Chapter 24: New Details Emerge
Alpha Team
"Well," said Rick, "It doesn't look like there's a path downriver on this side."
"What're you saying?" asked Britney, looking almost as terrified as she was feeling.
"Well," replied Rick, "It's kinda obvious, Brit. We're gonna have to try to cross here."
"That doesn't look too safe chief," said Hunter.
"I know, but we really don't have much of a choice. There's no other way out of this underground cemetary." Rick stated, matter-of-factly.
Rick knew it was a risk. But as far as he knew, everyone on the team was at least an okay swimmer, but he didn't want to have to go in the water if it wasn't necessary. God only knew what kind of monsters were lurking in the water. He knew the crumbling natural bridge in front of them was somewhat unstable, but they really had no alternative. They had to cross it.
"Hunter, you're the largest one here, so you go first. If it holds your weight, it should hold the rest of us. Joe and Liz, follow our path back, and see if you can find some strong rope to tie around our waists, that way, if anything goes wrong, we can pull each other back to shore. We all know how to swim, so as long as we don't panic, we'll be okay if we hit the water. Just float, feet in front, and let the current carry us, until we find a good spot to climb out."
Tiffanie went over to her sister who looked like she was about freak out.
"Hey, sis'," she said to Britney, "We'll be okay. I'm sure we'll make it across. You won't even get wet, I promise."
Tiff felt a bit strange making a promise that she wasn't sure she could keep, but Britney seemed to feel a little bit better, so that was what was important. The last thing Alpha Team needed right now was for Brit to have a full-blown panic attack, especially since Tiff and Hunter were the only ones who knew Britney was terrified of the water and couldn't swim a stroke.
Bravo Team
After everyone was asleep, Dan decided to do a little searching of his own. There was no immediate danger, so he headed up the steel stairs they'd noticed when the moonlight shone through the door, causing them to gleam briefly in the otherwise pitch black dark. As he reached the top, he noticed a door with a window. He checked it, and amazingly it was unlocked. As he entered, he felt around for a switch.
"Voila!" He thought to himself as he found a switch near the door and turned on the light.
He had obviously stumbled into the crane control room, and there were papers strewn about the place. It was as if someone had rummaged through them, but who? and more importantly, why? As he continued to search through the mess, he suddenly heard slow, plodding footsteps as they came up the stairs.
"Shit!" He thought, feeling stupid for letting down his guard. He remembered leaving his assault rifle downstairs, and grabbed a fallen chair. God only knew what was creeping up those stairs, but whatever it was, it wouldn't be getting a free meal tonight. He quickly turned around, and as he began to swing, he heard a scream. He checked his swing, demonstrating his great control, and the chair stopped about a half-inch away from the side of Taylor's head. As she recovered, she looked at him, and allowed herself a half-smile before glibly saying to her would-be assailant, "Jumpy?"
"Jeezus, Taylor! I thought you were one of those things!"
"Sorry. I just couldn't sleep. I saw the light on, and I got curious. So, you find anything interesting?"
"Not yet, but someone was poking around here. I just don't know when."
"Hey Dan," Taylor exclaimed as she studied the crane controls, "Check this out. This equipment, look..."
As he went over to the control panel, he noticed that the company that owned the equipment was Gen-Tech.
"It's the same company that owns the lift back at the gorge. Look here Taylor, There's an invoice. The print's a little faded, but whatever it was, it was ordered by someone named Alan Winchester. It seems like it's some kind of lab equipment."
"Dan, you don't think that Gen-Tech is performing similar experiments to Umbrella over twenty years ago? Do You?"
"Taylor, you're younger than I am, how'd you know about that?"
"Everyone knows about the infamous Umbrella Corporation, and there genetic testing. And about the world-famous S.T.A.R.S that brought them down. But after awhile, the stories seemed more like urban legends. At least they did to me, until all this stuff happened. My brother believed them his entire life. Oh my God..., Dan, he knew something. I'll bet he found out about Gen-Tech's real purpose, so they...killed him!"
Dan looked at Taylor, and quietly said to her, "Let's not jump to conclusions here, I mean how would he have known?"
"I lied to you about my brother. Robert was actually a corporate lawyer, not an architect. He actually infiltrated, then prosecuted unlawful companies. That park ranger, Ken Wood, he hired my brother to investigate all the sudden appearances of Gen-Tech equipment. One day he came to me and my sister-in-law Kelsey and told us we had to go back to the states. They must've known we were on that plane. That means...oh God!..."
"Taylor, what is it?"
"Dan, Mike was right, that plane was brought down deliberately. The oxygen masks came down, the plane crashed, and the passengers disappeared. I was in the bathroom, so I never put on the mask, and now, the passengers and crew are wandering out there as zombies. Gen-Tech was using the passengers as their newest guinea pigs, and now my brother, and his wife are among them."
Dan was stunned, but he wasn't upset about her not saying anything earlier. He put his arms around her, and pulled her closer. Her brother's memory was upsetting her, and she began to cry. He held her for awhile, and they eventually fell asleep, right there in the control room. Before fading into sleep, Dan decided that the team needed to search the warehouse thoroughly in the morning. He also decided he would try to reach the Alpha Team, and let them know what he'd learned.
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A/N
Finally, a new update! Sorry, as always, for the long delay. Please Read and Review!!
Alpha Team
"Well," said Rick, "It doesn't look like there's a path downriver on this side."
"What're you saying?" asked Britney, looking almost as terrified as she was feeling.
"Well," replied Rick, "It's kinda obvious, Brit. We're gonna have to try to cross here."
"That doesn't look too safe chief," said Hunter.
"I know, but we really don't have much of a choice. There's no other way out of this underground cemetary." Rick stated, matter-of-factly.
Rick knew it was a risk. But as far as he knew, everyone on the team was at least an okay swimmer, but he didn't want to have to go in the water if it wasn't necessary. God only knew what kind of monsters were lurking in the water. He knew the crumbling natural bridge in front of them was somewhat unstable, but they really had no alternative. They had to cross it.
"Hunter, you're the largest one here, so you go first. If it holds your weight, it should hold the rest of us. Joe and Liz, follow our path back, and see if you can find some strong rope to tie around our waists, that way, if anything goes wrong, we can pull each other back to shore. We all know how to swim, so as long as we don't panic, we'll be okay if we hit the water. Just float, feet in front, and let the current carry us, until we find a good spot to climb out."
Tiffanie went over to her sister who looked like she was about freak out.
"Hey, sis'," she said to Britney, "We'll be okay. I'm sure we'll make it across. You won't even get wet, I promise."
Tiff felt a bit strange making a promise that she wasn't sure she could keep, but Britney seemed to feel a little bit better, so that was what was important. The last thing Alpha Team needed right now was for Brit to have a full-blown panic attack, especially since Tiff and Hunter were the only ones who knew Britney was terrified of the water and couldn't swim a stroke.
Bravo Team
After everyone was asleep, Dan decided to do a little searching of his own. There was no immediate danger, so he headed up the steel stairs they'd noticed when the moonlight shone through the door, causing them to gleam briefly in the otherwise pitch black dark. As he reached the top, he noticed a door with a window. He checked it, and amazingly it was unlocked. As he entered, he felt around for a switch.
"Voila!" He thought to himself as he found a switch near the door and turned on the light.
He had obviously stumbled into the crane control room, and there were papers strewn about the place. It was as if someone had rummaged through them, but who? and more importantly, why? As he continued to search through the mess, he suddenly heard slow, plodding footsteps as they came up the stairs.
"Shit!" He thought, feeling stupid for letting down his guard. He remembered leaving his assault rifle downstairs, and grabbed a fallen chair. God only knew what was creeping up those stairs, but whatever it was, it wouldn't be getting a free meal tonight. He quickly turned around, and as he began to swing, he heard a scream. He checked his swing, demonstrating his great control, and the chair stopped about a half-inch away from the side of Taylor's head. As she recovered, she looked at him, and allowed herself a half-smile before glibly saying to her would-be assailant, "Jumpy?"
"Jeezus, Taylor! I thought you were one of those things!"
"Sorry. I just couldn't sleep. I saw the light on, and I got curious. So, you find anything interesting?"
"Not yet, but someone was poking around here. I just don't know when."
"Hey Dan," Taylor exclaimed as she studied the crane controls, "Check this out. This equipment, look..."
As he went over to the control panel, he noticed that the company that owned the equipment was Gen-Tech.
"It's the same company that owns the lift back at the gorge. Look here Taylor, There's an invoice. The print's a little faded, but whatever it was, it was ordered by someone named Alan Winchester. It seems like it's some kind of lab equipment."
"Dan, you don't think that Gen-Tech is performing similar experiments to Umbrella over twenty years ago? Do You?"
"Taylor, you're younger than I am, how'd you know about that?"
"Everyone knows about the infamous Umbrella Corporation, and there genetic testing. And about the world-famous S.T.A.R.S that brought them down. But after awhile, the stories seemed more like urban legends. At least they did to me, until all this stuff happened. My brother believed them his entire life. Oh my God..., Dan, he knew something. I'll bet he found out about Gen-Tech's real purpose, so they...killed him!"
Dan looked at Taylor, and quietly said to her, "Let's not jump to conclusions here, I mean how would he have known?"
"I lied to you about my brother. Robert was actually a corporate lawyer, not an architect. He actually infiltrated, then prosecuted unlawful companies. That park ranger, Ken Wood, he hired my brother to investigate all the sudden appearances of Gen-Tech equipment. One day he came to me and my sister-in-law Kelsey and told us we had to go back to the states. They must've known we were on that plane. That means...oh God!..."
"Taylor, what is it?"
"Dan, Mike was right, that plane was brought down deliberately. The oxygen masks came down, the plane crashed, and the passengers disappeared. I was in the bathroom, so I never put on the mask, and now, the passengers and crew are wandering out there as zombies. Gen-Tech was using the passengers as their newest guinea pigs, and now my brother, and his wife are among them."
Dan was stunned, but he wasn't upset about her not saying anything earlier. He put his arms around her, and pulled her closer. Her brother's memory was upsetting her, and she began to cry. He held her for awhile, and they eventually fell asleep, right there in the control room. Before fading into sleep, Dan decided that the team needed to search the warehouse thoroughly in the morning. He also decided he would try to reach the Alpha Team, and let them know what he'd learned.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N
Finally, a new update! Sorry, as always, for the long delay. Please Read and Review!!