Chapter Thirteen: Gone With the Wind
Wow... I have to thank you guys for this. Loyal reviewers are what keeps this story going, and I must express my supreme gratitude for that. On with the story, woohoo! This may end up just being a filler chapter.. depends on where my mind goes.
Please pardon my typos.
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Their pace gradually slowed as they trekked down the wretched and dark stairway, the scent of blood heavy in the air. Richard's stomach turned and he thought for a brief moment he might vomit. But he swallowed the bile that had risen in his throat, his muscles screaming for him to stop. Vaguely they could see a pinprick of light, flickering as they ran, but present nonetheless.
They were forced to speed up as they heard the faint moaning from behind them, terror making the blood pound in their temples. Subject T seemed the only one without unease, leading the way and making it harder to see where they were going (if this was possible). After another solid minute and a half of full out running, they reached the bottom of the stairs. Subject T's head whipped to the left, having spotted movement out of the corner of his eye.
Dragging himself toward them was a man, each of his legs missing, having been ripped clean off. Thin strips of muscle tissue and tendon dragged behind him as he crawled, a trail of blood forming and widening as he continued. His eyes were cloudy, covered by the film of death. Short and tousled blonde hair was stained with blood, and one of his cheeks had been gnawed fully open, his teeth visible through his face. Clad in tattered and ripped labcoat and mostly missing white pants were almost drenched with blood that was almost undoubtedly his own, he stared up at them and wailed hungrily.
Lara turned, unable to look at the pitiful being, and Richard took aim at the man's forehead. After a moment of hesitation, he closed his eyes and fired, hearing the sickening splatter that was without a doubt the man's head simply exploding outwards in back. Refusing to let himself look, he glanced toward the right, looking down the hallway and listening for signs of sound. Hearing nothing, he nudged Lara and bid her to continue.
Subject T watched Richard jealously, having wanted to make the kill. Once more fighting the impulse to slice the man's head clean off, he followed the two departing figures. As they neared another hallway, Richard looked from left to right. To the left was light, and in addition, a lovely display of blood pooled here and there, some still fresh and slowly trailing down the wall.
To the right was ominous and unwavering darkness, sending little chills up each of their spines (leave for Subject T). No matter how hard Richard squinted and focused his trained vision, he could see nothing down that hallway. But, to his relief, he also heard nothing.
Now was the time to make a choice: Light and a slight feeling of security, or darkness and that same sinking feeling to overwhelm them. Neither looked too promising, and his train of thought was soon derailed by a close-up moan. Whirling around and aiming quickly, he found himself nearly face-to-face with a woman, who couldn't have been a day older than twenty-two, groping hungrily at his shirt. Out of surprise, he batted her away, managing to knock her off her feet.
The woman seemed mostly intact, without bite marks, until one got a close look at her back. The entire backside of her pale blue secretary's uniform was stained a deep crimson, the ivory shine of bone visible in the area of her lower back. When she tried to force herself to her feet, her vertebrae visibly and audibly ground together, making Lara's stomach churn all over again.
Slowly, the woman rose, her glazed brown eyes boring into the side of Lara's neck. Another famished moan escaped her wide open maw, and she lurched forward towards her new target. Sidestepping out of the girl's way, Richard jammed the muzzle of the gun into the girl's right temple.
"I'll see you in hell.." Gritting his teeth, he pulled the trigger. The girl released a shrill cry as the bullet switfly entered and exited her skull, her head not bursting like many of the others' had. Crumpling unceremoniously, she finally lay still, glossy eyes locked onto the ceiling as if staring into heaven.
Lara raised her own eyes as well, trying to forbid the tears from falling down her pallid cheeks. Holding back a frustrated sob, she turned and gave each hallway another good long glance before making a decision on impulse. Pivoting on her heels, she headed down the blood-stained hallway, more than happy to march through human excretions if it meant seeing where she was going.
Jogging to catch up, Richard tried to find something comforting to say. But, since he wasn't exactly the comforting type, he failed, and forced himself to pay attention to their surroundings. Hearing Subject T come up behind them, he denied himself a glance backwards, quite sure that the oversized brute would take care of anything that would try to pursue them at this point.
Lara knew it wasn't wise to simply march into 'unexplored territory' as she was, but she wanted out, and wanted out NOW. This seemed like too much from the start, but now her body has taken over her mind and she realized how hungry, thirsty, and damn well exhausted she was.
Her body had almost reached it's limits, throbbing and aching here and there, her mind on fire with all kinds of fear and suspicions. A burning desire to take in fresh air ripped at her insides, and she vaguely realized that she had given in to her panic.
Richard, on the other hand, was forcing himself into cool, calm collection. He knew that if her lost it now, they were all as good as dead. Even that.. thing.. that he was responsible for couldn't survive for very long with what was loose down there. A little twinge of guilt hit him, then, because deep down he was fully awae of the fact that this was all his fault, in every aspect.
It was he and his brother Alexander who had created this monstrosity of a disease, and he and his brother who had failed to find a solid way to cure it. Of course, there had been anti-viruses tested for the T and G samples, and those had been pure successes. But when it came to the X-Virus, a constantly mutating mass, there was no way to capture that essence and reverse it. Simply put, once you became infected, there was no turning back.
Swallowing at the thought, Richard stopped when they came to the next four-way. Listening intently to the enhanced sound that the overhead pipes provided, he grabbed Lara's arm to prevent her from going any further. When she turned to glare at him, she found him with a very serious look upon his face, one finger to his lips.
Slowly, he mouthed the words, 'Don't move!'. Going stiff, Lara glanced to her right down the hallway. There, crouched in a corner and blocking the next potential door they could enter was another of the skinless beasts, eyes glimmering in the mass of shadows. Its tongue dropped from its mouth wetly, swaying back and forth along the cold cement, its clawed toes clicking lightly.
Subject T, still lumbering down the hall behind them, was unaware of the looming danger that was slowly crawling forward to threaten his mate and reluctant companion. Richard slowly tugged Lara close enough to him that he could whisper to her, a plan hatching in his mind. Getting so close that Lara could feel his lips brushing her ear with each word, Richard whispered to her, "When I say, I want you to run for that door. Run as fast as you can. I'll distract it. Do you understand me?"
When she slowly nodded in agreement, not even for the moment taking Subject T into consideration, he released her, aiming for one of the licker's legs and firing. The bullet struck home in what used to be a kneecap, and the beast yowled as black-purple blood oozed and spurted from the fresh wound.
"Now!" Richard blurted, giving Lara a fierce shove toward the door, watching her hair fly out behind her as she skirted the groping tongue of the licker and yank open the door. Biting his lower lip, he silently prayed that this would work. He knew when she ran into the room without hesitation and slammed the door that the room was safe, and took aim again, careful not to kill the thing. Another hole appeared, this time in the left front leg, earning him a cry of rage an hurt from the writhing beast.
Watching as the licker darted forward, meaning to wrap its tongue around one of his legs, Richard took a leap of faith, rolling to the side as the licker went skittering past. Grinning as he realized that this would work perfectly, he dashed for the room that Lara had gone into, knowing full well it led to another door, and a hallway. Throwing open the door, he grinned again, this time at Subject T, who hd begun to battle the ferocious licker.
Making sure to make a display of slamming and bolting the door, Richard turned to Lara. Reaching out for her, he took careful note of the fear and confusion in her eyes. Digging his fingers into her arm, he began to lead her to the door at the other end of the bare room.
"What the hell are you doing!? We need to wait for him! Dammit, let me go!"
Turning to face her, he pressed the barrel of his gun right between her eyes. Enjoying the feeling of the shudder of terror that went through her, he stared into her face and spoke.
"You will follow me, and obey every fucking word I say, or I will put another hole in that pretty little head of yours. Or, I could feed you to one of those lovely felines. I know there are at least four more roaming around. I know by the look in your eyes you don't want that. Now, let's go."
Pleased at the lack of resistance, Richard began to lead her to the door, pushing her in front of him by the muzzle of his gun. Pressing it squarely into her back, he waved his gun in signal for her to open the door. Reaching out and taking the handle, she turned. Or at least, tried to, finding it locked. Biting her lower lip for a moment, she trembled, praying he wouldn't shoot her.
"It... it's locked."
"Easily solved." Giving her a little tug to one side, he aimed carefully and blew the lock clean off the door, kicking it open to reveal a well-lit hallway. Perhaps forty feet from them was a dead end with another door, and only twenty feet ahead was a left turn. Listening for a moment and ignoring the vicious battle that raged right outside the door, Richard cocked his head to one side.
"Perfect." Shoving Lara into the hallway, never releasing her arm, he opted for the latter, half dragging, half pushing her towards the turn. After careful consideration of their short time before Subject T figured out that they were gone, he gave her another sudden shove, out into the line of sight of anything that might be in the adjacent hall.
Cringing and balling her hands into fists, Lara waited several moments before opening her eyes, ashamed to find herself shaking. Raising her gaze to look down the section of darkened hallway, she let out a breath upon seeing nothing but a puddle of blood ten feet from her.
"..Excellent. Seems fate has taken a vacation. "
Chuckling as though he had made some tremendous joke, Richard jammed the barrel of his weapon into the small of her back, and the two slowly made their way down the hallway.
Meanwhile, Subject T was in a heated dispute with the angry and feisty licker. Swiping his claws as though they were Death's scythe, he snarled and fumed as the thing dodged his attack by flattening itself to the ground.
Glancing up, Subject T found himself enraged when he could no longer see the so dubbed 'bastard' or his mate. Howling in fury, he made a mad dive for the snarling licker, pinning it under his weight and ignoring the tongue that wrapped around his throat.
Slicing the tongue off right away, Subject T rammed his claws right into the licker's face, relishing in the blood that began to gush onto the floor. Wrenching his claws out and sliding his eely tongue over them, he growled and rose.
They couldn't get far. That bastard would pay.
Pay with his life.
Turning and striding to the door, Subject T paused for the briefest of moments before simply ramming the door off its hinges with one powerful fist. Sniffing the air, he continued through the open door, following the scent of his kidnapped mate.
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Ooh, cliffhanger-ish. Well, I'll take seven reviews for the next update. No less, so don't be lazy! Lazy people make me sad. I make myself sad. ^_^;;;
Wow... I have to thank you guys for this. Loyal reviewers are what keeps this story going, and I must express my supreme gratitude for that. On with the story, woohoo! This may end up just being a filler chapter.. depends on where my mind goes.
Please pardon my typos.
**************************************************************************************************
Their pace gradually slowed as they trekked down the wretched and dark stairway, the scent of blood heavy in the air. Richard's stomach turned and he thought for a brief moment he might vomit. But he swallowed the bile that had risen in his throat, his muscles screaming for him to stop. Vaguely they could see a pinprick of light, flickering as they ran, but present nonetheless.
They were forced to speed up as they heard the faint moaning from behind them, terror making the blood pound in their temples. Subject T seemed the only one without unease, leading the way and making it harder to see where they were going (if this was possible). After another solid minute and a half of full out running, they reached the bottom of the stairs. Subject T's head whipped to the left, having spotted movement out of the corner of his eye.
Dragging himself toward them was a man, each of his legs missing, having been ripped clean off. Thin strips of muscle tissue and tendon dragged behind him as he crawled, a trail of blood forming and widening as he continued. His eyes were cloudy, covered by the film of death. Short and tousled blonde hair was stained with blood, and one of his cheeks had been gnawed fully open, his teeth visible through his face. Clad in tattered and ripped labcoat and mostly missing white pants were almost drenched with blood that was almost undoubtedly his own, he stared up at them and wailed hungrily.
Lara turned, unable to look at the pitiful being, and Richard took aim at the man's forehead. After a moment of hesitation, he closed his eyes and fired, hearing the sickening splatter that was without a doubt the man's head simply exploding outwards in back. Refusing to let himself look, he glanced toward the right, looking down the hallway and listening for signs of sound. Hearing nothing, he nudged Lara and bid her to continue.
Subject T watched Richard jealously, having wanted to make the kill. Once more fighting the impulse to slice the man's head clean off, he followed the two departing figures. As they neared another hallway, Richard looked from left to right. To the left was light, and in addition, a lovely display of blood pooled here and there, some still fresh and slowly trailing down the wall.
To the right was ominous and unwavering darkness, sending little chills up each of their spines (leave for Subject T). No matter how hard Richard squinted and focused his trained vision, he could see nothing down that hallway. But, to his relief, he also heard nothing.
Now was the time to make a choice: Light and a slight feeling of security, or darkness and that same sinking feeling to overwhelm them. Neither looked too promising, and his train of thought was soon derailed by a close-up moan. Whirling around and aiming quickly, he found himself nearly face-to-face with a woman, who couldn't have been a day older than twenty-two, groping hungrily at his shirt. Out of surprise, he batted her away, managing to knock her off her feet.
The woman seemed mostly intact, without bite marks, until one got a close look at her back. The entire backside of her pale blue secretary's uniform was stained a deep crimson, the ivory shine of bone visible in the area of her lower back. When she tried to force herself to her feet, her vertebrae visibly and audibly ground together, making Lara's stomach churn all over again.
Slowly, the woman rose, her glazed brown eyes boring into the side of Lara's neck. Another famished moan escaped her wide open maw, and she lurched forward towards her new target. Sidestepping out of the girl's way, Richard jammed the muzzle of the gun into the girl's right temple.
"I'll see you in hell.." Gritting his teeth, he pulled the trigger. The girl released a shrill cry as the bullet switfly entered and exited her skull, her head not bursting like many of the others' had. Crumpling unceremoniously, she finally lay still, glossy eyes locked onto the ceiling as if staring into heaven.
Lara raised her own eyes as well, trying to forbid the tears from falling down her pallid cheeks. Holding back a frustrated sob, she turned and gave each hallway another good long glance before making a decision on impulse. Pivoting on her heels, she headed down the blood-stained hallway, more than happy to march through human excretions if it meant seeing where she was going.
Jogging to catch up, Richard tried to find something comforting to say. But, since he wasn't exactly the comforting type, he failed, and forced himself to pay attention to their surroundings. Hearing Subject T come up behind them, he denied himself a glance backwards, quite sure that the oversized brute would take care of anything that would try to pursue them at this point.
Lara knew it wasn't wise to simply march into 'unexplored territory' as she was, but she wanted out, and wanted out NOW. This seemed like too much from the start, but now her body has taken over her mind and she realized how hungry, thirsty, and damn well exhausted she was.
Her body had almost reached it's limits, throbbing and aching here and there, her mind on fire with all kinds of fear and suspicions. A burning desire to take in fresh air ripped at her insides, and she vaguely realized that she had given in to her panic.
Richard, on the other hand, was forcing himself into cool, calm collection. He knew that if her lost it now, they were all as good as dead. Even that.. thing.. that he was responsible for couldn't survive for very long with what was loose down there. A little twinge of guilt hit him, then, because deep down he was fully awae of the fact that this was all his fault, in every aspect.
It was he and his brother Alexander who had created this monstrosity of a disease, and he and his brother who had failed to find a solid way to cure it. Of course, there had been anti-viruses tested for the T and G samples, and those had been pure successes. But when it came to the X-Virus, a constantly mutating mass, there was no way to capture that essence and reverse it. Simply put, once you became infected, there was no turning back.
Swallowing at the thought, Richard stopped when they came to the next four-way. Listening intently to the enhanced sound that the overhead pipes provided, he grabbed Lara's arm to prevent her from going any further. When she turned to glare at him, she found him with a very serious look upon his face, one finger to his lips.
Slowly, he mouthed the words, 'Don't move!'. Going stiff, Lara glanced to her right down the hallway. There, crouched in a corner and blocking the next potential door they could enter was another of the skinless beasts, eyes glimmering in the mass of shadows. Its tongue dropped from its mouth wetly, swaying back and forth along the cold cement, its clawed toes clicking lightly.
Subject T, still lumbering down the hall behind them, was unaware of the looming danger that was slowly crawling forward to threaten his mate and reluctant companion. Richard slowly tugged Lara close enough to him that he could whisper to her, a plan hatching in his mind. Getting so close that Lara could feel his lips brushing her ear with each word, Richard whispered to her, "When I say, I want you to run for that door. Run as fast as you can. I'll distract it. Do you understand me?"
When she slowly nodded in agreement, not even for the moment taking Subject T into consideration, he released her, aiming for one of the licker's legs and firing. The bullet struck home in what used to be a kneecap, and the beast yowled as black-purple blood oozed and spurted from the fresh wound.
"Now!" Richard blurted, giving Lara a fierce shove toward the door, watching her hair fly out behind her as she skirted the groping tongue of the licker and yank open the door. Biting his lower lip, he silently prayed that this would work. He knew when she ran into the room without hesitation and slammed the door that the room was safe, and took aim again, careful not to kill the thing. Another hole appeared, this time in the left front leg, earning him a cry of rage an hurt from the writhing beast.
Watching as the licker darted forward, meaning to wrap its tongue around one of his legs, Richard took a leap of faith, rolling to the side as the licker went skittering past. Grinning as he realized that this would work perfectly, he dashed for the room that Lara had gone into, knowing full well it led to another door, and a hallway. Throwing open the door, he grinned again, this time at Subject T, who hd begun to battle the ferocious licker.
Making sure to make a display of slamming and bolting the door, Richard turned to Lara. Reaching out for her, he took careful note of the fear and confusion in her eyes. Digging his fingers into her arm, he began to lead her to the door at the other end of the bare room.
"What the hell are you doing!? We need to wait for him! Dammit, let me go!"
Turning to face her, he pressed the barrel of his gun right between her eyes. Enjoying the feeling of the shudder of terror that went through her, he stared into her face and spoke.
"You will follow me, and obey every fucking word I say, or I will put another hole in that pretty little head of yours. Or, I could feed you to one of those lovely felines. I know there are at least four more roaming around. I know by the look in your eyes you don't want that. Now, let's go."
Pleased at the lack of resistance, Richard began to lead her to the door, pushing her in front of him by the muzzle of his gun. Pressing it squarely into her back, he waved his gun in signal for her to open the door. Reaching out and taking the handle, she turned. Or at least, tried to, finding it locked. Biting her lower lip for a moment, she trembled, praying he wouldn't shoot her.
"It... it's locked."
"Easily solved." Giving her a little tug to one side, he aimed carefully and blew the lock clean off the door, kicking it open to reveal a well-lit hallway. Perhaps forty feet from them was a dead end with another door, and only twenty feet ahead was a left turn. Listening for a moment and ignoring the vicious battle that raged right outside the door, Richard cocked his head to one side.
"Perfect." Shoving Lara into the hallway, never releasing her arm, he opted for the latter, half dragging, half pushing her towards the turn. After careful consideration of their short time before Subject T figured out that they were gone, he gave her another sudden shove, out into the line of sight of anything that might be in the adjacent hall.
Cringing and balling her hands into fists, Lara waited several moments before opening her eyes, ashamed to find herself shaking. Raising her gaze to look down the section of darkened hallway, she let out a breath upon seeing nothing but a puddle of blood ten feet from her.
"..Excellent. Seems fate has taken a vacation. "
Chuckling as though he had made some tremendous joke, Richard jammed the barrel of his weapon into the small of her back, and the two slowly made their way down the hallway.
Meanwhile, Subject T was in a heated dispute with the angry and feisty licker. Swiping his claws as though they were Death's scythe, he snarled and fumed as the thing dodged his attack by flattening itself to the ground.
Glancing up, Subject T found himself enraged when he could no longer see the so dubbed 'bastard' or his mate. Howling in fury, he made a mad dive for the snarling licker, pinning it under his weight and ignoring the tongue that wrapped around his throat.
Slicing the tongue off right away, Subject T rammed his claws right into the licker's face, relishing in the blood that began to gush onto the floor. Wrenching his claws out and sliding his eely tongue over them, he growled and rose.
They couldn't get far. That bastard would pay.
Pay with his life.
Turning and striding to the door, Subject T paused for the briefest of moments before simply ramming the door off its hinges with one powerful fist. Sniffing the air, he continued through the open door, following the scent of his kidnapped mate.
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Ooh, cliffhanger-ish. Well, I'll take seven reviews for the next update. No less, so don't be lazy! Lazy people make me sad. I make myself sad. ^_^;;;