Author's Note: Whew. This part was harder to write than I thought. I've been pretty busy lately...but I'm finally getting my learner's permit! Yahoo! Anyway, the next chapter should speed up the slow pace of this story (I'm really sorry about this). And tell me what you think of Cheryl. Right now she's only playing a very small role, but that could always change (I haven't made up my mind yet). Thanks for sticking with me!
Saliva dripped from the dogs' mouths as they moved closer to Steve and Claire. The first dog stopped in front of Steve and snarled at him, but Steve didn't move. Instead, he pulled the trigger of his shotgun and fired a shell into the dog's body. The dog yelped in pain and collapsed. It yelped and struggled to stand, smearing blood all over the marble floor. Its partner leaped past Steve and landed on Claire. They both fell to the ground and struggled to their feet, with the dog snapping and biting at Claire.
"Claire!" Steve turned around, aiming at the other dog.
"Steve, look out!" Claire yelled. Steve heard a snarl behind him and turned around. The other dog he had been fighting was now on its feet. It was soaked in blood, but it didn't seem to care. Steve looked back at Claire to see her still fighting the dog, then turned to see the dog he shot running towards him. Steve quickly fumbled with his shotgun as the dog leaped into the air. The gun bucked in his hands and the dog fell to the ground. It remained still as blood oozed from under it. Steve heard several gunshots followed by yelps. Steve turned around to see Claire crouching next to the corpse of the other dog. He walked over to her and held out his hand. She took his hand and he helped her to her feet.
"Are you okay?" Steve asked.
"Sure. It was a piece of cake," Claire said with a grin. She looked back at the carcass on the table. The grin quickly faded.
"Do you think that was meant for the dogs?" she asked.
"Probably, or else the people that used to live here had very gross tastes in food," Steve said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. He noticed there were two doors to chose from. One was to the north of the room and the other was to the left of the room.
"Which way should we go?" he asked. Claire looked at both doors, then walked to the northern door. She tugged on it, but the door wouldn't budge.
"I guess we'll take the other door," she said. Steve nodded, and he pushed open the door. Claire reloaded her handgun and walked into the next room. Steve followed behind her.
They both were in another hallway. It was dimly lit by lamps suspended from the ceiling. Four doors were on the right of Steve and Claire, and one door that was nailed shut was on their left.
"Man, this place is huge. We'll never find our way out," Steve muttered.
"No, don't say that. We'll get out of here," Claire said. She walked past him. Steve watched her as she stopped and looked around the room. She began checking each door to see if any of them would open.
'She hasn't changed at all,' he thought. She was still pretty and strong-hearted. It wasn't a surprise that she survived the Rockfort and Antarctic base ordeal. What did surprise him was that she came back for him. No one had ever done that for him before.
'I love you...'
Steve frowned as he recalled what happened during his last moment. He felt a little embarrassed. He never thought he'd have another chance to tell her how he felt about her.
'She probably didn't hear it, or maybe she doesn't remember,' he didn't have the courage to tell her again, especially not in a place like this.
"Steve?" he snapped out of his thoughts to see Claire staring at him with a concerned look.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"N-no! Of course not," he said quickly. Claire looked at the row of doors, then pulled out a crest with an angel craved on it.
"You wouldn't happen to have a crest like this, would you?" she asked. Steve remembered the crest he found in the room with that monster, and showed it to Claire. She examined it, before giving him a grim look.
"Steve...I think we should split up for a while, so we can cover more ground," she said. Steve could tell she didn't want to do it. He didn't want to either. They had both risked their lives to find each other again.
"These crests open different doors. The angel crest opens this door," she motioned to the second door, "and the devil crest opens that door," she pointed to the fourth door.
"Okay, I guess it would be wiser to split up," Steve said, although reluctant.
"If anything happens, we'll meet up in the main entrance hall, okay?" Claire said. Steve nodded. Claire walked to the second door and placed the angel crest into the opening. It creaked open. Claire looked at Steve before she went in.
"Hey Steve," she began, she paused before speaking, "...don't die, okay?"
"I won't. You better stay alive too," Steve said. Although he said it jokingly, he meant it. They smiled at each other before Claire disappeared behind the door.
'Please be safe, Claire...' Steve thought. He looked at the door at the end of the hallway and then looked at the devil crest in his hands. He began walking towards the door.
Wesker growled impatiently as the phone rang. If Chris wasn't home, then luring his sister to the mansion would be nothing but a waste of time. The phone stopped ringing, and a groggy voice answered.
"Hello?" The groggy voice belonged to Chris. His voice was filled with confusion. Wesker couldn't help but smile.
"Hello Redfield," he said calmly. The confusion in Chris's voice quickly faded and was replaced with anger and shock.
"Wesker?! How did you find this address?! Wha-"
"That's not important right now," Wesker interrupted, "I have important news regarding your sister."
Chris paused at the other end.
"What do you want with her?" he asked. Wesker could detect the fear in his voice.
"Are you aware that she's gone?" he asked. There was another long pause, Chris was probably looking to see if she had left. Wesker could hear Chris faintly swear on the other end. Chris picked the phone back up.
"Why did you take her?! She had nothing to do with-"
"I didn't take her. She went off to find her friend, Mr. Burnside. I could tell you where she went, but it's very dangerous..." Wesker said.
"I don't care. Just tell me where she is," Chris snarled. Wesker smile grew bigger as he told Chris the coordinates. Wesker's plan was working. Chris would go to rescue his sister and they would both die...
"You better not be lying, Wesker," Chris said.
"Now what makes you think I would do that? You better hurry, you don't know what might be after her," Wesker said. Chris hung up the phone on him.
'Maybe I'll meet him there,' Wesker thought. He'd rather be the one to kill Chris than any of the monsters there. Suddenly, Wesker felt a sharp, intense pain in his stomach. Wesker dropped the phone and clutched his stomach.
'What's happening?!'
"Mr. Wesker?" a young female voice asked. Wesker looked up to see a red-headed, innocent-looking woman in a white lab coat. She was one of HCF's newest employees. A young, insecure scientist named Cheryl Higgins.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Wesker glared at her and stood straight. He ignored the pain in his stomach. He caught a glimpse of concern in Cheryl's eyes, but she quickly looked down.
"M-Mr. Wesker, there's a strange message on your computer," she said quickly.
"Didn't I tell you not to touch my computer?" Wesker snapped. Cheryl flinched at Wesker's harsh tone of voice.
"I-I didn't! I was dropping off some files and I saw it on your computer," she said. Wesker sighed.
"I'll go look," he said. Cheryl nodded and quickly went on her way. He watched her leave.
'Useless,' he thought, 'HCF needs to hire more confident scientists. Not squirmy little girls like her.' Wesker walked off towards his office to find out what was the matter with his computer.
'Piece of junk machinery. I really need a replacement.'
"LOOKING FOR A CURE..?"
The large, bold letters with the cryptic message were written across Wesker's monitor. Wesker silently fumed as he read the message over and over. Was this someone's idea of a joke? And if so, who?
'If it is a joke, I'll find the nuisance who did it and dispose of him,' he thought angrily. As soon as his fingers touched the keyboard, another message appeared.
"YOU'LL PAY JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!"
Wesker's fingers recoiled from the keyboard as the new message appeared.
'What does all this mean? Does this person know I'm infected?' Wesker thought. His body felt hot all over. He shouldn't be sick...
'I need to go back to the mansion,' he thought bitterly. He hated flaws in his plans. He looked at the handgun lying next to the computer and picked it up. If there was a cure for the N-Virus, he would find it at the mansion.
'Chris, you just better stay out of my way,' he thought.
Saliva dripped from the dogs' mouths as they moved closer to Steve and Claire. The first dog stopped in front of Steve and snarled at him, but Steve didn't move. Instead, he pulled the trigger of his shotgun and fired a shell into the dog's body. The dog yelped in pain and collapsed. It yelped and struggled to stand, smearing blood all over the marble floor. Its partner leaped past Steve and landed on Claire. They both fell to the ground and struggled to their feet, with the dog snapping and biting at Claire.
"Claire!" Steve turned around, aiming at the other dog.
"Steve, look out!" Claire yelled. Steve heard a snarl behind him and turned around. The other dog he had been fighting was now on its feet. It was soaked in blood, but it didn't seem to care. Steve looked back at Claire to see her still fighting the dog, then turned to see the dog he shot running towards him. Steve quickly fumbled with his shotgun as the dog leaped into the air. The gun bucked in his hands and the dog fell to the ground. It remained still as blood oozed from under it. Steve heard several gunshots followed by yelps. Steve turned around to see Claire crouching next to the corpse of the other dog. He walked over to her and held out his hand. She took his hand and he helped her to her feet.
"Are you okay?" Steve asked.
"Sure. It was a piece of cake," Claire said with a grin. She looked back at the carcass on the table. The grin quickly faded.
"Do you think that was meant for the dogs?" she asked.
"Probably, or else the people that used to live here had very gross tastes in food," Steve said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. He noticed there were two doors to chose from. One was to the north of the room and the other was to the left of the room.
"Which way should we go?" he asked. Claire looked at both doors, then walked to the northern door. She tugged on it, but the door wouldn't budge.
"I guess we'll take the other door," she said. Steve nodded, and he pushed open the door. Claire reloaded her handgun and walked into the next room. Steve followed behind her.
They both were in another hallway. It was dimly lit by lamps suspended from the ceiling. Four doors were on the right of Steve and Claire, and one door that was nailed shut was on their left.
"Man, this place is huge. We'll never find our way out," Steve muttered.
"No, don't say that. We'll get out of here," Claire said. She walked past him. Steve watched her as she stopped and looked around the room. She began checking each door to see if any of them would open.
'She hasn't changed at all,' he thought. She was still pretty and strong-hearted. It wasn't a surprise that she survived the Rockfort and Antarctic base ordeal. What did surprise him was that she came back for him. No one had ever done that for him before.
'I love you...'
Steve frowned as he recalled what happened during his last moment. He felt a little embarrassed. He never thought he'd have another chance to tell her how he felt about her.
'She probably didn't hear it, or maybe she doesn't remember,' he didn't have the courage to tell her again, especially not in a place like this.
"Steve?" he snapped out of his thoughts to see Claire staring at him with a concerned look.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"N-no! Of course not," he said quickly. Claire looked at the row of doors, then pulled out a crest with an angel craved on it.
"You wouldn't happen to have a crest like this, would you?" she asked. Steve remembered the crest he found in the room with that monster, and showed it to Claire. She examined it, before giving him a grim look.
"Steve...I think we should split up for a while, so we can cover more ground," she said. Steve could tell she didn't want to do it. He didn't want to either. They had both risked their lives to find each other again.
"These crests open different doors. The angel crest opens this door," she motioned to the second door, "and the devil crest opens that door," she pointed to the fourth door.
"Okay, I guess it would be wiser to split up," Steve said, although reluctant.
"If anything happens, we'll meet up in the main entrance hall, okay?" Claire said. Steve nodded. Claire walked to the second door and placed the angel crest into the opening. It creaked open. Claire looked at Steve before she went in.
"Hey Steve," she began, she paused before speaking, "...don't die, okay?"
"I won't. You better stay alive too," Steve said. Although he said it jokingly, he meant it. They smiled at each other before Claire disappeared behind the door.
'Please be safe, Claire...' Steve thought. He looked at the door at the end of the hallway and then looked at the devil crest in his hands. He began walking towards the door.
Wesker growled impatiently as the phone rang. If Chris wasn't home, then luring his sister to the mansion would be nothing but a waste of time. The phone stopped ringing, and a groggy voice answered.
"Hello?" The groggy voice belonged to Chris. His voice was filled with confusion. Wesker couldn't help but smile.
"Hello Redfield," he said calmly. The confusion in Chris's voice quickly faded and was replaced with anger and shock.
"Wesker?! How did you find this address?! Wha-"
"That's not important right now," Wesker interrupted, "I have important news regarding your sister."
Chris paused at the other end.
"What do you want with her?" he asked. Wesker could detect the fear in his voice.
"Are you aware that she's gone?" he asked. There was another long pause, Chris was probably looking to see if she had left. Wesker could hear Chris faintly swear on the other end. Chris picked the phone back up.
"Why did you take her?! She had nothing to do with-"
"I didn't take her. She went off to find her friend, Mr. Burnside. I could tell you where she went, but it's very dangerous..." Wesker said.
"I don't care. Just tell me where she is," Chris snarled. Wesker smile grew bigger as he told Chris the coordinates. Wesker's plan was working. Chris would go to rescue his sister and they would both die...
"You better not be lying, Wesker," Chris said.
"Now what makes you think I would do that? You better hurry, you don't know what might be after her," Wesker said. Chris hung up the phone on him.
'Maybe I'll meet him there,' Wesker thought. He'd rather be the one to kill Chris than any of the monsters there. Suddenly, Wesker felt a sharp, intense pain in his stomach. Wesker dropped the phone and clutched his stomach.
'What's happening?!'
"Mr. Wesker?" a young female voice asked. Wesker looked up to see a red-headed, innocent-looking woman in a white lab coat. She was one of HCF's newest employees. A young, insecure scientist named Cheryl Higgins.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Wesker glared at her and stood straight. He ignored the pain in his stomach. He caught a glimpse of concern in Cheryl's eyes, but she quickly looked down.
"M-Mr. Wesker, there's a strange message on your computer," she said quickly.
"Didn't I tell you not to touch my computer?" Wesker snapped. Cheryl flinched at Wesker's harsh tone of voice.
"I-I didn't! I was dropping off some files and I saw it on your computer," she said. Wesker sighed.
"I'll go look," he said. Cheryl nodded and quickly went on her way. He watched her leave.
'Useless,' he thought, 'HCF needs to hire more confident scientists. Not squirmy little girls like her.' Wesker walked off towards his office to find out what was the matter with his computer.
'Piece of junk machinery. I really need a replacement.'
"LOOKING FOR A CURE..?"
The large, bold letters with the cryptic message were written across Wesker's monitor. Wesker silently fumed as he read the message over and over. Was this someone's idea of a joke? And if so, who?
'If it is a joke, I'll find the nuisance who did it and dispose of him,' he thought angrily. As soon as his fingers touched the keyboard, another message appeared.
"YOU'LL PAY JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!"
Wesker's fingers recoiled from the keyboard as the new message appeared.
'What does all this mean? Does this person know I'm infected?' Wesker thought. His body felt hot all over. He shouldn't be sick...
'I need to go back to the mansion,' he thought bitterly. He hated flaws in his plans. He looked at the handgun lying next to the computer and picked it up. If there was a cure for the N-Virus, he would find it at the mansion.
'Chris, you just better stay out of my way,' he thought.