(A/N: Thank you all for the reviews! Please keep them coming! (As for one review in particular, Yoko will not be making an appearance. I'm sorry. As for Billy, you'll have to wait and see…)
Standard Disclaimer
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger…"KILL IT, MARK!" Rebecca shouted as the leechman shuffled around the room quickly. Rebecca could see Mark's figure as he struggled to grab the creature.
"Gotcha!" He shouted as he grabbed the struggling creature. He screamed as the leeches near his hands burrowed themselves into his skin, but he continued to grapple with the creature. "Shoot it!" He commanded, the creature winning the grapple.
"I-I can't, it's too dark!" Rebecca told him desperately, her orbs shooting towards the elevator panel. They reached the first floor in a beat, and the doors split. Mark used the remaining ounce of his strength to shove the creature out of the elevator. The disgusting leechman fell back onto the tile floor, and the two survivors ran passed it. Their feet slapped against the tile, overtaking the previous silence that had encased the hallway. Against all of her good training, Rebecca turned her head to check on the creature's status. She gasped, noticing the leechman arch his arm back. He was going to kill them! "Mark!" She screamed, motioning towards the creature. He looked, his eyes widening. He shoved Rebecca away, then standing in the arms passage towards Rebecca.
"No!" Rebecca cried desperately as the creature's arm impaled a protecting Mark. She heard him gasp for air, before the creature retracted its arm and let him collapse. Rebecca quickly picked herself up, giving up any fight she would have. She took off toward the lounge doors, busting through in a pant and alerting Matt and Kristen.
"What the fuck is up?" Matt shouted at Rebecca, noticing her obvious distress. Rebecca slammed the doors shut, grabbing a loose broom and shoving it through the handle. She ran around to a nearby couch, struggling to push it in front of the door.
"Rebecca? What's wrong?" Kristen then asked her, an inner fear perking up.
"Help me push this couch! That thing is coming!" Rebecca ordered desperately. Matt got up and within moments had the couch in front of the door. "Get over to the other side of the room!" She then commanded, running for a place to hide.
"What thing were you talking about?" Matt asked Rebecca in a whisper as they crouched beneath the lounge desk. Rebecca's teary eyes suddenly widened. She slightly lowered her head, then pointing to the door. Matt turned back to the door, and she knew he had seen it. The leechman pounded at the door, and Rebecca had to cover Kristen's mouth to keep her from screaming. She sobbed silently.
"It-it took Mark," She told them sadly.
"Shit," Matt muttered, "I'm not going to sit down and die like this!" Rebecca's eyes widened at Matt's tantrum. He had raised his voice, and stormed over to the door. "Hey, bitch! Get your ass in here and we'll see who's the tough shit!" He angrily shouted at the leechman. The leechman stood silently, and Rebecca could've sworn she'd seen its head tilt slightly.
"Stay down," Rebecca whispered to Kristen, forcing the schoolgirl to turn away from Matt and stay unexposed. The slit windows in the lounge doors must have shattered, because there was a horrible crash. Rebecca looked over the desk and nearly screamed. The familiar end of the leechman's arm was on the back of Matt's head. His cries filled the room as it smashed his head into the door, trying to pull his head through the small space. Blood flowed down the door, and Rebecca knew he was dead. She just turned away and held a weeping Kristen. As the thud of Matt's body was heard, the leechman was gone. Rebecca waited anxiously, almost expecting it to burst in at any moment. The door to the file room was yanked open, and Rebecca's eyes widened in terror.
Cindy's familiar figure appeared at the doorway. She frowned at the distress Rebecca and Kristen were in, and screamed when she saw Matt's corpse. "W-what happened?" Cindy asked them, crouching down to comfort the two girls.
"There's some…some man…covered in leeches. He killed Mark…and now Matt. I don't know where he went," Rebecca informed her. Carlos overheard as he inspected Matt's body. He lifted his rifle, about to move the blockade, but Rebecca had other ideas.
"No! You can't kill it. We tried to shoot it already. It's just a corpse consumed by leeches. The only way to stop it is to peel off all of the leeches. That would leave you vulnerable for too long," Rebecca told him. They all gathered behind the desk, silence overtaking them as they pondered and waited.
"We need to get out of here. That or starve to death," Carlos said, causing a chill to creep down Kristen's back.
"Let's just wait until we know it's gone for sure. That's all I can really recommend," Rebecca told him, folding her arms. Suddenly, the vent lid in the room crashed to the ground. Kristen and Cindy screamed, while Rebecca and Carlos instinctively raised their weapons. A familiar figure dropped into the room, scanning them all. Carlos and Rebecca lowered their weapons.
"Nicholai," Carlos acknowledged his lieutenant.
"This hospital is dangerous. You all should find a more suitable shelter," Nicholai told them, folding his arms.
"There's something out there, Nicholai. If we can clear the way, these girls can get to the exit," Carlos suggested, greatly hoping for approval.
"I have matters to attend to. You do it," Nicholai said, quickly taking apart the minor blockade and exiting.
"Hijo de puta," Carlos muttered, then turning to force a smile at the girls. "I'm not putting up with his crap anymore. Rebecca, I need to find that bastard. When I leave, put the blockade back up. If for any reason I don't make it back, go to the clock tower. There should be more teammates there. That is where our helicopters will be. I promise I'll be back, though," He told her, then exiting. Rebecca sighed, leaning against the desk.
"Let's move to the exit in the sub-lobby, at least. We'll wait for him there," Rebecca then suggested. Kristen was too concentrated on losing her only peer, while Cindy just nodded. Cindy wrapped an arm around Kristen to comfort her, instructing her to close her eyes. They moved past Matt's corpse, and Rebecca drew her handgun. She cleared the hallway, nodding to Cindy. They quickly made their way into the sub-lobby.
"What is that?" Cindy said as she entered the room. There was a repetitive beeping not too far off.
"Sounds like…" Rebecca said, then stopping herself. She didn't want to panic the other two. She walked around the column in the middle of the room towards the exit, staring at the empty street through the glass doors. She pulled at the door. It didn't budge. "Oh, no," Rebecca muttered, turning back to the others to reassure them with a smile. Instead, her eyes widened. Posted directly on the column was exactly what Rebecca had suspected. A bomb. There were a measly five minutes left, and Rebecca quickly walked towards the others. "We need to find a way out of here, now," She ordered, leading the girls out of the room.
"What's wrong, Rebecca?" Cindy asked her as they entered the same room from before.
"There's an elevator in the file room, right?" Rebecca didn't answer her, instead having Cindy answer her with a nod. Kristen had simply given up any curiosity. She would just do what they told her to. Nothing else mattered. They quickly crossed the clutter of the file room and entered a maintenance elevator.
"There's a passage to the sewer in the second basement," Cindy quickly told Rebecca, as she pressed the B2 button. They exited into a long, narrow hallway. The walls were nothing more than cement, while the floor was just cement of a lighter color. Nothing extraordinary. Rebecca looked at her watch. "Run!" She shouted, noting they had about two minutes left. They took off down the hallway with no question, bursting through the door at the end. Rebecca gasped in shock, while Cindy erupted with a scream. The leechman stood in front of them, moving around sickly and furiously. Rebecca lifted her gun, firing a few rounds into the creature. It seemed so futile. Then, she spotted it…
A loose crowbar lied on the ground, probably from constructing the basements. She picked it up, staring at the creature as it approached. "Run around it!" Rebecca spat the order out at Cindy and Kristen. She ran towards the creature, swinging the metallic crowbar towards its head. The leechman traveled a short distance in the direction of the impact, getting smashed against the wall. Cindy and Kristen ran towards the motorboat in the waterway. They just had to start it and take off into the sewer. Rebecca glanced at her watch. Thirty seconds were all she had left. The leechman had recovered, arching its arm back. Rebecca sidestepped just as the arm snapped at her, and she sprinted at the creature with the uncurled side. Rebecca rammed the handle end of the crowbar into the creature's head, pinning it against the wall. It squirmed in horror, the leeches slowly slipping off the body. Rebecca turned away, sprinting and leaping into the boat as Cindy started the engine.
The boat took off down the passageway, and out through the sewer, just in time to avoid the impact of the deadly explosion. Raccoon Hospital had most likely fallen. As the wind flowed through her hair, Rebecca hoped Carlos was alright…