Chapter 11
Kagura stepped across to the two scientists who both look worried and out of place. She smiled as she joined them, the older man smiling weakly.
"Is this a rescue mission?" he asked in a gravely voice.
"It's meant to be" replied Kagura. "They've kept me out of harms way so far."
"I'm just glad someone found us down here" said the man.
"I don't think they'll be able to find anyone else" said the twenty year old girl, speaking up for the first time. "I think they're all dead." She fell silent for a moment. "I'd like to think that some may be alive, but I just don't know how."
"There may be some hope" said Kagura.
"Not in this place" replied the girl. "Not in this forsaken place."
"I'm Kagura by the way" said Kagura, deciding she couldn't simply think of the scientists as old man and glasses girl. "Who are you?"
"You don't recognize us?" asked the girl.
"Uh…no?" said Kagura.
"I am Dr Ishihara" said the man. "It is a pleasure to meet you again Miss Kagura" said the man kindly.
"My name is Koyomi Mizuhara" said the girl, "But most people just call me Yomi. Feel free to call me that too."
"Ok Yomi, nice to meet you" said Kagura. "Oh and this is Kimura" said the girl as the man joined them.
"I know him" said Ishihara. "It's good to see you made it through this madness Officer Kimura. Very good to see you."
"Good to see you too Ishi" said Kimura, "But I never took you to be a scientist."
Ishihara shrugged. "I was told to keep a low profile. I kept a low profile and didn't tell anyone about my job."
"We can save the happy reunions for later" called out Hirano. "Right now we have a mission to do and we are moving out."
"What's his problem?" muttered Kagura.
"Just stay away from him" said Yomi, "He can be a pretty mean hearted bastard."
---
The recently strengthened group had fallen into silence as they moved through the laboratory area. Half an hour past with barely a word said, none of the civilians feeling like talking around Hirano. They finally reached the end of the laboratory section, stepping though into a narrow hallway.
The door slowly swung shut. Along the corridor, behind the reinforced glass panels the bodies began to twitch. A pale man slowly stood up and pressed against the glass, teeth ripping from the gums as he tried awkwardly to bite the glass. His dead gums offered little resistance merely smearing blood across the glass. Behind him another stirred.
---
"What the hell is this place?" asked Kubo as the group walked through a vast room, filled with odd looking metal containers. Kagura found the place odd, and thought parts of the floor had a slightly fleshy look to them.
"Hey pointdexter, you work here, what is this place?" asked Yukari.
"I don't know I've never seen this place before" replied Ishihara. "I never knew this was here."
"I was told once this was a kitchen area" said Yomi.
"Doesn't look like much of a kitchen to me" said Yukari. "And if it is, I wouldn't want any meat from here."
"Seems like Umbrella has been keeping a few secrets" suggested Kubo. Hirano nodded in agreement.
"We all have a few dirty little secrets" said Hirano. "Especially Tanizaki, or so I hear."
"Hey!" called out Yukari.
Hirano paused, the others coming to a stop. Kubo had decided to let Hirano, his superior, take charge. The man had asked Kubo if he wanted to continue, but Kubo decided it would be better for Hirano to lead. That way he wouldn't get blamed for anything that went wrong.
"Ok I want to know if there's anything out here" said the former Bravo Team leader. "Obata, Kubo and Minamo you're with me. Let's split up and see what this area has to offer."
"What about me?" asked Yukari.
"Stay with the others and hold the fort."
Yukari rolled her eyes as the other soldiers disappeared into the poorly lit darkness of the large room. Beside her Yomi and Ishihara glanced around nervously as Kimura gripped the borrowed pistol tightly.
"Think we'll come across anything in here?" he asked.
"I really hope not."
Kagura ignored the speaking, slowly walking across to one of the containers. She looked inside. Something odd, a deep reddish purple colour lay within. Pipes led into it, almost empty. She looked through the thin pane of glass at lifeless amber eyes. Lifeless eyes that she was certain would have been used to hunt…
"Kagura" said Kimura placing his hand on her shoulder. "Stay close by ok kid."
Kagura nodded. "Sorry about that. Just curiosity" she replied.
"Curiosity killed the cat" muttered Ishihara looking up towards the ceiling concealed in the darkness. A faint growl caused him to look back down and stare into the abyss. He glanced across at Yomi.
"Something's out there" whispered the girl. He nodded his head.
"Ok everyone, lets get back together" said Yukari. "Kimura, you happy with that gun?"
"As happy as I will be" replied Kimura.
Minamo stood knowing Obata was just across from her. The others, protected only by Yukari and the cop were on their own. She knew Yukari could take care of many problems, but what if they got overwhelmed. She gripped hold of her torch tightly, the light shining across the various containers, revealing little in the darkness. She paused as the thin circle of light revealed a woman in a lab coat, huddled over.
"Excuse me miss? Everything is ok, I am part of a rescue team" said Minamo. She jumped back in surprise as the other turned and looked at her with a bloodstained mouth.
"Hey Obata" called out Minamo. The man rushed across to her and spotted the woman.
"Is she crazed?" asked Obata.
"I don't know, she hasn't said a word yet" replied Minamo.
The lab coat wearing woman continued forwards, snapping her mouth open and shut as she growled at them. Minamo held up her hand.
"Just stay there or I'll have to use force."
They waited before Minamo finally sighed and shot her in the leg with a pistol, the rifle left to hang on its sling. The woman glanced down and continued limping forwards. Minamo shot again, blowing out the back of the kneecap. It stopped, before continuing to move forwards, knee cracking as bone rubbed against jagged bone.
"Minamo I'm not the only one getting a bit concerned here right?" asked Obata.
"Definitely not. Stay back or I will put you down!" Minamo waited and then fired once into the woman's chest. She paused looked down at it and growled. "I just shot her in the heart" whispered Minamo to Obata.
A short distance away Kubo had joined Hirano and had spotted a group of workers eating a dead body. Slowly they were backing away, trying to return to the group they had left behind.
"We're surrounded" whispered Hirano.
"I had noticed."
---
"You hear that?" asked Kagura.
"Yeah. Something's out there" said Kimura, "And it isn't one of the soldiers."
"Come on just calm down" said Yukari, "There's nothing to be worried about it's all under- holy crap what the hell is that!" she called out.
"Oh my" said Ishihara in a horrified tone.
Kagura followed the soldier and scientists stare, finding herself looking at what must have once been a worker in this place. He walked in the darkness, his torso lit up by Yukari's torch. Slowly the light moved up revealing his face. Well what remained of it. The bottom jaw was missing completely, blood running down the neck where the lower jaw had been ripped away. The upper jaw still had teeth in place, pieces of ragged flesh hanging from between them. Its tongue hung loosely, resting against the neck. It tried to growl at them, instead releasing a sound like passing wind. It would never be able to do tongue twisters again.
It leapt towards Yukari, slobbering spit and blood across her arm as it tried an odd biting movement. Yukari looked down at it.
"Sorry, but you need a full jaw set to bite me" said Yukari. She held up the shotgun and it cocked its head. It roared as Yukari fired, the head exploding in a mass of red, leaving a stub of a neck, blood slowly tricking down as it fell to the floor. With the lack of a heartbeat blood wasn't forced out from the vast wound. Yukari stood and turned to the others.
"Men huh?"
"Uh, another one Miss Tanizaki!" said Yomi pointing behind the soldier.
As it crept up behind her Yukari spun around and fired the shotgun again. The stomach exploded splattering intestines and partially digested food across the floor as the remains hung out.
"Mmm sandwiches" said Yukari noticing the look of disgust on Yomi's face. "I love them."
Yomi turned away, a hand to her mouth as Yukari smacked the head off of the man with a clean strike from the butt of the shotgun. With a final, unneeded action she smashed down on the head with one of her booted feet, the skull cracking and head becoming deformed. She smeared the blood from her boot across the floor cleaning it. She turned back to the others who had looks of pure shock. Safe to say, had it been possible, 'sweat drops' may have occurred.
"What?" asked Yukari.
The others remained silent.
"What?!"
Authors Note: The character of Doctor Ishihara was the vet that treated Mayaa in Azumanga Daioh