Resident Evil: Hell Rising

Chapter 22: A Waking Nightmare

I know the show is out. Haven't watched any of the episodes. This story is still going as intended. Criticism and ideas are welcomed.

It was official. Every virus, every parasite, every biological weapon created by the hands of the Umbrella Corporation and its successors that have plagued the human world since 1998 has now completely taken over the majority of hell. Every ring may have had a strain of the infection by now, and the demonic realm was on the brink of collapse, making it start to look a lot more like how Dante's Divine Comedy Picture.

It's true what they say. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here..."

It was hard to tell if anyone was still alive at this point since the outbreak had had the most cumulative of effects on demon-kind. The cities themselves have seemingly gone quiet since anyone was either dead or in hiding. But even the infected were supposedly gone now, leaving areas looking abandoned...well, not entirely. Coming down one of the roads was a truck. In fact, it was the same truck that Ethan Winters managed to gain during his brief time in Wrath, where he picked up some survivors and a few familiar faces. To him, it felt bittersweet to reunite with the Bakers, but at least they were on his side now, clear of the influence that a certain little girl had put upon them all. Speaking of which, they had explained this whole story to the family of Imps they picked up, who were like children, interrupting every time they got to the good part.

"Wait a minute. Ethan here shot you up, tore you to pieces with a chainsaw, injected you with...whatever that shit was, and you still hadn't gone down?" Sallie May asked.

"Hard to believe, I know. But it is how it happened." Jack replied, with his wife Marguerite sitting next to him, just as shocked as the others were. This may have been the first time she heard him explain all this, but she couldn't blame them. After all, she was no better herself, having completely lost her mind and turned into a monster herself, and it was safe to say that it was not something either of them were proud of.

"Anyway, it took my own brother puttin' me down and savin' my little girl, Zoe."

"Oh Zoe, what I did to you..." The thought of her daughter being put through the hell that they inflicted on her for 3 years made Marguerite cry. They weren't the perfect family, but at least they were ordinary people who cared for each other until...she ruined their lives. The Imps could feel a little sympathetic for these people, since according to them, everything they knew was turned into a nightmare. Joe and Lin knew a thing or two about discipline, but couldn't think of ever abusing their children. They could only hope that now that they're in Pride, they could find Millie again and hope she's alright.

Jack continued on "The rest is history after that. Me and Marguerite were able to find each other and settled here until it all started to happen again."

"We heard about...zombies and...other types of monsters around the world, but...we never thought it would be true." Marguerite said.

"And nor, did we expect Ethan of all people to wind up down here." Jack pointed to the young, mold-covered sinner, who stayed silent all throughout storytime.

"He don't talk much, do he?" Joe asked, as all eyes were on Ethan now.

"Oh, I think it's safe to say that Ethan's had it worse than any of us." Jack replied. "God knows what else he's been through. He hasn't told us."

They were all caught off guard when Ethan put the truck into a sudden stop. Parking it and grabbing his gun, he jumped out before turning to face everyone again.

"Jack, take the truck and everyone to safety." He said in a firm voice, pulling a paper out of his coat and handing it over to the former serial killer. "This map should lead you to the Hotel, it's a safe haven. Head over there and explain everything to the one in charge.