Chapter Ten:

Piano Lessons

Wow, chapter ten already ... I can hardly believe it. This is now officially my longest story. And it's not nearly over yet! Billy and Rebecca have a lot more trial to face before they can call themselves free. Once again, thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I appreciate it SO much! I know you all are impatient for Billy to shed his cuffs and start getting a piece of the action, but be patient. I have a special plan for that moment ... I promise, it'll be worth the wait. As per requests, I'm going to start trying to put a bit more of Billy's perspective into the story. Even so, it's not to hard to figure out what he's thinking most of the time, right? ;) Anyway, here goes!

"That key you found down in the lizard maze … what does it open?"

"Huh?" Rebecca looked up. She had been hunched over the typewriter, meticulously writing another report. Her last one had been very brief, stating only that they had crashed the train, and that she had captured ex-Marine Lieutenant Billy Coen. However, so much had changed since then …

Rebecca bit her lip nervously. The undeniable fact was that Billy had saved her life so many times that she owed it to him to acknowledge that fact somehow. In the end, she just added a postscript to the report, which detailed all the answers to the puzzles within the mansion.

It should be noted, she typed, that Billy Coen has acted in a very honorable and selfless manner, and has saved my life on multiple occasions. Without him, I wouldn't even be writing this report.

"Well?" the subject of her report prompted. "What about the key?"

"The key?" She blinked at him, forcing her tired mind to focus. "Oh right, the key. It must open something, maybe a door we haven't been through yet. Let's take a look at the map."

"What about the music room?" Billy suggested. "It's through a door in the big room where we fought the centipede, and I know that we haven't looked around there much."

"Back upstairs, then," Rebecca sighed. Her legs ached as she stood up, and she swayed slightly. Billy moved closer in case he had to support her.

"You look tired," he said. "We should rest for a while. I can keep watch, if you want to take a nap."

She shook her head. "I'm so wired I don't think I could sleep. Plus, you might peek at me while I'm unconscious or something."

Billy's face was a portrait of innocent shock. "Me?" he asked. "I'm hurt that you don't trust me more. I would never do that."

Rebecca smiled deviously; she had finally hit on a way to get him back for his surprise kiss in the armory. "So you admit that you don't find me attractive?"

Billy looked taken aback. "I didn't say that. I'm just too much of a gentlemen to look at a lady without her permission."

Rebecca opened her mouth and stopped in horror, realizing that she had been about to say, what if you had my permission? She decided to break off the conversation before it got too weird. She pushed past him and headed up the stairs to the second floor.

"Come on, let's check the music room."

Over the past five hours, Billy had grown accustomed to looking at Rebecca's back. Not that he minded - hell, if he was in the lead, he wouldn't be able to see anything. Now, he was more grateful than usual as he studied her, trying to figure out from her posture if he had said something wrong.

He had thought that the girl was easy to read, but right now, she was confusing him greatly. She would say or do something that seemed downright flirtatious, and then moments later, become very cold and removed. It was almost, Billy thought, like she was punishing herself for wanting to be friends with him.

I don't blame you, little girl, Billy thought ruefully. I probably would have been doing you a kindness to let you be and not talk so damn much. That's always been the source of my problems in life … I just don't know when to keep my mouth shut.

Still, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret and worry as he felt the easy comradery that had developed between them cracking under the strain of something that he didn't understand.

The door of the music room was locked, but the blue-tagged key fixed that. Inside, the room was fairly bare, with a few desks and a large piano that dominated most of one corner. Rebecca sat down on the bench and glanced at the worn keys, rubbing her fingers over them.

"Do you play?" Billy asked.

She nodded, then reconsidered and shook her head. "Um, a little bit. My mom used to play beautifully, and we always had a piano in our house when I was growing up. She would let me tinker around on it. I can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

Billy smiled.

"Anyway," Rebecca continued, gesturing at the complicated piece that had been left up on the piano's music shelf, "this might be a little to hard for me. I'll try it, though."

Billy's smile only got wider as she timidly put her hands on the keys, playing in a halting manner while squinting at the tiny notes. By the time she gave up and smacked her hands on the keys in frustration, his grin went from one ear to the other.

"Okay," he said, bending over to shoulder to examine the music sheet. "I can't bear to watch you struggle any longer, sweetheart. The first chord is C major with your right hand, and a low G minor with your left. No, the pinky goes on that key. There you go."

Tentatively, half-expecting to hear some horrible cacophony from the piano, Rebecca positioned her fingers as he'd told her and pressed down. A beautiful melody filled the room, echoing hauntingly around the walls.

"That's good," said Billy. "Now move your hand down a little, and hit those four notes in a row as you're going up."

Slowly, under his careful instruction, she worked her way through the difficult piece. She was concentrating so hard that she didn't even notice how Billy's voice became softer, and the way he drew as close as he could without compromising his balance.

As the last note rang through the air, and Rebecca released the keys and sat back in triumph, a section of the wooden panel slid up into the wall, revealing a little alcove. Jumping up from her seat, Rebecca ran over to investigate. Inside, embedded on the back wall, was another tablet, this time reading OBEDIENCE. She dug her fingernails under one corner of the tablet and carefully levered it out.

Seconds later, her heart jumped into her throat as she heard the unmistakable sound of stone sliding against wood. Turning around, she saw that the panel was closing again, trying to trap her inside the little alcove.

Before she could make a move, however, Billy was there. Bracing his shoulder under the panel to halt its progress, he gritted his teeth.

"Go!" he grunted.

Rebecca needed no further urging. Gripping the tablet tightly, she ducked under the door and scampered into the middle of the room. As soon as she was clear, Billy threw himself backwards, and the door slammed shut.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Rebecca said quietly. "I could have made it out by myself."

Billy winked at her. "I know, sweetheart. But a real gentleman always holds the door for a lady."

She waved the tablet at him before tucking it into her med kit. "Scoundrel. I guess I should thank you, though."

"Think nothing of it," he replied. "Now, if I remember correctly, there's a door in the main hall that's been unlocked at well. Maybe we should give that one a try. I have a feeling that we're almost clear of this place."

"I sure hope so," Rebecca replied, stifling a shudder as she thought of all they had been through since they crashed the train. I'm fine just as long as we don't run into any more of those awful earwigs …

The door in the main hall was made of heavy steel; Rebecca and Billy had to work in unison to push it open. At first Rebecca felt elated to realize that they were standing outside. Then her fragile hopes plummeted when she saw that the only way to escape was by leaping down a sheer drop into the darkness below.

A high-pitched caw hailed the arrival of more crow zombies, but they kept their distance after Rebecca fired a few warning shots in the air. They milled about, shrieking their heads off and glaring at the two intruders with their beady red eyes.

Rebecca's attention was drawn away from the crows by Billy, who was acting strangely. He was standing in a corner of the courtyard, bouncing up and down with his eyes fixed on something high up.

"What's the matter?" she called.

"I think I see something on top of that broken-off pillar over there," he said. "I wouldn't be able to reach it, though, even if I wasn't wearing handcuffs. Maybe if you were to stand on my shoulders …"

"It's worth a try," Rebecca said. Billy knelt down on one knee, and she climbed up until she was perched with one foot on either of his shoulders. She gripped her handgun with one hand - in case the crows got rowdy - and braced herself against the pillar with the other as Billy slowly raised himself up to standing.

Rebecca stretched her left hand above her head. She could almost reach the top of the pillar … one more inch. She stood on her tiptoes and felt her fingertips brush against something that shifted. She swept her hand sideways to knock the object off onto the group.

At that moment, one of the braver crows decided to take a dive. Rebecca flinched, and Billy staggered, trying to keep his balance. He managed to stay upright by leaning his shoulder against the pillar, but Rebecca couldn't keep her footing and slid down until she was sitting astride his broad shoulders, her legs clamped around his head. Raising her pistol, she fired two rounds and shot the crow out of the air.

"Don't move!" Billy said suddenly. She froze, looking around to see what the danger was, but the courtyard looked clear. The crows had fled back to their nests upon the death of their comrade, and Rebecca couldn't see any new menace that she should be worried about.

"What's wrong?" she asked Billy.

He turned his head slightly to grin at her, his cheek scraping against the inside of her leg. Rebecca suddenly found herself very glad that she wasn't the sort of girl that liked wearing short skirts.

"I'm kind of liking this position," Billy said. "Aren't you?"

She smacked him on top of the head as hard as she could with her free hand. "Let me down this instant, Billy Coen! You … you pervert!"

"Easy, sweetheart," he said, the infuriating grin still plastered on his face as he knelt carefully back down again. She leapt off of his shoulders as if he was made of flaming coals and hurried to investigate the object that she'd knocked from the top of the pillar.

"I knew he'd find some way to take advantage of me," she muttered, more embarrassed than angry. In the background, Billy just laughed.

Bending over, the S.T.A.R.S. medic picked up the object. It was the DISCIPLINE tablet. She showed it to Billy, who raised his eyebrows.

"What do they do with this … beat people over the head with it when they don't listen?"

Rebecca couldn't hold back a smile. She decided to temporarily forgive him for his affront. "Well, we have three tablets now. I guess we should try to find out where they go."

"Up there, maybe?" the convict suggested, pointing at something behind her back. Rebecca turned around and gasped in surprise. A set of stairs on the north end of the courtyard led up to a huge dome that was not accessible from the rest of the mansion.

"Let's go check it out," she said, readying her pistol and reloading her shotgun just in case of trouble. She trotted up the stairs and pushed open the steel door to the dome.

It was an odd structure, apparently built for observing the stars. A metal walkway ran around the edge, with steps leading down to a platform, upon which rested a huge telescope trained at an opening in the top of the dome. On the other side was a door, which refused to open, even when Billy exerted all his strength.

"Maybe something down here will help," Rebecca suggested, heading down to the center platform. She couldn't resist taking a peek through the telescope's lens. "Wow! I can see the moon really clearly."

"There are three holes here," Billy said, examining the control panel for the telescope. "They look like they're about the right size for those tablets."

"Uh huh," Rebecca agreed, pulling them out. "What was the company motto again? Oh yeah … 'discipline breeds obedience, obedience breeds unity, unity breeds power … power is life'." As she spoke, she placed the tablets into the slots in the proper order. The door across from them creaked open.

Billy gave her a strange look. "Where did you get that?"

She blushed. "It was written on a poster in the computer room, and again at the bottom of Dr. Marcus' portraits. It seems to be important to these people." She glanced at the now open door that she hoped would lead to their freedom from this nightmarish place. In a sudden burst of elation, she grabbed Billy's arm and started dragging him towards the exit.

"Come on!" she exclaimed. "Let's go!"

"Whoa, slow down, genius," he laughed. "Let's not go rushing headfirst into the unknown. We don't know what might be waiting for us outside that door."

"If it's anything like the other things we've encountered, it'll be the most god-awful creature imaginable," Rebecca said.

"If it's anything like the others, we'll kick its ass," Billy replied. "Face it, sweetheart. When there's something you and I want to accomplish, neither God nor the devil can stand in our way."

Rebecca paused for a second and gave him a thumbs up. Then, keeping a tight hold on her pistol, she stepped through the open doorway with Billy close behind.

/AN/ By the way, just as a note ... Billy's comment about what to do with the discipline tablet comes from a joke I had with my husband while playing through this part. When I saw that he'd found a discipline tablet, I said that maybe they used it to discipline their employees when they didn't listen ... just in case anyone wanted to know :D