Evanescent Dreams: Fading Memories

A Resident Evil: Evanescent Dreams Side Story

The light in the room is dim, the sound of pen on paper scratching from the slightly parted door of the second-story master bedroom. A grumbled voice is heard over the sound of a woman slightly snoring. As the room becomes more encased in light as another lamp is turned on, the man hunched over the desk growls and drops several crumpled balls of used paper into an overfilled trashcan. Not many would know by reading what he wrote, but the brunette twirling the pen in his fingers was at one point a very respected writer, though it was only among internet fiction sites. But the events over the past fourteen years of his life have twisted his mind to the point where he no longer knows sentence structure and the creative aspects of writing, but his mind is now filled with military strategies and the weak spots of every monster created by Umbrella.

Dusty Stracener yawns and drops the pen, the ink having just ran out, The Riley Infection is done… I guess Isle Eras is next… People will learn what happened, they have to now, Umbrella can't keep on doing what it's doing… I've spent months writing these words, reliving every moment of my first encounter with the corporation responsible for destroying the world. I've lost too many friends, taken too many bullets to let this die now… Every scream I hear one more time just fuels my need to write this book… Many before me have tried the same, and met horrible fates… There was Jen, who became the actual Surrogate Mother for the first Draco… Watching the video, that has to be the first time I've actually cried out loud… The pain…

He audibly chokes at the thought, but continues writing the Intermission, Umbrella has done some horrific things… Unforgivable things… If these words ring true to anyone who is reading this… Please, I implore that you stand together with those around you and put an end to this company…

A soft hand is draped over his shoulder, a voice like honey whispering into his ear, "Sweetie, it's five in the morning…. Get some sleep, please…"

A smile creeps across Dusty's lips as the squeezes the hand with his own, "Just let me finish the Intermission and I'll lie down." he looks up at her, "Okay babe?"

His girlfriend, Aya Akechi, smiles lightly and nods, knowing it's just another ploy to get her to fall asleep before him, "Okay… Good morning hun, I'll go start the coffee.."

Dusty sighs and chuckles, "I can't fool you at all can I?"

The redhead spins around from the doorway and tilts her head, her green eyes locking with his brown, "Not in your life darlin'."

Both share a small laugh, but it fades away as Dusty returns to his memoirs. The pages do not cover anything technical, scientific, or mathematical, cause he just doesn't care. He just wants people to see what Umbrella has done, it's up to the government to uncover how. As the tip of the pen runs across the paper, the brunette writer watches as the words turn to pictures, then pictures turn to movement, causing him to relive the moments he is talking about.

"Hey dad! Mom says get your ass down for coffee!" Sean's voice carries well in the empty hallways, followed by the smack from Aya.

"Don't use that word! I raised you better than that!" Dusty smiles at the softer tone of her voice.

"Sorry mom….." he's only been here three months, but Sean has adopted them very quickly, even becoming accustomed to their not-so-normal life.

Sean arrived by taxi three days after Dusty brought Aya back home from the Navy Hospital near Isle New Eras after the events there. Ever since it has been all out war over the last of everything in the fridge, the remote, even the bathroom. Aya has had to break up several wrestling matches between the two, even going so far as to quickly smacking them both with a wet towel. It's been happier times since he arrived that is for sure.

"DUSTY DAMN IT!" time to get up and have some coffee, that is one phrase that is not to be repeated twice.

11

He's going to make my hair turn gray before I need it to… Aya sighs as she hears her love stumble down the stairs and take a seat at the table.

"Hey! That's the last waffle!" Oh boy… Better make some more…

She turns from the scene at the table and pulls the freezer open, the box of waffles missing, "He wasn't kidding Darlin'…. We're out of waffles.."

A laugh and Dusty replies with a mouth full of waffle, "K, I'll buy shum lata."

Sean huffs and leans back in the chair, apparently angry that his dad stole the last waffle, after he cooked them for his breakfast. Aya just smiles at the scene and grabs the pot and pours another cup for her guy, turning away just long enough to replace the pot on the warmer. As she turns around Dusty appears in front of her, a smile on his face.

"Wha… What? What are you smiling about?"

The brunette just jerks his head toward the window, "Know what that is?"

She misses it at first, but slowly her eyes adjust to the sight outside, "It's the first snow of the season…."

"Uh huh," another, slier smirk crosses his lips, "know what that means darlin'?"

The redhead Asian smiles widely and runs upstairs, "I'll get my coat!"

Sean tilts his head, signaling that Dusty needs to explain, "What? Oh, first snow of each season, we go have a snowball fight, just as a remembrance to our friends that have passed."

"Like Uncle Doug?"

Dusty has to admit, Aya never spoke much of him, just that without him, she wouldn't have known anything about Umbrella's recent movements and research. Or have gotten Sean into their lives. He owes Doug a lot for having done very little, it's amazing how things work out like that sometimes. Dusty yawns and stretches, the fatigue of not sleeping the past few days is finally kicking in, his eyes drooping dangerously.

"Dad? Hello?" Sean is waving his hand in front of the older man's face.

"Hmm?" he glances down at the child, then smiles and picks him up, "C'mere kiddo. Got a surprise for you."

Sean's eyes widen and he quickly tries to scramble from his father's grip, "No! NO! DAD!"

Dusty laughs and tightens his grip, quickly tearing the front door open and tossing the boy out into the snow-covered front yard. Sean screams loudly and jumps up, instantly shivering from the sudden cold and snow-soaked clothing. The younger child glares at the older man and kicks him in the shin.

"OW! What the hell Sean!?" Dusty rubs his shin quickly.

"Just for that," Sean runs past him and locks the front door, then screams through the window, "I GET THE LAST ROLLS FOR A WEEK!"

11

After finally getting Sean settled down and in warm clothes, Aya and Dusty find themselves walking through the snow-filled streets in Northern Arkansas. Kids run and scream, throwing snowballs at each other. Ever since they got back from Isle New Eras, the first snow has always been one of their fondest memories of each year together. Nothing can blemish the snow, though sometimes when Dusty hears a scream, he thinks back to that night in Riley, the blood, the snow, the steam from each round of ammunition fired, and finally the smell of decay, death, and gunpowder…

Aya always catches him doing this, and proceeds to plant a snowball into his face, "Hey! This is our happy time okay? Where we going this time?"

Dusty smiles and wraps his arm around her, then points far off toward the park, "Thought we'd walk through the park this year, it's about time we made a full circle eh?"

His red-haired companion giggles and squeezes his arm tightly, just happy to have him around, "What's the date?"

"It's October 11th babe," Dusty turns them toward the park, his right hand hidden deep in his jacket pocket.

Motion appears among the trees, Dusty having caught them out of his peripheral a few minutes prior to stepping through the stone archway leading into the park. A slick smile covers his face, but he hides it from his love. A crow caws off in the distance, then nothing, time slowing down as Dusty pushes Aya down to the snow and dives over her, pulling the preformed snowball from his pocket. Two balls pass over his own head as he tosses his weapon, nailing a kid right between the ears. All commotion stops, the kids awestruck at the precision of the attack.

"What the HELL Dusty!?" Aya jumps up and swipes the cold snow from her hair and clothing.

She looks around, spots the kid pelted with a snowball, then hangs her head and sighs, "Why do you always start a fight here?"

"They," Dusty dodges a hail of snowballs, his face turning into a death glare, "start them each time…"

Aya dives and grabs a handful of snow into her hands, "Well, as always, we finish it."

Laughs, screams, and shudders fill the park as the small war continues, the park being deprived of all snow from the intensity of each battle. At the end of the war, Dusty and Aya are covered head-to-toe in snow, shaking to no end from the wet clothing and cold air. They won, as usual, using their knowledge of how to take out human-based monsters to easily out maneuver and overcome the twenty-four kids. One might wonder why they keep trying, but that is answered as Dusty stands up and smiles.

"Come on guys, off to the pancake shop for hot chocolate."

Win or lose, everyone gets chocolate afterward, it's Dusty and Aya's gift to the town, they keep the kids safe and sound so the parents can enjoy the first snowfall how they want. No one knows what really happens to be honest, they just think the kids go off to play, but Dusty took over and got all the kids together and planned this snowball fight each year. It keeps everyone happy and safe, which is right how Dusty wants everyone. Plus, it's just a ton of fun for everyone involved.

"Hey baby," Aya smiles and turns toward him.

He smiles back and replies, "What?"

She kisses him, causing a groan from the crowd of kids, then an onslaught of snowballs while they scream, "That's gross!"

11

Sean stares out the large bay window in the living room, a small book in his hands, the title having worn off from the years of use. His eyes scan the horizon suspiciously for anything odd and out of the ordinary. He remembers bits and pieces of how he came to be here, the woman that the state forced him to call mom, the beatings, the rants, the redheaded angel and the man called Doug. Sean can't explain it, but he knows someone is out there, watching him and his family, waiting for the moment to get one of them. He isn't sure why, but he's pretty positive his dad's many long trips out of town have something to do with it. He leaves with full bags, yet Dusty returns without the bags sometimes. If he does bring them back, they are just rotten and destroyed. Even those bags don't last long, the fires Aya burns them in swallowing them quickly.

"Why?" Sean leans on the windowsill, resting his chin on his crossed arms.

None of it makes sense to be perfectly honest, the training, which his dad calls Military Games, the lack of letting Sean travel with his own father, and of course the fact the shed in the backyard is locked with a lock to make Fort Knox jealous. He's tried several times to pick the lock, broken several pairs of bolt cutters, and even took a torch to it, all to no avail. Whatever that lock is made of, it's not going anywhere except by key. It's all so confusing when looked at separately, which is why he's just now starting to question it all.

"Where do they go? Why play in the snow?" these are just some of questions that plague his mind each and every day.

Before he can delve farther into the conundrums that make up most of his thoughts, the door flies open, the two people he's come to call his parents laughing as they shake off the snow. Sean smiles and jumps down from the dining room table, quickly running up to greet them. Dusty laughs at something Aya mumbled in his ear, then quickly picks her up, both of them sharing a laugh and a quick kiss.

"Hey kiddo," a key is tossed into Sean's waiting hands, "go out to the shed, I got something to tell you."

What the hell is this? Sean's blue eyes rest on the round key between his fingers.

"Sean?"

He shakes his head to clear the confusion, "Sure dad."

11

The snow has picked up and is quickly turning into a blizzard, despite what the weathermen are telling them nowadays. Sean shudders from a sudden wind change, but keeps his pace steady and his direction the same. The shed rests out in the middle of the backyard like a haunted mansion on a hill. Well, for Sean, this shed really is a haunted mansion, being as he has his own stories about what lies inside. He stares at the large metal doors and keeps the key tight in his right fist. Sean has come this far, all twenty yards of it, too far to turn around now. An audible gulp fills the air as Sean fumbles the key into the lock, the shackle unhooking almost effortlessly.

I guess dad really knows his locks…that being said because Sean has tried several times to pick and break this lock, but a tiny key unlocks it easily.

The doors creak open, the dark, yellow light starting to cover the snow. A smell that is faintly familiar to him wafts into the air, a scent that makes him uneasy and agitated. He shuffles his feet, then steps inside, the door sliding open the rest of way on well oiled tracks.

"Oh my god…." the sight before him causes Sean to stare in absolute wonder.

Hundreds of weapons, everything from handguns, grenades, to rocket launchers. You name the weapon, it's probably here. In the center of the room is a small glass case, an awkward-looking handgun rests solemnly on two steel supports. The magazine rests a good four inches lower than the grip of the weapon, signifying the extra bullets it carries. The barrel has a heat-shield on the end, meaning it fires more than one round with a squeeze of the trigger.

"An M93R…." his voice is hushed, as if not to disturb the souls that these weapons have probably taken from the living realm.

"Yup, she's my pride and joy," Dusty smiles as he glances down at his son, the look of wonder apparently infectious.

11

Yeah, this whole room is my pride and joy… Years of collecting, shooting, exploding…

Dusty picks the glass case up and sets it aside, letting the M93R taste fresh air for the first time in years. The weapon still has the same feel to it that it had the very last time he held it. That fateful day is still fresh in his mind….

"Dusty! NO!" Aya runs toward the brunette as the man drops down on top of the hoodlum that tried to mug them.

The teenager squirms and tries to fight back, but Dusty just drives the side of the M93R against his temple, "You little piece of shit! Did no one ever teach you how to make your own living!?"

Aya stands back in shock, the look of rage on her love's face reflecting the hidden mental issues resting inside Dusty's mind. The kid screams out, but no one is around, not in this town. That's one of the few reasons they moved to Little Rock: the quiet, the solitude of the town. Ever since the earthquake back in 2010 that nearly leveled the city, it hasn't quite recovered, and apparently never will. But that's minor in comparison to the scene unfolding before them.

Another call out for help, another smack with the handgun, "You need a fucking role model… Someone who can teach you to EARN a living!"

"Dusty!" Aya calls to her friend, scared about his next move, "Stop!"

Apparently he comes to his senses, as he stops and looks down at the bleeding kid, "Oh my god…."

He stands up, allows the kid to run away, and stares at the blood dripping from the barrel of the M93R, "Aya?"

"Hmm?" she hugs him from behind, trying to comfort him.

"I think," he gulps audibly, trying to find the courage to lay his past to rest, "it's time to put these away… For now at least."

"Of course, love…" she kisses the back of his neck.

Dusty shakes the distasteful memory from his mind and stares at the gun once again, "It's time I told you the dark secret Aya has brought you into… You ready to hear it?"

He frowns as Sean nods slowly, "I think so, sir."

Wow, he's never said sir to me…a bit of doubt crosses Dusty's mind for the first time in three years.

END