Chapter 3:
Rain felt like puking. Her head was spinning. Then, without any trace of difficulty, her eyes snapped open and darted to the room where she was in. Her body trembled as a cold gust of wind [from the air condition] touched her limbs. The walls were painted with white and it was gleaming, hurting her eyes. She saw a man crouching before her, as if observing her behavior.
"Hello, Rain." He said
"Who—who, uh.." She found it hard to speak because every time she tries to make a single sound, a piercing pain seemed to sore her vocal folds. She swallowed hard, ignoring another pain that struck her throat. "Who…a-are you?"
"A friend. I'm Dr. Isaacs" He said, extending his left hand to me.
"F-Fri…-friend?" Rain stuttered.
"Yes, a friend, a good one." Isaacs said while bringing his left hand closer to her.
She stretched her arms and reached for Dr. Isaacs. The moment she touched the tips of Isaacs' hands, visions from the past came dispensing out from her mind. She withdrew her hands and held her head instead. More and more images rushed through her head, creating another unbearable pain that she had to endure.
No, No, No. Rain, don't let go!
Grab my hand, man!
Ahhhh… Rain!
J.D!
Rain closed her eyes stiffly, shouldering the pain that dispersed through her body.
I don't want to be like them, walking around without a soul.
You won't. No one else is going to die.
When the time comes, you have to take care of it.
"Rain, Rain,. Are you alright?" Dr. Isaacs asked touching her cheeks.
Rain opened her eyes slowly, staring at Dr. Isaacs intently.
"I think that's not the way you look at your friend, Rain" he said, feeling uncomfortable by the way Rain looks at him.
Rain smirked. "Friend. You're not a friend, Dr. Sam Isaacs. Never!"
Isaacs froze. "What the….How did you-"
"So you really thought I won't remember, well that's funny because I do" Rain grinned again.
Isaacs turned to the amazed scientists and shouted "Hold her!"
Rain tried to stand to run but her legs were too feeble at the moment. The scientists seized her and strapped her into a metal table.
Dr. Isaacs smiled. "That's it. Be a good girl, Rain" He prepared a needle together with the syringe. "Now, this thing will reduce your radical behavior. So sit there and relax while I put your wild manner away." Isaacs positioned the syringe to Rain's veins, but Rain spat on his nose.
"You can not use me. I won't allow it. I swear"
Isaacs wiped Rain's saliva from his face. "You're mistaken. Terribly mistaken." Without any more uncertainty, he squeezed the syringe into Rain's arms.
Rain screamed, as the substance penetrated her body's first line of defense. She was screaming not because it hurts, but because of the frustration it brought. Frustration of the fact that, Rain Ocampo, a tough skilled mercenary, is being manipulated and utilized by Umbrella Corporation. A corporation that advocates the pursuit for human perfection and would do anything to triumph their researches.
Rain continued to scream. even louder, now.
"Screaming won't help. Just cooperate and be a nice good girl" Isaacs said turning to his two assistants, who were beaming widely. "Alice really didn't scream that loud. She was able to conceal her frustration."
Rain suddenly stopped. Her eyes were closed and her face was at peace. However, there was something unusual about her.
"Inject her with 'Daylight' serum then transfer her to another testing chamber. I want her quarantined." Isaacs said preparing to leave the room.
"Rest well, Rain you had a long tiring day, I just hope that you stayed awake a little more, so you and I could have a little chat" Isaacs scoffed, laughing so hard.
Then all of a sudden, Rain's eyes snapped open locking the doctor in her gaze. "Well, if that's what you want doctor."
Rain broke the straps buckled to her body. She turned her focus to Isaacs and his assistants, smiling nastily.
The asst. scientists tried to grip her but she was quick enough to evade them kicking the other one in the head. The other scientist rushed to the door and locked it unknowingly leaving Isaacs and his unconscious comrade in the room.
Dr. Isaacs dashed towards the door too, but Rain clutched him.
"Where do you think you are going?!"
"Damn that bastard!!!!!!" Isaacs bellowed referring to the scientist that escaped. "I'll make sure you'll be decapitated!"
"That is if you can go out of here alive, doctor" Rain said, firming her grip to Dr. Isaacs
"Rain, we can discuss about thi-
Rain punched him hard on the face, enough to knock him unconscious. She smashed the glass door. The security alarm buzzed the whole facility. She glanced up at Isaacs , she doesn't have much time to kill him, back ups are surely dispatched this time. Then, she spat on his face again.
"You think that assistant of yours is hideous, because he left you. Well, let me tell you something doctor. The real monster, you don't want knocking down on your door is ME!"
Rain was able to escape the Detroit facility. She walked past the city heading to the Rockingham Forest. While walking she met a drunk bar girl.
"Hey you, wanna have fun?" the drunk girl said. Rain stared at the girl's outfit, a smile surfaced her lips.
"Wanna get naked?" She asked. Abruptly, Rain took the girl's clothes and exchanged it with hers. "Thanks. It fits me"
The girl looked at her then collapsed. She saw a bite mark on her arm.
"Poor bastard" she muttered. She left the girl there and set off her way. In an hour maybe two, the bar girl would be dead, and moments later she'll become a zombie, like what happened to her before. She sighed. Life's cycle is just like that. It's never fair.
She tried to find a place where she can stay. She scampered through the trees, wandering through a forest. Unexpectedly, she came upon a white washed buliding. A half smaller than the detroit facility. She walked quietly unto the main entrance and breached it.
"Whew. A place for the night, at last!"
Meanwhile....
Jill Valentine parked the Nissan Skyline GTT R34 into the side of the road. They left the SUV in the town so that the Umbrella will not be able to trace them. Now they were in the woods, headed to the Rockingham Forest.
"Why did we stop?" Carlos asked.
"Where are we going anyway?" Jill countered, rubbing away the sweat from her forehead. She has been driving for 4 hours straight, and she feels so worn-out. She's just too smug to confess her exhaustion.
"You're probably tired. Right? You've been driving for 4 successive hours." Carlos said while gazing at Valentine through the driver's mirror. Jill frowned and rolled her eyes.
"Jeez, we're traveling for four hours and yet we don't know where on this freaking city are we going?" L.J exclaimed. "So what do you think?" as he turned to look at Alice, who was just silently static.
Alice didn't reply. L.J tugged her shoulders. "Hey, infected snow white where do you think are we supposed to go?"
For the second time, Alice didn't respond. L.J tugged her shoulders a little harder.
Alice blinked twice. "Oh, sorry. I was thinking of something else." She blinked again and this time a faint illustration of Umbrella's logo appeared in her eyes' iris, which was left unnoticed by her companions.
"I suggest that we should go now. I don't feel comfortable here." Angie interrupted. All heads turned to her except for Jill.
"What do you mean?" Alice asked; puzzled by the way Angie talked.
"That's what she means." Jill said terrified, pointing to a cluster of infected K-9 dogs in front of them.
"Ok, everyone. Lock all the doors and close the windows. We have unexpected guests coming to… dine with us." Carlos muttered. They did what Carlos told them, they locked tightly the doors and shut the windows.
"So what are we going to do next?" Jill asked holding the wheel with perspiring hands.
The infected dogs were scowling. They were about 6 of them.
"What else are we going to do? Then get out of this fucking place." L.J panicked. Beads of sweat dropped from her forehead.
"Well then tell me how, may I remind you Mr. Negro, that I am driving a Nissan Skyline GTT R34, which is not reinforced and cannot hold out if ever we are attacked by those infected dogs. It's up to you if you want to give up your life for us and go out there to act as a decoy so we can go. Now tell me, how the fuck are we going to escape?" Jill hollered furiously.
"Stop it. This is not the time to argue, we have to think of a way to flee before those snarling dogs attack!" Angie blurted out. Her eyes filled with terror.
"Start the car." Alice uttered trying to be calm, while she focused her attention to the infected creatures.
"What? We can't start the car as long as those dogs are still there showing aggression with their teeth gnashed, Alice" Jill answered back.
"You start the car, and then drive it as fast as you can."
"They'll chase us! Alice, there are six of them hungry for flesh we-
"They won't…… I'll go outside and distract them." Alice's eyes were determined.
Everyone's jaws dropped. Even Jill's.
"Come on Alice; don't act as a mighty superhero or as wonder woman. We w--"Jill stopped talking when she saw how Alice unlocked one of the side doors.
"The moment I go outside, drive the car as fast you could. Don't turn your backs. Just drive. Understand?" Alice instructed.
"B-but Alice.. No…" Angie stuttered. Small tears rolled down her pale cheeks.
"Go!!" Alice shouted. Then she opened the car door and stepped outside.
The dogs undoubtedly lunged for her, growling madly.
Jill screwed the ignition key and started the car. The engine thundered loudly, a sign of the car's initiation. But instead of dashing to the road, the car remained on its position, roaring noisily.
The dogs were already 3 meters before Alice and she noticed the car wasn't starting yet. She was confused and mad, at the same time.
"What's happening?! I told you to go!" Alice yelled
"The car won't run. The left tire is stuck in the mud!" Jill shouted back.
The car's engine continued to rumble attracting the attention of the infected creatures. Two of the dogs diverted to the direction of the car and slammed the windshield fiercely.
Carlos pulled his handgun under the front passenger seat and aimed it to the dogs.
"They're breaking the windshield!" Jill screamed drawing her Browning 9x19mm Hi-Power gun from her holster and pointing it towards the dogs just as what Carlos did.
Bits of broken glasses from the windshield gradually scattered inside the car, blocking Jill's and Carlos' view. The dogs finally succeeded in breaching the glass and they broke in the car pouncing unto Carlos and Jill who was in front. Both of them struggled to kill the dogs but their attempts proved to be futile. Carlos dropped his gun and was forced to try breaking the neck of the dog although pieces of glass from the windshield were stinging his face.
Angie shrieked deafeningly, intensifying the fear that almost made L.J faint. L.J told her to hide under the backseat to avoid being bitten; Angie did what she was told.
As Valentine and Olivera continued to brawl with the 2 dogs, Alice, on the other hand, faced the other four dogs that sprung to her. She caught the head of the first dog that charged her and snapped it hard, then she climbed to a nearby tree and pulled out her gun, shooting the other two dogs directly to the top of their spinal column. She was reloading her gun when the last dog caught her up and leaped on top of her. Reaching up, she grabbed its scowling head and twisted it, breaking its neck.
She ran towards the car to help her friends get away from the horrible plight. She jumped up unto the hood of the car and seized the dog in front of Jill, throwing it aside with one hand, while her other hand moved quickly to shoot the head of the dog at the front of Carlos and pitched it to the other dogs that she killed.
Everyone was breathing heavily. They were exhausted. L.J smiled weakly and said
"Whew, what a night! We better go now before we stumble upon another pack of hungry carnivores.. Ugh.. So where do we go?"
"I know a secret research lab nearby, just straight ahead then turn right. By the time we reach a dead end forest we set off the left lane then straight again. That's it."
"Ok. Good, so hop on" Jill said while wiping her face to remove away the dirt that the dog caused.
Everyone was calm now. When Alice was about to step inside the car, the dog that she tossed a while ago, sprung on top of her. She rolled down the hood as the dog hounded her.
"Alice!" Carlos called
Alice shoved the dog forward then shot it on the head.
Suddenly, she noticed red eyes surrounding them. She swallowed hard.
"What the fuck are those?" L.J asked with eyes wide open.
"They are …. .Infected dogs." Angie answered hiding under the seat again.
"I want you to go…" Alice said while reaching for her machete and other weapons.
"Here we go again, Alice you know we-
"You nearly left me a while ago, so you can simply leave me now. Now go, before I change my mind and let you be eaten by those creatures"
Jill, Angie, L.J and Carlos stared straightly into Alice's eyes.
"Go now!" Alice screamed preparing her weapons for a good fight.
With one hard switch, Jill started the car and stepped on the accelerator, forcing the car to zoom through the road.
Alice looked at the car as it dashed to the road and then she turned her attention to the grumbling dogs surrounding her. She counted 8 of them. They got her all boxed in. She smirked lightly. Maybe this is the best way to separate from her friends, in order to save their lives from these snarling dogs and of course, from Umbrella.
"Our paths have been entwined my friends, but these can never be joined. Bye."
She sighed heavily. Then with a blink of an eye, she lunged at the first dog her eyes spotted.
Meanwhile inside the Nissan Skyline…….
"Is Alice going to be alright?" Angie asked innocently, patting her shoulders to take away the dust from underneath the back seat where she hid a while ago.
"Yeah, with her extraordinary strength, she can surely survivor, she's Umbrella's most valuable experiment, right?" Carlos spoke those words with uncertainty, but with a glint of hope in his eyes.
"Is she going after us?" Angie asked again, her eyes downcast.
No one responded. They were all thinking. Even though Alice is Umbrella's most prized project, you cannot eliminate the fact that she still retained her human qualities; that she is still relatively human.
"We're heading to the research facility, if ever Alice can survive, she'll find us there." Jill said, focusing her attention in driving.
Everyone was quite. No one spoke about anything. L.J tried to open a conversation to break the silence.
"So we're going on foot, when we reach the dead end forest, huh?"
No one answered him, he scoffed then kept quiet.
When they reached the dead end forest, the four of them followed the direction Alice gave them and after a few minutes they came upon the said facility. It was big and... creepy.
"Looks like it has been long forgotten." Carlos said observing the big facility. Withered leaves were scattered everywhere. Dead plants surrounded the place.
"Woah... this place is bigger than the hospital we have at our country" L.J remarked observing the exterior facade of the building.
They scurried quietly to the main door, but much to their surprise the entrance was open.
"Bring out your guns, guys. There might be some intruders inside" Jill said holding her gun tightly.
L.J pulled his revolver and held it firmly too, while Carlos pull drew his pistol and aimed it to the door.
"You stay behind, 'til the area's clear. Understand?" Jill instructed Angie. Angie just nodded, clenching her sweating fists.
Carlos went inside first, then Jill, then L.J.
Carlos searched for the light switch. Feeling the wall with his hands.
"Hey dude, have you find the switch yet?" L.J asked trembling. He wasn't used to this kind of environment. Dark and creepy.
"Wait, I'm trying" Carlos continued touching the wall until such time that he felt a square like thing attached on the wall. "I found it." He smiled. When he tried to flip the switch something hard caught his hand.
"AAAhhhhhhh" he yelped. L.J and Jill aimed their guns to Olivera. "Something wedged my hand! Don't point your guns on me!"
Promptly, as fast as a wink of an eye, someone backhanded Carlos and pummeled him on his abdomen. Then, that 'something' sidestepped L.J and snatched his revolver sending him to the floor. Jill ran to help him but was caught and thrown to the other side of the room. Then , ights were turned on, the room glowed brightly.
Standing in front of them was a woman. A woman with a long raven hair and tough looking appearance. She held L.J's revolver firmly in his hands.
"You're a female?! I thought you were some smart male jack-ass trying to steal something from this lab" L.J exclaimed.
"Who are you?" Jill asked sarcastically.
"Who the hell are you?" the woman replied. Aiming L.J's revolver to them.
"The hell you care.." Jill mumbled
"We're friends with the former head of this facility. She sent us here to escape the widespread T-virus infection in the city" Carlos lied, stroking his abdomen.
"I can see that you have a little friend outside. I'll bring her in. Don't try to run or get away without me asking you, or I'll shoot that girl" the woman said.
A few moments later, the woman was gripping Angie's hands. She shoved Angie unto Jill.
"I don't think we can stay in one roof" the woman said.
"Me either" Jill answered back. Staring at her meanly.
"Ok, Let's get this done. Miss Woman, we mean no harm. We went here to look for a place to stay for the night, so if you would permit, we would like to settle here temporarily. Just for a night or two. I'm Carlos Olivera. Former soldier of the Umbrella Corporation" Carlos said finalizing the conversation while extending his hands to the woman.
The woman sighed. "Rain Ocampo. Former Umbrella mercenary." She didn't accepted Carlos' hands but instead, threw the revolver to L.J. "Keep that"
"If I have a choice I won't choose to stay here. This place is kind of jam-packed" Jill said.
"Same to you. I really don't like hanging up with people especially people like you." Rain replied smirking insultingly.
Jill was pissed off. Totally. "Wait, 'til midnight comes. I'll sneak up to you and kick your ass' till it gets black" Jill murmured.
"I heard that bitch,. And I swear, you wouldn't want to do that"
"And why not?" Angie asked butting in the conversation.
"Because before she can do that, her butt's already full of bruises" Rain said, gearing up her holster. L.J laughed and Jill shot him a cold icy stare.
"That's enough of Girl fights. This night's round is over" Carlos declared. "We need to rest"
But Jill acted as if she didn't hear it. "As if you can do that, Ocampo"
"Try me"
Reviews are highly appreciated.
God Speed!