Chapter 12 Hold onto me

Catherine's POV

"Fucking large ass facility. Where the hell are they?!" I've been trudging through these hallways for ages! I've managed to quietly subdue enemies for now. I can't keep this up any longer, that last one nearly killed me.

Voices and screams from events long ago bombarded my sense. It was like re-living the events all over again. I jerked myself back into the counter when the memory of Kevin getting his head smashed in, flicked across my mind. The involuntary action sent a shooting pain through my arms and spine, making me buckle to the ground in a fit of sputtering and bewilderment. The violent voices attacked me with curses and blaming me for their deaths. My hands clutched clumps of my hair as I tried to block the sounds out, but one voice raised above the rest.

"Hey! I know you can hear me! Where are you? Catherine?" The person was as uncomfortable uttering my name as I heard it.

Slowly, the voice diminished and I was left pressed against a cupboard, curled in a ball with my hands clamped over my head. The voice grew more and more desperate as time ticked by and I realized the voice was Piers in my radio. I quickly sat up straighter and wiped away a stray tear that fell on my cheek.

"Calm down wonder boy, I'm here. What do you want?" I shook off my wooziness and climbed back to my feet.

"Well then answer quicker!" He huffed out. "Where are you?" I scanned the room that I was in. It didn't look like a lab, probably just some sort of hallway. It's hard to tell with these facilities.

"I don't know—" Gunshots slammed into the counter behind me followed by angry voices. Piers's alarmed voice yelled through my radio, but I ignored him as I ducked for cover from the J'avo.

They blocked off my way back, but the way forward was locked. I'll have to run out and manually override the system to unlock it, but that'll take too long. Those enemies will tear me down before I even reach it. My eyes scanned the vicinity, looking for anything and fixed my gaze on a platform above. I fired off two more rounds. Hitting both approaching J'avo in between the eyes. then dashed towards the platform, using Ada's grappling gun to swing me up. I grabbed at the railing but a stray bullet slammed into my thigh. I bit back a scream and tossed a grenade from my belt over my shoulder and into the swarm of J'avo. Splattering them all along the floor and counters. Now that it was safe to take a break, I took a look at my leg. Rolling onto the balcony ledge I grazed my hand across the bleeding wound, retracting it away as a sharp pain shot through me.

Something's wrong. The bullet passed through the leg—it wasn't a deep shot, but yet, it still hasn't heald?

The virus is taking over everything, my other viruses are stretched to their limits and can't afford to heal itself anymore. I clenched my jaw as I rolled to my feet and began looking for a new way out. My eyes landed on a door behind me. I tried putting weight on my injured leg but retracted it back as a searing pain burned through me. The first thing I should look for is some bandages to wrap this up with. I reached for my radio.

"Piers. I have something I have to do quickly. I'll meet up with you as soon as I'm done."

"No! Wait where you are. Once we find Jake and Sherry, we'll come to find you."

"No. I can't wait around. It'll be faster if I try locating you and Chris." I flicked off my radio before I could get an earful of the stubborn mules loud mouth and started limping towards the exit.

I'm not sure how long I limped around for but I managed to subdue a few more enemies in the meantime, but my strength was failing quickly. If I don't do something quick, I won't be able to move. I rounded another corner and came face to face with another door. I fumbled with the door mechanism until finally, it clicked, I had to shield my eyes from the bright room. The room consisted of mostly Lab equipment and computers. In the middle, however, there was a platform. I steadied my failing eyes on the two hunched over shapes strapped to the platform. Their heads snapped up at the sound of my approach, their eyes widening with disbelief, but quickly melted away to concern when they took in my condition.

"What happened to you?" Sherry's shrill voice pierced the silence. I limped closer to the duo, careful not to ram into anything.

"Don't worry about me. We have to get you two out of here ASAP. How do I remove your restraints?" There were no buttons on the platform they were strapped too, meaning that they must be somewhere else.

"How did you find us?" Jake cocked his head to the side.

"I got ears everywhere. I heard about two prisoners being held here and knew it was you two." I started towards the computers but only made it part way when my legs buckled. I tried grabbing onto the counter but ended up taking half the contents on top of the counter out with me. Vials, papers, and other stuff came crashing to the floor beside me as I gasped. My legs felt like I dipped them in hot lava and were about to fall off. Jake and Sherry's voices called out to me, their voices laced with concern.

"What's going on? What happened?" I could hear Jake thrash against his restraints in frustration.

"Jake...Jake, it's no use, the restraints are too tight." Sherry sighed in distress. I rolled onto my back, my chest rising and falling quickly as I tried to gasp for air, but the movements caused more pain in my chest. My vision started fading and all I could gather now was my blood coursing through my ears. Something cold stroked my hand, I clasped my fist around it and brought it to my face. I squinted my eyes to focus on the glass vial.

A loud warning sounded off followed by hurried footfalls. Hands grabbed me, gently shaking me. I could just make out shadows passing in front of my eyes, their muffled voices were drowned out by my heavy breathing and heartbeat.

"Shit. This looks bad." Jake's face flitted across my fading eyesight. A gentle hand touched around my wound on my leg, flaring the pain.

"This...it looks infected. I don't know what to do." Sherry's distraught voice rang out. "I can wrap It up to stop the bleeding, but that's probably all we can do." Jake scrounged up a piece of bandage from a cupboard behind us and tossed it to the blond. After she bandaged me up, Jake's voice piped up.

"Looks like I'm going to have to carry her." I felt a pair of hands wrap around me and hoist me into a set of sturdy arms. My breathing started to stabilize once more and my vision slowly began to go back to normal.

"W-wait..." My voice was gruff and muffled. I licked my tongue against my parched lips, tasting the iron on my lips. "Jake...I need a...blood sam...ple..." I fought to stay conscious, my eyes slowly focusing on the shaved-headed man.

"Why do you need a sample of my blood?" The pain dulled enough for me to focus.

"The virus is eating...away at...me." I showed him the vial in my hand. "If...I have a sample of your...Blood, I can manufacture...a cure." We started to move.

"We'll discuss this latter, right now we have to get you out of here before the virus spreads any further." Another lighter pair of footsteps padded alongside us.

"Jake's right. We'll get you out of her first."

They don't understand, my time is running out, if I don't manufacture a cure soon there won't be any time left.

Since I was being carried by Jake, I reluctantly got dragged along. The pain started to subside more as we kept going. By the time we reached this giant room with something dangling in the middle, I was adept to sit up and move around. My eyes focused on the dangling cocoon thing in the centre of this massive...incubator? This doesn't look good... My head snapped up at the sound of Sherry's voice.

"Chris!" Our pace picked up as a new set of hurried footsteps grew closer to us. My eyes immediately flicked to the distressed look on Piers's face as he sprinted towards us followed by Chris. They skidded to a stop right in front of Jake and me.

"What happened?" Piers demanded.

"She collapsed while trying to save us." His eyes flicked over to the blond woman, his eyebrows knitted together.

"I'm fine, the pain has passed and I am capable of standing on my own now. Jake, do you mind putting me down?" I kept my voice calm and neutral as to not anger anyone, but that was useless. Jake did as I asked after a moment's hesitation. I tested my weight on my feet, careful not to aggravate the wound anymore.

"Fine?" I heard the rising storm in his voice as he fixed me with his hazel eyes. "You're fine? You've been shot with an enhanced strain of the C-virus and are currently bleeding from a gunshot wound to your leg!" He flung his hand towards my bloodied bandage on my thigh.

"I can take care of myself, Piers. I've been doing it for years now, so stop barging in and commanding me what to do." I tossed my arms across my chest, keeping my eyes fixed on the shaking man in front of me.

"Do you not understand your predicament here?" Jake rolled his eyes as Piers continued on and started for the ledge, gawking at the massive cocoon hanging above us. Chris and Sherry looked as if they wanted to step in between us, but held back. I stalked right up to Piers's face, our noses almost brushing.

"I'm not some scatterbrained B.S.A.A idiot. I know what can happen to me and have accepted that possibility. So back off!"

"That's enough Piers!" Chris stepped in and yanked the mutt back behind him, sending me a threatening glare my way and back to Piers. I fumed but remained silent, clicking my tongue and looking away while Piers stood there vibrating with silent anger.

"Was that you guys that set us free?" Sherry desperately tried to dissipate the tension in the air, but Jake cut in.

"So you save the day once again." He kept his gaze fixed on the cocoon. There was a tense moment of silence before Chris piped up.

"I can see your father in you." I snapped my attention to the red-head, his eyes clear and to the point. I sensed the atmosphere change drastically. I'll agree with Chris; I do see a lot of Wesker in Jake, but nothing more than physically. Jake isn't as demented and twisted as his father was. Sherry once again tried steering the conversation away.

"How did you know where—" But Jake cut her off.

"Wait, hold on a second. You knew my father?" He held up a hand towards Sherry and started towards Chris. I shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. My eyes flicking to Piers, the anger from before quickly replaced with tension and unease. He noticed my gaze and gave a modest jerk of his head to the side, gesturing me to stand to the side and out of the way. I gave a light snort and rolled my eyes, resulting in that vein in his neck to pop up in fury.

"Ya, I did." Chris's voice didn't waver or hesitate, he stood tall and firm as he addressed Jake. "And I'm the one who killed him." I could hear the tension between the two snap, and in an instant, Jake's gun was fixed on the older man. Piers reacted a moment later, fixing his gun on Jake, his eyes narrowed to slits. Without missing a beat, I took two steps in between the men and right in front of Jake's gun.

"And I worked for him for a few years after he abducted me as a child." Something flicked over Jake's eyes but was gone before I could inquire about it. "I tried killing him too, well at least blow up one of his facilities." The hand on Jake's gun grew white. I could feel the eyes of everyone scorching my face, but I ignored them and held firm.

"I thought you didn't know him?" His voice jeered.

"Not when I met you, no. After I blew up the facility, I fell and hit my head, resulting in amnesia. I only recently recalled my past."

"Why would my father abduct you?" He cocked an eyebrow up at me. I felt the tension from Piers radiating off of him. He locked his gun on Jake in case he did anything idiotic.

"He thought I had the T-virus and experimented on me."

"Catherine." Piers hissed.

"Better put a leash on that puppy." His words put a smirk on my face.

"Listen. Your dad did some pretty fucked up shit-everyone wanted him dead, don't take it out on Chris. But if you insist on killing him, you're gonna have to shoot me first." A broad hand clamped down on my shoulder and shoved me right into Piers's arms. I gawked from Chris to Piers in confusion and gathered myself up, but not before Piers could shove me behind him.

"Don't ever do that again!" He hissed over his shoulder at me, sparing me a single glance. I clicked my tongue but remained behind him.

"Don't blame her; she was just a child and was forced into things. But not me." Chris's calm voice sent a cold chill down my spine. Jake spared me a glance before returning to Chris. "Go ahead, shoot. You have every right to." Chris stepped closer to Jake. His face dead serious, as a grin spread across the younger man. He cocked the hammer on the gun back. "Just promise me you'll survive. The world depends on it."

"Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?!" Jake snarled at Chris. My eyes shifted from one man to the other in amusement. Chris remained the same, his face calm and collected even while having a loaded gun jammed in his face.

"Stop it!" Sherry shouted.

"Put the gun down! Now!" Piers's voice rang out, I could see the muscles in his back tense. Everyone was stretched to their thinnest, one wrong move and this place will become a war zone.

"Tell me, were you just...following orders, or was it personal." Jake's voice went muffled, his hooded eyes lowered and glared at Chris.

Chris pondered the question only for a moment. "Both."

"Jake, please. Stop!" Sherry pleaded with him.

"Before I put a bullet in your head!" Piers snarled. I remained silent as the yelling continued, unsure of what else I could do. A gunshot sounded off and slammed into the wall behind Chris, a single thin line of blood formed on his cheek. I didn't notice that I had grabbed Piers's arm when the bullet sounded. I gawked at the older man. He didn't flinch or move, his face remaining impassive as the whole event went down. Piers lowered his gun as I dropped his sleeve and breathed a sigh of relief.

"There are more important things at stake than you and me." Jake whispered.

The room around us began to crumble and moan, while the walls began to shake. Jake and Chris didn't budge, both still locked in place, staring each other down in a silent war.

"We gotta go!" Piers insisted.

"Jake!" Sherry tried seizing his attention.

"I know!" He snapped over his shoulder. Finally, he lowered his gun. All eyes snapped up at the giant cocoon dangling from the ceiling as it began to shake and crack.

"We have to get out of here, now! Come on!" Piers grabbed my hand and towed me along behind him as we made our way to a lift on the side of the walls. We jumped on it as it began to ascend up the long wall. I immediately tore my eyes down to our entwined hands and tried to jerk mine back, but Piers held on adamantly. I flicked my gaze up only to be met with hazel eyes.

"You can let go of my hand now. I can stand on the elevator without your help." I gave my hand a tug to emphasize my point. But he still didn't let off. I shifted uncomfortably under his silent scrutiny. "What?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"You're gonna do something stupid if I let go." A smirk touched the corner of his lips. I tugged my hand again, this time, he let go.

"Not like it's any of your problem, mutt." He leaned in close to my ear, his breath sent a chill over my skin as he whispered.

"As long as you're wanted by the B.S.A.A., you are my problem."

We were cut off by a loud cracking sound, then the cocoon burst open. A cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck as we watched the giant creature swivel its skeletal face towards us let out an ear-splitting screech and slammed down one of its massive hands on the platform. The impact crushed the platform, separating Jake and Sherry on one side. They scurried to the exit while Chris, Piers, and I fixed our guns on the creature as it tried to wiggle free of its cocoon.

"Jake! Wait!" I was shocked to hear Piers yell at the man. I cocked my head to the side to wait and see what he was going to say, but let out a yelp as someone scooped me up and flung me across the gaping hole and right into a stunned Jake. Probably more out of reflex, he caught me in his arms and gently deposited me down. I spun around to face Piers. His face was solemn as he glared at Jake and me.

"Did you just throw me across a gaping hole...like, eight stories off the ground?!" My jaw hung open, but he paid little attention to me.

I couldn't believe this asshole! He just threw me without warning!

"Get her out of here and keep an eye on her in case she does something reckless." Who's he to talk about reckless? I scoffed. A hand grasped my upper arm and began to drag me away, but I held firm.

"Piers! Chris!" Both men stopped to look at me, their eyebrows raised. I gazed up at the giant B.O.W. "You idiots better not do anything stupid and reckless." Chris cracked a lopsided smile and a curt nod of his head, while Piers's smirk grew to a toothy grin.

"Don't worry; you aren't my type. And besides, its kinda hard when you aren't here." I shook my head and gave a light chuckle as Jake dragged me away and through the massive door.

"I mean it you two. Don't play the heroes, just come back."

The giant metal door slammed down in front of my face, separating me from the B.S.A.A Dogs. I tore my arm out of Jake's grasp and stared them both down.

"I'm not going with you two. I have something I need to do before I leave here."

"Are you crazy?!" Jake hissed. "If you stay behind, you'll die."

"Jake's right, Catherine." Sherry hesitated. I shook my head, my eyes drifting from one pair of eyes to the next.

"I need to find a lab to make a vaccine. If I leave with you both right now, I'll die! I won't make it in time—" My breaths came out in short puffs as my chest constricted. Sherry was by my side in a moment, her voice laced with fear.

"If we leave you here, you won't be strong enough to make the cure on your own. Piers wanted us to look after you and leave here together!" She lifted my face in her hands. I stared at her with slit eyes as the pain stabbed me repeatedly like waves crashing against rocks.

"Ya, that B.S.A.A dog asked me to look out for you. Not sure how well he'll take it when he gets back and sees that you're not with us." Sherry nodded her head in agreement with the man behind her. I managed to straighten myself back up. Eyes locked on Jake's.

"I'll be fine. I can make it out of here in time, but I have to leave now! I can't ask you guys to stay behind with me—" Another sharp pain stabbed me in the chest, knocking the air out of my lungs. "the world...needs you guys...they don't need me."

"That's not true—" Her eyes widening in fear.

"The way I see it. If I go with you two, I'll die. If I stay here, there's a chance I can make it in time, but if I don't...then I die. My options are very limited as you can see." I straightened my back through the pain and stalked away from Sherry right in front of Jake. I reached into my pocket and took out the vial. His eye's trailed from mine to the vial, gazing at it in silence. He gazed from me to Sherry, before shaking his head and bringing his eyes back to me.

"Tch! Fine." He grabbed his knife from his pocket, slicing his finger.

"Jake! We can't leave her here—" He took the vial from my hands and started to fill it up.

"We don't have any other options." He screwed the cap on and returned it to me. I looked on in awe at the red liquid sloshing inside, before tucking it away for safe keeping. Sherry looked pensively from Jake to me.

"Please, be safe." Caught off guard, she swung her arms around me in a tight hug. The action foreign and new. I hummed in amusement and returned the hug. The place started to whine and rattle around us.

"Sherry! We have to go." Jake said impatiently.

"We don't have time. Go, and you be safe." I dropped my arms back to my sides and gazed at the blond. Her features tense and eyes glazed over with tears. I glanced at Jake, nodding my head. "Take care you two."

"You're making it sound like we won't see you again." I opened my mouth to retort, but he held up his hands in my face shaking his head. A small smile spreading across his face. "See ya when we get up there." I hummed in agreement.

"Right."And with that I turned and made my way down a winding hallway, leaving those two to fend for themselves.

The infrastructure jolted, tossing me off my feet and slamming into the glass barrier like I was nothing more but a leaf being tossed around in the wind. I shook my head. My body throbbed and shook, my feet felt like they were going to fall off at any moment and my eyesight diminished greatly. I struggled to get back up, my eyes noticed something outside the window. I froze halfway up, my eyes widened in disbelief. Across the way from me was a lab, I could see the incubators and lab equipment inside. I took off as quickly as I could, limping and dragging my useless limbs along with me. My vision began to fade in and out, breathing becoming a laboured chore due to the rapid movement, but I ignored it all and pushed on.

I finally made it to the lab, thrusting the doors opened. I quickly flicked my eyes over the lab equipment, completing a mental checklist of everything I'd need. I limped my way over to the computers and began running my fingers as fast as they were inclined to go, over the keyboard; searching for any data that could assist me with the cure. My heart caught in my throat. A file with Jake's name came up, I slammed down on the keys to get it open. The file spread across the screen, eyes widened as I read through the file. Everything was here... I quickly got to work with the lab equipment. Taking out the vial of blood and carefully administered it into the separator. I let that do its job as I scavenged through the cupboards looking for my supplies. The facility jolted again, sending pieces of debris crashing to the floor all around me. I grabbed a hold of the counter to steady myself, careful not to drop any of the supplies. I waited for the shaking to stop before attempting to move and brought everything that I thought would be useful back to the station. Scanning over the notes from the data and my supplies, I took a steady breath.

"Okay. Here goes nothing."

I picked up the syringe and started to separate the parts of blood in different flasks and started to add in my infected blood into the mixture. I took a small sample and put it under the microscope. I watched as the healthy blood and antibodies got to work on the infection. Quickly taking note of how long it took for Jake's antibodies to neutralize the infected cells. With those numbers, I tweaked and added more antibodies to the dosage, speeding up the poured off of my forehead as I administered the vaccine into the needle, I had just enough blood to vaccinate one adult. As I finished up with that, J'avo poured into the lab firing their guns off at me.

"Shit!" I pocketed the vaccine and made a jump for cover behind the counter, glass, and debris shattering all around me. I pulled out my gun and began firing on the J'avo, managing to take three out but more quickly came in and took their started gaining ground on me, forcing me to retreat back further into the lab and right up against the glass. I fixed my gun up on the closest J'avo and pulled the trigger, but it clicked.

"FUCK!" I threw away the gun and scanned the facility for an alternate route out, my eyes resting on the glass behind me.

I didn't have time to think, the J'avo are gaining up on me. I took up a nearby stool and unleashed it against the glass, shattering it into a million pieces and flung out the shattered opening. I wasn't fast enough. A sharp pain ripped through the side of my midsection, making me stumble. My foot slipped on the landing, flinging me over the railing and landing hard on a lower platform out of sight from the J'avo above. I laid on my stomach unable to move as a warm, wet feeling seeped from my midsection down to my left thigh. I attempted to raise myself up onto my elbows, but my arms gave out, slamming me back down onto the icy, rigid surface.

My head spun and my eyelids began to feel heavy. A cold feeling swept over my body, chilling me to the bones. I placed my hand on my abdomen and wrenched it to my face. I let out a pained curse when I saw my hand drenched in blood. The J'avo managed to shoot me in the back and tear right through me. I dropped my hand to the floor, my energy began to drain with every moment that passed. I fought the fatigue that slammed into me, but my eyelids fluttered as my vision faded in and out until I couldn't keep them open any longer.

My eyes shot open when a horrendous, crashing sound erupted from the ground level just below me. I managed to get up on my elbows and drag myself to the ledge before collapsing. That giant creature from before was bashing through the emergency flood doors below. My nerves flared when I spotted two figures running from it. I tried to stand up and get to my feet, but the pain from my wound shot up, crippling me just as my legs gave out. The virus has spread too far into them, every movement is like moving a thousand pounds with a noodle. I tried to call out, but my voice was too weak. I watched on in horror as the giant B.O.W burst through the doors and was on Piers and Chris's heels.

The monstrous B.O.W gained up, their bullets doing little to the creature as they desperately fought on. Agitation and desperation rolled off me as I could only lay there and watch. They dodged and ran as fast as they could. Their chests heaving from the exertion, but the B.O.W didn't seem like it was slowing down anytime soon.

"This thing just keeps coming back!" Piers's voice echoed over to me as he let off more rounds of bullets at the creatures face, flinging it into a fit of anger. It swung its head around to face Piers, letting out a screech, before running headlong at him. I caught my breath as Piers dropped a flash bomb in time to dodge and jump away to a safer distance.

"Keep aiming for the vitals!" Chris yelled in frustration.

The fight dragged on, wearing down the two men quickly. Every time they believed the B.O.W was down for good, it would regenerate and come back at them unfazed. They navigated it farther into the open and used everything they got into bringing it down. The creature finally began to crumble and fall to the ground, but one of its arms reached out and swiped Chris off his feet, launching him right into Piers. I cried out in horror as the two crashed to the floor below me in a tangled heap. The B.O.W regained its strength and rose from the ground, ready to charge at the vulnerable men. I forced every ounce of energy I had left into my legs and reached for my knife. Gathering a shaky breath, I threw myself from the platform and onto the unsuspecting creature below, thrusting my knife into one of its vital organs. The impact and exertion sent a wave of vertigo over me, but I shook it off as I thrust the knife deeper into its organ.

The creature bucked and thrashed about, swinging its massive arms around and nearly knocking into Piers and Chris again. They rolled out of the way in time before the hand slammed into the ground where they laid just moments prior. I held on with all the energy I could muster up in my body, but the blood loss and virus made it increasingly difficult. I screamed out in pain as the B.O.W reached around, grasping me in a death grip, but were cut off as the thing slammed me into the ground. I forced my eyes open, spotting Piers.

"NO!" His face contoured in pain and draining of blood. He tried making a run for me, but the B.O.W threw out its arm.

There was nothing either of them could have done. All they could do was look on in muted horror as the impact sent me tumbling away, throwing blood everywhere. I heard bones cracking and muscle tearing as I skidded to a halt by Piers's feet. Every breath I took felt like a thousand knives being rammed into my chest. I could feel my lungs being crushed, suffocating me slowly. The world started going mute, my hearing coming and going. I thought I heard Chris yelling as he took up firing again while Piers yelled my name.

3rd person POV

"You son of a bitch!" Piers tore his eyes off Catherine's still, bloodied form. His eyes burning with rage. Snapping his gun back up, he started to fire off at the B.O.W making it screech and thrash about. It reared its self around and drove its arm right into Piers. Sending him flying against the wall over an exposed metal piece, impaling his right arm and sending out a blood-curdling scream. The B.O.W wasn't done yet, it grabbed a large metal box and whipped it past Chris and slamming into Piers's already damaged arm.

"Piers! No!" The B.O.W fixed its attention back to Chris, grabbing him in its death grip. He screamed and thrashed, but nothing seemed to help. It tore its gaze from Chris and took a step towards Catherine. "God, fuck! Piers! Catherine!—"

"NO—Gah!"

Piers tore his eyes from his impaled arm and down to the lifeless form on the ground. A bright red tube struck his eye; it was the enhanced c-virus at his feet. Sucking in a breath, he forced his feet under him and ripped his shoulder off the piece of metal. Hollering out in pain as he landed in front of the virus sample. Without hesitating he rammed the needle in his useless arm, the limb mutating into an enormous claw. As the mutation started to take over one side of his face, a bolt of electricity erupted from his arm, throwing the creature off its feet and dropping Chris to the ground. The older man recovered quickly, charging at Piers, his eyes widened in shock as he looked on at the mutated limb.

"Piers—Oh god! What did you do?" Piers swayed on his feet, the mutation digging deeper into him as he fought to stay in control. Chris reached out a hand and grabbed a hold of his partner, locking eyes as Piers grasped his captain's shoulder.

"I-I'm sorry Captain. I...did it for the B.S.A.A...I did it for...the future." His eyes trailed over his captain's shoulder to Catherine who hasn't moved from when the B.O.W slammed her into the ground. Piers pushed past his captain towards the woman, spotting the growing puddle of blood that pooled out from her wounds. "Cath...erine—gah!"

"Stay with me Piers. Fight it!" The B.O.W recovered from the impact and started to crawl back on its feet. The two men faced off with the creature; Piers aimed his arm while Chris took up his gun.

The B.O.W charged at the men, slipping and crashing to the ground whenever Piers let off another electrical charge at it. But it didn't stay down for long, It got back up and swiped its massive hand out at them, dodging it just barely. Piers evaded the attack. Pivoted around and firing off his electrical shock, stunning the creature long enough for Chris to run in and stab it in its vital organs. The B.O.W sent out another scream as it thrashed and clawed at the air until it went quiet and slammed to the floor at their feet.

Both men heaved with raspy breaths, looking on in silence at the corpse of the B.O.W. Piers tore his eye's off of the corpse and back onto Catherine. Making his way painfully and slowly to her, until he was close enough and collapsed at her side. It required all his effort just to stay in control, his face contouring in pain as the virus ate away at him. He placed a hand on the woman's face and let out a relieved breath as she stirred under his touch. Her eyes slowly cracked open. She let out a small gasp as her eyes landed on his infected arm and face.

"P-Piers...why?" She struggled to shape the words, barely coming out as a whisper. She reached up a shaky hand to his face. He leaned into the touch, savouring every instant as she gently traced the contours of his features, leaving smeared spots of blood as she did so. The substantial amount of blood loss dulled her senses and the pain drifted away to a dull pressure. Her eyes fluttering closed, sending her hand crashing to the floor.

"Piers!" A hurried set of footsteps came up behind him. His face fell and breath hitched when his eyes drifted to the lifeless woman at their feet, blood pooling all around her. He fell to his knees at her side. "N-no..." The facility groaned and shook again, debris falling all around them. He gave his lieutenant a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder before lifting the woman up into his arms. "Piers can you stand on your own?" The man tore his gaze off of the woman and onto his captains face, his jaw clenched shut.

"I-I...think so." He struggled to his feet, but after a few failed attempts he managed to stand and gave a weak nod of his head towards his captain, before resting his non-infected hand on the head of Catherine. "Hold on a little bit longer." He whispered before looking up at his captain. With a firm nod of his head before they took off down the escape route.

The facility shifted and crumbled under them, lurching the men into the walls. The trek was painstakingly slow due to the virus eating away at Piers, but they finally made it to the escape pods. Piers collapsed to the ground, the pain grew worse as he tried to fight to stay in control. He extended out his arm towards Chris as he was about to lay the woman on the floor. He spared only a moment before gently lowering the frail woman onto his partner's lap while he prepared an escape pod.

Piers gazed down at the still woman in his lap, her face set in a peaceful sleeping position. He trailed his fingers over her skin, it was so ashen white it was almost translucent to look at. Her breathing became so shallow, that he had to double check to make sure she was still breathing. He was more than positive she must have broken a few of her ribs and possibly her spine when the BOW slammed her into the ground. he reached down and gently placed his hand on her abdomen, the blood from her bullet wound seeped through and stained his hands with a sickening red liquid. A groan escaped his lips as he studied the wound. She stirred under the contact. Piers reached up to her head and combed his fingers through her blood matted hair, to soothe her pain. His breath hitched in his throat as her eyes blinked up at him. They weren't their "ordinary" green anymore; they were disoriented and glazed over, almost like cataracts, but they settled on his face with clarity. Her eyes pleaded with him as muffled sounds came from under her mask.

He carefully reached down to remove the barrier, tossing it to the side. His muscles tensed as he inspected the woman's face. Her mouth and chin were covered in blood; it dripped from her nose and lips in a thin streak, trailing down her long slender neck. She gasped for air as one of her hands weakly clutched at the front of his shirt. He chewed on his bottom lip as he considered what to do. Gently, he hoisted her up onto his chest, her head resting on his shoulder as he cradled her softly, careful not to aggravate her spine anymore than it was. He looked on in pain as her mouth opened and closed but no sounds came out, her lips trembled and quaked as her tongue swept over her bloodstained lips.

"Piers...I-I'm...so sorry," Her voice grave with emotion. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes as her body shuddered under him. She didn't have much time left. His heart broke at the sight of her deteriorating condition.

"Don't...talk—Tch." The virus coursing through his veins, burning a trail as it went.

"I-I didn't..." Her tears left a clear trail as they rolled down her face and down her chin. A raspy gasp escaped as she tried taking a breath. "Intend for you...to get...hurt—" He sucked in a breath and closed the distance between them, gently pressing his trembling mouth to hers. Her lips were ice cold and tasted like iron, but the sensation dulled his pain and warmed his chest. Her eyes closed as she settled into the kiss, a moan escaping her throat as she opened her mouth, allowing his tongue to roam inside her. He captured every sensation to memory; Her taste, her smell and the feeling of her lips on his. He pulled away and leaned his forehead onto hers, capturing her gaze.

"I chose to do this to myself." She raised one shaky hand to his face, trailing her fingers over his lips. He cocked his head to the side as a new expression formed on her face.

"Please...forgive me." Her voice broke with emotion. In a fleeting flash, she rammed something sharp into his infected arm. His eyes widened in shock as he let out a small cry. He tore his gaze from her eyes to her hand clutching the needle in his shoulder and injected some kind of serum into his body.

"What did you do?!" The corners of her mouth twitched up into a smile.

"Saved your...life...again..." Her hand fell lifelessly back down to her side. His arm clutched tighter around her as he looked over his shoulder then back to her. A sharp pain erupted from his arm but faded away and started to heat up and spread over his body. He lurched over as a scream escaped him. Chris came hurrying around the corner.

"Okay! I set the self-destruct, this place is—what happened!?" Chris rushed to his partner's side, his eyes locking onto the needle in his arm. A slight gurgling sound erupting from the woman as he tore his eyes off the needle and onto her. Her voice was barely audible as she spoke.

"A...cure..." She slumped her head against Piers's chest, her eyes closed.

A cold sweat formed on his brow as he scanned over Piers's face. Gently removing Catherine from his lap, Chris rushed her to the pod and sprinted back for his partner. He already began to look different. The virus on his face slowly began to fade, and his arm started to change a different color. He grasped his hand down in front of Piers. He took hold of the hand and hoisted himself up. Draping Piers's arm over his shoulders, he dragged the man with him to the pod, crashing to the floor as the doors closed behind them.

The pod groaned and lurched as it launched out of the facility. He carefully set his partner down next to the unconscious woman, sparing both a glance before he turned back to look out the window, his eyes widened in fear. Swimming from the depth was the B.O.W and it was charging quickly at them, hollering and thrashing.

"Shit. Hold on!" He grabbed a hold of the sides waiting for the impact, as Piers clutched to Catherine. It swam towards the pod, nearly latching onto it just as the bombs went off in the facility. The explosion caught the B.O.W and flung it to the right, jolting the pod as it escaped free. Just as it recovered, large masses of debris slammed into it, crushing it on the seabed below as it let out one final screech. A grunt from behind him followed by a thump sent the older man twirling around.

"Piers!" Piers stumbled on his hands and knees as he grabbed his arm while Chris dashed to his side, placing a supportive hand on his back. Piers cracked open an eye towards his captain, his face pale and sweaty. Already the vaccine started taking effect. His face started to return to normal and his arm began to shrink back down to its original form. He raised his gaze to the woman, his breath caught in his throat.

"C-Catherine?" Chris pensively shouted her name and removed his hand off of Piers's back placing both hands on her shoulders, giving her a slight shake...No response. Urgency rose in his voice, causing Pier's to snap his head up. His eyes glassy and tired but they widened in horror. "Catherine, stay awake." He laid a hand on her face but retracted it immediately; it was cold. He put his ear to her chest and listened closely, his eyes rounded in fear as he shifted his gaze to a tense Piers. "We're losing her!" The urgency in his voice set Piers into action. He ignored his pain and moved Chris out of the way.

"Catherine? Catherine, listen to me! Hold on!" He gently shook her. The pod breached the surface and the doors opened to reveal the sunrise, the light cast a bright light over their backs as they looked on at the woman. "Catherine, wake up!" He grabbed a hold of her hand, but it fell from his grip back down to her side. His eyes widened in fear as they turned to look at Chris.

The sound of chopper blades had Chris on his feet. He turned his back to the two and waved down the chopper while Piers hovered over Catherine, yelling her name and shaking her.

"P-Please...wake...up..." His eyes began growing heavy. He forced himself to stay awake, but the pain flared back up. He clenched his mouth shut to suppress a scream and looked on at Catherine's face. It grew foggy and distorted as the floor swayed under him until his head hit the floor. He grasped his hand in Catherine's. The cold of her skin sent a chill through his hand. His eyes grew duller until he couldn't hold on anymore and blacked out.