Ranma couldn't describe the feeling that washed over him as he was about to finally go back into slumber. It had been like a... ripple in reality, like someone had thrown a rock in the pond of the natural order of things. For a martial artist of his caliber who was in tune with his environment most of the time, it was disturbing to say the least...
That his stomach was doing cartwheels and his head was pounding with a nasty migraine were consequences he could have done without. He was ready to crawl in his futon and bury his head in his pillow when his hearing picked up something.
Moaning sounds came from outside the room, and they were not of the kinky kind. The heat and the smell of burning further clued him that something weird was going on. It was too dark to see anything but... Wait a minute ! When Oyaji got him out of bed, the day had risen so why was it night again !?
Ranma jumped awake and went straight to the window. What he saw out there wasn't the Tendo house's not-so-friendly neighborhood. No, the sight of a deserted and burning modern city offered itself to him. Cars were littering the pavement, some damaged and some not. Shop windows were shattered and some buildings were burning. He could hear some faint police, ambulance and firemen sirens echoing in the distance. There were also sounds of explosions and... gunfire !?!
Now that his eyes had acclimated themselves to the darkness, Ranma could see he wasn't in his bedroom at the Tendo house anymore but in some cheap motel room out of an american movie.
His danger sense flared to life as he heard scraping sounds at the door. The moaning had grown in intensity and it really unnerved him "Hello ?"
The door exploded into splinters as someone broke through. Several persons tumbled in and when Ranma got a good look at them, he put his hand on his mouth and tried not to throw up. He also pinched his nose at the stench of decay who assaulted his sense of smell.
Zombies... Their flesh was already decomposing under their dirty and ripped clothing. Those who sported wounds were bleeding sickly green pus. Some were missing an arm, one or both eyes or another piece of their body but were still advancing toward him, limping or crawling. One or two were even on fire but that didn't stop them. They were the source of the moaning sounds Ranma kept hearing since he arrived wherever this is !
This was a new experience for Ranma Saotome. Fighting against silly-looking monsters was one thing but honest-to-god undead ? Saffron excepted, he had never been exposed to death in its gruesome reality. Even if he wouldn't ever admit it, he was afraid, really afraid.
He dodged the claws and grasping hands of the zombies until he was backed up against the wall with no escape route. Knowing he couldn't fight at his peak in such restricted space, he jumped and crashed through the window !
Ranma did a little somersault and landed on the pavement with a loud thud. He rolled out of the street and looked at where he had come from. He gasped. The zombies were following him ! They let themselves fall in the street from the third story of the hotel. They were hitting the pavement, making disgusting sounds when their bones broke or their flesh caved in. To his horror, some stood up and continued to come after him. Those who couldn't move crawled with their arms.
"No ! STAY AWAY !" This was a nightmare. Ranma pinched himself but he wasn't waking up "Mouko Takabisha !" His ki blast was weakened by his wavering confidence but still was enough to destroy the lead zombies. Their flesh exploded into bits of gore, sending blood and entrails around. The survivors didn't react in the slightest at the destruction of their fellows, they continued walking toward him.
A straight punch to a zombie's face made it explode like an overripe watermelon. A roundhouse kick decapitated another. Yet they kept coming and were joined by others who came out of the dark alleys surrounding the street Ranma was in. They were slowly wearing him out and would soon be numerous enough to dogpile him, literaly. No heat and no ki meant no Hiryu Shoten Ha to get out of this. Ranma was starting to panic and he was becoming more sloppy.
Suddenly there was an explosion followed by the unmistakable staccato of automatic gunfire. Bits of zombie fell in a bloody rain over the street and several others were pumped full of lead. Ranma raised his head to see a white-haired man in a red trenchcoat emptying his pistols on the undead. When they ran out of ammo, he put them back in his belt holsters and drew the huge sword he was carrying on his back.
The zombies who attacked him didn't stand a chance as the man hacked and sliced in them with inhuman strength and speed. Lightning crackled along the blade as he made short work of his enemies. Once it was done, he walked up to Ranma and held out his hand.
"Get up, kid, and come with me if you want to live" The eyes of the man were inexpressive and held the warmth of liquid nitrogen. Ranma gulped, this guy was more scary than the crazies back home. He took his hand and let him help him up.
Ranma shuddered at the sight of all the gore in the street and the blood dirtying his own clothes and hands "Who... Who are you ? And where am I ?"
The man raised an eyebrow "Great... Another amnesiac ! Went into an Umbrella corp facility recently, kid ?" He snorted at Ranma's clueless expression "No matter... Name's Dante. We're in Raccoon city and the situation here is... We've got an apocalypse on our hands"
"WHAT !?!"
"To make a long story short... There's some big bad demon named Abyss. Real nasty piece of work and powerful to boot... Our dimension and another one are colliding because of him. We've also got temporal distorsions as people from the past and the future are showing up. It's all a big mess and it's only getting worse... Sooner or later, our two dimensions will collapse and... Adios muchachos"
"Why... Why is he doing this ?"
"Beats me... All I need to know is where he's hiding so I can go kick his butt. Since he's got servants and I'm not suicidal, me and a few others are gathering allies before taking the fight to him. I'm here to get someone and take her out of the city before it goes boom"
"Ah, I see... Wait a second !? BOOM !?!"
"You see the zombies ? They were normal people before they got contaminated by something called the T-Virus. It's only a question of time until the army nukes the town to keep the epidemic from spreading further. Questions ?"
Ranma was pale and shaking a little "Er... Who... are you looking for ? Maybe I can help ?"
Dante looked at him and shrugged "Why not ? I saw that you were pretty good with your fists. I could use some help" Dante put fresh clips in his pistols "Her name's Jill Valentine. She's a S.T.A.R.S. operative, police special forces. She could be anywhere in this city and the town is still full of zombies and other nastiness. I also came with someone else but we got separated. His name's Wolverine. We were chosen for this mission because the T-Virus can't affect us"
"And when we find them, what then ? And my name's Ranma, not kid !"
*CLICK !* "Simple, kid" Ranma glared at Dante but the older man didn't seem to care "We get the hell out of here as fast as we can. All right, let's go !" Dante turned and ran in the direction where sounds of fighting could still be heard.
Ranma wordlessly followed the devil hunter in the heart of the burning Raccoon city, unsure of the fate awaiting him.
See other episodes by Jamil Nate
(Posted Sun, 16 Mar 2003 16:57)
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