Resident Evil Recall: Operation Arklay
Episode Eight: Night Terrors
Part One
The Arklay Resort, 7:00 PM…
"The top floor?" Reginald asked with genuine surprise. "But, you came to investigate noises coming from outside, what do you need to go up there for?"
Years of working as a Detective in Raccoon City had taught McGee how to keep his cool during an investigation, but this man was really beginning to get under his skin. It wasn't just because of the pushback he had given them when they had arrived at the resort, but mostly because he couldn't stand people who thought they were either too important to be involved in a police investigation, or somehow above it completely. However, he and Chambers had come in without a search warrant, and almost everything McGee was using to make Reginald cooperate was a bluff, so he gave him the short version of what they had discovered.
"But there's nothing up there." The manager continued once the explanation was finished. "The whole floor is empty due to renovations."
"Oh good." McGee replied. "Then we won't have to disturb any guests when we look around."
The manager was nervous, far more so than this afternoon when they had arrived. His palm were sweaty, a tiny bit of the color had drained from his face, and from the way his face moved, Reginald's mouth had gone dry as well. All these things pointed to someone who was guilty of something, or who at least was hiding something. What was it, McGee wondered? Did the resort keep a supply of special party favors for the VIP's on the top floor? Oh, that would have been priceless; finding a few kilos of Cocaine, or finding out that some of the hotel maids were doubling as prostitutes, or something. Any excuse to put a jerk like Reginald behind bars was acceptable.
"I'm sorry, but I can't allow it." The manager insisted. "It's too much of a safety risk with all of the construction going on. We have crews working up there around the clock, so that's what those guests probably heard. Well, I suppose that solves the mystery… I will inform the construction crews to restrict the use of power tools at night so as not to disturb the guests, so that's that."
"I don't think so." Chambers replied. "Even snooty rich folks like these can tell the difference between a table saw and something rummaging around, so I'm gonna give you two choices: Either take us to the top floor, or we're gonna arrest you and find the key ourselves."
Reginald just stood there speechless for a moment, and then gave a nervous nod before going over to the key box on the wall. McGee was finding himself more and more impressed with this kid, and patted him on the shoulder while nodding approvingly as Reginald got the key card. The manager then motioned for them to follow him, and tried to be all incognito as he led them to the elevator, but in McGee's eyes, that would have made their little group look even more suspicious.
"I think you're making a mistake." Reginald said as the elevator went up.
The Detective didn't reply, nor did Chambers as they rode up to the ninth floor, where the car stopped. Reginald then led them back to the stairwell and up to the access door that they hadn't been able to open earlier. There he used the key card, and with a soft electrical beep, the door clicked open to reveal a dark hallway. Emergency lights allowed the Detective to see the outline of the hallway and all of the room doors, but nothing else, and it was so quiet.
There wasn't a single worker in sight, meaning that the manager had lied to them about the construction, so who knew what they were going to find in there? Not wanting to give the manager a chance to hide anything they might find, McGee stepped through first, with the plan being to have Chambers come in last so that Reginald was kept between them. But then Chambers gasped as the manager shoved him through the door and slammed it shut once the two cops were inside.
"Hey, what the hell?!" Chambers demanded.
There was no response, only the sound of Reginald's feet as he quickly ran back down the stairs. McGee pushed on the bar to open the door and go after him, but it didn't work, and from before they knew that the door was too strong to be forced or shot open. In the limited light, he could see the elevator right next to where they were standing, so the Detective pushed the call button, but nothing happened. It appeared that for the moment, they were trapped, but the bigger question was why this floor was isolated like that.
There were other options for getting out of Reginald's little trap, such as the fire escape or possibly another stairwell, although it would probably be in the same shape as this one. There were a few more options that were running through McGee's head, when he and Chambers jumped as a loud noise began to fill the hallway. It was some kind of buzzer, and the Detective realized what it was once the hallway became illuminated by flashing lights that each had the word FIRE in red letters across the face.
"The fire alarm?" McGee asked. "Why would he pull the…
Now it was McGee's turn to have his mouth run dry as a horrible possibility entered his mind. Reginald had effectively trapped them on this floor, and pulling the fire alarm would cause not only the building to be evacuated… but would also prevent any of the guests downstairs from hearing them call for help. In an isolated place like this, it could take hours for any Fire Department to respond, but what was the point of all this?
"Uh… McGee?!" Chambers called with nervousness of his own in his voice. "We're not alone up here!"
The Detective turned around, and his eyes widened at what he saw in the slowly flashing lights. There was a man slowly walking out of one of the rooms, no, more like shambling as if he were drunk or maybe using some of the party favors that were suspected of being held on that floor. There was something wrong with the man's face as well, but in the flashing lights, it was really hard to tell as he continued to shamble toward them while letting out what sounded almost like a groan while reaching out for them.
"Okay, pal, that's far enough!" McGee yelled over the alarm as he drew his revolver, prompting Chambers to do the same. "RPD, don't take another step!"
Liquid Family Cabin, 7:00 PM…
After staring at the large hole in the roof for about a minute, Liquid got out of the SUV, and the others followed shortly after. The first thing they did was take a look around the outside of the cabin to see if there was any other mysterious damage, but they couldn't find any, nor could they place what had caused the hole in the first place. There were no tree branches above the structure, nor were there any cliffs up higher, so falling rocks were out as well. Obviously something had crashed through the roof, but they would have to go inside to figure it out.
"You know what it could be?" Lopez asked as they approached the front door. "I heard that when you flush a toilet on one of those big 747 jets, the stuff is just kinda dropped out the bottom at like fifty thousand feet, and it freezes on the way down. I hate to tell you this, Liquid, but I think your house just took a hit from a Boeing Bomb."
"Great." Liquid replied while trying the doorknob. "If that's true, then not only will I get a big insurance check out of this, but then I can also sue the airlines. Thanks, Lopez, I think you just made me a lot of money."
Smirking as Lopez grumbled an inaudible reply, Liquid found that the front door was still locked, which was good, since it meant that nobody broke in while they were gone. However, this good feeling went away as the three of them entered the cabin, and they saw what kind of damage had been done. Whatever had fallen through the roof, apparently hit with enough force to break through the second floor, as shown by the large hole in the ceiling of the kitchen. It then continued on through the first floor, and was now probably resting where it impacted in the basement.
"No!" Ashwood yelled as she ran into the kitchen.
Looking to see what she was yelling about, the Lieutenant shook his head with disappointment as she stood in front of what had once been the kitchen table where all of the computer equipment had been left. There were splinters of wood littered around the room as if the table had exploded, and mixed in with the wood were little fragments of metal and circuitry. Thankfully, Ashwood had kept the portable unit with them when they want into Arklay Village, but now they had no way to do any field testing or send results back to the RPD.
"My equipment!" She continued as she looked at the wreckage in frustration. "It's all been destroyed!"
"Don't worry, Ashwood." Lopez replied. "We'll just get our fearless leader here to write it off as a field loss, and everything will be fine. Right, Liquid?"
"Be quiet, both of you." Liquid ordered sharply. "Listen… do you hear that?"
A sound had caught his ear; it was almost like a slow rhythmic thumping, and it took a second for him to figure out where it was coming from, but then the Lieutenant looked at the hole when he realized that it was coming from below them. Liquid was about to start looking for a flashlight so that he could see down there, but stopped when the whole cabin seemed to shake just a little for a second. Then it happened again a second later, and yet again, shaking the cabin slightly harder each time. Instead of below them, it was now coming from the side, and the impacts sounded wooden… like something big was walking up the basement stairs.
"We've got company." Liquid whispered. "Ashwood, take a flanking position in one of the rooms past the basement door. Lopez, get on the upward stairs and cover me from the side. I'll stay here and keep our guest occupied. Go."
Ashwood quickly crept past the basement door, and hid just inside the bathroom where she wouldn't be seen, while Lopez went about halfway up the stairs and got into a crouched position while drawing his pistol. Liquid was a little nervous, but he stood his ground as the footsteps got closer and closer, until the basement door slowly opened and their uninvited guest slowly stepped into view.
"You have got to be kidding me." The Lieutenant said to himself.
It was a man… at least, Liquid was pretty sure it was a man. He stood well over seven feet tall, bald, with a blank expression on his face, and with a strange brownish-greenish skin tone that almost matched the green long coat that he was wearing. Heavy boots covered his massive feet, and the man was built like a linebacker, with arms and hands so muscular looking that Liquid had no doubt this person could kill a man with his bare hands. When he had first heard the footsteps, the Lieutenant had imagined a freaky looking, bloodthirsty cannibal, but this guy didn't look like your typical savage. Hell, the guy was even wearing a utility belt, but he was also trespassing, so Liquid drew his revolver.
"RPD, freeze!" He yelled. "Get down on the ground, and put your hands behind your head!"
