One
Hot damn! I swear he's dumber than water!
"Ok, conserve ammo. Let's go. Brian, you and Ben take the other entrance, Trudie, we got the elevator."
The four go their separate ways and the silence is golden.
"Can I speak openly?"
Krueger nods and Trudie nearly screams, "I will kill Brian!! I swear I'll blow his damn brains out!"
Krueger presses the DOWN button, laughing at the same time, "I agree. Now, get the map out, I want to know where we're going, and who is where."
Trudie sits down and opens her laptop, turns it on and cocks an eyebrow at the red and white umbrella that spins off the screen, "You have any clue what the red and white umbrella means?"
Krueger shrugs and taps the barrel of his gun on the door, listening to the silent hum of the machinery. "Question, if the power is out, how is the elevator working?"
"Damn, that's a good question. I think the power has two separate routers, one for the doors and elevators, and one for the computers."
Krueger nods and says, "That means this really is an attack. Alright, what's up?"
Trudie rubs her left temple and says, "Not good, I was wrong, they cut two of the three routers, the only one active is the elevators."
Krueger frowns and presses the STOP button.
"What? Why did you stop the elevator?"
Krueger opens one of the ceiling plates and climbs up, "We're getting off. Come on."
Trudie frowns and closes the laptop, noticing the umbrella again as it shuts down. "Little help? I'm kind of short."
Krueger leans over the edge and smiles, offering a hand, "Ok, let's go."
Trudie places a boot on the wall and grabs Krueger's hand, hoisting herself up and looking up the shaft.
She whistles and replies, "We went down a LONG way..."
Krueger looks over the edge and says, "And it's even longer down. Come on, there's a service ladder over there."
Trudie stands at the edge and jumps toward the ladder, her arms instantly wrapping around the rungs. She climbs down, allowing Krueger to follow suit. She steps onto the elevator stop after ten minutes of climbing, grasping the space in the door for balance. Krueger lands next to her and pulls out his combat knife. He pries a panel near him off and grabs the tangled mess of wires. He cuts them all and the door slides open, resisting slightly. A blue mist flows past them and dissipates quickly.
Curiouser and Curiouser, thinks Krueger as he steps into the black hall, squinting to see the form standing at the far end of the hall.
He raises the gun and shouts, "Name yourself and come toward my voice!"
He gets a low moan in reply and he says, "Keep a bead on the form, sounds like he's hurt."
Trudie raises her M8000 and steps behind Krueger, who walks toward the form, keeping his gun trained on the person. After six steps, a loud, scuffling sound resounds back and forth down the hall.
"Stop where you are, I'm coming toward you!"
The sounds don't stop and the man lets a louder moan out.
He's got to be hurt bad.
"Hey, maybe we should let him be, this doesn't seem right."
Krueger acknowledges her and stops, the man finally coming into the faint light from the elevator shaft.
"What the hell!!?? What is he on?!"
The man is walking with one foot bent, walking on the ankle, his left hand is hanging on to the arm by a string of muscle and skin, large portions of his skin missing, but he's not bleeding. Some weird substance is leaking from the fingers of his right hand, which is outstretched, reaching for Krueger. His skin is pale and bluish, teeth missing from his half-smile, due to the cheek missing.
Krueger pulls the hammer back and says, "Drop him!"
Trudie joins in with his fire and the man continues to walk forward, oblivious to the pain. Krueger stops firing and slams the butt of his gun into the neck of the man, the stench radiating off him penetrating the filters of the helmet.
God, he smells like milk left out in the sun for thirteen years.
Krueger watches in horror/amazement as the head flies off, well, more like bending back, the neck snapped. Krueger motions to Trudie and runs forward, stepping over the body, not wanting, no, not caring what that thing was, just wanting to get as far away from it as possible. More moans fill the halls as they round corner after corner, the halls going on forever.
Trudie closes the laptop and says, "Here, the service elevator, we can take this down to the bottom level, where the control room is."
Krueger presses the button furiously as more scuffling sounds reverberate toward them, intermingled with the moans of them.
"Come on, come on. I can walk down the stairs of the Empire State Building before you get here."
Trudie taps him on the shoulder and says, "Can we get on with this?"
Krueger nods and takes his M16 out, holding it with one arm as he taps the call button over and over again. He pulls the trigger and the gun rattles a fine line of .232 rounds into the 'things'. They drop like flies, but one begins to crawl with the one arm it still has, its waist blown away. Trudie fires into the left temple of the closest one, which drops instantly, blood flowing from its head.
"Aim for the head!"
Krueger replies and drop his raised boot on the thing's head, which smashes into a pile of unrecognizable gunk.
"Elevator's here, let's go."
Trudie kills the last one and runs into the elevator. Krueger steps in and presses the DOWN button. Unbeknownst to them, as the doors close, the first thing they downed walks around the corner, its neck still broken.
"Ok.. Why do they have elevator music in an oilrig?"
Trudie pulls her laptop out and replies, "I'm more worried about those things out there, they used to be human. I knew one of them, Krueger."
Krueger sits down next to her and says, "I'm sorry, who was he?"
Trudie snorts and responds, the words sounding harsher than she meant, "Why be sorry, he was a total dick. You wouldn't believe the things he tried to get me to marry him."
Krueger takes his helmet off, wipes the sweat from his face off with his glove, then replaces it.
"Damn, the AC in my helmet isn't working. Is yours?"
Trudie takes her helmet off and says, "You tell me, I look like a Scottish Terrier that got left in the rain."
Krueger looks up at the ceiling of the elevator as a near silent bump enters his ears. He pulls out his gun as a loud THUD rocks the elevator.
"Get ready for anything."
Trudie raises her Fa-Mas and Krueger fumbles with the latch, the panel flies open and Brian's body falls down, covered in blood and shredded leather. Trudie screams and Krueger pulls his body down, which lands with a wet slop.
"If that was the thud, I wonder what that bump was?" Trudie walks next to him and looks down at the bleeding hole where his arm was once connected.
"My god. That is gross!"
The elevator dings and the doors open, the sight instantly making Trudie slam the CLOSE button. A long, tongue-like thing catches in between the doors and slithers wildly.
"Come on, up, up, UP!!"
Krueger presses the up button and the tongue slides down, emitting a large amount of blood in the process. A horrible, ear-shattering shriek echoes up the shaft as the tongue twitches, an audible tearing sound following there after.
Krueger throws his helmet at the corner and tears the leather mask off, "Fuck this! If I have to sweat and smell like decaying fish, I won't live!!"
He tears the shirt off and throws it on top of the helmet, which has cracked slightly.
He sits down in his wife beater and sighs contently, "Ah, much better."
Trudie looks down at the tongue and notices the razor-sharp edge on it, "You think this killed Brian?"
Krueger laughs and says, "I don't give a damn! If I did, then I'd say it was a different one, whatever IT is."
He sits up quickly and says, "If that's Brian, where's Benny Boy?"
Trudie looks up and says, "Do we climb?"
Krueger nods and places his hands on the bloody panel. He grunts and hoists himself up, stepping into a large puddle of blood. He stands up and circles the shaft with his gun, watching everything for movement.
Trudie clambers up and smiles, "Thanks for.."
Krueger stares at the wall and aims the rifle at the light. Trudie holds up her Fa-Mas and aims at the light, which is flickering.
"What is it?"
Krueger closes his left eye and opens fire, the rounds hitting the light, but not shattering it. Something shrieks horribly, the light fluctuating and turning red, blood red. Its 'hands' pop as they pull off the wall, its 'hands' padded with suction cups. Something long and slimy pours from its mouth, which is releasing a sound worse than nails on a chalkboard, times thirty. Trudie drops the empty weapon and pulls out her M8000, her mind flashing to the tongue in the elevator. She aims for the twirling appendage's base and fires, the round piercing a nice hole in the tongue. The thing's shrieks deepen and it falls off the wall, twirling frantically, sending blood everywhere.
Krueger covers his face and jumps back, dodging the body of the beast, "What the bloody hell is it?!"
Trudie picks up her assault rifle and fires two rounds into the skull of the beast from the M8000, "Don't know, but when did you have a British accent?"
Krueger looks down the side of the shaft and replies, "Had it since I was born. You never noticed? Anyway, let's go, how far down does the shaft go?"
Trudie opens the laptop and types away, she clicks the mouse twice and remarks, "Forty meters. You up for a climb?"
Krueger nods and stands up, but is sent back down as one of the cables snap, making the elevator slant heavily. The two bodies, the beast and one they never noticed before slide along the top, bumping over the guardrail and falling down into the dark abyss. They both listen for a while and finally hear the dull thuds, nearly seven minutes later.
Krueger whistles and says, "Damn, that would hurt like hell."
Something catches his eye and he walks over to it, "Hey, it's Ben's HK40... Then that means, damn it!"
What the hell is going on?
John Buchanan runs frantically through the halls of the fifth floor and fires at the thing with his blood-covered pistol.
"To think, just one hour ago, I was in the repair shaft, working on the new drill bit, damn them scientists!! Using the drill for transport! I killed one and took his stuff, stupid zombie."
He holds his left arm and hisses at the pain that wells up from the bite.
"Damn things bit me! What did that one scientist say, 'Thirty minutes after?' I don't understand, he said it after I was bit..."
He looks down at the thing and mouths, "Shit."
He plops to the ground and pulls out the circuit board.
He chuckles and replies, "I think they said that Umbrella was sending in a 'crew', but where are they?"
He shrugs the thought off and drops the circuit board, places the barrel of the pistol against the back of his throat, and closes his eyes, "Sorry, Jules, but I won't be there to see the kid."
He pulls the trigger and enters the eternal sleep.
"That was one hell of a climb, so, what floor are we on now?"
Trudie opens her laptop and says, "Fifth, we are really close to the service elevator, but that just leads to the drill."
Krueger taps the pad and the door flies open, suspicious for a rusting oilrig. The all too familiar smell of decay enters the elevator shaft, making Krueger pinch his nose closed. He steps up into the dark hall, which is only lit by a few, flickering lights. He looks down the hall and notices two men a ways down the hall.
"Stay here, I'll call when it's clear."
He pulls out his Eagle and steps down the hall, his boots thudding on the metal grating.
Ok... Why is there metal grating in the more rest-related floors? It makes no sense. Hell, the dead is walking!
Krueger squats down at the two figures and reels back, the smell unbearable.
"Hey buddy, you know you're dead. So why you walking?"
He shakes the dumb question off and reaches for the man's gun, the sudden twitch of the man's hand giving him second thoughts.
"Ok, bad idea. Hello, what's this?"
He reaches for the green chip sitting underneath the man's blood-covered hand and picks it up, the chip half-covered in the man's blood.
"Hey, Trude! Come here. Got something for you."
Within seconds of asking, Trudie is right beside him, reaching for the circuit board.
"Oh, this isn't cheap stuff. This is a new-age chip made in Japan. It only works in their systems."
Krueger looks up from the man's ID, "Which means?"
Trudie snorts and says, "Whoever built this oilrig, has state-of-the-art computers. BUT, and this is a big but, they have to have some heavy-duty machinery for that much power."
Krueger dwells deeper into the questions that arise, each answer provide seven new questions. He growls in frustration and notices the ominous red and white umbrella stitched into the pocket of the man's, Steven Evans, lab coat pocket.
"Hey, see this, it's that unusual umbrella-thing. This is really starting to piss me off!"
Trudie stares at the chip and turns her computer upside-down.
"I got an idea, Krueger, can you keep watch?"
Krueger grunts a response and stands up, the leather pants groaning while they stretch. He pulls his gun out and leans against the wall, the weight of it all finally crushing down on him. Trudie pries the bottom off the laptop and looks at the fairly large port in the motherboard.
"Bingo," she whispers as the chip pops in without much effort.
She replaces the cover and turns it on, the red and white umbrella beginning to spin, but this time, it fizzes out and is replaced by a familiar face, even though Trudie is not quite sure who. The face smiles and fades out, leaving the normal background.
She breathes out her held breath and says, "Ok... Now I've seen everything.."
She turns to look at the zombie and says, "Yeah, just about."
Krueger looks up from the man's wallet and asks, "What was it?"
Trudie shrugs and says, "Some guy's face..."
Her eyes meet Mr. Steven Evans, "It was him. Hey, what's this folder?"
She moves the mouse and clicks it twice, the folder opening quickly.
"What's up?"
Trudie shrugs and messes around, opening folder after folder. She finally comes to one marked 'Fusion Virus'. She opens that one and ignores the others, which are marked with strange letters, T and G. Words file across the screen and stop after a while, the cursor blinking ominously.
"Ok, curiouser and curiouser."
Krueger looks at Trudie and says, "Hey, that's my line."
Trudie frowns and replies, "Sorry, I got it from you. Here, take a look, something in this text tells me this isn't an oilrig."
Krueger looks down at the essay and begins to read silently...
Report on Fusion Virus for Dr. Steven Evans. Our work on the new virus is nearly complete. Our next subject is one of the runners, stupid traitor tried to escape. The injection dose takes more than a healthy dose, nearly two hundred cc's. The only problem is the spasms induced by the injection process. The spasms would nearly kill him, if he isn't tied down properly, the cause of the spasms is still unknown. Every other test has proved most successful, all but our primate tests. We got the same problem with this stage of the test as with the T and G viruses, every primate turns into a zombie-like creature. We had a breakthrough yesterday, even though it lasted six hours before it died. Also, as of 3am this morning, they shut the elevators down, the only one that works is the drill, but it requires level7 clearance. Please, whatever it is, it can't be good, destroy this message, along with any info you have on our work down here, Umbrella's taking it all.
Dead Waters R&D.
"Damn, you were right, Trudie, this isn't a normal oilrig. So, where to next, I got his card and ID."
Trudie stands up and says, "Let's try that elevator they were talking about. I think it's that way, judging from the trail left by our dead friend here."
Krueger follows the crimson trail and walks around the corner, sniffing continuously at the faint smell of blooming roses.
Strange smell for a place filled with death, or so I hope not.
Krueger shakes the wandering thought off and slides the card through the reader.
Please insert seven-digit code.
"Ok.. We got the code?"
Krueger ignores Trudie's comment and enters the seven-digit code found under the magnetic strip on the back of the card. He presses Enter and the rounded door slides open, revealing the small elevator attached to the rut of a titanium drill.
Trudie smiles and says, "Creative. Shall we?"
Krueger nods and steps in, his body covering most of the platform.
He looks down and sighs, "Oops, sorry, ready for a tight squeeze?"
Trudie rolls her eyes and steps in front of him, pushing herself as far as she can go so the closing door doesn't catch her. The elevator starts its spiraling descent, startling Trudie a little. She hugs Krueger's form as she rocks backwards slightly.
Krueger wraps an arm around her waist and says, "Great... I get stuck with you.."
Trudie looks up at him and says, "You think I want to be stuck hugging a wild, sweaty gorilla?"
Krueger laughs and gasps as his pack scrapes the inside of the drill.
This isn't half-bad, considering he takes up nine-tenths of the platform.
Trudie rolls her eyes to herself, smiling at the faint smell of roses floating around her.
Where the hell is that smell is coming from?
She sniffs once more and says, "I'm getting tired, that rose-smell is getting me sleepy."
"Yeah I know, this is fixing to kill me, the smell I mean."
Trudie laughs and the elevator stops suddenly, they've arrived at their destination, where ever that is.
"We're here."
It was more of an unconscious statement than a remark.
Trudie looks up at him and says, "No shit."
Krueger laughs and tries to step forward, but Trudie hasn't let go.
He stops and looks up at the distant ceiling, "Um, have you noticed how you haven't let go?"
Trudie groans and falls down, nearly falling off the platform.
"Great, she passed out... Come on, let's get up, you got school in the morning."
Trudie groans louder and says, "Five more minutes mom. Huh? Where are we?"
Krueger presses the pad and the door opens, the smell of death waking them both up, sending their senses on high alert.
Trudie holds her head and says, "God, I had the best dream."
Krueger smiles and asks, "What was it about?"
Oh damn, now why did I have to go and say that for? Damn it, damn it all to hell.
"Nothing, nothing. Nothing at all," was her fast reply, a little too fast for her own liking.
Obviously Krueger got the hint, he dropped the conversation almost immediately, but something wasn't quite right, but she couldn't quite place it, until Krueger had pushed her aside and began firing at something. He was yelling something, but the booms of his Eagle were drowning everything out.
"Damn it! Get up and kill this thing!"
Krueger ignores her finally and slams another clip in, continuing his attack on the creature, even though it is clearly a MONSTER, with its blue, scale-like pebbled skin, its left arm is longer than the right, and seven times the length and width of the right arm. It limps with each step, as the right leg is blown off at the knee. Its breaths come in short, raspy croaks, which it the only way to describe the sound. He drops the empty gun and empties the M16 clip into the cylinder-shaped head. One round pierces the eye, sending black and red gunk flowing over its face, but the thing doesn't mind.
Come on! Trudie! If you don't help, we're screwed!
No sooner had he thought it was Trudie at his side, emptying the clip into the beast's face.
Got to aim for the eye, maybe I can pierce the brain! Got to aim a little higher..
She aims at the eye and drains the clip, watching as half of the rounds pierce each eye, causing the beast to shriek in pain and anguish. It turns around and runs down the hall, well, limps, then it rounds the corner. Trudie and Krueger round the corner to find that the beast disappeared. The door they just passed is swinging eerily.
"The thing did round the corner, didn't it?"
Krueger nods and pulls the door open, jumping back at what is behind it: a severed leg, twitching nastily. Every time it twitches, blood spurts out the knee.
"Oh sick."
Trudie turns away and vomits on the corner, trying to get the image out of her mind. The leg was kicking the door, each time less and less forceful.
Krueger drops the door and turns around, the color from his face gone, "Nothing is going to replace that image as the worst thing in the world."
Trudie nods and wipes her mouth, gagging at the foul taste in her mouth. "Well, Krueger, shall we get going?"
Krueger laughs to himself at a weird thought and nods, "Well, lead the way. I got the back."
Trudie nods and pulls her M8000 up, pointing it toward the door she missed earlier.
"Thataway."
Krueger holds up his Eagle and steps behind her, his senses on a new high alert. Something bangs metal as they open the door, the smell of death fresh in the air.
"Oh god, smells like someone took a dump in a landfill, while eating rotten eggs."
Trudie smiles and replies, "You regretting breaking your helmet?"
Krueger mock-laughs and pushes her shoulder, "Shut up."
This is great, I'm stuck in the middle of a hell-hole and my partner is becoming my best friend.
Trudie aims her gun into the steam rising from a shattered pipe off to her left. Her boot stomps into water and she jumps up, the sound scaring her slightly, "Whoa! There's water in here."
Krueger walks up next to her and says, "Yeah, I'd say this place is at least two miles under the ocean. Places in the walls are bound to break, causing leaks."
Trudie rolls her eyes and steps forward, then stops as a grinding sound grows louder, coming from in front of them.
They listen for a while, then Krueger breaks the silence between them, "Did you see that?"
Trudie stares forward and says, "Yeah, something is tearing the metal walkway in half.. Dude, RUN!"
Krueger grabs Trudie and they run back, some THING roars underwater and flies forward, shredding the walkway in half like it was made of putty. Krueger shoves a door open and throws Trudie in, then turns around and holds up his M16.
"Whatever you are, I hope you like lead."
What the hell?! This is beginning to be a nightmare.
Trudie sits down on a box and tries to open the door, but something's blocking it. She begins to grumble when shots sound off from behind the door. The sound of tearing metal grows louder and then Krueger cries out, then a loud bang echoes down the hall. Trudie holds her Fa-Mas and opens fire on the door. Splinters fly around her and the door falls down, revealing the worst scene she's ever imagined. Metal is whining as she steps onto what is left of the walkway. She turns toward the door they came through and sees a form sitting in it, the door bent outward from the force of the impact.
The form groans and Trudie runs up to him, "Oh my god, Krueger. What happened?"
Krueger holds his head and looks at Trudie, "I don't know, it was too fast, knocked me off my feet."
Trudie looks down and notices the thing crashed through the door, the shape of a fin torn out.
"This is getting weirder and weirder by the moment, come on Krueger, we got to get back up."
Krueger moans and slides out, landing in the water, barely missing the split walkway. He stands up and pulls out a clip, switching the drained one in his M16 for the fresh one. He stands up and takes one step toward the door, then collapses.
"Krueger? Krueger!?"
"Where the hell am I?" Krueger sits up and notices the straps on his arms and legs. He shakes them and shouts, his voice eerily distant, "What the hell!? Let me out of here!" He drops his arms and looks to his left, "Trudie! Hey Trudie!" He looks at her longer and notices the needle stuck in her lower right thigh, a red liquid running down the IV tube. She shakes her head slowly and groans, the sound strained, "Krueger? Is that you?" Krueger shakes his arms and replies, "Yeah, it's me, where are we?" She coughs and says, but it's more lively, "Krueger! Wake up, are you ok?"
He sits up and looks around, the room not the one from his dream, "Where are we?"
Trudie wrings out the towel and says, "I don't know, I found it about twenty minutes ago, seemed like a safe place to be. How you feeling?"
Krueger shrugs and rubs the back of his head, frowning at the many bumps on his head, "Lucky. I don't have a concussion, I should be ok, but I have the growing urge to raid the refrigerator."
Trudie laughs and holds up her M8000, she checks the clip and drops it, replacing the empty with a fresh one.
"Haven't heard anything lately. But, I think we weren't the first team here. I saw someone walking around, but he wasn't a zombie. I think he was holding a shotgun, but it was too dark to tell."
Krueger rubs his neck and asks, "Anything from our little friend?"
Trudie shakes her head, "No, but I wouldn't count it out, though. Come on, let's go."
Krueger picks up his Eagle and slides it into the holster, then stands up, "You know which way to the elevator?"
Trudie nods and says, "It's just down the hall to our left. I had to go around, you sealed the door."
Krueger steps out into the hall and looks to his right, noticing the dented door.
He sighs and says, "Let's go, I think we should leave, now."
Ok, this is getting weird. He's acting pretty protective ever since he got hit.
Trudie shrugs off the nagging thought, but it comes back. She growls in frustration and runs into Krueger's back.
"What is it?"
Krueger grunts and she looks around him, frowning at the missing elevator.
"Well, damn it. Seems like someone took our only ride.. Who do you think it was?"
Krueger shrugs and replies, "That's not what I'm worried about, there's a leak in the drill shaft. See the water?"
Trudie frowns and asks, "What now?"
Krueger taps the barrel of his M16 against the wall and says, "I don't know. I honestly do not know."
A shadow runs across the end of the hall and Krueger looks up, listening to the faint shuffle of feet on metal, too evenly paced for one of the things, Well damn it Krueger, call them as you see them, Zombies.
The steps are too soft to be anything else, it's a person! Krueger holds up his M16 and bolts towards the end of the hall, looking around the corner at the empty dead end.
"Hmm, that's creepy, disappearing shadows. Hey, Trude, you still got your laptop?"
Trudie walks up next to him and says, "Yeah, what you got on your mind?"
Krueger scratches his nose, one of the few habits he hasn't grown out of, and replies, "I want you to read everything that the chip uploaded. I want to know what happened here."
Trudie nods and walks back into the room, opening her laptop in the process.
"You won't like this!"