Chapter 7:
Carefully, Veronica and Claire walked across the balcony to the other side of the main hall and through the far door that led to the rest of the station. Slowly, Claire pushed it open revealing a well-lit waiting room of sorts. For some reason, the room looked as if nothing had happened. It wasn't trashed or bloody, just empty. It might have been the eeriest room so far looking so normal.
There wasn't much to this room that was very helpful, but not entirely useless. Veronica was able to take a couple of leaves from a green herb that sat on a table used as a decoration. She smashed them in her fingers before dumping them into their herb bag for later. While she did that, Claire checked behind the information desk that sat next to the opposite door to see if she could find anything.
"So besides a safe, there really isn't much here," she relayed to her companion as she made a mark of it on her map, just in case. The other nodded before looking over the many brochures spread across the counter. One of them that was talking about the city caught her eye, so she opened it up to look it over. She had never been to this place before the outbreak, so she was curious as to what she was missing if things were normal.
'Guide Pamphlet: Welcome to Raccoon City! Did you know: While we are the home of pharmaceutical giant Umbrella Corporation, Racoon city is a vibrant and dynamic city with a long, rich history of its own. In this guide, we'll introduce you to just a few of the more unusual points of interest our city has to offer.' A section based on the station just below that paragraph caught her eye.
"Interesting...Claire, listen to this! 'The building in the center of town wasn't always a police station - in fact, it used to be an art museum. Various features like the unusual clock tower and the goddess statue in the main hall remind us of a bygone era.' So that note we read earlier was right. No wonder there are so many valuables lying around," she noted.
She did see some other parts at the bottom of the page talking about an orphanage, but she figured she would read the rest later. Folding it up, she stuffed it into her back pocket to keep as some weird keepsake. It would be something to remember the city by before it all went to shit. That's if they made it out alive.
"Who turns a museum into a police station…?" Claire hummed. Veronica shrugged, not really understanding it either.
"No idea, but at least it makes sense that the place is gorgeous."
With that said, she walked over to another spade key door and unlocked it. Carefully, she pushed the door open to reveal another dimly lit hallway. The smell of smoke was strong, meaning that they weren't too far away from the destroyed helicopter. Red lights were strobing for an emergency and the fire alarm bell was still sharply ringing. Hopefully, it wasn't catching any more attention from the outside.
To their left was a door with a sign above it that read 'Art Room' then there was a curve around the bend. On that side, it was a dead-end that was blocked off by another shutter which they would need the crank for. The mechanism on the wall teased them with a new passage but without the tool they need, there was no use getting in.
Deciding on going into the art room first, Veronica peeked inside with Claire right behind her. They quickly found it to be empty besides a plethora of old dusty artwork and a very familiar-looking statue. She gasped and walked over to it with the picture she developed to compare. Looking between the two, she confirmed her suspicion while noting the missing hand sitting on a table next to it.
"Yup! That's the statue!" she stated. Now if only we didn't leave the book behind. Turning around she found Claire curiously looking over a random magazine. "What's that?"
"Just some old magazine. It's not much. Just talks about the jewel in the middle of that scepter and how it was sought after by a lot of people, but nothing really helpful," the brunette explained before setting it down next to something that looked very important. "The keycard!" she exclaimed excitedly while taking it and stashing it in her pocket. "Now we can get that grenade launcher!"
"Oh hell yeah! Let's go!"
Carefully making it back to the main hall, they listened intently for any footsteps of the grey giant. After a moment of nothing, they decided to make a run for the downstairs office. They immediately regretted it as heavy footsteps from somewhere above them began to hasten towards the main hall.
"Damn! I think he heard us," Claire whispered. She noticed the safe in the other office and remembered they got a code for it. "Quick! Hand me the book!" Veronica didn't know what for, but she handed it over nonetheless. "Now," Claire began while taking out the keycard, "go and get the grenade launcher! I'm going to crack this safe and hope he doesn't catch up before I do," Veronica took the card with worry on her face.
"What?!"
"Just trust me! I'm a pro at this shit. Now go!" she pushed before running to the office. Veronica felt like she had no choice but to run towards the safety deposit room to do as Claire said. Reaching the back, she fumbly slid the card into the reader. Then with a beep, the doors slid open rewarding her with the grenade launcher and some more fire rounds.
She could hear the giant's footsteps getting alarmingly closer as she quickly hung the gun over her shoulder for safekeeping. Stuffing her basically full pouch with the rest of the rounds, she stumbled towards the door to catch up with the other girl. Claire would have to teach her how to use the gun later. Running out of the room, she almost ran right into Claire who was doing the same out of the office.
"Claire!"
"You got it?"
"Yeah!"
"Great!" Thunderous footsteps from behind her caught both of their attention. "Let's go!"
From there they made a run for the stairs. The giant was trailing not too far behind once they reached them, so they hastened their pace up to the second floor. They made it to the main hall in record time and decided right then and there to not dilly dally anymore in this place. They placed the medallions into the base of the statue and watched with frantic eyes as it slowly opened up for them.
With each one sitting in their respective slot, the base moved inward into itself. The bottom half of the base to the statue began moving where it slid down into the ground with a low rumble. Bars lowered down in the plaque's place, revealing some sort of entryway between the cracks. Then finally the whole front part of the base, including the medallions, slid down into the ground creating a small staircase down to a white iron door.
"Holy shit!" Claire whispered, eyes darting up to the library. She was sure that the giant heard all of the commotions and was starting to head their way. They walked down the small set of stairs and, with a hard shove, opened the door. She flashed her light down inside where it looked dark and smelled like it hadn't been used for a long time. This was definitely the way out.
"So, it goes underground," Veronica mumbled. The sound of the library door opening caught their attention. Panic flew through her as they raced down even more stairs to a room that weirdly lay beneath the statue's feet.
Upon making it to the bottom, the lights to the small room flickered on automatically, bathing it in low, warm light. It was small, round, and looked like a study with wooden bookshelves as walls, and a desk. The floor was wooden boards with a giant picture of a compass in the middle. Nicknacks adorned a long dresser, including a model of what looked like the police station. It was quite impressive. Next to it were some fire rounds, which Veronica only noted since they were trying to figure out what to do next.
Claire seemed to get an idea, so she grabbed Veronica's arm and tugged her over to the rather large desk. They quickly pushed the chair out of the way then crawled under to hide. It was big enough for the both of them to fit without feeling too squished. Claire quickly moved the chair back into place and just in the nick of time. The stomping had made it to the outside of the room before slowly walking in. They waited with bated breath as he stopped just at the base of the steps.
Veronica felt like her heart was in her throat as she listened to the fabric of the giant's leather coat swish as he moved. He had to have been searching for them if the clanking of something in the room had any indication. She watched as Claire quietly pulled out a flash grenade from her belt just in case they needed an easy escape. God, please don't find us!
Suddenly the steps grew closer to them and a gloved hand grasped the edge of the desk above them as they guessed he was looking over it. They froze in terror, trying not to make a sound so as not to be caught. Veronica placed a hand over her nose and mouth as she held her breath, eyes locked onto those large leather fingers. They looked like they could cause some serious damage.
It felt like a century had passed with every second as they hoped it wouldn't suddenly peer over to find them. Finally, the hand slid back and the footsteps receded towards the door. The two girls didn't make any sudden movements, but Veronica allowed herself to take in a quiet breath. They sat there and listened as the giant went back to the main hall, but they didn't move from that spot till they heard a door open and close to know that they were for sure safe.
Slowly climbing out from under the desk, Claire was first to peek her head over to check their surroundings. Seeing no giant or any other danger for that matter, she nodded for the other to come out. Claire decided to be brave and check the doorway, but her fears were quelled when she heard the giant stomping somewhere on the East side of the building. She sighed in relief as she made it back down.
"That was a close one," she whispered.
"No kidding," Veronica sighed softly while leaning against the desk for support. The adrenaline was still pumping in her veins and it made her legs feel like jello. 'That was way too close."
Claire could still see the fear in the other's eyes and the wired look about her. She didn't feel too good herself, but she only buried those feelings as she walked over to her. She gently grasped Veronica's arm and took her hand in hers to squeeze comfortingly. The dark brunette looked up at her in surprise before relaxing in her touch.
"Sorry."
"Don't be! There's nothing to be sorry about. That was terrifying." Veronica paused for a second before sighing again.
"We were almost dead meat there for a second. If he had even looked over just a little more, he would'v-."
"But he didn't!" Claire interrupted her. "We're gonna make it through this like I said before." Veronica's eyes were stuck on the many bloody footprints on the floor as she processed the close call they just had. Claire reached up to softly tilt Veronica's chin for her to face her. They locked eyes, Claire's eyes gentle as they looked over her face.
"I promise."
Veronica swallowed the lump in her throat, unsure if she should say anything or cry. She almost felt like they were about to kiss with how tender the moment felt, though she wasn't against the notion. But alas, time wasn't on their side as the distant thumps reminded her of where they were.
"Ok. Thank you, Claire." The braver of the two smiled softly, a flutter in the other's chest at the sight.
"Of course. You're my gal pal and we gotta stick together!" she whispered before breaking the moment by taking a glance around the room. "Let's not stay here for too long. I want to get the hell out of here!" Veronica nodded in agreement as they separated then made for a quick search around the room.
Finally looking over the large wooden desk, there was another typewriter surrounded by piles of books. None of which looked to be of any help. There was also another big black box next to the desk against the wall. Considering that this was a police station, it would make sense as to why there were so many of them. Perhaps the room had been used recently.
Then she remembered the forgotten rounds she saw earlier. She took the grenade rounds and put them away while the other young lady searched in the other direction. At the base of the stairs, she found a mechanism that required a crank to turn it. Next to it on the wall, was a sign that showed stairs.
"Looks like we can maybe close this up if we ever get a crank."
"Yeah, but why do that when we don't have to come back here ever again," Veronica muttered sassily.
"True, but then again we don't know if this is going to work as our escape plan."
"Then let's get a move on and find out."
There was only one other doorway in this small room and they desperately hoped it led out of there. It stood near the box and led, to their surprise, to an elevator. Curiously, Veronica pushed the button and was even more surprised to see that it worked as the gate pulled back.
The metal sound it made sounded like the one when the giant was searching the room. It must have tried to move it only to forget about it. The elevator seemed like it was safe. Where it would lead them to, they didn't know.
"Well, the only way to change that is to get on!" Claire said before walking in first to see if it was safe. She nodded for Veronica to follow then once in, she pressed the button inside. The gates snapped closed and the car began moving downward. It took only a few seconds before it stopped at its destination. The gates snapped back open to a dark stairwell. The two survivors looked at each other then took out their weapons.
Claire walked out first, flashlight on and shining down the stairs. As soon as they were out of the car, the doors snapped closed behind them again with a loud clang. They slowly crept down the stairs, lighting down into the empty space of the room.
Everything seemed to be safe, with no dead bodies lingering around. It was also pretty quiet, except for what sounded like hissing and the groaning of pipes. Since they seemed alright, Veronica stopped and unhooked the grenade launcher from her shoulder. It was heavier than the handgun she had, and she wasn't sure if she could shoot such a thing.
"Um, Claire? Do you want the grenade launcher?" she asked, holding it out for the other. The biker girl looked at it for a moment before shaking her head and pushing it back in the other's direction.
"I think you'll need it more than I do, so no. You take it!" Claire thought that was the end of the conversation, but the nervous look on Veronica's face said otherwise.
"Uh, a-are you sure? I don't think I can. I-I mean this is a pretty big gun!"
"I know, but it's easy to shoot and reload. I think as a beginner, this isn't a bad choice to have. It's better for long distances, which is good for you!" Veronica looked down at the gun and bit her lip, still a little unsure. A gentle hand touched hers, capturing her attention. "You can do it, Veronica! The pullback is a little more intense than a handgun, but I know it's nothing you can't handle."
Her reassuring eyes seemed to help Veronica in gaining a bit of courage, so she nodded in agreement. Claire smiled then began helping her figure the gun out. After a quick reload lesson and a speed test with taking it out, she felt a little better and was ready to go. With a small thank you, the two girls continued down the dark staircase till they reached another floor.
They finally came upon an open doorway where the sounds were coming from. Walking in, they were surrounded by pipes and machinery, steam billowing into the air. Their shoes clanged beneath them against the metal walkway as they slowly made their way through. As they turned a corner, the sound of someone running overhead along with a small shadow filtering through the floor caught them by surprise.
"Hello!" Claire called out but the shadow disappeared around the corner. The two girls ran after it, but couldn't follow where it went. "Hello?!" she tried again, but no answer.
"That was weird," Veronica muttered as they entered the next room. "Why didn't they stop?"
"Who knows. They sounded pretty scared with how fast they were going."
Moving forward, they passed through a room with giant machinery on either side to a larger room at the end of it. They stood on a metal catwalk above a giant room filled with even more steam and even more machines. The machines below them looked like they were what made the police station tick, like electricity and water. The sounds of hissing and the groaning of each part working filled the room.
The walkway would have diverged into two paths, but the left side was blocked off by a small blockade, while the other was only blocked by a lone fallen cabinet in what looked like an observation room above the machinery. Easy enough to move aside and it led the pathway forward.
Once they got to it, Claire braced her hands on its side and began trying to pull it back. She seemed to struggle, mumbling under her breath that it wouldn't budge. Veronica was about to reach out and help when she noticed something move at the corner of her eye. Just beneath the cabinet, a small dark blur had crawled away from them.
"Whoa! Claire, I just saw something," she whispered, pointing into the little crawl space. Claire quickly shined her flashlight in the dark spot to see someone crawl near the back by some boxes.
"Hello?" she called out softly, kneeling to see better. Veronica does the same and both were surprised by what, or rather who, they saw. It was a little girl! She looked scared to death, blue eyes wide at the sight of them. Her blonde hair was messy and pulled back into a braided bun. A red headband sat atop her head and contrasted brightly with her dark blue school uniform.
"Oh my god! It's a kid," Veronica whispered.
"Hey...It's ok. We won't hurt you, I promise," Claire tried reassuring the young girl as she tried climbing in a little more.
"Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Veronica asked, realizing that this poor little girl was left all alone in a zombie apocalypse. The girl shrunk back for a moment as she tried to gauge whether the older two were to be trusted. Something about the way she looked at them gave Veronica the shivers. It was real terror behind her eyes.
"Do you need help? Here," Claire held out her hand, which the kid didn't even look at. "You can take my hand." The girl's breath faltered as she began to speak.
"You...need...help," she stuttered out, her voice barely above a whisper. Claire leaned in a little more, unsure if that was what she heard. But Veronica was not focused on this anymore. The floor was vibrating as if something big was walking on the same floor they were. She turned her head at the sound of something groaning in pain behind them.
"I'm sorry, I can't understand you." The kid took a breath before repeating herself more clearly.
"You need help."
As she said that, something big and bulging silently turned the corner. Veronica's eyes widened at the sight of a horrific monster heading towards them. That had to top the icing on the cake of things she had seen that day, so much so, she froze in fear. She repeatedly tapped Claire's arm to get her attention, words leaving her, but the girl didn't turn. She was too focused on the little kid at that moment.
"C-Claire?" Veronica finally stuttered out. Claire barely peeked over at her companion, not really listening. The kid's eerie words didn't make sense.
"Why?" she asked.
"Claire."
"He's right behind you," the young girl pointed behind the two girls, fear in her eyes growing.
"Claire!"
That finally got her attention, along with finally hearing the growing in volume groans of the monstrosity behind them. Half of its body was human with the blonde head of a caucasian man sticking out on the human side, but the other half was a deformed monstrous thing composed of exposed muscles and giant bone growth. The clothes fitted around it were mostly bulging at the seams or were torn away entirely.
"Oh my god," she gasped. Veronica had never seen anything like it. It twitched and convulsed into itself as if in pain, the voice it had sounded nonhuman. Like it was two voices instead of one. Then out of the growth in its shoulder, a giant eye opened and stared them down.
"What the fuck!" Veronica hissed under her breath.
Finally getting their wits together, the two girls quickly stood and tried taking out their guns, but they weren't fast enough. It suddenly roared at them then smashed a hand through the gate beneath their feet. They stumbled as it pulled out a large pipe from the foundation, then suddenly, the floor gave out. Their world was suddenly moving upward as they fell o the concrete floor beneath them.
Both Claire and Veronica yelped from the drop then groaned loudly upon impact. Veronica's lower back began throbbing in mild pain and it felt like she lost the air in her lungs. Luckily the fall wasn't that high up, so there was no real damage, but that didn't make it hurt like a bitch any less. They both began climbing to their feet just as the monster fell down in front of them. It seemed to have a hard time gaining its footing, so they had a few second's heads start in getting up and backing away.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Claire huffed, breathless from the adrenaline coursing through her. "Words ain't gonna cut it with this freak."
"We're going to fight this thing?!"
"Do we have any other choice?" It finally looked up at them and roared before limping towards them. Veronica took out the grenade launcher, never more ready to use it than now.
"I guess not."
Before they could take a shot at it, the thing began swinging the heavy pole, smashing the machines and the floor in the process. Taking the slowdown as a sign, they both took off in the other direction to gain some distance. Once they heard it begin to run after them, Veronica stopped and turned to aim the launcher at it. Without thinking about any of the anxieties she had before, she took the shot and watched as the grenade hit the monster. It exploded on impact, engulfing it in fire.
It stopped midstep to try and pat away the flames, so Claire took the chance to begin shooting while Veronica reloaded her gun. Then deciding to ration out the rounds, she used her handgun to aid Claire. Their bullets seemed to do some damage, but only when they hit the space between the eye and the man. The two girls came to the same conclusion that it had to be its weakest spot. Once her gun clicked empty, the monster was put out enough to go after them again.
"Uh-oh!"
"Run!"
They both took off running again, weaving through the labyrinth-like room and passing machine after machine. The monster never strayed too far behind them, pipe swinging and hitting anything in its way. With how much damage it caused, more and more steam would billow out into the air, fogging up the room.
Finding a spot that was far enough, Veronica and Claire turned and shot at the amalgamation of a creature again. Dousing it in fire, it finally fell to its knees in pain allowing them a moment of reloading. To their surprise, however, they watched as what was left of the human portion grabbed onto the giant eyeball on its shoulder and pried it open.
"HELP ME!" the voice of a man groaned out, mixing with the monster's garbled speech. Whatever humanity this thing had left was trying to help! Now reloaded, they tried shooting at it again, but not for long. After a moment of this, it got back onto its feet as the monster took over once more.
The girls once again took off, but this time, they accidentally ran in different directions at a fork in the road. Shit! Veronica came to a halt at a dead end, realizing that the monster was right behind her. She turned to see it heading her way and began to inwardly panic. She hadn't reloaded yet and she was cornered!
"Claire!"
Reaching for her pack to grab ammo, she felt the flash grenade sitting on her hip and recalled Claire's little lesson from earlier. Thinking quickly as the monster was charging her, she grabbed it and pulled the ring before tossing it nearby. Please work!
Giant meaty hands reached for her, so she prepared herself for the attack. It had barely touched the top of her head when a loud bang rang loudly in her ears. The monster roared and reeled back, hand clutching at its eyes. There was a residual ringing that made it hard for her to hear for a few seconds, but she figured that it worked.
She looked up to see it do so in time for her to speed past it and into the fog of the room. Sparing a glance behind her, she didn't see the incoming body before running straight into it. Warm hands grasped at hers as she yelped in surprise. The familiar leather of Claire's jacket gave her a sense of relief.
"Veronica!"
"Jesus, Claire!"
"Are you ok?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fin-," she was interrupted by the sound of the monster slowly limping towards them. Looking it over, it seemed to struggle intensely with its wounds and lack of eyesight. The flash must have done a number on whatever eyes it had.
"Ugh! Why can't this thing just die already!?" she groaned as they lifted their guns. It paused and tumbled slightly against a railing behind it to gain stability. It groaned loudly and grasped at its own body. Whatever was mutated with the human began to expand in its chest.
Something seemed to be happening painfully inside itself as indicated by the sound of bone crunching and the tearing of flesh. It probably didn't have much in it left to even keep standing. A lightbulb went off in her head as she got an idea. Reaching out to Claire, she kept her eyes on the monster to make sure it didn't make any sudden moves.
"Mind if I use your grenade?" Claire seemed surprised by this but didn't question it as she unclipped it from her waist.
"Go for it!"
Veronica took it and looked over the small weapon in her hand. It seemed similar to the flash grenade so she pulled the pin and tossed it near the monster's feet. She quickly grabbed onto Claire's arm and pulled her away to stand behind a nearby machine. Within seconds, a loud boom shook their feet and the monster roared in agony.
They peeked over just in time to watch it stumble back from the explosion and hit the railing, but just as Veronica predicted, it didn't hold it up. The sheer weight of its body only tipped it over. The two ran over to the railing to watch it fall with a scream down into an abyss. The glowing eye could be seen until it disappeared into the darkness. A splash finally indicated to them that it had landed somewhere.
"Holy shit!"
"Oh, crap...oh," Claire panted from the running she just did. "Oh god…"
"We-" Veronica swallowed the spit in her mouth, "we did it…"
"Hell yeah, we did. It's gonna take a lot more than that to stop us!"
They looked at each other with tired eyes before quickly embracing each other in a hug. Claire almost held her too tightly, but Veronica couldn't get herself to care. If anything she was probably doing the same. That was too scary for the both of them. Claire slowly pulled back to look over Veronica's face and body for injuries.
"What happened back there? Are you hurt? Did that thing hit you?"
"No, no! I was able to pull out a flash grenade in time. I got to escape before it could even touch me." Claire sighed in relief as she gently pushed back the other's hair away from her face. Veronica felt her cheeks warm at such an intimate gesture.
"Great thinking! You really had me scared there for a second."
"Well...lucky for you, I had a great teacher on survival," she grinned. "Probably couldn't have done it without her." Claire couldn't help but mirror it.
"Really? Well, I think it's safe to say she's flattered by that. But I think she would be more impressed with the fact that you became a real badass with that gun! Not to mention that grenade tactic you used to finish the thing off." Veronica shrugged playfully.
"Eh, I guess so." Claire giggled.
"I know so. You were so scared of touching any of this stuff before meeting me, and just now you fought off a monster with grenades! Those aren't rinky-dink weapons! That's something to be super proud of," she paused, her eyes full of care, "'cause I, for sure, am."
Veronica's gaze fell to her feet at such praise. To hear that come from such a badass like Claire made her brain go haywire. Oh, she already had it bad.
"I just-" she was interrupted by the sound of footsteps from the walkway above.
They both looked up to see the little girl from earlier peering down at them from one of the windows of the room they tried to get into before the monster showed up. From what they could see, she seemed relieved but also still scared and shy. The duo glanced at each other before nodding.
"We can finish this conversation later," Claire said before walking in the direction of the walkway. Veronica followed close behind, heart racing at both the fight they went through and Claire's words. There was a ladder hung up high above them that could get them up there, they would just need a little help.