Resident Evil: Unloved [ENG]

Chapter 18

A few minutes before

Meg closed communications and let out a long sigh, leaning against the desk nearby.

"Now... the only thing left is having to explain to Liz about her father."

"Come on, though..." Rhonda tried to explain; "The fact that you possess these skills outside the norm in itself is a good thing, isn't it?"

Vince shrugged, looking away.

"Sucrose deficiency aside... I think, however, it will take more to-"

*BANG!*

A sudden gunshot caught the three by surprise, especially when Rhonda felt blood staining her clothes...

And realizing that Archer had just been hit, falling as if in slow motion to the ground, a huge crimson hole between his left shoulder and chest.

"VINCE!"

Meg started shouting at the same time, so loud that it echoed down the hallway...

And probably beyond that.

"Don't move."

The attacker, standing at the edge of the front door, stepped forward...

And the two girls were confronted with a person they never thought they would meet again:

Pastor Ludwig Connor.

Rhonda stood up abruptly, interposing herself between her friends and the newcomer with the unsheathed katana.

"You asshole... give me one reason why I shouldn't take your head clean off your neck...!" she growled between heavy breaths.

"The fact that I'm pointing the gun right at your mortally wounded friend's head?" he asked in response, a big, deflected grin plastered on his face; "But no more games now... you miscreants have thrown mud and destruction on our little town...

Wheatcreek would have thrived if not for you and Umbrella!

You are spies... you work together with those men in black. Only in this way could I explain your survival! Or the fact that you do not transform!"

"No! Absolutely! We are not working for those people! We're just looking for an escape route! And we simply got lucky in misfortune!" exclaimed Megan, trying to reason with him.

Ludwig pointed the gun at her for a second.

"Be quiet, you little demon! Your mother was right about you until the last moment. You were our misfortune!"

His gaze became smiling, though sullen.

"I should have made you sacrifice when I had the chance, but I was still good... and now the whole Horde has been decimated by brutes in black uniforms right after your escape... I wasn't born yesterday, you little rabble."

He then beckoned Meg with his other hand to come closer.

"You'll have to come with me! Do that, and I won't shoot your nice little punk to death."

"Meg... don't listen to that creep... I'm not going to let Vince die. Don't go anywhere thinking he's going to magically fix things..." intimated Hill through clenched teeth, her eyes sparkling with hatred.

"I... I'm not going anywhere! I would die anyway! I have a better chance with you than with this freak!" Megan replied in a nervous voice.

"How selfless." commented the priest with a sigh; "But I'm afraid time is not at your disposal. If you do not treat your friend, he will die. And if you attempt to rescue him in my presence, I will shoot the two of you as well. Do you want to let him bleed to death? Is this your way of protecting him-?"