Hi all! Thanks for reviews! Hope you all had a groovey new year and didn't make any stupid New Year's Resolutions.

Arch~ hehe, I know who you are now! *gives suet pudding* I don't think you like these puddings but I had one extra. Thank you for all your help and *participation* in the development of this story! Hehehe, sometimes I make myself laugh! *laughs hysterically*     *nobody else joins in* Well, I think it's funny.

Arch: (side whisper) I don't think they get your meaning.

Sych: *pout*

Shady777~ he can take lessons! *gives gingerbread man* Thanks for all the reviews and advice! I hope that Monster is still under control in this chapter!

Zarbok~ *gives entire tray of cookies* I got Wesker to bake some more, so you can be as greedy as you want without feeling guilty! Thank you for the review, it's good to hear from you again!

So, here's more writing! Hope ya like it!

Chapter 16: Discovery

Claire half helped and half dragged Jill down the sewers, skirting the area where Celia had been shot. For obvious reasons she didn't want to venture in that mineshaft again.

It was funny how fast you could move when you knew the way and a friend's life depended on your haste. They were moving down the path at twice the speed with which they had come up it and she was concentrating on keeping Jill conscious. To do this, Claire tried to talk to her and keep her interested in her surroundings. Unfortunately interesting conversation topics are hard to come across when you're tired, desperate and scared, so Claire's ramblings were mostly morbid.

Jill herself struggled to keep awake. Muzzily she knew her life depended on staying conscious; she had learnt about blood-loss along with hypothermia in her basic STARS training because 'you never knew what could happen' as Captain Wesker had said. It's funny, but she sometimes thought of Wesker as two different people, her Captain and the evil doctor. Maybe it was just because he was a damn good actor, but she had two very contrasting images of the man.

Claire mainly talked about how when she got out of here she was never going to go anywhere near a sewer again. "And there I was thinking I was going to make some headway into this whole viral corporation thing and then bamf. I'm back in the sewers in a small town. Not far from where I started. It's just depressing."

Jill wouldn't have answered this even if she could've. She didn't really have much to say. As it was, black spots danced in front of her eyes and bile burned her throat. She could feel her fragile consciousness slipping through weakened fingers. And she was determined to keep a firm hold on it.

***

Wesker proceeded at a wary pace. According to the pipes the floor should've been coated in dust, but it wasn't. And floors don't sweep themselves. The only conclusion he had at the moment was that the tunnel was frequently used and therefore the dust didn't have a time to settle. He found it hard to picture a 'vampire' sweeping.

'Hard' meaning virtually impossible. As it was, Wesker had a very under-used imagination. For an example, he was already beginning to think of this virus as the 'V-virus' and was very proud of this accomplishment. It covers Vampires and also suggests a link to the T-Veronica Virus. I must get a sample of it. All in all, he was very pleased with himself for thinking it up.

Wesker polished his glasses on his shirt quickly to remove a light film of dirt. How his glasses remained intact and on his face through the night's proceedings was a mystery, but he did not stop to question it. It was part of the strange phenomena that occurred around Wesker, and he took it for granted.

Replacing his shades, he continued at a slower pace through the channel. Not much to see down here. Once you've seen one filth-encrusted tunnel you've seen them all. The pine-fresh scent still lingered.

***

Sena was still smarting over her 'confrontation' with Ben. How dare he bring up my parents so? How dare he! Luckily for her, Rosanna was the one leading the way, so she didn't have to worry about tripping and falling into something… unpleasant. Such was her distraction that it took her some time for her senses to finally communicate with her brain.

"Hey! Can anyone else smell pine-fresh?"

***

Wesker's steady pace eventually brought him to a set of double doors. Usually he wouldn't have spared them a second glance. After all, how many times had he walked past such doors since he turned eighteen? Then again, how many times had he walked past such doors in uninhabitable sewers?

The smell of pine-fresh cleaner was undoubtedly strong. He studied the doors thoughtfully. They were apparently solid and made of some sort of metal alloy. A thin reflective strip ran horizontally over both doors just above the handles.

The handles themselves were terribly dusty. Apart from that, they were large and squarish, and had a long metal pole slotted through to keep them firmly shut. There was no doubt about it; these were definitely doors to keep something out, or in. But obviously they had to fulfil failed this particular requirement

Below the handles the doors were twisted and broken. The metal had been pushed towards Wesker, forming a hole that a child could easily fit through and signifying that it (the hole) had been made from the inside out. He gave a silent sigh and crouched down to examine the other side of the door. He could see a tunnel, devoid of any vampires.

Convinced that nothing was going to attack him while he was vulnerable, he squeezed through the gap. The cloth on his shoulder caught on the twisted door and ripped. Wesker cursed. Apart from this minor incident, he made it through the thick doors rather comfortably.

He hauled himself to his feet and dusted off his cloths. "Damn doors," he muttered, inspecting the damage done to his shirt. "My favourite shirt too."

He didn't mention that he had a whole wardrobe full of similar ones. Possibly another identical shirt. But that wasn't the point. "I am going to force HCF to pay for another shirt. Two, if I can wangle it"

Disgruntled, he examined his surroundings.  This corridor had no plumbing and a distinct lack of open sewerage. Instead of being brick, the walls were cement and the floor was painted. Wesker suspected red, but red was a hard colour to distinguish from black at night and he was still having trouble adjusting to his 'night-vision'. If asked, he would have said the colours were 'all fuzzy'.

Luckily no one did ask, so he didn't have to embarrass himself by using the word 'fuzzy'. That would do nothing to improve his reputation.

He cast a gaze back on the doors he'd just come through. The looked like they should have 'warning', 'bio-hazard' and 'no trespassing' signs on them. Because of the notable absence of such signs Wesker doubted it had any link to Umbrella or HCF or any other viral company. Not that it wasn't possible they had been omitted on purpose, of course.

Well, whatever. He couldn't really be bothered finding out more. If there was a nice plaque that said: made by ____, he would dutifully remember the knowledge and report it back to the headquarters. If there wasn't, he'd be damned if he searched for the answer and would instead conveniently forget about ever stumbling upon this place.

He wasn't in a particularly good mood.

~~*~~

Finished chapter 16! YAY! Look at me go, that's three chapters in … four?.... no three…. A short time anyway! Lol!

I'm running out of baking ideas, so unless you have any requests I'll give you my favourite from now on. Lemon Merringue Pie! Mmmm, pie. Wait, I can't give this away! Oh, what to do? ^_^

*sigh* sometimes I think I have far too much spare time *sighs again* I mean, look at me. I'm learning virtual baking from Wesker!!

Review Please!