Notes: Sorry about the delay in posting, had some major writer's block and Persona 4 Golden was released for my sexy Vita! I implore you to read this chapter cos from here on in, there's some big changes to the original! I'd also appreciate your feedback regarding an addition which will become apparent as you read. Let me know if you think that it'll work and whether you'd like to see more of it in the upcoming fourth story!
The Facility Revisited
Chapter Eight
"So you never told us what that paperwork was about" Kevin said as the three of them left the last room. They'd fallen into a happy little pattern. He and Jill would search the rooms whilst Carlos stood guard outside. The other rooms along the corridor had been considerably fuller that the Archimedes Room but had, ironically, yielded a lot less information. Computers had been stringently password protected and filing cabinets were sealed with a series of locks that had stumped even Jill. She hadn't wanted to admit that of course. Although it had been a bit of sobering experience to come across the first lock in years that she couldn't pick within seconds.
"You don't want to know" She replied. She shuddered as she thought about the last entry she'd read. It had reminded her of the Keeper's diary that she'd found during the Mansion Incident. She sincerely hoped that the writer of this diary, much like the Keeper, had met his maker. She didn't fancy a run in with someone who was capable of writing such twisted words.
"That is, without a doubt, and ignoring everything that comes out of Chris's mouth, the single most annoying phrase a person can say" Kevin said. They'd stepped into another fancy looking corridor but neither of them were paying much attention to it. Carlos was bringing up the rear, doing his best to avoid conversing with Jill. He was trudging along slowly with a deep frown on his face. "Obviously I do want to know or I wouldn't have wasted my breath asking"
"I don't trust this place" Carlos said suddenly from behind them. Kevin had almost forgotten that he was even there. He didn't really have much experience of working with Carlos. He wasn't sure if the younger man was normally this quiet or whether it was because of his problems with Jill.
"Well that's funny" Kevin replied with a roll of his eyes. "Given that it's an Umbrella facility we're in! Jesus…they don't ask for much in the UBCS do they"?
"Puta mierda de la cabeza" Carlos muttered under his breath. He'd just been trying to make some conversation, actually remind Kevin and Jill that he was there. They'd been so busy talking amongst themselves for the past half hour he'd felt invisible. He looked upwards at the metal arches dotted with rivets that were spaced out along the length of the corridor. "Kinda reminds you of Bioshock doesn't it"?
"Bioshock"? Kevin raised an eyebrow.
"Y'know, that Xbox game" Carlos explained. "Don't you play games"?
"No. I make love to my wife" Kevin answered with a smug grin. He turned back to Jill. "Is that why you're so pissed at him? Cos he's too busy playing on a games console to give you the attention you deserve"?
Jill ignored the remark and sincerely hoped that Carlos would too. She didn't have Leon around the split them up again. She turned around to look at her boyfriend and saw that he was currently glaring at Kevin's back. His nostrils were flared in anger and it looked like he was on the cusp of saying something back but had decided against it. She knew from how quiet he was being that Kevin's questions and digs about their relationship were getting on his nerves. She knew how much it was getting on his nerves that he didn't know the answer himself. She'd tried countless times over the past few days to tell him but she couldn't find the right words. It just seemed so much easier to push him away than it was to tell him. If she didn't tell him then she didn't have to face up to it herself.
She shook her head. She needed to focus. She couldn't allow her thoughts to affect her concentration. She needed to carry out their objective and that was to look for survivors. The research area was clearly deserted and it was beginning to look like the entire level had been cleared out and evacuated. The lack of zombies or creatures in the area meant that it was unlikely to be a viral outbreak which led her to believe it could've been the actions of the diary writer. If that was the case, what had originally made the diary writer crack? She remembered the entry saying something about a gas. She wished that they had contact with Barry. She longed to run her theory by him and see what he made of it all. Barry was good like that. He had a knack of putting together pieces of information and coming up with the right answer. He was a dab hand at realising if you were barking up the wrong tree. Maybe she should've listened to him when he'd warned her about dating Carlos…
"Oh would you look" Kevin's sarcastic tone brought her out of her dark thoughts. "Another door" He tapped on the door at the end of the corridor. "And what joys! It's locked by a keypad"
"We'll see about that" Carlos said, pushing Kevin aside. He seemed to relish the action as he did it a little harder than he normally would. Kevin shrugged and stood back, pointing his handgun at the door in readiness for it opening.
"You didn't tell me the boyf was a technical whizz" He commented to Jill as Carlos popped open the maintenance flap for the keypad and started to examine the array of coloured wires that it revealed. He muttered away in his native language, giving each one a gentle tug in turn to see where it connected to the next.
"He used to do bomb disposal for the UBCS before he was posted to Raccoon City" Jill explained, half watching Carlos work, half keeping an eye on the door. Carlos pulled hard at a blue wire, snapping it effectively. The door suddenly slid open revealing a small porch-sized room that was completely empty aside from a small grey door. The door had a black and yellow sign attached to it that said 'Testing Area 1A'. Kevin moved forward into the porch and placed his hand on the grey door's handle.
"Are we gonna go for it"? He asked, looking back at Jill and Carlos.
"We have to" Jill answered. "We need to check everywhere for any survivors" She said with a confidence that she didn't feel. "We might find some answers as well"
"Even if we risk our lives in the process"? Carlos argued. "Going in there and looking for anyone could get us killed"
"And not going in there could mean any survivors get killed" Jill countered.
"Ooh nobility. I like it" Kevin butted in. "Come on Oliveira" He said with a shrug. "We're seasoned professionals at his crazed Umbrella monsters game. I'm sure whatever's behind that door, we can deal with. Besides" He smirked. "There may be some pretty ladies to rescue"
"Might I remind you that you're having a baby with my best friend who just so happens to be your loving wife"? Jill bristled, a sharp look on her face.
"And I love her with all the love it's humanly possible to give" Kevin answered adamantly. "But there's still a little bit of James Bond in me that enjoys rescuing a nice damsel in distress"
"You'll be in distress in a minute" Jill threatened. Kevin grinned at her sheepishly and pulled on the door handle.
The door swung open inwards to reveal a large and expansive garden. Thick, lush grass stretched out in front of them like a luxury carpet. It was perfectly green, each blade sticking up and shining with the unnatural sort of health that one would expect from engineered grass. A couple of metres in front of them was a large, black, wrought iron archway with an Umbrella logo sat atop, exquisitely forged in the same iron as the arch.
"Oh shit. Are we in an Umbrella facility"? Kevin enquired with mock realisation. Jill shook her head, unable to take her eyes away from amazing sight of the garden.
Looking upwards, she could see that the whole room was a big glass dome with black lead separating the glass into panes. She could see how it would look impressive to some visiting investor. A paved path was beneath their feet, stretching through the archway and turning a corner, becoming lost in a large clump of giant flowers of all colours and shapes. The perfumes emanating from the blooms should've created a horrible mix of heady sweetness but the mixture of scents seemed to blend perfectly. Giant toadstools, the size of trees loomed over them and when she looked into the distance, Jill could see more of them, plus more flowers, stretching off endlessly. Towering over all of this, in what appeared to be the centre of the room was a large purple bulb that seemed to be hanging off the ceiling. It was pulsating slightly, almost as if something was moving around inside of it. Thick, green vines hung from it, tumbling down its sides in tangles.
"This is like no testing area I've ever seen…" Carlos gasped, seemingly as amazed as what she was.
"And how many testing areas have you seen"? Kevin questioned.
"Well…this one" Carlos answered sheepishly. Kevin grinned triumphantly. "It'd be horrible if you had hayfever…" He mused. "Do you suffer from it"? He asked Kevin hopefully.
"I wonder what they test in here," Jill said out loud. Her eyes didn't leave the large plant in the centre. It reminded her horribly of Plant 42 in the guardhouse of the Spencer Mansion. She'd been lucky enough to not have too much trouble with it but this plant was far bigger and looked far more deadly.
"It's not a crazy temperature in here so it's probably nothing tropical" Kevin offered. "I suppose since this place if off the coast of England then they wouldn't waste time creating tropical species to unleash upon the population"
"It's off the coast of Scotland actually," Carlos pointed out. "A lot of Americans can't make the distinction between England and the United Kingdom-" He stopped when he realised that Kevin was no longer in earshot. The former cop had walked off, past the archway and deeper into the garden heading, Carlos assumed, towards the giant plant in the centre. He opened his mouth to say something to Jill but she'd started to walk off too.
Seconds later, Carlos heard her shrieking in shock followed by shots being fired. It sounded like she'd reached the centre of the room. He hurried towards her cries, pushing through thickets of the giant flowers and dodging around the toadstools. He reached the centre of the room; which was in shadow due to the giant bulb above their heads. Jill was firing at the huge bulb. Carlos looked up and saw Kevin dangling in mid air, one of thick green tentacles wrapped around his neck.
"Dios Mio"! Carlos exclaimed, drawing his own gun. He aimed carefully at the thick tentacle, just above Kevin's head.
"Carlos"! Jill protested but it was too late. Carlos had fired his shot. It hit the tentacle in its dead centre, causing it to explode in a mass of green fluid. Kevin dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, hitting the soil with a grunt. Jill rushed towards him and helped him to his feet.
"Let's get out of here"! She cried.
"Don't need to tell me twice"! Kevin replied croakily, following Jill's lead. Carlos quickly holstered his gun and followed suit. The three of them ran through the garden, not stopping until they found a door, which read 'End of Testing Area One'. Nobody thought anything of it; it was just a relief to find a way out.
The door opened into another small porch, slightly larger than the first one but other than that, identical. Carlos slammed the door shut and leant against it, breathing heavily.
"That was a risky thing you did" Jill fired at him, giving him a shove, as soon as she'd caught her own breath. Kevin was now sat beside her, rubbing his neck, which seemed to have a thick red ring running around it. It looked like he was going to have a nasty bruise. "You could've shot him accidentally," She added, pointing at Kevin.
"You should know I'm a better marksman than that"! Carlos exclaimed. "I've been handling a gun since I was a kid! Christo"!
"It was still risky" Jill said, her hands on her hips. "Although I will concede that it got us away from that monstrous plant" She added sounding almost disappointed with having to agree with him.
"And it's made you actually speak to me" Carlos added. "I think this is the most you've said to me for days" He sighed heavily. "Maybe it's worth taking the odd risk if I actually get to speak to you and get something back in return"
"It's not-" Jill struggled. Her anger had melted away and it appeared to have been replaced with shame. Her hands had fallen to her sides and were hanging limp. She seemed to be having trouble meeting Carlos eyes. Carlos hadn't really wanted to have this out in front of anybody, least of all Kevin Ryman, but it looked like he no longer had the choice. Carlos pushed himself off the door and took Jill in his arms. For the first time in weeks, she didn't push him away. She let him hold her. It felt so good to be holding her again. He raised his left hand and brushed it lightly against her cheek. He had missed the contact.
"What is it mi amor? Please…just tell me," He said gently.
"Not here" Jill replied quietly. She appeared to brush tears away before turning back to Kevin. "No offence…"
"None taken" Kevin said, his voice still raspy.
"There's a time and a place" Jill gave Carlos a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting and we will talk about it, just not now"
"Not when we're liable to get attacked by crazy ass plants anyway," Kevin added for her, massaging his throat. "I'm fine by the way guys," He continued jokingly. Jill and Carlos broke apart and smiled at him somewhat sheepishly.
00000000000000000000000
"So Bradley…uh…what was your wife's name"? Chris asked awkwardly. He had Brad had left the recreation room and were now in a corridor that wouldn't have looked out of place in the bowels of an ocean liner.
"I think I preferred it when you relentlessly teased me" Brad answered, moving cautiously along the steel grill flooring. "Although it was getting kinda tiresome, I will admit" He offered Chris a friendly smile. "Don't worry about the whole family thing. I know Chris Redfield doesn't do apologies"
"Damn right" Chris replied, trying to ignore the nagging feeling of guilt. It reminded him of when he'd read Leon's personal file back in the Spain. He shook his head, he didn't want to start thinking about Leon again. "I would be delighted to return to mocking you. In fact, I have just such a comment that I believe is perfect here"
"Go on then" Brad crept along the corridor, being careful not to make too much noise. Judging by the evidence of obvious of looting that they'd come across in the recreation room, it was highly likely that they weren't alone. Chris however, didn't seem to be bothered. The clomping of his boots on the metal grill floor could wake the dead.
"Well, we've been down here a while now and you haven't bailed on me" Chris said with a smirk. "Must be some kind of new record"
"Good one" Brad muttered sarcastically although he wasn't really listening. Something further along the corridor had caught his eye. A door, set into the left hand side of the corridor. It didn't, however, resemble the rest of the doors along the corridor with their basic designs and simple steel handles. It looked instead like a bank vault. The door was round and had a handle that resembled a valve handle mounted in the middle.
"Is that a bank vault"? Chris asked, obviously having noticed the door.
"Looks like it" Brad answered. "Although it's really antiquated. They stopped using circular doors years ago because of how hard they were to maintain. The doors would sag eventually because of the immense weight-" Brad stopped speaking when he realised that Chris was giving him a strange look. "What"?
"And where did you learn that"? Chris asked. "Guards and Guarding? Security Guards Weekly? Bank Vault Aficionado"?
"They must've used it for storage of wages" Brad mused, completely ignoring Chris' stupid question. He moved closer to the door and studied it. He was just about to examine the lock to see if there was any way he could get it open when something bum-rushed him against the corridor wall. He felt all the air leave his lungs as he collapsed to the floor. Through his violent coughs in an attempt to get some oxygen, he could hear Chris' sarcastic tone.
"Look Bradley, you made a friend" He said. "So" He turned to the mystery attacker. "Who the fuck are you"? He aimed his gun at the attacker's forehead. He was tall with an athletic build and dressed in a military looking uniform of khaki combats and an olive green t-shirt. He was wearing a khaki coloured vest over this with various compartments for his supplies and a khaki scarf around his neck. His hair was short and brown, the front of it flopping down across his forehead. From the ridiculous way that it looked, Chris figured that it was supposed to be spiked in a similar style to his own. In fairness to the kid, it probably wasn't all that easy to come across hair gel in the bowels of an Umbrella facility. Despite having a gun pointed at his forehead his stance was one of determination. There was a steely gaze in his hazel eyes that conveyed a cocky confidence. This obviously wasn't his first time at the wrong end of a handgun.
"I'm Piers Nivans Sir" The kid replied in a mechanical, military tone. Chris half expected him to start reeling off his rank and number.
"Jesus Kid" Chris spat. He didn't know what yet because he hadn't worked it out, but he didn't like this kid. "I didn't ask for your life story"
"You just asked who he was" Brad pointed out, hauling himself back to his feet. Piers tensed slightly, obviously expecting a revenge attack. Brad made a point to keep his own handgun holstered. "I think you should put your gun down now"
"Shut up Bradlington" Chris snapped. "This here is important Captain type stuff. Not for people who couldn't get into the police force" He added with a snort. He turned his attentions back to Piers and slightly lowered his handgun. The kid was obviously military so he didn't want to take any chances. "So, Peter Evans, or whatever your name is"
"Piers Nivans Sir" Piers corrected him.
"I'm pretty sure you said Peter Evans" Chris replied. "Yeah, that's what you said" He continued adamantly. "Peter Evans"
"He definitely said Piers Nivans, Chris" Brad butted in. Chris rolled his eyes. Trust Bradley to get all hung up on stupid details like somebody's name.
"Bradley. Captain's stuff" Chris reiterated. "You go off and security guard or something" He said with a wave of his hand. "Let the real men talk. Go guard the security" He looked Piers up and down, appraising him. The kid was military, no doubt about that, but Chris was sure he could take him in a fight. "So Peter Evans" He said airily. "What are you doing lurking around here"?
"I was part of a Special Ops Unit assigned to investigate this facility Sir" Piers spoke with his back straight, his eyes forward, probably seconds away from saluting. Chris couldn't help but smirk. It took him back to his Air Force days.
"There's no need to be so formal around us Piers" Brad said with a friendly smile.
"Oh there's every need" Chris butted in haughtily. "After all, I'm The Captain" He puffed his chest out. "Peter Evans needs to know where he stands"!
"So there are more of you here"? Brad continued, ignoring Chris. He felt a surge of hope. If there were more soldiers lurking around the facility it meant that they had more backup which in turn meant they'd get the job done safer and faster.
"There was" Piers' eyes flickered from a brief moment. "The rest of my unit died three weeks ago" His shoulders slumped slightly. "We were in these corridors investigating reports of suspicious activity when we were attacked by-" He stopped, mid-sentence, and listening carefully. An expression of fear crossed his features, making him look like a rabbit caught in the headlights. "Shit! It's here! Get in the vault" He ran to the vault and wrenched the thick, heavy door open. He started to herd Brad in after him. Brad turned and looked at Chris helplessly.
"Do what Peter says Bradley" Chris replied with a roll of his eyes and he shoved Brad through the open door. Chris followed him in and heaved the door shut behind him. He wasn't particularly a fan on following weird soldier types into confined spaces but he'd heard the rumblings too. Whatever the hell was making them was probably responsible for wiping out Piers' squad and Chris wasn't too keen on coming face to face with it without Leon or the others to back him up.
0000000000000000000000000000 00
Leon opened his eyes and noticed that he no longer seemed to be in the foul-smelling, water logged corridor. The second thing that he noticed was that he wasn't wearing his equally foul-smelling, equally water logged clothes. The final thing that he noticed, and this was likely the most crucial, was that he couldn't move from the chair that he was sitting in.
He quickly took in his surroundings. The chair he was sitting on was wooden and wouldn't have looked out of place in an office. He shifted slightly on the seat. The chair creaked giving away a definite flaw in its structural integrity. His ankles had been bound to the front legs and his wrists were secured behind the back of the chair. Another thick length of rope was tied around his chest. His gun belt had been removed and he'd been dressed in a pair of what looked like grey scrubs. He could see a thick wad of gauze covering the wound on his thigh. His face no longer felt tight with dried blood and he couldn't smell the stench from the body dump. He twisted around in the chair to get a good look around the room.
It was a fairly small room, no bigger than a standard single office. The floor was made from scratched metal sheeting that had gone dull with age. The walls were a darker grey but weren't covered with the pipes and valves like the corridor had been. There was no way of knowing whether or not he was on the same floor. It was possible that given the room seemed to be another office, it could've been one or two levels up from the water logged corridor. Probably for some of the low-level staff. It seemed a little more well maintained than the body dump level but it was obvious it still lacked the pomp of the higher levels. Clearly no potential investor would ever be invited to tread these hallways.
Directly, almost teasingly, in front of him was the door. The same dull grey metal as the walls but with a porthole at the top. The rivets on the porthole were rusted with age. To the left hand side of this door was a set of shelves full of different coloured vials of liquid, some in test tubes, some in conical flasks and others in corked beakers, all neatly lined up in rows. To the right of the door was a small desk. An ancient looking computer sat atop it with a large accounts book next to it that had been left open. Leon strained his eyes but couldn't make out any of the words. The writing was a hasty chicken scratch decipherable only to its owner. Beside the book lay a stethoscope and an empty syringe. Those last items in particular didn't help with the crazed doctor vibe that he was feeling.
He needed to get out and quickly. He started wriggling within his bonds, stopping only when he felt a cool, clammy hand come to rest on the back of his neck. He jumped, startled, as it was joined by a second hand on his shoulder. Leon struggled to try and get a look at his captor but the firm grip on his neck forced him to remain looking forwards.
"Which one of them sent you"? A voice spoke, male, high and reedy with a hint of a British accent.
"I don't have a clue what you're on about" Leon replied smoothly.
"Oh don't think I don't know" The hand on the back of his neck dug in painfully. "They've always had it in for me. So where are you from? Research? Development"? The man chuckled dementedly. "No, no…security aren't you"?
"I'm just a guy who should be at his wedding" Leon answered. As part of his Secret Service training, he'd received instructions on how to deal with being taken prisoner. The key was to stay calm, not antagonise your captor and look for a way to escape.
"You're an interesting specimen" The man crooned. "You have scars" The hand on his shoulder moved forward and down, brushing against the spot where he'd been shot so many years ago in Raccoon. Leon felt his pulse quicken slightly. "I saw them when I was washing you and I asked myself, how did you obtain these imperfections? Not that it really matters" The hand on his shoulder reached up and dragged through his hair, lightly fondling it. "Nobody knows you're here do they"? He giggled. "I've worked hard. So very hard. I have imagined things that most others could never imagine. I have watched silently as others gained prestige for achievements that were unworthy of my time. I waited for it to be my turn. But my turn never came"! He suddenly yanked hard on Leon's hair and he fought to maintain his silence. "I want the glory! I am many things! So many more than any of those men who sent you down here. You won't capture me! I won't go back to that room"
Leon swallowed hard. Everything he'd ever been taught about situations like this was that your captor always wanted either money or information. This demented man seemed to want neither. If his thoughts and his motivations were as jumbled as his words then it was highly likely there was no logic behind the kidnap. His training had been comprehensive but Leon felt unprepared to deal with someone to whom standard logic and reasoning didn't apply.
"So what am I to do"? The man continued. "I have studied many things. I have garnered a much wider interest in the human body than I ever thought possible" The man let go of his hair. "And as I said before, you are a most interesting specimen. They said my lust for perfection was my downfall and perhaps they were right. You have imperfections. I require things to be just so. If imperfections are there, there must be symmetry. We cannot have uneven quantities. I tried explaining that to them. They refused to listen. But we must have perfection! If we have to play around a little to obtain symmetry with our specimens then that can't be helped. My last specimen. He was a poor, poor creature. He had lost his arm in an accident. Well, we couldn't have that now could we? I was told I wasn't allowed but I did it anyway. I removed his other arm. Perfect symmetry"
"Just tell me what you want" Leon demanded, trying to keep the fear from his voice. He didn't like the way this was going. He tried to struggle with the ropes to see if he could loosen them enough to escape but they were tied tightly. He could hear the man's soft shoes tapping as he paced behind him.
"Someone shot you did they not? Your stomach, your shoulder and your thigh. Your stomach, that is perfectly acceptable. Centralized scarring. Your left shoulder is scarred and that made me worried. But then I saw it, your right shoulder. It is not a bullet wound. It is a bite but that is perfectly acceptable too. One scar each. But your thighs. Only one of them is scarred. We cannot have that. If you are to be my specimen, I need you to have symmetry"
Silence, and then a shot. Sudden and loud. Pain flared up in Leon's thigh. His whole body tensed in the chair. He bit back a scream. He felt a hand close over the wound as he blacked out.
000000000000000000000
Jill was grateful when the testing area didn't lead directly on to another one. Instead, it lead on to an office. She supposed that it had once belonged to whoever oversaw the experiments in the testing area. Behind a large, polished oak desk, was a bank of monitors. Half of the screens showed the testing area they'd just escaped from. The other half showed a room that looked very similar to a desert.
"Oh another testing area. Splendid" Kevin remarked as he stared over her shoulder at the monitors. "I wonder what's gonna try and choke me in there" He shook his head and threw himself into a nearby chair, sighing heavily. His voice had returned to normal but an angry red ring encircled his neck, parts of it were already purple where the bruising was starting to come through.
"Maybe we can avoid it" Carlos suggested. He leant against a water cooler. He considered taking a drink but then figured it probably wasn't wise to drink anything in an Umbrella facility, no matter how benign it looked.
"No way Oliveira. As far as I'm concerned, the only way is forward" Kevin replied. "There's no way in hell that I'm going back through that garden" He shuddered as he thought about the massive plant. "It's put me off gardening for life and trust me, it was never an interest to begin with"
"You reckon this stuff is contaminated"? Carlos asked, pointing to the liquid in the water cooler. It felt like hours since he'd had a drink. He'd lost his hip flask in the fall when the sea monster had smashed through the corridor. Somehow, he didn't expect Kevin would be all that willing to share with him.
"I don't know Hombre" Kevin said sarcastically. "Why don't you give it a try"? He turned his attentions back to Jill who'd started to rifle through the desk drawers. She pulled out a sizeable stack of folders, a pair of glasses and a chocolate bar. Kevin's eyes shot back to Carlos' just in time to see the other man's eyes land on the shiny wrapper. Like a pair of wild dogs who'd spotted the same prize, they both leapt towards the treat. Carlos got there first, his hand closing around the bar. Kevin landed on top of him and pulled him to the ground. They wrestled, Carlos managing to hold the chocolate just out of Kevin's reach. But Kevin refused to be defeated by the likes of Carlos Oliveira. Using his legendary adaptability skills, Kevin grabbed his hip flask and squirted some of the contents into the younger man's face. Carlos released the chocolate bar and Kevin grabbed it, hauling himself back to his feet in one swift movement. He flashed Carlos a smug grin before ripping into the wrapper and biting off a huge chunk of chocolate.
"What the hell are you two up to"? Jill demanded reproachfully. Carlos pulled himself to his feet, wiping his face and shooting Kevin a nasty glare. Kevin grinned back, swallowing the last of the chocolate bar and licking his fingers smugly. "Look" She continued. "Make yourselves useful and help me skim read through some of these. We're supposed to be on a fact finding mission here. We haven't come across any survivors and we need to ascertain why. We can't destroy this facility if there's a risk that we could be releasing harmful chemicals into the ocean"
"Pass a folder over" Kevin offered, reaching out for one. Carlos shrugged and headed to the open door.
"I'll keep watch" He said grudgingly.
"She's madder at you" Kevin muttered childishly as Carlos walked past.
0000000000000000000000000000
When he'd finally come around, Leon had no way of knowing how long he'd been out. Everything seemed hazy and muddled and he could barely remember where he was. He could taste blood in his mouth and figured that at some point, he must've bitten his tongue. His stomach rolled over and over, making him want to retch. The pain was edging back into his consciousness. He fought against it. He'd had much worse pain. Back in Raccoon and back in Spain. He needed to relax as much as his body would allow him to and then he wouldn't be sick.
He suddenly realised that he could no longer see any of his surroundings. A hasty blindfold, probably made from more of the scrubs, was tied tightly around his eyes, blocking out any light. That didn't stop him from looking down instinctively as he felt the pants of his scrubs being tugged down. The movement made him aware of the wound. He'd been shot. He could feel it bleeding slowly and steadily and it was making his head swim. A cold feeling washed over him and he shivered. His body was going into shock. He needed to focus his mind and concentrate. He needed to think about anything that would help him fight off the wave of unconsciousness he knew was on its way. He'd done it before in the sewers of Raccoon City so he knew that he could do it again.
A fresh wave of nausea rocked him as he felt a calloused hand skin across his bare thighs. These touches were nothing like the touches that he was used to. Unlike Chris' they were cold and clinical and sickening. Intensified due to his lack of sight. The hand was like sandpaper scraping over his naked flesh.
"Fuck"! He cursed involuntarily as he felt a horrible, hot rush of pain. A thick finger was pressing straight into the bullet wound. It wriggled around inside of him and he was a breath away from begging it to stop. Begging and pleading was against his training. It never worked. Some sick fucks even got off on it. Maybe this guy was one of them. There was no way of knowing.
"Tell me about the other times you were shot" The voice suddenly demanded.
"No…" Leon managed to get the word out despite the spots that were dancing in front of his closed eyes. He felt the finger withdraw and he rode out the fresh wave of agony that assaulted his already struggling body. Chris had always called him a stubborn idiot and he was proving that now. His will was preventing him from giving into the ever present threat of darkness that was on the edge of his consciousness.
"They underestimated me, did you know that"? The voice continued, gently stroking the area around the bullet hole. Leon could feel him streaking the fresh blood across his thigh. "I was the greatest asset this company ever had and what did they do? They wasted it! My gas! My gas was pioneering"!
"What…gas"? Leon asked through gritted teeth. His whole body tensed, waiting for the invading finger once again. He jumped when he felt a cool wet cloth sweep across his thigh, wiping with an almost gentle precision.
"They didn't understand it" The voice explained, continuing to drag the cloth across his skin. The other hand gripped the underside of his thigh tightly, almost possessively. "Not even a modicum of understanding, that's why they thought using it against me would work. They never knew that using my own invention against me would make me more powerful"
Leon tried to focus on what his captor was saying. Concentrating on the words, even if they didn't make sense, would give him something to latch on to and help him remain conscious. But suddenly he felt a horrible pain, worse than before, hot and searing. Something hard was poking into the wound. It dove deeper and deeper, like a red hot knife needling into his tortured flesh. It caused a hot torrent of pain but it was cool and hard like steel. He fought back fresh waves of nausea as he felt it move around looking, he figured, for the bullet. It was dangerous, he knew that. Everything he'd ever been taught about emergency field surgery said that a bullet was never to be removed. Removal could cause more damage, more bleeding. He could feel the fresh blood welling up out of the wound and running down his thigh in thick rivulets.
"Oh and they looked so pretty" The voice chuckled. "Blood and brains splattered everywhere" The knife inside him twisted and Leon stiffened in his bonds. He wanted to cry out in pain but at the same time didn't want to give his captor the satisfaction. If the man had a penchant for torture then the cries of his victims would no doubt fuel his actions. It felt as though the blade was scraping away at him from the inside out and all the while, through the terrible pain, his mind chanted the dangers. Tearing, muscular damage, catastrophic blood loss.
It felt like hours although, in reality, it couldn't only been a couple minutes, the knife pulled out of his thigh bringing something with it. The metal ping that followed confirmed his suspicions that his captor had successfully removed the bullet. More blood ran down his leg and another crippling wave of dizziness assaulted his senses. Bile hurtled up to his throat and he swallowed it back down, the taste vile and acidic.
"Nearly there…" The voice soothed. Leon could feel the man's hot breath on his thigh. He was obviously inspecting his handiwork. "Ah yes…symmetry…so pretty" His head was swimming now. The man's hands skimmed over his thighs. "So pretty…"
0000000000000000
Chris leant against the vault door, his handgun at the ready. The tiny room was silent. Piers was at his side, frozen to the spot, a combat knife in his hand. Brad backed them up, a worried expression on his face as if he were waiting for something to burst through the door which, Chris supposed, was entirely possible. The rumbling however, instead of getting louder, seemed to have gone away completely.
"Piers"? A small voiced echoed from the corner of the room, making Chris jump. He turned around and took in his surroundings for the first time. All signs that it had ever been used for holding money had been removed. Against the back wall was a plank of wood resting on two oil drums, obviously serving as a shelf. There were a few personal items spread across it, a set of dog tags, a spiral bound notebook, a battered portable DVD player and an old DVD copy of the movie 'Top Gun'. On the floor by the drums was a pile of food and drink which had obviously been stolen from the vending machines they'd seen earlier. Propped up in one corner of the room was a powerful looking sniper rifle. In the other corner of the room was a thin mattress covered in ragged looking sheets. In the middle of all of these sheets, with her head on a pillow, was a young girl who couldn't have been more than seventeen.
"Hey" Piers voice and stance completely changed as he left his place at the door and hurried over to the girl. "It's ok" He flashed her a smile.
"The Beast"? She said, looking up at him enquiringly. For want of a better way of putting it, the girl looked awful. Chris had never seen someone look so ill who wasn't a zombie. She had long ginger hair which had been tied back into a ponytail but it was lank and greasy. Her green eyes were watery with deep bags underneath them. One of her arms unwound from the pile of sheets and grabbed hold of Piers' proffered hand. It looked horribly thin as though it might snap. Her skin was pale and spotty.
"It's gone" Piers replied reassuringly. The girl nodded and smiled weakly back at him. Her eyes widened when she looked around and caught sight of the two new additions to the vault.
"Who are they"? She asked, her smile fading and her expression turning to one of pure horror. She gripped Piers' hand tighter.
"Don't worry" Piers looked down at their linked hands and ran his thumb over the back of her hand gently and slowly. "They're here to help ok? You just relax and have a drink and I'll have a chat with these guys and we'll sort out a plan"
The girl nodded but didn't seem wholly convinced. She reached down by the side of her mattress and grabbed a bottle of water. She took a sip before putting it back down and picking up a nearby book. The cover had fallen off so Chris had no idea what it was that she was reading. She seemed suddenly engrossed in it but Chris couldn't help but notice that her eyes kept roaming sideways to look at him.
Piers turned away from his vault-mate and joined Chris and Brad back at the door. His friendly nature had all but vanished once more and was replaced by his soldier mask.
"You never told me why you're here" He said. "Bradley was it"?
"Just Brad" Brad replied. "We're with a military group called the BSAA. We've been sent to investigate what's going on down here, pretty much the same mission brief as you by the looks of it" Chris noticed him looking over at the girl with a concerned look on his face. "Was she one of the residents"? He asked, keeping his voice low.
"Yeah" Piers nodded. "We found her wandering the maintenance corridors one floor down. It looks like she's been on her own for a while. This is her hiding place actually. She was nice enough to let me stay once my squad..."
"You lost all of them"? Brad asked gently. Piers nodded once more. "Because of that beast"? His voice remained barely above a whisper, obviously not wanting the girl to overhear and get upset. Chris couldn't help but feel irritated by Bradley's sudden take charge attitude. He hadn't been made Captain for nothing!
"I got lucky" Piers answered. "It's the only reason I survived. I've been trying to escape here but my rifle and handgun are out of ammo and I don't want to take any risks as far as Ginny is concerned. She…she's not well"
"What's wrong with her"? Brad said. His look of concern turned to all out worry. Chris folded him arms across his chest and leant against the vault's door. He was distinctly unimpressed with the way he was being treated. It was almost like he was invisible.
"I don't really know" Piers replied. "She hasn't said a lot about what happened to her here but I've got the feeling that she's infected"
"Woah…woah" Chris stepped in. "She's infected? That means she's dangerous" He glanced at the girl who was still reading her book. She didn't look like any of the victims that he'd seen but he knew that appearances could be deceiving. After all, Leon had been infected with the Plagas virus a long time before he'd shown any signs of infection.
"It's not that kind of infection" Piers argued. "It's…well, I don't know what is"
"Well sorry to piss on your parade Kid but it's likely that pretty soon she's gonna wanna start gnawing on your leg" Chris said. "I've seen enough of Umbrella's viruses to know what I'm talking about. I feel sorry that you lost your squad and that she's just a kid but the brutal fact is that she's a liability"
"Would you keep it down"? Piers hissed through his teeth. He'd obviously decided to take Brad's advice and drop the whole 'Sir' military routine. "She's dying! She's getting worse every day and I've known for a while now that there's no way in hell she'd survive an escape. I've been doing what I can but there's only so far a standard issue First Aid kit can help. All I can do is stay with her and make sure she doesn't die alone"
"And then what's your plan"? Chris asked.
"To get the hell out of this place" Piers answered. "I've seen enough here to last me a lifetime. I don't really have much of an idea what happened here but I know enough. That thing that roams the corridor wiped out most of the staff. Ginny said something about some gas that they exposed her to" He looked over his shoulder at Ginny. Since Chris had overtaken the conversation, Brad had gingerly approached her and she was now showing him something in her book. Brad was nodding and smiling at her warmly. Chris' insides clenched a little. He wondered if Ginny reminded Brad of his family. "She's just a kid" Piers continued. "How the hell could anyone do something like that to her"?
"Well, that's Umbrella for you" Chris said sourly. "Not above experimenting on children" His stomach turned as he said the words. Piers looked equally stricken. Chris felt the tiniest twang of guilt. He obviously cared for the girl and it reminded him of the way Leon had talked about Sherry.
Brad meanwhile, seemed to be getting along with Ginny. He was now knelt down by her bed and she was proudly showing him her copy of Top Gun.
"I like that movie too" Brad smiled at her. "It's part of what made me love flying"
"Wow, you're a pilot"? Ginny replied. Her dull eyes lit up. Now that he was much closer to her, Brad could see that she was clearly not healthy. She tried to hide it as best as she could, pulling the tattered blankets around her. "That is so cool" She marvelled. "Hey, can I call you Maverick? He's my favourite"
"Sure you can" Brad grinned. His stomach turned at the thought that someone could experiment on another human being, let alone someone who was as innocent as Ginny.
"I've never seen outside" Ginny continued with a wistful sigh. "Only in movies. I was hoping that Piers would get me out of here"
"He's trying" Brad replied.
"I'll never see the outside world" Ginny continued. "Because I'm dying" She added bluntly. "Piers likes to think that I haven't worked it out yet but I can feel that I am. One of the researchers down here, Archibald Spencer, he made this gas. I don't know what it did. But he used it on me. He said it didn't do what it was supposed to but it did something to my lungs. I heard that someone eventually used it on him and he went mad"
Brad was stunned. He had no idea what to say. Here was this girl, not even an adult yet, and she was talking openly about her own mortality as though it was nothing. He'd seen hardened soldiers fall apart at the idea of their own death.
"Don't tell Piers I told you" Ginny said. "It upsets him when I talk about it. He's still sad because of his unit"
"I won't say a word" Brad replied reassuringly. He could feel his eyes pricking with tears. He didn't want Ginny seeing him cry. "How about you show me some more of your book"? He said quickly.
"Sure Maverick"
"They seem to be getting on well" Piers said as he watched Brad and Ginny talk. "I'm sorry I'm not gonna be able to be much help to you two. I don't have much in the way of supplies, both of my guns are out of ammo and I haven't been on a vending machine run in a while. I know these corridors like the back of my hand but it's not easy with that creature running around"
"You know the layout"? Chris replied, trying not to sound impressed. A glimmer of hope suddenly seemed to appear on the horizon. "I don't suppose you know if there's a body dump around here"?
"There is" Piers answered grimly. "It's not too far away from here. I'm pretty sure there's only one. It's pretty big from what I've seen. Not that I wanted to really hang around for long"
"I…" Chris hated asking for help. It made him feel weak. He'd much rather sort things out on his own. But this concerned Leon and, more specifically, Leon's life. Swallowing his pride and asking Peter Evans for help would be nothing in comparison. "I could really use your help. I need to get there and quickly"
"I'd show you" Piers replied. "But I can't leave Ginny"
"I'll stay with her" Brad said as he approached them. "I don't mind. She's a lovely girl. Kinda reminds me…never mind" He shook his head. "I'll stay and make sure she's alright. You guys can pick us up on the way back"
Piers nodded gratefully at Brad's use of the word 'us' when, in reality, it was likely to only be Brad. He turned to let Ginny know what was going on, but she'd fallen asleep.
"Here, take my handgun" Brad proffered the weapon. "There's a couple of spare clips in my belt" He pulled Piers to one side as Chris, not wanting to waste any more time, started to yank the vault door open. "I'll warn you about Chris. He'll be a total jerk to you all the way but you couldn't want a better partner"
"Come on Peter Evans" Chris barked from the doorway, as if on cue. "Does it look like I've got all day? Get your skinny little ass in gear"
END OF CHAPTER EIGHT
