A Star's Descent

Chapter Twenty: Revelations 1

A Star's Descent

By evolution-500

Cover by NaiveWriter (aka Multifreak99 on Deviantart)

Disclaimer: House of the Dead and Resident Evil are properties belonging to SEGA and Capcom respectively. I do not own any of these characters.

Chapter Twenty: Revelations I

It took Rebecca and the others a while to recover from that little episode.
Following their escape, the survivors found themselves in a tight spot. With the basement out of the question, they were hard-pressed in terms of their options as far as exits were concerned. While Marini and Aiken argued over possible areas to explore, Rebecca helped Star recollect his things near the railing overlooking the portrait.
She gave a slight shiver as she locked up one bag and looked around.

"Is something wrong?" Star asked quietly.

"It's so quiet." she commented.

He nodded in agreement.

"I know." he said as he anxiously looked over the railing.

Aside from the slight chatter between her coworkers, the foyer was completely silent, which was rather strange given that no more than twenty minutes ago they had been actively pursued by a horde of creatures. Even stranger was the fact that all of the noises produced by the creatures had been completely muted by the disguised door, which thankfully gave no indication of giving way.

"I don't like the idea of being in this room," the albino confessed, "not when we have a mere door between us and those creatures."

"Yeah."

"I have to say, though, I'm rather surprised by its sturdiness. And the lack of noise...how aren't we able to hear those animals from out here?"

"The architect must have taken into account not only Umbrella's victims, but their screams as well," Rebecca unconsciously, and darkly, reflected.

The two sat for a moment, letting the words sink in.
Locking up the last suitcase, the albino straightened himself.

"Thank you for your help," he said politely.

Nodding, she then let her gaze trail over to Coen, who was currently wringing blood out from his shirt.
Pushing herself off from the floor, the medic headed toward him, slipping off her backpack.
Seeing her, the convict smirked.

"Ah, so you're back for another show, eh?" he replied in a cocky tone, showing off his muscled body, flexing his biceps and pecks in demonstration. "What do you think, romantic fantasies fulfilled?"

Rebecca rolled her eyes.

"Get over yourself," she answered. Rummaging through her bag, she pulled out a bottle of water. "Take this."

The convict reached out with one hand and graciously accepted.

"You know, this is the second time I had to wash blood off me," he said as he washed himself and his shirt. "I get the feeling that the Grim Reaper has it in for me tonight."

"Maybe he just likes the way you look in those pants," Rebecca joked.

"Hey, what can I say!" The convict shrugged smugly. "I'm a very handsome man."

She shook her head. Whatever he lacked, confidence was definitely NOT one of them. Rebecca then looked seriously at him.

"Billy."

Hearing his name, Coen stopped and looked up at her with curiosity.

"I just need to know. I need to know the truth. Did you really kill twenty-three people?"