A Star's Descent: Book Two: Star Fall

By evolution-500

Disclaimer: House of the Dead and Resident Evil are properties belonging to SEGA and Capcom respectively. I do not own any of these characters.

WARNING: This story contains violence, course language, mature and disturbing themes and imagery. Reader discretion is advised.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Perception

Star weakly opened his eyes and found himself in a wheelchair, his arms bound to the armrests. Dazedly glancing around, he found himself in a neat and tidy office, the shelves lined with books on psychology and modern medicine.

He heard a door open behind him, but he felt too dizzy to look, the room swirling around him.

"Ah, Mr. Wolf! My apologies for keeping you waiting!" Rawlings said as he came in with a folder in hand. "How are you feeling? Would you like some tea? It's good for the nerves and is very relaxing."

Star winced, closing his eyes.

"N-no." He answered, his voice cracked and dry.

"Are you sure? You sound a little parched. Would you like a glass of water?"

Opening his eyes, Star shook his head, then narrowed his eyes in a glare, watching as Rawlings settled into his desk.

"Where is Rebecca?!" the albino demanded. "What have you done with her?!"

Rawlings sighed as he took off his glasses and cleaned them with a cloth.

"Mr. Wolf," he sighed, his tone regretful, "I'm afraid there is no Rebecca. Not anymore."

Star stared from his seat, his insides frozen.

"W-what do you mean not anymore?" he said weakly. "W-what...what happened to her?"

The doctor gave him a neutral expression. "What do you remember?"

The albino swallowed.

"I...I was on a train for Raccoon City called the Ecliptic Express. While onboard the train was-"

"Attacked by leeches," Rawlings said as he scribbled something in a notepad. "You also claimed that soon after the train stopped, and later the passengers came back as zombies and you were forced to kill them."

Star nodded. "Yes."

"You also claimed that together with Officer Rebecca Chambers and her team you survived an onslaught of creatures as well as a train crash that resulted in you in some part of a hidden facility owned by the Umbrella Corporation, where they had 'engaged in illegal viral research for the purposes of creating a weapon.'"

Star's hand twitched as he tapped his index finger impatiently. "Yes..."

"And you claimed that the founder of that facility, a Dr. Marcus, came back as a walking leech colony and told you about the company's "crimes"."

The albino exhaled. "Yes."

"You also maintained that you never laid a hand on Rebecca?"

Star tightened his hands into fists, his jaw clenched. "Never. She saved my life."

Rawlings stared at him for a long while, then continued, "You then claimed that together with her you made your way to a mansion out in the middle of the woods, but this too was also owned by the Umbrella Corporation."

"Yes."

The doctor let out a weary sigh.

"Mr. Wolf, you have told me this story before." he said tiredly.

"Every word has been nothing but the truth! Umbrella turned those people into zombies." Star said in an even voice, trying to reign in his temper.

Rawlings merely nodded patiently as he jotted down notes, looking disinterested in what Star had to say, much to the albino's annoyance and frustration.

"Have you been taking the medication that you have been prescribed?" He asked in an a patronizingly avuncular tone.

"Aside from some Tylenol for headaches on one or two occasions, I have never taken drugs in my life," Star replied, "nor am I going to start. Where is my father?"

"Your father?" Rawlings repeated.

"Captain Albert Wesker," Star clarified. "Where is he?"

He shook his head. "I'm afraid he is dead."

Star's heart sank.

"No..."

It couldn't be...

The albino tightened his hands into fists, his eyes narrowing. "No I don't believe you. I demand to speak with a lawyer and with my mother!"

"You will, you will, right after our session," Rawlings nodded as he leaned into his chair. Turning around, he flicked on a metronome, the dial clacking with each swing. "I want you to relax, Mr. Wolf. Very soon, I am going to count down to ten."

Star shook his head.

"This is a waste of time. I am not going to participate in this sham-"

"When I count down to ten," Rawlings interrupted, "you will be transported back to the train, and you will relive every moment that had occurred. Ten."

The albino paled. "W-wait."

Rawlings watched him with a cool expression.

"Nine."

"Wait, wait! Stop!" Star struggled in his wheelchair.

"Eight."

"I DO NOT CONSENT TO THIS!"

"Seven."

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Star yelled, looking around wildly. "Guard! GUARD! SOMEBODY PLEASE GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

"Six."

"YOU CANNOT DO THIS!"

A cruel smile formed on Rawlings' face. "Five."

"I am begging you," Star trembled, "please don't make me relive that! Anything but that!"

The smile widened savagely. "Four."

The albino wriggled furiously in his wheelchair.

"You bastard! STOP!"

"Three. Two-"

"FOR GOD'S SAKES, STOP! PLEASE!"

Rawlings raised up a hand, his face fixed with that smug grin.

"One."

With a snap of his finger, everything went black.

Star shot up with a sharp gasp as he looked around.

He was back in the main hall again.

While part of Star wanted to feel relieved, he was anything but.

Far from it.

He felt nauseated.

He felt as if he were stuck in a perpetual fever dream, and no matter what he did nor how hard he tried Star would continue to spiral down into a madness-filled end.

He no longer knew if what he was seeing was real or if the people that he interacted with were real.

Were Father and Rebecca even-

The albino frowned.

'Get ahold of yourself, Star.' The albino reprimanded himself.

He closed his eyes, and took in a deep breath.

"It's just in your head," Star said quietly. "It's just in your head."

Opening his eyes, he took a step toward the art gallery when he heard something scrape along the ground, brushing against his boot.

Glancing down, Star blinked in surprise at the sight of the pistol, then looked around.

'Where had this come from?' He wondered.

He was sure that there had been nothing there on the floor last time he had looked.

The albino frowned.

"God, how tired am I to have not noticed?" he asked himself in a quiet yet dry voice.

Picking it up, Star examined the weapon and took out the magazine, counting up the ammunition.

Satisfied at the sight of the full clip, he slipped it back into the pistol and cocked it.

Star couldn't believe how quickly and easily he was able to do something like that.

Part of him felt perturbed by how...familiar...such an action felt, even though he had never picked up a gun in his life.

At least, as far as he remembered...

Star's pondering was cut off as something creaked.

Turning to the source, he watched as the double doors to the dining hall opened, revealing something that made Star's eyes and mouth widen in shock and horror.

"No..."

Rebecca answered him with a long, loud moan as she reached out for him, her eyes pale and dead. Other doors started to open around him, drawing his attention, revealing the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. members as they dragged their undead feet into join in.

"Get away, GET AWAY!" Backing away up the stairs, Star raised his pistol. "Stay back!"

"Star?"

Freezing at the sound of Rebecca's voice, Star turned back to see the girl back to perfect health.

Her image suddenly flickered, her calls to him overlapping with hungry moans.

"Hey buddy, what's wrong?" Frost asked as his visage shifted from healthy to slobbering zombie, his voice shifting in quality. "Put down the pistol, let's talk."

Others called out as well, their voices blending somewhere between normalcy and creature.

Backing up the stairs, Star's hands shook as he looked at each the S.T.A.R.S. members with uncertainty, unsure whether to fire or not. When he turned the pistol to Rebecca's direction, a sick feeling came over him, the pistol itself wavering unsteadily.

"S-stay back, Rebecca." He said weakly, feeling as if he were going to throw up. "Please...please don't take another step."

Rebecca then snarled, and charged toward him.

"No, NO!" Star yelled as he fled up the stairs. "STAY BACK! GET AWAY!"

Running up the second floor, he pointed the pistol to the ceiling.

"I SAID STAY BACK!" He screamed, tightening his eyes shut as he fired the weapon.

The moaning stopped.

Opening his eyes again, Star suddenly found himself back on the ground floor again.

"What?" He said, perplexed.

Looking around him, Star felt his insides turn to ice.

The S.T.A.R.S. members were all lying dead on the floor.

Hearing a loud cough, the albino froze, then turned ever so slowly until he saw her, at which point he dashed toward her in a blind panic.

"REBECCA!" He screamed with alarm.

Rebecca was coughing as she clutched a bloody red hole on her chest, the girl's face stained with tears as she let out pained cries.

"Why?! Why did you shoot me?!" she sobbed.

Putting his hands on her chest, Star applied pressure to the wound, trying to cut off the blood flow as the girl cried loudly.

"Oh my god I am so sorry, Rebecca!" The albino said, his eyes tearing up.

Rebecca let out a wounded puppy-like squeal, her face contorted with pain.

"It hurts! It hurts so much!" She whimpered. "I want my mom! I want my mommy!"

A sob escaped Star's lips as he heard her pleas.

"You-you will see her, Rebecca!" He promised, a tear escaping from one eye, then the other. "God, I-I p-promise you will see her, even if it's the last thing I do! Just stay with me!"

The medic shrieked, her form writhing on the floor.

"I know it hurts, Rebecca, I know it does. Everything is going to be okay, you hear me?" Star said, a sob in his voice. "Just stay with me, Rebecca, you're going to be okay. Everything is going to be-"

Rebecca's cries stopped, her breathing ceasing as her limbs fell limp.

Star swallowed.

"R-Rebecca? Rebecca please don't." He said in a tiny weak voice.

Rebecca's eyes became glassy, the spark fading.

He shook his head, gently shaking her shoulders. "Don't do this. Don't do this. Please god, don't..."

As Rebecca's head limply fell to the side, Star choked a sob, then carefully picked her up, cradling her.

"This-this is not real," he shook his head, his lower lip trembling. "This is- this is..."

The moment the side of her head flopped onto the crook of his neck, something within the albino cracked as he lost all ability to speak, his mouth uselessly shifting.

Tears spilled down his scarred cheeks as Star held her close, sniffling softly.

"That is right, Mr. Wolf," Rawlings' voice echoed, startling the albino as he looked up at the ceiling. "You are responsible for this tragedy."

Star's eyes widened at the accusation. "No! NO! I didn't do this! I am not responsible for-"

His eyes rolled back, his speech slurring.

"Still in denial, I see. Well, looks like we have our work cut out for us. I think it's time we delved deeper."

Opening his eyes again, Star found himself on his knees still, the bodies gone. A spotlight shone directly above him.

"What- what do you want from me?" he asked. "For God's sakes, WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

The albino shouted the last part to the shadows.

"The truth, Mr. Wolf," Rawlings coolly replied.

Star tightened his hands into fists.

"I HAVE TOLD NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH!" He screamed.

"Have you?" Rawlings said doubtfully. "Why don't we go back to the night of the train, and explore what really happened? In five...four...three...two...one."

The spotlight disappeared, leaving Star in darkness.

Star found himself staring at a TV screen on the back of a chair. Blinking for several moments, he nervously looked over to his right as people laughed and chatted in the other seats, staring aghast as he found himself back on the Ecliptic Express.

"Is everything alright, sir?" A man asked.

Freezing at the familiar voice, Star stiffly and slowly turned to face the source. As he looked straight up, Star's eyes widened at the recognizably spectacled visage of the train conductor, his uniform unmarred.

"Ha...ha…..ha..." the albino gasped, struggling to breathe, the scream lodged in his throat.

"You don't look well, sir. Would you like a drink?"

Star shrilly screamed, his outbursts startling the other passengers.

"What the hell's the matter with him?!" An old man somewhere up ahead asked.

"I have no idea!" A woman shook her head.

"Sir, sir! You need to calm down!" The conductor said.

Star continued screaming.

"Can someone shut him the hell up, please?!" A well-dressed man said impatiently. "I'm trying to get some sleep here!"

Star awoke abruptly, finding himself in the main hall again.

"What the fuck!" he swore as pieces of the walls and floors melted away like candlewax, the furniture drooping. Feeling his mind reeling, Star grabbed hold of his head and held his eyes shut. "Stop! STOP!"

He opened his eyes again to find himself back on the train. Pushing himself out from his seat, he rose and took out his butterfly swords.

'What's going on?' His brain demanded.

Why couldn't he move? Why won't his limbs obey?

People screamed as they caught sight of the weapons.

The screaming got even louder when the conductor was stabbed in the chest.

Star watched in horror as his body acted on its own accord, powerless to stop the butchery that followed.

'STOP IT!' He mentally screamed. 'STOP IT!'

Star struggled to speak, to stop his actions, but he had absolutely no control.

People on the train were being systematically eviscerated left and right in a coldly indiscriminate fashion.

Women screamed while men wept and begged to be spared.

Mothers were shielding their children, shoving them away, telling them to run or pleading to Star to not kill them.

Star wanted to throw up as heads, eyes and chests were stabbed and as limbs, blood and cadavers painted the floor.

As the last body fell, a door opened.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" A masculine voice called.

Turning around, Star found himself confronted with the entire S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team, their weapons drawn.

"Drop the weapons!" Rebecca said.

Star tried to speak, tried to move, but his body refused to listen, and he could only watch with horror as one by one the S.T.A.R.S. members were killed off quickly and efficiently with ruthless determination.

Turning to the last surviving member, Star found himself looking at Rebecca, who stared at him with huge frightened eyes, her hands and pistol shaking.

Please God, not her!

Rebecca was shaking furiously.

"S-stay... stay back!" she warned.

Firing her pistol, the shot missed as he stepped forward, hitting a chair four feet away.

"Don't-don't come any closer!" Rebecca begged, her eyes tearing up.

God I am begging you, please! Help me!

He stepped closer to the medic as she fired another round, missing again.

"Please..." she begged.

Star felt tears running down his face.

God please, not her! Please God, don't do this to her! Please don't do this to her! Please God, I beg you! Please!

Rebecca backed away, tripping over a body with a yell. Looking back up at him, the girl started to crawl away.

"Please...please don't kill me!" She wept, her whole body shaking. "Please don't hurt me!"

God, please! Can't you see she's scared?! Stop this! Please!

"Please! Please leave me alone! I have- I have a mom! Let me go, and I promise I won't tell anyone, I swear! Please don't hurt me!"

Star's chest ached as he moved against his will toward the frightened girl as she cried, his stomach cramping as tears pooled down his scarred face the more he stared into her wet green eyes.

Get away, Rebecca! Please, God, let me put a stop to this! I don't want to hurt her, she's an innocent!

Stopping right in front of her, Star struggled for control as he raised the swords up with both hands.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Rebecca screamed as the weapons plunged straight into her chest.

Star felt the weapons make contact, tearing all the way through her ribcage, the impact traveling all the way up his arm.

Letting out a pained squeal like a wounded animal, Rebecca coughed up blood, then sucked in her last breath, her whole form shuddering violently.

As the crimson pool formed beneath her, Star suddenly found himself thrust back into the drivers' seat, his body and limbs responding.

"N-N-N-No..."

Dropping the swords, he stared at his shaking stained hands.

"No..."

He shook his head. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening! This- this couldn't- this couldn't be-

Collapsing onto his knees, Star wept, his mind overwhelmed as realization dawned on him.

"What have I done? What- what have I done?!" Looking at his hands, then at Rebecca, something broke inside the albino as he reached up, hiding his face into his hands. "OH CHRIST!"

He knelt on the floor, his form doubled over as he howled in pure anguish, the bodies and pieces lying around him like a crude, blasphemous mosaic.

He screamed as he wept loudly, his eyes and cheeks burning, his cries mixing with the sounds of cold wind, rain and thunder.

"Now you finally understand what you have done, Mr. Wolf." Rawlings' voice said softly.

Star sniffled, then wiped his nose.

"Y-yes." He answered weakly. "I-I see the- the truth now. I-I accept that-" He swallowed, "that I've done a horrible, unforgivable thing."

"How do you hope to rectify it?"

Star lifelessly sat there on his knees, saying nothing for several moments.

"...Mr. Wolf?"

The albino exhaled softly. "I...I deserve to be punished."

Looking to where Rebecca lay, he saw the pistol next to her, then picked it up. After checking the magazine, he cocked the slide, then slowly raised it up to his head, drawing back his hood.

"I-I deserve- I deserve to be punished for what I- for what I did," Star sniffed. "God- God forgive me for what I have done, but- but it's the only way."

Rebecca's mother deserved peace of mind in knowing that her daughter had sent the Ecliptic Express Butcher to hell where he belonged before passing on.

She deserved to be buried with dignity and recognized as a hero.

Taking in several deep breaths, Star closed his eyes, pressing the barrel against his temple.

Images of his life flashed before him along with those of his mother, causing tears to spring anew.

Christ, the damage this would do to her, knowing that she had raised a murderer...

"I-I'm sorry, Mother." He sniffled. "I...I'm sorry for failing you as a son, and for being what I am. I hope you can forgive me for what I have done."

Taking several sharp breaths, he tightened his hand around the pistol's hand. If only he could feel the trigger itself. Time slowed, his chest thudding a violent storm that pounded in his ears.

"Goodbye, Mother. Goodbye, Rebecca. I love yAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGGGHGHGHGH!"

Dropping the pistol to the floor, Star screamed as he clutched his ears, wincing at the sharp pain as he heard a high-pitched ringing, holding his eyes shut.

Opening his eyes again, wincing at the pain, Star found himself back in the main hall, darting his eyes around in confusion.

"What? What's going on?! What is haAHHH! AAAAAAH!" As Star turned to look behind him, the albino's eyes shot right all the way open, ignoring the ringing and the pain as he shrilly and loudly screamed.

Richard heard several loud screams and pops.

Gunfire, and from the sounds of it, they were coming from the main hall.

"Wolf? Wolf?!" Pushing through the dining hall doors, the Bravo hurried his steps when something screamed, shrieking out an alien noise, a sound so unlike anything that he had ever heard that it made him flinch.

'What in God's name was THAT?!' Aiken wondered apprehensively.

It was a cry that sounded as if multiple voices were shrieking as one, strangely distorted and oddly…..mechanical... for lack of a better word.

For a moment, Aiken was briefly reminded of an internet dialup tone.

Several shots later, he heard a grunt, then another sound that he had trouble identifying, a sort of swishing like wind.

Bursting through the door, Aiken found Star wide-eyed on the floor with a pistol in his hand, the weapon pointing straight ahead, his entire form shivering as he remained curled up.

"Hey, you okay, kid?" The former asked.

The albino's face was pale, paler than ever, his expression horrible. His eyes were so wide open that Aiken could see the violet hues in their entirety, but it was the grimace on the boy's face that he had as he glanced anxiously around the room, concentrating.

Something scared him, and badly.

"Wolf?"

The boy stared up at the second floor balcony, nervously swallowing.

"Wolf!"

The albino jumped as he turned to face him.

"Did- did you see it?" The youth asked. "Did you see it?!

"See what?" Aiken asked.

"Him! The-" The boy then suddenly cut himself off, looking up and down the Bravo with cautious distrusting eyes. "Are...are you real?" he hesitantly asked in a quiet voice.

Aiken blinked in confusion, his brow furrowed. "What?"

"You heard me!" Star nodded, his nervous distraught words practically flying out with machine gun rapidity. "How do I know- how do I know that you're real?! How do I know this isn't a dream or a hallucination?! How do I know that you or this room won't suddenly change before my eyes again like all the other times and...and..."

The albino reached up and grabbed his own scalp, bending forward.

"Oh Christ, I'm losing my mind!" He cried.

Frowning, Aiken grabbed the albino roughly by the shoulder and gave him a hard shake.

"Get ahold of yourself!" He said with a stern voice before pulling back. "Does that answer your question?"

The albino glared up at him, then gave a slow nod in answer, putting away his pistol.

"Where have you been?" The youth asked.

"I was looking." Aiken responded, glancing down at his arms. "You're out of your cuffs."

"Yes, no thanks to you." Aiken didn't have time to react as the giant socked him in the eye.

Barry heard a scuffle as he approached the door.

Stepping into the main hall, he hurried his step as he saw Richard and the albino brawling.

"Hey! HEY!" Barry said as he stepped between them, pushing them both back. "Break it up! What the hell is going on?!"

Aiken panted as he held his bruised eye.

"That psycho attacked me!" He pointed at the red-clad giant, glaring at him.

"Yeah, because you hit me first," The latter said angrily, pointing to his cut bleeding lip, "and left me to fend for myself while I was handcuffed!"

"And how did you manage to get out of them in the first place, huh?" Aiken retorted. "Huh? Maybe Jill had been right to cuff you in the first place! What did you do with Rebecca and the others, you long-eared twat?!"

The albino stepped forward, balling his hand into a fist.

"You rotten son of a-" Cocking his fist back, ready to swing, Barry wrapped his arms around the youth's torso and midsection, dragging the boy away he as he flailed around wildly.

Jesus Christ, this kid is strong!

Barry wasn't a slouch by any means; as a former Air Force pilot, he prided himself on being one of the physically strongest members within S.T.A.R.S., if not the strongest of the bunch. That said, however, he was really straining himself just trying to hold onto the albino, so much so that his arms felt sore.

"Get off me! Get off!"

"ENOUGH!" Barry yelled. "If you don't settle down this instant, I'm putting the cuffs on! The same goes to you too, Richard!"

The albino ceased struggling, panting from exhaustion.

"Now, if I let you go, will you behave?"

The albino quietly glared at Richard as he panted, then looked back to Barry, giving a nod. "I...I will."

Releasing his hold, the Weapons Specialist then backed away, looking at the two survivors. "I want you boys to make peace. Whatever bullshit happened, drop it now - this is neither the time nor place."

The albino huffed indignantly as he crossed his arms. "He started it."

"And I'm ending it!" Barry retorted. "You say you're Captain Wesker's son? Well guess what, the Captain has a zero tolerance for bullshit, and your bratty outburst would make him ashamed!"

The albino winced, his eyes drooping sadly.

Aiken smirked. "Yeah."

Barry directed a glare at him, causing the Bravo to shrink and the smirk to disappear. "The same thing applies to you as well, Richard! How do you think the Captain would react to your behavior?! How do you think he would react to the news that you've been assaulting his kid when I tell him?!"

Barry watched as the two quietly digested his words, both staring down like children that had been called to the principal's office. Aiken himself looked like he was ready to faint.

"Now that has been addressed," he started, "I want the both of you to make peace already. Enough is enough!"

"With all due respect, Officer Burton," the albino said in a low voice as he drew up his hood, "I am not feeling particularly amicable at the moment."

As the youth's face disappeared into shadow, Barry caught a glimpse of his violet eyes as they shined before the giant turned away toward the stairs and climbed up.

"And where do you think you are going?" Barry demanded.

"I just need a moment to cool down," the albino answered, his back facing them.

"You can't just-"

"Just give me a minute or two," the red-clad youth said. "I just need some fresh air."

Barry frowned. "Kid, it's dangerous out there."

"It's dangerous in here, too," The boy replied, his tone soft. "Please. Let me just have a few minutes outside. I can't...I can't stand this mansion. I hate the air in here, and if I stay inside for another minute I'll go utterly mad...if I haven't already."

He then looked directly at Barry pleadingly. "That's all I ask. Please."

The Weapons Supplier thought it over for a moment, then relented.

"Alright," he said, "fine. I'll give you five minutes. By the time those minutes are up, I expect you to be ready with that apology. That goes for you too, Richard."

Aiken shrugged. "Fine."

Wiping his eyes, the albino gave a slight nod. "Thank you, Officer Burton."

The big man gave a wave.

"Don't mention it." Barry said.

The youth turned around and climbed up to the landing.

"And Wolf?" Barry watched as he paused midstep. "Don't take too long - this place isn't safe. If you find yourself in trouble-"

"I'll let you know." The boy nodded.

Barry watched as the youth approached a section of the wall, then blinked in surprise as it creaked open.

'Huh. Didn't realize that had been there.' Came the thought.

The door had been blended so seamlessly that it was easy to miss.

The big man started to squirm.

"Listen, uh, do you want me to come with you?" He asked. "Because, uh, you never know what-"

"I'll be fine." The albino interrupted.

Barry shrugged.

"Alright," he replied.

As the albino opened the door, cool air filled the room as wind caused lit candles to flutter, the youth pausing as he peeked outside.

"Everything okay?" Aiken called.

Letting out a tired sigh, the albino gave a dismissive wave, not bothering to face them.

"Remember, five minutes!" Barry called.

The door closed behind the red-coated figure, leaving the two survivors alone in the main hall.

Looking to Richard, Barry eyed the bruise.

"Quite the shiner you got there." he commented.

Aiken shrugged. "Kid can pack a hell of a punch. Like father, like son, I guess."

"Hm." Barry hummed, clicking his tongue against his teeth as he looked around curiously. "Is it me or had it gotten warmer in here?"

Richard looked around, his brow furrowed. "Now that you mention it, yeah, I thought I sensed a slight increase in heat as well. Fucking temperature controls in this place are probably going to shit."

Rubbing the back of his head, Barry looked up with a heavy sigh. "Isn't that reassuring."

The two S.T.A.R.S. members remained still as they listened to the wind blowing outside, sounding like a great beast trying to force its way in.