More Introductions (part 3)

Waiting for the fight to resolve itself seemed to benefit Steve and Will. One of the three Hunters perished in the battle of dominance but all of the Crimson Heads had lost the war between the simple-minded creatures. After the last Crimson Head was clawed and slashed to death, the drones from above would start scanning around. They had a visible motion sensor light pointing ahead of where they traveled. The sensor would point to the ground.

One of the drones found itself near the elevator. Steve watched it get closer. Will quickly took cover behind the still open door or the elevator. Steve, however, was focused on the Hunters and the drone. One of the Hunters chose to meander off and away from the lifeless corpses around it. It went deeper into the forest, while the other last Hunter stood there as it licked the rotted flesh and blood off of its claws.

The drone stopped directly above steve and made a loud and upsetting hum as the light of the sensor became red. Clearly, Steve was caught from the drone's sensor. Steve glanced up at the drone, grabbed the ax, and swung it. The drone went silent the moment the pick end of the ex crashed straight through it. Steve gave a sigh of relief as the air was silent. It was quickly interrupted from the Hunter ahead of him squeal in violent rage before it reeled its flexed arm back and lept towards Steve. Before Steve had any time to react, BOOM!! Gunfire pelted and ripped the head apart of the Hunter and it dropped limp in the air. Its body made and unsettling, gurgled, wet, thud as it landed face first in front of Steve.

Steve glanced at Will, who had his assault rifle pointed at the Hunter. He lowered it and took a deep breath. He then walked ahead and patted Steve on the back, "Sharp aim, kid... Good job."

Steve scoffed unsure what he was even talking about. He looked to his hands to check the ax, thinking that Will was talking about hitting the drone. Steve's eyes were wide at the sight of his shotgun in his hands. The smoke left the barrel and his hands felt somewhat sore from firing it. He glanced around the elevator and saw the ax on the ground next to him. His body reacted faster than he did. He was certain Will was the one who shot the Hunter dead in the face. Steve felt as if he was going to die then and there. He could not understand how his body reacted perfectly on its own. He had to figure it out later. Right now was not the time to focus on himself. He never saw Hunters or Crimson Heads before. God knows what else was in the level.

Steve gave a soft nod to just archive this thought for after he had survived what he was going through. He grabbed the ax and then walked forward following Will.

Will looked somewhat uncomfortable inside this dense and humid environment. His posture looked on edge and had his gun pointed ahead of him. Steve kept an eye on Will as he slipped the shotgun back on his back, put the ax back in his belt strap, and pulled his pistol out, "Are you ok? You look spooked."

Will's expression loosened the moment he realized he was no longer alone. He glanced at Steve and spoke softly, "I'm not a fan of the woods. Bad things always happen in the woods," Will gave a heavy deep breath as he and Steve both heard a twig snap from afar. They both pointed their arms at the direction of the sound, "Keep an eye on our six."

"Gotcha..." Steve pointed his pistol toward the opposite of where they were moving. He did not realize how dark and how dense this synthetic forest was at the elevator. being knee-deep in the forest. It felt as if they were actually outside. Umbrella seemed to enjoy making things convincing. The immersion broke whenever Steve would glance at the roof.

They both heard another snap from afar, then fast and light thumping footsteps. Too many feet for a human and too fast for a zombie. At least, it sounded too fast for a human zombie. Steve pointed at the direction of the trotting and followed the trail, Will was following another trail. Steve spoke, "Something is circling us!"

"I know what they are! Keep your aim near the ground and aim for the head!" Will spoke back, but his tone sounded as if he was worried. His description of the creatures was vague, left little to the imagination. not many fast-paced creatures have a low hanging head.

Steve gritted his teeth as he spoke with frustration, "DOGS!? Seriously!?"

A low hung branch snapped as a Ridgeback trots straight through it. The dog snarled and barked violently as it charged straight to the two men. Steve quickly aimed at the dog and fired. He reacted too quickly and had no time to aim. The bullet zipped past the dog as it then lept to Steve with its mouth wide, ready to bite. Steve Had less than a second to react! The dog's mouth was only feet away from gnawing on his face. Steve Chose his instincts and dove to his right side. while in the air, he aimed again and fired. The bullet ripped through the dog's skull in the mid-air. The bullet went through and was inches away from hitting Will on the shoulder. That was too close at every angle!

The dog crashed to the ground as it fell limp to the ground. Steve landed on his shoulder and his hip. His eyes were wide. He never thought he could perform something so badass. He panted from the sudden rush of anxiety. It was near seconds to react and he could have died then and there.

Will turned and saw the dog on the ground and then to Steve on the ground, "Seems like everyone wants a piece-uh' you, huh?" Will spoke through his chuckle.

Steve relaxed a bit as he sat up, "You... Really have no i-," Steve felt as if something was about to attack Will from the tall grass behind him, "Behind you!!"

Will immediately turned and aimed to the field of tall grass. Instantly, another dog lept out, to which Will shot and killed instantly through its skull. Will was a bit taken back at the fact that Steve could tell that there was a dog there before here, "You kept my six," Will said as he reached to Steve lending him a hand. Steve gladly took it and helped himself up, pistol still in hand. Will glanced back at the dead dog he shot and back to Steve, "You must have some really good hearing if you heard that before I could."

Steve shook his head as he thought out loud, "It wasn't much that I could hear it. It was more like I could sense its presence..." Will gave him a look of genuine disbelief. Steve stammered and tried to re-word his statement, "Not a sense... Wrong word. It was like my perception could feel the dog hiding there before I could even see or hear it. It's kind of like that feeling you get when you feel like someone is watching, but in this case, I knew exactly where we were being watched."

Will shook his head, as he found Steve very unique, to say the least. Well, SuperBoy, try to keep an eye out for that Hunter that is still out here, They are the quietest B.O.W.'s out here. Let's just hope we don't stumble across a Licker," Will walked off and went further and deeper into the forest.

Steve stood there and tried to understand what he had just said. Those giant lizard-like Humanoids are quieter than the dogs they just put down, and that there is something worse called a Licker. Steve commented to himself, "What the fuck's a Licker?"

Steve followed Will and it really did not take long for them to stumble across more undead. Normal zombies, fortunately. With ease, Steve and Will killed them with their knife and ax. They both had enough skill to not use up any ammunition with casual zombies.

After that, they continued on. It had gotten quiet. For a moment Steve had considered the thought that all of the B.O.W.'s were taken out. All except the hunter. The forest felt as if it went for miles but they knew it was not large. Steve and Will simply walked to whatever made noise.

After a bit, Will saw some source of light past all of the trees. Steve looked up as he felt tired. He had noticed that the roof was taller in this area of the forest. He tilted his head and found it peculiar. He then bumped into Will who had stopped walking. Steve grunted and looked forward.

Before them, was something terrifying and large. Will looked horrified. As if he was in a nightmare. Steve focused ahead and spoke boldly, "Why does this level have this?"

Ahead of Steve and Will was a dimly lit, large, vast mansion. This Whole building must have been larger than it felt on the bottom level to have had a copy of the Spencer Mansion in the fourth level.