Title: Into the Light
Author: Malenkaya
Rating: R for violence and swearing
Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.
Disclaimer: After seeing all those clever disclaimers out there, I wish I had one. Any suggestions? I own nothing here but my own ideas.
Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as they're explanatory, are fine.
Author's Notes:
Yay, eleven reviews! Thus, I can continue with the weekly updates:) Please, please keep up with the reviews though! Only three chapters left, including this one. :)
Thanks goes out of course to all my fantastic reviewers, particularly for chapter sixteen: masked-in-your-shadows, SangoLancer200, XMaster, Narimon's Tamer, Tashmal, anonymous (because the little smile never shows on this format!), MysticSuperSavianGohan, rain1657, VaderX, Mae, and Gabzilla.
Thanks also goes out, par usual, to those who read and don't review—I appreciate it, though I beg you to review at least occasionally as well :)
Still hate fanfiction (dot) net, for those wondering. Now it refuses to send me my reviews and updates. I keep enabling them, and coming back like, ten bloody minutes later to see them disabled again.
And imagine my annoyance, when, midway through my review notes (sorry they're so late; I've been really busy) my stupid email closed down. I mean, I have a system, and they were all half finished, so I had to start all over again! Most annoying.
Thanks again, enjoy the fic!
Into the Light
Chapter Seventeen: Ashes to Ashes
Fifty seven minutes had passed since J.D and Olivia had left.
For fifty seven minutes they'd all been sitting here, silent and lost, watching Rain steadily losing her grip on reality and Matt gradually change into something he wasn't, was never supposed to become.
And through all this time, Michael couldn't stop thinking about J.D and Olivia. Imagining what they must have been doing at this very moment.
When they'd first escaped, and he'd sworn angrily and kicked the door, ignoring Alice completely when she told him to calm down, J.D and Olivia had been making their way up the stairs again.
When he'd finally stopped, forced himself to calm down with the knowledge that his own anger could set Matt's off, J.D and Olivia had probably already reached the next level of the Hive, were hurrying through it at this very minute.
And now, sitting here on the floor, with Rain cradled against him, Michael still wondered where they were, what was happening to them. Assuming nothing stood in their way, he estimated they'd make their way to wherever Archangelo planned to pick them up in about two hours, probably less.
He hoped something stopped them, though. Michael wasn't a vicious person, not by nature; he generally hoped everything would turn out okay in the end, believed firmly in second chances, and had never liked having his worst suspicions confirmed.
But all that aside, right now he was consumed by an angry hatred unlike anything he'd ever known before. He'd certainly never thought it'd be directed towards J.D, though, or even Olivia.
But Olivia had betrayed them. And J.D… J.D had betrayed them too. But they knew J.D, all of them—especially Alice, especially Rain, and for him to just up and leave when things got too difficult to deal with—
It was cowardly, fucking cowardly. And now all that Michael could think of was plausible death scenarios for the two of them, each more vivid and brutal than the last.
Rain was tense, and he could feel it through her entire body; upset, probably angry, about J.D, she wouldn't sleep again. Knowing her, she'd stay awake until she died or passed out, whichever came first.
Michael hoped it was the second one. They had all the ammunition, but… he wasn't going to shoot Rain. He couldn't. He'd gotten close to Rain in these last few days, and it was just… something he couldn't do.
Just like Alice wouldn't shoot Matt. They'd have to take turns, he supposed. He'd take care of Matt if she'd take care of Rain.
He shook his head, trying to shake the thoughts from his head. It wasn't too late; he couldn't give up.
But deep down, even the stupid, optimistic little hope he'd had since starting this mission had vanished, struck by the realization that this was something none of them would be escaping from.
Except, of course, for J.D.
Unable to stop himself, he let out a slight snort of disgust. Right now, J.D and Olivia were probably on the train, making out in the back while Archangelo drove them off to some new Umbrella haven. Maybe J.D could rejoin the S.W.A.T. team again, and that way, next time they saw him, Michael would be able to shoot his goddamn head off.
He sighed, nervous despite himself at his words. He wasn't usually an angry person.
But he was shaking now, shaking in anger and hatred and cold—
He frowned, wondering what part of his brain had supplied the last adjective. How could it be cold in here? They were in a locked in room, about five thousand feet below ground—
And then he felt it again. A strong, frigid breeze, blowing at the back of his shirt.
He restrained the urge to jump up, carefully sitting up instead and calling out, "Alice!"
She looked up from where she sat with Matt, the two sitting side by side, pressed back against the wall in an absurd parallel to Michel and Rain, and asked tiredly, "What, Michael?"
"Can you take Rain for a minute?"
She straightened up then, looking worried, and asked, "Is she all right?"
He shook his head impatiently. "Yeah. Just—"
She was up already, hurrying over to pull Rain's arm over her shoulder. Looking closely at her face, Michael realized he'd been wrong; sometime along the way, she'd obviously fallen asleep.
When he was sure Alice had a good hold on Rain, he turned and started tapping eagerly at the wall, well aware of both Matt and Alice staring at him in tired bemusement. He could still feel the air sweeping through the wall, could still—
"Michael," Alice finally said, looking thoughtfully irritated. "What are you—"
"Can you give me a hand?" he asked her. Looking at her face, he realized that she probably thought he'd finally completely and totally lost it and had to stifle the urge to laugh. "Please? Just trust me."
She looked like she didn't know how to respond, was obviously somewhat irritated to be completely out of the loop—but then Matt was there, carefully lifting Rain to him. The two shared one of their frequent nods, Matt's expression anxious, and Alice's a curious blend of confusion, curiosity, and worry.
Michael barely waited a moment before starting on the wall, feeling up the soft foamy panels. "I'm looking for a break somewhere in the fabric, anywhere we can—"
"Like this?" Alice interrupted him, holding up a corner of said fabric and treating him to the self-confident, sly grin he'd missed so much over the past few days.
"Yeah," he said. "Exactly like that."
And then there was a terrific ripping noise as both grabbed a side and pulled—
Revealing a shining metal grate set five feet up into the wall.
xxxxx
Guilt was a curious thing.
Hurrying down this hallway, Beretta still comfortingly in her grasp and J.D at her side, Olivia had expected to feel guilty, to feel the same self-hatred she'd been feeling for the last twenty four hours. After all, last time it'd only been Rain she'd put in jeopardy, completely mistaken; and this time it was the entire team she'd left down there to die, completely intentionally.
But right here, rushing down the hall hand in hand with J.D, Olivia felt a freedom she hadn't felt in days. She didn't have to be afraid anymore; she didn't have to follow along blindly. She was in control again, for once, and she knew what she was doing this time.
Plus, J.D was here. Olivia hadn't realized until now exactly how much she would have missed his presence if he'd decided to stay. J.D was a strong force, someone who consistently made her feel safe and protected—someone she hadn't been able to find in a long, long time.
And yet, in a way, she couldn't shake the feeling that she got whenever she thought about what J.D had just done. She had betrayed the group, yes; but she'd barely known most of them. She still felt bad, but… she knew, in time, she'd get over it.
But J.D had known some of those people for years. Those people had risked their lives for him, time and time again, and now he was just walking out with her like it was nothing to betray them all.
At first, Olivia had only felt happy about his decision. True love won over all, after all.
But now, having had a few minutes to adjust to it, she couldn't shake the feelings she knew were hypocritical, the anger and doubt J.D's betrayal had cast upon her as to who he really was.
They'd been walking in silence for over twenty minutes, and he finally spoke up. "So where are we going?"
"Archangelo has a train," she said, pleased he was taking an interest and not just following blindly. "He wants to get out of Raccoon. I don't know exactly where we're going; as long as we stay quiet about all that's happened, he says he'll drop us off somewhere."
J.D snorted. "That sounds safe."
She shrugged. "It's not the best option," she admitted. "But, I mean—it's better than dying."
"Yeah," he mumbled. He was quiet for a moment again, and then—"So is Archangelo tracking us right now? Are you in contact with him?"
She shook her head. "No. I was, but—he had to break off the connections when he left for the Hive, almost definitely. He didn't say anything, but… leaving them on just means more evidence against him."
She paused, then added, "He has no idea where we are right now; he just told me to get to the train by eleven am or he's leaving."
"Huh," J.D said, and that was it.
His silence was making her nervous, and she finally interrupted. "Look, J.D, I know it's not really the most well thought out plan. But at least we're not down there with—"
She shut herself up instantaneously, feeling a mortified blush rise over her cheeks as she realized what she'd just said. As if having already made a silent pact not to talk about what had just happened down there, neither of them had brought it up. And now, like an idiot, she'd started talking about it without even thinking.
J.D was silent again, and she didn't know what to say. Part of her knew that he wouldn't accept an apology; that going back on it would only upset him.
But the other part of her, the one run totally by her emotion and love for J.D, made her keep talking, saying, "Look, J.D, I know you feel guilty. I do too. And I'm really sorry—"
And then the breath was pushed out of her lungs as he whipped around suddenly, grabbing her arms and shoving her into the wall. Her gun fell to the floor, skittering across the cold metal tile loudly, and she realized suddenly that J.D had a gun in his hand, that he was holding it to her head—
And she realized, suddenly, looking into his suddenly dark eyes, that he'd been planning this the whole time. That he'd never planned to go with her, never meant to be rescued with her—
He'd set her up.
"J.D?" she asked timidly, hoping that, despite all knowledge, it wasn't true; that she could still somehow stop him.
"You're still involved with Umbrella," he said coldly, and she could hear the safety click off the gun as he said, "I want to know what's been going on the past two months, and I want to know now."
xxxxx
"Wow," Michael breathed quietly next to her, and Alice realized that, in all her life, she had never been so happy to see an old fashioned ventilation system as she was now.
She turned to Michael, beaming broadly, and said, "Michael, I could kiss you right now. I really, really could."
Michael, true to his personality, blushed; and she turned to Matt, saying, "Matt, we found it. It's going to be okay, we can still get out of here."
He smiled at her, but his eyes were still dull, a blue haze of sadness—but then Michael was asking how they were going to all fit through there, and she turned away before she had a chance to question him, saying, "We'll fit. It's not the best option, but it's the best we've got right now."
She gave a small sigh, happy finally for the first time in days—Matt still needed the anti-virus, but the train couldn't be gone yet. They'd hurry, they'd get there, and they'd get his anti-virus, even if Alice had to kill Archangelo herself to do it.
Everything was going to be okay.
"Getting Rain through won't be easy," she admitted.
"I can do it."
Rain had obviously woken up; though most would have been surprised, Alice found it hard to be by now; the girl had uncanny timing with her sleeping patterns.
She smiled at her, knowing, simply by the way she had moved back to lean against Michael again, that the brunette's words were far from the truth; however, she nodded, knowing that, while it wouldn't be easy, they'd manage. "Good."
She looked back up at the vent, and said, "I think you and Michael should go first then; me and Matt can follow after. There shouldn't be anything up there, not anymore, so I think we'll probably be okay with only a couple of side firearms."
She turned back to Rain, and said, "Rain, we'll help you up; Matt can go after you instead, he'll be able to help more—"
"I'm not going."
The words came out of nowhere, and Alice whipped her head around, her ears identifying the voice even as her heart tried to deny it.
And then she was looking at Matt, his face pale, drawn and set, balanced carefully against the wall as he shook his head, repeating, "I'm not going."
"I'm sorry."
xxxxx
Olivia's eyes were tearing up now, and it took all of J.D's self restraint to keep her pressed up against the wall, to ignore the same instinct that had existed then and still existed now, despite what she had just done, to protect her; to help her, even when he was the one inflicting the pain this time.
"You're still involved with Umbrella."
An accusation, yeah, but a pretty reasonable one, considering the circumstances.
"I want to know what's been going on the past two months, and I want to know now."
He'd been expected Olivia to put up a fight; to show that same strong spirit and resist, tell him to go to hell, shit like that.
But to his surprise she folded instantly, almost collapsing into him; expression suddenly exhausted, as if she'd aged a hundred years in that short minute, she asked, "What do you want to know?"
He paused, suddenly unsure. With everything that had been going on…
"What happened with Rain?" he asked suddenly. Might as well start with the basics.
At this Olivia closed her eyes, and choked out, "It was an accident."
"What happened?" he repeated, fighting the urge to either embrace or hit her.
"Archangelo and I had made a deal," she started. "I was going to lock Rain down there, and he would give us the anti-virus. I didn't know what he was going to do—if I'd known he'd be sending those zombies in, I wouldn't have done it, I swear."
He shook his head. "Olivia, you're not fucking stupid. There's no way in hell you actually believed you'd get the anti-virus, this time or that time."
"I did," she said brokenly, and he cut her off, swearing violently, unable to help himself.
"Goddamn it, Olivia, tell the fucking truth. There's no way you could have—"
"Maybe I wanted it to be true!" She was crying now, fat teardrops sliding down her pale face, tears he had to fight not to wipe away as she added, "I wasn't thinking. I just wanted everything to work out, I didn't want to think about what he could be planning—"
And despite himself, J.D understood. He understood why she had done it, and he knew how she felt. And yet…
"Rain could have died," he choked out angrily. "Do you understand that, Olivia? She could have fucking died."
"I know," she said miserably. "I know."
There was silence, and their heavy breathing echoed through the hallways. Olivia let out a stifled sob. J.D got back to the point.
"Where's Umbrella?"
"Last time I saw them, they were still tracking you," she confessed. "Archangelo, especially."
He thought about asking her why she hadn't told them this; why she hadn't told him, at least, and then stopped—what was the point now?
He wished he had something more to say. He could torture people, he could interrogate them—but to do that, one had to know what to ask, and faced with a crying Olivia, his mind went blank; he could no longer think of anything.
Finally, he settled on a simple, "What else do you know?"
Exhausted, she shrugged, and said, "Umbrella sent me down here three weeks ago; I haven't heard anything more since. I know Archangelo is leaving, but I don't know where he's going. Last time I saw Umbrella, they were busy tracking all of you and had no clue what to do about the Raccoon situation."
He nodded. Despite all he had seen, all he had heard from her in the last hour, he felt content; that was all she knew about Umbrella, all she had to tell him.
And although he fought to keep the words from coming out, they flew out anyways, and before he could take them back they were there in the air between them, hanging in the balance. "How long, Olivia?"
She stared at him. "What?"
He shoved her harder, just slightly, just enough to make her wince slightly; and still, couldn't hide his own wince, the tears starting in his eyes as he asked, "How long have you been planning this?"
She was crying again now, and said, "I wasn't planning anything, J.D, I swear. I didn't want to leave—I panicked. We'd been in there for four hours, we were doomed—" She paused, gasping in a shaky breath, and adding, "I'm sorry, J.D."
"I'm not as strong as you."
He nodded, and then stared at her, wondering what to do next. Memorizing her face, a face he had grown to love and couldn't find hatred for, no matter how hard he tried. Memorizing those dark blue eyes, dark curls and fair skin.
And then an image rose in his mind, one he hadn't called up for over two weeks, and he asked, "What about Spence?"
She took a deep breath, and then stopped, and asked timidly, "J.D?"
He sighed. "What?"
"What are you going to do?" she asked, her expression suddenly fearful and tired. "When you leave. What's going to happen to me?"
And he fought to keep his expression casual, even bored as he said, "I guess I'll just leave you here."
That's what she'd done to his team, after all.
Blue eyes swimming in tears, she choked out, "I thought you cared about me."
"That was before you betrayed us," he said coldly, and felt a sick sort of gratification at the pain written across her face.
He shoved her back again, and clipped out, not trusting himself to say more, "Spence."
She sniffled loudly, tears flowing freely down her face now, and said, "They call him Hades."
"He's a genetic mutation; when he was brought in along with the other zombies for testing, he was given the same anti-virus you were. But because he'd been infected by the Licker as well, it backfired; the anti-virus eliminated the T-Virus strains caused by the virus-carrier like it was supposed to, but it didn't eliminate the virus strains from the Licker. The Licker part got stronger, the zombie part got weaker, and his humanity disappeared completely. So they locked him up on the eight floor, where they kept all their other out-of-control mutations, and he stayed there until things started falling apart again."
After that she started to sob again and couldn't speak; and J.D swallowed hard, waited for her to continue.
Finally, she did, choking out through the tears, "Umbrella couldn't control him, so they implanted a chip in what served as his brain, upped his self-defense mechanisms, and kept him under careful control for one purpose only."
Part of J.D knew what her last words were going to be. Part of him had always known, and yet, he couldn't hide the shock when he heard them.
"Hades was created to destroy what's left of your team."
xxxxx
Things were not going well.
William watched, with an impending sense of dread, as Salinas gripped Alderic by the arm, shoving her into the nearest office room. The hand which gripped his brandy had gone numb, the condensation on the glass sliding unnoticed onto his fingers.
Salinas finished the job, locking the door behind him; and then turned and ran, even as Alderic stared out the window, sobbing hopelessly.
Ran towards the room again, where, if Archangelo wasn't mistaken, he would collect the rest of his team.
And then come and find him.
Archangelo cursed whatever idiotic engineer had made the door down there wired to only one entrance code; unless the train was gone by the time they got out, he was completely fucking helpless sitting here.
And it wasn't only himself he had to protect either; Lea sat on the floor, playing with a stuffed toy Anderson had dug out from somewhere, her expression quite content.
Or it was, until William barked, "Anderson!"
He was there instantly, prompt, nervous, and harassed looking as always as he asked, "Yes, sir?"
"Start up the goddamn train," he said shortly, staring at the computer console, the images already burned into his mind. Remembering suddenly the cold glass in his hand, he took a sudden gulp, the burning liquid tracing an acidic path down his throat.
It didn't help, and he was about to shout for Anderson again when Lea asked, her voice sweet and innocent, "What's wrong, Daddy?"
"Nothing, sweetheart," he lied instantly, the endearment slipping out before he could try to stop it. "Daddy's just working with some really dumb people these days."
She giggled; but still continued to look at him with those big blue eyes, strangely perceptive for someone her age, before returning to her stuffed rabbit.
"Archangelo."
Anderson's voice, and William turned to glare at him. "We don't seem to be moving yet, Anderson," he said icily. "I can't imagine what could possibly be so goddamn important that it'd take priority over that."
Anderson flushed, fidgeted, and finally decided to bite the bullet: "Sir, the train won't start."
"Something's wrong with the engine, I went and checked it out, but—"
"I don't give a fuck what's wrong!" Archangelo shouted, slamming his fist down on the counter. Lea jumped, but he ignored it; sometimes, these things just had to be done. "You get this fucking train up and moving in the next five minutes, Anderson, or it'll be you we leave behind!"
An empty threat, considering William didn't have a goddamn clue how to run these things; but then, Anderson didn't know that, did he?
Obviously not. With a short, stiff nod, he turned and scurried out the door, evidently having taken the threat very seriously.
And Archangelo turned back to the screen, watching as J.D reached the seventh level, taking out a couple of virus-carriers as he went, and realized, as he took another swing of brandy, that sometime along the way, things had gone very, very wrong.
xxxxx
"You what?" Michael asked, voice hushed, and Matt almost laughed at the shock on his face.
Almost.
"No." Alice, shaking her head in denial, eyes wide and scared. "No. Matt, we're close this time, there's still time—"
"No," he cut her off. "No, there's not, Alice."
She stared at him, expression a mask of pain as she whispered, "Matt, please—"
"Alice," he said softly, staying where he was, not trusting himself to stick to his decision if he went to her. "It's already too late. For the past hour—things have been changing. Physically, I look fine—but inside; I can't think, I can't keep track of what's going on. Everything here is a blur to me, and through it all, the only thing I can vividly see is violence, is blood, is destruction. I keep picturing myself hurting you, all of you, and I can't—"
He cut himself off. He didn't need to say anymore.
Alice was crying now as she said, "Matt, there's still hope."
He shook his head; and for the first time smiled at her, a smile of simple, unaffected joy. "Alice, there's always hope. Mine has run out, but you can still live your life—you can all get out of here, survive, stop Umbrella—"
She was still shaking her head, but even now the realization was dawning in her eyes.
She already knew.
It was too late for him.
"Matt." It was Michael's voice, breaking the emotion-choked silence, and Matt turned to look at him. The biochemist's face was dirty and tired, but strong as he said, "It's been… it's been great knowing you. I can't tell you how much I appreciate everything."
And Matt smiled at him too, realizing that he had been the first to start the inevitable goodbyes; and realizing, throughout all that, that somewhere along the way, Michael had lost his glasses.
And somewhere along the way, he'd lost the shy, uncertain side he'd seemed to always have, had become strong in a way none of them had expected of him. It would have made Matt sad to see his naiveté go if he hadn't known that, beyond all other characteristics, they would need to be strong after all was said and done. They'd have to go back to living normal lives, hopefully still sticking together; they'd have to forget the nightmares the past year had consisted of.
And Matt smiled at Michael, and said, "Yeah, Michael, you too."
He pulled Michael into a hug the biochemist obviously hadn't been expecting; and then Rain was there, the look on her face she wore when she was trying, beyond all else, to hold back her emotions.
He hugged her closely, unable to reflect, despite himself, on the time they'd spent together; the close bond they'd developed in the Hive and thereafter, all the stupid fights they'd gotten into since—everything that had made their relationship what it was.
And if nothing else, knowing that Rain would be okay now; that nothing Matt had done could stop her from getting the anti-virus and re-entering the fight against Umbrella.
They would need strong fighters like her—especially now that J.D had—
He pushed away the anger that thought quelled up; now wasn't the time for it.
And he gave Rain a slight kiss on the forehead, still, after all this time, unable to help the want to protect her, and then she was moving away, wiping her sleeve across her eyes and turning her face away.
And then Alice was there, her face openly tear-stricken, eyes the brightest, most beautiful blue he'd ever seen; and suddenly he was terrified, not knowing how he could possibly go through with this.
He was losing them. All of them, Alice—they would be gone. It wasn't him that would go missing, but them; he would stay in here, and live out the rest of his days alone, just like the first of his days.
And then Alice was in his arms, and Michael and Rain were averting their eyes as he kissed her soundly, saying so much more with that kiss than he could with simple words; her hair, dirty but fine and soft, felt like silk under his hands, all his senses suddenly magnified, and he remembered their one night together—something they'd never have the opportunity to experience again.
And she pulled back from him, eyes soft and awash in tears, and said tearfully, "Please don't."
"I have to," he said, smiling gently, and he could feel the tears start, streaming down his cheeks to mingle with her own as he pressed her forward to hers.
"I love you," she sobbed.
"I love you too," he said, and suddenly understood the meaning of those words, the passion, the beauty of them; the fragile, emotional depth when he knew this was the last possible time he'd be able to tell Alice that.
There wasn't going to be a wedding; Rain wasn't going to be a reluctant maid of honor, J.D and Michael, ridiculous groomsmen. He wasn't going to wake up in a sun filled bedroom, next to Alice every morning; he wouldn't be able to see that beautiful smile everyday. There would be no curly haired children, with Alice's blue eyes and his dark hair, running around the house and yard; and no grandchildren after.
He would never be able to tell her he loved her again.
And then they were leaving, Matt moving forward automatically to help lift Rain inside; and Michael followed, and Alice, turning to him, kissed him once more, deeply and passionately as if trying to memorize it; he could taste the salt of her tears in her mouth.
And then she too was climbing into the vent, and disappearing from view.
xxxxx
He was almost there.
J.D could feel it, those first, familiar strains of victory, of happiness. He had one more floor to go, and then he'd be there, opening the door, letting them all escape.
Of course, some of them wouldn't be too happy to see him; particularly Rain. But they could deal with that shit later; right now all that mattered was that it wasn't too late, that they could still fix this.
J.D was going to let them out, and then they were going to find Archangelo and get the goddamn anti-virus from him; and Rain and Matt would be okay again. They'd make it out of here, get back into Raccoon, and then—
Umbrella was going down. Until he saw the corporation destroyed, it's heartless, sick scientists burning with the rest of the garbage they'd created, he wouldn't stop.
They would work together, and they would make it there—together, they could accomplish anything.
He hurried forward, rounding the corner—
And stopped dead in his tracks.
Struggling towards him, looking much the worse for wear, was Rain. Michael and Alice walked on either side of her, arms around her to hold her steady, and all were dirty, black and smoky with plaster dust and clay.
Their expressions were even worse; Michael simply looked exhausted, lost and alone, while Rain looked miserable, only half-conscious of the events proceeding around her—
But Alice's face was blank, completely blank; the shell-shocked look of someone who'd just lost someone they loved, who'd learned their beloved grandfather had just been hit with a heart attack, or their favorite cousin had been shot in a senseless drive-by-shooting.
When he saw that look, J.D already knew he was too late.
But still, he forced himself to ask, trying to be casual, "Where's Matt?"
Alice looked at him, straight at him; and for a moment he felt small, insignificant and lost as she stared straight through him.
And then Rain said, her voice tired and angry, "Where the fuck is Olivia, J.D? Plan didn't work out?"
He stared at her calmly, hoping she would accept his words at face value. "Yeah, Rain, my plan worked out. Just not very well for Olivia."
She stared at him studiously, as if trying to decide whether or not he was lying; and then stopped, looking exhausted, like she couldn't make herself care anymore.
Only Michael asked, face showing mild interest, "You have a way out of here?"
He nodded, holding up the cell phone. "Yeah. We have to hurry, though."
He stopped, swallowed hard. Nobody said anything, and he finally realized that, if he wanted answers, he was going to have to be the one to say something.
"Where's Matt?" he asked again, and his voice was suddenly tiny in the empty hallway.
And then Alice looked at him, dead in the eye, and said, voice tired and lifeless, "It's already too late, J.D."
"It's over."
xxxxx
Inside the suddenly tiny, white room, Matthew Addison sat on the cold, cold ground, shivering violently.
It was over for him now. He was sitting here, alone, living out the last minutes of his life; the last minutes of his humanity.
And already, he was beginning to change.
He turned to look at his arms, shivering harder at the skeletal, metallic appearance they were taking, growing stronger and thicker; flexing without his wanting to or trying to.
He couldn't even control his own body anymore.
And his mind was changing too, twisting, and nothing was blurry anymore; it was sharp, in focus, burning holes through his eyes and brain as they twisted and turned, becoming stronger, faster.
And then the final stages of the transformation were taking place, and Matt closed his eyes, letting the last of his humanity slip away with no more than a single tear.
A single tear that dried, turning to liquid ice and breaking off instantly in a room that was suddenly so very cold.
Matthew Addison was gone.
Nemesis screamed.
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Covers head as readers lob pointy objects I'm sorry! I really am, but it had to be done. And before you ask, yes, that's it for Matt—for "Into the Light", anyway. I'm very sorry to all the Matt, Matt/Alice, Matt/Rain/Michael/J.D/mutated Spence/insert names here (hey, you never know :) ) fans out there; I do hope you continue reading regardless.
