Chapter Twenty-7: You're Either Alive or Not Breathing
16 hours later...
Orchid woke up, opening her eyes slowly at first, and then quickly realizing where she was, she jumped to her feet, scanning the room. Emergency lights were on revealing the exit which was to her left. She feet picked up the skinny metal baton she took from that rusty table before passing out who knows how long ago.
She saw Surge who was lying on his stomach and quickly ran to him, crouching down and shaking his shoulders, "Surge! Surge! Wake up!"
His hand moved, and then his legs as he crawled to his knees, glancing at her. "Orchid?"
"Ya, it's me," she replied her voice quickly changing to despair, "come on, we have to get out of here."
Surge got to his feet, quickly seeing the door, "did you try that door?" He said walking to it, pulling the metal handle. The door did not hesitate to move.
"Virus ventilation incomplete. All doors locked and will unlock when ventilation is complete."
"I guess not." He commented turning from the door, "From that message the announcer said, I say we have another outbreak."
"So, what do we do?" Orchid said, "Just sit here until it's complete?"
"I guess so."
"Damn Umbrella and their outbreaks..." she snarled under her breath, silent enough so only she can hear.
Surge approached the television set by the table and pressed the power button. The screen flickered on, revealing the big green number '03' on the top right hand corner of the screen. Wavy distortion began breaking over the set, and a man's voice could be heard. Surge banged his hand on top of the set, the picture coming clear. It was a man; a news man, standing over a city. The city itself was big; gigantic. Smoke stacks were sprouting from the many towering buildings as the news man spoke to the screen.
"Cindy and Ray, it is not looking good!" he shouted, "mass chaos has just quickly erupted in Hybrid and Arclay City. See, look at the thick smoke rising from the many areas. I don't know what has happened, many people are saying that riots have broke out. As I said, it is not looking good."
The screen changed showing two people sitting behind a counter, more people were running around the roomshouting at each other. Two bars flashed at the bottom of the screen showing the names of the two news members; Cindy Jenkins and Ray Johnson. The screen then split vertically, showing the man who was speaking on the left side.
"Eddie, can you describe more of what you see?" Cindy said.
"As I said, it is not good. Look over there at the Raccoon City Crater," the camera shifted towards a huge light brown crater which had a faint cloud of blue vapor rising from the crater. "There happens to be some kind of...fumes, emitting from the crater, also located there is the Raccoon Laboratories which is strictly off limits to any civillians." The camera shifted back to Eddie's face who was combing his hair back with his hand as he continued speaking through his mike. "Also, you can see yet, a mass crowd of people wandering near that gas station." The camera zoomed in so far that the features of the crowd were able to be shown, their body and clothes, dirty and encrusted with blood.
"Eddie man, I don't think-" the camera man started.
"-Oh! Oh! Oh my God!" The camera zoomed out and pointed in the direction were Eddie happened to be pointing showing an upcoming bulldozer coming down the street at full speed towards the crowd. "Oh, my God! No, I hope they see that charging vehicle. Oh! No!"
The bulldozer ran through the crowd, mashing and tearing them to shreds. "Eddie! Look!" the camera man then shouted. The camera shifted slightly to the right showing a bus, also running at full speed.
"Oh, God! Cindy and Ray, look at this bus its-"
The bus collided with the bulldozer. The bulldozer rolled on its side as the bus crashed over it, obliterating the group and slammed into the gas station. A big orange ball of fire erupted covering the crowd, gas station, and part of the street, in smoke and fire.The explosion was so bad that the underground tanks exploded and crumbled almost the whole street under the ground, leveling the area by ten feet.
"Oh, Shit! Oh shit!," Eddie shouted. The sound of the explosion hit a couple seconds later, happening to leave Eddie speechless, he put his hand down dropping the mike and wiped his mouth. "Turn off the camera."
"Eddie, don't leave," Cindy said from the news room.
The camera man began refusing, "Eddie, come on man..."
"Turn it off, Cindy and Ray...I'm leaving town. I leave the best of luck to all of you in the Channel 7 News room and too all who have been viewing right now." Eddie began running down the hill he happened to be standing on, "I'm leaving! I quit! Leave town, you guys!"
The camera then switched off and the screen enlarged the news room to fit the screen. "We're sorry for that slight delay." Ray said. "I-"
He held his hand to his ear, so did Cindy. He began talking in a muffled voice and slowly lifted his head to look at the screen, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have just been told that we are going to pull the plug."
The T.V. then quickly emitted to static and Orchid stared at Surge, "Now it's a city?"
"I believe so..." he said as he switched the channels to another news broadcasting system. "Great, here's another one."
"We're going to go to Donna Singleton live, who is in downtown Hybrid City."
The screen changed showing a chubby European woman. She didn't speak right away and then started with, "Hello, Hybrid 14 News. Before coming down here, police officials handed me this gun." She waved her free hand up revealing a pistol, "As you can see the police have set up barricades to prevent any danger forwhat happened to be riots. For all I know now is that the mayor has declared martial law. Also,Umbrella employees earlier entered the city, armed to the teeth. Armed to the teeth, this is how bad the situation is."
The camera shifted right, showing police cars behind orange cones, and orange and white striped blockades. Police officers, all wearing black armor pads, were standing around looking over the blockades with handguns or shotguns in hand. An ambulance was parked near the sidewalk with its back doors wide open. Paramedics were in their uniforms running checks on the medical gear inside the cab. The camera began shuffling forward, following Donna who was approaching an officer. "Excuse me, sir?"
The officer turned around, looking at the camera and pointed at it. "Quit eating that sandwich fat boy, this isn't the movies."
Donna smiled slightly and began, "What is your comment on the situation sir?"
"I don't know, actually, we don't know the situation. It all started with a phone call and-" he turned around, "Hey, Bob? Holy shit!"
The camera moved towards a screaming, showing a group of animals attacking another cop as he fell to the ground, failing to fire at the targets.
"Move! Lady get the hellout of here!" The officer screamed, "Go! Go!" he pulled his gun out and began firing as everyone ran away, the camera dropping to the ground showing ahalf eaten sandwich on the asphaltand the screen going blank.
Beep! "Ventilation complete...All doors secure for further activity."
Surge turned off the television set and went for the door and stopped.
"What is it now?" Orchid asked.
He moved the handle, "its jammed-" a moaning came from the other side of the door. "Oh, shit!" he whispered.
Orchid walked to him, the baton in her hands, "You break the door down, and I enter first," she said waving the baton in front of her.
"Okay." Surge backed up, "On my mark. Three, two, one-" He hit the door with the side of his body and the door flung open and he stumbled in, Orchid went in next, the juicy eating noises taking over her hearing. She looked forward seeing a couple of corpses bent over feasting on a body.
As Surge came next to her, they suddenly rose slowly and quickly turned around and began slouching towards them. Surge ran to the other side of the room. Orchid swung the baton down over one's head, the snapping of bone erupted and the zombie's head went inside its shoulders, fluids spewing out of its noise, mouth, and eyes as it fell to the ground.
Orchid spotted an elevator lift when they were finished and lightly jogged to it. Surge began fiddling around a metal cabinet, jerking the door open in one fluid motion, a few weapons. Orchid turned around quickly reacting to the flying handgun Surge then threw at her, catching it with her left hand and inspected it before placing it in her pocket.
Chung! Orchid darted her head to an unopened door labeled 'storage room' and walked to it taking the handgun out. She placed her hand on the handle and pulled it down and pulled it open, stepping back. It was Gail and Mendez; filthy bastards. To Orchid's diagnoses, they probably barricaded themselves into the room when the outbreak occurred. Now theyare all happy ass and prancing around. Surge came next to her and smiled and raised his handgun and fired. Gail's head sank in like a rotten pumpkin and fell to the ground with a wet plop.
Taking her time Orchid took an aim at Mendez, his eyes crossed and his rotten hands stretched out towards her. She noticed something and looked at the handgun and noticed a small laser pointer at the bottom end of the barrel. She flipped the small switch emitting a navy blue laser. She chuckled in her mind and raised the gun again and grinned, "this is for you, Mendez; you torture happy homosexual." She pulled the hammer back, feeling the kick on the weapon lightly bend her arms. The side of Mendez face exploded outward and his eye flew out the back of his head. "Sweet..." she then commented silently.
"I think we've lost it now." Surge commented loudly stepping into the storage room and opening one of the lockers on the side of the wall and froze.
"What is it?" she said walking approaching him to see what he was seeing. Her eyes widened; it was their operation suit; the one they had worn on the 'Renegade.' They smelled clean and in fact,they wereclean being preserved in a clearsuit holder. Vest and everything, "Look, even the infrared scopes," she smiled taking them out and putting them on, chuckling like a little kid.
Surge pulled the suit out and handed it to her, "this one's yours," he pulled out the next suit which was a bigger size, "and this is mine."
Orchid took off her Umbrella prison clothes, not caring if Surge saw her body as she slid into her pants. She next put on the light bullet proof jacket and next the vest with the clip and weapon holders. She quickly glanced over at Surge who was tying his combat boots, and then scratched her shoulder feeling the bust of the Umbrella symbol sewed into her suit. Orchid placed one of the loose edges between her fingers and ripped it off and dropped it.
"I'm ready." Surge said victoriously as if it was a race on who could put on their equipment on first.
Orchid finished tying her boots and holstered the gun in her vest, the infrared used to detect any virus attackers and the elbow and knee paddings that made her feel extra safe and protected. "Okey-dokey, let's ride out."
Surge laughed as they reached the lift and boarded. He pulled the red lever on the control pad up and they began to ascend quickly, Orchid looked up seeing the blackness up above and looked at Surge, "What?"
"I've never heard you say that phrase."
"Well, maybe you don't really know me."
"You wouldn't let me." He replied next with a smile. She nodded her head as the fresh air entered her nostrils and the ride up was over.
They stepped off, guns a blazing as they scanned what lied ahead. It was pretty obvious what lied behind; a city in turmoil, no that would be two. Orchid could see the several smoke stacks in the clear night air emitting from many parts of the two cities, they had to be at least three miles apart. Ahead of that was a large black line that stretched around the cities and thick green forest.
Where they stood was a desert. Splintered trees were scattered around the slope and a part of an abandoned building stuck up from the ground.
"I think this is the impact crater we're standing on." Orchid said breaking the silence.
"Ya, good thing the lift dropped us off on a down slope." Surge replied, "Easier to reach the city."
"Gee, thanks for reminding me about the city once again," she started sarcastically, "yet now we have to survive another shit infested outbreak with carriers not so different from the ship, what's next that I remember...ah, yes, those T-202's stalking the place."
"Well, let's just hope," Surge replied, "that none of us end up like Crash."
"What about Speed?"
"You'd have to ask Crash if you get to him before I do. He saw how Speed died, I only saw how the attacker died."
His eyes opened quickly and he let out a few short gasps of air and fell against the invisible wall. No, it was glass. A glass tubing was what he was in. Tubes were wedged under his skin. He wore these tight shorts which shielded his genitals from the dead people in front of him. Dead? Oh shit, they are dead. Tange banged on the thick glass watching it crack to the littlest of strength he applied to it. The thick glass broke away and he landed on the cold ground after pulling the tubes out. Tange felt much different, his hearing felt more acute, his sight was like whoa! Which meant better. He had already found out about his strength.
Tange grew in astonishment because there were no people in the clothes which lie on the ground. To his right was a shattered stasis tube, on the floor were many weapons and round casings. The empty tubes on the walls had be shattered, Tange taking a quick guess on what it was. He walked to a PC and looked at the screen as a line split the screen vertically showing two bodies and two names: Corin Pearson, WARNING! ESCAPED; Tange Roland, PRESERVED! In the middle of the screen the phrase of words were blinking, T-Veronica dosage matched!
"How come Corin didn't rid me when he had the chance?" Tange answered his own question, "Because he's crazy and it would be cheating."
Tange picked up a pair of white combat pants and slid them over the piece of cloth that he felt he was wearing. There was a pair of white combat boots and he slid them on, surprised that everything so far matched his size. He then noticed that all the clothes on the ground resembled the shape of a human; first a helmet, then the vest and sweater with the gloves at the end of the sleeves, then the pants and boots. It was like whoever was in these clothes disappeared from the spot without nothing but their bare skin. Tange ignored what he'd noticed and zipped up the light gray long sleeved combat sweater and hitched up the black vest which had an assault shotgun strapped to the back.
He started walking towards the giant blockade door seeing a giant hole in the middle like it was burned in, the charred edges gleaming in the light. He stepped out and began following a trail of blood, and whatever shit was leading the way all the way to an elevator. Tange pressed the button and the doors opened and he quickly walked in peering at the options of floors he had. UP and DOWN. Tange hit down in curiosity, the sudden slight movement shaking the inside. "Oops..." He then pressed up and the doors closed, the humming of the cables being pulled up was heard next. The elevator went up fast, more like three times the speed of an everyday normal elevator. Without warning it came to a stop, Tange holding the rails which were waist high in length. The doors opened and he came face to face with an armed man who was wearing silver colored sunglasses with blue colored lens. Before the man could react to Tange's presence, the barrel of the assault shotgun was against his stomach.
Tange smiled widely and pulled the shades off and put them on. With the barrel still against the armed man's stomach, Tange commanded, "Empty your vest, hand me all guns, mags, knives, and-" he spotted a mini laptop strapped to the man's arm, similar to the one Corin held in Scrapeson, "-and that laptop."
First he was handed a hefty .44 magnum, two daggers, and a 9 millimeter with a couple of clips to go with it. "What are you going to do to me?" The shit scared man asked, lastly handing Tange the laptop.
"You know, I really don't know," Tange answered, "maybe I'll-" in one lightning fast motion, Tange pulled the barrel away from the man and swung it like a bat across his face, "break your nose."
The laptop on his arm was beginning to get uncomfortable as he walked down the hall. He unstrapped it and opened it off, the screen flashed open and a list of objectives were listed:
1.) Locate test subject Roland.
2.) Kill Roland.
3.) Report to checkpoint
Why is it always, kill me?Why not kill Corin and blow it out their ass?Tange closed it and placed it in his vest pocket and continued walking as the hall T-ed at the end. The left headed to a dead end and the right led to another door. He followed right walking through the door feeling the cool fresh air brush against his face. He stopped suddenly as he saw the fires and smoke rising from two cities a head of him. A chopper than flew over him towards the city, smoke pouring out of the engines. He continued watching as the chopper slammed into a nearby tree and was engulfed in a ball of flames. Flames, speaking of flames... "If Corin could make fire like I've seen him do-" he held out his hand and began thinking of fire coming out of the palm of his hands. A stream of blue flames leaped out of his hand and scorched the ground, "So can I." With these new abilities, Tange would be more than ready to take on the chaotic conditioned cities. Its not like he wanted to venture over to another zombie infested city, cities. Corin was still alive and he would kill him and then the Osiris.
The Osiris was the one who started all this, it washe whowas the one who turned Corin into a monster, it washe who invaded the base, it washe who got Caitlyn killed, and it was fuckin'he who turned Tange into another one of his freaks, well he had to give the Osiris credit for that, but still! Revenge would be sweet and hopefully easy.
"Alright, we will infiltrate the base and do as we planned!" someone shouted behind Tange. He quickly hid behind a dump truck and peered over it seeing a group of five men, similar to the man he met in the hall. Tange didn't need to bother with them-
"Hello..." he said spotting one of the soldiers with a pack of C4 plasticexplosives strapped to the back of his vest. With the sun down, it would be easier to apprehend the man because it would serve to Tange as a stragedy of stealth. He took one of the daggers out of his hip pocket and edged towards the group as they entered the way he'd came. The first man was the last man, trailing the group as Tange put him in a headlock and ran the knife into his throat. The gurgle of blood was heard and he dropped the man, his body landing heavily on the ground.
"What the-"
Shit, he was spotted, Tange withdrew the knife and ran it into the man's stomach, who had responded to the noise. The last three turned around quickly, but not too quickly for Tange. He sent a shower of shotgun blasts at the group, terminating them in less then a second.
He grabbed the C4 plastics and the detonatorfrom the first man and attached it to the back of his vest, pleased to have no trouble with the vest because they were all the same. Shit, I admire and hate Umbrella at the same time. Thank you for making the vests all the same, and fuck you for killing everyone I care about.
Turning around to head down the blast crater slope, he stopped looking back at the dump truck he hid by and then glanced back at the slope. He turned away from the slope and pulled the door open from the truck and hopped in. When was the last time he had driven a vehicle? There was the motorcycle in Argentina when confronting and pissing off the Osiris. And there was the El Camino he had driven four months ago. The keys were not in the ignition but that didn't matter, the truck was placed at the downward angle on the slope and all he had to do was put the gear in neutral, despite the fact that neutral wasn't a gear at all.
He fumbled at the levers and found the neutral lever and pulled it back, the sound of dirt being driven into the tires were heard next and the truck began picking up speed, going faster and faster down the slope. Tange began using the brake or hand brake to not go to fast, he didn't want to get down that fast, up here felt safer. No zombies or Corin, if I had matches and a pack of marshmallows it would to be 'fuck the city' and I would just sit up here, roasting marshmallows.
"Let's get back to reality, shall we?" He said to himself, smiling at the thought as the truck continued its slow adventure down the crater slope.