Infected

Chapter 11

"You got everything?" Ivy asks her brother as they head back through the basement, watching as Ethan proudly carries the shotgun in his hands after they'd switched the two weapons.

They had to play ring around the rosy with Jack, who was still stalking the upstairs halls in order to grab the broken shotgun to replace the working one. They'd also grabbed the steroids from the hiding spot in the man cave, increasing Ethan's strength and overall survival chance, and the extra shotgun shells from the tackle box after finding another lockpick.

"Yep. You've got most of the handgun ammo, and I have all the shotgun ammo." Ethan replies as he double checks his pockets and the little side bag that Ivy had found for him to use. "Ready to face whatever's in there?"

"Not even close, but let's do it." Ivy responds before the two open up the door to the dissection room, moving to crouch down behind the shelves that split the room in half.

"Hey, it's just right here." Ethan whispers to his sister before reaching out to grab the dog head, but Ivy snatches his wrist before he can, sensing something strong lurking nearby. "What-"

Jack Baker suddenly appears on the other side of the shelves, making them crouch down even further as he picks up the dog head, and that's when they notice the dead cop hanging on the wall behind him. "I was gonna be her father, but now, she says that he will be her father with his sister being her favorite aunt."

Ivy looks at Ethan, who's eyes widen as he remembers the little girl calling Mia mommy, which means he'd be her father, and he looks at Ivy, realizing that she's basically already the girl's aunt after accepting the gift. This obviously makes the original family upset at being replaced, especially if Jack's anger is anything to go by, and that explains why they're trying so hard to kill them all.

"No, no, no. I will find them, and I will make them suffer." Jack says in fierce determination, bringing the two back to the situation at hand, and they watch as he points at the dead cop. "And you my friend shall help me."

Jack walks out of the room, the dog head still in his hands, and Ethan curses under his breath as Ivy groans in annoyance. "Well, this is going to suck. We'll have to take him down again in order to get that dog head."

"I can't understand why she's so desperate to have a family, forcing people to join her. I don't want to be a monster's father." Ethan says as he shakes his head, and Ivy frowns at him, glaring over at her brother. There must be a reason why the girl is so desperate to have a family, even if it's the most basic instinct to surround oneself with those that care for them.

However, Ivy doesn't say anything as they slowly make their way down the stairs to the right after searching the small space, finding a few more things down in the tiny storage room. They move into the next room, heading straight up the stairs onto the metal walkway to find the dog head suspended in the air on a chain.

"Well, if that doesn't scream trap, I don't know what does." Ivy comments aloud, Ethan nodding in agreement, but they have to get the dog head whether they want to fight Jack or not. "I'll grab it. Not like the bastard can kill me anymore."

Ivy reaches up and grabs the dog head with a frown, only for Ethan to be harshly shoved into her back by Jack, and the two siblings go tumbling down into the room below with no exit for them to escape, Ethan landing on top of his sister and knocking the wind out of her.

"You ain't gettin' away again." Jack sneers as he drops down off the walkway, and the two siblings quickly scramble to stand up as they back away from him and his large axe, even if it looks like it's a few hits from breaking.

Ethan immediately starts shooting at him with the shotgun, blasting away pieces of Jack's flesh, and Ivy dodges around the man's wild swings, slashing at him with the mold claws she'd discovered that she could do. However, using her newfound ability takes up a lot of energy, so Ivy has to stop every few minutes to shoot at the old man in order for her energy to build back up, which is really hard when you're constantly dodging axe swings.