Alive Again.
By C S Sinclair.
Chapter Thirteen.
'She's fine – she's safe!' she snapped to herself. These thoughts, far from easing her mind however, only spurred her on faster as she ran up the corridor. She couldn't stop her heart and her mind from racing - she had to be sure! Wilfried had been on his own, had blamed himself for everything that had happened here. She'd told Adi; told her over and over that this wasn't her fault. But what if she still thought it was, and with her being left there alone with her sister like she was…
"Ahhh… open, damn it!"
Heaving the protesting door open, she darted through back into the hall, running on complete autopilot now: 'Just take a right here and then you're nearly…'
She sensed the movement just a little too late. Spinning round, she was abruptly flung at the wall as a bodily mass pushed itself at velocity into the space she was occupying. Reflexively managing to twist so her shoulder and right palm took the impact instead of her face, she was nonetheless momentarily stunned.
'Have to fight! Wake up, don't close your eyes! Have to get back to her…'
Feeling almost out of body, she was little more than an observer as impulses from her brain managed to successfully manipulate her limbs. She watched with impatience, eager to get back control of the steering wheel as her body turned and faced the hall again, arms thrusting out, gun at the ready. Everything was blurry - her body felt more like a suit of armour she was wearing than part of her…
"Who… who's there?!"
Her voice… her voice. She shook her head and with a great effort of will brought her hand up to her face and rubbed some feeling back. Things were coming back into focus… there was no-one here. She was alone. What on earth had just happened? She needed to get out of here quickly.
Remembering the layout of the hall, she moved quickly along the wall, looking up to make sure nothing was on the overhead landing. Something had been there; that must have been where it came from. But it seemed clear now. Scanning carefully around the room, she breathed in and dived round the corner, ready for anything now… nothing.
She crossed to the far wall, looked up and down the corridor… still nothing. Whatever it was had gone for now, it seemed. But what had it been? Better still, what had he she been thinking? That was so stupid: running around like that, especially when she'd known something was lurking about around here… utterly stupid.
She thumped her head lightly back against the wall. 'You've got to be more careful, Jill – it's not going to help Adi if you get yourself killed' she nagged herself. Her heart slowing as the adrenalin wore off, she breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever it had been, she was still alive and that was all that mattered for now. Time to get going…
"Run along home, Jill, run along home…"
Jerking up from the wall, she dropped into a crouch, casting about wildly with the gun, ready to fire at the slightest movement. That voice, where had it come from?! A sad, broken… female voice she would say. It wasn't Adi, she was sure of that. But then how did it know her name - that girl from before, perhaps? The voice had just seemed to hang in the air… what was going on?
"Come out! Whoever you are, come out now!" she barked, irritable with fear and anxious curiosity.
'Run along home' it had said. She felt the hairs on her neck standing up, horribly sure that she knew what the voice meant. The hall and corridors were silent however, the voice choosing not to respond to her. She had to make sure… she had to get back now.
Forcing herself up, she strafed as quickly as she dared, back along the corridor, darting looks about, at the floors and ceiling, checking every alcove. Closer and closer she came and still there were no signs of anything, no voices speaking. 'Just a little further - please be alright Adi, please…'
In a daze, she stumbled about the room, even going so far as to lift open the box lid, just in case. All the energy had drained from her and she could hardly find it in her to even stand up. The room felt like a yawning vacuum, sucking all the life and hope from her. Her girl was gone, and she had no idea where she was. The voice had known, which could mean… but it just couldn't. She'd know if that had happened, she was sure.
She slumped into a chair next to the bed, burying her face in her hands, trying not to let it overwhelm her. If she cried, she'd be admitting this was really happening and that admission could break her… Lydia's unblinking, cruelly unsympathetic body lay next to her - Jill couldn't even look at her. She knew it wasn't her fault, but she couldn't help it. She knew what had happened to her girl, she could feel it. And she wasn't speaking, wasn't telling.
"I… I know you know where my Adi is" Jill stated aloud. The fatigue in her voice trembled with a dangerous undercurrent of anger and sorrowful, vengeful energy. Her hands gripped and tore at the bedclothes until they started to whiten from the stress.
She closed her eyes, fighting to get a hold of herself. It wasn't Lydia's fault that she was like this… but she needed to know! She balled up her hands and kneaded her temples, knowing she had to get through this despair, couldn't give in. Her actions had been the only logical course – this wasn't anyone's fault, not hers and certainly not Lydia's. She had needed to go and it wasn't like she had been counting on Lydia to protect Ada in her condition.
'Well maybe if we didn't have to come here for you in the first place!' a voice blurted inside her, but she pushed it down firmly. A dark thought - a spiteful attitude that she could not afford right now. She had to think… there had to be something she could do.
'Nothing has changed', she insisted, forcing herself to breathe. 'Get both of them out of here; make sure both of them are safe'.
She looked over at the prone body of the girl, and felt her anger fading away, as her protective instincts regained their footing. She took Lydia's hand and squeezed it, whilst stroking her hair: "Don't worry, I'll find her. I know we don't know each other but… I need you to trust me - can you do that?"
She smiled encouragingly: "I'm going to have to leave, but I'll come back as soon as I've found her, and then we'll all leave, okay? I'm not going to let anything happen to either of you."
Reluctant to leave her alone like this again, but knowing it had to be done, Jill turned her attention to looking for clues. The ammo and food she had left for Ada was gone and the room had been inaccessible from the outside to all but her, to the best of her knowledge. This suggested that Ada had left the room for some reason of her own. Where would she have gone? Could someone have lured her out…?
"Jill? Are you there, Jill?"
The voice! She looked up at the door to the corridor, which she had left open in her grief. That voice; that person knew something, and they were going to tell! She dived over and kissed Lydia quickly on the forehead, whispering: "I'll be back soon. We won't leave you behind – you have my word."
Grabbing her stuff, she ran to the door and, alert for any signs of danger, entered the corridor. Seeing that it was all clear, she quickly leant over and closed the room up again. Returning to her vigil of the corridor she saw that a figure had appeared some way down from her.
It was a youngish woman from what Jill could make out – the face was covered with another of those strange white masks. She had a rather 'martial nobility' appearance about her, dressed in trousers, shirt and waistcoat fitted over with what seemed to be an antique (and very finely tooled) breastplate. She was standing in a very rigid and formal position, back straight with one hand resting on a long saber which hung at her belt.
"Good evening Miss… Jill, isn't it?" the figure enquired in a faraway voice.
Jill readied herself for action at the slightest provocation, straining to listen for anything trying to sneak up on her – she didn't dare take her eyes off this new arrival until she knew what she was about.
"Who are you? What have you done with my Adi?" she demanded in a stern voice.
The figure turned its head slightly in the direction of the panic room door, before musing softly: "Ah, an empty house is such a sad house. But if soldiers march away to war, leaving their homes unguarded, is it really anyone's fault but their own if something were to happen… Do you not think?"
Incensed by this suggestion and the implication that something had befallen Ada in her absence, Jill brought her pistol up and trained it on the figure. She betrayed no sign of distress, but merely turned to face her properly again.
"I don't have time to play your games. I want my girl back, now! I suggest you take me to her" she commanded, fighting heroically to suppress the panic that was threatening to burn through her body.
Something glinted in the air around the figure and Jill was aware of a clanging sound nearby before she even realized she had dodged aside. Aware of the possibility of a grenade, she dived forward onto her stomach, catching sight of an alcove curtain swishing as the figure retreated up the corridor. The curtain and the darkness made a shot impractical, but she couldn't let her get away – she was the only lead she had to finding Ada!
As no explosion had been forthcoming behind her, she struggled up and risked a glance back – the object appeared to be some sort of ornate throwing knife. It must have glanced off her shotgun as she moved, then hit the wall. After another quick check, she lent back and retrieved the knife, stowing it in her bag for now.
"You have something of mine, I have something of yours. I'm waiting, Jill" spoke the voice, again drifting sorrowfully down the corridor.
Jill took a long look at the panic room door, unwilling to leave Lydia alone again. There was no guarantee, after all, that this figure knew anything about Ada or where she was. Thinking about it, she hadn't seemed to know that there was someone else in the panic room besides herself for one thing… But she couldn't take the chance that this would be her only chance to find her girl safe and sound. She set off at a light jog down the corridor.
She didn't have to walk long before she picked up the figure's trail – a white silken glove lay prominently on the floor ahead of her. Nearby, a gentle light emanated from a door that opened into what looked like another small hallway. It hardly needed to be said that this was a trap, but again what was the alternative?
Straining her senses for any sign of the woman, Jill moved up and examined the glove. It seemed unlikely it had been dropped by accident, but why a glove… oh, she got it now. A mental image of an enraged Charlotte slapping her fiercely across the cheek came to mind... She picked the glove up and slapped it lightly against her cheek – she wanted a duel.
Exasperated, Jill hunched back against the wall and opened her bag to look at the mask she had ripped off the other girl earlier. This had to be it… how did this always manage to happen to her? Why couldn't people leave her out of their affairs? Sighing, she shook her head and cleared her throat before calling out:
"Look… please, just… look, we don't have to do this! Just tell me where my girl is and…"
From somewhere relatively close by through the door, music suddenly started playing. Soft strains of classical music floated through the air, muffling her words. Jill cursed silently, but hadn't expected anything to come of her plea anyway really. If she suspected someone of hurting Adi… and now it seemed Wagner was sticking his nose in too. 'Tristan und Isoulde'… passion, forbidden love… no pressure then.
The hallway was much smaller than the one she had crossed through earlier. A short passage led past an open door into what looked like an office for some kind of castle functionary. A candle glowed brightly on a desk within. The passage continued in increasing gloom to another closed door.
The only objects of immediate interest here were several decapitated bodies – zombies from the looks of their skin – lying sprawled across the floor. It appeared that her opponent really did know how to take care of herself. It also told her that these masked women must not have any kind of special power or meaning to the zombies – they were fair game too, it seemed.
The music was drifting in powerful swirls down a narrow flight of stone steps that led up past the office to a set of curtains. That would be the way then, but first… Stepping carefully around the bodies (you never knew, after all), she took hold of some of the larger bits of furniture on offer and as quietly as she could, humped them over to place behind the doors to the hallway. The last thing she needed was an errant zombie creeping (or shambling anyway) up behind her.
This accomplished, there seemed little else for it but to try the stairs. It was an awkward ascent, as the corridor was very narrow here. She had to remove her bag and carry it in front of her whilst making sure her shotgun didn't scrape along the wall either and give her away. Finally she reached the top and (half expecting a blade to come slicing through the folds) she peered through, stealthily.
The room beyond appeared to be a large hall from what little she could make out here. The immediate area beyond the curtain was taken up by a small raised, wooden stage complete with curtains. Presumably it had been used in times past to entertain guests in the hall. Various old tables and items of bric a brac were left decaying here, poking out from under mouldy old sheets.
An old gramophone stood in the center middle, exposed to the room at large. It was from here that the Wagner was playing. The music seeped majestically about the room, sending the soul soaring as it did, causing Jill to feel even more on edge. This was typical Umbrella… couldn't just be easy; it had to be a duel to classical music…
The hall itself must be quite large, she decided from the size of one of the windows - they must be near one of the walls. It was hard to judge from here, but the silvery moonlight streaming in would light the hall quite well, she imagined.
Well anyway, this wasn't getting much achieved and her aching for her girl was growing worse every minute. She needed to get in there and find out what this woman knew. She'd need to be able to move pretty sprightly against a foe like this if recent experience was anything to go by. She decided to leave her bag here, carefully depositing it under a nearby table and dropping a sheet over it. Just her pistol, shotgun, a few spare shells etc…
Checking out any suspicious nooks and crannies without stepping out in view of the hall, she moved forwards. Thankfully the boards didn't seem too bad – no great creaks and squeaks, at least nothing that the music couldn't drown out. The music… should she do something about that? It was masking any noises her opponent might be making, but if she did then she'd give away her presence immediately. Better leave it, she supposed, even if it was giving her the chills.
A small set of two or three steps led down the side of the stage. From here, she could see the hall was indeed very large. A long feasting table stretched away to a head table at the far end (and it seemed likely there would a parallel table also, running along the windowed side of the room). A few archways led…
"Ahhhhh!!"
A soft sound just ahead and her trained survival instincts forced her back just in time as a blade thrust forward from round the stage corner. It struck the wall with a clang, and gave an awful screeching as it was dragged away in an arc and out of view. Jill closed her mouth which was hanging open in shock, ears filled with the sound of her own heart pounding to the Wagnerian tones, before registering that something was wrong… different. Her weight distribution was slightly off…
She looked down and saw her shotgun lying on the floor – the strap had been cut! Before she could move, the strap tautened and was yanked out of view behind the corner. She made to stop it, but checked herself instantly and dived back again, not wishing to become the latest decapitated corpse in the area. She crouched down, pricking her ears for any sound, whilst screaming 'Damn it!' at herself mentally.
There! The sound of something hitting the floor… She dived around the corner, but there was nobody there now. The hall glowed bluish white in the moonlight that poured in from two vast windows and a large glass set of doors leading to a garden area. These doors were standing open, curtains swishing in the wind outside, but Jill had no idea if they had been opened recently or not.
The sound she had heard must have been her shotgun and some of the shells hitting the floor. It had been unloaded and dropped near the gap between the two primary feast tables. It was right there - and was in plain view of the stage… If Jill had to bet on this, she'd say the figure would have jumped up on the stage and was planning to ambush her from there. Time to draw her out then… She straightened up and walked forwards into the room, staring straight ahead. 'Come on, come on… a free strike at an opponent's back…'
Now! Hearing an almost imperceptible creak behind her, she launched herself forward and away, tucking into a forward roll and twisting to face back round and land in a kneeling position. The stage area coming back into view, her pistol was rewarded the sight of the swordswoman. Squeezing the trigger to fire into her waist area, Jill was alarmed at hoe quickly she recovered from being tricked, leaping herself now, behind the end of the first table as Jill's shot flew harmlessly past.
With the wind howling with renewed ferocity and the hall rapidly filling with Wagnerian booms, Jill pushed up and sprang first onto the bench then the table, tracking the figure as it ran. As she clonked up onto the tabletop, sending old vases and the like tumbling, the figure darted out and sprinted, flipped and cleared the next table, vanishing from sight before Jill could get a decent shot. Aware that this was likely to be the case however, Jill was already moving, dropping into the aisle, and leaping up onto the far table. She couldn't afford to lose sight of her!
This proved to be a wise move as the swordswoman found herself out of hall to escape to. She span round to see Jill training her gun at her, before flashing her blade in front of her. Jill dropped back onto the bench behind her, whilst snapping off a shot. However the figure had not thrown something – she had cut something.
With a great whizzing noise from overhead, the figure suddenly flew at great speed past her, up into the air. Almost stunned into inactivity, Jill nevertheless managed to throw herself back as one of the relatively small metal chandeliers crashed mightily into the aisle near her. Flat on her back, she caught sight of a flash of metal overhead, as the woman steadied herself on one of the rafters.
Jill felt flatfooted yet again – she seemed to be surrounded by women who did this kind of thing. 'Well, you're still nothing compared to my Adi' she thought defiantly, rolling over and racing back to the stage. She needed the shotgun… look out!
She ducked as the saber sliced viciously through the air overhead, picking up the shotgun as she did so. She span about, trying to bring her pistol to bear on the figure. A determined thrust sent her reeling backwards, and she barely had time to register the figure twirling about before a sharp pain in her right hand saw the pistol fly out of her grip. Balling up her hand from this punishing kick, she again let instinct take over. The shotgun had no ammo, but it was still effectively a metal pipe…
Swiping with the length of the shotgun, she caught the woman on the side of the head as she recovered from the kick. But before Jill could press the attack, an upward slice against the shotgun had knocked her off balance. She staggered away, stumbling on debris on the floor and collapsed over onto her back, dropping the shotgun. The woman was right on her!
"Aiieeeeahhh!!"
Blood dripped to the stone floor, to the doomy accompaniment of the music from the stage. The woman gasped in pain behind her mask, staring down at the STARS knife sunk deeply into her arm below the wrist. The blood oozed slowly down over the saber, causing it to take on a savage, unwholesome look in the moonlight. Jill moved to get up, not sure what to do next, but with a thought of grabbing the sword perhaps…
As if reading her mind on this, the woman looked up at her fiercely, swapping the sword to her left hand and cutting the air in front of her with impressive strokes. 'Ambidextrous? That's just wonderful…' thought Jill wearily to herself. The woman did not advance, but moved to take hold of the knife hilt.
"No, it's best to leave it" offered Jill, but the woman ignored her, ripping it free with a gout of blood, again uttering a slight scream of pain. She readied a handkerchief to tie around the wound, and gestured with her saber behind Jill. Jill backed up a pace, before cautiously turning side on to see where she was pointing. A suit of very old and tarnished armour stood against the wall, sporting a sizeable broadsword.
Jill felt her shoulders drop with exhaustion: "Oh… look, isn't there another way? Please, I don't know what you think but…" She was cut off (almost literally) as the woman stabbed her blade insistently at the armour and sword. This was still a very dangerous situation… Jill raised her hands in compliance and crossed over to stand by the armour, as the woman bound her wound.
This wasn't going to work, Jill decided, placing her hand on the hilt of the sword. Explosives, guns, knives, unarmed combat – not a problem. Sword-fighting, fencing, all that business however… the phrase 'all thumbs' sprang to mind. She needed another way, and she perhaps had one…
She took up the sword, hefting it out. The woman straightened and advanced. Jill didn't move, but adopted what she hoped looked like a ready stance with the sword. She moved slightly away and waited for her opponent to close. 'Just a little closer…'When she was satisfied, she leaned slightly as if to wind up a stroke. Her opponent made to lunge.
At the last moment she dropped into a leg sweep, catching the woman as she thrust, knocking her off balance. Jill leapt up against the armour and pushed the sword behind it. Heaving, she levered the armour forward and it fell clattering all around the woman who threw her hands over her head for protection. Taking the opening, Jill kicked out and sent her flying over backwards.
Reaching down, she scooped up one of the gauntlets that had become detached from the armour and slipped it on. Diving forward she drove a punishing blow into the woman's ribs as she scrabbled for her sword on the floor. As she called out in agony, Jill moved round and swung a decisive punch at her head. Her opponent was sent crashing to the floor, where her mask cracked sharply against the flagstones to a triumphal chorus from the stage.
"Now…" Jill gasped, out of breath from all the heavy exertion, "You are going to tell me what you did with my Adi or I'm going to…" She flipped her over, sat on her chest and lifted her hand to threaten a deadly punch, but the sight that greeted her gave her pause.
The woman's mask was streaked with blood and part of it had smashed around one of the eyes. A bloodshot eye, glistening with tears lay therein, surrounded with white, scarred tissue, as of healed over burns or deep scars perhaps. Arms at her sides, she was not even trying to defend herself now. Jill felt slightly ashamed of herself despite knowing she had only been defending herself.
"Is… is she dead? Did you kill her… my angel?"
It took Jill a moment to realize she wasn't the one speaking – it was the masked woman! She sounded so beaten and dejected… much like Jill would be if she thought Adi was… she didn't even want to think about it.
"Please… just, just tell me. If my angel girl is dead, I will not resist anymore. Nothing will matter… please just tell me…" she pleaded.
Unwrapping the mask from the shirt they had been keeping it in, Jill looked round. The woman was still sitting quietly at the table. Jill walked over and sat down straddling the bench and offered her the mask. She reached out with an air of wonder and took it so tenderly from her, lifting it down onto the table and smoothing her finger along its edges, gulping back tears.
"She attacked us, but we tried not to hurt her – it was obvious she was just scared" Jill commented after a respectful silence. "We didn't know – we don't know what's going on here, but I think you'll want to get this back to her as soon as possible, yes?"
The woman turned to look her, nodding furiously: "I… Thank you so much. For not hurting my Tanja I mean, and well… this. If she does not have her mask, she will avoid anywhere with a mirror… downstairs or outside perhaps. I must find her."
She sounded far away again, but more hopeful at least now. Jill smiled and offered her hand: "Well then…?"
"Katherine" the woman replied, apparently only just remembering Jill was here. She seemed so transformed from the steely, haunted character of before. It was a transformation she recognised - the mask was doing for Katherine what Ada did for her.
"Katherine. I have to get going now. I hope you find her, okay?"
So saying, she got up and collected her things. Katherine sat cleaning the mask slowly and with great loving care. As Jill finally turned to leave, she heard Katherine turn to face her:
"You have not asked me about your girl."
Jill didn't turn around: "I don't need you to. I know she's alright – I'd know if she was… and she isn't. I'm going to find her - it's as simple as that." ('And when I do find her, I'm going to fit her with one of those collars with the little bell that kittens are given, so their owners know where they are and can keep them out of mischief' Jill thought to herself with defiant optimism.) "If you do know anything, then please… I think you of all people can understand what I'm going through…"
She looked round and saw Katherine was clutching the mask tightly to her, like she was cradling her girl in her arms: "I can tell you that whatever happened, she thought she was helping you. I saw her emerge from the panic room, call your name in a state of panic, before setting off towards the labs and apartments below ground."
Jill nodded and thanked her, before leaving her alone to rest. She mused over this new information and at length, simply shrugged her shoulders. This had always been on the cards – you could never sneak in and out where Umbrella were concerned. She should have known that this was inevitable. But unlike Tristan and Isoulde, Jill and Ada's epic would end with the words 'Happily ever after'. It was the only way she would allow…