May 2005
"What the hell were you thinking soldier?" questioned the drill sergeant, grabbing the young man by his collar then forcing him to sit on one of the beds inside the infirmary. The young soldier was breathing heavily and was perspiring non-stop. His face lacked color and his eyes can't seem to focus on one location— he was very sick.
Instead of having pity on the young soldier the sergeant can't help but scold him for his foolishness. "You look like hell and I doubt the doctor gave you the clearance to leave this facility and join the training," seethed the officer while he sat on an empty bed next to where the young soldier was.
"I-I have to complete the training sir," explained the soldier as he tried to make eye contact with the man in front of him. "I c-can't afford to rest and lag behind the training—"
"Bullshit!" shouted the sergeant as he stood up and moved closer to the sick man. "I know that you really want to finish the training but in the condition that you are right now… I doubt that you will be able to accomplish anything." The older man knew that his harsh words stung the sick man and yet, this was the only thing he can do to help him understand the possible consequences of his actions.
"Son, I know that you are one tough soldier but, you should stop being so arrogant and start caring for yourself," advised the sergeant as he once again sat down at the bed and calmly talked to the young man. "You might not care about what happens to you but, what about those who care about you? What would they say or feel if they found out what happened to you?"
The young soldier lowered his head, guilt finally sinking in his sick arrogant head. "I'm sorry…" he muttered, "I-I will get some rest and follow whatever the doctor tells me to do in order for me to get well and finish the training as soon as… I-I am… able to."
A faint smile appeared on the lips of the sergeant. He was somehow relieved with what the young man had said. "Very well then," stated the sergeant as he stood up once again. "I will call the doctor and leave you to get some rest." The older man was making his way to the door to exit when his attention was called back by the sick man.
"Sir…" uttered the young soldier. The older man stopped walking and turned his head slightly, waiting for the young man to finish his sentence. "…please, don't tell my father about what happened today." The soldier's hazy eyes locked onto the sergeant's. That action was enough for the older man to know that he was talking once again to the strong and determined boy that he met a long time ago and not the arrogant and delirious one awhile ago.
"Don't worry, I won't tell the Colonel about it," assured the man. "Take care of yourself Piers." The man left leaving behind in the room the young man as he finally closed his eyes to rest.
CHAPTER 2
~ Limitations ~
July 2010
Several weeks had passed ever since Piers joined the B.S.A.A. Throughout his stay he was able to learn a lot of things about the organization— its objectives, history and reason of foundation. During this time, the recruits were given a lengthy lecture on Umbrella, its activities in the past, important details on B.O.W.s and viruses. The lecture was probably information overload for the recruits but, the authorities of the B.S.A.A. deemed it important that these would-be-B.S.A.A. soldiers knew what evil they were up against and why there was a need to stop this madness. Who would have known that the B.O.W.s and deadly viruses even existed back then and that the fight to rid the world of such vile things had been going on since 1998?
The recruits were also assessed to determine what kind of training they were going to receive— whether they were to undergo the basic military training or proceed to the special training in dealing with B.O.W.s and the infected. Luckily for Piers, because of his military experience, he was placed at the latter group. This meant that he didn't need to deal with the blue-heads and that concentrating in his training was going to be easy… or so he thought.
Piers picked up his metal tray of BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and Jell-O then slowly made his way to the center of the chow hall, surveying where he can sit to take his lunch. He was about to make his way to an empty table when someone called out his name.
"Piers!"
Piers' head turned to the direction where the voice came from. "Over here," called a soldier with a crew cut, raising his right hand to show where he was. The man was sitting together with two other soldiers. Piers smirked and made his way to the table.
"Hey," greeted Piers as he sat down the chair, placing his tray on the table. The others greeted him back acknowledging his presence in their company.
"So, Piers, the guys and I were just talking about today's training," explained the soldier while stabbing a small piece of meat with his fork and putting it in his mouth.
"Well Carl, today's training was quite a surprise," he began, "…I didn't expect that they will be bringing in live B.O.W.s for us to practice on but, then again, these are the things that we will be facing out there."
"Yeah, I guess the B.S.A.A. wants to prepare us with the real situation out there than sugar coat it," commented Carl.
"The training is definitely different from what we had in the army— it's a lot more dangerous," added another soldier, taking as bite of his sandwich.
"And it will only get more dangerous Ben, as they bring in bigger B.O.W.s as the training progresses," remarked Carl, "How about you Marco, what do you think?" Everyone from the table looked at the guy who was busy enjoying his meal.
Marco stopped chewing the piece of meat in his mouth, swallowed it and placed his utensils down. "Well…" he started, leaning back on his chair, "it made me think how lucky we all are… I mean, we are being trained to deal with these monsters and we have the proper equipment to do so— making things easier for us. Just think of what those who survived the Arklay Mansion and Raccoon City Incidents had to go through."
It was the year 1998 when a series of gruesome murders took place near the Arklay Mountains. It was also the year when the S.T.A.R.S. was sent to the darkest depths of hell and it was the year when the nightmare turned into reality. Even at the destruction of Raccoon City and the fall of Umbrella, the nightmare still lived on… especially for those who had been there since the beginning.
"If I had been there in the Arklay Mansion incident, I would probably won't be here right now having this conversation," admitted Carl, looking at his companions seriously.
"Imagine, there were only five people who survived the mansion incident—they were either very skilled or very lucky," stated Ben, resting an arm on the table, "…or probably both."
"I actually heard that there were some people who managed to escape the contagion of Raccoon City before it was obliterated by the government and one of them is here in the B.S.A.A.," informed Marco as he grabbed his glass of water to drink from it.
Silence had befallen the table. Everybody knew the person that Marco was referring to. It was no surprise that the person they were talking about was one of the founders of the B.S.A.A. Then as if on cue, the doors of the chow hall swung open, giving way to a female wearing an oversized light cobalt shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers causing some soldiers to stand up and salute at the woman. Marco, Ben and Carl looked at the woman who was making her way to the food counter leaving Piers puzzled with what the three were staring at.
"Speaking of which," stated Carl, tilting his head to the direction of what they were staring at. Piers shifted in his chair and saw someone familiar by the food counter getting her lunch. Piers squinted his eyes as he tried to remember who that person was and when the brunette woman turned around they both made eye contact. Piers quickly turned away upon realizing who that person was.
"What's wrong?" inquired Marco, wearing a confused look on his face. The three soldiers were now looking at Piers suspiciously, trying to figure out why he was behaving such way.
"Is she still there?" asked Piers, looking stiff in his seat. "Who?" questioned his comrades as they become more and more suspicious of their friend.
"Valentine!" hissed the nervous man while trying not to move much.
"Yup, she's still there," informed Carl, leaning at the back of his chair and crossing his arms "in fact… she's actually walking towards this table."
"What?!" reacted the nervous soldier, looking at his companions in shock while his heart started to beat faster and faster. Piers then tried holding his utensils to pretend that he was busy eating. His hands were shaking as he sliced the BBQ chicken on his tray.
"She's getting closer now," informed Ben, looking at how nervous his friend had become. "Twenty seconds before contact," warned Marco, looking at the approaching female.
"Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit," cursed Piers as the footsteps came closer and stopped behind him.
"Nivans," called the female, laying a hand on his shoulder. The nervous soldier then suddenly stood up in surprise and accidentally knocked down his chair.
"Hey, are you alright?" asked the female, holding the surprised soldier by his arm.
"D-Dianne?" muttered the confused soldier as he composed himself.
"I'm glad that you still remember my name," stated the receptionist, trying not to blush in front of the soldiers. "Are you ok? You look like you had seen a ghost or something?"
"I'm fine, don't worry… I just thought you were somebody else," explained Piers, glaring at his friends. "So, what are you doing here anyway?"
"Well, I'm actually here to relay a very important message to someone until I saw you. It has been so long since we last saw each other… so I thought I would come by and say hi," admitted the young woman, tucking some of her hair behind her ear and looking at Piers fondly.
"… Hi then, ummm— shouldn't you rely that message already?" noted the soldier, pointing out the paper she was holding.
"Yeah, you're right, I should get going then," agreed Dianne, "I'll see you when I see you, bye." The young woman walked away smiling at Piers one more time before she turned around and left Piers. The young soldier sighed heavily and even before he was able to pick up his chair, he saw her looking at him from across the room.
"Hey, are you alright?" interrupted Ben who stood up from his chair to help his friend pick up his chair.
"Yeah…" replied Piers as he turned around and sat on his chair once again. "I can't believe you guys tricked me, you assholes!" seethed the young man, leaning on the back of his chair and letting his hands dangle. The three just laughed at Piers and how nervous and pathetic he looked awhile ago.
"So what's the deal with you and Ms. Valentine?" pried Carl, taking a bite of his apple pie. Piers looked at his companions and saw the serious look that they had on their faces. It seemed that they wouldn't let him off the hook if he didn't say something.
Piers sighed in defeat. "Do you still remember the orientation of the recruits several weeks ago?" asked Piers to his companions.
"Yeah, she was there to give the welcome speech to the recruits," stated Carl.
"So, what about it?" asked Ben as he leaned on the table, waiting for the young soldier's answer.
"Well, I was able to somehow talk to her, not knowing who she really was," began Piers, "…and I sort of hit on her."
The table was silent and the three men were surprised with what Piers had revealed to them. Ben's mouth was wide open with shock, Marco's eyes were wide in disbelief, and Carl had a mischievous smirk on his face.
"Seriously?" asked Ben to confirm his friend's revelation.
"Yes," verified Piers, "seriously."
Silence continued in the table.
"Piers," spouted Carl while leaning towards the table to rest his arms, "I don't know whether you are the bravest person I know or probably the stupidest!"
"It's Valentine we're talking about, what were you thinking man?" commented Ben, grabbing his short hair with both hands.
"Nothing! I wasn't really thinking about anything when I talked to her— It's not like I planned on hitting on her in the first place. It just happened," defended the troubled soldier, massaging the area between his eyebrows in frustration.
"No wonder you were all stiff and paranoid awhile ago. You know that your ass could have been removed from the B.S.A.A. because of your little stunt," criticized Carl, shifting in his seat. "But, since several weeks had already passed and you're still here… it just means that she wasn't really offended by it."
"Offended or not, I just feel shameful about it…" admitted Piers, lowering his gaze to his tray of food. The three men just stared at their friend before one of them broke the silence.
"So what are you going to do about it?" Ben curiously asked his friend running his hand on his short hair.
Silence once again governed the table. The three men awaited the young man's answer.
"This…" proclaimed Piers, standing up from his chair. The young soldier turned his back from his comrades and walked straight to the table where Jill Valentine was sitting at. The three soldiers could only look at the young soldier with awe.
"Guys, you know that he's in deep shit right. It's Jill Valentine for heaven's sake and we all know whose name comes attached to that…" the silent soldier, Marco, reminded the group as they continued watching their friend walk to his doom.
"Yup, he's definitely a dead man," added Carl, leaning forward to the table resting his arms.
"Should we tell him?" asked Ben, switching looks at Marco and Carl waiting for their response.
"…Nah, we'll let him figure it out on his own," stated Carl, propping his head with his hands, "it's more exciting that way." The soldier just smirked at the situation his young friend found himself in.
Despite his nerves, the young man walked tall proceeding to his superior's table. His heart then started beating faster and faster as the distance between him and the woman vanished.
Piers saw Valentine taking her lunch by herself. This was actually a good thing since no one will be around to hear how he would make a fool out of himself. This was also the perfect chance to explain and get things off his chest.
When he was about a foot near his destination, Valentine stood up from her chair and started walking away.
"Shit," the young soldier thought, seeing her walk away from him. This was his only chance and he won't let her walk out on him. In panic, Piers ran after her and blocked her way.
"Wait, don't leave!" shouted Piers, facing Valentine raising both hands to stop her from walking away from him. "I'm sorry ok? So, please stop avoiding me."
"What?" uttered Jill, looking at the young man who was blocking her way with pure confusion.
"I know I shouldn't have talked to you the way I did during the orientation—bragging and flirting with you," frantically explained the young soldier, locking his serious yet worried eyes with her confused big ones. "Plus what you saw awhile ago, it was nothing—she's just someone I met, sh-she means nothing!"
Valentine tried to open her mouth to say something but was cut off by the babbling soldier.
"I know that I was out of line and my behavior during the orientation was unacceptable as a soldier so if you feel that I should be punished for it then I will fully accept it!"
The two continued to stare at each other, waiting for someone to break the awkwardness that they once again found themselves in.
"I'm going nowhere soldier… and I'm definitely not avoiding you because I was just making my way to the water dispenser to get a glass of water," stated Valentine, tilting her head to the direction of the water dispenser in the chow hall.
Piers turned his head and saw the water dispensers lined up against the wall.
"Plus, what you do during your free time is none of my business," added the woman.
Did the young soldier just further embarrass himself in front of his superior?
"Ummm… I-I'm sorry ma'am, I-I just wanted to get it off my chest—and now that I have, I'll be on my way now," stiffly stated Piers, leaving his superior behind and making his way back to his table.
Jill Valentine continued looking at the young soldier with confusion who was making his way back to his table. When the young man reached his table, he sank in his chair with embarrassment.
"What was that all about?" asked a young female voice, handing Valentine a glass of water.
"It's nothing," replied the woman, grabbing the glass and returning to her table accompanied by the other female. Jill sat down her chair and started drinking her glass of water.
"That wasn't nothing," suspected her companion, looking at the brunette woman as she sat down with her tray of food.
Jill Valentine didn't say anything and just focused on eating her lunch while the young woman with short brown hair wearing a white coat over her clothes continued looking at her skeptically.
"What?" Jill finally reacted as she dropped her fork on the tray and looked at the woman that sat across her with a raised eyebrow. "I already told you, it was nothing, Rebecca."
The young woman leaned over the table and looked at Jill mischievously. "Well, that didn't look like nothing to me Jill."
"Think what you want Rebecca," uttered Jill as she continued with her lunch. Jill didn't need to say anything to Rebecca because she knew that her young friend will just continue to pry for information.
"Okayyy…" The younger woman rolled her eyes in disbelief and gazed back at the soldier who roused her interest. "Hmmmm, he kind of reminds me of someone we know."
Jill stopped slicing the piece of meat on her tray and just let out a heavy sigh as she shook her head slowly.
Piers had completely lost his appetite and had left his food almost untouched. How did he manage to make a fool out of himself in front of Valentine twice? He had approached her to apologize but it didn't end that way.
"I reckon it didn't end well," commented Ben as he looked at the young soldier groaning while his hands covered his face.
The disgraced soldier nodded his head slowly in affirmation.
"Well just think of it this way, since she is one of the higher ups, you won't really get to see her that often and that is also the same reason why she won't be participating with the trainings directly," encouraged Marco, giving his friend an assuring smile.
"He's right… so, come on Piers, suck it up!" urged Carl, smacking the sulking man's back hard with his hand causing him to suddenly sit up straight. The three soldiers continued laughing at the poor young man and his petty misery.
August 2010
Jill Valentine sat in her office. The room was nothing much, clean white walls with only a single framed reproduction of The Kiss painting by Gustav Klimt hanging on the wall, carpeted floor, large cabinet for files lined up perfectly on the wall, and a large black desk. The desk was almost bare with the exception of a laptop, a small pile of documents, and a picture frame with a picture of the S.T.A.R.S. team.
Jill was busy typing some reports when she was suddenly disturbed by a knock at her office door. "Come in," said the woman while she continued typing. She only stopped what she was doing when her visitor cleared her throat.
"Oh, Rebecca," noticed the surprised woman who then stopped working, "I'm sorry, I was a little bit engrossed in finishing these reports."
"So, what brings you here?" asked Jill, placing down the documents on her table and looking at the young doctor standing in front of her work table."
"Well… I'm here to personally deliver a very important message to you," stated the younger woman as she handed a folder with the logo of the B.S.A.A. to the woman sitting behind the table who immediately opened it upon receiving.
"After reviewing your latest medical records and after the numerous meetings that I had with the B.S.A.A. officials, not to mention your various attempts to win my favor by sending me my favorite cupcakes and successfully locating and getting a certain dead person to get in touch with me after twelve years—which I consider as the greatest bribe that you can offer me and which I highly appreciate… and as your doctor… I am giving you clearance to join and facilitate the training exercises for the recruits."
After hearing what the doctor had said, Valentine closed the folder and just looked at her friend with surprised eyes as if she still cannot believe what she had just heard.
"The higher ups said that you can begin next Monday... Well, that's all I came here to do… I better go back to my office," stated the younger woman, then turning around to exit the room but even before she was able to do so someone hugged her from behind.
"Thank you, thank you Rebecca!" expressed the overjoyed Valentine as she kissed her friend on her cheeks. "You don't know how much this means sooooo much to me."
"Okay, okay, I know how happy you are about it and I can really feel it— so if you could just stop hugging me too tight before you accidentally kill me" pleaded the woman.
"Oh sorry," apologized Valentine as she let go of her friend.
"I'm glad that you are happy about it, just be careful, okay? Don't stress yourself too much, avoid doing very strenuous activities, and if ever you are feeling not so good you should call me immediately."
"Don't worry, I'll keep those in mind," assured Valentine as she opened the door for her friend. The doctor smiled at Jill and exited the room.
"Oh, Rebecca before I forget…," stated Valentine while taking out something from her back pocket and then immediately tossing it to her friend.
Rebecca caught the metal handcuffs and just gave Jill a puzzled look.
"Good luck with your date tonight with Billy!" declared Jill, winking at her friend and closing her office door.
The young doctor immediately pocketed the handcuffs and blushed severely as she tried to quickly leave the corridor and avoid the mischievous look of those who saw and heard what had just happened.
September 2010
Eliminating B.O.W.s and the infected at a distance was an easy task for the trainees. All they need to do was lock on a target, pull the trigger, and wait for their target to drop dead on the ground. Well, that's just the easy part— fighting at close range with limited space and ammunition with a bunch of infected and B.O.W.s was a whole different story.
For the past several days, the trainees did a lot of strength training and were taught C.Q.C. when dealing with B.O.W.s and the infected. The soldiers brushed up their skills with one another and with the use of dummies. Now, everything that they've learned for the past several days was to be put to the test.
The trainees made their way to a very large and enclosed training ground. The training ground was a lot different from where they had practiced for the past few days. The room looked like a cross between an arena and a laboratory or something. It was somehow dark with only a few lights on—mostly only on the part where the soldiers will sit and up on the balconies where several armed soldiers were posted. The room looked very sterile and the middle part of the room was surrounded by thick glass that separated it from the rest of the room. The darkness of the room covered whatever it was beyond the thick glass. The room definitely gave a serious and dangerous feel to those who were in it.
"Is it me or does it feel like we are being sent to our execution?" remarked Ben while frantically looking around the training room. "They even have snipers on the balconies!"
"Yeah… snipers waiting for you to run and shoot you in your fucking head or stupid ass in your case, Ben," added Carl, kicking his buddy on his ass causing the shorter man to stumble on the ground.
"What the hell Carl!"
"Serves you right for giving me a broken nose when you hit my face with the back of your gun," scoffed Carl, crossing both his arms on his chest in annoyance.
"I already told you that it was an accident," explained Ben while standing up and fixing his uniform.
"An accident that could have been avoided if you weren't panicking and running around like you lost your head or something."
The two soldiers continued their nonsense bickering while Piers and Marco just watched their friends insult each other.
"Isn't it that those two are older than both of us?" questioned Marco while continuing to watch the fight.
Piers just shrugged his shoulders and commented, "Well, I just don't see the maturity and wisdom in those two with what I'm seeing right now."
"Maybe they haven't reached that part yet," commented Marco.
"Perhaps… or maybe they already skipped that part," added the youngest soldier with a smirk on his face.
Everyone's attention was then caught by the mechanical door that hissed open giving way to their instructor. A Caucasian man with almost shoulder-length black hair made his way to the front of the soldiers. The soldiers stopped whatever it was that they were doing and immediately stood up and saluted at the man. The man saluted as well and the soldiers sat down.
"Good day to all of you," greeted the man with his Italian accent. "As you are all aware, it has been almost 3 weeks when the strength training and C.Q.C. training in dealing with the B.O.W.s and the infected began and as for today, everything that you have learned or gained from the trainings will be put to the test… and to help us in today's training we will be needing the help of someone who is very much an expert or very much experienced in eliminating these vile creatures—"
Then as if on cue the mechanical door once again opened, causing everyone to look at that direction. A female wearing a blue B.S.A.A. uniform came into the room and walked towards the male instructor.
"Ahh just in time Jill," addressed the man, welcoming his guest.
"Good to see you again Parker—you look great," complimented Valentine, noticing that his friend had lost some weight since the last time they saw each other.
Recognizing the female that entered the room, the soldiers stood up and saluted at the female. Jill saluted back.
"At ease gentlemen," commanded Valentine, making the soldiers sit down in unison. Jill looked at Parker and waited for him to continue his briefing.
This gave Carl the opportunity to tease his friend, so, he then started nudging Piers to get his attention but Piers knew what game his friend was playing. Carl wouldn't stop bothering him if he didn't look at him and at the same time if he did get his attention, he will do something to make him feel uneasy because Valentine was in the same room as them. So, Piers chose the best option—he ignored Carl and discreetly flipped the finger at his friend. Carl definitely got the message.
"So like what I was saying awhile ago, Ms. Valentine over here will be demonstrating how to go about today's training. Also, let me be frank with all of you… today's training is very dangerous and could cause you your life or somebody else's life if you make a mistake."
The air of seriousness in the room then became heavier.
"Ms. Valentine," called Parker, giving the floor to her.
"Gentlemen, today's training is all about survival. Now when I say survival, it is not just shooting at creatures until they drop dead like what you did in your earlier trainings because real survival is being alive after experiencing the worst kinds of situations on the battlefield like limited ammunition and first aid and various monsters attacking you on all sides. You might be good at shooting targets here in the camp but if you don't use your brains once you are already on the field… I'm sorry but you won't get very far. So, today's training is not just eliminating B.O.W.s because today we will be putting to the test the knowledge and skills that you have acquired and honed during your trainings and how well you use them to your advantage and your survival."
"Parker, if you could please…" commanded Jill, signaling the male instructor to push the switch on the wall.
When Parker pushed the switch, the rest of the lights switched on revealing the middle part of the training room.
Valentine continued her briefing while making her way to the glass barriers, "You will be fighting for your survival down there in the pit—eliminating B.O.W.s that will be released through those electronic doors using only the items or weapons that we will be providing you with."
"But, don't worry, in case any of you screws up, our snipers will be taking care of those creatures that are too close for comfort," added Parker, seeing the anxious and dread look in the faces of some soldiers.
"Also, for this exercise, you will be working in teams and we will be rating your team as well as your individual performances," stated Jill, making her way near the front row of soldiers, looking at them and making sure that they take the exercise seriously.
"So make sure that you do your best down there…" Valentine uttered while her eyes unconsciously locked on Piers' and it stayed there for awhile as if she was wishing him good luck.
"Anyway, let's begin shall we?" declared Valentine as she broke eye contact and headed back towards Parker.
Carl, Ben, and Marco all turned their heads to look at Piers' reaction and they all smirked when they saw how their dear friend had blushed—like a schoolboy who has a crush on his teacher.
Parker handed Jill some equipment for her to use in the demonstration and gave her other items as well. While the two instructors were busy preparing, the soldiers were also busy sharing their thoughts with one another.
Ben began his ranting again how they were being sent to their executions and that most of them will probably die in the training room and not even have the chance to experience real action out there. As expected Carl was voicing out how stupid Ben was while Marco just watched his two friends insult each other again. As for Piers, his attention was somewhere else. He may look like he was listening to his friends but the truth was he was actually watching Parker help Valentine prepare.
Piers started thinking that his two instructors were probably good friends way back then based on how they talk and treat each other. Hmmm… the question was how well did they know each other? And for how long? How did they even meet? Piers shook his head to rid it of all the questions that were flooding his mind.
He could only watch from afar how Parker was now trying to help Jill put on her headset while Jill was trying to gather her short hair up in a pony tail—she seemed unsuccessful, her hair was still too short to tie everything up. Piers noticed that Jill looked frustrated because she can't seem to fix her hair properly. In the end, her hair looked a mess but nonetheless Piers still thought that she looked beautiful. Once done, Parker lightly patted Jill's back giving her the signal that she's ready to go. Valentine then made her way down to the pit through a secured entrance.
As Jill was making her way to the center of the pit, Parker allowed the soldiers to get a better view of the pit by letting them stand behind the glass barriers.
"Ready Jill?" inquired Parker through his headset, looking at the woman at the center of the pit.
"Let me check with my boys up on the balconies first," uttered Jill looking up at the armed B.S.A.A. soldiers. "You all ready up there boys?"
"Roger, snipers are ready Ms. Valentine," came an answer through the communication line.
"Then I guess it's show time, Parker."
The loud sound of the alarm started echoing through the room while red flashes of light filled the venue. Then the lights started to switch off one by one. The trainees were startled and some were trying their best not to panic while Jill Valentine just stood there with her drawn weapon at the middle of the pit waiting for the metal doors to open and release god knows what.
After several seconds the alarm stopped and the red flashing lights were gone. The only lights that were switched on were the ones focused on the pit and everything else in the room was pitch black.
Silence.
Dead silence.
Then, the electronic door suddenly opened releasing some white smoke in the process. Afterwards, a distressed moan was heard and a sloppy and eerie sound like something was being dragged was heard. A step, then another step was made by something coming out from the electronic door and into the pit.
It was an infected— a zombie. It was dragging one of its legs and it walked slowly and mindlessly in the pit.
The trainees watched in silence as the infected mindlessly made its way closer to Valentine. Some of the trainees thought that this was probably too easy as an exercise.
Then, all of a sudden the infected stopped when it saw the living being. It just stood there motionless for several seconds then, without warning it moaned loudly and ran towards Valentine.
Jill just stood there while the creature quickly made its way to her.
The trainees badly wanted to shout at her to shoot it already and even the snipers were already prepared to shoot it down.
As the infected got really close to Valentine it leaped towards her and even before it had the chance to maul her, a gunshot echoed throughout the room.
Jill had shot it dead in its head—a perfect headshot.
The zombie's head was gone and it collapsed on the floor.
Afterwards, several moans were heard and a horde of zombies ran out of the metal door towards Jill. The B.S.A.A. agent started moving and immediately shot the incoming zombies on their legs to stop them then performed a roundhouse kick that sent the creatures flying away, killing them instantly. Subsequently, another large group of zombies were coming out and were quickly making its way to Jill when a mechanical hiss was heard. The other electronic door was opened and out came a kennel of Cerberus. The zombie dogs were running fast towards Jill, so, she turned quickly and ran back towards the incoming horde of zombies. The zombies tried attacking her but she was able to dodge and ran passed them. When she was at a distance, she fired some shots at the creatures buying her some time until she unpinned a grenade and threw it at the zombies and the dogs that were chasing after her. The explosion caused massive damage which instantly killed the zombies and the kennel of zombie dogs. Jill then approached a crawling zombie whose missing its lower half of the body and crashed its head with her boots.
Just when the trainees thought that it was over, a reptilian creature with huge razor claws came running out the metallic doors and leaped towards Jill at a fast rate. The Hunter swung its sharp large claws at Jill but she was able to dodge it and roll away safely. Then, two more Hunters came out and dashed towards Jill as well. This time, Jill changed her Handgun to a Sub-Machine Gun and started shooting at the creatures' faces and underbellies which caused the hunters to collapse dead on the floor. The other Hunter however, was able to sneak behind Jill and swung its claws at her. Jill barely dodged the attack. She fell on the ground and dropped her gun near the creature in the process. Everyone became nervous for her. Jill then quickly drew her knife and threw it at the creature's eye—Bull's eye. The fearless creature writhed in pain and Jill saw this as an opportunity. She drew her hand gun and barraged the hunter's belly with bullets until it bled and died. Everyone was relieved but, things were not yet over because a group of pincers and oozes came out of the metal doors and started running after Jill. Valentine quickly stood up and retrieved her knife and Sub-Machine Gun. She then started running around the pit gathering the creatures in the process. Afterwards, she started shooting at their legs and arms then performed melee attacks to kill them. This continued for sometime however, the creatures just kept coming and Jill started getting tired. If this continued she won't have enough ammo and strength to deal with the rest of the creatures. Then, she saw something different from the group. There was a large lump of flesh with residual arms and legs running around with the group. She recognized that monster and knew how that can help her to her advantage. It was a Chunk. Jill then started shooting at the Chunk and the more damage it took the bigger it became until finally it stopped moving for a second then exploded. The large explosion killed and knocked down the rest of the oozes and pincers. Fortunately, Jill was not caught in the explosion. She then approached the creatures that were still moving and finished them off one by one by either crushing their heads with her boots or stabbing them with her combat knife. When everything was done, Valentine wiped her combat knife on her pants and placed it back in its sheath.
The metallic doors closed. The lights switched on. The demonstration was over.
"Good work Jill!" praised Parker through the communication line.
"That's it? No black tentacle beings or tyrants?" joked the tired agent, making her way out of the pit.
"Come on Valentine, leave some for the little boys eh?" answered Parker, opening the secured door and letting Valentine in.
Once Valentine entered, the soldiers started clapping and cheering for her.
"Come on guys," pleaded the agent, "for sure you can do the same thing down there once it is your group's turn."
"Okay, so go back to your places everyone because I will be announcing the group assignments for this exercise," declared Parker while looking at his list.
While the trainees went back to their seats, they couldn't seem to stop talking about what they just saw in the pit and how Valentine single-handedly killed all those creatures.
"Valentine is sooo awesome!" commended Ben as he sat down with his friends. "I can't believe such a chick can handle all those monsters."
"And she did it all by herself, without the help or support of anyone," Marco pointed out.
"Not to mention, she looked so hot and sexy while doing it," added Carl while Ben and Marco nodded in agreement.
"I'm sorry Piers, our dear friend, but we're all jumping in the Jill Valentine wagon!" declared Carl, placing his arm around Piers' shoulder. Piers could only let out a heavy sigh as his response.
While Parker announced the groupings, Valentine untied her hair then returned her weapons and leaned on the glass barrier to rest. Jill noticed that several men wearing white protective clothes were down in the pit cleaning the carnage that she had just left. She then started wondering how many of those creatures were still hidden away—locked up in cages until they were to be used and disposed of during the trainings. The idea seemed immoral especially for the case of the zombies who were once human beings but, this was the best way to prepare the soldiers with what they will be dealing with out there. The more familiarized the soldiers were to such creatures the lesser they will fear them. Well, that was the idea. However, for Jill, no matter how familiar she was with the different kinds of creatures and evil out there, there was just one thing that she feared the most…
"Jill!" called Parker.
Valentine's attention then switched to the man who called out her name. "Yes?"
"Would you like to give some tips or reminders first before the boys go down in the pit?" asked the male agent.
Jill walked towards the trainees. "Well, just remember the following and you'll be fine: first, be aware of your surroundings, use it to your advantage and always make sure to have an exit point. Second, shoot the creatures at their weak points, not only will this save time and ammo, it will definitely save your life. Third, use your items wisely, if you can kill something without depleting a lot of ammo then do it—use your combat knife, do melee attacks or use something else to inflict damage. And most importantly don't panic…"
"Parker? addressed the female agent, waiting for the man to say something.
"Okay, so the first group that will go down to the pit will be the green team, followed by the red team, then the yellow team, followed by orange team, then the purple team, and last will be the blue team. Please remember that you and your team's performances will be graded and points will be deducted whenever the snipers save your asses. Then at the end, we'll be announcing which team performed the best. If you have no questions… then, let's begin!" declared the male B.S.A.A. agent, handing a copy of the list of trainees to Valentine.
The training exercise lasted for several hours. Everyone was tired and hungry by the time they were finished. Some of the trainees were resting on their seats while the others were already lying down on the floor in exhaustion. Several of the trainees finished the exercise unharmed while there were some who sustained some minor injuries.
"Okay boys, we're done tallying your scores," announced Valentine, causing the tired trainees to sit properly and go back to their seats. "To tell you the truth, despite some minor setbacks, everybody actually performed better than what we had expected. So, congratulations everyone."
The soldiers clapped and cheered upon hearing the good news.
"However, there is still plenty of room for improvement and hopefully next time, there won't be any more injuries and help from the snipers. Okay?" Valentine then handed the evaluation sheets to Parker.
"As for the group that performed the best, we actually have a tie between two groups," informed Parker, causing the trainees to react and talk among themselves. "Both groups were able to eliminate almost all of the targets, however, both groups also received deductions because of the injuries sustained by their members and also because the snipers took down some of their targets. So, congratulations to the red and blue team!"
Piers' teammates and friends along with the other team cheered and rejoiced while the others applauded them.
"Wait, wait, I'm not yet done," informed the male instructor. "I will be posting the group evaluation results in the bulletin board near your sleeping quarters so don't forget to check it out and if ever you have questions or other concerns regarding your individual performance, just see me in my office. Anyway, going back to what I was saying awhile ago before you all started cheering… now, when we say best group there should only be one. So, tomorrow we will determine which group is the best through another training exercise."
"So get some well deserved rest and we'll see you all tomorrow outside in the main training area," added Valentine.
"You're all dismissed," announced Parker. The trainees then stood up and slowly made their way to the exit.
As the other soldiers dispersed, Piers was waiting for his friends to gather their things and saw that the two instructors were still busy discussing something. When his friends were done they made their way towards the exit where the two instructors were standing near.
"Great work Nivans," commented the male agent when the young soldier and his friends passed in front of him.
"Sir?" uttered Piers, trying to confirm whether what he heard was indeed correct.
"He said great work Nivans," repeated Valentine, causing the young man to shift his attention to her. "You scored the highest in today's training for eliminating the most number of targets, however, please work on your C.Q.C.—it will definitely help you eliminate the B.O.W.s more effectively and save you some ammo… but regardless of that, great work indeed, Mr. Nivans."
Valentine then left the room together with Parker. The young soldier just stood there in his place, speechless as he watched the two trainers walked away.
"Come on Mr. Nivans," called Carl mockingly using his best impression of a sultry Valentine voice while fiddling with his friend's collar. "Let's go already and get something to satisfy my hunger for real meat."
"Ew, you're a pig Carl," stated Piers, slapping away his friend's hands and walking away.
Carl laughed at Piers' comment and then followed him afterwards.
The next day, the trainees made their way to the main training area. The training area had structures and vehicles that the soldiers can use at their advantage during the training. It also had plenty of barrels, sacks, and other things that can be used for cover. The area was basically used for practicing military operations and training soldiers to fight in an urban setting.
The trainees were surprised to find their two instructors in the training area wearing tactical outfits and gear. There were also colored bandanas, goggles, masks, and airsoft weapons lined up on the table. Once settled, the trainees saluted at their trainers.
"You are all probably wondering why we will be using this training area today instead of the same venue that we had used yesterday with the B.O.W.s. Well, out in the field, you won't be just dealing with B.O.W.s and the infected, you'll also be dealing with humans—terrorists and mercenaries to be exact. So, for today's exercise, the two teams yesterday that scored the highest will be going head to head to determine once and for all which group is really the best," explained Parker.
"Not only that, but, we are raising the stakes for this exercise because Parker and I will be participating in the exercise as well as the losing team will be buying the beer," informed Valentine, leaning on the table and crossing her arms over her chest.
The soldiers became excited with the announcement—it seemed that everyone became motivated because beer was involved. Also when was the last time these men were able to leave the camp to enjoy and drink beer?
"Also, we had already decided the group that we will be joining. I will be joining the blue team and Valentine will be joining the red team," stated Parker.
"We will also be using goggles, masks, and airsoft guns for this exercise. As for determining the winner of this exercise, you either kill everyone in the opposing group or retrieve the enemy's colored flag in their base. If you satisfy any of those then congratulations, your group is proclaimed the winner," explained the female agent, making her way beside Parker. "So if you don't have any questions… then let's begin."
Both teams started preparing for the exercise. The trainees put on their gear and chose the airsoft guns that they will be using. The members of each group tied a colored bandana on their arms to easily distinguish from which team the soldiers belonged to.
Once done, the two teams made their way to their bases while the rest of the trainees watched in anticipation of the battle that will take place.
Parker Luciani led his team to the East side of the field and briefed his members Carl Alfonso, Ben Airhart, Marco Rose, and Piers Nivans on how they were to proceed in the exercise.
Meanwhile, Jill Valentine led her team to the West area and gave directions to her members Andy Walker, Jeff Rogers, Kenneth Davis, and Keaton Elliot. Despite not having the soldier with the highest score in her group, Valentine was confident that her team will do well.
A loud siren was heard at a distance, signaling for the exercise to begin.
Parker knew that Valentine was not a fan of waiting in the rut and was an expert in infiltrating bases, so he decided that his team will go on the defensive. He took Marco and Ben with him and hid somewhere far from their base to shoot those who will cross their territory. Carl and Piers on the other hand hid somewhere else.
In the other team, Keaton was to stay in the base and defend the flag in case the enemy successfully infiltrated their territory which their team leader mentioned was nearly impossible to happen. Kenneth, Andy, and Jeff on the other hand were with Jill and were making their way to the enemy's territory. She knew that leaving only one person to defend their flag was a risky move, but, Jill believed that the more they press forward in the other base, the greater the chance for them to quickly claim the enemy's flag.
When Valentine and her team were making her way to the other base, she stopped and signaled her members that the other team was near. They were then surprised when someone started shooting at them. Luckily they were able to disperse immediately and avoided getting shot. Kenneth started shooting at the enemy to cover Andy and Jeff until they can hide. Jill on the other hand ran behind a car to take cover from the shooter. When the shooting stopped, the red team then heard someone walking towards them. It was Ben from the other team. It seemed that he was checking if he was able to shoot someone but, even before he got near the place where Kenneth was hiding, Andy quickly got up and shot Ben—he was out of the game. When Kenneth saw that the enemy was on the ground, he went out of hiding and made his way to his teammates. Then suddenly a barrage of shots was fired and hit Kenneth's body—he too was out of the game.
Valentine signaled his two comrades to go around the other building and pursue the enemy. The shooter seemed to be hiding somewhere there. She then sneaked stealthily in the opposite side and disappeared in sight behind the sandbags and barrels. In the meantime, Andy and Jeff were making their way to the area pointed out by their leader. After a short trek, the two were able to reach the place where Kenneth's shooter was probably hiding. It was a structure with a dilapidated wooden door and some windows. Jeff tried to get a visual of the enemy through a crack on the door and when he saw someone with the blue bandana crouching inside, he signaled Andy and he nodded in confirmation. On three, both men busted through the door and quickly shot the enemy. The unsuspecting Marco was out of the game but, even before the two were able to celebrate their kill, they were startled when someone busted a closed window and started shooting at them. Andy immediately took cover and jumped out of another window. Jeff on the other hand was not so lucky—he was out of the game as well.
While the shootings were going on, Carl took advantage of the opportunity and was making his way to the base of the red team. He was actually supposed to be staying near their base but he figured that his teammates can handle it. His plan was to sneak in the enemy's base and get their flag while everybody was shooting at one another and be the hero. When he reached the base of the enemy, he found no one in sight. He carefully entered and climbed the structure and when he saw the red flag, a large smirk appeared on his face. He surveyed the room and found no one in sight and so, he ran towards the enemy flag. He was about to reach it when all of a sudden, the window behind the flag burst open and shots were fired at the intruder. The ambitious Carl was out of the game. Keaton entered the busted window and made his way out of the structure.
Andy continued running as Parker continued chasing after him. The male agent fired several shots but failed to bring down the running man. Andy finally lost Parker when he quickly turned at a corner and hid behind some wooden crates. Parker however, hadn't yet given up on his pursue of the enemy and was still looking for Andy. The male agent then started turning over boxes and steel barrels near where the young man was hiding. Andy started becoming nervous because sooner or later Parker will discover his hiding place and he will be taken out of the exercise. Parker stood near the wooden crates and before he was able to check it, he saw someone hiding at the corner of a structure in the distance. He drew back silently and decided to surprise the hiding enemy by going around the structure.
When Parker reached the opposite corner of the structure where he saw someone hiding, he quickly drew his weapon and started shooting at the back of his target while he was moving towards it. Once he got close to his target, he then realized that it was just a decoy wearing someone's uniform and gear. He quickly turned around and was met with the barrel of Valentine's gun.
"I can't believe you used your own uniform and gear to fool me," remarked Parker, holding his arms up in surrender.
"Tactics Parker," answered Valentine who was now just wearing her fitted beige undershirt.
Jill was about to pull the trigger when Parker quickly stepped out of the way and knocked her gun away. Jill quickly recovered and threw some punches at Parker and elbowed him in the face causing him to stagger. Jill then delivered a high kick knocking the man on the ground.
"Jesus, Jill did you have to be so rough?" uttered Parker, groaning on the ground.
Jill picked up her gun and pointed it at his friend. "Sorry Parker." Then, a gun shot was fired—Parker was out of the exercise.
"Well that was cold," stated Andy, making his way to his team leader.
"Come on, I just saved your ass awhile ago and this is what you say to me," teased Valentine.
"Captain!"
Valentine and Andy looked at Keaton who was running towards them.
"Keaton, what are you doing here?" inquired Jill.
"Someone infiltrated our base and tried to get our flag, but, don't worry because I was able to shoot him. I came here because I figured you probably need my help or something"
"Okay, so let's go and get their flag," declared Jill.
The three remaining members of the red team carefully trekked and went around the surrounding structures to locate the enemy flag. After several minutes they were able to spot it.
"There it is," proclaimed Andy excitedly, running towards the enemy flag. Keaton followed as well.
"Wait, something is not right. Why would they place their flag in an open area? Unless…" Jill then realized something, "No!"
A sharp sound was then heard and Andy fell to the ground. He was out of the exercise. Keaton quickly dashed back to avoid being seen by the shooter.
"Shit, they have a sniper?" stated Keaton, breathing heavily.
"Seems like it," answered Valentine, looking around the surrounding structures.
"So what are we going to do?"
After the gunshots stopped Piers knew that it will only be a matter of time when someone from the other group would come dashing towards the flag that he relocated during the beginning of the exercise. An open space is the best place for it because he can easily spot anyone trying to get to it and shoot them before they were able to do so. Not to mention he was actually well hidden in one of the structures. He was able to take down one of the enemies, now where were the rest?
Piers' attention was then caught by someone in the open space. He saw that there was another enemy soldier down there but, it seemed that the man was not going for the flag. It looked like the man was actually trying to get someone's attention. So there was another enemy, but, where?
Piers used his scope to look at where the man was signaling at. He looked at the structures and then he saw something—a reflection of a sniper scope. So the enemy was going to snipe him and he can't let that happen. Without wasting time, Piers shot at the enemy sniper—it looked like someone was out of the exercise. Now, to finish the job, Piers directed his scope to the man in the open area and saw that he was now running towards the flag. Piers was ready to shoot the running man when the door suddenly burst open and in came Valentine. The startled soldier quickly directed his rifle towards the woman to shoot her but Valentine quickly dashed towards the man and kicked his sniper rifle. Jill fired numerous shots but missed Piers because the young man quickly ran away and retrieve his weapon. Piers tried raising his gun to shoot at Jill but was met with a roundhouse kick knocking his gun away again and causing him to fall on the ground. Jill pointed her gun at the young soldier and was about to pull the trigger when Piers suddenly knocked her down with a quick foot sweep causing her to lose her balance and her firearm. Piers quickly picked up Jill's weapon and pointed it at the vulnerable woman on the ground.
"Is that all you got?" taunted Piers, smiling at Valentine.
"Boy, you haven't seen anything yet," replied Jill then swiftly grabbed Piers' hands which caused the gun to fire a shot on the ground. She then used her elbow to hit Piers on the face sending him staggering. Jill suddenly stood up and delivered a Flip Kick that sent the young soldier flying outside the structure and onto a veranda.
"What the hell is going on?" asked Parker, making his way to the rest of the dead trainees who were gathered in the open area.
"Valentine is beating the shit out of Nivans!" informed Carl, pointing out where the two were.
Jill dashed to the veranda and was greeted with a quick elbow thrust by the recovered soldier. Jill blocked the move with her arms then grabbed the young man's arm, twisted it then delivered an elbow strike on Piers' chest. The man staggered in his place but failed to recover when Jill immediately followed her attack with a back flip move while still holding Piers' arm, using the momentum to flip the soldier over and knock him down on the floor. Without wasting anytime, Valentine quickly mounted on Piers' torso and pinned his hands down so that he won't be able to move anymore—and he didn't.
Piers didn't struggle anymore. Was it because he was tired? Or was it because Valentine was straddling him? The young soldier submitted to his enemy and laid there defenseless, watching his superior breathe heavily while she was looking at him. She was very close to him, in fact too close—he could smell her intoxicating scent and feel her warm voluptuous body pressing against him. If it continued, Piers wouldn't know how else his body would react to her.
"I guess this is your surrender?" asked Valentine, smiling at the pinned man.
Piers just looked at his superior and let a small smirk fall onto his lips, "Yeah, I guess so."
"Hey! Are you both still alive up there?" shouted Parker who grew worried when the ruckus stopped awhile ago.
Jill let go of Piers' hands and stood up.
"Yup, still alive!" stated Jill, making her way to the ledge. She then saw Keaton waving the enemy flag. He got it while Valentine dealt with the sniper—all according to their plan.
"Where's the boy? Don't tell me you killed him?" inquired Parker, laughing afterwards.
"No—Just half dead."
Jill turned her head look at the young soldier. It seemed that he already managed to sit up straight nevertheless, she decided to help him up. While Jill was making her way to Piers, she felt a sharp pain in her chest and had difficulty breathing. She clutched her chest in pain.
"Captain, are you alright?" asked the concerned soldier. His plea fell on deaf ears—it seemed that the woman can't hear him.
Jill started trembling and everything around her began spinning around.
"Captain!" called Piers, making his way to Valentine.
Jill started getting very lightheaded and then blacked out into the hands of the young soldier.
"Captain!"
Jill Valentine slowly and weakly opened her blue eyes just to be blinded by the bright light that shone on top of her. She tried shielding her eyes with her hands but failed when she realized that her hands were bound to the where she lay. She tried freeing herself only to realize that even her feet and body were bound and strapped as well. Panic and confusion entered her. She looked around to find something that can help her remove the leather straps that bound her but found nothing useful. All she saw were medical equipment, computers and some documents piled on a nearby table. Where the hell was she? And why was she bound on the operating table? Her thoughts where then broken when she heard a cold voice inside the room.
"You're finally awake, dear heart…" A pair of red eyes then glowed in the dark.
Jill Valentine quickly sat up from the bed in cold sweat. She was breathing heavily and quite dazed. She looked at her surroundings and saw cabinets full of bottled medicines and a couple of lined-up beds—she was in the infirmary. She was then startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"You're finally awake, Jill"
"Rebecca? W-what happened?" asked the confused female, using a hand to wipe the sweat on her forehead and fix her disheveled hair.
The young doctor sat on Jill's bed. "You lost consciousness after the training."
"…Well, I was probably just tired or didn't get enough rest the day before that's why that happened," reasoned Valentine, trying to convince her friend that it was not something she should worry about.
"No Jill," disagreed Rebecca, shaking her head slowly while looking at her friend intently. "You were out for a day, it means that you've pushed yourself to your limits and your body could not handle such things anymore."
Jill was speechless. She didn't know how to respond or how to react to what her friend had just said. Was it because she knew that her friend was right?
Dr. Chambers sighed and stood up from the bed. "I'm sorry Jill but I can't allow you to join the trainings anymore."
"What?" questioned the agent. "Y-you can't do that!"
"I'm sorry but this is for your own good," stated Rebecca sadly, turning and walking away from her friend. But even before the doctor got far, Jill grabbed her wrist.
"Please Rebecca, don't do this," pleaded Valentine, holding onto her friend as if her life depended on it. "It's already bad enough that I don't get to do things that I used to do in the past, please don't take this even away…"
Rebecca looked at her friend sadly and placed her hand over Jill's.
"You know that I've already made a lot of considerations for you. I let you stay in the B.S.A.A. headquarters rather than in the hospital or in some lab while you recuperate. Also, I let you color your hair back to brown even though it's important for me to see whether there will be some physical changes after we flushed the P30 and other chemicals out of your system and I worked my ass off to convince the B.S.A.A. officials to give you clearance and let you participate in the training. So, if something bad happens to you it will all be my fault."
Rebecca went closer to her friend. "As your doctor and friend, I'm just worried about you. I want you to fully recover as soon as possible so you can go out there and kick some B.O.W.'s ass."
Both women giggled at the statement.
"So, if I give you another chance promise me that you would take care of yourself and not push yourself to your limits,"
"Yes, I promise Rebecca," answered Jill with a smile back on her lips.
"Good." The doctor let go of Jill's hand. "Anyway, I still have to attend to some other matters so, I'll leave you here to rest and I'll check up on you later." Rebecca was making her way to the door when Jill spoke.
"Rebecca…"
The young doctor turned around and looked at her friend, waiting for her to say something.
"Please don't tell Chris about what happened." Rebecca saw the concern and sincerity in Jill's eyes. They both knew that Chris will be extremely worried if he found out what happened to her. Rebecca also knew that making Chris worry was the last thing that Jill Valentine wanted to do to him.
"Don't worry, I won't tell Chris about it," assured the doctor, turning back and making her way to the door.
"Also, before I forget," stated Rebecca, turning around and looking at her friend. "Your puppy is extremely worried about you."
"Puppy?" repeated the confused B.S.A.A. agent, tilting her head to the side.
"Yeah, your puppy actually came back here several times just to check on you," informed the doctor displaying a playful grin on her face. Jill just looked at her friend with her confused big blue eyes.
"In fact, he is actually waiting outside."
Author's Notes:
Sorry for the very late update. I was stuck with plenty of real-world things to do. Anyway, I'm still going to continue this story, so, just be patient. I actually have chapter 3 planned out already and I'm very excited about it.
