And that monster you must have noticed is yet another creation of that unrestrained genius. Umbrella will definitely try to cover this up. No—judging by what happened to City Hall, they've already started. But I don't want to die as a key witness! In any case, those are just my worries. Farewell!"
But instead of a shot—or even two—we heard Irons let out a pained cry. His figure, visible to us thanks to the illumination (Yamata had already admitted that this ability had finally manifested for her as well, and judging by Katherine's face as she watched the two people move through the wall, it was obvious she had it too), suddenly doubled over, as if he'd been punched hard in the chest. Everything would have made sense—except Redfield couldn't have done it. She was a good three steps away from the chief, and at the moment of his scream she hadn't even moved.
"My chest! I can't anymore… it hurts, it hurts!" Brian screamed at the end, but quickly choked off, and the smell of blood reached me. That was the moment I finished dismantling the opening—wide enough for me to squeeze through, the largest of the three inhuman beings.
A quick glance at the girls below, and I noticed Katherine's nostrils flare as she caught the scent of blood. Ah, right—we're basically overwhelmed by hunger until our first victim. Or thirst, in her case. I dipped halfway into the opening so I could see everything and be ready to drop down from the other side, while still remaining unnoticed—at least until I chose to reveal myself.
What I witnessed was a pale Claire, who only by some miracle did not retch—for she had never faced anything like this before (even though zombies should have dulled that reaction somewhat; otherwise, I'm afraid she would have folded in half). And then there was something that resembled a snake, a toad, and a leech all at once—about the length of an arm. It swiftly gnawed its way out through Irons's chest cavity from the inside and, spilling free, crawled downward, breaking through a thin grate. If I remembered correctly, that passage led through the sewers straight back to the same laboratory complex.
To Claire's credit, she pulled herself together fairly quickly. After surveying the room, she hesitantly approached the opening, carefully stepping around Irons's corpse. She looked around once more, took a deep breath to steel herself, and began descending the spiral staircase after the monster. A brave girl.
That was the moment I decided it was time to slip into the room myself—which I did with ease. I landed on the floor on the other side of the door and unlocked it. That panicker Irons had locked it the moment he scared Claire away from it. Looks like I really had rattled him. I scanned the room.
On the left… was me.
In the center stood a massive butcher's table covered with various instruments—there was even an old-fashioned saw. To the right of the table was a row of three open cabinets, where different animals and beasts floated in formalin, sometimes only in pieces. The police chief had quite the charming hobby.
An identical cabinet stood in the corner directly in front of me. In the opposite corner, diagonally across from where I stood, lay the police chief's body—and the descent downward.
I opened the door and let the girls into the room, and the moment Miss Warren saw the corpse, her restraints snapped completely. She lunged at it, almost snarling. It was understandable. Until the G-virus serum—by the way, did she even still need it? Ahem. Anyway, without the serum, she would have a very hard time controlling her hunger. And here, its first manifestation coincided with her hatred for the man whose body lay before her. That combination blew her brakes clean off.
"I can't believe I ate zombies with the same enthusiasm," the Four Eyes muttered as she came to stand beside me, training her weapon on Katherine to steady her nerves.
"What's this? I was practically cultivating spiritual kinship with Korea, eating dogs. And they even had stuffing inside. Explosive stuffing, at that." I shuddered.
Meanwhile, Katherine somehow managed to consume the corpse bones and all—and, I think, even the clothes. Yeah, we'd never let ourselves get to that point. Then again, the police chief was extremely nutritious at the moment. The G-parasite had already left him, but residual effects should have remained. So if Katherine had needed a G-virus sample before, now she definitely didn't.
"Fuh… I—I ate him?" Katherine said incredulously. The last thing I needed right now was a hysterical breakdown.
"The first hunger is unfortunately like that," I explained in a soothing tone. "And don't look at me like that. You're stronger and faster than a human, but everything has its drawbacks. Ours is thirst—for blood, and the first time, flesh as well. But admit it: compared to us, being a bloodsucker isn't so bad next to being a zombie. If it helps, that bastard contained traces of the G-virus, so now your development will be smoother and more controlled—and the downsides have just dropped significantly."
As I spoke, I tried to remove her blinders right away, so she wouldn't be disappointed later, when things became far more serious. It would be easier for me to get rid of her now, before any attachments formed, than in that distant future.
(End of Chapter)
P@treon: /SadRaven
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