Chapter 17:
The trio of survivors slowly made their way out of the garbage room and headed towards the control room. It took them a solid minute since Ada had to limp as she walked. Frankly, no one in the room could say that they were feeling totally fine considering their injuries.
"The cable car'll take us down to NEST. This wristband's our ticket to ride," Ada told them, lifting up her wrist for the others to see. It was a silver wristband with a glowing green chip on the front.
"Nice. Where'd you get that?" Leon asked.
"Borrowed it. Anyway, we're almost there." They had made it out of the control room when Ada stopped moving with a groan. "Urgh...this damn leg." Leon turned to walk over, but Ada raised her hand up to stop him.
"Let me carry you," he offered.
"No. That'd only make me feel worse," she said as she started walking again. The other two looked at each other before doing the same. For a couple of minutes, they walked in silence, unsure of what to even say at that point. Once they were on the other side of the platform, Ada looked over at the young man. "How's the shoulder?"
"Worse than it looks."
"What a pair. Both got one foot in the grave."
"That actually makes the three of us," he said nodding over to Veronica. Ada looked at her confusingly. Said girl lifted the back of her shirt high enough to show the bandages.
"Got scratched by a licker. I guess with all of our injuries combined, we make a whole body," she joked dryly. Finally making it to the cable car, the door beeped and slid open in response to the bracelet Ada wore, allowing the trio to walk in. It was a metal car with control panels on either end and a window peering through the front and back. In the middle of the car was a bench to sit on, which Ada took the complete opportunity to do.
"This may be a one-way ride. So be prepared. If there's anything you need to do before we leave, now's the chance," Ada told them as she rested against the wall. The other pair looked at each other as they thought about it.
"Should we check to see if we left anything behind? Maybe there was something useful we can take before heading down to NEST," Veronica asked her partner.
"I don't really see why not. Let's check the map one last time." They did just that and found that most of everything had been taken or done with, except for one thing. They had forgotten about a locker in the control room on the second floor.
"There could be something useful in it considering that it's locked up," Veronica shrugged,
"But we would have to circle around to get it. We would just be wasting time." Veronica took a moment to think about it for a moment before nodding to herself.
"Not necessarily. If we use one of the tables or chairs, we could climb onto the lift and then you could give me a boost up from the first-floor control room...unless your shoulder hurts too much."
"Did we even find the code for it?"
"I don't know. I guess not." He thought about everything they had been through when he suddenly remembered something.
"Wait! I think we did! That jazz flyer!" he told her while taking out his small booklet, flipping through the pages. "There were three letters circled on it. It might just be it!"
"Possibly! Should we go?" Leon took her idea into consideration before agreeing.
"I think as long as I use my other shoulder, I should be fine. Let's just be quick about it." While Ada waited in the car, Veronica and Leon quickly ran back to the control room and began looking around the room for things to use to get up to the lift. They dragged over the big black box to sit under the lift then put a chair on top of that. Veronica climbed up first then Leon after her.
Once they were on the lift, Leon cupped his hands together and bent down so that Veronica could be lifted up to the first floor. Since the room was still empty, Leon waited on the lift as Veronica inspected the locker. He told her the letters he had found and to her surprise, it worked. The lock popped off and the locker opened to reveal a full box of magnum ammo.
"Oh hell yeah!" the young girl exclaimed as she put them in her pouch before jumping down. They quickly ran back to the cable car when Leon suddenly stopped right outside by the table where they found the T-bar. "What's wrong?"
"I just remembered...Claire," he said while finding a random paper on the desk. Taking out a pen, he began writing a short note for Claire in case she had made it down there. Veronica decided to leave the T-bar and the sewer map near it in case Claire would need it. When he was done, they both jumped into the cable car and with a pull of a switch, the car jerked with a start. Slowly but surely, it began its journey down to NEST.
"This tram is bound for NEST. Do not exit until the final destination," the automated voice said above them. The trio sighed with relief, taking these next few minutes to rest after all the shit they had been through. Leon was staring out the window thinking when Veronica walked up to him.
"Hey, how are you holding up?" she asked him softly. He turned his head towards her and sighed. It had been a while since they had really checked up on each other.
"I'm hanging in there. Just really tired and sore," he responded while rubbing at his shoulder.
"Hm. Here, lemme take a look at it," she nodded to his bandages. He didn't object as he turned to face her so that she could peek at his wound.
"Well, you haven't bled through yet, but the bandages are really dirty from the sewer."
"I figured as much. I'm sure yours aren't great either."
"Should I spray you down or…?"
"No. We need to conserve what first aid stuff we have. Once we're out of this city, we can use what's left to fix ourselves up." She nodded in agreement while looking up at his face. There was a new cut on his cheek that looked rather new.
"You got a good cut here. Did you get this from fighting the monster back there?" she asked as she reached a hand up to gently turn his head a little so she could see it better.
"Probably. It wasn't exactly an easy fight. That thing mutated into something worse and he was harder to put down. Is it bleeding?"
"A little bit, but not really. Can I put some herbs on it?"
"You can if you want." She quickly reached behind her and pulled out the herb bag to use. While rubbing the dust onto the cut, he sighed as he watched her do so.
"How about you? How are you doing?"
"I'm...doing about the same I think. I could really use a nap right now."
"Me too," he said while reaching into the bag and taking out a small pinch of the herbs. She was expecting him to eat it like the last time but was taken by surprise when he reached for her instead. She stopped what she was doing once his fingers reached her bottom lip and felt him rub the dust along a small spot.
"What is it?" she asked once he pulled away, only for his hand to remain close to cup her cheek. Blood rushed up to her cheeks as he gently dragged his thumb across the skin. She couldn't help but lean into his touch despite how nervous she felt in the moment.
"It was just a cut on your lip. I think you split the skin on accident."
"Oh….Thank you. I guess I haven't exactly been using lip balm to battle chapped lips," she smiled while reaching up to feel where he put it. There was indeed a split near the corner of her mouth and the rest of her lips didn't feel too great either. She was just too focused on everything else that she didn't realize it.
"We'll get you some when we get out of here. I'm gonna need some too," he told her before dropping his hand. She giggled, eyes flicking to his lips to confirm that he needed it as well.
"Don't worry. I'll be sure to share with you, rookie." He smiled at that and then the two of them turned to look out the window. They stood there quiet for a moment as they watched the car continue downward into the winding darkness that was the tunnel.
"It feels like things are coming to a head soon. It's kinda scary when you think about it. Like...what else are we going to face down here?" she spoke, voice barely above a whisper. An arm wrapped around her shoulders comfortingly and pressed her closer to him. She didn't fight it and leaned into his embrace.
"It is scary. I'm even a little scared, but we're going to figure this out and finally get out of this place. You and me," he smiled reassuringly down at her causing her to look back up and mirror him. After a moment, they both looked back out of the window and grew serious again. Despite the determination they had inside of themselves to live, they didn't know for sure whether they would. It was nerve wracking.
Out of the silence, a quiet hiss caught Veronica's attention and turned to the other survivor in the car with them. Ada was leaning against the wall where she sat with her eyes closed. She could tell she was focusing on getting past the pain. Leon dropped his arm so that she could walk over to her to see how she could help.
"Ada? You ok?" Ada just shook her head telling Veronica that she was fine. All that the brunette could do was give her some pain pills to help her deal with it. After a moment of silence between the three, Leon turned to the girls, his face full of determination.
"You know what I was thinking? I can't wait for the FBI to raid Umbrella headquarters and take those bastards to justice."
I agree...but to be clear, you're not working in official capacity. This is a federal case. Once we get the G-Virus, I'm back on my own," the agent told the two of them. Leon scoffed bitterly and turned to look back out the window while Veronica stared at her in disbelief.
"Ada, you can't be serious?!" the brunette retorted. Ada shook her head then sighed loudly to stop them from trying to disagree.
"Hey, guys...Trust me?" Leon turned and quickly went to stand in front of the girls.
"You trust me? Trust us?" he gestured to both him and his partner. Ada scoffed softly, looking Leon in the eye as she said the next sentence.
"Honestly...If I didn't you'd both probably be dead." That seemed to hurt the pair a little on the inside. Veronica turned her head to look down at her sewage covered shoes, with a small frown. She knew it wasn't personal, but it still sucked to hear. Both Leon and Ada noticed this which seemed to upset him more.
"Right," he nodded before reaching down for his partner's arm. She let him gently pull her up and followed him as he walked back towards the front of the car. Ada seemed to panic at the response she was getting and tried to back-peddle.
"Look, I thought I might need both of your help...and I was right. If you can secure the G-Virus, I can make sure what happened in Raccoon City never happens again," she pleaded to them. They both turned feeling confused by the mix signals and walked back over. Leon took a seat next to the agent to face her directly.
"Ada...You said it yourself- it's a federal case. I-."
"Leon, look at me," she stopped him while looking down at her injured leg. "I'm a liability now. If I'm going to finish this case, you're the last hope I've got."
"We're not just gonna leave you here."
Yeah! What if you're attacked, what if you need help-," Veronica tried to say, but was interrupted by Ada taking both of their hands.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me," she told them, giving them a reassuring squeeze. "I gotta see this through...and I want to see you both again." She glanced between the both of them with a friendly smile. "Alive and as a friend, not as a government agent. I got plenty to live for. Trust me." Veronica opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by the intercom.
"Now arriving at NEST." They all looked out of the window and realized it was right. The car was beginning to slow at the end of the track towards a platform. Ada frantically pulled at her wristband and held it out for Leon to take.
"Go. Please. We don't have much time. You're going to need this," she told him. He took it then looked up at her unsure of how to feel about the situation.
"Ok," he said before standing up and heading towards the door. "Let's go, Vee." The pair reached the door watching it slide open. Just before they stepped out, Ada called for them.
"I'm counting on you two." They nodded in response.
"We know," Veronica said before they walked out onto the platform. The door slid shut behind them, leaving Ada to rest in the cable car. They made their way across the platform while feeling a little somber at the idea of leaving Ada behind, but they pulled through knowing they had a mission to do. Passing by piles of cargo and the sheer dropoff into the darkness of the tunnel they were in, they found themselves standing face to face with a large electronic gate.
Leon placed the ID wristband around his wrist and watched as the gate authorized their entry. The green screen flashed that the visitor pass that they had, had given them access and began lifting the gate. They noticed the chip in the bracelet matched the screen, so they knew which doors to go through.
"For your safety, stand clear until the doors are fully open," the automated voice repeatedly said while the gate rose, revealing another behind that and another behind that. The survivors took out their guns and prepared themselves. Veronica looked over at her partner and he looked back.
"Ready, rookie?" She held out her fist for him with a smirk.
"Ready," he smirked back and bumped fists with hers.
"Let's do this." They stood and watched as the final gate began rising, but something seemed to go wrong. Sparks flew as it jerked vertically trying to open, but to no avail. Hoping that the door won't close on them, the pair quickly ran in and found themselves at the entrance to the Umbrella facility.
The lights flickered on revealing the brightly lit and sterile atmosphere of the reception area. With the lack of colors and the strange smell of chemicals, it almost felt like a hospital. The Umbrella Corp. logo was planted on the wall behind the large reception desk which was empty. They kind of hoped there would be scientists running around trying to fix the problems that were up in Raccoon City, but they weren't surprised to see the place deserted.
"Welcome to NEST. Enjoy your visit," the automated voice said in the intercom. The survivors looked at each other then began searching the room. There were four doors in the room, one of them being behind the reception desk and it was left open. Leon checked the only working computer at said desk while Veronica took a look at said room. Inside was a typewriter sitting on a table, which was weird considering there were three computers at the front desk, lots of scattered paperwork, and a box. the same kind they had seen all over the police station. These places really were connected.
"Find anything?" she asked her partner once she was done looking for anything that could be of use.
"Just a nap room log was accessible."
"How riveting. Anything interesting?" she inquired sarcastically.
"Just that a Wayne Li never left. So either he forgot to clock out or he's still in there."
Another door was labeled the 'Security Room' and opened to a room that looked between a break room, an office, and a security room. There was a bed sitting against the wall and there were desks covered in meaningless stuff just lying around. They were able to find a forgotten box of shotgun ammo and the map to the north end of the facility on the desk facing a bunch of broken security camera monitors. They were either out entirely or just streaming static.
"Ok...I wonder where the G-Virus is?" Leon questioned as they left the room. They tried walking to the door on the far side of the room that, according to the map, would lead to the rest of the facility, but remained locked. The screen was a baby blue color and as soon as they drew close it flashed a red 'Access Denied' across it.
"Authorized staff only beyond this point. Guests must refrain from entering," the automated voice informed them. Leon looked down at his wristband then at his partner.
"I guess we're technically still guests."
"So what do we do?" He glanced around the room and spotted the last door near the gate they had come in from. Taking the map out to look at, Leon came up with an idea. He didn't know if it would work, but it was worth a shot.
"We should go see if Mr. Li would like some visitors." While still in a safe room, they took a moment to check themselves for inventory and tossed things they didn't need anymore, like old maps and irrelevant tools, etc. When they were finally ready, they made their way to the door and took out their guns. Carefully creaking the door open, it opened to a pitch dark hallway that smelled like blood.
"I don't like the look of this," Veronica muttered as they walked in while taking out their flashlights. As they drew closer to the end of the hall, they noticed a sign on the wall pointing them towards the cafeteria. Below it, there was a window that peeked into said place but was hard to see through due to the design etched on it.
Turning the corner, they were met with the sight of where the smell was coming from. Blood was splattered across the walls and all over the floor. It wasn't fresh, but it wasn't old either. Turning the next corner, they could hear the sound of zombies growling and eating coming from the room next to them. The door to it was for guests to access, but the nap room was through the other door at the end of the hall. Unfortunately for them, that door required the blue chip.
Leon peaked through the window of the cafeteria via a clear spot on the glass and checked the room for a way through. Just on the other side of the room was a ladder that was lit up by an emergency light and it led up to the vents.
"Maybe we could use that and climb around," he suggested.
"But how many zombies are inside?"
"Honestly, I can't really tell. I think I see one standing around, but it's worth a shot of getting through if we want to move forward." Taking a deep breath, they stood near the door and watched it slide open. The lone zombie Leon had seen, spotted them and began stumbling towards them. Deciding to make good use of the magnum, Veronica made a lucky shot to the head and watched it explode.
"Whoa!" she blinked. The recoil was a little more intense than she thought, but it wasn't worse than the shotgun.
"Nice shot! Let's go!" Leon led the way through the small cafeteria, picking up bullets, a grenade, and a random canteen of fuel all the while the couple dodged three other zombies. They climbed the ladder in time for those things to get onto their feet and eventually they forgot about them.
Once in the vent, they followed the open pathway that led towards the kitchen. At the end of the vent, they dropped down into it easily and found a large can of gunpowder and an extra knife. While the zombies in the dining room hadn't noticed them yet since they could see into the kitchen, they quietly got to the door that would lead them towards the nap room.
The door slid open to another blood-splattered hallway and a zombie in tactical gear standing in the corner unbeknownst to their company. Leon took it upon himself to sneak up behind it and stab his knife in the zombie's head to save ammo. With that zombie down, the hallway was clear leading up to the nap room door, which lucky for them, they could access.
Walking in, they were met with a smaller room that had three gated up nap beds lined on the wall. In the middle bed, a hand was stuck out and jutted under the gate with blood spattered along the wall. A blue light from the slightly ajar gate caught their attention and picking it up, they found out it was the chip they needed.
"I guess Mr. Li never left after all," Leon said as he changed out the chips on the bracelet. She kept the green chip in case she ever needed it as backup.
"I guess not," Veronica responded as she looked at a contraption on the far wall with her flashlight. "What is this thing?"
It looked like an electric box composed of a bunch of wires, a large square space meant for something to be plugged into it and a set of letters just above it spelling MUF. There was a picture on the space that looked like it was the mechanism they needed to plug it in with. Helpful.
"Not sure, maybe it gets the power going. Only one way to find out is to find the thing," her partner responded. They picked up some shotgun ammo off a desk and, to their surprise, a flamethrower regulator from one of the lockers on the other side of the room. They weren't sure as to why it was there, but they didn't question it as they added it to the flamethrower.
Since they were now done with that entire area and they had what they needed, they quickly made their way back towards the reception area. As they drew close, the automated voice spoke out for the man the chip came from.
"Dr. Li, your presence is urgently requested by Chief Cartwright in the East Area."
"Well, unfortunately, Dr. Li won't be able to make it," the brunette joked as the door slid open.
Walking out, they were taken aback by the sight of the facility. The pair stared in awe at the immense size of the place. The cement ceiling stood high above them with many bright lights shining down on them. Peering over the edge of the platform, it gave Leon a serious case of vertigo. It looked like it could go down for miles, disappearing into a black abyss. It looked like something out of an alien movie, like it was area-51.
"Holy shit!" they both said in unison.
From where they stood, they could see an elevator shaft sitting in the middle of the room on the middle platform as well as the two other areas to the facility: the East and West areas on opposite sides. It was cold in that large room, but they weren't surprised. They couldn't imagine there being a functioning heater due to its immense size. It was chilly enough for Veronica to take down her hair to keep her neck warm.
On the small platform they were on, there was a machine with the same blue screen as their chip and a button on it. Considering that there was no way to cross towards the middle platform, they figured it must activate some sort of path. And they were right. With a press of the button, a metal bridge stretched out and connected the two platforms.
Before crossing it, they also noticed a body of a soldier similar to what they saw down in the sewers, slouched against the railing on the opposite side of their platform. Deciding to take a look at it, they saw a recorder sitting on the floor by the body. Leon picked it up and pressed play. The voice that spoke was of a muffled man's voice, one they had never heard before.
"Alpha to Ghost. Target moving to the West Area. Must be going to retrieve the G-Virus, and antiviral agent."
"This is Ghost. Understood. Rendevous at Point W-3," another man's voice replied.
"Roger." There was a pause before he spoke again. "This is Alpha. Arrived at destination."
"Understood. Stand by for target." Another pause.
"This is Alpha. I've got eyes on the target. He's going to open the safe."
"Roger. Awaiting the signal," a different voice replied.
"Got eyes on the G-Virus."
"We're going in."
"Doctor Birkin, you'll come along with us quietly," the voice of Ghost could be heard saying in the background before the recording ended. They clearly found their target. Putting down the recorder, Leon nodded over towards the area on the right.
"G-Virus is in the West Area...Got it," he recounted. The pair quickly made it across the bridge and around the elevator. They quickly realized that they would need a pink, top-level pass to take it if need be. They also found out they would need a tier higher chip that was a dark blue color to get to the West Area.
"Let's hope they have one lying around in the East Area," Veronica said as she pointed out the mechanism to get to said area was accessible to them. With a push of a button, the bridge slid out and they quickly crossed over with a new objective in mind.
The first room they were met with was brightly lit and smelled like an odor they had never smelled before. There were flies buzzing around a pipe that had broken, releasing the smelly air into the room. There were two doors, but unfortunately, the path on the right was partially destroyed, leaving them the only option of taking the left door.
Passing through, they found a large waiting room with a couple rows of black leather chairs on one side and what looked to be a nursing station on the other. The medicine cabinet on the wall was thrashed, medicine bottles lying around on desks and on the floor. They luckily found some medical supplies lying in unopened drawers that they could use for later on their current wounds. Besides that, and amongst everything, there was a green herb and a gunpowder can that they picked up before trying the doors out of there.
One door was locked from the other side, but the other slid open to a horrendous sight. While the room they walked into was completely normal, the giant plant monstrosity that could be seen through the wall lengthed windows in it was not. Pressed against the glass was a man in a yellow hazard suit by a giant plant-like creature. His face was frozen in a silent scream of fear, but it didn't take much to realize he was dead.
Walking up to it, they noticed the glass was shattered but was somehow able to stay intact. The plant part was thick and it looked like a mouth was pushing the man against the window. The plant wasn't moving either, but they remained cautious. "Jesus….What happened here?" Leon questioned, the both of them stuck staring in horror. Peeking into the room that the plant was is, they realized it was a giant greenhouse, filled to the brim with other plants, trees, and vines that slithered up the walls. The ecosystem in their had taken over.
"Plants...We have to worry about plants now?" his partner whispered in irritation, unable to tear her gaze away. Finally processing the image in front of them, they noticed a purple light coming from the man's wrist.
"The ID chip!"
"Can't we just look for a wristband that's just lying around?" Veronica asked, nervous to face the horrors of the greenhouse.
"That would be easier, wouldn't it? Let's keep looking, but if we have to, we'll have to take that one."
"Ok. Fair enough. Well, we know where it is, but how would we get it?"
"Not sure yet. C'mon, let's keep moving."