1 Beginning (1)

...Go to the forest...

Oddly enough, these were the only words Mendell Toliev remembered from his dream last night, which tormented him since he had his eighteenth birthday last year. But no matter how hard he squeezed his brain to recall what his nightmare was all about, everything else seemed like a blank slate. How did he conclude that they were nightmares? Simple - every time he woke up, his body was always drenched in sweat, with his heart palpitating as if he was just done with his workout.

'It happened again, huh,' Mendell thought. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath while sitting still for about a minute or so, trying once again if he could remember anything. Expectedly, those very words were the only thing that entered his mind.

...Go to the forest...

"At least you can be more specific about it. There are hundreds of forests here in the US..." Mendell murmured. After a few minutes of rumination, he unwillingly opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the calendar tacked on the wall, and muttered, "July 21, 1998. A year has passed, and I still can't remember a single thing about it."

...Go to the forest...

Mendel was concerned if this was an ominous dream, but he did not want to tell anyone about this, afraid that others would find him weird for overreacting. He was looking at the ceiling when he heard the creaking door sound from his left. There he saw his younger sister, Elena, who was frowning.

"What's up?" Mendel asked. "What's with the scowl this early morning?"

Elena gawked at him for a few seconds before responding, "Why do you look like shit?"

"Hah! Never knew shit means handsome nowadays," Mendel cheekily answered.

Elena snorted. "Try looking at the mirror. I'm pretty sure we don't have panda blood in our family. Anyway, we're about to leave, but Mom's adamant that she'd have a good conversation with you before we commune with the mosquitoes."

Mendell gathered his strength and stood up. "Oh, I forgot about the family camping. Raccoon Forest?"

"Yup. Mosquitoes and forest leeches, I don't know if I can still return with all my blood intact." Elena checked her watch, and said, "Oops, I gotta call someone. Bye!" and sprinted to her room.

Mendell felt his heartbeat thumped faster after hearing his sister's words. "Damn it, why am I getting jittery all of a sudden?" He took a deep breath until he became calm, and headed to where the mirror was and chuckled when he saw the dark circles around his eyes. Elena was right, he indeed looked like a panda bear.

After doing his morning rituals, he went downstairs, passed across the living room until he reached the kitchen, and saw his mom packing things from the fridge into a portable cooler, and greeted, "Good morning, Mom! Elena said you're looking for me?"

"Good morning, Mendie," Dell answered sweetly as she closed the fridge and approached the table. "Yes, dear, you don't have to worry about your lunch today. Just heat it in the oven."

"My favorite?"

Dell nodded. "Beef stew and broccoli."

Mendell sat on one of the vacant chairs, and inquired, "How many days will the camping be?"

"Three days. Tommy decided to extend it, insisting that it's double celebration for his promotion and birthday." Dell gave him a concerned look and sat down beside him. "Are you sure you're not coming with us?"

Mendell shook his head as he popped a chicken nugget inside his mouth. "I'm not feeling well, Mom. I'd want to but my head's feeling heavy."

Dell touched his forehead and neck. "Well, at least your fever subsided, but you looked like you're lacking rest. Remember, drink a lot of water, and don't sleep late."

"Mom, I know how to take care of myself, okay? This is nothing, I just feel restless because the summer vacation's here and I'm away from Raccoon University." Out of the blue, Mendell remembered the words in his dream and held one of Dell's hands, and pleaded, "Mom, take care while you're camping."

Mom embraced him gently, and replied, "Why so melodramatic, today? You need extra cash, right? Don't worry about money. I've put some extra bucks for you to enjoy as well, just don't use it for any nonsense things."

Mendell pried himself away from Dell and grumbled. "Mom! I'm serious. And don't treat me like a kid, okay? I mean it, please be careful. Who knows what's lurking in the forest..."

Dell laughed. "We will, dear. We will. Just don't bring Michelle inside the house to make out or something, okay? And no partying while we're away."

Mendel's face reddened and coughed lightly to ease his embarrassment. "Ugh, that's not gonna happen, I guess. We broke up a month ago, that two-timing bitch...um, sorry for the word."

"Well, she's truly a bitch if she did that, so your words are justified." Dell softened her gaze and squeezed his hands, and asked, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Mendell shook his head. "Nah, I guess it's for the best. At least I discovered who she truly was. I don't need no bitches to ruin my life. Uh...sorry for the word."

Dell chuckled and stood up. "At least you're feeling alright, that's what matters to me. Anyway, we can - " She stopped talking when she noticed someone entering the kitchen, and asked, "Hey, honey. Everything's ready?"

Menetrio Toliev went beside her and kissed her on the right cheek. "Yes, honey. Tommy called. They're on their way to the Raccoon Forest."

"Ugh. Will you stop doing that when I'm around?" Mendell rolled his eyes and continued eating.

Menetrio laughed boisterously. "Look who's talking. As if I did not see you and Michelle kissing at the backyard a month ago. You're about to eat her face or something."

Mendell's eyes widened in horror. "You peeked at me?!"

"Well, don't do your monkey business here if you don't want us finding out." Menetrio's smiles went wider. "Naughty young man, huh?"

Dell moved her face closer to his ear and whispered something. All of a sudden, Menetrio's expression became serious, and added, "Well, we don't want bitches in our family, son. Uh - " He stopped for a few seconds, and faced Dell, before answering - "Sorry for that word, honey."

Dell giggled. "Well, she's indeed a bitch, so you're excused."

Menetrio smiled and stared back at Mendell. "It's good for you to leave her. She doesn't deserve you. Anyway, you're still 19. There're still lots of young women waiting for you to meet up."

Mendell's face brightened up. "I also think so. Anyway, you better leave early Dad. It's still a long drive."

Menetrio nodded and patted his shoulder. "Take a good rest. I've already told your Uncle Tommy that you can't come." After saying this, he led Dell outside the kitchen.

...Go to the forest...

"Fuck!" Mendell shouted loudly as he abruptly stood up and looked around, only to find that he was alone inside the kitchen. He rubbed his temple as he drank the remaining water on his cup and sat once again. "Am I going crazy?!"

He did not believe in paranormal, but he could not explain what was happening to him. He needed to clear his mind off this thing, or he would truly become a lunatic. With nothing to do, he took out the phone from his pocket and dialed his friend's number.

"Hello, Mendell. What's up?"

"Are you busy today, Frank?" Mendell heard a female voice talking on the background, and asked, "Jessica's with you?"

"Nope. It's my sister. Jessica and her family decided camping two days ago. But I tried calling her, and she's not answering her phone. I'm getting worried."

"She's camping as well?"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a coincidence, my parents, Elena, Uncle Tommy and Aunt Rachel are on their way to Raccoon Forest. Guess what they're about to do?"

"Camping?"

Mendell laughed. "Bingo. Why's everybody feeling the urge to camp nowadays? Anyway, I just bought the recent FF. Wanna play?"

"Forever Fantasy game?"

"Yeah, the most recent one."

"Nah, I don't have time. Dad's boss invited us to a party, and he doesn't want a no for an answer. And I'm sure Dad won't let this chance pass, insisting that it could be my chance to meet new people and create some new connections. For my future, if there's one."

"Your Dad's working at Umbrella, right?"

"Yup."

"Man, you're lucky. Too bad, the only place I could visit is the Umbrella laboratory housed inside the college."

"Hey, I can still vouch for you once I'm accepted. Dad knew about your dream job, and he said he could also help you with that."

"Thanks, bro. Then, maybe we could become the coolest scientists inside Umbrella. Well, you're second best. You know who's the best."

"Shut up! Anyway, I gotta go. Dad's calling me. Bye."

"Bye."

Mendell ended the call and laughed lightly, feeling a slight envious feeling toward his friend. After finishing high school, he was confused as to what to pursue in college. Diether Jones, Frank's dad, was the reason why he wanted to become an employee of Umbrella. Through him, Mendell was able to visit Umbrella inside the Raccoon City and saw how advanced it was. Its rich history and contribution to the world, especially in the field of pharmaceuticals, made him all the more eager to become a researcher. Its excellent reputation was well-deserved.

After eating his lunch and cleaning the area, he went to the living room and heard voices from outside. He followed the sounds and saw his Mom, Dad, and Elena outside the garage. With a loud voice, he shouted, "Hey, be careful, everyone."

Dell approached him and kissed him on his cheek, much to his dismay. She laughed and went inside the car.

Menetrio ruffled his hair and patted his shoulders and bade goodbye as well.

Elena snorted and stood still as if waiting for something. Mendell chuckled when he saw this and walked to her direction. "Hey, Sis."

Elena pouted and asked, "What do you want?"

Mendell carefully fixed her hair and said, "Careful, okay? If you happen to see those leeches and bugs, squash them with your shoes. If they're bigger, then splat them with a big stick, okay?"

Elena giggled and hugged him. Then she released him after a few seconds and ran to the back of the car and shouted, "You're weird."

Mendell laughed and stepped back as he saw his Dad starting the car. After saying another set of goodbyes, they finally left the area. He closed the garage door and was about to enter the house when he heard the voice once again.

...Go to the forest...

Mendell began to feel uneasy and sprinted to the road, only to realize that the car was now far away. With a heavy heart, he went back inside the house and sat on the couch. "Damn it. Why am I feeling like this?" He decided to do something to forget his worries and turned on the television.

"From the leading name biotechnology comes Regenerate, another breakthrough from the Umbrella Corporation. Regenerates revolutionary t-cell formula actually brings dead cells back to life..."

Mendell saw the blonde actress caressing her face as her wrinkles started vanishing, making her face become younger looking. The music looped as the ads started showing its benefit to the human body, turning it all the more enticing to look at. After a few minutes, he changed the channels until he became bored because the shows were not interesting for him. He set the Neo Geo CD console and started playing video games until he heard the alarm. After eating his dinner, he secured the house and did his evening rituals and laid on his bed when he felt something hard inside his pillow. He reached whatever was inside the pillow and as soon as he realized what it was, his eyes widened and threw it against the wall, far away from the bed.

Yes, it was the leather-covered notebook he saw in his dream.