Surviving A Nightmare

Chapter 8: Going Under

A/N: Yeah, it's been awhile. Hopefully I'll be able to post chapters more frequently, but then again, don't go getting your hopes up.

Disclaimer: Oh yeah, I don't own Resident Evil.

Well here we are, standing in Mr. Roy's office arguing…again. This time, however, I'm actually participating in this one. What are we arguing about? It's kind of funny really. After all this time, I've been the one doing the exploring, the one fighting the zombies, the one getting their ass kicked around by a rocket launcher using, really grotesque trench coat wearing, freak of nature. And I've been doing all of this alone! So now why is it such a big deal for me to go down and explore the ever-spooky sounding "Level B1" all by myself? Shane, Paul, Ashley, and surprisingly Frances, all seem to think it's a very big deal.

"Look Nat, you can't do all of this on your own! I mean, look at you! You've already had the shit beaten out of you. At least take a couple of us down there with you.", Shane always was the emotional type. Too bad I'm about to have to hit him with the truth.

"They would just get in my way, dammit! Sure, if we had a couple more weapons I might consider it. But not now. All we have is this shotgun and a shitty knife.", I turned towards the now open door that, upon opening it, had revealed only a stairwell…and darkness. "I can't do what has to be done if I have to watch over someone. It's best if everyone just waits here."

"But-…"

"No. We're not arguing about this anymore you guys.", hah, I really know how to put someone in their place!

Anyway, it was time for me to head on down and see what kind of secrets our dear principal was hiding. Besides, the sooner I got down there and made sure it was clear, the sooner we could all get out of here.

I really didn't want to leave everyone up there, especially with ol' Johnny running around with an itchy trigger finger, but I couldn't take the chance that there might be something worse waiting for us down there. "If anything happens to get in here, don't hesitate to get your asses down those stairs. And if you can, try and close this door behind you."

"Gee Natalie, from the way you sounded I'd think you actually cared.", Frances smirked. I'm not sure, but I think I detected a hint of sarcasm. Frankly, I didn't much care.

So, to quote Squall Leonhart, a "Whatever." was my only reply before heading down into darkness. Before the argument had started I'd put a few extra batteries in my side pack. The last thing I wanted was to end up not being able to see what was in front of me…or what might've been behind me.

As I descended the only noises were the sound of my boots on concrete, and my breathing. The silence was deafening. And jeez, did I just say that? How corny can you get, am I right? But in all honestly, it was kind of creepy. The walls and stairs were made entirely of concrete, and the place was so barren a person couldn't help but be creeped out just a little.

It wasn't long before I'd reached the end of the line…or the end of the stairway at least. In front of me was a door that was labeled "Basement: Level 1".

"Well, here goes nothing."

With the shotgun in my right hand, I turned the handle with my left. Hoping that there was nothing waiting for me on the other side, I jerked open the door and quickly stepped back, aiming the shotgun upwards as I did so. What did I find on the other side? A whole lot of nothing. The hallway in front of me was completely empty. It was bright, too. So, there was power down here. That wasn't really a big surprise. In fact, it was more of a blessing. That meant I could get in there, search, and then get back up to the others.

Stepping into the brightly lit hallway, I noticed that there were three doors total. Two on the right, one on the left. Might as well check the one on the left first, right?

I'm not surprised that it's unlocked. I mean, if you had to go through the trouble of using an electronic keycard and a password just to open the door that lead to the stairway, why not just keep these doors unlocked? Heh, a lot of good that door is when the power goes out.

Now I'm in what appears to be some kind of security room. There's a workstation with monitors set up, a couple computers, some kind of communications console, and…what's that over there? Could that be a weapons locker? I fuckin' hope it is. I mean, why else would they have a locker in a room like this?

Seeing that the room was safe enough, I placed the shotgun on a nearby desk and walked over to the locker. Sure, I was going to take a look at what was on those computers, but weapons were something that we definitely needed. The shotgun had been a reliable asset to me so far, but I'm starting to run kind of low on ammunition.

"Holy shit!" Yep, there were weapons in there alright. Don't get me wrong. It's not like there were AK-47's or rocket launchers stored in there.

Instead I found four nine millimeter handguns, Sigpro's probably, two SPAS-12 tactical assault shotguns, and ammo for both types of weapons. It wasn't enough for everyone to have their own weapon, but it was a hell of a lot better than just one shotgun and a lousy knife.

I knew I couldn't possibly carry everything back up the stairwell with me, so when I was ready to bring everyone down here I'd be sure to return to this room again. For now though , not knowing what lay ahead of me, I took the time to stock up on ammo for my shotgun.

Just as I was about to take a look at whatever was on those computers, a shrill cry of "Help" stopped me dead in my tracks. Looking over at the monitors I couldn't help but grin. Another survivor, although they wouldn't be for long if I didn't get my ass in gear. The label atop the screen said 'Lab 03'. That must've been one of the other two rooms left to explore. The other two monitors just showed what looked like a lounge of some sort, while the other gave me a view of what was located on the floor below: if I wasn't mistaken it was some kind of subway tunnel.

It looked like those computers were going to have to wait. I ran out into the hallway as fast as I could. Well, at least I didn't have far to go. 'Lab 03' was just across the hallway from the security room. Looks like it was time for me to play the part of the valiant knight in shining armor. Okay, so it was more like the squire in a dirty and bloody school uniform. It seemed like, even in a really fucked up situation, I could keep my sense of humor.

As I burst through the door I realized that my little joke couldn't have been closer to the truth. In the back of a room a woman in a dirty lab coat was being stalked by one of those creepy crawler…things. Her eyes immediately looked from the creature, to me, then back to the creature. Before she could even scream help again I was already on the move.

It was all over within' seconds. Two shotgun rounds to the creature's body and it collapsed with a shriek, just as the other's had done. Now that I think about it, they kinda died like a cockroach. You know, they both flip over onto their backs and do this little wiggling thing before their legs curl up?

"Oh god! Thank you!", and with that I was knocked to the floor by a screaming mass of…woman. Not that she was big, but still, it's not everyday that something like this happens. Not that I really minded much. Yeah, I was gay. I munched the carpet, I loved tacos, and I loved to fondle the boobies. Did I mention that I was very immature?

"Uh…you're welcome?", I gripped the shaking woman by her arms and lifted her up off me. Well, the drama was over with, now it was time to play twenty questions. It was obvious that she was associated with Umbrella, the little red and while Umbrella, Inc. logo on her coat kind of gave that one away. And if she was down here, then she probably had some kind of idea as to what was happening to my town.

"I didn't think anyone would have come, there hasn't been anyone here for hours, but I figured that since I was about to die it didn't matter if I screamed for help, it's not like I could have felt embarrassed for it or anything-"

"Whoa! Slow down. Just…chill, or something.", and chill she did. I noticed some blood on her pants and coat, and my first thought was that the creature had managed to get in a good swipe or two. "Are you okay?", I motioned to the blood stains .

"Huh? Oh!", she shook her head and looked down at the stains. "This isn't my blood…it's his.", she pointed in the direction of the that I'd just come from.

In my haste to get rid of her attacker, I failed to notice the body that was lying on the floor just to the right of the door. Blood had pooled around the body. There were large gashes across his chest and part of his stomach. I'm so engrossed in staring at the mayhem the monster caused that I miss out on most of what she's telling me.

"-and then all of sudden the thing just drops from the vent above and attacks Jim! There was blood everywhere…and it would have done the same to me if you wouldn't have saved me."

"Yeah…", I turned may gaze back towards her. "Who are you anyway?"

"Connie, Constance…everyone just calls me Connie.", she smiled and I think that's when she really took in my appearance, "Looks like you've been through a lot, too."

"Yeah…", and this is the part where an awkward silence ensues. There were so many questions that I wanted to ask, but I knew that now wasn't really the time for such a thing. The others were waiting for me to come back and I'm sure they were more than ready to get the hell out of here. "There are some people waiting upstairs. You…wouldn't happen to know where that tunnel leads, would you?"

Yeah, she knew. I could tell from the look on her face. "It leads to the main Umbrella laboratory in the town. You're just in one of the smaller ones."

"Smaller ones? You mean there are more of these things hidden in town?"

"Yes. We use the subway tunnel to transport supplies, experiments, and employees."

That's fuckin' lovely. And to think my mother and father probably knew what was going on underneath my school. They probably know what caused all of this mess, too; I wonder if they're okay. Yeah so they had their secrets, doesn't mean I'm not worried about 'em. Since that tunnel leads to the main Umbrella laboratory I'd find out soon enough if they were either alive or dead…hopefully the former instead of the latter.

"I guess that's where we're headed then. You're welcome to join us if you want.", psh, who am I kidding? With her looks, she's more than welcome to tag along.

Despite the bloody coat and pants, she didn't look like she'd been through much. I guess she figured it'd be safer to hide down below…boy was she wrong!

As she walked past me to the door I couldn't help myself and glanced down. Unfortunately the lab coat was blocking my view. Not that it mattered much, the rest of her was just as much fun to look at. She didn't look all that old either, like maybe she was in her early twenties. She had shoulder length brown hair, not too sure about the eye color, and a fairly good rack! When she reached to open the door I noticed a very flashy wedding band on her left hand. Damnit, there goes my shot at getting any of the "survivors taking comfort in each other" nookie. Like I said before: I'm immature.

The stairwell was just as spooky as before. I lead the way with the flashlight with her just behind me. The others would probably cheer and clap and get all giddy at the fact that I'd found another survivor. At least it would probably stop all the "We're gonna die horrible deaths." mumbo jumbo. Not that I'm saying it won't happen, I just don't want it to happen.

Gee, never thought I'd hear myself say that…or think it…whatever!