Documents from RES are marked in *.
Chapter Ten: Revelation
He had come out of the dimly lit cavern, up a flight of stairs after putting a cap on a few of the undead civilians, into a small clearing, a yard of sorts. The space was fenced in with stone walls. The yard was ornately decorated with a few small lavish stone-sculpted fountains, but all were running dry. Off to his left was a long building, possibly an extension of a mansion. The path that Vincent now stood on was cobblestone, and at first glance, he was slightly taken aback by the lushness of the place. Whoever lived here came into some money and liked to flaunt it, apparently. From this extension of the building were three doors, spaced evenly apart from each other, each of them having intricate carved designs into their wooden frames. About fifty yards directly ahead of him was another door, partially opened, leading into yet more uncharted territory.
Sensing no immediate danger and having no reference to where he was, he investigated the three doors to his left in order, only to find (in classic Resident Evil fashion) that all three of them were locked. Faced with no other possible option, he headed through the open door and was suddenly greeted when a wave of some liquid hit the wall to his left, just missing his face by inches. The acidic liquid was bubbling where it hit the wall, eating away at the stone.
If I had taken one step more…
He looked to his right, and saw the creature that shot that spray. It was sliding slowly on the ground toward him, a writing green mass of what could have been plant life, its entire body slick with oozing virus. The top of the creature was a giant red throbbing mass of skin, possibly correlated to flower petals. Its large mouth was agape, looking like a giant Venus Fly Trap. Stemming from its giant mass of quivering poisonous skin were many flying green vine-like tentacles, ready to grab anything. Vincent stared in shock at the creature…and noticed in disbelief that there were four of the creatures gliding toward him, leaving behind a slimy trail of viscous poisonous fluid filled with virus. The one closest let out some sort of screech. Moving as fast as he could, he ran out of the line of fire and fired his Magnum, the booming sound of the fire drowning out the screeching primal cries of the Ivy.
The hot bullet slammed into the pulpy live head of the creature, ripping it into flying pieces of wet skin and plant material, hitting the wall behind with wet slapping sounds. It deflated into a pile of dead flora amidst a pool of green liquid bubbling on the ground where the crumpled heap lay. He couldn't breath easy yet—he had made the mistake of running into a corner, where the other three were still closing in on him, the closest one about ten feet away, its tentacles almost in reach of the panicked pilot. Taking careful aim at the closest one, he fired directly into its open mouth just as it was about to launch another volley of acidic fluid. It ripped a giant hole in the head, sending a splay of torn slick skin everywhere before collapsing to the cobblestone path.
Two more, just two more…
The one closest to the door ahead let out a cry and shot a stream of yellow acid directly at him. Vincent tried to dodge and fire, but he wasn't fast enough as he caught a little bit on his left arm, the bullet catching the leg of the creature, rendering it immobile. He let out a cry of pain, the liquid stinging his arm with a terrific pain that made him drop his gun. With his other hand, he clutched his hurting arm, wincing in pain as he inhaled sharply through gritted teeth. He pulled up his sleeve to see the damage done. Even though it was a small amount, it managed to eat straight through the parka sleeve, through his shirt sleeve onto his skin. He saw the impact on his forearm, a bright red rash where it immediately began to bubble and blister. With his uninjured hand, he pulled the Glock from its holster and fired pistol round after pistol round into the immobile creature, each bullet slicing into its pulpy throbbing head. It opened its mouth once again, and was greeted by a steady hail of bullet after bullet tearing into its large orifice of a mouth, until after almost ten bullets when it finally let out a cry of defeat before the figure slumped to the ground, riddled with bullet holes, green fluid filled with virus leaking from each wound. He placed the pistol back into the holster and picked up his Magnum to dispatch the last of the Ivy, still some distance away, and out of rage, fired, but came up empty as the sudden realization hit him. Kneeling, he placed the empty Magnum on the ground; he opened the chamber to reload. With his one free hand, he reached into his parka and pulled out six bullets, and reloaded. He closed the chamber and stood back up, the stinging pain taking precedence over the bruised side. It shot out another stream of hot acid, hitting the ground a few feet from Vincent, splashing onto his shoes. He could hear the hiss as the few drops bubbled on the leather, eating away at it. With one quick motion, he aimed and fired, sending the last of the Ivy to a quick death.
Slumping to the ground, he looked around at where he was. From the look of the variety of flora in this space, he concluded that it was a garden. The garden had a few stone sculptures, but unlike the other ones he saw in the yard, these had fallen into rubble as slabs of stone littered the ground around their respective bases. To Vincent's left, a little ways up was the only door, on which there was pieces of Ivy accompanied with its own dark shade of green fluid moving in a steady pace down the lavish looking door. To his right and straight ahead, he was surrounded by the same stone fortification. Attached to a spigot was a length of garden hose, the spigot knob showing signs of rust. He needed something, anything, to null the stinging pain of his blistered red forearm. He rose slowly to his feet once again, seeming like an immense effort, and his body was suddenly hit with a wave of exhaustion. Plodding slowly to the hose like a zombie, he lowered the revolver to the ground and used his free hand to attempt turning on the water. It wouldn't budge.
"Come on, you fucker," Vincent said between short painful breaths. "I have no time for this." As if listening, the knob reluctantly turned and in a few seconds, Vincent saw water coming out the other end of the hose. Internally smiling, he rolled up his left sleeve, grabbed the end of the hose, and felt the water with one finger. It was cold. He looked at his arm once again, and saw that the rash was now swelling, the skin starting to crack and peel.
This is…really…gonna hurt.
He let the frigid water run onto the affected arm. He let out a giant scream of pain as the cold, clear water touched the pain, the immense stinging pain. It felt like someone was taking a knife and stabbing his arm over and over again, endlessly. He shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to see what was happening to his ailing limb. He let the cold liquid run over the rash for a minute or so before he threw the hose off to the side. He opened them and clutched his arm. Not wanting to look, but knowing he'd have to, he looked at the result. The affected area was still red, but the swelling seemed to have been reduced somewhat. Several of the blisters had opened, releasing a sickly yellow fluid, pus-like. The pain had faded somewhat, but was probably attributed to the numbness of the freezing water. Having nothing to use as a bandage, he ripped off a part of the worn away sleeve and tied it around the rash. It wasn't sterile, but it would be the best thing to do, given his current situation. At least he could move his left arm again, albeit not too well. Before stepping through that door, he ejected the mostly empty Glock clip and put in another. With his pistol raised, he carefully stepped into the courtyard.
It had been a once palatial mansion, to be sure. Now, probably as a result of the events of late, it was slowly beginning to crumble and fall in on itself. What was once a lavish decorated place, the walls lined with oil paintings and tapestries, was no longer. Paintings and their frames lay on the ground, broken. Tapestries hung on the walls lazily, torn and partially burned. Walls were cracked and in some places lined with holes. The stairway upstairs was blown away near the top, making it impossible to get up to the second floor. Lott was hoping that the entrance to the underground lab was still safe, but before he checked, he looked around once more, checking for anything to aid him. Finding nothing but smashed walls, rubble, and shattered Ming vases, he checked behind the broken stairwell and saw the stairwell leading to the Basement 1, or B1, level of the underground Umbrella lab still intact. With his baseball bat raised, he slowly descended to the world below.
At the bottom, he noticed that he was in a hallway, lit by standard florescent bulbs in the ceiling. On the wall next to him, Lott clearly saw the Umbrella logo emblazoned on the wall, with the words "B1 LEVEL" written in large white type against the gray wall. About a couple hundred feet directly ahead of Lott, he saw a lift waiting. It was there where the hall took a turn to the left, leading to a power room. Lott had been here several times, for his father worked for Umbrella and often times his father would take him here. He walked slowly toward the lift, holding his bat in front of him like a sword. An eerie silence was prevalent throughout, except for the faint sounds of machinery. When he finally arrived to the lift, his ears suddenly picked up a new sound.
Tic tic tic.
Fear gripped the teen, and his heart began to quicken. He looked to his left, the direction of the sound, and saw something he never saw in his life. A large, dark green creature stepped into view, its skin reptilian in nature, scaly. It had a large flat skull with reptile-like eyes. Walking on large muscular legs, Lott thought that it was a powerful runner. Its abnormally long arms hung almost to the ground, and he noticed in horror that the feet and arms ended in thick pointed claws. Quickly, it turned and stared straight into the eyes of the frightened child. It let out a piercing screech before quickly galloping toward the boy, the distance between them closing fast. Out of pure fright, he let out a loud scream before ducking into the lift and quickly pressed a button. The sound of moving gears came to life as the lift headed down toward the B2 level, and at the sound of the started lift, the clawed aberration let out a sort of feral cry. He had managed to escape another near-death, this time from a new and unfamiliar creature. Lott had to survive so his sister could live. Suddenly, the lift stopped in mid-trip, almost to the bottom.
"Damn it," he said to himself. Looking on the small control panel to the lift, a red light was blinking, signifying the power had been cut. "Typical." The lift stopped a few feet above the ground, giving Lott an opening just big enough for him to squeeze his way through. In a few seconds, he crawled out onto the B2 level and continued on, looking for the way to escape this nightmare once and for all.
With his ailing arm feeling just slightly better, he walked into the mansion, finally. He saw rubble in places on the tile floor, and once again noticed how richly decorated the place formerly was. Getting to the second floor was going to be impossible, for several stairs were taken out by whatever, and jumping across the gulf would be a death wish. Walking around the large space, he looked around for anything of use. His search proved fruitless, but he did find a stairwell going down from behind this stairwell. Suddenly, the sound of a boy's scream cut through the silence like a knife.
Lott!
Something was down there. With his Magnum drawn he took one step down—and saw the dark green reptilian figure of the MA-121 Hunter come barreling up the stairs toward Vincent, its abnormal legs enabling it to go up several stairs at once. It would be on him in a matter of seconds. Vincent quickly fired, and it let out a piercing scream of agony as the bullet eviscerated its left leg, taking almost all of it in the process. The monster lost its balance and fell to the stairs with a loud clang as it hit the metal stairway. It could not move. It screamed angrily, swiping at the air with one long arm and getting nothing but. Switching to the Glock, he fired a couple of rounds into its flat skull, creating new holes, taking chunks of skin with it. Blood poured out of its mangled face, and as it lay there dying, Vincent raised one foot and slammed it down hard into the creature's face, pushing it down the stairs. Its heavy body slammed each stair with a clang, harder and harder until it hit the bottom. The creation lay there as a pool of dark crimson blood began to form beneath it. With his gun raised, he quickly went down the stairs. When he arrived, he saw the Hunter twitching involuntarily in death. For good measure, he fired one more pistol bullet into the crumpled heap.
"Ass," he said to the deceased being. As Vincent looked ahead, he saw the grayness of it all, and he saw the Umbrella logo on the wall next to him.
Well, I finally found the lab.
Ahead of him some distance, he saw what might have been some form of transport, he couldn't tell. He ran down the hall, his footsteps the only ambient sound. When he arrived, he pressed the recall button. Nothing happened. On the panel, he saw a flashing red light, and next to it were the words "power loss." He looked down the lift shaft, and saw the lift and a small opening big enough for a boy to climb through.
That's probably where he went, too. I can't fit through that. I'll have to find some way to activate it or find another way around.
To his left the hallway continued, where it would take another left. With no other option, he ran down the hallway, his pistol raised in anticipation. The hall ended with an open door marked "Power Room," and he entered. An acrid smell of rot entered his nostrils and he saw why quickly. In the corner directly across from his position, two zombie scientists were chowing down on—
…a human…
Before the two even detected his presence, he fired several Glock bullets into their backs, the blood staining the white of their lab coats as the bullets sailed through rotted skin. After a few seconds, both of them were put down, the deep crimson red of precious blood forming a puddle on the white tiled floor. Now free of danger, at least temporarily, he scanned the room, and as the name suggested, along the walls were power grids with lights showing places where power went. In the center of the room was a square table with a few chairs. The only thing on the table was a piece of paper. So Vincent read:
*August 5, 1998
I can't stand it anymore! I have to take the subjects to the operating table and sever their skulls to extract a part of their brain. I do this over and over, day after day...it is awful. Guilt stays with me all the time, even after I go to bed.
Commander Vincent instructs us..."Do not see them as humans. They are just raw material we use to create Tyrants with." But it is we who cut their skulls. I can never consider them as just raw materials. They are humans just
like we are.
I asked Commander Vincent about ways to reduce their suffering, but he ignored my request, saying that by using anesthetics, pure Beta Hetero Nonserotonin cannot be extracted. Even if it is the company's orders, I don't believe what we are doing is ethical... I'm sure that I'll be sent to the worst possible place, when I die.
Or perhaps should I say, I'm already there...*
A wave of nausea came over him as he read the factory worker's diary excerpt.
I ordered this?! That is totally sick and cruel. Cutting into people's brains to extract this…Beta Hetero Nonserotonin? What the hell is that? I must have been one sick motherfucker.
He threw the note down in disgust, and looked at the power grids once again. As expected, he saw a red light at the location of the B1-B2 lift shaft. Looking below, he saw a control panel containing many switches, similar in setup to a circuit breaker. Searching for the switch to activate the lift, he found it with no problem. The corresponding light on the grid switched from red to green, rendering it operative. His objective done, he ran out of the power room toward the lift, waiting for him at B1. Climbing on, he pressed a button and the lift began the trip down.
Giant glass storage tanks surrounded Lott on all sides. From Lott's observation, this looked like the part of the lab that Umbrella did its mutagenic research on plants. Looking inside each storage tank, Lott saw hideous creatures. Inside the tanks were giant green masses, every one of them having a giant red head with vine-like tentacles. Each floated inside their storage fluid, dormant apparently.
What kind of research did Umbrella do here? I never knew about this…Dad didn't tell me anything about this…
Lott walked through the door into another lab, once again filled with storage tanks containing the strange plant mutations. In this room stood a few lab tables, operating tables stained with blood. Suddenly a wave of nausea churned inside of Lott as he saw a gruesome sight, one even more grotesque than these Ivy. On one of the operating tables lay a human lying face down. His skin was peeled back, exposing skull. A needle was planted firmly inside the skull, penetrating into the soft inner pulp of the brain. Dried blood had poured down the prisoner's neck, staining the person's prison clothes. Eyes wide in fear, he slowly walked up to the dead patient, his bat raised in case it moved. Slowly he pulled the needle out and tossed it to the floor, shattering it. Finding the courage in him, he turned the body over—
--and he was face to face with a girl, her skin a frigid blue. Her eyes were wide and rolled into the back of her head, showing a glazed over sickly white. Her mouth was frozen in an open "O" of pain. Lott gasped involuntarily.
She can't be much older than me…
The top part of her prison outfit was ripped open, revealing a white undershirt. Blood had seeped through the back, a dark crimson color covering her right breast. Suddenly, it all hit him in a thundering revelation that rocked his mind.
This is where all those inmates were taken! This is what happened to those that were selected. This…was what became of those who would go and never return…my god…what did they do here? What kind of sick asshole would do something like this?!
Lott felt one salty tear roll down the side of his face as a tumultuous wave of feelings—feelings of angst, pity, remorse, and anger swept through him. As he stared at the once beautiful teenage girl in front of him, he gave way to a silent cry and he kneeled to the ground, his hands covering his face.
After a few minutes, he rose to his feet and looked once again at her, her straight brown hair neatly down the sides of her face. Lott took one hand and passed it over her face, closing her eyes.
Rest in peace…
The sound of breaking glass behind him snapped him out of his mourning.
What the…?
Suddenly he heard the sounds of more glass shattering, and as ran back into the first room, his heart sank. Several of the glass tanks had shattered, and to his horror, the plant-like "Ivy" creatures began to make their way toward him, blocking any chance of escape. He was, in every sense of the word, trapped.
Fuck!
One of them opened their abnormal mouths and shot a stream of yellow fluid at the panicked boy, but to Lott's advantage, it missed, hitting the glass tank behind him. He stared in disbelief as the yellow solution bubbled and hissed on the glass, weakening it enough for one ugly green tentacle to shoot through.
Oh, no…
Containment fluid began pouring into the second lab where Lott stood, and suddenly the tank behind Lott broke, sending gallons of clear containment liquid out over the floor. In seconds, the slick figure of another throbbing green mass came out of the tank, adding to the scrum. There was no way he could run through the sea of plant mutations. He was trapped. With his bat raised, he let out a scream, something like a battle cry before he began to bash the closest one with his bat.
As he was investigating the Generator Room of the B2 level, Vincent heard yet another scream. Quickly, he dashed out of the room and ran down the hall, toward the source of the scream. He entered the first open door he saw only to almost slip and fall onto the slick floor. Quickly looking around the room, he saw several broken storage tanks, pieces of shiny broken glass shards littering the tile floor. His Magnum raised, he moved as fast as he could, walking as he heard the sounds of glass crunching beneath him. Another scream as Vincent walked into the next room—and saw a panicked Lott swinging his bat in a wide arc in front of him. Vincent saw the trapped boy, his eyes wide with sheer panic as five of the Ivy creatures closed in around him. In a few seconds, they'd be in their grasp. For a split second, Lott had made eye contact with Vincent, saw his Magnum raised.
Oh, no…now he's come to kill me…
"Get down!"
Instinctively, Lott dove to the ground, and suddenly the room filled with a thundering sound as bullets sailed through the air. Lott scrunched up in a tight ball as the plant creatures seemed to explode one by one, sending chunks of green fluid and body parts everywhere. Tentacles flew everywhere as chunks of soft inner body pulp rained down on the scared child. Five bullets later, an unusual silence invaded the room. Sensing that it was all over, Lott looked up to see Vincent lowering his powerful gun, and felt himself drenched. He looked at himself, and saw he was covered in green fluid, his hair matted down to his head. All around him were pieces of body parts from the creatures that were about to kill him. Lott saw him walk toward him, and he squatted down next to a relieved Lott, grinning.
"Thank…you…very much," Lott said slowly.
"No problem," Vincent began. "Your sister told me that you were here and—"
"Lily?" Lott's eyes grew wide. "Lily told you?"
Vincent smiled. "Yes. Don't worry. She's safe back at the house. She told me that you were here trying to find an escape."
"You're sure she's safe?"
"Positive. I told her I'd get you." Lott gave a small smile. "Listen…I don't know how to explain this…"
"Hmm?" Lott asked, curious.
"I may have been a very bad man…but I've put that all behind me. I'm…sorry. For everything. All of this…was my fault." Vincent bowed his head down in shame. Lott just stared at him blankly.
"Well, I have something to tell you as well," Lott said softly.
Vincent looked up.
"You…are not Vincent Goldman."
What?!
"What?" Vincent asked, confused.
"Your name is Ark Thompson," Lott continued. "You are not the real Vincent. You had come to the island as a spy and posed as Vincent. I found this out when I listened in on a conversation between you and Andy, the sewer manager. After that, I had told the real Vincent about your arrival. I don't know where the real Vincent is."
Ark Thompson? Spy? What is going on here? I'm…not Vincent?
Suddenly he remembered the name he saw on the dog tags in the scientist's hand.
Those were…mine?
"Try to remember…" Lott's voice trailed off. Pushing aside the confusion, Vincent got back to the matter at hand. "Lily told me that you were looking for an escape route. Where?"
"There is a railway system nearby." Lott replied. "If my memory is correct, you get there by taking a lift down to the B4 level."
"That's all I need to know. I will get that set up. You go back to your house and get your sister."
"But—" Lott tried to cut in.
Vincent raised a finger to silence him. "I told your sister I'd bring you safely back. She's worried about you." Vincent pulled his Glock out and placed it in Lott's hand.
"Do you know how to use it?"
Lott looked at the pistol for a few seconds, checking it out. "I'm sure it's self-explanatory."
Vincent chuckled and gave him his remaining few clips.
"What about you?" Lott asked. Vincent held up his Magnum. "I'll be fine. That gun you have there is more powerful than that bat. Do not waste all those bullets. Use it only when necessary. Now go." Lott nodded, and quickly got up. He ran for the door until he stopped and looked back at Vincent.
"Thanks." He was gone. Vincent could hear the sound of a door closing. A minute later, Vincent rose to his feet and reloaded his mostly empty Magnum before heading back out into the hall. He took a left and saw the lift waiting for him at the end of the hallway. He took a few steps and suddenly stopped. With a blinding flash, it happened. Instantly, a wave of memories came flooding back into his mind with lightning speed.
Leon…Leon Kennedy…had asked me to come to the island to investigate the cause of a falsified prison report. He had suspected a viral outbreak on the island and requested I check it out…and…I posed as Vincent Goldman to do so! That's how I met the sewer manager…and according to Lott, he eavesdropped on that conversation and reported me to Vincent…
* * *
Ark had furiously rummaging through the contents of Vincent's desk, searching for anything to incriminate him. He found a Magnum, and several cases of bullets. The entire room looked like it took extensive fire damage not too long ago. He didn't see him creep up behind him. Suddenly he felt a fist slam down hard on his back, knocking him down, his head slamming into the desk. Ark rolled over, his eyes wide as he stared into the wild face of Vincent Goldman, his blond hair strewn wildly about his head. His teeth are gritted and his face in anger. The two wrestled on the ground, Vincent trying to aim his gun at Ark's head.
"DIE!!!" Vincent yelled. "You spy! I'll kill you!"
"Not today!" Ark cried out before landing a punch straight into the scientist's face. He fell backwards off Ark, giving the spy enough time to grab his Glock and run out of the office, down the elevator. Vincent got up a few seconds later and screamed in rage before chasing after him. He arrived late, for the elevator door closed. He pounded the door with his fists but to no avail. He slammed the recall button and waited. He'd get that spy if it were the last thing he'd do.
Ark ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He came out onto the street, and his mind searched, trying to remember where the helipad was. He ran down the street to his right, away from the underground labs, toward the city entrance where his helicopter was waiting for him. He looked behind him, and saw an enraged Vincent several hundred behind him. Ark heard a gunshot behind him. He glanced quickly behind and fired his gun in response. Missing, he saw that Vincent was gaining on him. Straight ahead, maybe a thousand feet away, he saw the helicopter exactly where he left it.
Almost…there…
Another shot. Ark felt that bullet whiz by his ear, feeling the displaced air as the bullet just missed. He quickly turned and fired another shot. He saw the result as Vincent suddenly clutched his shoulder in pain as the bullet sliced through, enabling his gun to fly out of his hand. With his one free hand, he snatched the gun out of the air, and he let out a cry of pain and kept advancing, his resolve unwavering. Ark fired again, missing once more, and realized that he was empty. Still advancing toward the chopper, he ejected the empty magazine and replaced it with a full clip.
So close…
Glancing behind him once more, he saw Vincent closer than before. In another minute, he'd be on him. Finally Ark arrived at the chopper. He ran around to the pilot seat and activated the chopper. He felt the aircraft coming to life as the helicopter blades began to turn. Suddenly, Vincent threw open the cockpit door and clawed his way to the pilot's seat, grabbing Ark by the dog tags. His hands rose to his neck as the chain was choking him, depriving him of precious air. Vincent dragged him to the back of the chopper, and his body hit the floor with a thud.
"You're not getting away from me this time," Vincent seethed.
Ark gagged as Vincent pulled tighter on the dog tags. With his fading strength, he slammed the barrel of the Glock into Vincent's head, and he let out a cry. Vincent lost his grip and the dog tag chain broke in his hand. Vincent fell out of the cockpit onto the ground, clutching Ark's dog tags. Ark climbed back into the pilot seat and pulled back the lever. He felt the chopper jerk suddenly as the chopper began to rise off the ground, breathing a sigh of relief as he was finally leaving. A few feet off the ground, he heard a scream followed by the chopper leaning suddenly to the right. Ark looked behind him, and saw to his horror the head of Vincent. He grunted as he tried to pull himself up into the cockpit.
"Thought you saw the last of ME?!" Vincent rasped. Ark flew the chopper forward, gaining altitude. With one hand he fired his gun at the madman, and missed. The helicopter flew quickly over the destruction, its silhouette clear against the moonlit, starry sky. Fire broke out in sporadic patches everywhere. Zombies were running amok all throughout the once prosperous island.
"You're not going to get away!" screamed Vincent. His right shoulder was covered in dark blood, latching on to the bottom of the chopper, struggling to climb on board and kill him. Ark banked the chopper sharply to the left, hoping to make him lose his balance. To Ark's dismay, the attempt failed. Out of pure intent to kill, he aimed his gun and fired. His bullet sliced into something volatile and suddenly the cockpit of the chopper rocks violently in an explosion, the force of it knocking Vincent off the leg of the chopper. He fell toward the abyss, letting out an ear-piercing scream as he plummeted, accelerating at thirty feet per second per second toward the chaos. Panicked, Ark lashed at the controls, panicked, as the helicopter spun out of control, falling also toward the same chaos as Vincent. He saw the ground looming up at him quickly, and in seconds, the falling chopper hit the ground with a deafening crash. Metal quickly crushed as the bird became nothing more than a rumpled pile of sheet metal, an aluminum can. Glass shards flew everywhere as the dead chopper kept drilling into the ground, seemingly not satisfied with gravity's dominion. All things must stop. An object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
The pilot rolled out of the ruined aircraft, onto the ground below, his face bleeding from an open gash on his forehead. Ark saw nothing but chaos and disarray all around him. Shaken, he climbed slowly to his feet, but as he did, his vision became blurred. The blurriness gave way to an increasing blackness, and suddenly the ground loomed up once again, and he was falling, falling with it until his consciousness faded away.
* * *
Ark's face had an expression as if he just acquired a tremendous idea. Finally realizing who he really was, he had remembered that Vincent was dead. Feeling an extreme sense of happiness and confidence, he walked over to the lift to take him to B3. As soon as he hit the down button, the hall suddenly filled with flashing red lights, and loud obnoxious sirens blared everywhere. A female voice came over the public address system: "Warning. The self-destruct sequence has been activated. Repeat: the self-destruct sequence has been activated. This sequence will not be aborted. All personnel should head to the railway center located at the B4 level of the lab. All personnel evacuate immediately. All doors will now be unlocked in order to expedite the evacuation process. Repeat: All personnel should head to the railway center located at the B4 level of the lab."
"Fuck! Now?" Ark cried in disgust.
As if answering, the female V.O. continued: "Ten minutes until detonation."
A/N: Whee! Now comes the final showdown in the next chapter. However, it's not the end of the story, bwahaha! How's the story thus far? Leave a review! Soon I will have Chapter Eleven posted!