Chapter 9: Unlikely Partners
Catherine's POV
That mutt is so nosy, he almost got a look at the viruses eating away at me. I don't want to be a liability, God knows with his all righteous, stuck up hero personality, he'd be angry as shit and tell me to leave. I winced as the pain in my feet began to flare up again, but I shrugged it off and kept close to Piers. I kept my distance with Chris; something about his personality seemed off. We weren't on friendly terms during Edonia, but now it seems like he's not on friendly terms with anyone! His little snippy comments to Piers irked me. Piers was right in going after Jake and Sherry, but Chris wouldn't hear of it.
I eased off a little as the pain chipped away at me, spreading to my knees now. Piers spared me a brief glance to make sure I was alright which I returned with a cocked up eyebrow and a warning glare. A muscle in his jaw twitched, and he jerked his head back to the front, a smile danced on my lips. It was just too easy to get under his skin.
I limped closer to the back next to Keaton, his stiff posture as I shifted closer to him was all the information I needed to know he was still angry about the mountain facility. I couldn't blame the guy; I would have stuck a knife in my neck already if I was in his position. The team advanced on but Keaton stayed back to check out a gloomy hallway.
"Hey, it's not smart to..." I didn't get a chance to finish when something grabbed Keaton and hoisted him in the air. My eyes went round with disbelief.
He cried out in pain, slamming into the ground and hitting the walls. I tried taking a step towards him, but his gun was going off, making it near impossible to approach him. A hand snaked its way around my arm and yanked me back. I tore my eyes off Keaton for a moment to glare at the back of Piers's head as he shields me from the barrage of bullets. My attention flashed back to Keaton when we slammed into the ground and were dragged backward and down the hall. Chris took off like a bullet after him followed by a cursing Piers than myself. I held my gun at the ready as I closed in on the angry voices.
"What the hell are you thinking pulling a kamikaze stunt like that?!" I skidded to a halt just inside the room and gawked up at a royally pissed off Piers. I've seen him angry before but that was nothing to the pissed off scowl he wore on his face now, I actually shrank away from him a bit.
"These are my men." Chris tossed his head over his shoulder and glared at Piers. "You follow my lead, or I'll find someone who will." I didn't genuinely care about the B.S.A.A.—let alone Piers, but he didn't deserve that crap from his captain. I stepped between the glouring men.
"And what? Follow your lead to their graves? I knew something was off about you, but have you lost your mind?" A set of eyes flicked to my face, a warning glare on the mutts face. Chris's eyes on the other hand, they narrowed to slits as he straightened up and puffed out his chest at me.
"I'm the leader here, don't forget that." Piers, reached out his hand in front of me, trying to nudge me behind him. But I stood firm. I wasn't afraid of this idiot and I sure as hell didn't need the mutts help.
"Don't forget that I'm not one of your men, Captain." I snarled out the last word. His mouth curled into a snarl as he jabbed a finger in my face. I felt Piers's hand clasp my arm and yank me behind him. I snapped him an irritated glare, but he kept his eyes fixed on his captain.
"As long as I'm here, you listen to me. Or I arrest you and hand you over to the B.S.A.A to deal with." He glared over Piers' shoulder at me. I was about to lunge at him and beat some sense into him but Piers, shot me a glare, motioning me to be silent.
"Do you even hear yourself?" His body went ridged as Chris stalked up to his face. His voice low and threatening.
"Fall in line, soldier." He spared me a glare before pushing past us and out the door. My eyes were fixed on the door he walked out of when a hard tug on my arm brought me back to a seething Piers.
"What were you thinking?" He hissed. "Stay out of this." I yanked back my arm and fixed him with a glare.
"Stay quiet and watch as he talks down to you? And gets us all killed you mean?" I scoffed. He looked taken aback but quickly shook it off.
"This isn't your problem."
"And you're not my superior." I turned away from him with a huff and made my way through the same door as Chris.
We regrouped. The atmosphere tense with bringing down this hostile and flaring emotion. We found an old elevator shaft with the cables still intact. Chris went first, followed by everyone else, leaving only Piers and I left.
"Ladies first." I bit back a snarky comment when my world tilted. I fought with all my strength not to stumble, but he was too perceptive. "Are you okay?" Concern etched on his face.
A giant shock of electricity bolted up and down my arms. I tried to stifle a grunt, thankful for the mask covering my mouth.
"Just a wave of fatigue, that's all." I shook off the pain and made my way carefully towards the wire and started climbing down. I heard him heave out a long breath before I felt the wire above me shake with his added weight.
My body protested with every movement I made. I suppressed a cry when my hand slipped and dragged on the wire, sending up a tearing feeling through my hand. Every now and then I'd steal a glance up at Piers, everytime I did, I'd catch him carefully peering at me. But as soon as I'd catch him looking he'd cough and look away. I suppressed a snort of amusement as I continued on.
A blood curling scream tore through the night air. I snapped my eyes down below to Reid just as the wire jolted. Something latched onto Reid and dragged him through the window. The wire jerked and flung along with him, propelling us straight into the balcony. The jerky movements added to the piercing pain throbbing through my limbs, I couldn't suppress my cry as my hands dropped the wire and I was airborne. A claw-like hand snatched me out of the air and hugged me close to someone. I latched onto their neck for dear life as we shot through the balcony and tumbled to the ground. My ribs and shoulders flared up with new stabbing pains, but I swallowed them down.
We slammed to the ground and rolled to a stop. I quickly let go of whoever it was that caught me and stifled a grunt of irritation when my eyes landed on weary hazel eyes. I jolted to my feet, ignoring the shooting pain it brought on and added some much-needed distance between myself and the mutt.
"You okay?" He jumped to his feet and checked me over for any injuries. I folded my arms across my chest and pivoted away from him.
"Yes. Thank you." I added in the last part as an afterthought. Just then, Chris's voice barked through the radio.
"Piers here. The woman and I are on the third floor." He gave me a once over again to double check I was okay, I rolled my eyes but remained silent. His shoulders and face tense with uncertainty. Marco's voice yelled through next.
"Marco here, I'm on the second floor. I can't find Jeff!" His voice taut with nerves.
"Calm down Marco, get a hold of yourself." Chris's flat tone answered back.
"I think that thing is here! I can hear him screaming. Hold on Jeff!"
"Marco, stay where you are, we'll come to you. That's an order. Everyone to the second floor!" We took one last glance at each other before taking off down the hall and stairs, running into Chris on the way.
We all made it—accept for Jeff and Reid. As we made our way through the door, we saw Jeff sprawled on the floor in a pool of his blood, not moving.
How many of us is this thing going to kill?!
"Jeff!" Marco wailed. I let my eyes fall closed for a moment, honoring another fallen victim.
"Poor bastard." Chris got on his knee and gave the man a gentle squeeze on his shoulder before continuing.
The next room we made it to was a butcher's shop, with the meats of pigs and other animals strung up from the ceiling. I stuck close to Piers, my gun at the ready. Where ever this son of a bitch is, we'll be ready for it. I heard a sound, followed by Piers's yelling.
"CEILING!" A giant pink mouth with teeth bared down on us. We fired at the mouth, but nothing seemed to faze it, I gritted my teeth. Marco remained frozen on the spot when the giant snake-like thing came at him.
"NO!" Chris dove into the man, knocking both him out of the snakes grasp. They quickly recovered taking up aim. " 'bout time you showed your ugly face." All four of us aimed at the vulnerable mouth causing it to hiss and kick around. It managed to escape past us and down through the vents.
Taking a single breath, we followed it. We ended up in some sort of electrical room. Live wires dangled from the ceiling, sparking here and there.
"Don't let your guard down." Chris jumped into the center of the room, followed by Piers and myself. The impact shot an electric stabbing pain through my feet and legs, inducing me to buckle and slam to the floor.
Piers spun around, his eyes locked onto me laying on the floor, concern etched on his brow. I waved him off and climbed to my feet. I scanned the room searching for this giant B.O.W. I froze when I felt his back connect to mine, his voice vibrating against my back.
"Be careful and stay behind me." I scoffed and flung my head to the side.
"Speak for yourself, mutt." He pouted his lips at me, a warm sensation spreading through my abdomen. I shook the feeling and confused thoughts away when the hissing started up again.
I felt his body go stiff behind me as we scanned for the source. The dragging and hissing grew louder on my left. I flung my body towards the sound, my gun aimed and fixed on the snake.
"Watch out!" Piers barreled into me knocking me off balance. I dug my nails into his shoulders as he tumbled to the floor and out of the snake's way. We rolled to a stop with Piers draped over me.
How many times is this heavy oof going to tackle me to the floor?
I stiffened when Piers groaned in my ear. "Your claws are digging into my flesh!" I cocked my head to the side, our faces, a mere inch apart and gave him an irked look.
"Yeah, well, I'm not going to tell you what part of you is digging into the side of my abdomen." He laid there stunned.
"W-What!?"
"Just don't get too excited now." His jaw went slack. His cheeks turned a dusty shade of pink as understanding dawned on his face. He jumped to his feet, putting space between us. A smile breaking across my mouth at the sight.
My smile dropped when the hissing returned. Piers shot around behind him firing off rounds of bullets at the snake.
"Shit! It's hide toughened up! Bullets aren't doing anything to it."
"Then we have to find something that will!" Chris yelled with frustration.
The snake's gaze rested on me. I shoved Piers out of the way as the snake barreled towards me. I took off around the corner trying to lure it away running through a puddle as I did so. A loud shrieking sound from the snake made me snap my head around. Its back hit the broken wires above as it went through the water, causing an electric shock to pass through it.
The electricity is hurting it!
"Everyone! The electricity hurts it! Drive it through the water. Marco plugin that cord again." I dodged out of the way of the snake as it thrashed after me.
"I'm on it!" As Marco, got to work on that, Piers came flying around the corner. His eyes widened in fear but returned to normal when they rested on me.
"Help me ambush the snake into that puddle of water." He glanced over my shoulder and towards the puddle, nodding in confirmation.
Chris fired the snake to agitating it, making it turn the corner beside Piers and I. We fixed our guns on its head and fired off, it hissed out in anger and darted towards us. Piers grabbed my hand and ran towards the puddle, the snake close on our heels. I ignored all the pain in my feet and forced my legs to move faster, the puddle coming into view. We threw ourselves on the other side of the puddle in time for the snake to hit the open wires and fry itself. It screamed and hissed at the top of its lungs, thrashing around as the current burned through its body, finally subduing it.
"Heh...We did it. We fried that son of a bitch." A sigh of relief sounded out of Marco. I heaved myself into a sitting position, resting my aching feet and limbs. I stifled a gasp when Piers leaned in close to my ear.
"Great idea with the water." I merely shrugged. Granting me one last look, he jumped to his feet and extended his hand towards me which I gingerly took. As soon as I put weight on my feet, a shooting pain shot through them making me buckle. Piers caught me before I could hit the ground, wrapping his arms around my waist and leaning my weight on him. "What's wrong?" I sensed the apprehension just below his calm outer appearance.
I gave him a reassuring tilt of my head and leaned off him, he kept a hand around my waist in case I fell again. I was cautious not to agitate the limbs any more than they already are and spared him a glance. "Just...bruised it. Nothing major, just stood on it weird." The lie rolled off my tongue so easily. I was afraid he'd inquire to take a look at it again. He searched my eyes for any hint that I was lying.
He senses something's up. He's too observant, to not notice I was lying.
I gave him a light squeeze on his arm to reassure him that I was fine. I softened my eyes to emphasize the point. His jaw relaxed and he pulled away, seemingly satisfied with my answer...for now.
It's only a matter of time before he finds out about my condition. But what's the big deal if he finds out anyway? It's not like they can command me to leave. But, what if they kill me? I have the virus inside me already mutating, what more of an excuse do they need to kill me? Maybe its best I keep it to myself unless I'm in dire need of assistance than maybe I'll tell them.
I still need to find a cure for this. The damn thing keeps spreading, it's only a matter of time before it hits my vital organs. What about those files at the facility? Something about Jake's blood seemed important.
I felt for the vile of blood in my belt pocket. It could be my only chance. Chris's voice cut through my thoughts. We both snapped our heads around towards the rusty, red-head, his face in a scowl.
"Let's keep moving!" He snapped at us before continuing through the door. I spared Piers one last glance, he looked as if he wanted to say something but changed his mind and stalked off. Odd.
We kicked down the door to an upper room. It was desolate except for a few crates and piles of junk. Piers's frustration boiled over again, he clicked his tongue and turned to face Chris, his voice strained.
"This is crazy! It isn't safe here. We need to pull out." Chris kept his back to us. I stood eyeballing the two men in silence, flicking my gaze over to Marco, who veered to my right, examining the windows. "Captain!" Marco screamed out in pain and all three sets of eyes were on him.
Sitting on the window sill was Carla! She gave me a once over before turning to Chris and Piers.
"Looking for me, boys? Welcome to China." Just like that she used her grappling gun and jumped out the window before any of us could respond.
"Ada!" Chris hissed out. I gaped at him confused, eyes narrowed in thought.
Ada? Does he not know that that isn't Ada Wong?
Marco groaned in agony, my eyes shifting to the needle sticking out of his neck. Marco's body burst into flames before our eyes. His skin and flesh crystallizing into a cocoon. I stood frozen in place as Piers lifted his gun to his once comrade. I raised my gun mimicking Piers but froze when Chris cried out.
"Wait!" He latched onto Piers's shoulder, an urgent plea in his eyes. There's no choice Chris, that's no longer Marco.
"We've got no choice—we have to kill him!" His eyebrows knitted together, a line forming on his forehead. Chris grabbed Piers' gun, making Piers snap. "He'd do the same for us!" Uncertainty edged on Chris' face. The cocoon started to crack, some buzzing sound forming underneath. All three of us tensed up, ready for a fight, I stood there, gun aimed at it, leaning my weight from side to side.
The cacoon cracked open and out flew a hoard of giant insects and one that was large than the whole swarm.
"Aim for the queen!"
I did as Piers instructed me to do and started firing at the largest one. The bugs scattered and regrouped, at some points taking on the loose form of a human. It stretched out its 'hand' at me, firing off bullets into the horde, but all missed the queen. Piers finally took her out, scattering the smaller ones. The tension in the room was close to breaking point. Piers and I stood there silently looking on at what was left of Marco.
Chris stalked forward and picked up a pack of C4 Marco dropped. Without saying a word, he slammed it onto the locked door and took a step back. The explosion knocked the doors off their hinges and crashed to the floor with a loud clang. He didn't say a word as he stormed out of the room, leaving Piers and me looking at each other with uncertainty.
We all walked in muted silence for a while. I chanced a glance up at Piers, his eyes were trained on the back of his captains head. A scowl etched on his mouth. Chris halted, letting out a frustrated grunt as he slammed his fist into the wall, startling me out of my thoughts. Piers tried calming him down, hesitantly approaching the man.
"Chris, we need to stay calm." I flicked my eyes over to Chris. His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths, his hands squeezed into fists by his side. He jerked his face towards us, his eyes burning with rage.
"After what she's done to us? How many of our men are dead because of that bitch!" Chris' voice roared out. He stormed up to Piers's lowering his eyes to the younger man. Piers held his ground.
"I'm right there with you Captain, but your personal vendetta isn't gonna get us anywhere." A muscle in Chris's jaw twitched, and I quickly shot an arm between the two men. Easing Piers back. I raised my chin towards the red-head, my eyes holding firm with his.
"Shut up." He hissed. Piers tried pushing me behind him out of his captain's way, but I pushed him back, stepping in front of Chris.
"If you haven't been blinded by your anger, you could have prevented some of those deaths." I snarled.
Something snapped in Chris and the next instant my head was slammed against the wall, his hand held me off the floor in a death grip; anger dripping off of him in waves. Piers yelled for him to let me go, but that only angered him more and tightened the grip on my throat. I choked out for a breath of air, my useless legs dangling beneath me as I clawed at the hands around my throat. The edge of my vision began to grow fuzzy and darker. Piers's voice grew more distant with every passing moment.
"What about you, huh? We know nothing about you. We received reports that you were at that facility where Jake and Sherry were being held. Not to mention, you just so happened to be by with those J'avo chasing after those two." I clutched at his hands, trying to pry him off of me, but it was no use.
"Captain, let her go!" Piers clamped down on his arm trying to yank him off of me, but Chris shoved him off. I could feel myself losing consciousness, my sad attempts at prying his hands off of my neck grew weaker, my kicking stopped completely. "Captain, you're going to kill her!" Piers's panicked voice sounded like a whisper now, their faced faded in and out of focus in front of me.
"Good! It'll be a better treatment than what the B.S.A.A. And feds will do to her!" He growled.
The hands around my neck released, and I fell to my knees with a wheezing gasp. I choked and heaved in gasps of fresh air as I tried to regain my consciousness. Piers threw his weight against his captain, knocking him off balance and causing him to release me. When I did regain some composure, I tried to stand, but my deteriorating limbs protested and I slumped back onto the floor.
"What the fuck! Do you even care about the mission anymore?" Piers snapped up straight chest to chest with Chris.
"SHUT UP!"
"I feel sorry for all the men that died believing in you!" I messaged my tender throat, wincing as my hand brushed over the bruised area. I tried to speak out but my voice was too hoarse and weak to utter a word.
Chris grabbed a hold of Piers by the shoulders and flung him against the wall beside me. But Piers wasn't done yet. He grabbed a fistful of Chris's shirt, his teeth bared and eyebrows knitted together.
"What happened to the legendary Chris Redfield, huh?" He taunted on. "It's a good thing Finn's not around to see you this way." Chris froze with his hands on Piers's shoulders. They stared at each other in silence, both too stubborn to yield. After several tense moments, Chris final shoved Piers away, his face stone cold.
"I'm going after Ada." He walked away from a stunned Piers. "HQ this is alpha leader. I need a location on Ada Wong." I leaned my head against the cold wall, my vision spinning as the virus ate away at my insides.
The virus is getting stronger.
A gentle pair of hands picked me up and turned me around. Piers knelt down beside me scanning over my face and neck, his stern scowl softened as he skimmed over my bruised neck.
"Shit. You don't look good, here, let me help you up." His hands were surprisingly gentle as he hoisted me up on my feet, my legs burning from the added weight. I stifled a grunt and waved him off.
"I'm...fine...don't...worry about...me." My throat felt raw as I tried speaking. He didn't budge at first, his hands remaining fixed around my shoulders. "Please...I just want...a minute." With that request, he dropped his hands and stalked off towards Chris, sparing me a single glance over his shoulder as he went. I hated how I still felt his grip on my shoulders, burning my skin. I shook those crazy thoughts out of my head and took a steadying breath to clear my mind.
I stiffened when I felt my phone buzz. I flicked out my phone and skimmed over the text it was from an unknown number...
How does it feel to slowly die? Have you lost your mobility and vision yet?
Do you feel your body slowly breaking apart?
I gritted my teeth together and began hacking the connection. A sly smile spread across my face when my phone dinged with a location.
Got you know, bitch.
I placed my phone back into my pocket and started towards Piers and Chris to tell them I'm leaving. I overheard the end of their conversation as I closed in.
"I'm going with you." Piers's voice broke through. "Someones gotta keep an eye on you...Whether you want them to or not." Chris glanced over his shoulder at his Lieutenant. He didn't answer him, just turned and walked away. At the sound of my approach, Piers cocked his head over his shoulder, immediately his anger subsided as his eyes landed on me. I felt a twinge of something in my chest as I glance up into his hazel eyes.
"I'm splitting from here. I got some important...stuff to take care of." Piers flicked his eyes over to an impatiently awaiting Chris then back to my face. He nudged me farther down the hall so we'd be out of earshot.
"This isn't because of what just happened between Chris and you, is it? Because if it is, I just want to apologize to you now for the way he acted. He's not thinking clearly." The muscles in his face tense. I shook my head.
"No...well, sort of." his eyes widened slightly. "Listen. I have an important thing to take care of, immediately." I made a move to turn, but his hand on my shoulder stopped me.
"Wait! I know last time we met you said we weren't going to see each other again, but," He fidgeted with his gun. "Do you think there's a chance we'll see each other again?" His voice raised with hope. A bitter smile spread on my lips as I looked into his searching eyes, they fell when I shook my head. His head lowered in disappointment—probably upset that he can't arrest me again. I repressed a light snort.
"Piers! Let's move out!" Chris locked his fierce gaze on us as he started making his way down the hall.
"I guess there will be a next time." He cocked up an eyebrow. "You'll have to arrest me one day and drag me to the feds or B.S.A.A." A lopsided smile grew on his lips. He nodded his head.
"That's right. I'll cuff you next time, right now isn't the best of times or places." He flashed me a cocky smile. I snorted and shook my head.
"Before I leave," My smile died on my lips. " you have to know that the woman you're looking for isn't—"
"PIERS!" The mutt cocked his head around and towards a fuming Chris.
"I have to leave, but next time we meet I'll definitely arrest you. Til next time." A chuckle escaped my lips as I leaned back on the open window behind me.
"Sure thing mutt, but before then you might want to work on your scatterbrain." He flashed me an amused smirk. "Til next time." With that, I flipped out of the window and landed on a small building below. The pain in my feet shot up, but I ignored it as Piers peered out of the window for a final wave goodbye.
If my hunch is wrong about Jake's blood being enough to cure me, then this might really be the last time I see him. Oh, well, better to leave it off on an extensive note then a gloomy death sentence.
See you around hotshot.
He disappeared out of the window. I whipped out my phone to follow the coordinates to Carla's location. I have a few questions for her; one being how she knows who I am—or who I possibly am. She seemed pretty positive she knew who I was. And what did she mean by Wesker's little pet?
I wonder if she knew me in my past...before I lost my memories...
I was almost there. My phone beeped in my pocket as I rounded the corner. The location wasn't that far off from where Piers and Chris were located. Which was a blessing because I don't think I could have walked any farther with the condition my feet and limbs are in. The infection clawed its way up and past my elbow, a small, dull ache began in my shoulders and past my hips now.
I'm running out of time. If I don't do anything about this virus soon, I won't be able to reverse it.
I barged through the door to the roof and began scouring everywhere. A flashing light to my left stood out against the dark shadows. I swooped down to retrieve it. It was a cell phone. Turning it on revealed a message on the screen. I kept my eyes peeled for Carla, this could be a trap knowing her.
So nice of you to drop by. Were you expecting Ada? Or perhaps Carla?
Unfortunately, both couldn't make it here tonight. I would have loved staying to chat for
awhile, but I have plans you see, and you're in the way of me accomplishing them.
Simmons.
A beep behind me went off, followed by a click. "FUCK!" I threw myself off to the adjacent building. An ear-splitting explosion ripped through the air as debris and other objects came hurtling all around me, hitting and slamming into the ground. I sat up in time to see the building collapse into its self, ending with a spray of dust and debris.
Simmons set me up...It was never Carla that contacted me. Damn. Carla must have told him some stuff about me, so I'd be to busy with him to follow her.
I Slowly got up and dusted off the dirt and turned my radio back on. If Carla wasn't here, to begin with, then where would she be now? Tuning into the B.S.A.A radio, I listened in on any reports or sightings of Carla.
"HQ to alpha team! We spotted an aircraft carrier of unknown origin at the harbour. Chatter we picked up indicates it may belong to Neo-Umbrella."
"Alpha team! Copy that."
The harbour. That's where she's heading. If I can trap her there I can take her out. But Piers and Chris may give me a hard time or even worse, she might let it slip about my condition to them. I have to take the chance, even if it kills me in the end. Carla can't be allowed to live, shes too dangerous.
I ignored all the pain in my limbs as I took off over the roof, sliding down the emergency stairwell. It's too far for me to get there by foot, I'm going to have to steal a car. I swivelled my head around, landing on a parked black car just a little way off. Perfect. Breaking the window, I disabled the alarm system, then I got to work on hot wiring until finally, the engine roared to life. I slammed it into drive and took off towards the docks.I was nearly at the docks when the radio crackled to life.
"This is alpha team Piers Nivans to HQ. In hot pursuit of Ada Wong, she's heading to the harbour!"
"This is HQ to alpha team, Don't let her get to the harbour!"
"Copy that!" This is where it ends Carla.
I stopped the car, a little way from the docks, a giant carrier was sat there. Stepping out and hiding behind some crates, I sat and waited for Carla. It didn't take long, a red convertible pulled up at the carrier, a woman in a purple dress and red scarf stepped out. Carla. I felt my muscles clench.
J'avo will be guarding the inside, so I need to find a different way in than by the front.
An explosion inside the carrier stopped me in my tracks, I craned my neck around to try and see what happened. A wrecked military jeep laid on its side on fire, not far from it were two bodies slowly getting up.
For B.S.A.A.'s best driver, you'd think he'd be able to—I don't know...not wreck the truck?
The one pleasant thing about his award-winning driving is that the J'avo will focus on them now. I took off to the side of the carrier. Jumping on crates and grabbing a hold of the railing to hoist myself up on the deck. As soon as I stood up, a hand grasped around and grabbed me. I spun them around and managed to plant one kick in when they twisted my arms around digging their nails across my sores. I hissed out in pain and crumpled to my knees. The hands immediately retracted and now a pair of gentle hands were on my back. I flicked my eyes up to whoever it was, my heart stopping for one moment.
"Carla!" No...Something was off about her. "Ada?" My jaw slacked as the woman bear hugged me.
"Hey, sweetheart. It's been ages. How you been?" I dropped my fist to my side. Ada! Ada is here? I shook my head, but the words wouldn't come out. "Let me take a look at you." She studied me head to toe. Her lips pursed.
"Ada, what are you doing here? There's this bitch, Carla—"
"What happened?" Her eyes shifted to my face, examining every inch. "What's wrong with your eyes—they're dull and clouded. And your skin! You're as white as a ghost!" She clamped her hands on my shoulders making me wince. She stiffened. Her eyes trailed over my arms, scanning for any sign of injury until she trailed to my limp hands. Carefully, she removed the glove, a small gasp escaped her lips as a hand flew up to her mouth.
"W-what—" She recoiled slightly. Her eyes strained as she searched my own.
"I was shot with the c-virus by Carla..." I rolled my sleeve back down and put my glove back on. "It doesn't hurt that much anymore—"
"YEAH! Because your nerves are dead! Look at it!" She jabbed a finger towards my hand.
She pulled up the sleeve of my suit as far as the elbow. I followed her eyes. My hand was now completely purple, except for the fingers—they started to take on a shade of black. Sores and open wounds covered the skin. A smell of death started to come from the infected limbs. This wasn't the best time to chit-chat.
"Ada—"
"What are we going to do? W-we have to find you a cure or something!" She paced around in front of me, deep in one of her usual rants.
"Ada, will you just listen? I stumbled to my feet trying to get the older woman's attention.
"You could die! What are you doing here? We need to get you medical attention." She made a move towards my wrist, but I jerked it away.
"I've already accepted that."
"What?!" She snapped out of her little daze and rested a seething gaze on me. "How can you just give up?" She flung her arms up.
"There's no cure and I'm already out of time, the least I can do is take out that bitch before I die." Ada shook her head. Her eyes cast to the floor.
"I don't believe it...You're just giving up." I clicked my tongue.
"I'm accepting my fate." I tried to move past her, but she shot out a hand, grabbing my wrist.
"That's a load of bull, and you know it." She hissed. Her eyes locked onto my own. Waves of anger rolled off her making me nauseous...or was that just the virus? "This is because of your memories, isn't it? I know not knowing who you are can be hard on a person. But completely ignoring yourself and others willing to care for you won't make you feel better."
"That has nothing to do with this!" Why is she getting so worked up about this? Sure I've known her for the past six, seven years. She was the first person I encountered after I had my accident, but she wasn't my mother.
"You always do this; you push people away when they try getting close to you or help you..." I had better things to do than stand around wasting time. I yanked my arm back to my side but Ada immediately grabbed my shoulders before I could turn away.
"I don't have time for this. Move!" I shoved her off of me, my chest heaved from trying to suppress my rage. I jabbed a finger in her face. "Stop pretending you know everything about me. You might have helped me out for the past six years, but a majority of that time I was on my own. I grew up alongside backstabbers, killers, and liers...of course, I don't trust people." I started for the door. Ada's soothing voice carried over, but I didn't stop to listen.
"You don't need to go looking in the past for people you forgot when you have people here and now that love you for the way you are." Her words stung because she was right, but I wasn't going to tell her that. I dragged open the door and continued my search for Carla.
A swish of purple swept by the hall ahead of me. I drew my lips back in a snarl when Carla scanned me over with a smirk before taking off. I bolted after her as fast as my infected legs could carry me. I lost my balance a few times and had to use the walls to assist me, but I kept at it. Rounding the corner where I saw her but no one was there. My eyes flicked to the elevator, that's the only place she could have gone. I jumped inside and pressed the button.
My breathing started to labor as I waited in the elevator. My world shifted again as my vision began to blur. I leaned myself against the wall as a coughing fit ripped through me. I could feel hot blood dripping down my chin, but I ignored it once the elevator doors dinged open. I commanded my body to move as soon as I laid eyes on Carla, that smirk still plastered on he fake face.
"Carla." I snarled. I jumped off the wall and stormed over to the woman, but my vision shifted again and I collapsed to the ground. My feet were unable to haul me any farther.
"I'm impressed Catherine, I didn't think you'd survive this long. Bravo." The edges of her face began to grow fuzzy as she knelt down beside me and snaked one of her fingers on my chin, jerking my head up to her eyes. "But it looks like you've run out of time."
"H...How do you know who I am?" Blood trickled from my lips but I focused on trying to stay awake, but it was a battle I was loosing quickly. My eyes flicked until I couldn't hold them open any longer and I blacked out.
