Chapter 6: Flustered with Rage

Even though Lain's eyes gestured the faintest hint of jest, Tom wasted no time for any more talk. He extended his hand in order to help Lain properly grab a hold of the slippery rungs of the ladder for her not to slip back into the water, and proceeded to climb up onto the catwalk's safety. Tom's pace was rather quick compared to Lain who continued to glance down every time she climbed a few rungs, expecting the alligator to jump out of the water to grab her at any second. At this point Tom didn't know what was causing him to have a severe headache, either the rancid smell of the water or the fact that his mind was racing so fast he couldn't even see straight. Within his own temporary haziness, Tom had thought for a moment that Lain had fallen to the water already long ago. He stopped climbing and looked down at his feet.

"Lain!" Tom exclaimed as he saw Lain towards the bottom holding on to the ladder tightly. At the sound of Tom's voice, she looked up with sudden cautiousness.

"Lain, what the hell are you waiting for? Come on!"

"I can't!"

"What do you mean you can't? You were doing just fine!" Tom replied with an exasperated look on his face.

"I swear this thing won't stop until it's got me, Tom. You go on. Leave me here and go help yourself."

Tom was furious now. "Come on, Lain, don't talk like that. You can do this. Trust me." Tom said as he tried to give her confidence. "You're a strong person. Listen to me, don't look down and come up as fast as you can. You can do it."

Lain looked up at him with a sincere smile of gratitude, which at the same time made Tom blush for some peculiar reason. It was only a couple of hours in which she got to know Tom and yet something about the way he spoke to her set off a chain reaction of trust. She'd never expected him to be the caring kind especially in a situation like this, but for moment's sake, she listened to him instead of stalling. Suddenly, the alligator's tail lashed out from the water, knocking out Lain's stance on the ladder and almost knocking her back into the water. With the remaining strength in her arms, she pulled herself again onto the ladder with a heave.

"Come on, Lain, pull yourself together." Tom muttered to himself.

Finally, she had reached him after a few moments. As the water gradually filled the room, they began to climb together, Tom leading the way, until they reached the ledge of the catwalk. Tom stood himself up and helped Lain out of the ladder. As they met face to face, Tom began to rub Lain's arms at an effort to make her warmer. She had looked deathly pale to him.

"This is why they call you ghost?" Tom asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're pale as hell."

"Oh. Yeah, well." She half giggled, trying to avoid eye contact with him but to no success. Tom seemed to smile at her. They pulled away from each other to Lain's misfortune and looked down from behind the catwalk's railing. It was high up from where they first began and the entrance to the room was now underwater.

As Lain and Tom walked across the catwalk hovering over what used to be the aquariums, Tom couldn't help but look down once more to see the unimaginable size of the alligator. Its size was unimaginable, not even in his wildest dreams would he have thought such a thing existed. The alligator swam underwater like a goldfish in a tank, its shadow gliding in the water, searching. Tom still couldn't believe it's size, and its strength went beyond limits.

"What do we do now?" Lain asked.

"I'm not sure."

"We can't stay for long, the room's filling up!"

"I know, I know."

The alligator began to dive from underneath the water, jumping up and snapping its jaws in midair. Tom signaled Lain to follow him toward the other ledge of the catwalk to a rusted door.

"Jesus, don't they feed this thing?" Tom remarked as he took a last glance at the alligator. Lain didn't answer.

As they stepped through the door, warm air filled their lungs. They stepped into what seemed like an old time living room complete with the usual antique furniture pieces. The carpet at heir feet and the two plush chairs were all fabricated a dark crimson red with golden floral imprints. The chairs faced a roaring fire that looked as though it hadn't been lit long ago. A couple of rogue candles also were lit through out the small room perhaps for the recent inhabitant. The room had two other doors on either side of a window overlooking the aquarium room beside the one that they had just entered through.

"Well, this is quite a nice change," Tom said, grateful that there wasn't any kind of monster popping out at him for the moment.

Lain just stood there, not saying a word and not looking too interested that they safe for the moment. She had recognized the room way before any event took place. Tom walked over to the small coffee table that stood between the two crimson chairs. There were a variety of papers scattered upon it, which broke the seemingly tidy trend. Tom did not hesitate to look through them. What have we here, Tom thought to himself as he spotted a note.

"Hey! Come look at this!" Tom exclaimed.

"What did you find this time?" Lain responded with concern thick in her voice. She had recognized the paper in his hand and thought of a way for him to not read it. Oblivious to Lain's intentions, Tom read the note out loud.

CODENAME: RAGE

BY INJECTING MORE OF THE T-VIRUS INTO ONE OF OUR "HUNTERS" WE HAVE CREATED WHAT WE CALL A "RAGE". THESE "RAGES" ARE AN EVOLVED FORM OF THE HUNTER, BEING ABLE TO NOT ONLY SMELL THEIR PREY FROM GREAT DISTANCES BUT ALSO BEING ABLE TO SEE IN INFRARED. UNFORTUNATLY WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ACTUALLY HARNESS THEIR POWER YET, THEY ALWAYS SEEM TO BE IN A FIT OF ANGER AND ARE ALWAYS READY FOR THE HUNT ALTHOUGH THEY DON'T EAT MUCH. BECAUSE OF ALWAYS BEING IN A FIT OF ANGER THE ACTUAL SKIN OF THESE BEASTS HAVE CHANGED FROM A HUNTER GREEN TO A CRIMSON RED.

"Hmm, it seems like it continues on another paper." Tom observed. He set the paper in his hand down and was about to search for another. Just then Lain collapsed onto the table, accidentally pushing the papers directly into the fire.

"Lain!" Tom immediately crouched down to aid Lain. He turned her small body over in order to look at her pale skinned face. Her eyes were rolled back into her head in an unconscious manner, but judging from his senses, her pulse was still strong. What a time to faint, Tom thought bitterly. He was puzzled by Lain's sudden collision, especially since he saw nothing peculiar about the room for oneself to react in such a way. Tom only hoped that she wasn't dead, which most likely gave him the benefit of the doubt. But then again she could be internally hurt, Tom suggested silently.

Crack!

Tom turned his head violently. Something hit the door on his left side with tremendous force. The hit alone splintered the wood, and with no further thought Tom knew that with one more hit the door was going to come off it's hinges without resistance. Tom quickly stood up, jarred by fear and adrenaline. Another hit and the door splintered open and fell to the floor, and within the doorframe stood no other thing than the "Rage".

"Holy Shit."

If in a zoo, Tom would have mistaken it as an overgrown amphibian, or a mutant frog at that. Yet its head was incredibly distorted, and its body looked flustered but the most stunning attribute that this thing had was its claws. They touched the floor and were easily three feet long. It heaved its chest profoundly, Tom didn't pinpoint if it was either enraged to encounter him or calmed at the moment. Tom read its every movement, which seemed that Rage was not very happy to see him. Hence the name, Tom observed warily.

Tom didn't hesitate to reach for his gun, though his hands were shaky when he aimed at the RAGE's head. He stood there, gun clenched tightly in hand, and waited for a proper chance to shoot. The monster simply roared aloud then hissed at the contraption in Tom's hand. It bent down slightly, getting ready to pounce. Without anymore warning, Tom fired three successive shots from his gun; the first two bullets pushed back the RAGE a few steps and the third to finally cause it to lose its balance.

Finally he had a chance to escape through the opposite door. The only thing stopping him was Lain. He didn't want to leave her, especially when there was a rabid monster on the loose and since she had trusted him to help her, now he was on the verge of probably making an inconsiderate decision. Time seemed to go in milliseconds and he wasted it gradually. He glanced back and fourth between Lain's unconscious body and the wooden door, unable to decide the right path to choose. The monster was beginning to regain its balance and finally stood up once again. Tom grunted in anger and finally chose for the door. He ran toward it and turned the knob almost deliberately, he felt bad to be like this to Lain, even if she was unconscious. Tom slammed open the door and threw it roughly behind him, locking it.

"Sorry, Lain." He whispered. Tom found himself in a long corridor, the wall to his left completely made of glass and he could see the whole catwalk from inside. The water had filled the room remarkably high. Tom ran his hand along the glass, knocking on it from time to time as if he inspected it. The glass was thick.

The wooden door broke with no effort, only one thrust from the RAGE and the door cracked in two. Tom began to run as fast as he could. Even at his speed, the corridor seemed endless to Tom even after a few seconds of running and the monster behind him didn't seem to get any tired. Still, Tom ran. He came across a set of stairs and descended them, almost tripping on the last step. Finally, he came across to another door. He quickly grabbed the doorknob and turned it but the door was seemingly stuck. He pushed and pushed but it wouldn't budge. It was no use. Tom used another approach. He banged his side against the door furiously until it opened with ease. Tom closed the door behind him.

Tom set his forehead against the door, panting and sweating as if he ran a long race. He caught his breath for the moment. Suddenly, he felt someone behind him. He turned quickly around on his heel and was now face to face with an unrecognized person.

"Boo." Pierre snickered. Tom fell back against the wall and sighed in relief. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"I'm being chased by a monster!"

"Big deal."

"Where's Jon?" Tom asked.

"Jon? I shot him."

Tom's eyes widened. "What??" Pierre only laughed.

"Stop being such an ass, Pierre." Jon said from behind. "So what's happened to you?"

"I'm being chased by one of Umbrella's little pets."

"A BOW?" Pierre asked.

"That's right." Tom responded as he stood up. "RAGE or something like that. I was reading these documents on one of them and then suddenly one of those things just jumped out of nowhere."

"I see." Pierre said.

"Holy shit, I have to find Lain again!"

"Wasn't she with you?" Jon asked.

"She fell unconscious for some reason awhile ago."

"Idiot! You left her behind?!" Jon exclaimed at Tom. Out of shame, Tom tiled his head down.

"Chill out, Jon. I'd do the same if that scorpion had knocked you out." Pierre began. "It's called survival. Get used to it."

The three men shared mixed feelings with one another, as they stayed silent amongst themselves, thinking about their next move. Pierre had suggested moving along and catching up with Pedro and Matt. He had begun to miss their so-called military professionalism, if he could even classify it as that. Going back for Lain was out of the question and it took up their time. Tom, on the other hand, needed to find her at all costs. Suddenly, they heard a shriek from beyond the wooden door. It was the RAGE. The men stood back, cautiously.

"I suggest we move it." Tom said.

But even with Tom's suggestion, they did not move from their place. They stood there, expecting to see the monster as if it were a circus act waiting to begin. With two violent pushes, the door was knocked down and the men were faced with Tom's pursuer.

"Ok, we can start running now." Jon said.

And so they did. They had been in a furnace room the whole time to Tom's fortune and they headed for a hallway to the left. The RAGE charged behind them yet Pierre had separated and ran up the ladder into a ventilation duct. He's ditching us, Jon thought angrily. Jon and Tom fan alongside each other as fast as they could but as their stamina decreased, they found a solution by taking out their weapons and presuming fire at the monster as they ran.

"Guns are useless against this shit!" Tom exclaimed.

"We're going to have to try another approach then!"

"Well, think of something quick, we're coming to a dead end!"

A few yards away, the hall came to an end. As far as Jon was concerned, they were officially screwed. Both men had their backs to the ending wall and the RAGE didn't seemed tired at all though it had paused in front of Jon and Tom. It hissed and growled in anguish.

"Well, it's been nice knowing you Jon." Tom said in grief.

Suddenly, something had kicked the ventilation duct door open from above the monster's position. Both men and the monster looked up with curiosity. From a blink of an eye, Pierre had jumped down on top of the monster with a long blade in his hand and began to thrust the blade repeatedly into the monster, thick blood splashing onto the ground, until finally he left it in his head.

"Shit." Tom whispered.

Pierre breathed heavily as he stood there watching the vulnerable monster. "Well, that weakened the piece of shit." He turned to Jon and Tom whom were completely shocked. "Quit gawking like a bunch of girls."

"Christ, Pierre. I have to hand it to you." Jon began. "You're good. We owe you big time."

Pierre scoffed. "Don't bother. I don't want anything from you. You could have done the same if you were properly trained."

"Yeah." Jon nodded. "Let's go back now. We've gottta find this girl now."

"Lain. Good idea." Tom suggested. "We've got to get back to Lain."

Jon nodded in agreement. He regained his composure once more and set off with Tom back from where they started. But before they could get as far as a few steps, Pierre paused.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What the hell do you mean by 'we'?"