Wow, 80 reviews! Squee! I love you all!
Right, right, I know. I should've updated earlier, but this chapter was bugging me. I can't get the flow for it I want! Oh, well. In the interest of keeping the ball rolling, here's my not-quite-happy version. I've thought and thought and haven't been able to come up with a better way of writing this particular section. All criticism accepted, within reason.
5 muffins to all my reviewers!
Ramen~ because of your own story where STARS has some ... unomnipotent issues. *beams*Thank you! I'll try to never let your eyes burn, that would be .. wrong.! Here's that plot twist you asked me for (not really a plot twist but Bon-zay) in chapter 7. Hope you like!
Zarbok~aw, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Well, I wasn't going to make Jill a vampire for a while but... I thought I might 'run-outta-time' or something. You may have all the muffins and biscuits you want! *gives tray* Thank you!
Theburnin'samurai~ I had some vampires killed off in earlier chapters, so no, they are not invincible. Not your average ones anyway. And they aren't as strong as tyrants but they are much faster! Thanks for reviewing! (I can never type your name without laughing. Why is that? Another mystery of the world.)^^
Shady Ashford~ heheh, I think Jill is mildly confused herself. Don't worry, I won't send her to my house unless you eat all Alexis's cheesecake. In which case, Grrr. Muffins all round! I sent you the same email twice on Friday, hope you got it! Thanks for reviewing and try to update soon!
Chapter 23:- planning
When Jill got to the storm grating it was surrounded by patrol cars and searchers. There were both heated arguments and discussions about two people who had been through the grate recently.
She wondered if it was someone from her crew.
So it seemed that going through the storm drain was off limits. This was easily solved by going down a man-hole almost two kilometres away. She lifted the lid off, finding it easy than she had imagined, and slid into the hole. A light trickle of summer drizzle ran down her neck. The ladder was rusted and slippery but Jill still went down. When she was at the bottom she realised she hadn't closed the lid, but decided to ignore that fact.
The foulness of the sewers seemed to have lessened since the last time she was there, but that was a side-effect of the virus she now bore, that living among filth would not affect her nose. It was about the same strength as a human's nose, just tuned for other things.
Through her eyes, the sewer was lit up by an errant disco-ball; the algae walls were bathed magenta, the ground a dull purple. Never before had the sewers seemed so inviting. She could hear the smallest sound, from the shuffling of rats to the faint hum of cars, to the sound of feet ahead. She followed, unconsciously using the skill of a trained hunter
She stalked two people, one fit and young, who was shining a torch on the walls, and the other older and out of shape, wheezing along behind. When the unfit one leant against the wall, Jill drew her gums back and leapt!
She had miss-judged the distance, and came splashing down with a 'spfft' to land in the sewerage. Gagging and retching, she pushed a hand through the viscous substances and, after clawing wildly at the air, found the edge of the path.
She pulled herself out, spitting as she tried to rid herself of the trails of.. stuff.. that had edged its way through her lips. Shaking her hair, she looked up.
A circle of reddish light surrounded her. Jill blinked several times as she waited for her vision to clear and make sense of the brightness. The silhouette of a young woman appeared, approaching hesitantly. Dimly, Jill recognised her.
"Jill? What are you doing here?" the silhouette chuckled slightly. "That was quite some tumble you took there! Are you feeling alright now?"
Jill blinked a couple more times before realisation hit her. "Claire! What's going on?"
"What do you mean? How dd you get here out of the hospital so fast and so quickly healed?"
"Hospital? Where is everyone? WHAT IS GOING ON?" Jill's eyes flashed dangerously to prompt a quick response.
Claire and her middle-aged companion backed away fast, with the former readying her gun.
****
A tramp, dead for fifteen years, watched sombrely as 'the alpha' approached. To each other, vampires had no names. After a decade or so, being in a grimy sewer eating rats and talking to the same people every day, you started to go slightly insane. Things like conversation and friendship didn't mean so much any more. But survival and food; ah, now /that/ would always be important.
The one thing you needed to know to survive in the vampiric world was how to recognise people stronger than you. Of the vampires who existed, 'the alpha' was the most powerful. She was not necessarily the skill fullest hunter, or the most intelligent tracker, but she maintained an air of 'give me a reason and I'll beat you'. As yet, no one had given her a reason.
So, when our deceased tramp saw the Alpha coming with an entourage of skilled vampires, he decided to vamoose. And fast.
``
Wesker was very proud of his plan. He would 'pretend' to be on Victoria's side, rid himself of STARS and then blow the sewers sky high anyway. Perfect. No one would ever suspect the ol' double-crossing /again/.
Well, so it was clichéd. But then, it was going to work. Granted, it could use some fine-tuning in places but ultimately all would be okay. He had a sample of diluted 'V' and he would go home with another toy to play with. He /really/ wanted some of Victoria's virus but... let's not get greedy.
The tunnels he was being led through all had the same military theme. The fittings, if there were any, were all steel and chrome, and the only paint was stencilled with things like 'E12' written on the walls.
He really wished he'd had more time to read that piece if paper.
Victoria approached a vampire, a full-grown one, completely naked. He tried to make a quick escape, but she caught up with him easily. After some discussion, she let the frightened corpse go and returned to Wesker, smiling satisfactedly.
"We're on the right trail," she purred. "Our good friend has just told me that he was on the trail of prey. This means, he was following our quarry."
Wesker merely nodded. Big whoop.
"I'm going to consult with my, uh, minions to find what way we should go. You see, there are now two group in the tunnels, maybe three, and I want to make sure I'm going after the right group.'
Once again he nodded, looking bored. He had noticed, however, that Victoria seemed a bit flustered. He took it as a sign as while she might be more powerful than these 'minions' she was not as... trained... in tracking and hunting. Must be a drawback of being so powerful that everyone else does everything for you, he mused.
She left, drawing a circle of mean-looking vampires around her. Most were shorter than four feet, with cropped hair or braids. Not the sort of people Wesker himself would've gone to for hunting advice.
/So, two groups ay? Well, one will be Chris and I presume the other will be the children. After all, STARS won't want them disrupting battleplans and asking awkward questions. Like what happened to Celia. No, I think I have sowed some seeds of distrust with leaving /that/matter unresolved. So... no moral scruples on this one (thank god), only a duty to do.../
Wesker stared blankly at the wall opposite him for a few seconds before becoming aware once again of his surroundings. The vampires were completely ignoring him. They seemed to have accepted him as being a vampire, or just didn't want of confrontation. Wesker didn't know and he didn't particularly care, but this did give him an opportunity to finish reading that letter.
For the comfort of Harold Thompson, Mayor of Brideswell, and his family, this facility...itation facility to be used in the event re...uberculosis to the community,
It has been expre...bers of the council ... tuberculosis ( ..after referred to as TB) is a growing threat in ...unities. The Health Care Foundation, HCF, has made it their personal business to provide help ...infected by TB.
The lower levels are to ... personal residences of Mayor Thompson and his family. The upper levels (A-C) will be use...eat victims of TB. Mayor Thompson has specifically asked that this be the case, so that h...y may overlook the proceedings in a personal involvement.
Updates are as follows;
-TB research w...poned until adequate information on Ebola is ...
-Mayor Thompson has requested to test developments on ..., who are unaware of the ... he holds but are dangerously close ... out.
Anyway queries ...problems with the attached duty sheet, contact:
G. Ibenser
HCF facility
Wesker read the last line several times before folding the yellowed paper and putting it back into his pocket in such a way that it would protect his sample of the V virus. He stroked his chin, and decided to go with his intuition.
/HCF is involved with the vampires eh? So, does that mean that /they/ invented the V virus, not Victoria? And if so, Victoria is lying about her identity, age and, most importantly, her strength.../
He smiled a predatory grin that is all so Wesker-ish. Seemed like the tides had changed.
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