Chapter 12

So, here is chapter 12! I have some good ideas in my head and this story is going really good! But I must say, it is far from over xD

Shortly after being handcuffed to the chair in the B.S.A.A. tent outside the mall, outside was chaos. News reporters, riots of bio-terrorism protesters and anti-umbrella activists. The gunfire had ceased though, which was good.

I sighed, bored out of my mind just sitting here. I wondered where the others were.

Then I heard footsteps…

Leon's POV

Leon was sent to the mall to investigate what had happened there along with the B.S.A.A. well, not really he just wanted to see what was going on, him being on vacation and all. He saw the B.S.A.A. cars and all the soldiers, people screaming or crying.

Most of it seemed to be under control for now. He looked around for Claire or Chris, or, well anyone else to get any information on what was going on here. He saw some tents set up already.

They really weren't marked. Except some with the biohazard symbol on them, probably to mark infected. Those were heavily guarded. But if they were infected they should be more than just guarded tents shouldn't they?

Leon took out his gun because a slight gut-feeling that there was going to be trouble here. Or a stray zombie from the mall.

There were two guards at the tent, B.S.A.A. of course, armed men with large guns.

He crept around back behind it. He wondered what was going on here. He looked around for any of the others. He saw some people exiting some tents set up, one looked to be a young girl. Black hair, middle school, possibly a freshman, he couldn't tell. He was never good at telling age, like most men, it was a skill none of them had.

He quickly and quietly made his way over to her. "Hey," He said. Not a casual 'hey', but with urgency.

The girl jumped and turned around. She pointed to herself, "Me?"

Leon nodded and motioned her over, "Yes, you. I need to ask you something." He said as the girl cautiously walked over to him. Leon glanced behind him, his hair falling over one eye with the motion. He looked at the girl. "Do you know what's going on here?" He asked.

The girl shrugged. "Chelsea said something about zombies inside the mall. And the B.S.A.A. people are here to help." She said.

Leon's eyes widened slightly, hearing the name. Also at the fact that she mentioned zombies. "Looks like the B.S.A.A. have it under control for now." He said and paused. "Chelsea?"

"Yeah, my friend. They took her away to talk after she tried to run away from them." She said.

Leon could tell she wondered where her friend was. Took her away? She ran away? "What's your name?" He asked.

"Paulene."

Leon nodded, holding out his hand. "Leon Kennedy. Now, I think I know your friend." He said.

Paulene shook his hand once realizing that, that was what he wanted her to do. "You do?" She asked. Then tried to remember the name. "Oh! Mr. awesome hair guy!" She said with a grin of sudden recognition.

Leon looked at her somewhat confused. Mr. Awesome hair guy? The look on Paulene's face showed she was slightly embarrassed for the comment.

He pushed the thought aside. "Anyways…yes. I do." He continued. "Do you know who took her? And where they took her?" He had a bad gut-feeling about this whole mess.

Paulene shrugged. "It was in that direction I think." She pointed. It was in the direction of the biohazard tents that he'd first seen. He nodded. First he was about to just leave her, but, that wouldn't be right. "Come on." He said and started to walk in that direction, expecting her to follow.

Paulene followed him, looking around at what was going on.

"What did these people look like?" He asked.

"Like the other people here. They all had big guns too. Oh! But there was this one guy," She said to Leon as she followed.

"Who…?" Leon continued for her.

"He wanted to talk to her, and said that he was supposed to take care of the infected stuff here." She told Leon, matching his face to follow.

"Did he have a name?"

"I think it was Vincent." Paulene said. "His last name was….mat...Matthews!"

Leon nodded. "Did you see a man, extremely bulky, spiky brown hair, here also? And a girl with red hair?" He asked. He decided to cut out the 'really pretty' part which he added in his head to Claire's description.

Paulene nodded. "Mr. Grumpy Guy!"

Leon was confused again. "His name is Chris…"
"Oh, yeah I know that. Me and Chelsea made nicknames, mostly me, but for the people in the video games." She said.

Leon paused and glanced at her. "And I am 'Mr. Awesome Hair Guy'?"

She nodded shyly. "She said you had awesome hair."

Leon couldn't help but laugh lightly at that. He shook his head slightly as he walked, stealthily past some B.S.A.A. soldiers.

The two made it to more tents. "Where now?" He asked Paulene.

She looked down at the floor. "I don't know, they took me to a different tent." She admitted.

Leon sighed. "Alright." He had to think now. Where would they have taken her?

He then remembered something. She was infected! They must've put her in a biohazard warning tent…but how did they find out? He remembered a discussion where Claire offered to help buy Chelsea contacts, just to mask the red color in her eyes so she didn't have to wear sunglasses like Wesker did.

He took out his gun and looked around at the tents. He turned to Paulene. Who, clearly saw the gun. "It's alright. I'm a government agent." He reassured her.

She nodded.

Leon looked around and started to walk over to one of the biohazard tents. No luck. All that was inside was…

"Oh gross!" Paulene complained when she saw what was inside one of the tents.

A few zombie bodies piled on top of each other for further examination. Full of bullet holes.

He turned. "Come on. Let's check another one." Leon said and turned to go look in the other tent. Less guarded of course. More dead corpses.

There was one left. And it was guarded. Obviously that would be it.

"Stay behind me." Leon said to Paulene and put his gun away, approaching the armed men. "Excuse me, my name is Leon Kennedy. I was sent here to check on what's going on here. I just need to check what's inside this tent." He said.

The two men exchanged glances.

"Do not worry. I have dealt with this type of thing before. And on many other accounts. The reason I was sent here in the first place."

The men finally moved out of the way. But paused at Paulene. "She's definitely not a government agent." One said.

"She's with me." Leon said. Taking her arm and pulling her inside with him. Stopping once they got there. Sitting at a table, handcuffed to a metal chair, was Chelsea.

Exit Leon's POV

I was bored just sitting there, and heard voices outside of the tent I was being kept in. I looked up, expecting to see that prick Vincent. But it wasn't. It was Leon S. Kennedy and my friend Paulene. A smile came on my face as soon as I saw them enter.

"By god, what have they done to you?" Leon muttered as he neared closer to me. Checking out my handcuffs. "Damn, if only Jill were here. I hear she's great at picking locks." I rolled my eyes. "What're you two doing here?" I asked them.

Paulene came over to my side also, examining the handcuffs.

"I came to see what the hell was going on." Leon clarified. "I saw her," He jerked his head to Paulene. "And she told me that some people took you away. I already had a bad gut-feeling and look, I was right." He said and tried to get the cuff undone.

He sighed. "Hey, Paulene. Can you be stealthy?" He asked, turning to her.

I looked at Paulene as well. "Um…yeah…" She answered. Unsure why he was asking this.

"Good. I need you to go out by the guards, and take one of their handcuffs of their belts. Can you do that?" He asked her.

"Sure…I'll try," She said. And I smiled. "Go get 'em Paulene." I said to her as she turned to go to the door-flap of the tent.

She pushed it open part-way. The two men stood in front of it. Her hands reached out to the closest one's belt. Quietly. She held her breath. Reaching for them. The man moved slightly. She winced, thinking she was caught. But she wasn't. Good. She quickly snatched the handcuffs off the belt but in a way he wouldn't notice. Then darted back inside.

She held up the handcuffs with a grin on her face as she exhaled. "I did it!" She said.

I smiled. "High-five, for ninja-skills!" I said, and she high-fived me free hand. Leon chuckled lightly.

He took the key from the cuffs and used it to free my set of cuffs. Most handcuffs used the same key anyway, you could easily just go buy one in a gun store if you get into trouble often. He, at the moment, didn't have his set of cuffs though.

I rubbed my wrist when the cuffs were off. "Thanks." I said with a smile and stood. "There's something I should tell you….I don't know if it will help you. But, it's confusing…I think that guy is a traitor. But to which side I'm not sure." I said.

Leon sighed. "That too." He said. "We should get going. They had you guarded, and you're in a biohazard warning tent." He said.

I paused. Damn it. They had to make it obvious I was infected didn't they?

Paulene looked at me as I stood up. "You're infected?" She asked. I opened my mouth to speak, but paused, when I couldn't find a good answer. "I'm going to be completely straight with you. Yes. Yes, I am." I said and looked at Leon. "And yet I could not break free from that." I sounded a slight bit disappointed.

"What are you whining about? I can't do it either. I doubt anyone here can." I cut him off. "Maybe Chris." I said with a light laugh after that. Meaning his extremely large bulk and muscles.

I looked to Paulene then Leon. "So, we should get going?" Leon nodded.

"Oh, Paulene, what did they ask you in there?" I asked her. Hoping she wouldn't get too involved in this, though she already was.

"They asked me what I thought was going on. What I saw. If I was bitten or scratched by anyone." She answered. I took her shoulders. "You weren't bitten were you?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No," I hugged her. "Oh thank god." I said and pulled away.

"She wouldn't be here if she was." Leon clarified. I nodded, "Yeah I know…but still…it's good to be sure." I said. "Almost everyone in that mall went down…" I said, looking at the floor. "Some weren't even zombies yet…."

Leon sighed. "I know how you feel. The first time's always the worst. So many lives lost." He said. "But I'm sure you were brave. You said you've killed Wesker's monsters before haven't you?"

I nodded. "Yeah but….it's not the same. Those weren't ever human…Well possibly but it's not like they had a life five seconds ago and I just shoot it in the head." I told him.

"I've dealt with, cerebus, hunters, a tyrant, and this one time a licker." I put my hands on my neck. "That was by far the hardest thing to kill."

I snapped out of my gloomy mood. "Anyways, you'd think with their brains exposed they'd be easier to kill. But it's that crazy tongue you need to watch out for." I said with a slight not of my head.

Leon looked at us both, "We going now?"

I nodded. "Right, let's go." I started walking but stopped. "Wait…"

They both turned to me. "I…he was going to take me back…" I said.

Leon looked at me, "Well, it's good I'm here then." He said with a slight smile. I shook my head, "It is but…they'll come after me." I said. "And they will eventually find me." I said.

Leon sighed. "Let's go. We'll keep you away from Umbrella as best as we can." He said reassuringly and we all walked to the back of the tent. He lifted the bottom up to see out. Me and Paulene crawled under it and outside into the parking lot.

Chris' POV

Chris had been taken to a tent next to the one his sister was in. It was odd that the B.S.A.A. were doing things like this. It didn't seem right, and that Vincent guy really got on Chris' nerves.

He was speaking to that very man now. Who'd just came from Chelsea's tent.

"Now, Mr. Redfield. Tell me, why are you sticking up for that girl?" Vincent asked.

Chris' brow furrowed. "Because she's a scared kid, who's been through what we have." He said. It was an obvious answer. It was a stupid question.

"So, Mr. Redfield, I take it that you know about her true identity?" Vincent asked smugly, his hands folded on the table.

Chris wasn't sure if he should answer that. It depended on how much trouble she'd get in. His hesitation answered the question for him. "Ah, I see." Vincent said. "You pity her don't you?"

Chris glared at Vincent. "Pity no one but the bastard who put her through what he did, just for research. Just to make someone's life miserable." Chris said. It was obvious he meant Wesker.

Vincent shook his head. "You're in a great deal of trouble if you don't tell us the truth." He said.

"I am." Chris snapped.

"Really? So, what was that lie about her not being infected?"

Chris wanted to punch this man. Very badly. But he had to keep his cool. "It's not like if you knew first hand that it would have helped in any way." He said.

"I think it might have. Since there was a zombie outbreak of the T-virus in a mall she inhabited." He said, slight edge in Vincent's voice.

"She's stable." Chris said. "She's unlike the infected I've seen. The only difference about her now that I can tell of, is her eyes. They are almost red like Wesker's." He said with a sigh.

Vincent nodded. "So I see."

Chris got suspicious and leaned in to look at Vincent. "How did you know she was infected huh? She's only told us."

Vincent was caught right in his lie.

"I've been around infected for many years Mr. Redfield, I know one, when I see one." Vincent said in a harsh tone of his voice.

Jill had come in now, going to Chris' side. "Hey!" She said angrily at Vincent. "You have no right to keep her here. She may be infected, but she is no risk to society and no risk of spreading the infection further." Jill said, folding her arms.

Chris smirked when she came and put Vincent in his place. "We will all be going now. And I have more experience with her situation than you do, and I know what she went through. I know that she is no risk as of now." She said, ending the discussion. "Come on Chris." She said.

Chris nodded and stood. He and Jill walked out of the tent. "What took you so long?" Chris asked Jill.

Jill rolled her eyes. "It doesn't take long for word to get around that there's a zombie invasion at the mall."

Chris nodded. "Now let's find Claire and the others." Chris was completely oblivious that Claire was walking towards them now. He turned to see her after seeing Jill point behind him. "Oh, okay then, now we find Chelsea and her friend." He said.

Leon, me and Paulene had to walk to find the others, but it wasn't too hard to do, since they were looking for us.

As soon as we found them, we all piled into Chris' car. Quickly so that the B.S.A.A. if they were chasing us or anything, wouldn't get to us. That Vincent guy made it seem like the B.S.A.A. was the enemy.

"Chris, she said that, that Vincent guy, he's a traitor." Leon informed Chris. Me, Paulene, Leon and Claire were all squished in the back tight. Jill got the privilege of front seat next to her partner.

I nodded. "He said…he knew my secret. And that he was going to take me back."

"Take you where?" Paulene asked, still squished next to me. She squirmed slightly trying not to bother anyone that was next to her by the movement.

"Back to the Hive." I stated. I saw her open her mouth, I guessed she was going to ask what it was. So I answered. "It's an underground research facility owned and built by the Umbrella Corporation. It houses experiments and viral agents, much like myself." I said. "It is also the workplace of countless Umbrella researchers, and is run by…Albert Wesker." I finished off.

Paulene was a little shocked. "Wait, so, Mr. Whiskers, runs a super underground place and you were its experiment?" She asked to clarify. Everyone else in the car seemed to be confused by the 'Mr. Whiskers' comment.

I nodded. "Yeah, but I don't think you should call him that anymore…" I said. I looked around the car, everyone was holding in laughter. "Mr. Sunglasses Guy might work…" I said, on the brink of laughter as well.

Then we all started laughing, including Paulene. "You two made nicknames?" Chris asked, eyes still on the road.

We both nodded shyly. "You…are…Mr. Grumpy Guy…." I laughed a little again. "Hey, she made up all the names. I only influenced one. And that is Leon's." I said.

"Right. Mr. Awesome Hair Guy?" Leon asked.

I blushed. "Okay, don't we have a serious topic to discuss?" I glanced an obvious glance at Paulene, because she was the one who said…Mr. Whiskers. In the first place.

Jill nodded. "Alright. So, you said he was going to bring you back? Do you know where the Hive is?" She asked, turning to look at all of us, squished in the back, well, mainly me.

I shook my head. "No…all I remember is walking home from school, tripping, seeing Wesker, he asked me some questions and started to choke me, and it all happened…by…The high school!" I got it. "He came out of a science building at the high school with one of his brief cases. When he brought me to the Hive, maybe he brought me inside the school and underground." I suggested, it was worth a shot wasn't it?

((Okay, I hope everyone likes this chapter. ^_^ Please review! I want to know what you think.))