Part 1
Chapter 1: The Forest.
"Urrh…Ada…get outta here…"
Ada collapsed to the floor in an attempt to stop Jacob from tumbling to the floor. The infection was just too much for him as he felt it destroying him violently from the inside, but trying to hold on for as long as he could. Ada dare not imagine the worst for him, but it was only a matter of time.
She softly lowered him to the ground and held his head up, trying to give him as much comfort as possible.
"You'll be okay, right?" Ada questioned.
Jacob shook his head.
This wasn't the response she wanted to hear. His eyes were the first signs of the change. Drenched in the red colour of fear, he struggled to hold onto that last ounce of strength.
"Don't, don't leave me, please!" Ada sobbed quietly. "Not alone here!"
Jacob reached for his gun which was lying on the floor, still warm at the touch due to the recent rounds fired. He placed it close to Ada's chest, beckoning her to take it.
She took it without questioning his intention and with one final pain related groan; Jacob's body lay in Ada's arms, lifeless.
The sudden cracking of the wooden door distracted her attention as the infected burst through the door, splintering it over the ground. Ada hastily threw herself up to her feet and scurried backwards, into the next room that was the closest, missing an infected scrambling itself to her by inches.
She snatched the door handle and with all her strength, slammed the door shut, leaning on it whilst doing so. She hoped to god her weight on the door was enough to keep them out, for the lock would not last. Her first intentions were to find some sort of barricade for the door.
Her eyes darted across the room she entered. The wooden dresser seemed to be her best bet as it was the closest. Running alongside it she grabbed the opposite end, released a forceful scream, and pushed the dresser along the door. It seemed to do the trick.
"Not gonna hold for long" She thought to herself. But it was enough time for her to think of some way out of the mess she had not intentionally landed in. Sitting on the bed beside the window, Ada reached for the com link in her back pocket, and activating it. The sudden hologram image of a pixelated Ingrid Hunnigan appeared on the screen.
A voice spoke on the com link.
"Oh, Ada? It's good to see you, where the hell are you? You and Jacob aren't appearing on the radar?"
Remembering that tragic incident just a few moments ago, she looked toward the door and spoke.
"Jacob…he…he didn't make it Ingrid."
There was a sudden silence for a few second, Ingrid didn't have to ask what the cause was, and it was obvious.
"I'm sorry Ada; I don't know what to say." She remorsefully said.
"Just get me outta here, kay?" Ada snapped.
Ingrid did another scan of where she assumed Ada's location was. There was a blip on the computerized map she stared at.
"Right, eh, I think I have you, but it's a very feint signal, you're going to have to rely on your own instincts most of the way Ada."
Ada nodded her head in relief.
"Just point me in the right direction and I'm outta here!"
But before the communication was ended, Ada spoke again.
"Oh by the way, how are the others? They safe?"
Ada referred to Leon S Kennedy and Claire Reidfield that where sent to the remains of Raccoon City for…classified reasons. Ingrid looked left, as if to see some sort of monitor to acquire information turning her attention back to Ada, she spoke.
"Yea, they seem fine so far, I see they reached their destinat…wait…what the hell is…"
Ada suddenly got a rush of worry for her friends. The commotion in Ingrid's voice startled her.
"What's happening?" She stated.
Ingrid did not reply, her face passing out of the visual communicator.
The bedroom door of the ramshackle cabin was beginning to crumble on itself with the force of the infected on the opposite side desperate to feast on Ada's flesh. She placed the communicator beside her on the bed whilst she readied her gun. She assumed that there was ammo in the clip, but making sure, she double checked.
"5 rounds…dam!" She exclaimed.
Ada hoped for more, for she would need them. A corpse-like hand suddenly blazed through a gap in the broken door, snagging on the splinters and tearing through the flesh like a knife on butter. Yet the infected did not flinch. Ada poised behind the door, aimed with weapon in hand, and fired.
The shot echoed through the small room she were in as the bullet sieved through the air and puncturing a hole into the oncoming infected's head. The arm slowly retracted before dropping to the ground.
"Best keep these." Ada thought as she holstered her weapon.
A blip came from the communicator as Ingrid returned on screen. Ada rushed to where she had placed it and held it to her face.
"Hey, what happened?" She snapped.
"There's been a security breach, never thought it was possible." Ingrid replied.
Ada looked towards the door once again as the dresser she had placed against it begun to move.
She grabbed Ingrid's attention.
"Look! Just get me the hell outta here, those fucks are breaking through"
Ingrid looked towards Ada's location again.
"Right, best way outta the forest would be to go east toward the Raccoon City subway." Ingrid followed her eyes along a path on the screen that she hoped Ada would take.
Before Ada got a chance to reply, Ingrid interrupted.
"I'll be sending a fellow BSAA agent to greet you at the entrance, don't worry Ada, we will get you out of here! Ingrid out"
The image faded and reality returned to Ada. Scanning the room once more, the window seemed the best escape route out of the cabin. Fortunately, it was half open, so she had little effort to open it fully. Slipping out unnoticed, she forced the window down to the hatch so nothing could follow her.
Most of the infected were scrambling toward the front door in attempt to reach Ada, but she was long gone.
Chapter 2: The Stranger.
Light was slowly returning to the forest as the sun rose. Raccoon Forest seemed extraordinarily attractive at this time of year, giving the circumstances that where happening. Ada hadn't stopped moving since she left the presence of the cabin. She dare not look back either in case she were getting followed. Her memory of this place made her realise that she was pretty close to the end of the apposed never ending shrubbery and greenery she was treading through. But a dip in her walking meant she was along the right path as the subway was lower that the level the forest stood upon.
Ada had wondered thoroughly who she was "apparently" meant to be being intercepted by. A fellow BSAA agent? Leon and Claire where already on a mission. But as her mind scanned the faces of her past, a new face appeared just beyond where she was looking. The figure was beckoning Ada to move, and fast.
There was a sudden snarl that was heard from behind Ada. She swiftly turned on the spot to surprisingly see an oncoming horde of infected.
"Dam these fuckers are fast!" She swore.
She suddenly began heading towards the figure that was calling on her, gradually fastening the pace she moved at. The sun, now rising from the direction Ada was running, blinded the footsteps she took. Her hands covering her eyes wasn't enough, she was practically running with her eyes closed.
"This can't be good!" Ada swiftly thought to herself.
But the feeling of going downhill made her realise she was on the right path.
Unexpectedly, she was embraced tightly and tossed to one side, still unable to see a thing.
Ada tumbled to the floor and listened carefully. An angry "Argh!" was heard coming from a female close to where she lay, followed by something getting thrown, and reaching its target, followed by a gruesome squelch, and finally something dropping to the ground.
Ada stood up and brushed herself clean. The woman came into focus. Bearing the BSAA badge and the standard issue weapon that they provided holstered within her belt, Ada knew this was the contact.
Turning her attention to the commotion she had heard just a moment ago, she caught sight of an infected creature, awkwardly laying on the ground, with a rather large army knife, bludgeoned into its skull.
"Names Sheva, Sheva Alomar." The stranger spoke.
Ada reached out for a welcoming handshake, but was greeted with a blank stare.
She retracted her hand,
"Ada Wong, and thanks for, you know, the help back there."
"No problem partner." She replied.
Sheva begun pacing toward the entrance of the subway, but was abruptly halted as Ada forcefully grabbed her shoulder to grab her attention.
"How come I've never seen you around HQ?" Ada questioned.
Sheva snatched the hand that lay on her shoulder and shrugged it off.
"I'm pretty new to the force okay? And I'm good at what I do, and so are you…or so I've heard."
Sheva turned and snickered humorously. Ada sneered toward her in return. She had been through enough the past few hours, and she wasn't going to let some stranger make her feel lower that she felt right now.
Ada's hand cautiously began lowering toward her holstered weapon.
Making sure she had a firm grip, she waited patiently for Sheva to make a move.
Hearing a sudden unclipping of some object, Sheva halted her movement, her gut giving her an eerie feeling something was not right.
Ada broke the silence that had suddenly come between the two.
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"Likewise!" Sheva instantly replied.
Her hand now firmly placed around her gun, and ready to lash it out at the first sign of trouble.
Sheva began slowly turning on the spot, making no sudden movements.
"I guess you can't."
As she spoke these words, both Ada and Sheva were now poised, guns aimed firmly at one another, both desperate to fire. Ada had no idea how things ended up so violent, but she wasn't letting her death be caused by a human, that was for sure.
"Don't do this, Sheva." Ada daintily spoke, her calm tone not affecting how Sheva felt at the moment.
Sheva looked deep into her opponent's eyes, and seeing she meant no harm, gradually lowered her weapon, before placing it back in her holster.
"Look, sorry, I just ain't had the best of days." She spoke with a grim tone.
Ada sniggered loudly.
"You have NO idea."
As the aggressiveness passed from the two agents, the reality of what they should have been doing swiftly returned to them.
Chapter 3: The Subway.
The subway seemed clear of the infected. For now. Ada was rushing, always staying meters ahead of Sheva. Both knew this was the safest route to travel back to HQ, even though there would be no trains operational down here.
"Aw god it stinks down here!" Barked Ada to sheva.
She nodded in return before clicking on her flashlight located on her shoulder. The light shone past Ada and revealed a series of tunnels, tracks laid on all of them. The one on the far right seemed more eligible for traveling down as the air seemed thinner to Ada and Sheva. Both stood with their guns aimed down the tunnel.
"Ladies first." Sniggered Sheva before tapping Ada on the shoulder, bumping her to move on. Ada shrugged forward, before beginning a steady pace down the tunnel. A shiver ran down Ada's spine as the air got cooler as the progressed onwards. Some foul smell was abruptly caught seeping from the direction they were headed.
Sheva suddenly stopped.
"Awwh, what is that god awful smell?" She said, attempting to wave away the smell.
"Can't be good." Ada replied.
As Ada studied the area for what was causing the smell, Sheva froze with sudden panic, a trenching noise was being heard from farther down the tunnel.
Something stirred.
Shadows appeared as the flashlight shone down the tunnel, startling Sheva into dropping her weapon.
"Shhhhtt!" Sheva whispered, but loud enough for Ada to hear.
The commotion caught her attention and she dropped to the floor.
"Turn that light out!"
Sheva flicked the switch and they lay in the darkness, unable to see anything in the tunnelling darkness.
Five minutes passed in seconds as Ada and Sheva still lay on the ground, desperately trying not to attract attention. Ada could locate Sheva by the reflection that came off of the glass on the torch, but that was about it.
She crawled up beside Sheva, close enough to talk quietly.
"We can't stay here, we just…."
Suddenly, from within the darkness, a rattling vibration of some object was heard. Ada snapped to attention as she regrettably realised what it was.
Her back pocket lit up and a sharp ringing now echoed down the tunnel.
She scurried her hands to the com link, tossed it to Sheva, and she pressed the cancel button.
Silence returned.
Ada had begun breathing heavily as she realised how bad this situation had become.
With a sudden bloodcurdling snarl, Ada and Sheva rushed to their feet, tossed themselves to the closest wall, and pressed firmly against it. There was nothing to be seen still, only the noises of incoming scurried footsteps could be heard.
"Switch the light on, please; I can't see a dam thing." Whispered Ada.
As Sheva slowly begun reaching for the torch on her shoulder, Ada swiftly snatched Sheva's arm and held it in place.
"Shhhht!" Whispered Ada once more, the worry in her voice clarifying that something was about to happen.
There was a squelching noise being heard from above them. Dripping followed. Whatever it was, it hadn't noticed them yet. The sickening growl from the creature forced them to cover their mouths, desperately trying not to scream in horror. Ada caught sight of Sheva reaching for her weapon; she did not know if it was a good idea though, the noise from the gunfire may attract more. She looked ahead for a moment, something metallic caught her sight. Ladders seemed to appear from within the darkness upon the opposite side. They were reachable.
She tapped Sheva's shoulder and pointed in the direction of the ladders. She nodded in return.
Chapter 4: Escape from Headquarters.
Ingrid blew through like a tempest. She could feel the knot tightening in her throat as she fought through the Offices that towered around her. Darting past outstretched arms that welcomed the spill of blood, she kept her focus steady. She was further now, but she was not concerned with that fact. Her legs would give soon enough; if they did not, she would meet a sweeter fate. Ingrid's eyes pierced through the sun-splattered windows, seeing the clearing in the distance. It was coming soon. Finally at a standstill, she could hear her fellow workers screams fading into nothing.
Her heart stopped when their blood-red eyes met hers, a moment when time itself seemed to still.
She stared, transfixed, unable to think. Dreaming.
Dazed, she dropped her handbag. It fell on a nearby desk with a dull thud, the noise echoing around the silent office.
Suddenly, Ingrid was all too aware of her heart beating, of the fact that the blood that it pumped around her body called the infected. Enticing them.
Obeying her instincts, without a second thought, she pulled herself up from the ground, instinct kicking in. Run.
She swivelled on the balls of her feet, swiftly darting amongst the shadows of the abandoned office blocks. She didn't remember them seeming quite as threatening in the day.
She was breathing hard now. She picked up speed, adrenaline flowing through her veins, urging her on. Faster.
Throwing herself around a corner, she pressed firmly against the fall, and listened. The growls of the animal that was hunting for her was close, really close. She held in the whimpers with all her might, for if she released them, she was sure to be caught. Ingrid made sure she had her communicator with her, so she could keep in contact with Ada and Sheva…
To Be Continued…