Part III:
The Night
Chapter 6: Traps and Suspicions
(JILL)
Jill and Mat faced a long, dark hallway. Both had their weapons up and ready, trained down into the unknown.
"We're gonna have to split up" said Jill, pulling her flashlight off her belt. She clicked it on and shined it down the hallway, illuminating a long stretch of symmetrical doors. "That'll let us get this done faster."
"Yeah, and make it twice as dangerous" replied Mat. "Honestly, have you ever seen a horror movie?"
"Got any better ideas?" When Mat didn't say anything, she added "I didn't think so." She stepped down the hallway. "Yell if you see anything."
Jill took the first door on her left. It led her into an old bathroom. She looked around, her nose wrinkled in disgust.
Everything was covered in mold. It was very moist inside the room, probably because somebody had apparently run a bath, then forgotten about it. The tub had overflowed, saturated the carpet with muddy looking brown water. The only reason the tub wasn't still running was because the water to the mansion had apparently been shut off.
"What a magnificent smell you've discovered" she muttered to herself.
Jill decided to pull the plug on the tub. It might make things smell better inside the bathroom, and there was the off chance that there was something of value inside. Mat had said that Umbrella liked to hide important things in ridiculous places.
Jill shook her head. Even with everything she'd seen, she had a hard time believing what the younger man had said. Sure, Umbrella was probably a little dirty. Most big companies were. But to claim that the pharmaceutical giant was conducting biological weapons experiments was just too much.
The gurgling from the tub changed pitch. Jill leaned over the edge, expecting to see that it was almost empty. Instead, she saw something move inside. Jill let out a gasp and stepped backwards as a man sat up inside the tub. With a moan, he turned his brown and rotten face in her direction.
Her mind raced. There was no way this guy was still alive. He'd been underwater for at least five minutes, assuming he had scrambled into the tub just before Jill entered the bathroom. Further, he was decaying. One of his eyes had actually ruptured and oozed down the side of his face like a boiled egg.
The man didn't seem particularly concerned about his supposed death. He leaned forward, flipping over the side of the tub and landing with a wet thump on the soaked floor. He crawled toward her on ruined and broken arms, his fingers stretched out for her legs.
Jill stepped back, into the counter as the man crawled toward her. He grabbed hold of her ankle, trying to pull himself up her leg, his mouth wide open to take a bite.
"Ugh!" Jill exclaimed as she brought her foot down on his skull, feeling it crack under her boot like an egg. Instantly the man's grip went slack and he collapsed onto the floor.
Jill stood there, staring at the body for a few seconds. Then she dashed toward the toilet, and relieved herself of her dinner and most of her lunch.
She heard footsteps behind her and spun around, wiping her mouth while simultaneously raising the Samurai Edge.
"Whoa, chill out" said Mat, raising a hand. "It's just me."
"What is it?" Jill snapped, a little embarrassed and trying to hide it as she stood up.
"I heard you doing…whatever it is you're doing in here, and wanted to make sure you were okay."
"I'm fine" Jill said firmly. "This room was a dead end. There's nothing here."
"Sure about that?" Mat asked. He was looking down into the bathtub.
"What do you see?" Jill asked, walking toward him.
"This" he replied, after reaching down and plucking something out of the tub. He handed it to her.
"A key?" Jill asked. "What's it for?" She turned it over in her hands, feeling the engraving on the grip. It was some sort of device, like a crest.
"I have no idea" Mat replied. "But I'd imagine it's something useful, since this guy here died trying to hide it." He pointed at the zombie she'd stomped. "He must've succumbed to the virus after ditching it." He shook his head. "I wonder who he was. Did he like what Umbrella was doing here? Was he trying to cover for them? Or was he just a man, doing his job? Did he want us to find the key?" He shrugged, embarrassed. "Sorry. I am really, really tired."
"C'mon, then" said Jill, gesturing toward the door. "Let's go."
A Few Minutes Later…
The key, it turned out, fit a lock back on the first floor. Inside, they found an empty room, with one door at the far end. Jill was more than a little disappointed. They hadn't seen anyone on their journey to this new room, and while she was glad to avoid more of the living dead, she had hoped to see Barry. He needed to know what was going on; otherwise, he was in grave danger.
"Not that we aren't" Jill muttered.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Mat asked.
Jill coughed nervously. Caught talking to yourself. Brilliant. "I, erm, said 'We should see what's back that way.'"
Mat gave her a funny look. "Ohkay then." He unslung his P90. "You open the door. I'll go in first. Sound fair?"
Jill shrugged. "Works for me."
They edged closer to the door. Jill leaned up against the wall next to it, stretching out one hand to swing the door open, the other keeping the Samurai Edge up and ready. Mat stood back about a foot away, his P90 trained down. Jill sent him a look. He aimed the submachine gun ahead, then nodded.
He burst into the room the second the door swung open, swinging the P90 in a full 180 degree arc around the door. "Clear!" he said, moving forward so Jill could follow him. "What do you make of this place?"
Jill took a look around. It looked like some kind of trophy room. In one corner she could see a large bear, probably one of the local Arklay Grizzlies. In another was a big moose. Other animals included what looked like four different species of shark and a large walrus.
"I guess someone likes to hunt" Jill muttered, taking the various pelts in. All of a sudden, she remembered a short story she'd read in high school. Something about a half-mad Russian hunter living on a deserted island where he stalked a more deadly prey…other people. "'The Most Dangerous Game'!" she exclaimed.
Mat sent her another confused look. Then, understanding dawned on him. "Oh, yeah! That one! I remember that one! We read it in English when I was a freshman." He shook his head. "Funny, I was just thinking the same thing. There is definitely something odd about all this. But look!" he said, pointing to a far wall. "That might come in handy."
Jill followed his finger, then nodded. "You know," she said, matching his understatement, "I think you might be onto something."
They hurried over to the gun rack. Hanging on the wall was a single shoulder arm, an old hunting gun. Below it was a plaque, which read simply MEDICINE GUN.
"Very nice" said Mat, pointing to the stock. "This is pretty cool. Back in the old days, it looks like they actually wanted their guns to look nice."
Jill shrugged. "I don't care if it looks good," she said, reaching up to remove the shotgun, "so long as it-What the hell?"
As soon as she had lifted the shotgun from the mount, the two metal bars retracted into the wall with a click.
"Huh" said Mat. "That was weird."
"No kidding" said Jill, cracking open the shotgun. It was an old school, double barreled over/under. And, as luck would have it-"It's empty" she muttered.
Mat shook his head in disgust. "I guess it would be too easy to find an actually loaded weapon, wouldn't it?" He thought for a minute. "Wait a minute; I think I might have something for you."
Jill watched as he began to pat himself down. "Ah-ha!" he exclaimed, pulling a handful of small, metal cylinders out of his pocket. "I was afraid I'd dropped these back in the Hive. These are leftovers from my Benelli. Since it's no longer with us, why don't you take them?"
Jill took the offered shells, then tried to load them into the hunting gun…only to find they didn't fit. Disgustedly, she handed them back to Mat.
"Sorry" he said. "Must not be the same gauge." He shook his head. "I wonder if modern shells would even work in this think. It looks older than my grandpa."
"Let's look around" said Jill. "Maybe there are some in here with us."
They began to examine the glass cases which ringed the room. Jill peered inside the first one she came to, but it only held a series of black and white photographs of what looked like a rather British hunting party. She moved on to the next case…and hit the jackpot. Inside it were about two dozen solid metal slugs.
"Even better" Jill muttered. The solid lead slugs would have more stopping power than bird- or buckshot. They wouldn't scatter, but could tear a grown man in half.
Jill drew her handgun, flipped it over, and used the grip to smash open the case. Ignoring a startled exclamation from Mat, she broke open the medicine gun, then loaded two slugs in before putting the rest in her pockets. "I found some" she said. "We can go."
"Good" said Mat, casting a wary eye on the Grizzly. "I don't like the way he's looking at me." Jill would have laughed at that, had he not sounded so serious.
Jill headed through the door first. She heard a faint click underneath her boots, and then the door slammed closed behind her. Instantly, she spun around, trying the knob. It was stuck fast.
She could hear Mat jiggling it on the other side. "C'mon, Jill!" he said irritably. "This isn't funny."
"This isn't me" Jill replied. "The door just slammed on its own. I think it's some sort of trap."
"A trap? What do you mean?"
"I don't know" Jill called back. "I just heard a noise when I stepped inside. And-" A sudden groaning cut her off. "Oh God, what did I do now?" she muttered to herself.
"Jill, what's going on in there?" Mat asked. "What's that noise?"
Jill didn't answer at first. She was too busy staring at the ceiling, watching in horror as it began to retract toward her.
"Jill! What's going on in there?" Mat asked again, real concern in his voice.
"It's the ceiling!" she shouted back. "It's collapsing! Help me get this door open!"
She heard a faint cocking noise from the other side of the door. "Stand back" Mat said. No sooner had Jill done so then she heard the report from the P90, followed by a loud crack.
"Motherfuck!" she heard Mat exclaim a second later.
"Mat? What happened?"
There was a pause. "This door…it's wooden with a metal center. I don't know which one, exactly, but I just almost shot myself. I wouldn't recommend trying to use the shotgun to break it open."
"Then what can we do?" Jill asked, trying not to panic.
"I'll think of something. Just hang on."
"Uh" said Jill, looking at the ceiling. It was almost close enough to touch. "Things are getting rather…claustrophobic in here."
Then she heard something from behind her. Spinning around, she saw the other door, the one they had come in through. She hadn't thought about it until now, but it didn't matter; it was apparently locked.
Whoever was jiggling the handle realized that too. "Jill? Jill, can you hear me?"
"Barry!" she exclaimed. "You've got to get me out of here! The ceiling, it's…Just hurry!"
"Okay" said Barry from the outer door. "Jill, I need you to stand ba-"
"Wait!" Jill shouted. "Barry, the door is bulletproof."
She imagined him grinning wickedly on the other side. "It might be, but I'll bet the lock isn't."
Jill didn't have a chance to respond to that. There was a loud bang, the door shuddered, then was pulled open.
"Take my hand!" Barry shouted. Without hesitation, Jill complied.
The next thing she knew, she was lying on the floor, breathing heavily next to Barry. They sat in silence as the ceiling met the floor.
"That was a close one" said Barry, looking over at Jill. "A second later, and you might've fit nicely into a sandwich."
He meant it as a joke, but Jill was still too fresh from a near death experience to take him seriously. "Really?" she asked.
The smile on Barry's face fled immediately. "Sorry. Just trying to get you to loosen up a little, that's all."
They stood up.
"Thanks" said Jill. "For…everything. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't come by."
"Best not to dwell on it" Barry said. "C'mon, let's get out of here."
"Hang on" Jill said. "I found one of the Bravos. Well, not a STARS precisely, but Mat Dawson. He and I were working together." She pointed at the now useless door. "He's in there."
"In there?" Barry repeated. "Jesus, Jill. Poor kid's as flat as pancake. There's nothing more we can do for him."
"No, there's a door on the other side. He's trapped back there now." Jill looked down at the shotgun, and things began to fall into place. "And I think it's my fault. I triggered the trap that caught us in there."
"It'll be okay" said Barry. "We'll figure out some way to get poor Dawson out of there." He fished in his vest pocket for a minute, then pulled something free. "Here, take a look at this. I found it earlier, and thought it might be useful."
Jill examined the paper. "Death Masks?" she asked aloud.
"Yeah" said Barry. "I think there's some sort of puzzle lock. And these things are the key. It's crazy, I know, but there's more. This place, I think it's some sort of-"
"Bioweapons lab" Jill finished. "Mat already told me. Apparently the Bravos have had their hands full over the last day. There's all sorts of nasties loose in the forest. I don't know a whole lot myself, but…" She briefly filled him in on the zombies.
Barry didn't look terribly surprised. "All the more reason to find Chris and the other Bravos. Then we can get out of here."
"What about Captain Wesker?" Jill asked. "Have you seen him?"
Barry didn't answer at first. His face became troubled for a minute, then went back to its normal amiable self. "No. Sorry. I forgot about him. We'll need to figure out where he is too, of course. Now, shall we go?"
Jill nodded, and they set off.
What Barry had said made sense. All the same, she felt bad about leaving Mat behind. True, barring some unknown monster hiding in the trophy room, he was a lot safer than she and Barry were.
But there was something…off about her fellow STARS operative. Jill resolved to keep a close eye on him. Just in case.
