Washington D.C.
August 16, 2013
8:43 am
"President Turelli we have a problem"
The president looked up from the pile of paper work on his desk and met eyes with one of his advisors. There was a problem every day in America and he wasn't exactly sure why this problem in particular was more important than all the other problems that needed his attention. He knew he needed to at least pretend to be interested in the man standing in front of his desk inside the oval office, and so he folded his hands on top of his paperwork and looked over the rim of his glasses.
"I have a lot of things I need to take care of. If this is about the issues in the lower offices, tell them we are working on it."
The advisor shook his head with a deep frown and Turelli got a sudden uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was more than that; he could almost see the tension surrounding the suited man.
"We got a call less than fifteen minutes ago from Director Reese of BSAA North America. Apparently three of his agents didn't show up for their assignments this morning. Two of them were supposed to report to him directly at six fifteen. The third was flying in from California, his plane landed at eight seventeen and he wasn't on it."
President Andrew Turelli frowned and leaned back in his chair. He wasn't exactly sure what to make of the situation. He had always heard of agents going rogue, or vanishing because they couldn't handle their duties before, but three of them in the same night? Something was clearly going on here, and it didn't look good.
"Who are the agents?"
"Uh…" The advisor shifted through a folder in his hands "Jillian Valentine, Nicholas Parker, and Christopher Redfield."
Now the President really felt uncomfortable, but he didn't have time to dwell on it as another advisor stepped into the room and demanded his attention.
"Sir we just got a call from the Special Task Force branch outside D.C. they're reporting two special agents missing."
Turelli frowned deeply and pulled his glasses off. He was growing almost nauseous at the thought of who could be missing now. He was almost afraid to ask but he forced the words out.
"Who are they?"
"Special Agents Cole and Kennedy"
Leon and Eliza….
Turelli had known both agents for a long time. Eliza Cole was a top notch soldier, and a damn good special agent. Leon was no different. He had spent years training in hand to hand combat. How could five different agents, trained in protection just suddenly go missing all in the same day? Clearly there was something much more serious going on here.
"Do we have any idea where they could have gone off too?"
The first advisor, a man by the name of Kenneth Rumford, shook his head and placed the folder down onto the desk.
"According to Director Reese, when Valentine and Parker didn't show up this morning he sent agents to their homes to find them. Nothing seemed out of place and when they finally found the SUV assigned to them it had been abandoned in the parking lot of a New York diner. Police say that patrons had reported shots being fired in the parking lot, and one witness stated she saw a man and a woman with bags on their heads get tossed into the back of a silver van. She couldn't describe the attackers."
He crossed his arms over his chest as he continued.
"Redfield was supposed to meet his own partner this morning at La Guardia, but he never got on the plane in the first place. According to security, he never even made it to the airport. They contacted BSAA agents in California, where he was visiting his sister and found his pickup truck empty in the parking area of his sister's apartment complex."
Turelli rubbed his temple.
"When they went to question the girl, they found the apartment torn up as if there had been a struggle. They believe the kidnappers may have taken her too"
The day was turning into a nightmare. He turned to the second advisor, a younger male in like early thirties named Rolland Jones and motioned with his hand for the man to explain what the Special Task Force had come up with.
"They're working on the details. Apparently Kennedy had left base at some point last night, they think he may have been taken from a coffee shop where they found his jeep. There is no evidence that Cole was involved in any struggle. Her car was found broken down in her driveway, but her home looked clear. We believe they may have both been together at the time of the incident."
The president was growing irritated, and his words came out harshly.
"So you're telling me three BSAA agents, two Special Agents, and one civilian all went missing in less than twenty four hours, and you have no useful information for me?"
The advisors exchanged glances and Rumford cleared his throat.
"With all due respect Mr. President, these people were kidnapped less than a day ago. Our investigation has just begun. This is all the information we have now but I assure you we are doing everything we can to figure out how this happened."
President Turelli closed his eyes and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. He was getting a headache. Five agents missing and all of them connected to each other. He could see the significance of the entire thing. The Redfield siblings, Kennedy and Valentine, had all been directly involved with Raccoon City, along with Special Agent Cole. Parker had been involved with Umbrella in a different capacity, but there was a serious connection between the victims.
He just prayed they were all okay.
Chris Redfield slowly opened his tired eyes and was met by a harsh bright light, bouncing off white walls. He felt his eyes burn and closed them again quickly. He felt groggy, and out of sorts like he had woken up from a night of binge drinking. When he was finally able to open his eyes again, he took a better look at the room he was in. White walls, with no windows surrounded the simple bed he was laying in. There was a rolling tray off to his right, against the far wall and a couple of machines lined the wall to his left.
It took him a moment or two to realize he was in a hospital, but it wasn't one he had been in before. He tried to remember how he could have ended up here, but found his mind lacking in cooperation. He could remember that he was with his sister Claire in San Diego, and that he was fixing an air conditioner in her apartment, everything after that was blank.
He became increasingly aware that one of the machines was beeping, and as he sat up to examine it he found himself stuck with different wires. They were attached to his chest, with round sticky pads and their wires were connected to the beeping machine. Chris squinted his tired eyes and looked at the monitor and found himself staring at an EKG machine.
Think Redfield… What do you remember? You were with Claire, and then you left because you got a call from Sheva… You went out to your car and then what?
He frowned, unable to think of anything more than that. Clearly something happened; otherwise he wouldn't have been in the hospital. That's when a strange thought occurred to him.
Wait… where is Claire? If I'm here then why isn't she? And why is it so quiet?
He listened for a moment, concentrating on any potential sound but found nothing more than the EKG informing him that his heartbeat was normal. There was no one walking around, no sounds from the hallway, everything was silent. He grew suspicious but decided that perhaps it was because it was night time. There were no windows and he had no way to gauge the time. If it were the middle of the night that would explain why it was so quiet.
Would it though?
His mind whispered to him but he did his best not to listen to it. Instead Chris gently lifted the nurse call button and pressed it. Once a nurse came in he would be able to find out how he got here. He waited, and waited, but nothing happened. He pushed the button again, and still nothing happened. That was it, he was done waiting around. He pulled the sticky pads off his chest, and the EKG monitor began screaming at him, warning him in loud obnoxious bursts that something was wrong with his heart rate.
He ignored it and slid off the bed, wobbling slightly. He had no idea how long he had been sleeping, but it had clearly been enough time to stiffen the muscles across his entire body. His legs protested his new standing position, but he ignored them, walking swiftly around the bed, to the door.
He took hold of the handle and pulled.
"What the hell? Locked?" He said into the silence of the room.
The large electronic lock securing the door was glowing red, and there was no way he would be able to open it without a pass code. In fact there wasn't even anywhere to enter a passcode. There was nothing, other than a box attached to the edge of the door. Now he was really confused.
What kind of hospital has electronic locks? And how did I end up in one?
With his mind swimming, Chris found himself perplexed by yet another new discovery. He was shirtless, but still in his jeans, and combat boots.
Was I wearing combat boots?
And as he scanned the room a second time, he found himself looking at his BSAA shirt, hanging on a hook next to his combat vest and shoulder harness. He knew for a fact that he hadn't been wearing that. He had been wearing a t-shirt, and sneakers, now that he came to think of it. He walked over and pulled on the shirt, before securing the vest and harness.
There was a gun in the holster of the harness, and he pulled it out to examine it. It was his personal one. He could see the tiny S.T.A.R.S. logo etched into the handle, and the light knick in the barrel from the time he had the gun knocked across the room by Wesker. It felt loaded, and he began to get a strange, almost nostalgic feeling. He felt like he was back in Africa.
No… not Africa. This feels like Raccoon City all over again…
Only this time he was alone, and there was no sign of Wesker.
He placed the Beretta back in its holster and took a seat on the edge of his bed. He needed to figure out a way to get out of the room, but with the door securely locked he was beginning to question how he was going to do it. He stopped trying to make sense of the whole thing, and just look at the facts. He was in a room with only one door, no windows and he needed to escape.
He was a strong guy, but even for him bursting through a wall was a little over the top. But as his gray eyes swept the room, he was beginning to think it was his only viable option. He swept a hand over his face, and let out a grunt. Pushing himself off the bed, he moved back toward the door and planted his fist against the heavy metal frame. The door made a resounding thud as his hand collided with it, and Chris let out a yell in frustration.
"Welcome everyone!"
Chris blinked and quickly spun around, pulling out the Beretta, and sweeping it around the room.
"It's so nice of you all to join me"
He focused in on a small speaker hidden in the ceiling tiles and slowly lowered the gun. He walked over cautiously, and glanced up at it. The voice that came through was a woman's, soft and almost delicate. She had an accent but he couldn't really place where she was from.
"My name is Doctor Olivier Girard, and I am happy to be your host during your stay. As some of you may have noticed, your doors have been securely locked, for your protection. While you all were napping I took the liberty of having some of your items brought here. In just a moment, the electronic locks on your doors will open, and you will be free to explore my little facility. But wait… I'm getting ahead of myself. I bet you would like to know why you're here."
Chris frowned, and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't like the sound of this, and he was beginning to get the impression that whatever this woman was about to say, was going to seriously piss him off.
"I am conducting a little research, and you are going to help me do that. You see, some of the… creations… that were made here, have not been tested in the field. It is my job to test them. And so I had you all brought here to aid me in my research. I wish to know how well my little creatures survive against the finest in B.O.W. eradicators. Please do not disappoint me."
He was right.
"You will find plenty of supplies scattered around the facility, and you will also find that you each possess a single key. If all six of you manage to make it to the exit, you will need to use your keys to open the door to the escape. I do wish you all the best of luck, and hope you enjoy your stay."
The speaker crackled, and Chris cursed. It was the Spencer Mansion all over again. Crazy people in a maze like building with one way out and strange creatures blocking his path. At least he had done this all before. He just hoped that the other people she was talking about knew how to handle these sorts of situations. If they couldn't protect themselves he was going to have a hard time on his hands keeping them all alive.
Eliza scowled as the PA system finally went silent. She had heard the French woman's words but she had a hard time believing what she had said. Even as she stood in the middle of the hospital room, wearing khaki colored cargo pants, her purple tank top and combat vest, with thigh high boots, she still had a difficult time comprehending the information.
She ejected the clip in her Beretta and counted her shots. She had fifteen bullets to shoot and an unknown number of hostiles to deal with. She would need to keep her mind focused, and ready for anything. Girard had mentioned supplies strewn about the facility and Eliza could only pray that it included ammo. In fact she prayed it included a lot of things. Food, medical supplies, alternate weapons, were just a couple of the things Eliza was worried about finding.
She returned the handgun to the holster on her right thigh and took another walk around the room. She was in search of anything that could be of some use to her. She had already pocketed a couple rolls of gauze, and a bottle of aspirin she found in one of the drawers on the rolling cart. Other than that she didn't see anything that was going to be useful for her. There were some tools in the other drawers, but nothing she would be able to use.
She took a breath as the electronic lock released and turned to face the door. She could feel her heart beginning to pound, but she wasn't afraid. Her heart was beating fast because she was on alert. Her training had kicked in the moment she heard the door lock. She pulled the Beretta out and held it firmly, as she approached the door.
Eliza pushed the door open and stepped into the hallway, pressing her back against the wall. She knew she needed to cover herself. If Leon had been there she wouldn't need to worry so much about it, but he wasn't and so she would need to deal with it herself.
At first appearance the hallway looked empty. There was nothing moving, no people or living creatures. In fact there was no sound at all other than the humming of the florescent lights in the ceiling above her. She kept her breathing steady and her gun in hand as she made her way down the hall. There didn't seem to be anything interesting or useful around her.
In fact there was almost nothing at all. No doors other than the one she came out of, no pictures or windows. The floor was a simple white tile with gray grouting, and the walls were blank white like the room. Aside from the lights there was nothing at all.
What kind of place is this…?
A sound behind her made her jump slightly and spin on her heels. She leveled the Beretta but found herself staring down the same empty hallway she had come through. If she wasn't scared before, she was beginning to be now. She knew she had heard something, but whatever it was had vanished before she could spin around. That thought unsettled her. Giving one more glance down the hallway she turned slowly and continued where she was going.
As Eliza continued down the hallway she began to grow more worried about her current situation. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was following her, but the occasional glances she tossed over her shoulder didn't reveal anything new. She only stopped as she reached an intersection in the hallway. To her right, the hall went on for twenty feet before coming to a dead end. To the left the hall continued on before turning left again.
As Eliza took a step toward the intersection she heard something crash behind her. She spun around so fast she almost lost her balance. As her eyes scanned over what was now in the hallway, her mind tried to think of something to relate it too. It was tall and thin, standing easily over seven feet, hunched at the shoulders. Its arms were freakishly long, hanging down almost to the floor.
It wasn't until the creature crouched down and let out a scream that Eliza brought up her gun and fired. Three shots screamed out of the barrel hitting the creature. Two shots pelted its chest and the third struck it in the face. As it fell onto its back Eliza took a moment to catch her breath and try to figure out where it had come from.
She traced the walls, up to the ceiling and found a hole in the tile. Clearly that was how it had followed her without being spotted. What confused her was how it had been able to track her, while keeping totally hidden in the tiles.
She took a step toward it, cautiously keeping the Beretta trained on the body. Its skin was dark, almost reptilian looking, and its head looked like an oversized iguana's. Keeping the gun steady she examined the creature closer, the puddle of brownish liquid from its wounds pooled on the ground under it. She was unaware at how hard her heart was beating, or how fast she was breathing as she lightly traced her fingers over the skin.
Umbrella….
As her fingers came in contact with the leathery skin, its eyes snapped open and the creature rolled backwards away from her. Eliza yelped and fell back, with her eyes wide. She watched it get to its feet, and with one huge leap it was air born, flipping itself mid jump to cling to the ceiling. Eliza didn't wait to see how it managed to do that. Instead she scrambled to her feet and bolted down the hall.
It moves like the lickers… What the hell is this place?
She could picture the lickers from Raccoon City as this new creation bounded after her. She could hear it clambering along the ceiling, catching up. All Eliza could think about was reaching the intersection. She heard it push off after her and she dove through the space, sliding on the floor and slamming into the wall with her shoulder. The creature hit the wall at head level, and came crashing down on top of her.
She kicked her legs hard and got to her feet once more racing down the hall. Stealing a look over her shoulder she pivoted and fired as it dove through the air again at her. It let out the same blood chilling howl as it hit the floor again. She didn't wait to see it get back up. In one fluid motion she turned and continued running.
Her lungs burned, and her ears were hyper sensitive to the sounds coming from behind her. It was on the move again, racing down the hall after her. She didn't know how long she could keep running, or if she would be able to put it down for good. She reached the new intersection and stole another look as she darted left-
"Shit!"
-and felt an arm hook around her. Eliza struggled at first but the deafening sound of a gun firing next to her ear made her bring her hands up in surprise. The arm around her had a secure grip, and she knew she wasn't going to get anywhere by struggling. So she relaxed her muscles enough to spin and see the creature give one final shutter before relaxing in a heap on the ground.
"Are you alright?"
The deep male voice spilled out around her and Eliza looked up in surprise. Her breathing was fast, and her eyes were wide as she scanned over his face. She knew most men couldn't resist the damsel in distress act, and that was what she was going to give him, until she figured out who he was. She saw the concern well up on his features and he let her go. Eliza took a step back pulling the Beretta on him.
The man was huge. His biceps were as large around as her head. He was almost a foot taller than her, and twice her width. If she got into some sort of battle with him she would have to rely on her speed to avoid getting crushed.
He looked surprised at first, but quickly gained his composure. He held up his hands to show her he wasn't going to hurt her, and slowly he placed his gun on the floor in front of him. She kept her green eyes trained on him, trying to figure out why he seemed so familiar.
"Listen I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Chris Redfield."
She blinked and lowered her gun. She had never met him directly, but she had seen his profile photo's before. It had been part of her job to know everyone involved with the Raccoon incident. He tipped his head to the side and pointed to his gun.
"Can I pick up my weapon please? If another of those hunters comes back I don't want to be caught unarmed."
Eliza let her gun drop and quickly placed it in the holster on her thigh before scooping up his weapon and offered it to him. He took it and offered her a small smile in return.
"I'm special agent Eliza Cole." She said as she stepped away from him.
"Special Agent huh?" The man – Chris – tucked away his Beretta as he began checking the creature lying dead on the floor. He didn't seem like he was too concerned with their situation or that he was even the least bit worried. "So what branch are you in? NSA? CIA? FBI?"
"It's classified" She said as she leaned against the nearest wall. She heard him scoff and the sound reminded her of Leon. But instead of coming back with some witty one liner Chris turned his head away from the creature and promptly changed the subject.
"Have you taken a good look at this? I mean it looks like a hunter but it's different. It's thinner, and Hunters don't scale walls."
Eliza was impressed by his ability to keep on point. It was a skill most people didn't have. She shook her head at him and frowned as she pushed off the wall and made her way toward the 'hunter' lying in a pool of its own blood.
"I've never see a Hunter in person. I've only read about them." She stated after a moment.
Chris glanced at her and stood up, running a hand through his hair.
"Lucky you. Trust me; be happy you've never faced these things before. I know this really scary but stick with me and I'll make sure you make it out alive." He gave her a relaxed smile, and Eliza found herself feeling slightly insulted.
"I said I've never faced Hunters before. I didn't say I've never done anything like this before." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I grew up in Raccoon City."
Chris grimaced, but didn't respond. It was clear by the look on his face that he felt bad for assuming she had never done anything like this before. Eliza let out a small sigh and turned down the hallway. She heard Chris following her, and she felt comforted by the fact that she wasn't alone out here.
"And I was kidding about the classified thing…" She began speaking after a few moments of silence. "I work for a special task force in the military designed to handle B.O.W. attacks."
"Isn't that the BSAA's job? I mean what's the point in having two groups to fight the B.O.W.s?" He stated, and she found herself for the first time, noticing the BSAA emblem embroidered to his left sleeve.
"We don't fight them per say. Our men are trained to engage a B.O.W. only as a last resort. Our main focus is to evacuate civilians, and secure the perimeter."
He glanced at her and nodded his head. He seemed like a smart enough guy, and she was confident he could figure the rest out on his own. His job was to destroy the B.O.W. threat. Hers was to make sure there was no one in his way when he did it.
Nick had found himself standing in the middle of a lab confused as fuck as to what he had just listened too. Apparently some crazy woman had kidnapped him with five other people, and was making them participate in some crazy survival game. He let out a breath and rolled his eyes at the audacity of it all. The only thing he had wanted was to enjoy his sandwich and get on with his day. But no, he needed to go and get kidnapped by a crazy woman who wanted to kill them all.
He thought about Jill and whether he would be able to find her somewhere in this place. He knew he was going to need to get moving, but he figured it was best for him to examine the room for any of those supplies the woman had mentioned. Pulling open a couple of drawers, and fiddling through some shelves he had discovered a clip of handgun ammo, and a small bottle of aspirin. Pocketing the two in the pouch on his hip, he finally pushed open the newly unlocked door and headed out into the hallway.
Someone needs to hire a new decorator…
He thought to himself as he looked back and forth between the walls. The floor was blanketed with a green and brown swirled carpet, and the walls were an ugly brown color. He wrinkled his nose as he continued down the hall. He opened a couple doors along the way, and quickly glanced into the rooms he passed. They all appeared to be offices, filled with filing cabinets, and desks.
What was odd about them was the lack of windows. It reminded him of some sort of basement. He assumed that where ever they were, it was underground somewhere, but he had no idea of figuring out where. Finding nothing useful in any of the rooms, he came across the last door in the hall and as he pushed the door open he found himself suddenly feeling secure.
He couldn't explain why it was that he felt so comfortable there, but he couldn't deny it. Something about this room made him feel like he could relax and nothing could get to him. He walked over to the desk at the back of the room and ran his fingers along the wooden surface. He looked around the desk and found himself staring at what appeared to be a clear remote of some kind.
It was like a clear thin box made of heavy plastic, as he picked it up in his hands the console lit up. Parker raised an eyebrow as he read the words reflected on the clear surface. There was a list of random cities from all over the world and as Parker scrolled through he found himself intrigued by what they could be for.
Gently he let his fingers tap New York, and he jumped at the sudden mechanical hum that came from behind him. He turned and blinked, as the wall began moving, sliding up into the ceiling revealing a beautiful view of the New York skyline. It was as if he was in a high office building, which looked out over downtown.
He walked to the window and looked down. There was no sound coming from the window, but everything else was perfectly New York. He could see the empire state building off in the distance, and time square with all its lights and advertisements. Something made him wonder, if he was in New York then what did the other cities on the remote mean.
Nick looked down at the device in his hand and tapped the word Tokyo. In an instant the image of New York City began melting and changing. Before his very eyes the image changed, and he found himself looking at the Japanese capitol. He blinked and tipped his head as he tried to process what he was looking at. It wasn't a window at all, instead it was a large monitor designed to give the people living in the office the feel that they were back home.
He was amazed at the technology here. It was unlike anything he had ever seen. Nick had seen a lot of amazing pieces of technology in the BSAA, but nothing compared to what he was looking at now. As he scrolled through the different cities, he found himself almost lost in the different landscapes. London with its giant clock tower easily visible from his office building, was different then Moscow, with its skyscrapers in mid construction. There was even a view from Dubai, and Nick marveled at the strange building designs, with their odd shapes and illogical angles.
"Oh my GOD! HELP!"
Nick jolted out of his amazement at the sound of a woman screaming for help. Without hesitation he jerked the handgun out of his shoulder harness and bolted out the door. The sound hadn't come from far away and he had a good sense of direction. Following the sound he had to bypass three infected humans, who he knew hadn't screamed for help. He took care of them easily with one shot to each of their heads.
"Please help me! Someone!"
As the woman continued yelling Nick increased his speed, but came to a halting stop as he found himself suddenly emerged in an indoor jungle. He didn't have time to enjoy it; he needed to find the woman screaming and help her. He bolted through the vines and branches that slapped at his face. Ignoring the occasional sting he slowed to a stop to listen. Things were suddenly quiet, and he was beginning to wonder if he was too late.
"Hello?" He yelled into the wall of foliage in front of him. The trees and bushes were so thick it was near impossible to see more than a few feet in front of him.
Nick's heart began to pound as he slowly continued deeper into the brush. After a couple moments he heard rustling in front of him and he pointed his hand gun.
"Hello?" He repeated.
"Hello?" Nick froze as his own voice came back at him through the vegetation. Something was mimicking him, and he was beginning to feel like whoever was screaming earlier, wasn't human.
He took a step back and snapped something under his foot. In an instant he was surrounded by a mixture of feathers, and leaves and his ears were filled with the sound of some sort of avian creature. He fell to the ground as the bird like thing swooped by him again. Nick let off three shots with his hand gun in rapid succession. He rolled and got to his feet bolting through the underbrush.
The creature circled and came at him again. He would have been surprised at the agility of it, but he was too busy worrying how he was going to keep dodging it. He opted to dive into the underbrush and found himself belly down under a set of tropical ferns. He felt the air rush past him as the bird like beast missed him.
He tipped his head up and finally got a good look at it as it landed on a branch a few yards past him. It was huge, and clearly had been a parrot in its passed life. It had sections of feathers missing, and the bare flesh was visible oozing with some strange bodily fluid. The beak was three times the size it should be for its head, and Nick could see a clear row of razor sharp teeth peeking down from the upper mandible.
Its eyes were small black holes, lost in the feathers around its face. The talons on its feet wrapped around the branch it had perched on, and surprisingly enough it didn't look that strange when he had the change to examine it. Besides its size and teeth it wasn't that different from any other parrot.
Any parrot whose flesh is falling off its bones…
He raised the handgun and fired two more shots at the creature, hitting it in the chest. With a squeal it fell off its perch and he felt a moment of relaxation. Relaxation that was suddenly deflated as the creature came swooping up again landing on the branch and scanning the area with its beady eyes. Nick shifted in his position to prepare to run, and when he did the massive bird swung its head around.
The odd thing was it didn't turn to look at him. It was listening. Getting a sudden idea Nick scooped up a small stone and tossed it by the face of the creature. There was no reaction by the bird until the rock crashed down into the branch line. Like a bullet it took off after the sound, vanishing behind the thick wall of greenery.
Nick let out a sigh, but kept his eyes trained on where it had been previously. He could still hear it calling in his voice, and as much as it sent chills down his spine, he knew he had to hold his ground until it was safe enough to move. He wasn't sure how long he would be stuck here, but he was prepared to hunker down as long as it took.
Claire had wandered around for what felt like hours. She wasn't sure where she was, or where she was going. All she did know was that she needed to find herself some ammo. She had encountered some zombies when her door unlocked, but with only fifteen total shots in her handgun, she wasn't very confident that she would last very long.
She had woken up in some sort of lab, like the kind Umbrella had hidden under Raccoon's Police Department. The thought had unsettled her, but she had decided it was in her best interests just to ignore it and keep moving forward. The French woman had mentioned six people here, and Claire was determined to find at least one of them.
BAM BAM BAM
She froze for a moment as the distinct pop of gunfire rang out around her. It was close enough for her to hear it, but far enough to have come from anywhere. The sound bounced off the facilities walls, creating an echo that made it near impossible for her to pinpoint where they had come from. She cursed as she picked a direction.
She wanted more than anything to find and help whoever was shooting, and as her legs carried her quickly down yet another white hallway she was beginning to think she had picked the wrong way. Part of her told her to keep moving, that maybe she would come across something familiar, or maybe the shooter would start up again. The other part told her to turn back and try the other direction.
It's too late now… I'm already heading this way
She turned right keeping her handgun ready, as she continued on her search. The place was like a maze, all the halls looked the same, and there were so many twists and turns that it was near impossible to remember exactly where you had gone or come from. For all she knew she could be walking in a circle and she would have no way to realize it.
Have to figure out a way to mark where I've been…
She stopped walking and examined the hall for something she could use. She looked for a pipe, or rock, anything heavy enough to leave a mark on the walls stark white surface. Searching for the other survivor was fine, but it wouldn't do her any good if she just kept looping around the same area. And she needed a way to get back to her safe room, in case she came across something she couldn't kill with eleven bullets.
She had done her share of that in Raccoon. Mr. X had proven to be tough as shit to kill. Eleven bullets wouldn't even phase something like that, and judging by the zombies she had seen already, it wouldn't surprise her if there was something like that here.
Don't think about Mr. X…. He's dead for good this time.
She forced herself to think of something else as she pegged another zombie shambling toward her. At least they were slow, and they didn't seem to flood the halls like they did in certain areas of Raccoon. It was either a good sign that there hadn't been a lot of people to be infected, or a really bad sign that things were just going to get worse.
She didn't want to think about that either. All Claire really wanted to do was get the hell out of there, go home and call Chris. She wanted to let him know she was okay, and she wanted to tell him that there were still crazy per-
BAM BAM
Claire was off in a full sprint toward the sound of the shots. She thanked fate for letting her chose the right way, and just prayed she could get to them in time to help whoever it was that needed help. As she rounded yet another corner, she skidded to a stop, unable to believe what she was seeing.
The hallway opened up into what looked like some sort of botanical garden that spanned at least five floors. It would have been beautiful if she had seen it anywhere else. The plants and trees covered the entire area, and all surrounded what looked like a small pond in the middle of the room. She could hear water flowing, and her eyes trailed up the five story opening, spotting the giant waterfall that cascaded down from the top.
It was beyond impressive. She was reminded of a jungle, and half expected to see some sort of wild animal hidden in the vines and thick branches that covered the area. As she started walking again, she found herself enjoying the smells of exotic flowers. This was not like the rest of the building, in fact it wasn't like anything Claire had ever seen before. The death smell that normally followed the infected was hidden by the sweet, almost fruity smell of tropical plants. She almost had to remind herself where she was.
She passed by a couple of benches, tucked into the foliage along the path she was walking and came to the sharp realization that this place was probably designed to give the people who worked here a taste of the outside. She had seen something similar in WilPharma's headquarters but at the time she had been so preoccupied with the G virus she had missed the chance to enjoy it. But now as she walked along the vine littered paths, she found herself amazed at the beauty of it all.
"Hello?"
Claire stopped as a male voice floated toward her, and she drew her hand gun. It obviously wasn't a zombie, but that didn't make the guy a friend either. It had to be the shooter from before, and although she had been so gung ho to help a moment ago, she found herself now suddenly cautious.
"Who are you?" She called into the forest.
"Hello?" The male voice repeated.
Claire frowned, and moved forward slowly, keeping her gun pointed ahead of her. Perhaps the guy couldn't hear her. Or maybe he was attacked and injured so badly he wasn't aware of his actions fully. She couldn't know for sure, all she could do was keep moving forward until she found him.
"Tell me where you are! Are you injured?" She tried again to hail whoever was in there with her.
"Hey! Keep it down!" A suddenly stressed whisper reached her ears through the foliage and Claire spun fast, nearly losing her balance. She peered into the bushes, and found a man ducked down with a handgun. He was wearing a BSAA uniform, and seemed to keep his eyes trained on something far in the distance. He shifted his gaze toward her and motioned for her to lower herself.
The man looked crazed, but he appeared uninjured. With every instinct telling her to high tail it out of there, she found herself complying with him. Dipping under a low hanging vine she crawled her way toward him, and tried to follow his gaze.
"Uh… Why are you down here? We should be go-"
He slapped a hand over her mouth and Claire jerked her body back in surprise.
"Quiet…" He whispered. "No time to explain, but whatever is in here with us can mimic sounds. And I don't think it has very good eyesight"
Claire blinked and suddenly felt very sick. This guy had no reason to lie to her, and she had seen enough bio weapons to know that it wasn't unreasonable. He moved his hand away from her face and gave her a small and apologetic smile and all she could do was resist the urge to throw up.
He placed a hand on her shoulder, as if to reassure her. "My name is Nick Parker. If we keep quiet and head back that way we can get out of here. I found a safe place to keep hidden, it's not much but at least the zombies can't get in" He motioned toward his safe area and Claire followed his gaze with a nod.
She didn't know this guy at all but the name Parker sounded somehow familiar to her. Judging by his BSAA uniform she wondered if he knew Chris or Jill. Perhaps she had heard one of them mention a Parker. She decided she had no choice but to trust him. Claire was armed and if the guy tried anything sketchy she would put a bullet in his head.
For a moment as they crawled through the underbrush she felt a twinge of emotional pain. Umbrella had changed her so much. A few years ago she never would have thought about killing another human being. But now, everything was a threat to her somehow. She didn't think about it anymore as they emerged from the tree line and back out into the open hallway.
This hall was much different than the one she had come through. Here there were plenty of doors, and rooms to explore. There were pictures on the walls in this hallway, and they were no longer in all white. These walls were painted a deep, warm beige color, and the floor was carpeted with a tan and dark green pattern. She felt much more comfortable here, but she didn't want to let herself get too relaxed.
"So Nick… Who are you exactly?" She asked as he pushed open a door and walked into an office.
He glanced over his shoulder at her and shot her a deep grin. He was oddly unfazed by what was going on around them and she wondered if he had done this before. Or perhaps he was just one of those people that didn't get worked up over something he didn't have control over.
Seriously. He's a BSAA agent. Of course he's done this before…
She gave him a smile back, though hers was much less relaxed.
"I told you my name, I think it's time you told me yours" He said as he leaned against one of the large desks in the room.
"Right… I'm Claire. Claire Redfield"
She saw Nick stop for a moment and look at her. It was as if a strange light bulb had gone off in his brain and he pushed himself off the desk. As he walked toward her she didn't feel worried like she probably should. Instead she felt almost comfortable with his approach.
"Redfield… I knew you looked familiar." He said after a moment. He had stopped walking a couple feet away from her, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I know your brother."
Claire felt her face light up. Anyone that knew her brother would make sure to look after her. Not that she needed looking out for. She had done enough of this stuff on her own but the thought of being out here with someone who knew Chris made her feel a lot better. Nick wouldn't slow her down, and he would be able to watch her back as they searched for the others.
Leon sighed as he rounded yet another blank corner into yet another blank hallway. The walls were white, the floor was white, even the ceiling tiles were white. He felt like he was in some sort of sterile building, like he should be wearing a white jumpsuit with plastic bags over his shoes and a hair net instead of his cargo pants, long sleeved blue shirt and tactical vest. He felt out of place, like some big boss was going to come out of one of the locked doors and yell at him for being out of uniform.
Of course he knew that wasn't really going to happen. The only things that had popped out at him at all were a couple of infected people. Managing to dismantle them had been easy enough; after all he had dealt with zombies plenty of times before. Leon could nail a head shot from across a room at a running target. What he didn't understand was why he was always getting forced into situations like this.
For the most part he found himself to be a pretty lucky, but right about now, as he jiggled the third locked door knob in a row, he was beginning to feel like his luck was running low.
"Seriously… come on…" He said to the locked door.
He knew it wouldn't respond but the sound of his voice cracking through the silence made him feel a little less like he was all alone. Letting out a sigh he turned and looked both ways down the hall. That strange hollow, in the place between his chest and his stomach began to flutter, as he began to get the impression that he wasn't alone anymore.
He narrowed his eyes as he took a step away from the security of the door and into the open hallway. He wasn't afraid, he was alert. The rolling sensation in his chest was more from anticipation than anything else. Leon had been in worse situations then an empty hallway before, and with all the crazy things he had seen in his life time he didn't think that whatever he was about to see would really surprise him.
Clink…
Leon back flipped out of the way as the ceiling tile came crashing to the ground where he had just been standing. As he landed and wretched out the Matilda he frowned as he looked at the broken tile, scattered on the floor. Most of it had managed to stay together in a clump, but his blue eyes scanned over the little broken remnants of the compressed paper mulch that had scattered across the hallway. He shifted his line of sight up to where the tile had once been, and the black hole that looked back at him revealed no clues on the attack.
If Leon had been a different guy in a different time, he may have chocked the incident up to building damage. He may have been able to push it to the back of his mind as an accident that had happened because the ceiling tile was old, or had been wet before. But he wasn't a different guy, and this wasn't a different time. In his experience things didn't happen without a reason, and for him those reasons weren't usually good.
He heard something skitter across the ceiling and he turned slowly shifting his eyes up to where the sound should have come from. Somehow he wasn't surprised by the fact that there wasn't anything there. At least nothing he could see. The fluttering in his chest got a bit more intense as he kept his eyes trained on the ceiling, trying to figure out what it was that could have knocked out a ceiling tile, or scurry across it after him. There was another flurry of sound behind him and he suddenly realized what was happening. He was being baited.
Whatever was hunting him wasn't just out to kill him. It was toying with him like a cat, with a mouse. It was keeping out of his line of sight, and it was making sure to make sounds intentionally to distract him. He could guess that there was more than one; otherwise it was the fastest thing he had ever encountered.
Fast and silent.
Leon brought the Matilda up and waited, listening for the skittering sound to come back.
"Come on you son of a bitch" He whispered into the empty air.
He didn't need to wait long before the sound came back. It was an eerie sound, like claws or talons clicking against a hard surface. It reminded him of a dog, who had nails so long they tapped on the floor. Leon had to resist the urge to spin around. He knew better than that, it wouldn't be behind him like the sound would have him believe. Instead he took a couple steps backward and fired at the ceiling where the thing would really be.
He squeezed the trigger, and at first, as he saw the spray of plaster, he thought he had missed. He counted the seconds and by the time he hit four, he discovered that his shot hadn't missed. The creature let out a screech and fell off the ceiling, landing on its back in a heap.
Leon watched, with his gun ready, as it kicked its legs in an odd sort of spasm that made him think of the lickers in Raccoon City. Kicking its legs forward it launched itself off the ground, landing on its feet and flipping its body up to look at him. For a moment he locked eyes with it, noting the lizard like body it had, with its horrendously long arms, and legs. It stood slightly hunched at the shoulders, the talon like claws of its fingers almost touching the floor by its feet.
Leon wasn't sure for a moment where he had hit the creature but as his eyes scanned over its body he finally saw the gooey, ragged hole in its side. The brownish liquid seeped out of the wound pooling on the floor where it stood. Without taking his eyes off his dueling partner he used his thumb to click the Matilda's three shot burst into the 'on' position and squeezed the trigger.
TAT TAT TAT
It jerked back and its strange rust colored blood splattered the white wall behind it. With an unearthly squeal it launched itself off the ground. Leon squeezed the trigger again, but the reptile was fast, and two of the three shots smacked the ceiling, sending a shower of tile onto the floor. Leon kept his eyes trained on it as it scurried after him. Pushing off the ceiling it launched toward him, and it was all the time he had to bring the Matilda up.
BAM!
The strange shot resonated in the hallway and Leon turned to see a woman with blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing a BSAA uniform, made from blue stretchable fabric. Over her chest, was a tactical vest, similar to his, and he noticed the Beretta she had tightly held in her hands. The woman's blue eyes were filled with a strange intensity that told him she had done this all before. As he watched her, he was reminded of Eliza, with how she seemed so confident, and how shooting a lizard creature off a ceiling seemed so natural to her.
He heard the creature smack the floor and he turned toward it, placing the barrel of his px70 against its head. For a second it looked at him, and the reptilian eyes seemed to peer through him, almost looking sad, as if its attack on them had been an accident, or out of its control. As he stood there looking at the pitiful thing as he heard the woman come up behind him and glance over his shoulder. Leon glanced at her and squeezed the trigger sending it into a convulsive spasm before it let out a quiet groan and its muscles relaxed.
"That was a good shot back there" He said as he put the Matilda into the holster on his thigh.
"Thanks…" she said as she tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. He thought for a moment he could see a light blush appear on her cheeks, but she spun on her heels away from him before he could confirm it. "I'm Jill by the way."
"Leon." He gave her a small smile and took a step toward her. "So I take it you've done this before?"
She nodded before turning to face him. She was fiddling with the clip of her Px4 and as she glanced up at him he was reminded again of Eliza.
I hope you're alright El…
"I was one of the S.T.A.R.S. members that survived the Arklay Mountains."
Leon blinked and was pulled away from his own thoughts as he heard two things in particular. S.T.A.R.S. and Arklay Mountains. She was a Raccoon City survivor like him, and he felt an instant connection with her. Like they were brothers-in-arms, like when veterans from an old war met for the first time and shared their tales of survival. But there weren't going to be tales of survival for them, at least not until they survived this.
The name Jill did sound familiar though, even if he couldn't figure out why. He had spent a long time studying the files of different survivors, so he was sure he had read the name in there. He pushed the thought to the back burner and decided to focus his attention on getting to the other survivors.
"Have you seen anyone else around here?" He asked Jill as the two of them began walking down the hallway.
"No. I heard you shooting and came to see what was going on. You're the first I've seen. But I'm pretty sure my partner is here somewhere he and I were taken at the same time." She got a sad look in her eye as she spoke and Leon got that feeling in his chest again.
I know you're here somewhere… I'll find you El.
He saw her out of the corner of his eye, and noticed her tip her head to the side with a slightly concerned look on her features.
"Are you alright?" She asked after he ran his hand through his hair with an exasperated sigh.
"Yeah… When they took me they told me they had my partner. I know she's here somewhere and I just hope she's alright." He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall a moment. "I know she can handle herself here… But anything can happen, if a zombie catches her off guard, or she gets overwhelmed. I just hope she found someone to watch her back"
Jill nodded and walked over to him, placing a hand onto his shoulder. It was clear she felt the same worry he wore written on his face, and he appreciated the simple act. Opening his eyes and looking at her he pushed off the wall and gave her a single nod.
"Well then, let's get going. We aren't going to find our partners by standing around here right?"
Jill smiled lightly at him and nodded.
"Right"
Jill had spent a long time that day wandering around with no idea where it was she was going, or how she was going to get there. She knew Nick was here somewhere, and that she wanted to find him as fast as possible. She also knew there were four other people here with them, and she could run into any of them just as easily as she could run into Parker.
As her day went on she had been let out of her prison room, killed a half dozen zombies – one had nearly grabbed her from behind – and found a man named Leon, trying to kill one of the shadow walkers she had avoided earlier in the hallway. That's what she was calling them anyway. She had managed to spot one crawling along the ceiling earlier, and had watched it vanish into the shadows.
It hadn't noticed her and she was able to study it for a few moments. It had taken all of her concentration to keep her eyes on it as it moved into and out of the shadows on the ceiling, but what she discovered was that it resembled a chameleon. She had seen its skin tone lighten when it was exposed to the bright sections, and darken when it moved to shadow, making it near impossible to spot.
As she walked along with Leon she found herself telling him about the shadow walkers, and what she had discovered. He listened to her, nodding his head from time to time, and occasionally offering her a simple word or two to show he was paying attention, and she appreciated it.
As they moved through the area she was beginning to notice that they were getting more and more home like. They passed a couple of open rooms, that looked like they may have been dorms of some sort, there were beds and desks, bureaus littered with lamps and papers, or old clothes. One room even had a pair of shoes tucked partially under the bed. In a strange way it made her sad to see it all. It had once belonged to someone, probably one of those people she had killed back in the other hallway. Even the room she had been in when this had all began, had looked like it had once belonged to someone else. At the time she had ignored it, pushing it to the far reaches of her mind, but as Leon pushed open the first door and began rummaging around the room, the thought had re surfaced.
It wasn't to say she didn't think he should be going through someone else's things. In a situation like this you needed to use any resource you had, and right now all they had were someone else's left overs. She kept her eyes on him for a moment, keeping her gun ready in case the room wasn't as empty as they had thought it was. His searching produced a couple handgun clips, which Jill was very thankful for, but other than that he didn't seem to find anything else that he found to be useful.
He handed her one of the clips, and she slid it into one of the pouches in her vest before heading into the next room. This one didn't seem as used as the previous. The bed in the center had been perfectly made, and the lack of items on the bureau had been either from someone that was a total neat freak, or hadn't been there at all. Either way, the lack of personal effects had made it a little easier for Jill to search.
"I'll keep watch this time" Leon said from somewhere behind her.
"I'll be fast" She responded as she began pulling open the drawers of the bureau. The perfectly folded clothes she found, had put her off a little, but she was already in there. Quickly shifting through the drawers she moved on to the end table near the bed finding nothing more than a notebook and pen next to an alarm clock. Inside the end table was a brush, a men's watch, and what looked like a journal. Jill couldn't help but open it and flip through the many hand written pages.
She glanced at the neatly written script, and found herself reading passage after passage, becoming lost in the perfectly lined letters. He had written about a number of different things, from how he came to work for Dr. Girard, and how his job was head of security, and how he was in charge of multiple security guards. He wrote letters to his wife and son that he had to leave behind somewhere, and how he missed them. Jill was hardly aware of Leon as he approached her, and she certainly wasn't aware of the fact that her eyes were tearing up as she read through the pages.
"You alright?" His voice cut through her concentration and she jumped slightly at the suddenness of it.
"Listen to this Leon…" She flipped to the last few pages and began to read them out loud "May 3rd. I found out something horrible this afternoon; apparently Dr. Girard has let the GA-7's out, to see how they handle my security team. That freaky thing clung to the walls and vanished in the shadows. It killed four of my men before we were able to finally take it down. That bitch didn't even say sorry for what she did, all I got out of her was a laugh. She even had the audacity to tell me that I should have trained them better. How can I train my men to fight something they've never been allowed to see?"
"May 24th. Today Girard informed me that she was going to use my men as a way to test out her new antivirus. I tried to protest, but she told me if I tried to stop her, she was going to fire me. I can't afford to lose this job Miranda and Peter are counting on me. Forgive me Mira…. All I ever wanted was to give you and Pete the lives you deserve, and now I'm not even sure if I'm going to survive long enough to ever see your face again… I love you Mira."
"June 19th. I haven't been feeling well the last few days. Girard said it was a side effect of the antivirus she had given me and my men. She said it might cause flu like symptoms, but I think she lied to us all. The woman is a monster she took us in with the promise of rebuilding Umbrella, by making their B.O.W.s better. Instead she's just watching us run around trying to survive in her little fun house while the B.O.W.s hunt us down like animals. I don't know how long I can survive this…"
"July 23rd. There's only two of us left now… Girard said we survived the antivirus process but now she needs new 'volunteers' to test out her projects. If anyone is reading this I am sorry for what is happening to you. It was never our intention to bring outsiders in to deal with these projects. I can not stop what is happening to you, but I can give you a little help. Most of the creatures here are nothing more then simple infected, but Girard has been doing her own research and she has a couple of things she has invented on her own. One of them the GA-7 is a brute. It can scale walls, and move at an incredibly fast rate, and it has the ability to blend into shadows. There's also a pair of MB-14's, parrot like creatures that have the ability to mimic human speech to draw its prey closer to it. Good luck to you, and if you survive this, please find my wife and tell her I love her, and that I am sorry I never made it home."
Jill stopped reading as she turned the page and found nothing but some pen marks and what looked like blood splatters. As she rested the journal down on the end table she noticed the scowl on Leon's face. Clearly he was thinking exactly what she was feeling. This Girard woman was more then just crazy, she was totally off her rocker and she had dragged all of them in with her. It was turning into more of a nightmare then Jill had originally thought.
She had always assumed that this was some sort of test by either Umbrella or the B.S.A.A., but seeing this made her wonder exactly what it was they had all managed to get themselves into. She heard Leon sigh and she glanced at him with a worried expression on her own features.
"It's like some sort of sick joke." He said as he turned away from the room and headed back for the hallway.
"We'll make it Leon." She didn't know what else to say to him, and even as the words came out of her mouth she sounded a little childish for it.
"I'm not worried about making it. I've survived Raccoon City, and so have you. You're Jill Valentine, former S.T.A.R.S. and current B.S.A.A. if we can't survive this, then I don't think anyone can."
For a moment his words repeated in her head as she followed him back into the hallway.
You're Jill Valentine….
She didn't remember telling him her last name, and she certainly didn't know his, but that one comment got her thinking. If he had survived Raccoon, then he had to be that cop Kennedy that had helped Claire when she went there looking for Chris. If it were true it was certainly a relief. At least she wasn't out here with someone that didn't know what they were doing, and with the things she had heard about Leon he certainly was capable of handling a situation like this.
Deep down she didn't really care how capable he was, all she wanted to do was find the others and get out of here.