Losing her balance, Céline fell to her knees, holding the Nine-oh-Nine close in case she needed to use it as her senses cleared. It took five seconds for her eyes, though an afterimage remained, and once she could hear again, a persistent ringing nearly deterred her from understanding Chris as he leaned down in front of her.
"Are you OK?" he asked.
By instinct, she narrowed her eyes and hummed in question, despite hearing him.
"Can you hear me?" Chris asked. "Are you OK?"
Céline shook her head.
"I can't hear well out of my left ear, but I'm fine."
The grenade hit near her so a bit of hearing loss was expected; she only hoped that she didn't suffer any permanent damage from it. So far, it was too soon to tell.
Oliver groaned in annoyance.
"Did a civilian just attack us?"
"It seems that way," Karidja answered.
Chris leaned up and shined his light around the room. Other than Davidson, there was no one else inside. He was still trying to wrap his mind around it, but one thing was certain, she was involved somehow.
"Check the monitors and make sure they work," he ordered.
Karidja shook her head and went over to check on them. In the meantime, Céline stood up and tested her hearing with a series of snaps. As she feared, her left ear sounded as if something was lodged in it; the snaps sounded like low, dull ticks to her.
Fuck!
"The monitors are functioning," Karidja mentioned.
At least the unit wasn't shit out of luck.
Céline joined Oliver and Chris over to the screens; there were five of them. Two covered the areas near the front they had passed through; one was pointed down a long tunnel, another was in a darkened room with lockers, and the last screen showed a sort of janitor's room.
"I'd say the fuse box is in this room," Oliver mentioned, pointing to the janitor's room.
Chris agreed with a nod.
"Then that is where we need to go."
A blur drew Céline to camera three.
"Look here," she uttered, pointing at it. "Is that our runaway?"
Davidson ran down the tunnel towards the end, then out of sight.
"That's 'er alright," Oliver confirmed. "Where do you think she's going?"
"The map we found showed a ladder that leads up to the Greenhouse. Perhaps that is where she is going," Karidja answered.
There was no other place she could go.
"But what was she doing in here?" Céline asked.
"When we catch her, we'll ask her," Chris answered. "For now, we need to focus on turning the lights back on around the park. Harrison and I are going to the janitor's room to have a look at the fuse box. You and Amani will stay here and keep an eye on the screens. Whatever was in those pods is down here somewhere and we are running around in the dark."
Céline understood. She frowned and reached up to touch Chris's arm.
"She said she helped kill them. Do you think she was referring to the survivors?"
"I'm not sure, but we'll find out," Chris stated. He placed a hand over hers. "I promise, Céline."
She smiled softly and nodded, letting him go. As Chris and Oliver left the room, Céline locked the door with a sigh and rested her AR against the frame. Just what did the scientists employed with the Connections cook up in their lab? She returned to the screens and flashed her light around the room; it seemed safer to keep out the lights in the office, rather than parade their location to whatever was roaming the halls. Davidson seemed to know something about the pods or else she would have been dead; there was no reason for her to shatter the bulbs near the stairs. Or turn out the lights.
Perhaps there was something in one of the file cabinets that might provide Céline with some clarity.
"What are you looking for?" Karidja asked.
"I'm not sure yet," Céline admitted as she opened one of the doors, looking through the drawer.
The first was filled with paper cups and plates, most likely a storage cabinet. Céline leaned down and opened the next bin, looking through the mass of papers tossed inside.
"Someone needs to learn how to organize properly," Céline joked.
Karidja snorted.
"Such is the life of a security guard. My father was not very organized either."
"Your father was a security guard?" Céline asked with a brow raised.
Karidja shook her head.
"He worked at the Umbrella No. 57 Plant in West Africa. There was an outbreak in 1994 and the entire town was massacred including my father. I was serving in the Army at the time, as a Signal Officer, so I knew nothing about the incident until 2005 when I was brought on into the BSAA. I learned about biological weaponry and for my father, I vowed to fight until the end."
How noble. Céline felt a tinge of pity for herself. She was forced into the H.C.F. at the age of 25, having only served as a medic for 4 years, but her record was impressive. She never planned to become a member of a paramilitary force, but she had no choice as her sister's life was in jeopardy. In 2000 she thought she was free of them, but the Connections soon entered her life and the cycle continued.
"Do you fight for someone as well?" Karidja asked.
"For my sister," Céline admitted.
She said no more about it. Returning to her search, Céline leafed through the files. There was nothing of interest that immediately caught her eye, but a memo dated a month ago with the name Kenneth on it made her raise a brow. Was he the man who had passed away?
The memo read: An extra fuse is in my locker. In case anyone forgot the lock combination, I wrote it on the board in the breakroom below the staff picture.
Céline hummed. What was it? 8341 she recalled. Maybe it was nothing, but in case the fuse was needed, she kept the code in the back of her mind.
As she was putting the files back into the cabinet a low hiss caught her attention. Céline raised a brow and lifted her light, peering around the room. Where did it come from? For a moment she thought Karidja made the noise, but as soon as she heard it again she knew that whatever was hissing was outside the door.
Céline stood up to investigate, but Karidja motioned for her to stand down. The said woman brought a finger to her lips, then motioned towards screen two; a camera peering down the hall from the breakroom showed something lingering in front of the door. It was average size, whatever it was, almost human. Céline stood in silence as they watched it on the screen. Did it know someone was inside?
It remained in front of the door for a few minutes before it jerked inhumanly and began to totter down the hall. Céline widened her eyes.
"Chris and Oliver are in danger," she whispered.
Karidja rested her hand on the headset in her ear.
"Captain, do you copy?"
"Amani? Is there something wrong?" Chris asked over the headset.
Karidja looked at the screens, trying to find where the figure had gone.
"There is something headed towards the tunnel. I have no idea if it's hostile or not," she answered in a whisper.
"That's just great," Oliver furthered. "The damn fuse is missing and we're out in the open with no idea what is down here with us."
Céline remembered the memo. She groaned in annoyance and darted her eyes across the screen. Bingo!
"Is this a locker room?" She asked, pointing to the 4th screen.
Karidja peered down at her monitor for a moment, then nodded.
"According to the layout, yes. Why do you want to know?"
Céline picked up the AR for Special Tactics near the door where she left it and checked the magazine. Great! She was set.
"I saw a memo stating there was an extra fuse in the locker room. I know where it is," she mentioned.
"We should inform the Captain," Karidja mentioned. "You can not go out there; it is against his orders."
Céline ignored her and took off the grab back, setting it on the floor.
"If something happens to me, keep this safe."
Before Karidja could stop her, Céline unlocked the door and left the room. She stood in the hall for a moment, peering into the darkness, then turned on her light with an uneasy sigh. If anything should happen to her, she was going to expose the Connections and leak their intel to the BSAA; the proof was in her bag.
Céline cautiously walked towards the locker room, checking her corners as she moved. Her heart pounded erratically in her chest as she backtracked to the intersection, taking the same path Chris and Oliver had taken. Telling herself that Chris had checked the hall completely, Céline spotted the nameplate to the locker room and opened the door; the stench of mold permeated the air.
Shinning her light around the small room, she grimaced as she noticed the patches of mold attached to the walls. An entire section of the lockers was covered in thick tendrils. Céline nearly gagged. The door in question she had been looking for was almost completely consumed, save for the nameplate; Kenneth Bowers.
Céline took out her knife and began cutting at the tendrils, careful not to touch them. Once the locker door was free, she cleaned the lock the best she could and put in the combination.
To her relief, it worked.
She took the lock off and opened the door, locating the extra fuse. Kenneth still had keepsakes inside; pictures attached to the door, but Céline wasted no time looking at them. She reached up and pressed the button on her earpiece in triumph.
"Captain, do you copy? I found an extra fuse; I'm bringing it to you now."
But as she turned, she noticed a shadow in the doorway. Chris's voice echoed over the earpiece, but Céline barely heard it. Was someone standing there? She shined her light on the spot. To her horror, a black mass with sharp uneven teeth and clawed hands tottered into the room. Where the fuck did it come from? She aimed her gun to take a shot, but the mold creature lunged at her. Its sharp claws tore into her arm as she darted out of the way, but Céline ignored the pain and ran towards the door.
The monster followed.
"Damn it, Durant, answer me," Ordered Chris.
Céline reached for the earpiece.
"I'm coming down the hall with a hostile on my ass."
She darted around the corner and was hit directly in the face by a light, temporarily blinding her for a moment.
"Get down!" Chris shouted.
Céline dropped to her knees and covered her ears as a series of gunshots went off. It lasted for a few seconds before the noise faded. Removing her hands, Céline peered behind her to see the creature was dead, melting away into nothing.
"That could have been bad," Oliver stated as he peeked out into the hall from the doorway of the janitor's room.
No shit. Céline stood up and groaned as the pain from her injury hit her full force.
"Are you OK?" Chris asked. He noticed the tear in her uniform and narrowed his eyes. "What in the hell were you thinking? You disobeyed a direct order."
Céline raised her hand and showed him the fuse.
"I knew where to find it. And you can scold my ass later when we're out of this place."
Chris took the fuse from her and handed it to Oliver. He was annoyed with Céline, but she had a point; he'd tear into her ass later.
A few seconds later, Oliver emerged from the room with a grin.
"That should do it."
Chris raised his hand to his ear.
"Amani? How does the park look?"
"Like Christmas," the said woman answered. "All the cameras in the park are functioning; I can see everything."
That is what Chris liked to hear. At least it would be easier for Esera to work with the lock now that the lights were on.
"Let's get the hell out of here and regroup. We're on our way to get you, Amani."
"I'll stand––"
A loud bang interrupted her, followed by a hiss, then the line went quiet.
What just happened? The hiss almost sounded like ––
Céline widened her eyes.
"Amani?!" Chris shouted into the earpiece.
But there was no answer. A second later a gunshot echoed across the facility, then silence. Chris cursed beneath his breath and ran towards the monitor room with Oliver and Céline hot on his trail. The door was wide open as they came around the corner and peered in. A chunk of the ceiling was lying on the floor in pieces but Karidja was not inside; the grab bag that Céline left with her was also missing.
Had something come down on top of her? Where could she have gone?
Catching a glimpse of the computer screens, Céline spotted her on the 3rd camera. But she wasn't alone; a Molded was crawling after her. She wasn't aware that they could do that.
"She's in the tunnel," Céline declared.
Chris led them passed the monitor room and down the hall through an open door that was stuck by a cluster of veined fungus. A wide tunnel came into view and near the end was Karidja. She appeared to be unharmed, but the Crawler was on her ass. There wasn't anywhere for her to go, except up.
"Get onto the ladder," Chris ordered.
Karidja ran and lept onto it. Once she was out of the way, the three opened fire on the Molded. It may have been fast, but it could not take damage as the walking one did. The creature fell over in a heap.
"Good timing," Karidja uttered in exhaustion. "I have never seen anything move so fast."
She had a cut on her forehead where the ceiling had collapsed on her but other than being covered in plaster, she was fine.
"I'm glad you're alright," Céline mentioned as they approached the ladder. She was also glad that her grab bag was safe.
Karidja noticed the tear in her uniform and frowned.
"But are you?"
"It's just a little cut. I'll pour some chem fluid on it once we're out of this tunnel," Céline answered.
Chris eyed her a moment in concern then peered up the ladder. There seemed to be a hatch at the top; he knew from the layout that the Greenhouse was above them.
Davidson had gone in there.
"Hop down. Let me take a look," Chris ordered.
Karidja came down from the ladder and stood beside it as Chris climbed to the top, opening the hatch.
The temperature was the first thing he noticed; it was humid. His breath came out thick as he peered around. Besides the horrid smell and the heat, the only thing that seemed off to Chris was how tall the plants were. Some of them easily overshadowed him.
Climbing the rest of the way, he peered back down into the tunnel.
"It's safe to come up," Chris mentioned.
Oliver motioned towards the ladder.
"Ladies first."
Karidja snorted and stepped up onto the first rung; Céline followed behind her, groaning as her wound ached as result.
"Oh come on," Oliver teased. "No comm––
He was interrupted as the Molded latched onto him, crawling onto his back. Wasn't it dead? Yanking his knife from its holster, he tried to slice at its arms, but the creature had a firm grip on him.
Céline heard Oliver's writhed groans and peered down to see that he was in trouble. To her horror, she watched the Crawler sink its teeth into his neck.
"Oliver!" She shouted.
Letting go of the ladder, Céline plummeted down into the tunnel. The impact made her knees hurt, but she ignored it and took out her knife, stabbing the Molded repeatedly until it completely let go of Oliver. Once it was on the ground, she slammed her boot onto its back and unholstered the Nine-oh-Nine, firing shot after shot into its head until the creature melted away.
She rushed to Oliver's side as he had collapsed to the floor, and rested her hands over his, covering the wound. He struggled to breathe, choking as blood poured from the bite mark.
"I need my bag!" Céline shouted.
Chris and Karidja descended; the latter handed Céline her bag and took her spot as she dug through it for some bandages and a sewing kit. She nearly dumped the bag onto the ground in her haste, taking out everything she needed.
But as she began to cover the wound, Oliver shut down and stopped breathing.
"Don't do this," Céline ordered.
He wasn't breathing.
She knew it was a long shot, but she placed her hands on his chest to start compressions, but Chris grabbed her arm.
"Céline, stop," he ordered.
He didn't want to stop her, but her effort was futile.
Céline knocked his hand away and started compressions. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at Oliver's lifeless eyes. How did this happen? He was alive and making jokes seconds before she stepped onto the ladder.
Chris yanked her hands away from Oliver's body and pulled her against his chest. She pushed and struck at him, but to no avail. It was hurting him just to keep her calm; his entire body was fighting against him.
How? Céline wasn't supposed to feel this way; sympathy for someone she barely knew. But seeing Oliver die was too much. How could they have not known the Molded wasn't dead?
'I'm an idiot,' Céline thought as she hid her face.
Some professional she was.
Whatever noble reason Oliver was fighting for had come to an end. And yet Céline, the traitor, was still alive.