Chapter 44
I bury my face in Trish's and let the tears fall.
"We need to get out of here," says Redfield.
Sucking back snot, I nod. Stuffing the chip in my jacket pocket, I loop one arm under Trish and pick her up. "I'll meet you up there. I need to do something first."
"I'll go with you," Claire says to me.
"Hurry," Redfield says and then climbs the rubble.
I lead Claire past the blood, body parts, and scorched crater. Using Trish's ID card, Claire scans open my glass-doored cell. Laying Trish on the bed, I pull the fresh linen over her. I take off her glasses and set them on the dresser.
Claire waits outside. She scans the door open and then hugs me. She hands me the ID card.
"She'd want you to have it," she says.
Trish smiled so happily for this photo. They had to have taken it before she got here and found out what being a Gaea employee was all about. At least I can remember how she looked smiling. I slide the card inside my jacket pocket.
Water dribbles from a crack in the dome. We climb the rubble. A chunk of wall collapses as we reach the first sub-level. Cracks web across the glass panels. The whirring of chopper blades and chatter of several people fill the stairwell shaft.
Grabbing hold of a scrap of guard rail, Claire hoists herself onto the debris. The rail slips. Screaming, Claire falls backward. I catch her. The shaft groans.
"Claire?" yells Redfield as he appears above us.
The walls shake. We back out of the stairwell. The stairs collapse, sealing the hole.
"Claire! Are you okay?" Redfield's voice leaks through the cracks.
"We're fine!" Claire yells back.
A monstrous roar fills the corridor. Inside the demonstration room, a charred hunk of meat shudders as its bloats to the size of a car. Fat tentacles burst free, striking the ground.
"What the hell?" I say.
"It's the virus," says Claire. "Without Mitchell to control it, it's free to consume the host."
"Claire, what's going on?" Redfield asks.
"The monster's still alive," Claire answers.
"Clear this passageway, on the double!" he barks.
Hammering echoes through the debris. The blob is now tank-sized. Its tentacles shoot into the framework. The floor trembles and splits as it gives way. The observation deck door falls with it. Water bursts through cracks in the glass. Claire and I back into the stairwell door frame.
"We have to go, sir," says a man.
"She's my sister! I'm not leaving her here!" yells Redfield.
"Chris, we have to go," says a woman. "If we don't, we'll be buried."
"Just go, Chris!" screams Claire. "We'll find a way out!"
"I'll be back for you, Claire! Don't you dare die on me!" he yells.
The shaft shakes and rumbles. Claire jerks me into the observation deck, the jets of water soaking us. Sliced body parts splash against the viewing window frame. The emergency lights in the observation deck and demonstration room flash red.
The automated voice says, "The island will self-destruct in 60 seconds, 59, 58, 57…"
The blob splits open and roars. Its fangs glisten like yellow knives. Tentacles latch onto the observation deck framework. The room groans and shakes. We grab hold of the nearest bolted chair. The room tilts down, and the water hits us from behind. It smashes into the blob, smacking it against the far wall. The tentacles whip free and the waves drown the thing's screams.
The ocean crashes over us, filling the room. Debris swirls and sinks like heavy snow. A cement chunk hits Claire. Eyes closed, she lets go of the chair. I grab her and drag her into the open sea. I swim toward the sun, gleaming like a bright, white beacon through the darkness around us.
The automated voice echoes through the water: "Fifteen, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10…"
A tentacle wraps my leg. We sail backward. I let go of Claire and watch her drift toward the light.
I close my eyes.
"Five, 4, 3, 2, 1 -"