Chapter 16:
Veronica and Leon carefully made their way up into the main hall and found it to look like nothing had changed while they were gone. No new zombies were wandering about and they didn't hear the thundering footsteps of the Tyrant walking around. Perhaps it had finally died in the explosion down in the parking garage.
They decided to go through the library on the second floor to get down to the save room since they remembered there was a licker now near the west office on the first floor. On the way there, they picked up the badge from the S.T.A.R.S. office and put the USB back into the badge. Their assumptions were correct when they got to the first floor since they could see the licker crawling around and hissing at a new licker that had joined it.
They carefully walked into the familiar safe room and locked the door. Veronica got to work on the two films and when she was done, they decided to go down to the locked box that required the badge. It was something to pass the time while the films developed. There was no trouble in getting back and with an insert of the badge, the case opened. Inside it was pieces to a long barrel for the magnum that made the gun deal more damage.
They didn't think that they needed the badge anymore so they left it there. Leon added the pieces to his gun then reloaded it with the new ammo they had gotten. They went back to the safe room and found the photos have developed a great deal, at least enough to be discernible. One was the locker code to the third-floor locker and the other revealed that there were two hiding places in the station.
"I recognize this one. It's the desk in the S.T.A.R.S. office, but I'm not sure where this is," the young girl said as she held the photos up. Leon hummed as he looked at the other one then nodded.
"I know where that is. It's in a room on the first floor east side."
"Let's go then!"
They quickly got to the S.T.A.R.S. office and went straight to the desk that she had laid on earlier in the evening. They began rummaging through the drawers to see if there was anything interesting and found a wooden box in one of the bottom drawers. Inside it was a red dot sight that allowed for faster aiming for the magnum.
"Very handy. No wonder someone wanted to hide it," Leon said as he added it to his gun.
"Wait! What's this?" his partner pointed out as she bent down to the drawer. She picked up another item and lifted it into view. It was another film. "'Rising Rookie'?" she read the label. "This isn't going to be you naked or something is it, rookie?" she arched an eyebrow. He chuckled at that.
"I hope not," he smirked. "Why? Afraid you'll see me naked?" She playfully swatted at his chest with a shake of her head.
"No! That's for later," she teased as she walked away. That seemed to catch him off guard as he trailed behind her. He cleared his throat at the sudden onslaught of dirty thoughts at the premise of 'later' and tried not thinking about them as they made their way back down to the safe room. He failed miserably. Veronica got the film set up, which they would return for after they went to the third-floor locker and to the other hiding place. It would give it time to develop.
On the third floor, they found the locker still sitting in the same spot and quickly unlocked it. Inside was a box full of magnum ammo for Leon to take, luckily enough. Once they were done, they made their way to the other side of the station towards the other hiding place. They were lucky enough to find some more ammo in a closet on the way there since they never really searched this section besides the office. They were also glad to not run into any new zombies.
They finally got to the room, finding no zombies around and found the desk drawer that was the next hiding place. Inside it was a canteen of fuel. They didn't know what it was for, but they took it in case they needed to light up a monster. As they were making their way back, Leon remembered there was a safe they never opened in the waiting room on the second floor, so they went and did that first. They cracked it open and got a muzzle brake for Matilda that would help reduce the recoil. Back in the safe room, they found the picture developed and found themselves slightly disturbed.
The picture was of a young woman sitting criss-cross in a basketball court. She had her arms bent over her head in a provocative pose and she was wearing a green R.P.D. basketball uniform. Only, this uniform didn't leave much to the imagination with the amount of peach-colored skin that was showing. She didn't look much older than they were. Clearly, this was meant to be hidden for a reason and the name on the label didn't help. The pair looked at each other with slightly disturbed expressions.
"Uh…" Veronica tried saying but instead tossed the picture onto the floor. "Let's...never say that we saw that ever again."
"Agreed." With all the supplies they could possibly get, they decided this was their final goodbye to the station. Once at the goddess statue, the pair looked one final time over the beautiful main hall then back at each other before heading under. They made their way back towards where they last left off in the sewers. As they rode the elevators, Veronica tied up her hair again before Leon handed her forgotten shotgun ammo he had taken near the beginning of their journey together as they prepared themselves.
It felt like such a long way back, but they eventually made it. They decided to head down to the waterway where they first began to use the T-bar handle on the gate they had seen, but of course, it's never easy. As soon as they were down there, they were met with a trio of zombies that were waiting in the water. With Leon's shoulder pain subsiding a little bit, he was able to shoot with Matilda and knock out the undead.
The gate was up in no time and descending the long staircase, only brought them more misery. It was the bottom waterway and they had no other choice but to finally go in to get to the supplies storage room on the other side. Taking a deep breath, they climbed down the ladder into the dark depths of the room, finding the water just as terrible as its surroundings.
Rounding the first corner, they found themselves in a small alcove that was disconnected from the rest of the waterway. Slouched against the wall and atop a mound of garbage was a dead body sitting in the beam of a random light. Moths and flies already swarming the thing, which probably meant it was already dead. Near it was a green herb just randomly sitting close by.
As they went to grab it, some small popped through the man's chest like an alien and dove into the water with a screech. They didn't know where it went, but they didn't want to find out, so they grabbed the herb then climbed onto a solid mound that led to the other side. It must have disappeared into the water, so who knows where it went.
"What the hell was that?!" Leon cried.
"It...it looked like one of those monster babies that the thing spits out." Looking around, there were bodies of sewer workers lying around everywhere.
"Oh my god!"
"Let's hurry and get out of here!" Veronica said crouching near the other edge. They jumped over to the other side and found the path leading forward. As they neared a corner, the groaning of those monsters grew louder and they came upon a familiar mound bobbing along the surface.
"Get ready to run back if it charges. If not, just run past it!" Leon said, taking out a grenade.
"That didn't exactly work last time!"
"But we have more space this time. Trust me!" He pulled the pin and chucked the grenade at the mound causing it to bob up. It saw them but before it could charge, the grenade went off causing it to screech, so they took the moment to run past it. And this time it worked. They could hear it falling behind and they thought they could escape, but they were wrong. Instead, they ran straight into another one and it grabbed Veronica, picking her up off the floor.
Flashbacks went through her mind as she watched its head unfurl, but this time, she didn't plan on getting poisoned again. She still had access to her hips, so she reached back and pulled out a grenade. She pulled the pin in time for the mouth to open and lunge at her like she remembered, but instead of holding it back, she shoved the grenade hand into its mouth. It held onto her hand as it sucked onto the grenade, but she was able to wiggle it out as it swallowed the small weapon.
It's grip loosened on her while it was distracted and she was able to get free in time before the grenade went off. It finally exploded causing the monster to scream in pain and dive back into the water to swim away. Leon grabbed Veronica's hand and pulled her on the pathway forward. They barely made it to the platform to safety when they passed another monster crawling out of a giant sewer opening, but they made it regardless.
They ran through the door so fast and shut it behind them happy to be out of there. Taking a minute, they leaned against the metal door to catch their breath in front of a staircase that would lead up to the next room. Veronica frantically wiped her hand on the back of her shorts to get the slobber off and took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself.
"That was a close one!" she wheezed.
"Yeah. Too close!"
"We're going to run out of grenades at this rate."
"I'd rather we use them and run out then get poisoned," Leon retorted as he led the way up the stairs. She followed behind while giving him a nod in agreement, still breathless. At the top of the staircase was a doorway that was open to a big room filled with boxes and a maze of iron gates. The pair walked in and around towards a staircase that went down into the room. This place was surely a doozy.
Once they were down on the ground floor, they realized that they were surrounded by many gates that required a key to open. With each gate, there was an electric box that required only the king and queen chess pieces to open them and not every gate was the same.
Luckily for them, those pieces were plugged into two of the gates, but they had to run around and place them in different gates in order to take a certain path. All while taking down a single zombie that was hanging over another set of stairs' railing. This room really was a maze and a puzzle at the same time.
Searching around as they went, they found a red herb sitting on a high shelf just at the top of the stairs, a blue herb sitting in a random box, and another gun sitting in one of the gated sections of the room. It took some major maneuvering, but when they finally got to it, they found out it was a flamethrower! Suddenly the canteen of fuel they had found seemed to make sense. Someone knew about it and hid the fuel for safekeeping. Finders keepers!
"So who should take the flamethrower?" Veronica asked. "I don't really have the space to have it on me since I have the shotgun." He thought about it for a minute then hung it over his good shoulder.
"I will. Here, let's split these weapons even between us," he responded while taking off the magnum holster from his leg. He handed it to her then reached into his pouch for the rest of the magnum ammo. "You can take the magnum. We'll both have a handgun and a big gun. Besides, the magnum hurts my shoulder more than Matilda does."
"Fair enough. How do I shoot this one? I'm only used to the shotgun." He gave her some pointers and told her how to shoot with it since it was just a handgun.
"You'll probably feel the recoil in your hands and arms more than you're used to, but don't let it scare you. You've now handled a lot worse!"
Once they were all settled, it took a few more times of maneuvering with the gates before they could finally leave the room with the chess plugs. They headed back the way they came and regrettably walked into the waterway. Already prepared with a grenade in hand, they carefully got back into the water and began their journey back to the other side.
They had come face to face with a monster and just chucked a grenade at it, too tired of the damn things getting in the way. Once it was stunned by the blast, they made a run for it, rushing past it cleanly. After climbing over some squishy mounds of flesh onto the other side where they had started, they were met with another one of the monsters waiting in the waters. It must have been that baby they saw and it had grown already to become an adult.
It took climbing onto the dry mound where the bodies were to quickly get around it and they made it to the ladder in record time. Veronica didn't know if she had climbed a ladder so fast in her life, but it felt like she did. The pair took one final look over the bottom waterway then at each other in relief. They ran out of that room full of relief of having to never go back there again and happily made their way back to Ada.
Once they had reached the control room, they checked the windows to see if Ada was still there and found her beginning to stir from her nap in the same spot. The monster they had heard earlier hadn't found a way in, thankfully. If anything, it must have left because they couldn't hear it anymore.
They ran over to the breaker boxes and took out the plugs that they had found to finally get the door open. Leon took a look at the corkboard and grabbed the written clue left behind. He read it aloud while Veronica listened so she could plug them in.
"'Pretty sure the rook and knight are on the same wall and the bishop and queen aren't next to each other. The queen and rook were opposite each other, too."'
"Well for starters, the knight and pawn plugs are labeled, so…" she looked at the other boxes and took the other pieces that were plugged in out. She plugged in the knight and the pawn accordingly since the picture on the box helped her identify them. "So I'm assuming this is the bishop?" she said while holding up the strange-looking piece.
"Yes," he replied, then he took the queen and the rook plugs. After a couple of tries with slightly different variations to the order, the door unlocked and swung open, the red light above it turning green.
"Yes! We did it!" Veronica exclaimed, excitedly.
"Ok...almost there, Ada," Leon said before the pair ran through. It was dark as they descended the short staircase, the room only lit by red emergency lights. There were small piles of garbage lying around, clearly signs they were near the garbage room, but they did find a blue and green herb lying about. They turned the corner and found the giant concrete door still shut. There was a lever next to it which they pulled, but nothing happened.
"Dammit! Need the power on first," Leon grumbled. He glanced around and noticed a door and a set of windows just across the room. Just from the windows, he could see that there was a breaker box inside. "Wait here! Once the power turns on, pull the lever!" he instructed before running toward the other room.
She waited by the lever for a couple of minutes, watching through the windows as he toyed around with the breaker. Finally, the lights flickered on around her and the red lights faded away. She gave the lever a pull and watched as the garbage room door began to slowly rise with a loud hum.
"Yes! It worked!" she shouted over to Leon signaling him to come back. She was about to crawl under the still rising door, but was stopped at the sight of Leon just reaching his own door through the window. Right when he was about to get to it, however, a giant claw stabbed through the ceiling, cutting him off and causing him to stumble back.
"LEON!" Veronica gasped as she ran over to the door, trying desperately to get it open, but it wouldn't budge. The claw had caused it to bend near the top and jammed it into the frame. She tried kicking it down, but to no avail. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"
"Jesus Christ!"
From where she stood, she could barely make out the claw making multiple jabs into the room while Leon ran around avoiding it. It even caused a small fire to break out on one side of the room, making her more worried for him. She could hear the thundering footsteps above them then finally the monster roared out in frustration. Leon backed into a corner that wasn't on fire as the beast began destroying the gate that led inside the room.
"Fuck! LEON! I CAN'T GET IN!" she tried yelling, successful in grabbing his attention.
"IT'S OK! JUST GET TO ADA!" he shouted back, just in time for the monster to barge in. It was the monster they had fought in the basement of the police department and the one from the tape that they had watched. Only it looked different. The clothes it had leftover bulged at the seams even more so, if it had somehow remained on the body at all. The mass on its shoulder had grown exponentially and had sprouted a small face. The giant eye in its shoulder still looked menacingly at its surroundings.
"It's still alive!?" he shouted and reached behind him for a flash grenade. She knew what he was going to do.
"WAIT! NO!"
"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME! JUST FIND ADA!" he said before throwing the grenade causing a flash to go off in the room.
"BUT- LEON!" She watched helplessly as he took off and disappeared through the now open gateway with the monster on his trail. "Dammit!" She quickly turned and ran over to another door she had seen on the other side of the room, but found it locked on the other side. She pounded her fist against it in frustration. "UGH!"
"Veronica?" Ada called weakly from the trash room. Said girl turned as she remembered the agent and quickly ran in, finding a small trail of blood leading to a corner of the room. Following it, she found Ada cradling one of her thighs where a shard of metal had pierced her skin.
"Oh my god! Ada!" Veronica gasped, rushing to the agent's side. She kneeled down and took a look at her thigh. The shard was thin and long, blood had already dried around the wound and the tear in her stocking was prominent. "Fuck that looks bad!"
"I can't get it out," Ada told her. "I need you to do it."
"Are you sure? I don't know if I should. It could bleed ou-."
"Just do it. I can't walk like this," the older ordered exasperatedly. She reached into one of her pouches and brought out some gauze she had saved after treating Leon. Veronica sighed then took the gauze. She grasped the metal object and placed a hand on Ada's thigh.
"Ok. One, two, three!" She quickly pulled it out causing Ada to grunt loudly in pain. Blood began to pool out of the wound so Veronica pressed the gauze to it as she tossed the sharp shard over onto the floor. She reached into a pouch and brought out her spray to use.
"I can do it myself," the agent tried, but the other girl only shook her head.
"Just relax, ok? You helped me with Leon. It's the least I can do!" She gave the agent a moment to prepare herself before spraying it onto the wound. She didn't need to use much since it was a small wound, but it didn't hurt any less.
While Ada hissed between her teeth, Veronica looked around for something to keep the gauze in place before looking at her shirt. The bottom half was covered in sewage but the top half was still dry. She pulled at the button placket of her flannel with both hands causing buttons to pop off and revealing the black tank top underneath. She took out her knife and cut a long strip off the placket off her shirt. With it off, she used it to tie the gauze in place tightly.
"There! How did this even happen?"
"I ran into Annette."
"Jesus. What happened to her?"
"She got away," she replied while trying to get onto her knees, but failed as the pain hit her. "Where's Leon?"
"I don't know. We just got separated by a monster. I couldn't go after him," Veronica responded, worry written all over her face as she glanced over at the door. Once she turned her head back, she found the agent giving her a knowing look.
"You really care about the guy, don't you?" That question seemed to take Veronica off guard.
"Of course I do! He's my friend!"
"You know that's not what I mean." The younger blushed lightly before giving a small nod. "I figured as much. Not that I blame you."
"Is it that obvious?" Veronica asked before biting her lip. Ada scoffed before smirking softly.
"It would take a true idiot to not see it. But it also doesn't take a genius to see that he really cares about you too," Ada replied, her smirk melting into a soft smile, Veronica mirroring it back. "To be honest with you, I'm surprised you came back for me."
"Of course, Ada! Why wouldn't we?" Ada winced at a pang of pain before sighing.
"You've seen the cable car. You could've found an ID bracelet and carried on the mission without me. Or found another way out of this place considering how bad things look." Veronica shook her head, flabbergasted by the notion.
"We would never leave you behind! I wouldn't allow it! You're with us now!" she told the agent before sighing herself. "I'm sorry it took us so long to get to you! We hit some roadblocks on the way here." Realizing how much Veronica cared for her, a total stranger, Ada's eyes softened.
"I'm just glad you came at all. I'm not really used to that in my missions."
"Well, get used to it!" the brunette smiled
"VEE?! ADA!? WHERE ARE YOU?!" Leon suddenly called out from the door.
"We're over here!" Ada responded. The young man ran around the bend, finally seeing them in their little hidden corner.
"Leon!" Veronica got onto her feet and tackled the officer into a hug.
"Oof! Quite the welcome party here!" he joked as he hugged her back. She pulled back and looked him over.
"I was really worried! What happened to the monster?"
"I was able to lose him. I used a crane to knock him out. Let's hope that's the last of him."
"I sure as hell hope so too. You hurt anywhere?"
"No. I managed to dodge the damn thing before it could sink its claw into me."
"Thank god!" Leon nodded then finally looked over at Ada who was still sitting on the floor.
"Ada! You alright? I was getting worried there for a sec," he said, kneeling at her side and taking a look at his partner's handiwork.
"Don't worry. Veronica patched me up, but it still hurts like a bitch."
"Fair enough. Good job, Vee," he said before sighing and glancing around the room. "So...what do we do now?" Ada closed her eyes for a moment before looking at the other two survivors.
"Get yourselves out of here. While you still can," Both Veronica and Leon looked at her in disbelief.
"We're not just going to leave you. Not like this," Leon responded.
"Like I said. We are not leaving you behind!" Veronica added. Ada only shook her head, swallowing as she dealt with the pain shooting up her leg.
"You guys don't understand. The situation's worse than I thought."
"You're not getting rid of us that easy. You protected us and helped me when I was injured," Leon told her, tone softening at the end of his statement.
"Now, it's our turn," Veronica said as she crouched down, joining the other two on the floor. Ada smiled softly as she tried to fight the chuckle she let out.
"Didn't realize we were keeping score." The other two smiled back before helping the agent up onto her feet.
"Grab my shoulder," Leon tried to offer, but Ada only scoffed and pulled her arm away.
"Don't push it, rookie."
"Ok. Just trying to help," he replied, lifting his hands away. "Watch your step." Veronica had to bite her lip to keep from giggling at the awkward exchange. They all moved away from their little corner and stood in the center of the room.
"You want to help? We have to get to the NEST."
"NEST?"
"Umbrella's lab. Right beneath us."
"Vee, you were right about the lab," the young man pointed out to his partner.
"Annette let it slip. That's where the virus samples are," Ada continued. She eyed the both of them in a playfully challenging way. "You up for this?" The pair looked at each other with similar smirks, already knowing the answer, before turning back to Ada.
"I think we can fit it in our schedule," Leon stated. Ada nodded then began hobbling towards the door, with the two not far behind.
"Come on, we got work to do."
"Yes, ma'am."