Resident Evil: The Recurring Nightmare of Hope
Chapter Eleven: Chaos Becomes
"Director Reed, sir, there is a call for you from the White House," Cranston curses to himself as he picks up the phone resting next to his large chair in the command center for the B.S.A.A.
"Yes, President Benford, what can I do for you?" the tone of voice that responds to his question worries him.
"Cranston, what are you doing to retrieve our agents from Spain?" Adam has been pressured to bring back the Redfields and their partners…
A long silence fills the air as Reed tries to determine their best course of action, as the plan all along has been to allow Los Illuminados to bring about a new biohazard threat. Redfield and Valentine haven't been out in the field in years so they aren't really a threat to the plan, while Kennedy is distracted by his partner being captured by enemy forces. There is no reason why rescuing them should even be an option unless Benford is backing out.
There is a crack as Cranston tightens his grip on the phone, nearly breaking it, "I can see about calling the European Branch to see what they can provide for a support squad. I thought we wanted to avoid an international incident, sir? I thought we all agreed that the Spanish Government can use lethal force if our agents become a threat themselves?"
There is a near silence, but Cranston can pick up a female voice, actually that is the female voice, "Deputy Prime Minister Anton sent me a report that illustrates where our people are operating. It appears that they are harassing a small fishing village not far from the coast. We need to bring them back before their deaths create an international incident that will see everyone involved with the B.S.A.A. brought up on charges. The last thing we need right now, Director Reed, at a time like this, is scandal. Do you understand me?"
The line is cut off as Reed growls deeply, "You bastard… I can't believe… You selfish sack of shit!" the phone is thrown across the room as everyone inside the command center slowly turns to look at their Director.
11
"We should've thought this out better…." Leon hangs one arm off the boat and lets it drag through the water as their boat moves slowly through the small river.
Jill smirks and replies, while she checks their current ammunition count, "Chris is strong enough to use you for an oar if you like."
"Guys, quiet. Leon, remember that big monster back at the edge of the lagoon?" his friend nods. "There might be more of them in the water."
The dark blonde man quickly removes his hand from the water and sighs harder, "Could this be any worse? We need to get to Claire, now!"
A laugh is shared between Chris and Jill, which quickly grabs his attention, "What did I say?"
Jill pats him on the shoulder and sighs, "I bet Claire would find you more romantic if you got out and pushed…"
11
"Get that fucking thing away from me!" Claire raises her bound feet and kicks the case away before the infected goon could pull the lid up.
The Plaga crashes to the floor in a spray of glass and some kind of stagnant liquid before it writhes around for a bit, "Now now, Miss Redfield, this would go so much easier if you would just give in. Accept the gift."
Krauser adjusts his sitting position as he watches this farce continue yet again, "I told you to weigh her feet down after the first sample was destroyed. Now, after two lost samples, I order you to weigh her feet down."
A huff fills the room as Krauser watches the two peons slowly bind her feet to two pipes, holding them in place tightly as one of them promptly exits the room to get another sample of the Plaga. His eyes slowly rise to meet Claire's, taking in every bit of her form, noticing the battle scars across her body. A few of them he recognizes as bullet grazings, others look like claw marks both human and animal, each one telling a story he might have to ask her about once she is more compliant. Something grabs his attention and Krauser finds himself locking with her eyes, a fire burning behind the blue orbs as she clears her throat and launches the contents across the room at him.
The glob connects with his face and Krauser quickly wipes it from his visage with the back of his gloved hand, "You are severely testing the Master's patience, girl."
A smile as Claire licks the loose spit from her lips, "I noticed the Plaga has a penchant for increasing the infected's strength… If you do manage to get one into me, I'm gonna use it to tear you limb-from-limb…"
"I," Krauser instantly appears inches from her face, one hand wrapped tightly around her throat, "accept the challenge."
11
Leon uses his spare knife to pry the other board up from the boat's seating area and uses it to paddle faster on the left as Chris uses his board on the right side. Soon their vessel begins to pick up speed as they near a blind turn, the speed increases a lot more than they expect as Jill sits up from her spot at the front of the boat. Their shared fear is realized as the blind turn is completed to reveal that they are at the home stretch; the container ship resting in the distance as they near what appears to be a small drop.
"You guys ever been white-water kayaking?" Leon asks the question more as a precursor to him planting his feet tightly against the sides of the boat as Chris assumes the same position a foot or two behind him while Jill grasps the edges of the front of the boat tightly in her hands.
Something churns under the boat as they near the drop into the rapids, Chris noticing it first, followed by his two comrades soon after, "What in the hell?"
Before the trio can brace themselves for anything, the water around them explodes with a violent force, something deep roaring around them. As the water begins to cascade back down around them, Chris and Leon notice that they are flying through the air. Chris opts to look over the back of their craft and spots something he said as a joke earlier come to be truth; there is at least one more of the monsters they saw dead at the lagoon.
"This is about as crappy as a day can get!" Chris continues to press his body into the boat as they slam hard on the water about midway down the rapids leading to the freighter.
Leon coughs as the splash from the boat drenches the entire craft in water, the vehicle rocking severely in the water as Jill slowly rises up to search for the mystery monster that attacked them, "Seems it can't follow after us in the shallow water here… Lucky us, I think…"
"Well, one thing is for certain," Leon swats his soaked hair away from his eyes, "I can cross kayaking off my bucket list…"
Chris sighs at his partner before grabbing the board and using it push them away from the fast-approaching rocks, "Make yourself useful or killing you will make my bucket list…"
11
Claire's eyes haven't moved from their lock with Krauser's ever since he accepted her challenge of a Plaga-powered battle, "What happened to you? You had a choice before the Illuminados gave you one, you know that right?"
Krauser uses the tip of the blade to clean the dried blood from under his fingernails, "Oh yeah? What would that have been?"
"Kill Ashley Graham and bleed out in that room. You knew the President wouldn't pay any ransom they demanded for her return, so why let her get taken again? You saw something while you were fighting your way to safety, to an escape for both of you, didn't you?" his eyes flash before he closes them and sighs loudly.
"Your constant prattling is growing old rather quickly. There is nothing left of the good little soldier sent in to retrieve a spoiled American brat. So stop trying," the clumps of dried blood are rubbed off onto his pants as he starts on another nail.
Claire sighs, shaking the chains around her feet to grab his attention, "Not trying to appeal to the goodness in your heart. I want to know what you saw, see if I see the same thing. What did you see that made you give up an innocent girl's life for?"
"Decades of training, hours at the range, several theaters of war, all of that meant nothing against the power and numbers Saddler had at his disposal back then. I shoot one in the chest, he just kept coming, and that intrigued me. Three things power humanity, Claire: Greed, Love, and Power. I saw power in each cultist I killed. Every time we thought we were safe for a brief moment, their overwhelming power forced us to keep going, always on the defensive. I have always been at someone's beck and call and I was tired of it," Krauser drops his feet from the table they are resting on and he leans forward, locking an even more intent stare with the redhead.
"I chose following an old man's orders in order to acquire the power to give orders. No longer will I put my life on the line to protect some snot-nosed brat," the battle-worn soldier wipes the blade of his knife on his pants leg before slipping the weapon back into the sheathe at the base of his spine.
"You don't want to follow orders, but accepted a parasite that allows someone to control you?" Claire wiggles her arm across her nose to squelch an itch. "You truly are the epitome of a good soldier…"
There is a loud smack before Claire feels the pain well up quickly in her right cheek, the force of the backhand worse than she thought it should be, Is this the power of the Plaga?
11
"What the hell is that thing? Shit, Chris, that's a damn minigun…" Leon drops the binoculars as Chris steers their boat behind a large piece of debris.
The larger man shifts his weight around in the boat and picks up the magnifying device, scanning the freighter for more threats, "Three miniguns, looks like a couple of them are carrying rocket launchers, the fuck? I see two guys with chainsaws."
A scan around their target reveals several patches of debris they can hide behind, which gives Chris an idea, "We gotta swim for it…"
"With more of those things possibly out there? Yeah, good luck getting me into the water…" Leon regrets that statement as Chris slowly lowers himself into the water with Jill sighing heavily before joining him.
Before he can blink, the two are already halfway to their next debris pile, so Leon just jumps in after them, "Don't let it eat me…"
Leon arrives at the same rock as his two partners, waiting for Chris to give the signal before diving under and swimming quickly to the next break, his mind quickly becoming filled with anxious thoughts of rescuing Claire and Sherry from the nightmare they must be facing. His head breaks the surface and a breath is taken in to replenish the oxygen he needs, Chris and Jill already dropping back under and taking off to the next stop, the three of them now halfway to the freighter. A deep breath, a near silent splash, and a kick sends Leon off after them, mind still focused on Claire.
Almost there…
11
Chris is still battling how he feels about Leon and Claire being together, but Jill is right, this is his sister's decision, and if he is the one she wants, he has to accept it. Doesn't have to like it, but he can accept her wishes. He can tell Leon is getting more unfocused they closer they get to where the younger Redfield is being held, but Chris finds himself more focused than ever. From what Jill read off about Krauser on their way here, he is going to be a strong opponent, even without the Plaga increasing his strength… A smile crosses Chris's lips as a thought comes to mind, stronger than his desire to save his sister: he can't wait to crush Krauser with his bare hands.
It's been such a long time since he has had something else to focus on besides Wesker, "I'll go up first, wait for my signal…"
Before Chris can grab the rung of the ladder, Leon cuts in front of him and quickly scales it, disappearing quickly over the top, "O…kay… So, how're things?"
A glare from Jill, then a sigh, "Little cold and there is this small prick annoying me to no end…"
"I know, Leon can be whiny at times…" he chuckles as Jill sighs heavily. "I know you were referring to me… Ah, there's our sign."
Chris begins his ascent, feeling the anticipation of combat creeping up on him the closer he gets to solid ground. A quick peek over the railing shows a Plaga-powered soldier dead from a broken neck, guns missing. He already knows where their weapons went, but still looks over at Leon, who is checking the weapons and handing them out as need be. Chris snatches the larger machine gun from Leon as he tries to hand the male Redfield another pistol.
"You seriously about to give me another pistol?" Leon shrugs and slides the handgun into the space at the small of his back.
"What do we do with the bodies?" Jill groans as the bodies begin to break up and dissolve right before their eyes. "Oh, right…"
11
"Claire…" Sherry stares at the shackles strapped to her feet as her ears pick up the screams reverberating through the pipes.
Thirteen distinct screams, meaning that Krauser is creating more soldiers, possibly to replace the ones Claire and she have killed. Sherry sighs as she feels a long-forgotten pain creep into her heart, a pain that she let go of long ago to make her days here bearable. Little Miss Birkin groans as hope fills her heart once again, the hope of escape, the hope of a better life.
I am not going to last another day aboard this ship… her eyes drift down to the massive number of needle marks adorning her arms, regretting being born into the Birkin family.
Something burns deeps inside the pit of her stomach, the warmth comforting, a feeling that brings back memories of that night in Raccoon City. She never truly felt as safe as she did with Claire watching over her and that Claire would not tolerate Sherry regretting things, or giving in to despair. That warmth becomes a raging fire of defiance as the blonde slowly stands up and stares at the door, her fists clenched in anger, waiting for the next form to walk through that door.
I will not give in, this hope gives me strength, a strength I long forgot I had. Thank you, Claire, for everything… the door slowly opens as Sherry grits her teeth.
11
Chris quickly sweeps the first room they gain access to from the main deck of the freighter, his mind on an adrenaline high as the three of them make their way deeper into the bowels of the beast. A careful peek around a corner and he holds up a hand while releasing the machine gun back into its position at his side, opting for his knife as he creeps closer toward the unaware infected. One large arm is wrapped around the neck, also pinning one arm up while the other drives the large blade through the skull, killing the target immediately. He lowers the body to the ground before it starts dissolving and waves for the two to quickly follow after him.
They don't know how many are going to be here, or how strong some of them are going to be, but Chris knows they can handle it, believes they have to handle it, "Floor by floor?"
"Works for me, you handle point, Leon and I will keep an eye on the stairs for extra visitors," Jill's voice is as calm as his own, solidifying his choice of her as a partner through all of it.
His eyes scan absolutely everything for movement as he moves to clear this level of the freighter room-by-room. As the spaces become more and more cramped, he swaps the machine gun for his handgun, opting to use his blade unless absolutely necessary. Another three infected dead as he feels the rage dying down slightly. It has been way too long since Chris has been in the field, Wesker has absorbed way too much of his life. As Chris passes a door, he feels a hand drop onto his shoulder and instinct kicks in. The hand is grabbed in a thumb hold, the arm twisted around as Chris spins to his right, the blade quickly driven up through the chin and into the base of the brain as blood sprays the walls. This body is quickly dropped as another infected rounds the corner, the blood-filled eyes locking with his own as a handgun is fired from his left, shattering the skull with a perfectly-aimed shot.
Leon quickly steps up and secures the room the first infected appeared from as Jill and Chris both take a direction at the end of this hallway, "Clear!"
"Not going to be for long," Chris cleans the blood from his knife as Leon rejoins them, "that gunshot will have been heard throughout the ship."
There it is, the feeling of excitement, the feeling like he is making a difference, this is what Chris has missed the most about being in the field.
11
"I've had enough of these useless games," Krauser stands up and walks toward the door, Claire's scowl lost as he loses sight of her.
He reaches for the light switch and sighs heavily, "Maybe the darkness of the room will bring out the darkness in your heart…"
Claire sighs as the darkness starts to envelope her, much as it has the past few nights. How many nights has she been on this freighter? It feels like way too many, feels like the day she was handed that picture of Sherry before flying off to Paris was a lifetime ago. The darkness isn't as bad as everyone seems to make it out to be, she usually welcomes it as it affords her the time and the canvas to work out her nightmares. Once she gets through those it gives her some time to focus on the bright spots of her life.
A smile crosses her lips as she comes to the realization there aren't any more nightmares to fight through, So what do I think about now?
She closes her eyes, for all the good it does, and allows the first thought to randomly come to her mind. It's a face, that much she knows, but whose face is it? The hair begins to form, the blonde color too dark to be Sherry's, not shaggy enough to be Leon's… She focuses on the face, forcing the details to reveal themselves to her, and the face she is thinking about is someone she has never seen before, but has often thought about once the nightmares die down. This face hasn't really been a prevalent part of her life since she survived Rockfort, but became a more prominent part of her thoughts as she was partnered more and more with Leon through the B.S.A.A.
My face, Leon's hair, and the Redfield stare… Our daughter…
END