Chapter Eleven: Break the Shackles That Bind
Umbrella Corporation Facility
Los Angeles
0830hrs_
Pain. Such searing pain.
Spence ignored the sensation as he struggled to bring more of himself to the surface. For weeks he had fought to break free from the device that straddled his chest, pumping the mysterious red liquid through his veins. Most of the time he only managed to gain control of an eyebrow before sinking back into placidness.
For the past few days however, Spence was able to twitch a finger, then his hand. When he had brought the girl, K Mart, to Dryden, he was even able to swing his arm. The surprise of it caused him to sock her in the face, which he quickly explained away by saying that a guard had punched her. Thankfully, Dryden had believed him.
Dryden.
Spence didn't know what to make of the boy who looked similar to him, yet whose eyes unnerved him. He knew the boy was powerful, even possessing abilities he knew were beyond the reach of most humans. He had seen Dryden kill survivors without batting an eye, crush a man's head without lifting a finger, and announcing the deaths of three humans who had attempted to escape without remorse.
While he was thinking about Dryden, Spence continued his struggle with the influence of the device. He found that the harder he tried to throw off the influence of the liquid, the more pain he felt. But he knew that the pain he was feeling now would pale in comparison to the pain he would feel if he saw Alice dead.
He still loved her; that much was true. Although their marriage was a fake, their feelings for each other weren't.
The thought of Alice strengthened his resolve, and ignoring the burning sensations that had taken over his body, he reached up and wrenched the device from his chest.
Spence could imagine the breaking of the shackles that had bound him since he had been resurrected. Part of him remembered seeing Dryden in the 'resurrection chamber', where he and a few select Umbrella employees had been brought back to life. How, he never bothered to understand. What mattered was that he was alive - alive and ready to kick some ass.
Spence shook his head, feeling more free than he had in years. The pain in his body had vanished completely; once the device was off of his body, the liquid could no longer affect him. In a fury, he threw the device to the ground and stomped on it, crushing it completely. The liquid quickly evaporated, leaving reddish pink smoke.
He knew the absence of the device would raise questions, so he quickly covered his bare chest with a black overcoat and strode out of the room. Just as he turned the corner, he bumped into Jill Valentine, one of the remaining STARS operatives. He knew he would need her help, and urged on by a spur-of-the-moment decision, he ordered her into an empty cell.
Jill obeyed, but her eyes were studying him carefully. Spence knew he had precious seconds before she realized he wasn't acting like his 'robotic' self, so he slammed her against the cell wall and wrenched the device from her chest. Jill's eyes bulged and she slumped to the floor.
Spence destroyed the device as well, and then checked the hallway to see if anyone had heard. When he turned around, he saw Jill getting unsteadily to her feet.
"Jill?"
Jill trained her gaze on him. "Who – what – how did you-?"
"I was able to break free," he said. "I heard Wesker and Dryden are going to kill-"
"Alice," Jill finished. "Yes, I know. We have to save her."
"You know her too?"
Jill nodded. "We were in Raccoon City together. Shortly before – before the global outbreak."
"Will you help me then?" Spence asked. "Dryden just left for New York. We should try and beat him there."
"The vehicles are guarded, but I think we can make it past them," Jill said.
Spence nodded, and indicated that she should cover her chest to avoid any questions about the missing device. Jill wiped the tiny spots of blood on her chest where the device once rested and zipped up her leather suit even more.
Spence and Jill walked down the hallway, careful to act normal. They had just passed one of the lounges when they caught the names Dryden, Alice, and Spence. Spence froze, and ignoring Jill's hissed warnings, inched towards the door.
"- can't believe how Wesker was able to convince the boy that his parents were dead," one of the speakers said. Spence recognized his voice; it was Simon Beck, one of the scientists Wesker and Dryden had resurrected.
"Why? Are they still alive, Sir?" another man asked.
"Yes they are. In fact, one of them is here," Beck replied, clearly enjoying the conversation. "Spence Parks."
Spence couldn't believe his ears. If Dryden was his son, then that only meant that Alice was Dryden's mother. Spence quickly turned and joined Jill, who had also heard the exchange.
"We have to get to them," Spence whispered as they reached the vehicle bay. "To my – to my family."
The very idea that he had a son with Alice seemed foreign, yet he welcomed it. It made him even more determined to get to them.
He had lost Alice once, and he'd be damned if he lost her and his son again.
Sunrise Towers
New York
1215hrs_
"So, what's your decision, Leon Kennedy?" Dryden asked, smiling at the older man. "Shall you surrender or will this girl pay for your indecision?"
Leon looked at the teenage girl in Dryden's grasp. He had to admire her bravery; even though she was seconds away from death, she did not scream, cry, or plead for her life. Instead, she had her eyes fixed on Alice, who seemed to be swayed by Dryden's 'bargaining chip'.
"I'm waiting," Dryden said, impatience finally breaking through his calm demeanor. "Unlike you, I have other things to do."
After a few heartbeats, Leon lowered his knife. He knew how futile it seemed when he had unsheathed his knife – Dryden could throw him out of the window if he wanted to – but he didn't like feeling helpless. "I surrender. Just don't hurt the girl."
Dryden relaxed, finally reverting back to his friendly and diplomatic behavior. "Well, that wasn't so hard, was it?" He pushed K Mart towards Alice, who caught her. "Now there's the matter of Project Alice. I cannot let you go, not when you're so close."
Alice glared at Dryden. "Your father wants my DNA. Well he won't have it."
Dryden laughed coldly. "Oh yes he can. If you wanted to preserve your DNA and therefore prevent my father from becoming a Homo Superioris, then you should have stayed away from this ragtag survivor group. You should have gone into hiding. Fortunately for me, you care too much about others."
Alice knew he was right. Why did she come here in the first place? She knew – subconsciously – that Umbrella could have heard of the broadcasts Taylor had been making, and would have determined that this was the next place she would have gone to. She should have gone somewhere else, anywhere else, but it was too late for regret.
Alice saw Dryden steeling himself for an attack, but a few seconds later gunfire blasted through the room, nearly hitting Dryden on the chest. Leon pulled Alice and K Mart to the floor, shielding them with his body. Alice couldn't see; bullets were ripping the entire suite apart, and debris was being blown off the walls.
She could heard Dryden's screams of fury, and then heard the whoosh of a massive telekinetic wave. The gunners screamed and scrambled for safety, and Alice felt herself being pulled to her feet. Her grip on K Mart's hand tightened, and together they stumbled out of the suite, avoiding the living room and dining room areas.
The second they stumbled onto the hallway, someone grabbed Alice and engulfed her in a massive hug. Alice struggled to free herself, and she felt herself being led away from the battle. Finally she wrenched herself free from the person's grasp, looked up, and gasped.
"Spence?"
Curse them all, Dryden swore, releasing another psionic wave. He should have known better. Now Project Alice had escaped his grasp – again – and he was being shot down in a hail of bullets. None of the shells hit him, of course, but still, the very thought of him being caught unawares was infuriating.
I should have grabbed her at once, he scolded himself. But there was little he could do now; he could hear more footsteps pounding outside the door, and despite the number of waves he sent, the gunfire continued. Dryden could feel himself growing considerably weaker – every time he used his ability a good chunk of his energy was depleted, a fact that he had decided to conceal from his father.
Dryden hated to kill the survivors, having received strict orders from his father not to do so, but he felt that 'self-defense' counted as a good excuse. Dryden pulled on the last of his remaining strength and lashed out using his psionic abilities; he aimed his power directly at the brains of several of the survivors. The last things Dryden heard before blacking out were the screams of shock, anguish, and then fear, coupled with the sickening wet pop of brains exploding.