Epilogue: The Return
The pain was constant. It was Rain's anchor, no matter how much she fully wanted to slip into the oblivion of unconsciousness. She found herself back inside that burning foyer. Things had been different. J.D. hadn't been infected. She hadn't shot him. The S.T.A.R.S. were dead and they were making their way to the helicopter to call HQ for extraction.
Would have been nice, J.D. said. Not how the story went though.
Then the pain would drag Rain back into reality. She found herself within a thicket of bushes. Flickering light squeezed in through the branches. Rain stared at the light, trying to right herself but the sting that drilled into her flesh wouldn't let the fog go completely away.
I killed him.
The thought hit like a bullet straight through her chest.
I had no choice, she countered.
There's only one cure for an infected comrade…
Rain screamed though she wasn't so sure it was from the chemical burns.
Don't start, she thought. You're a soldier. Rain raised a shaking hand and opened a pouch in her tactical best. When her fingers brushed the metal tube inside, she zipped it back up. Finish the job.
Rain's consciousness seemed to go in and out, though her body didn't receive the announcement. Her main concern was getting to the helicopter. All of her mental focus (inconsiderable as it may be in that moment) zeroed in on this one task. Rain's vision came and went-first she saw the mansion in a pyre, then she was farther away from the light, then she was at the helicopter.
"Rain to HQ," she called in through the radio. She sat back in her seat. Pain and exhaustion threatened to blacken her vision once again. Not yet, she thought.
"This is HQ," a familiar voice said over the radio. Who it was, Rain's mind couldn't say.
"This is Rain from Beta team," she said. "I have acquired the objective. Requesting for immediate extraction."
That was the last thing she remembered saying before everything went black.
When Rain woke once again, the pain was gone. Mostly. There was still a twinge deep in her joints, but it was nothing to that consistent sting. She opened her eyes, finding herself in a white room tucked into a hospital bed. Machines beeped and dripped around her. Rain moved her arm, feeling the tube of an I.V. shift beside her arm.
"At last," a voice said in the room. "You're up,"
Rain blinked, clearing away the fog brought on by drug-induced dizziness. In the corner of the room, Atkin sat with crossed legs. Rain had only seen him once in passing, but her opinion of him remained the same-snake-like, cold. She grunted in reply. Vladimir would have been better company.
He sat back, watching her with his bespeckled eyes. His suit was finely pressed, his hair neatly combed. A silver and white Umbrella logo pinned at his lapel.
"Where am I?" Rain asked.
"Safe," Atkins replied. "Quite the display you showed back in the mansion. Most people would have laid down and died after all you went through."
"Lucky me," Rain spat back. Atkin only grinned.
"Umbrella needs soldiers with that kind of conviction," he replied. "I'll make sure we monitor your progress closely." He stood to go.
"Wait," she said. Atkin's turned, an eyebrow raised. Where's J.D.'s body? The question made Rain's stomach twist. She instinctively pushed the question aside. There were more pressing matters at hand, but the thought of leaving him in the rubble…
"What was it?" she asked instead. "That thing you wanted…"
Atkin's grin broadened and he turned to face Rain.
"That's classified information-"
"I don't give a shit," Rain shot back. Her face felt hotter and she thought she heard the heart rate monitor speed up. "My team died getting that fucking thing. I want to know what it is."
Atkins chuckled, as though Rain were a child throwing a tantrum. Rain would have liked nothing more than leap out of bed and punch the pencil-pusher in the mouth, though she wasn't sure if her body would hold.
"UAT-17," Atkins replied. "It's an experimental agent, an off-shoot of the T-Virus. A prototype, a base, meant to slow down and reverse the effects of the virus before it reaches critical. In other words-"
"An anti-virus," Rain replied, her blood running cold. "Would it have worked?"
"There's a seventy percent success rate," Atkins said. "That rate may be higher once we can fully develop it. Thanks to you, we can do that now."
Everything that followed faded into the background. An antivirus. J.D. didn't have to die…
But I did, baby, J.D. said. You shot me right between the eyes. What a Hell of a shot.
The sun was nearly visible in the sky by the time Jill and Chris reached the end of the Arkley Forest. The two didn't speak, letting the sound of the morning fill the void. Chris leaned on Jill and his leg was thankful for her shoulder. The forest opened up to the cliff overlooking the city.
Chris couldn't help but smile. They were almost home. Not in victory, but not completely in defeat. Something in between.
Though, as they reached the cliff's edge, that smile evaporated.
"Oh my God," Jill replied, her voice shaken with horror.
Over the edge, the skyscrapers of downtown Raccoon stood stark against the blue morning sky. Unlike before, windows were broken out to let smoke bellow out into the day. Several fires dotted the landscape of the city and Jill had no doubt they came from crashed cars and overturned stores. She thought she caught a stench drift up from below and wanted to gag.
A stench of rot and decay.
To Be Continued in:
The Biohazard Chronicles: Necropolis