Nemesis: Resident Evil III
Chapter Twenty One: Desperate Escape
For a moment after entering the Grill 13 restaurant, and finally getting some food and water, Jill was starting to relax after meeting the young man who introduced himself as Carlos Olivera. Apparently he had gotten into the locked building by falling through the roof somehow, leaving him looking like an albino with ashy skin because of the drywall dust that covered most of his body. Like a lot of men, he tried to be smooth with the way he talked to her, while a Don Juan he was not… he was armed, though, and even though it was kind of off-putting to hear he worked for Umbrella, the young woman would have signed on with the Devil himself to get out of there once those heavy footsteps were heard.
Carlos didn't understand why she was so afraid when the Pursuer opened the front door and walked in, but then again, Jill hadn't understood Brad's fear, either. Of course, once the young man got a good look at the thing, he seemed to understand that escape was the best option… it was just too bad that there wasn't a convenient truck around to ram the thing with. There was a clear path to the back door from where they were hidden, and the dining area was big, so it would take the monster some time to check around everywhere before getting to the kitchen… oh, good, it was starting with the bathrooms.
She couldn't help but wonder how it was tracking her, not that it really mattered, but if the Pursuer really was capable of following her no matter where she went in the city, then simply running away would be about as productive for her as it had been for Brad. No, something had to be done to stop this thing once and for all… heh, it was too bad there wasn't a roof that she could push it through like what had happened to Carlos… or maybe… or maybe she could bring the roof down to it.
Staying crouched down behind the counters so that the monster didn't spot her as it growled while moving into the next bathroom, the young woman crawled over into the kitchen, and began to turn on all of the gas burners on all four of the restaurant's stoves without lighting them, making Carlos's eyes widen when he figured out what she was trying to do. Because there were so many ovens, the kitchen area quickly filled with visible gas fumes, with the two of them having to stay low on the ground so it wouldn't choke them.
"Head for the back door and make sure it's open." She whispered as the monster came out of the other bathroom, growling as if it were irritated that she wasn't in there. "We need to get it closer, though."
"Are you fucking loco?!" He whispered back urgently. "If you set that off, you're gonna bring the whole ceiling down on top of us?!"
Not us, the young woman thought, just him… and the anger she felt while putting this plan into action actually made her stop shaking… in order to stand up and whistle in order to get the Pursuer's attention. She immediately regretted this decision when the monster turned and made eye contact with her, seeming to smile a little while her knees began shaking… and now it was turning toward the kitchen.
"Sstarss." It said as it started walking toward her.
Okay, now all she had to do was run for the door, turn around, and shoot the ovens so that they would spark and blow the place up… yep, all she had to do was run… but something was wrong… Jill knew what she had to do, but for some reason she found herself unable to move as the thing got closer… and closer. She was still standing there, unable to move when it reached the entrance to the kitchen, but suddenly her paralysis was broken when Carlos grabbed her arm and started pulling her toward the exit.
Following his part of the plan, the young man had made sure that the back door was propped open for their escape, and it was a good thing too, because when he turned around and started spraying bullets toward the ovens with his rifle just as the monster was roaring to begin the chase… the gas exploded. BOOM! In an incredibly powerful flash of light and noise, Jill and Carlos were lifted off their feet, throwing them right out the door while the monster was engulfed in flames.
She couldn't hear whether or not the Pursuer was still roaring or moving, mostly because of how badly her ears were ringing, but a moment later the entire roof of the Grill 13 collapsed down into the restaurant, kicking up so much smoke and debris that the fire was put out by the time it cleared. The young woman was glad to have been wearing that leather jacket, since the fall onto the pavement outside probably would have hurt a lot worse without it, but she couldn't help smiling while catching her breath since there was no sign of the monster.
"Jill, come on!" She partially heard through her ringing ears. "Jill, come on, we gotta go! Come on, they're coming!"
She was still a little dazed because of the explosion, but after turning around to look away from the Grill 13 wreckage, she discovered why the young man was pulling on her arm again. It was because even though the Pursuer was buried alive, the explosion had drawn the attention of the zombies who had been gathered around the pharmacy. Some of them were on fire, and the ones closest to the blast must have been knocked down, since they were just now getting to their feet, but Carlos was right, they had to get out of there.
Jill was dizzy from the explosion, but Carlos helped her to her feet, and was even nice enough to let her lean on him as they moved away from the shopping plaza. There were so many infected people around, but they were slow, and soon the two of them had crossed the street and entered a narrow alleyway. There didn't seem to be any zombies along this path that ran behind more buildings, but that made sense when the young man assured her that he had already cleared this area before.
"The others are held up at Central Station." He explained while helping her along. "But we gotta make a stop first; it won't take long, I promise."
"Yeah… okay." Jill replied, shaking her head to cry and clear the dizziness. "Sounds good."
Sure, there was nothing wrong with allowing herself to be led around by a total stranger, especially when he already said that he worked for Umbrella. It was better than being alone, though, since if she had to set off the explosion in the restaurant by herself, the young woman didn't know if she would have been able to get up before the zombies from the pharmacy got to her. Carlos didn't seem like your typical Umbrella goon, though, assuming that the bad ones were more like Wesker had been.
Suddenly the ground underneath Jill's feet was soft, interrupting her thoughts when she realized that the young man was leading her across the courtyard behind City Hall. Walking was getting a little bit easier by the time they passed by the oversized statue of the Mayor, and the ringing in her ears was almost gone as they crossed another street, allowing her to see that the young man was bringing her toward… the Stagla station?
"Why are we going to the gas station?" She asked as they passed the pumps. "Don't tell me you have a car waiting to drive us out of here."
"Yeah, not exactly." Carlos answered. "In addition to the medicine for my Captain, I'm supposed to get gear oil so we can get the cable car going again."
Oh, so that was why the rest of his people were hold up at Central Station, the young woman realized as he helped her through the door, and then to sit down in one of the chairs while he ran over into the garage. They were trying to get one of the cable cars up and running, but oil wasn't going to be enough, but… maybe they already had someone else turn the power back on to the system while the young man was retrieving these items.
He was back there for a while, so long that Jill was starting to get worried, until he came out with a bucket of an odd type of gear oil that she had never heard of before. However, instead of wanting to take off again right away, the young man went over to the refrigerators and got her another bottle of water, as well as a bottle of aspirin from up near the cash register. She thanked him and took a couple pills, since her head was still pounding, and Carlos sat down in another chair right in front of her while she chugged down the whole bottle.
"You must have been starving for a while, huh?" He asked, taking the empty bottle when she was done and tossing it into the nearby waste basket. "Well, don't worry, those pills will make you feel better, and then when we get out of this ciudad de pasadilla, I'll take you out for a real nice dinner somewhere."
"Carlos, you don't have to coddle me like I'm some scared little girl." The young woman replied. "But I'll tell you what… you get me out of the city, and I just might take you up on that offer."
The young man smiled when she said this, and Jill couldn't help smiling a little as well… and why not, Carlos was cute, like… real cute… but then he had to ruin it by saying that he bet she was glad that the company sent in its soldiers when it did. Now the smile faded, since she knew that this was all Umbrella's fault to begin with, but he didn't seem to know that… nor had he or his comrades even been aware, based on what he told her, of the existence of these flesh eating monsters in the first place.
"So, what happened?" The young woman asked, starting to feel better from the pills. "Umbrella just picked you guys up one day and sent you here without telling you anything at all?"
"Actually, that's almost exactly what happened." Carlos answered, surprising her this time. "All we were told was that something bad was going down in Raccoon City, and that we were going in to rescue the civilians. We're just mercenaries, Jill, hired hands… we're not really part of the company, so I guess we're lucky if they tell us anything at all… you feeling better, novia?"
Again, she reminded him that she was not his sweetheart, but the answer was yes, she was feeling a lot better. So now that they had everything they needed, it was time to head over to Central Station, and if luck was with her, then they had a radio, and she wouldn't end up having to go to the press building to signal for help after all.