Pandemic: Resident Evil VI

Chapter Twenty Seven: Lesser of Two Evils

Through the tiny crack between the rubbish bin's frame and its metal cover, Sherry watched as the monster slowly moved around the chamber; it's head swiveling back and forth while it walked around every piece of equipment in an effort to find its target. Ustanak, as Tobias called it, must've had some way of tracking Jake, or at least narrowing it down, because although the beast moved around the chamber in a constant search pattern, it didn't seem to have any intention of leaving the immediate area.

With the amount of time that it would take for the cover to be opened quietly, both her and the young man climbing back out, and then sneaking off into another chamber of the cave system, there was just no way that it could be done unless Ustanak went somewhere else. Their yellow eyed companion must have realized this, since as soon as he finished sneaking around the opposite side of an old generator to keep from being discovered himself, Tobias picked up a loose rock, and tossed it toward the far end of the chamber.

Clack-clunk, as soon as the rock made a noise, the monster roared in fury, it's drilling arm spinning to life as it sprinted toward the source of the disturbance. Ustanak must have been frustrated with not being able to locate Jake, because the beast continued to roar and snarl, using its drilling arm to smash up some more old equipment and strike against the rock wall… and making an awful lot of noise that was just what was needed for a quick getaway. So the young man took advantage of the distraction, standing up inside the bin and then pushing the lid upward.

Screeeeeeech! The blonde realized that Jake had pushed up the lid too fast, because the resulting sound made all the other noises stop as the monster froze in place. For a moment nothing moved inside the cave system, not even the air while Sherry stared at the back of the beast… before the drills came back to life when Ustanak turned around and sprinted back toward them. Scrambling to get over the frame and out of the metal bin, there was no way that the two of them were going to be able to get out and run away in time, but then Tobias flung himself into the monster's path.

Wrapping himself around the beast's legs, Ustanak's pursuit was brought to a scraping halt when the monster fell on its face at full speed, sliding a short distance across the partially frozen ground while the blonde and Jake ran out of the way. Looking back for a second, Sherry saw as Tobias and the beast both got to their feet, and then the yellow eyed man's eyes glowed for a second as he kicked Ustanak in the face hard enough to make the monster fall back to its hands and knees. The effect of this kick only lasted a second though, and now Tobias had to back off when the beast got up, but it gave Jake and Sherry the time they needed to get away, but…

"Which way to we go?" She asked, looking around. "Which tunnel do we take?"

"I don't know, I was following him." The young man replied, pointing back there. "What if we go back, and just go around the mountain like we planned?"

Actually, that idea sounded pretty good, but it would also mean having to go back through the chamber where Ustanak and Tobias were fighting. In the ideal situation, both of them would kill each other at the same time, leaving the blonde free to continue her mission without obstacles, but more likely one of them was going to survive. So what was she supposed to do? Pick a random tunnel and hope for the best? Wait for the battle to resolve itself and then deal with the one that was left? Help Tobias?

Looking around the stone pillar that they were hiding behind, Sherry saw that the yellow eyed man was being chased around the chamber, doing his best to avoid getting grabbed by the monster or hit by its drill, and then attacking Ustanak every time that it missed him. Rolling out of the way, and then alternating between either shooting the beast with his revolver or hitting it with his shock baton, before rolling out of the way again, it was obvious that Tobias was a much more skilled fighter, but Ustanak was stronger and faster. She really didn't want to help him, but if the yellow eyed man lost, then they would have to deal with the monster on their own, so it was decided, but… what were they supposed to do?

Cornering Tobias and forcing him back against the rubbish bin where Sherry and Jake had been hiding, Ustanak stabbed at him with the drilling attachment, but the yellow eyed man dove forward at the last second. Hitting the frozen ground on his stomach and sliding right between the beast's legs, Ustanak's drill missed him completely, instead ramming into the thin metal frame of the rubbish bin, and shredding under the might of the drill. Unfortunately for the monster, the metal was so flimsy that the drills tore it into long strips that wrapped around each of the facets, letting out a plume of black smoke as the tool was brought to a halt.

Growling with frustration after trying to reactivate its attachment, the monster was about to use its human arm to try and remove the blockage, but was interrupted when Tobias jumped up and grabbed the beast around the waist from behind. With his eyes glowing again, the yellow eyed man gritted his teeth and lifted, straining with all his might to slowly lift Ustanak off its feet, and then leaning backwards until the monster's head slammed into the frozen ground. Both of them jumped to their feet, but now that the drill was out of commission, Tobias had the advantage as he swung the shock baton, making more sparks fly as it went across the beast's chin.

With each hit of the baton, Ustanak grunted as it was driven back a little, but Sherry didn't see how this was actually going to defeat the monster… until she saw something that just might do the trick. Among the old vehicles that were parked around the chamber, one of them was a very large tanker truck, that if she was lucky, would be carrying fuel for the generators powering this place. Yes, there was a chance that the stuff inside the truck was no longer any good, since fuel only lasted so long, but then again the lights were still on inside the whole cave system, so this place couldn't have been abandoned for very long at all.

"Come on, I've got an idea." The blonde said, pointing at the truck. "We need to move that."

"Bad idea, Sherry." The young man argued. "If you want to kill both of them, that might work, but an explosion in here could collapse the whole mine."

There really wasn't much choice, since even at the rate he was conserving his viral powers, Tobias's enhanced strength would only last so long, and then Ustanak would kill him, her, and finally take Jake back to whoever it worked for. No, moving that truck was the only option, and in order for this plan to work, she and the young man would have to get the truck lined up with the direction that Ustanak was being pushed. The vehicle was already on a slope, probably held there with the parking brake, so that would be easy to unlock, but a couple of the tires were getting low on air, not flat, but still making it harder to push.

Staying crouched down so the monster wouldn't notice them, Jake and Sherry ran behind all of the machines and other abandoned vehicles that they could, eventually getting over to the truck, where the young man climbed up onto the tank and opened the small cover. So far they were in luck, since he quickly pulled back after smelling it, and told her that it was definitely at least half full of fuel, so now all they had to do was release the parking brake and roll the thing behind Ustanak.

Running around into the cab of the truck, and releasing the brake, Sherry jumped out when the vehicle began to roll, but then its flattened tires stopped it after only a few inches. As for Tobias, the monster leaned back to avoid the next swing of the shock baton, and then swung its human fist into the yellow eyed man's stomach, lifting him off the ground and sending him rolling and sliding across the icy rocks. Instead of attacking him again, the monster looked around, but thankfully both Jake and Sherry were around the back of the truck, so it didn't spot them.

"Well, there goes that idea." The young man whispered as the monster started trying to untangle its drill. "Come on, we gotta get out of here before it frees itself."

"No, wait." The blonde replied, looking over at where Tobias had fallen. "We can still do this, come on, help me push."

What she had seen from a different angle than Ustanak, was the yellow eyed man taking out one of his cigarettes and lighting it up. Anyone that didn't know him would have thought that he was crazy for wanting a smoke at a time like this, but those were no ordinary cigs. Tobias got his power from absorbing the infected cells of viruses, and what better way to do that than rolling up a pack of cigarettes that were full of concentrated Umbrella T-Virus? Jake and Sherry pushed the vehicle with all their might, their strength plus the slope of the ground allowing them to quietly move the truck behind the monster while it was distracted by Tobias getting up.

"Is that all you got, Ustanak?!" The yellow eyed man shouted, his echoes masking the movement of the truck. "You couldn't make a couple of stupid kids get the hell away from the truck, even if they got ready to run down the third tunnel from their position!"

The monster probably didn't even understand his words, but Sherry did, grabbing Jake's arm and using those same echoes to mask their movements as they ran over to the third tunnel. Tobias then sprinted toward the monster with his eyes glowing brightly, jumping up into the air at the last second, and slamming both feet into Ustanak's chest, sending the beast reeling backwards. Bang! As soon as he hit the ground, the yellow eyed man took out his revolver and fired at the truck, hitting the tank, and making Ustanak vanish in a bright flash of light, with the noise of a deafening explosion coming less than a second after.

The whole cavern shook from the blast, nearly knocking Sherry off her feet, and then just as Jake had predicted, the ceiling of the chamber began to crumble and collapse, starting at the flashpoint, and then working its way toward them.

"Run!" Tobias screamed as he came toward them ahead of the collapse. "Run, God damn it, run!"