resident evil one shots

A Merchant Case Study

   2004

   A faint hum of a motorboat bounced off the cave walls as a certain someone approached the dock of what could only be described as the merchant's hideout. They turned the motor off as soon as they reached the dock's edge, tying it off and smiling to themselves. They had hoped to catch him by surprise, but the boat's sound probably gave them away, as it did almost every time.

   This certain someone was a person that the merchant knew very well, though they weren't even sure what they'd describe themselves as. They weren't from the village; a traveler you could say. When they arrived, they knew there was something sinister happening here. They had stumbled upon the merchant, who had sold them some first-aid after a nasty run-in with one of the ganados.

   At first, they had been wary of the merchant. Come nighttime his eyes glowed red like them, and though most of it was covered, his skin was sickly like them too. But he didn't act like them, not at all, and they had soon learned this after a few more encounters.

   The traveler had been saved, and hidden from those ganados by the merchant more times than they could count. That had to mean something.

   So they were... An assistant? Business partner? All of them sounded far too professional for what they thought their relationship with the cloaked merchant really was. If they could get him to admit it, anyway.

   They hoped they were seen as a friend to him, at the very least.

   Their light footsteps were heard against the wooden dock as they approached the merchant's most crowded stand. It was more like a small wooden hut, containing a majority of his inventory and extensive gun collection. He was in the process of stacking some boxes of ammo, making a display to keep on the counter most likely. His hood was pulled low over his eyes, and he was so focused, if he saw them, he didn't let on.

   The traveler was quick to approach the open doorway, knocking against the side of it. They grinned at the merchant as he looked up from what he was doing. The mask covered his face up to his nose, but they could tell he was giving them a chiding glance.

   "Thought you surprised me, stranger?" He said, his cockney voice raspy like he didn't use it much. They knew he kept mostly to himself, only speaking when he was trying to sell something. They shook their head in response, walking further inside,

   "Hardly. Besides, you'd better notice someone's sneaking up on you when you live here." They replied, smiling again at the way the merchant rolled his eyes.

   "Yeah, well. You best be careful when it comes to runnin' around the village." He scolded, mostly to himself but they heard it. Their smile widened at how annoyed, albeit concerned he sounded. The merchant finished stacking the display, sliding it across the table before working on another one.

   "Somebody's in a mood today." They said playfully to him, and he grumbled in response. They eyed the wall of weaponry next to them, an impressive collection. Sometimes they wondered where he got all this stuff, but they never really had a chance to ask. The only time they ever had a deep conversation with each other was over a stolen bottle of liquor, a conversation the traveler couldn't remember most of, and wished they did.

   They only remembered that it was one of the nights they saw his face. They knew because he had gotten too warm from the alcohol, and because they had gotten very close up to it. Maybe it was the liquor, but...

   They supposed they would never know unless they got drunk again. The merchant was brooding and quiet most of the time, and especially stubborn. Whatever they had talked about, whatever got them that close to the merchant's face, they knew he wouldn't spill a word of it.