As always, please read, review, and enjoy!
Revelation
Two souls, running for their lives in the mines from a nightmarish creature hell bent on killing them. Their friend dead and their guide suffering the same deadly fate, leaving the only option left for the two survivors was to run away. Their fleeing came to an end when both of them fell through a ledge, sending them down below on the ground. David landed on his back while Emily laid by her side, grimacing the stranger's bag bounced off her stomach as the duo slowly got up from the ground. They inspected the bag and pulled out two flares, lighting them up to see their surroundings. To their luck, it was another tunnel that appeared to be old but seemingly stable. Or as stable as can be in this circumstance, with Emily noticing the mortified expression on David's face. After what happened to Jess and the old man who was suppose to be their guide out, she couldn't blame them based on what they both witnessed. Emily was horrified and torn up about Jessica's death, but she know she had to keep moving forward for her own survival.
"Let's find a way out of here." she said, taking a few steps forward but stopped as she glanced at David who just stood where he was. "David? Hello, earth to David! We need to get out of here!"
"Th-that thing... that thing it-it-it..." he stuttered
Emily walked over to him and slapped him across the cheek, snapping David back to reality. "Hey, snap out of it! We need to go before that thing finds us!" she said directly at him before starting the path ahead
"That thing we saw... the thing that killed Jess and the old man, I think it was Hannah." that response caused Emily to stop and look back at David
"What?! Wha- What are you talking about?" she incredulously asked, her voice getting quieter making sure not to alert the creature
"Em, the creature that killed Jess and the old man... it was Hannah. She was that thing chasing us." he told her staring her in the eye
Emily shook her head in disbelief and dismay. "No, no, no way. It couldn't be!"
"It makes sense, Em. Think about it! We didn't find Hannah's body since we got here. The only thing we found was... Beth's head." he stated, begrudgingly recalling the moment he saw the head of his deceased girlfriend. "Not to mention we found things belonging to Hannah. The locket, her broken glasses, that picture! Hannah survived the fall down here!"
"I don't know. You may be right. I mean how would you know it's her?"
"It had her tattoo, Emily." David stated to her. "The same butterfly tattoo Hannah had the last time we were here on this mountain."
"Wait... are you sure?" she asked David
"I'm dead serious sure. I'd never forget it." he replied
"Let's just find a way out of this mine and get back to the lodge." Emily advised. "We can sort everything out once we're there. And if anyone we know is there, we can tell everybody what we found."
The path itself was straight, walking through gritted teeth of the pain they were in despite the ground being uneven. No direct path in their direction except for a small gap divided by wooden boards, proving to be a narrow passage.
"Okay, then. This has gotta be the way." Emily said firmly
David grunted as he followed behind her. "We can only hope." he replied, he and Emily shimmying along the gap
"You think everyone's okay?" David asked in a whisper. "You don't think-"
she whispered. "Only way to find out once we make it back to the lodge."
Emily suddenly cried out as a monstrous clawed hand burst through the boards and swiped. Passing mere inches in front of her face, she and David wasted no time rushing off the wall and sprinted down the next path. In a blind panic, they heard the same screech and skittering noises behind them crossing a bridge near them. They leapt the first gap, but missed the second gap as Emily dropped her flare. David helped her off as they continued running after reaching the other side. The same creature they saw kill Jessica and the old man with a flamethrower climbed the walls and ceiling as it still chased after them, taking one leap after another. They reached a fork in the road as David took Emily's hand and headed left, relieved to see an elevator up ahead as he let go of her hand. Emily quicken the pace as she was the first one inside, while David followed afterward and closed it shut.
"Come on!" Emily pulled the lever after David rushed inside as the elevator ascended. "Breathe in... breathe out..." she told her sternly
David glanced at Emily with a firm touch on her shoulder. "Just gotta make it, okay? All we need to do get back to the lodge."
The elevator came to a sudden halt, not reaching the surface but not far from it. They heard skittering noises, only far too closer as the creature was climbing on the outside. Hearts pounding heavily, they remained still as they smelled its rancid and putrid breath while David felt Emily's heartbeat against his chest. It faded and the skittering along with it as the elevator reached the top of its destination. They ran the passageway ahead as the creature pursued them, gaining on them. Emily pulled a chain connecting to a trapdoor in front of her as rocks fell from above, temporarily halting the monster in the process. Tripping over barrels once it continued its pursuit as the third barrel leaked out oil. He held out his flare and tossed it at the third barrel with the oil leak, creating a small fire along the way. David and Emily dropped down as she yanked the leaver, climbing onto the conveyor belt which moved slowly. They crawled up the belt expediting their process as they noticed another belt to their right, leaping to it as the duo did the same and reached the top.
David and Emily could hear the creature shriek as they turned and ran, making it through the door ahead and slammed it shut. Locking it, they took a quick breather as David took a step away from the door when they heard a small creak. Before any of them could react, the creature burst through the door grabbing Emily as it dragged her out. Its sharp and disfigured biting between her neck and shoulder as David tried to pull her away from the monster. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful when it swatted him aside, nearly causing him to fall to his death as it then held her head with its clawed hands. Emily's eyes were wide when the creature's talon-like thumbs were near her eyes and with a short snarl, gouged her eyes out as she screamed in agony after David brought himself up from falling. Her screams shortly died out as she did, causing David to leapt across the gaps in the floor once the creature burst through the door trying to grab him until he reached a power line. After spotting the bar hanging from the line, he leaped forward and used it as a zip-line. He flew through the air until the zip-line broke, landing in a heap of snow below. He struggled to his feet after the fall and kept the flamethrower guy's bag in his possession. He heard the terrifying shriek again as David ran away from the impending danger, in order to spare him the fate Jessica and Emily shared.
Things had been overwhelming since the group made it back to the lodge, but they were lucky to be alive. Mike was still in the shed, keeping an eye on Lucas while Chris had made it back inside the lodge as he sat by Ashely's side. However, there were still concerns of Matt, Emily, Jess, and David. All four were missing as Sam paced back and forth worrying about what happened with the others, especially David who was taken before her. Chris looked over to Francesca who was staring out the window all by herself, ever since she find out about Josh's fate with dried up tears. He and Ashely felt sympathy for her of losing their dead friend, but had to pull through for themselves until they got off the mountain. Still grieving over what happened to Josh because of Lucas, the psychotic son of the Baker family. There was still Marguerite to be concern about. Jack was dead and Zoe still remain calcified back at the sanatorium after they left, unsure whether to move her or not. There was also another factor, the elderly woman Chris encountered in the sanatorium. So far, no one has seen or crossed path with said elder which was uncomfortably strange to them.
A few poundings on the door suddenly caught the group off guard. "Hey, come on! Let me in! SAM! GUYS! ANYONE!" shouted a familiar voice as they realized who it was. "SOMEBODY OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!"
"That voice... isn't that-" Sam cut Ashely off
"David!" she cried out as she and Fran rushed to the door follow by Chris and Ashely.
"Let's get him inside, quick!" Chris insisted
They opened the door as David practically fell inside, with Chris helping him before Francesca shut the door and locked it. The others saw David dressed in tattered and torn off overalls as they set him down on a sofa. Sam noticed he had a bag with him when he came inside the lodge as she set it aside.
"Jesus! David, man, are you okay?" Chris worriedly asked
David desperate for breath as he laid on the sofa. "For Christ sake! I didn't think I'd actually fucking make it back here alive."
"I'm gonna look for some clothes you can wear. I'll be right back." Fran left the room when she ran, looking for suitable clothes for David to wear
Sam sat over to David's side as she laid his head on her lap. "David, David... hey, hey." she said calmly as her hand cupped his cheek, calm and soothing. "Babe, you're okay. You're safe with us."
"Yeah, you look totally wiped..." Ashely added
"There was something... something down in the mines." he said frantic and shaking. "This monster, this thing... it was chasing us..."
Chris stared at David with a worried look. "Are you okay, man?"
"I'm- Just that thing in the mines was moving so fast. We had to get away."
"You can relax, David." Sam reassured to him, gently. "It was this family. The Bakers. They can't get to you anymore."
David stood up from the sofa as he stared at the group. "I know about them. One of them is already dead. With a little help from some old guy with a flamethrower we crossed paths with. That old man... he didn't make it."
"Old guy?" Sam asked
"Flamethrower? Wait, what happened?" Chris also asked
Francesca returned with a pair of jeans, a gray hoodie, and leather jacket. "What are you talking about? Start at the top while you get changed, and tell us what exactly happened to you." Fran replied as David headed to an empty hallway to change.
"I was in the mines covered in some black mold. The first thing I saw when I woke up was Jess." he explain tossing out the overalls, glancing at the shocked looks from everyone's faces
"Jess? You saw her?" Chris incredulously asked
"What happened to her?" Ash also asked
"Apparently something dragged her into to the mines. That's where I was taken. While trying to find a way out, we also found Emily who got stranded there too. Turns out she and Matt called for help using a radio in the fire tower. But something happened before the tower fell."
Ashely looked confused and queried. "I don't understand. The tower fell?"
"How did it fall?" Sam asked
"I don't know. Neither did Emily." David shrugged. "We came across these dead bodies belonging to the Umbrella corporation. Paramilitary guards from the looks of it, all dead from something. It was dark as hell, we find this pile and then..." he inhaled and exhaled as he was about to tell them the one thing he regretted to ever see in his entire life. "We found Beth's head."
All four were shocked, widened eyes and gasped in horror at what David just revealed to them.
"What did you just say?!" Francesca shouted in a shocked tone
"Beth's head. We saw it!" David exclaimed to them
Ashely gasped. "Oh my God!" she choked out filled with shock and dismay
"What the fuck?!"
Sam asked in dismay. "Are you serious?!"
"I wish I wasn't, Sam! I wish I didn't see my dead girlfriend's head with my own eyes!" David snapped for a second before he calmed himself down. "Em and I think they both fell down there."
Chris gasped. "Oh my God."
"But the worst part was I didn't think Hannah died from the fall too." David added. "And she was right."
Fran looked at him puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Both me and Emily felt like Hannah had to be stuck in the mines for weeks... starving to death." David stated to them. "We had no idea they were there this whole time. We thought their bodies were burnt, but we were wrong. So goddamn wrong."
"Jesus..."
They heard the door opened as Mike burst into the room, seeing David with wide eyes with relief.
"David! Holy shit, man! You made it!" Mike exclaimed patting him on the shoulder
David nodded. "Yeah, just barely." he said
Mike looked around the den before looking back to the others. "Wait, where's Matt and Emily?" he queried
"We're trying to find that out." Ashely replied
"And there was this monster chasing him." Chris also added
"Alright we'll get to that later. But first we need to know if help's on the way. Maybe see if we can find out where Em and Matt are."
Before David could respond, a loud bang was heard. The sound of someone knocking on the door, heavily. Then a few seconds later, they heard the sound of bottles clattering together outside from the lodge. Mike pulled out a pistol from behind as Francesca pulled hers out from her hip holster. The clattering got louder and louder the more Mike and David got closer to the door with Chris right behind them, as he peeked out the window. His eyes went wide at what he saw, along with the rest of the group. It was Lucas smashing the empty beer bottles he had together with his fingers and pale white creatures with parts of them covered in black mold. In between Lucas and the pale creatures were molded monsters, all flesh and bones covered head-to-toe.
"COME OUT AND PPPLLAAAAYYYYYY!" he singed teasingly
"Who the hell is this meth addict motherfucker?" David asked as the girls appeared behind the boys
"Lucas." Mike answered, his voice filled with anger and disdain. "Looks like that little shit broke out of the shed."
Ashely noticed the pale and molded monsters by Lucas's side. "What are those things outside? Is he controlling those monsters outside?"
"I don't think so." They glanced at Sam, before looking back out the window. "I don't know how, but I think it's someone or something else controlling these things-"
"Not the important matter at hand right now." Fran interjected. "What are we going to do here?"
"The basement might be a safe place for all of us." Sam suggested
"We could try to barricade this place, too. Do what we can to buy some time." Mike added looking at the others. "Any volunteers?"
"I'll lend a hand." Chris said
"Me too." Fran added
"I'll help you out, too." David also said as all three began barricading the doors
Mike shook his head. "No, you go follow Sam and Ash to the basement. Plus you're the only one besides us who knows how to use a gun. You can watch their backs." he said, handing David a P19 machine gun
He took the machine gun and asked. "You think the three of you can hold out 'that' on your own?"
"We just need to buy some time to cover our escape to the basement." Mike replied. "We'll catch up with you guys when we can. Right now just get down there and wait for us." David looked at Fran and Chris
Fran agreed, nodding her head. "Yeah, we'll be fine. Go."
David nodded back as he and Sam headed for the basement, except for Ashely who stopped for a moment.
"Hey!" Chris turned to Ashely, only to receive a kiss on the lips from said woman. "Make sure you come back to me, okay?"
"Uh, yeah." he said as Ash ran, following Sam and David to the basement
"HELLLLLOOOOOOO!" shouted Lucas catching the attention of Mike, Fran, and Chris who stared back at the windows. "I know y'all out there! I know ya can hear me."
Mike opened the door a bit. "What do you want, asshole?" he demanded loudly enough for Lucas to hear
"I was wonderin' if you and I can talk for a minute, Mikey Mike." he said tauntingly. "Or maybe I could come in that nice lodge of yours to warm myself up. It beats freezin' my goddamn balls off out here."
Mike scoffed and responded by saying. "That's a big fucking no on both counts."
"I wasn't asking ya, boy." Lucas said, sneering at Mike. "Since I'm in a good mood, why don't I have my friends here stay outside and I'll come inside with ya. What do y''all have to lose?"
"I'm not stupid enough to let you come in here." Mike retorted
"How about I make this simple..." Lucas took a step forward. "Either y'all let me in or me and my friends over here will invite ourselves in for one big gore party. And I'd hate ta mess up that lovely lodge of yours. Hell..." Lucas stared at the mouth of the wendigos. "Some of them haven't eaten in a while now that I think of it."
Chris scoffed. "And we're just to suppose to take your word?" he yelled to the pyschopath
"Let's be honest, Chris, do y'all really have a choice?" Lucas retorted with a sinister grin on his face. "Let me in and all these fellas here will stay outside like the good lil' pets they. Or y'all can come out here and talk like civil folk."
"We need to think of something." Fran whispered to the two. "We can't let him inside, but can't let those things get in here either."
Mike shook his head. "We make a stand. There's no way in hell this asshole is getting in here. We can hold these things off until we make a break for the basement." he declared
"Well, we need to do something. And fast..." Chris replied staring at the mold creatures outside as he glanced at Mike and Francesca. "At this point, it's either Lucas or those things."
Fran saw Lucas put something in his jacket pocket, as she closed her eyes for a moment. "And you're sure we can take your word with those things staying outside?"
"What the hell are you doing?"
Lucas grinned in a sadistic and pleased matter. "That depends on which one of y'all plans on being a good host. I'm hoping it's you, spitfire."
"One of us can stall him while the rest evacuates with the others to the basement." Fran whispered to Chris and Mike. "I'll do it."
Mike shook his head. "Not gonna happen."
"It has to be one of us, Mike."
Chris scowled. "If I go near that asshole in, I know I'm gonna lose my shit."
"You're not the only one, Chris. Best thing I can do is hold my temper while I'll give you guys an opening. Which is why I'm-" Mike cut off Francesca
"No, no you're not going out here. If anything is going out there with that psychotic fucker, it's me." he declared. "Not taking the chase of letting this asshole in, or 'them'."
"Mike!" Fran whispered loudly, grabbing said person by the wrist. "It's him or them. Since this is the lesser of two evils, I'd say it's him." Mike walked out the lodge to confront Lucas surrounded by monsters
Lucas showed a displeased expression. "I wanted it to be Francesca. What the hell you doing here, Mikey boy?"
"I'm no letting you go anywhere near her, you piece of shit." Mike retorted. "You're dealing with me."
"Oh." he said, quirking his eyebrow before he cackled. "I'm dealing with the great Michael Munroe! Such an honor!" he quipped sarcastically. "You do got some balls on you, boy. I'll admit that much at least." Lucas looked over Mike's shoulder as he grinned wickedly. "More than I could say for you, Christopher."
"I'm letting you in, but you better hold up your fucking end of the bargain." he threatened
Lucas scoffed. "I'm a man of my word, Mikey Mike." he taunted as Mike begrudgingly let Lucas in the lodge. "Ain't this a lovely sight." he stared at Fran and Chris. "The best friend and girlfriend." he turned to Mike who had the sawed off double barrel pointed at him. "Where's the rest of yer friends?"
"What's it to you?" Lucas looked to Chris and Fran barricading the doors using the shelves close by. "Don't even fucking think about it."
"I take it my word ain't good enough."
"It never was. Now why are you here?"
"You see, it's come to my attention that one of yer buddies escaped certain death." Lucas started, taking a seat on the sofa. "Let me ask y'all somethin'? Which one of yer friends made it back? Was it the boyfriend of the late Beth Washington? Or it was the ex of one Michael Munroe?"
"What's it to you?"
"Answer my question, boy." Mike continue to glare at Lucas who glared back in return. "Don't make me repeat myself."
"And I'm gonna ask you again: why are you here and what do you want?"
"You really wanna do this, boy?"
Mike responded with action instead of words as he fired the double barrel shotgun into Lucas' chest, his body hitting the floor upon impact. Chris and Fran looked outside, to hear the screeching of the wendigos as a bloated mold monster slowly made its way to the door. It brought its arms back before lunging them forward against the barricaded door. The sound banged louder than thunder, followed by another banging sound. Fran quickly glanced to see another attempting to barge the other door blockade. Chris quickly ran for the second door as he armed himself with an M37 shotgun, aiming at the sight once one of molded breached the door. He fired shooting off its arm as a elongated mold covered hand from a wendigo suddenly grabbed him from out the window. Mike came to his aid, shooting the bioweapon in the head as it released its hold on Chris.
Fran was about to help out Mike and Chris, but she narrowly glanced at the downed Lucas Baker. She went over to his bloodied body and quickly searched his pockets. But before she could check the last pocket, Lucas grabbed her by the neck. Fran retaliated by firing bullets from his chest to his face, causing the infected lunatic to loose his grip as she broke free from his grasp. Another hand grabbed her wrist, quickly turning to see it was Mike.
"What are you doing? We gotta go!" Mike said as a wendigo tackled him into the ground
"Mike!" Fran fired three shot at the wendigo catching the bioweapon as it glared at her. "Quieres algo de esto, pendejo!"
Before it could attack Fran, Mike shot the wendigo's head off with his sawed off shotgun. Fran helped him off the floor.
"Thanks."
A sudden scream caught their attention as a mold monster stabbed Chris in his right ankle as another attempted to take his head off using its sharp jawed teeth. The jaw of one of the molded was shot off, follow by a couple of mold creature as turned around to see David. He fired off more shots from the P19 machine gun. David shot a wendigo about to pounce on him as Mike carried Chris, tossing Francesca the shotgun he had. She dodged a wendigo that lunged at her and shot it from behind, sending it collided to a bloated mold creature that swatted it away after impact.
"You got him?"
"Yeah."
"Let's go, let's go!" they retreated away from the wnendigos and molded, heading for the basement as they ran
Sam and Ash waited in the basement as the former stayed watch, while the latter was pacing at a frantic state. Sam kept a leveled head and remained on watch in case the others came back. She didn't want to think about if they died in the lodge, that Lucas and those mold covered monsters weren't near her and Ashely. In that moment, she heard a sound coming off in the distance. Ashely took notice and found somewhere to hide while Sam waited behind the door as a baseball bat in her hand. The footsteps got closer and closer, drawing near in every breath they took. Once the steps got in close proximity, Sam swung the baseball bat as a hand suddenly caught it. Sam looked to where the hand came from, looking relieved to realize it was David and the rest of the gang. David took a seat on a stool as Sam placed her hand on his shoulder while Mike and Fran brought Chris inside with them, sitting a table showing an entire map of the mountain.
"Oh, thank God. You guys made it!" Ashely said with relief before hugging Chris and smiling at the others. The smile suddenly faded when she saw Chris' bloodied ankle. "What happened?"
"I'm fine, Ash. I'm fine." Chris assured her
Sam asked. "What took you so long?"
Chris looked down while out of breath. "It's no so good up there right now."
"Understatement of the night." Mike muttered
"They're right." Fran replied, agreeing with Chris. "Those things are in the lodge now. We had to make a break for it."
Sam gasped. "God."
Mike paced around the room. "Are these all the doors?"
"Yeah." Sam answered
"Are you sure?" Mike asked frantically
David raised an eyebrow at Mike. "What are you looking for right now?"
"Another way out." he answered
"Mike..." Sam shook her head in disagreement. "I really don't think that's a good idea. We should stay put. Right here, until dawn. At least we're safe down here-"
Mike merely scoffed in disbelief and turned incredulously at Sam . "Oh, yeah? All wrapped up like presents with bows on top waiting for those things to tear us all apart on Christmas morning?"
"Settle down, man. Help will come for us in the morning. We just need to survive until then." David said in an assuring tone
Mike looked back at David with a skeptical expression. "You don't sound so sure."
"It's all we got so far at this point, Mike." he replied in a sigh. "And if those things are inside the lodge already..." he looked back to the group. "We may have to wait it out for now. Or find some way to lure them all out and kill them all permanently."
Mike shook his head dismissively and replied. "Well, you can wait if you want. I'm leaving."
"But do you have the key to the cable car? The only person who does is Josh and he's-" David was cut off by Francesca
"Lucas has it." she informed to the group. "I saw him put the key in his pocket before he came inside the lodge. I tried to get it out of his pocket before those things rushed in at the lodge."
Chris groaned in annoyance. "Seriously?" Fran nodded in reply
"That slippery little bastard." Mike muttered bitterly. "No doubt one of his dirty little tricks."
"Great. Just great." Sam said in sheer sarcasm
"If that fucker has the key..." Mike sighed in sudden defeat. "Then I guess we're all shit out of luck."
"There's one place he could be, though." The group turned to David who put out a map from the bag he had when he came back. "Lucas has got to be in the mines. There's some scary shit down there in the mines, and I think it's where the thing that chased me lives too."
Fran took a step toward David, looking at the mine section of the map. "You mean this creature you saw in the mines?"
"Yeah." David closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose before he let out a sigh. "The same one that... killed Emily and Jessica."
the group was shocked and horrified while Mike had a mix of shock and dismay on his face. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Jess was alive in the mines when she found me down there. We met up with Em after we crossed path. She and Matt called for help in the fire tower up top. That's where we found some things out. Dead Umbrella remnants, Beth's head, mama bear Marguerite Baker... and Josh."
"You mean Josh's alive? You saw him? We gonna go-" David cut her off
"Fran, he's gone."
"What do you mean by that? David, what do you mean by that?!"
"You know what I mean, Fran! He's gone!" David exclaimed. "He's gone. He wasn't himself anymore when we saw him."
"David, Chris and I saw him die when we were in the sanatorium." Ash told him. "Josh is dead! Maybe you were just seeing things down there!"
"You're not listening to what I'm saying-" Mike interrupted the conversation
'You know what? Fuck it." Mike said. "I'm gonna get that key out of its goddamn bedroom and then I'm gonna get us all the hell out of here." he declared
"What's this?" David pointed at the building away from the lodge
"That's the sanatorium. We were all there when the Bakers took us." Sam stated
"You were?" he asked as Sam nodded
"Yeah, a lot of craziness happened. I don't want to get into it, but I'm glad we were just lucky to stay alive." she replied as she noticed the look on David's face. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"There's something else you guys should know." David turned to look at the group. "That thing I saw in the mines. I... I think it was Hannah."
Everyone in the group had mortified expressions on their faces, except for a skeptical Mike as he asked. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"
"That creature that chased me in the mines... the thing that Jessica and Emily, it was Hannah." David repeated to the group
"Look, man, I don't know what kind of hell you went through in the mines-" David cut Mike off from his sentence
"It had her tattoo, Mike!" David exclaimed. "That same butterfly tattoo on her right shoulder! The reason I know because I was there when she first got it. There's no mistake. That fucking thing was Hannah."
"Oh my god..." Ash gasped in horror
"This whole time we thought she was dead, but after what you've told us.." Chris trailed off, gasping as he fell to his seat on the table. "Jess an-and Emily. Jesus Christ, I think Matt might be dead too."
Ashely looked frantic and panicked. "Chris, don't say that!"
"What do you want to say, then?! Our friends are fucking dead!" Chris snapped. "All because of this goddamn nightmare we walked ourselves into. I don't even know why we came back here. I guess... I guess because it was for..."
"Josh." Fran concluded in a sad tone as her voice cracked
Chris sadly sighed and replied. "Yeah, that'd be it."
Everyone was silent upon the revelation David revealed to them, losing the hopes of surviving the mountain. Chris and Ashely sat by each others side with Ash's head laying on Chris's shoulder while tears streaming down her eyes. Sam sat down twiddling her thumbs, contemplating on what to do after the revelation. Mike turned to the table and slammed his .44 magnum against it as he sighed in defeat. David emptied everything in the bag the old man with the flamethrower gave him on the table. What came out where flares, flashlight head sets, a flare gun including a map layout of the entire mountain and mines while Francesca looked around the basement. She found a broken lock near a chest as Francesca opened it, seeing Hannah's journal was inside. She turned through the pages until seeing a new page that was not written in Hannah's handwriting as Fran began reading. Upon doing so, she realized it was Zoe who wrote in the journal explaining how her and family came to Blackwood mountain. How it started when Jack came across a downed tanker ship due to a massive storm in Louisiana, searching for any survivors and had them recuperate in their estate. He eventually found Eveline and that's when things turned downhill for her and the family.
"Fran?" Fran glanced at Sam as she took a step closer. "What are you reading? Is that Hannah's journal?"
Fran nodded. "Among other things. Zoe wrote in some things explaining why they came here." she stated as the others walked toward where she was
"So, what does it say?" Sam asked as the group walked over to Fran
"There was this storm that left some survivors from a tanker ship stranded out in a Louisiana bayou. Zoe's dad found them and took them to his estate." Fran explained before her eyes slowly widened. "Eveline was one of the survivors from the ship."
"Eveline? That little girl from the photo?" Ashely queried. "But what was she even there on that tanker?"
"There were these remnants from Umbrella that created a new bioweapon. It escaped and killed a lot of people in the lodge seven years ago." Mike stated to the gang. "Fran and I watched some videos from the sanatorium about these two mad scientists. They mixed the t-virus with some kind of super mold fungi and experimented on some runaway convict."
Sam gasped upon realization. "The Christmas party... so that's what I saw in the cave in that video."
Chris asked. "What does this had to do with that kid, Eveline?"
"She survived the lodge massacre, but she was also changed by it. There was this black mold surrounding her after that wendigo B.O.W turned loose and attacked." Fran explained, still reading the journal for more information. "She became something else no one excepted."
"The question is: How the hell did the Bakers end up here?" David saw Francesca's mortified expression with widened eyes as he touched her shoulder. "Fran?"
"According to what this says: Eveline first met Hannah when we were here last time. She found her and Beth when they fell into the mines, she covered only Hannah in a cocoon of dark mold to heal her."
David closed his eyes and inhaled before exhaling, with his hand on his chin. "Since Beth died straight from the fall, she couldn't be revived."
Fran nodded. "Before she can fully control Hannah through her influence, the Umbrealla remnants had some help in detaining Eveline."
"The Connections." Mike deduced. "So that's why they covered up what happened to Hannah and Beth."
"Once Eveline influenced the Baker family and escaped, they came back here to Blackwood with her." Sam narrowed her eyes at the journal. "From what Zoe wrote in Hannah's journal, Eveline felt some sort of strange abnormality. She came back here to where it all began for her and dragged the Bakers along the way to the source of it."
"Hannah." Sam deduced. "It was because of Hannah. Whatever she was doing to her, Eveline wasn't able to finish it."
Fran nodded. "Hannah was infected differently, meaning she's not able to be fully controlled by Eveline. And since she can influence minds of those she comes in contact with, it took a lot of energy to control Hannah since she apparently some sort of resilience to her influence. The same could be with her mold. Jack and Lucas made sure she stayed in the mines."
"Black mold... like the mold I was covered in back at the mines. Jess and Em didn't get infected when Hannah killed them, so that would mean..." David added as Ashely suddenly took a step back. David noticed her backing away." Ash, why are you backing away from me like that?"
"Your eyes." they all looked at David's eyes, flickering full black and then back to normal for a split second. "You're infected."
"I'm not the only one." he said, pointing at the others to see their eyes flicker black. Dark veins surrounding their bodies for only a second. "Something tells me we're all infected."
"What?! No, no, no fucking way! How did we even-" Mike stopped himself, remembering the wendigo that attacked him back up the lodge. Its molded covered talons sunk into his arm. "Oh, shit."
"H-How did we-" David interrupted Chris
"Were any of you ever conscious when you got taken to the sanatorium by the Bakers?" he asked them
"No, we were knocked out when..." Chris trailed off, slowly widening his eyes upon realization before being taken. "Goddamn it! God fucking damn it!"
Ashely gasped. "Oh my god... we're gonna to end up like them. This cannot be happening!"
"Ash, Calm down." Sam said as she turned to Francesca. "Fran is there more in that journal?"
"Here." Fran said, handing the journal to Sam who kept her composure despite the shocking revelation of the group being infected
"Once the infection has started, the mold will slowly take over our cells within the body meaning Eveline can't control us."
"When will she be able to control us?" David queried with a raised eyebrow
"As soon as the mold reaches our brains. We'll see hallucinations of her and hear her voice through a mental connection once we reach the mid stage of the infection." Sam told him as she handed the journal back to Fran
David groaned. "Fuck..."
"We can deal with that when we come to it." Mike interjected, now looking to Fran. "Do we know where Lucas could be now that you have that journal?"
"According to this, Lucas has a small lab inside the mines." she stated. "Something about a necrotoxin the Connections sent over. Also for those infected, it takes time for Eveline to fully control. We still have control over ourselves for now since we're in the earlier stages of the infection."
"What about the antivirus serum?" Mike suggested. "We can use that."
"We can't. There isn't a D-series head and arm." Fran replied. "Lucas destroyed the rest that were in the sanatorium when the Bakers got here. Not to mention we used it on a mutated Jack and the other serum got destroyed when Zoe tried to cure herself."
"So if Eveline is able to influence people's minds... How was Zoe was able to resist Eveline's control?" Sam suddenly asked
"She stole a serum that was sent to Lucas from the Connections." Fran answered. "It would've given him the regenerative abilities but not the complete influence of Eveline's control."
"So you're saying this necrotoxin is our only chance."
"If we can find out what this necrotoxin is, we inject it into Eveline once we find her..."
"And then this fucking nightmare can finally be over." Mike concluded
"What are we waiting for you guys, let's go!" Sam said as the group began to follow her except for David
"What are you all doing right now?"
"We're heading to the mines." Sam noticed the look David was giving off. "What?"
"No, just no."
"This is crazy. David, you said to not split up from the group and now you're staying behind?"
"Hold on." David called out stopping the gang, Sam included. "I know what I say. But we all can't go looking for this thing. There might be something in the sanatorium that can help us know what we're looking for."
"There's cameras hidden from the lodge, to the mines and sanatorium." Mike turned to Chris and Ashely, pointing at the monitors. "Chris, you and Ash can stay here. Let us know if you see anything heading our way or that fucking asshole Lucas. The moment you see that psychotic cocksucker, I wanna know."
"You're also going to need someone to go with you to the mines. I'll go with you." Francesca stated. "We can take this walkie talkie with us since there's three here."
"You should go with David to the sanatorium since you know where it is." Mike suggested. "You can watch his back and find out what the name of this necrotoxin is."
"I'll go with you to the mines, then." Sam declared, seeing the look David had on his face. "I know I'm pacifist. But if I'm going to stay alive, I'll have to resort to violence. No matter how much I hate it. I hope I won't need it, but I'll manage." he handed her a pistol
""Sam and I will go into the mines, see if we find this fucker's lab."
"Sure you two are going to be alright?"
"Yeah, we'll be fine. Now, let's just make it back alive in one piece." Mike declared as he and Sam headed for the mines, while David and Fran went to make their way to the sanatorium