"Stop, you're making a big mistake." That's what my mind was screaming. It was what I wanted to say to Chris, to knock some sense into him. But then it also occurred to me that Chris never solved anything with words. Not only has Jill told me that a few times back at the precinct, but I've actually seen the guy hit criminals with smart mouths. Chris Redfield was not lacking in the strength department, but the concept of reason was almost Greek to him. And I'll admit I was scared. The guy had half a foot on me and was easily twice my weight. The smart choice would've been to co-operate and not provoke him. But … I guess brains wasn't something I had an abundance of either.

Chris had me pinned to the wall with a single arm wrapped tightly around my throat. I wrapped both my hands around his wrist and used his arm as leverage. Pulling my lower body upwards, I hooked my left leg around his arm, using it for balance, and kicked his face with my right, embedding my heel into his nose. Chris cried out in pain and released me. I fell painfully to the ground, but at least he was suffering as much as I was, if not more.

He staggered to his feet, as I did the same. Chris gave me a look of death, like he was ready to rip me to shreds – and then he lunged at me, football-tackle style. He hunched over with his arms open, ramming his shoulder into my abdomen. Using his weight and momentum from the collision, I flipped over his charging form and landed relatively unhurt behind him. Chris turned around to face me and threw a punch which I blocked with ease, though the sheer strength of the impact sent vibrations through my body.

He followed up with a left hook aimed for my right temple, but I ducked under the arc of his swing. As his forearm passed over my head, I grabbed it, and planted a solid right knee into his ribs. Chris doubled over from the strike, clutching at his side, giving me another window to move. Without regaining my balance from the knee strike, I kicked out my leg and smashed Chris's face against my foot. The collision sent blood flying.

I instinctively pulled out my magnum and pointed it at him. But no sooner did I aim the firearm had he kicked it from my grasp, following with a ferocious back fist swing that connected with my cheek, almost knocking the consciousness from me.

I realized then that I had to avoid his strikes at all costs. I could fight Chris and deal some decent damage. But he could absorb my hits a lot better than I could take his. But I didn't have the time to think up a new strategy because the magnum, having been kicked from my hand made a loud clang as it hit the floor, giving off a shot. The offending noise caught Wesker's and Alexia's attentions.

"Chris!" Wesker called with surprise, peeking around the corner towards where we stood. "Well, since you're one of my best men, I'll let you handle this."

What the hell was Wesker talking about? Chris and I were already about to get into a scrap when … no … Wesker wasn't talking about me. He was talking about Alexia! She began walking menacingly towards Chris. There was little I could to do intervene at this point. Chris turned around to face me, cursing me mentally for my perceived betrayal.

I shook my head, denying to the death that I had turned my back on the S.T.A.R.S. But he paid me no heed as he just as quickly turned his back on me and began firing at Alexia. But I couldn't pay any attention to their battle. How could I? My only hope of escaping this Antarctic base had just been crushed with Chris thinking I had backstabbed him. But he had to understand that I was only doing it to destroy Wesker and to give Claire and Steve a chance to get out of here. I didn't blame him for what he thought – I would've thought the same thing had I only just witnessed the conversation between Wesker, Alexia, and myself. But how was I going to convince him? I guess kicking him in the face wasn't exactly a good idea either …

I gingerly reached for the magnum I'd dropped and decided to go find Claire. I looked at the two of them, gauging whether Chris could handle himself alright in this fight. Hey wait a second, where did Wesker disappear off to? Whatever, I had no time to worry about that. Deciding that Chris had a gun and Alexia was armed with … well … flammable blood, Chris was going to make it out okay. I ran around the fight, carefully avoiding Alexia, and hoisted myself up onto the landing of the stairs.

Instead of heading through the painting – I knew Claire wasn't there because I'd just come from that direction – I decided to try hanging a right, up to where there was a break in the flight of stairs. What had happened there? I looked down, through the gap and noticed a pile of rubble – right where Chris was hiding before he snagged me. And then that gash on his leg … was he hurt when the stairs gave out? There would be a time and place for these questions, and now was not it.

There was a door on the second level and all that separated me from it was the giant gap in the flight of stairs. Taking a deep breath, I gathered all my strength and leap for the other side, arms extended fully in front of me. My upper body made it, as my fingers clawed for a good grip on the carpet. My chest collided with the cement, knocking the wind out of me, digging into my chest. It felt like the jagged rock was going to put a nice set of holes in my torso. Biting my lip to endure the pain, I pulled myself up onto the landing with some difficulty. I took a short rest before standing up to open to the door.

By then, Chris had successfully fended off Alexia, just as I had predicted. Her body lady in a pool of her own blood as Chris stood victoriously over her, reaching for a brooch she wore around her neck. I noticed it for the first time.

"Chris?" I called from the upper level of the mansion. He looked back up at me, the expression of pure hate never leaving his face. "It's not what you think it is," I said, gulping back a wad of spit. "I've never sided with Umbrella."

"That's a bold statement," he spat back, "after everything I just heard. How could you, Kenny? How could you? Fighting for Umbrella's cause is one thing, but then lying to me about it? After I came all the way here for you?"

"I know what it looked like," I replied.

"That's good, cause I'd really like to hear how you're plan on explaining that little conversation!"

"I formed sort of an alliance with Wesker."

"You're not helping your cause, kiddo."

"Just listen!" I snapped. Chris didn't speak, the silence telling me to continue. "I was after Alexia because she was going to do something to Steve. To prevent her from harming him, I went after her but Wesker got in the way. Since he was after her too, I struck a deal with him to let me go find Alexia and I'd bring her to him."

"That doesn't explain how you so willing teamed up with Alexia against Wesker. Alexia is still with Umbrella, and technically, so are you. Your co-operation with her was enough to convince me that you had switched sides."

"You also don't know that I was trying to get the both of them to fight each other, so Claire, Steve and I would have enough time to escape from this base!"

Chris remained silent for a brief moment. He broke eye contact with me and stared at the ground. After a few seconds of silence, he managed a pathetic, "Oh." If only he'd listened to me from the start, there wouldn't be this weird moment, time that would be better spent working together to find a way out of this place. "I guess … I owe you an apology."

"None necessary," I said. "I don't blame you for thinking what you did, but man … you really pack a punch!" I rubbed the blossoming bruise at the back of my head.

"I … didn't hurt you much, did I?" Chris asked, biting his lower lip nervously.

"Nah, I'm fine," I called back, smirking. "I'd be more worried about my nose if I were you. Nothing personal, I was just trying to defend myself …"

"Already forgot about it," Chris said, giving a thumbs up. "Let's just try to find Claire and a way out of here."

"Okay, I'll take this upper door and you take the other …"

"I'm way ahead of you," he replied, running out the front door of the underground mansion. Getting up to my feet, I finally tried the door.

XXXXX

Would you believe that this door led back to that very same hallway in which the giant plant tentacle swatted me like a fly? Probably not. Umbrella's bases were giant mazes of corridors and secret rooms. Rockfort was no exception.

I had just come from this area of the base, where the prisoners were held. I knew that Claire wasn't in the area. But I wanted to check up on Steve. I didn't feel right just leaving him there to die, even though he already told me to. Then again, it didn't feel right either looking out for Steve, who already had the virus in him, and forgetting about Claire who was probably on her own and looking for a way out. It was a lose/lose situation.

As I debated who to look for in my head, my feet carried me back to the jail. Well, since I was here, I might as well have a look at Steve to make sure he was alright … not that he was going to be anytime soon. I don't know what drove me to go back to see him that day, because all reason pointed to looking for Claire – she was my ticket out of the place. But I'm glad I went to Steve.

I entered the green door that led to the large chamber, lined with medieval armor, where he was kept. And then I heard screaming.

"Claire!" I cried through the darkness.

"Kenny, we have to get out of here!"

"What are you talking …" And then I saw it. It's monstrous, hunched form chasing Claire. It looked like one of Umbrella's Bio-Organic Weapons, the Hunter. It was frog-like in appearance with its hunched stature and green skin. The creature moved with magnificent speed wielding what looked like a giant axe. Shit! Was that the same axe embedded in the wall that I had no success removing? It was the giant weapon that kept Steve trapped? Where was Steve? He was injected with the virus – could it have turned him into this monster?!

"Kenny, move it!" Claire ordered. The creature was only a few feet behind her. It did a very good job of keeping up with her. I looked up and saw a set of metal bars coming down from the ceiling. If Claire could make it through before they closed … I had to help her.

"Come on, Claire! I'm not leaving here without you!" The bars were about halfway down from the two storey ceiling now, moving at a steady pace. The monster swung its giant axe at her, and the impact connected with her upper back, knocking Claire forward. Fortunately, she was within the arc of the swing and was hit by the handle, rather than the blade. I drew my magnum and fired at the monster, giving some time for her to escape. "Get up, I've got the creature!"

"No!" she raised her hand signaling for me to stop. "It's Steve!" So my suspicions were correct. And suddenly, I felt guilty for firing at the creature. Steve already went through so much torture before he transformed into this creature. But I suppose that was just a prelude for things to come as I now stood there shooting at him with one of the world's most powerful handguns.

"He's not Steve anymore! Now get over here before he kills you!" Do I know how to talk when adrenaline hits me, or what?!

Claire got up and dashed the last few feet towards the exit, sliding underneath the bars as they came down to the ground not a second later with a loud clang, separating the monster from us. Claire winced as she struggled to her feet.

"Are you alright?"

"The bottom of the bars skinned my back as I went under them," she explained. "But I think I'll be alright."

Just then, the monster threw itself at the bars, like a wild caged animal. Claire and I jumped back in shock. It rammed its body over and over again into the bars. Each time it's solid green body came into contact with them, I could hear them creak a little more, each time sending a small shower of dusty debris down from the ceiling above.

"Quick," I said, "get to the door."

"Steve," Claire whispered, holding her hand to her face. She was crying, too caught up at the sight of the teenager she'd grown to love, turned into this hideous beast. "I'll get Alexia for you …"

"Not if he gets you first!" I snapped, "Now help me get this door open!"

CR-RACK!!

A portion of the cement wall had broken, spilling forth frozen Antarctic soil and a giant plant tentacle! It was the same tentacle that had swiped me earlier in the underground mansion! What was it doing here? Was there more than one of them? Where did it come from? There were so many questions, all of them to be unanswered as it came after me. The ghastly abomination of a plant root wrapped itself around my body and pinned me to the wall from which it spouted forth. A second one shot through the opposite wall, entering the room like a coiled snake, and snatched Claire off her feet, holding her a few inches off the ground.

"Kenny!" she screamed, tugging against the grip of the tentacles. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I replied. "I … I don't get it. Do these things just plan on holding us here or what?" A good few seconds had ticked by without any movement from the strange tentacles, a very sharp contrast to their swift movements and lightning speed they displayed mere moments before.

The monster that used to be Steve crashed its body against the bars again, and finally swung its axe right through them, creating a small tear. The creature bent the bars outwards with its bare hands and created an opening big enough for it to step through.

"Shit …" I whispered, too shocked and scared to say anything else.

The creature wasted no time on me, stepping straight towards Claire, giant axe in hand, sneered menacingly at her – its nose just over an inch away from hers.