The remaining S.T.A.R.S stood in the elevator as silently as they had sat in the helicopter on the way to this horrible evening in the first place. Each member honing their mental stability to pull them through just a little bit longer, until this nightmare was over.
The only difficult thing was the lack of silence. Above the slow mechanical humming of the elevator they had to deal with Chris battling to get reception over his walkie-talkie.
"Brad! Brad, can you hear me? Brad? Over." Chris would repeat ever minute or so.
There wasn't an answer, it was a miracle they had made out Brad's initial message in the first place. It would have to wait until they were on the roof and the flares were placed. Their only hope was that by then it wasn't too late.
SIX MINUTES UNTIL SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE IS ACTIVATED
The teammates shuddered as that increasingly annoying warning blared over the mansion grounds and the elevator doors opened on the roof of the lab. Immediately they were blasted with crisp cool outside air, and could almost see dawn coming over the horizon.
"Quick," Jill yelled at Chris, "set those flares so we can get the hell out of here!"
Chris and Rebecca ran for the center-most part of the room, so the helicopter would have the most room to descend. Just as they got there, they stopped. As they got closer and closer the roof began to shake more and more.
"Chris," Rebecca asked, "is the roof getting weaker?"
"I'm not sure," he replied, "Jill, do you feel that?"
"Feel what?" she replied.
Before Jill could even turn around to see what Chris was talking about she saw the elevator shaft crumble to pieces, and was almost deafened by the loud twisting and cracking of metal as the elevator cab itself crunched into a ball and was shot up into the air and off the side of the building into the darkness below.
"What the fuck!" she screamed as Barry helped her back to her feet.
"I don't know kid," Barry replied, "but I don't think we're going to like it. Chris, don't stop setting those flares, we don't have a whole lot of time.
Just then Jill saw a large talon-like claw appear from inside the hole in the roof. It was bloody, tattered and grey, but it was definitely intact.
"Shit." Jill and Barry said in unison.
"Jill get back, I'll take care of this, just cover Chris and Rebecca."
"Yessir." Jill replied stepping back, but her answer was droned out by the repetitive announcement blaring over the sound system.
FIVE MINUTES UNTIL SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE IS ACTIVATED
Jill watched as the Tyrant they thought they had killed climbed completely out of the whole and began to pace back and forth in front of Barry and herself. It seemed to be plotting out its options, but at the same time Jill could see it had weakened from before. Pieces of shrapnel were wedged into its tumor-like heart, and she could see that it reeled back as Barry's magnum shells peeled through its leathery skin.
Every time it began to rush Barry would send another bullet into its chest knocking it back slightly. Jill watched in amazement as Barry handled the situation with complete cool, but she could imagine after a night like this, a fight like this seemed like nothing more then an extreme hunting trip to Barry.
BAM!
The Tyrant took a shell to the face and fell flat on its back.
THREE MINUTES UNTIL SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE IS ACTIVATED
"Chris," Barry shouted looking back over his shoulder, "How's it coming?"
"I've got one more flare to light, but I still haven't gotten anything on the walkie. But I think I may hear a 'copter off in the distance."
"Keep trying! He must be around here somewhere."
Jill glanced back as the two men traded phrases, but then realized that nobody was watching the Tyrant. By the time she turned back it was too late.
"Barry watch out!" Jill shouted as the monster regained its footing, charged, and used its massive claws to send Barry flying to the edge of the roof, nearly off the building.
"Shit!" She screamed as she ran at the beast her Beretta shooting out bullets left and right.
The monster turned from Barry's direction to see what was shooting at it and began a slow pace towards Jill.
"Fuck," she thought as her clip ran dry, "what do I do now?"
The Tyrant must have sensed she was no threat as it approached at its own slow pace, almost as if to intimidate her. She began to back up, towards the edge of the roof, slowly running out of places to run.
She would have screamed for Chris's help, but there was a really loud whirring noise that seemed to be drowning her out.
"Wait a minute," she thought, "whirring noise?"
Then she recognized it, the all too familiar whirring noise of helicopter blades spinning through the air. Brad was right above them.
"J-J-Jill!" said a recognizable voice, "Use this!"
Right at her feet a large black box-like object dropped hard onto the roof. It took her a second to register it in her brain, but when she realized it was the S.T.A.R.S issue rocket-propelled grenade launcher, she dove forward picking it up.
As the Tyrant began to approach and pick up speed, Brad angled the helicopter blades in its direction using wind power to slow it down, and also allowing Chris and Rebecca to climb aboard.
Jill knelt down behind the helicopter's force, prepped the launcher, loaded it and readied it for fire.
"Brad!" she yelled, "Clear!"
Without hesitation the helicopter lifted into the air allowing the Tyrant to regain speed and head straight for Jill. She almost felt bad taking this creature's life. For all she knew, Umbrella had made this thing what it was, it could have been completely innocent.
"Yea," she thought resting her finger on the trigger and taking aim, "I almost feel bed."
Jill pulled the trigger and watched the RPG twirl through the air and connect with the Tyrant.
BOOM!
The Tyrant, along with a quarter of the roof exploded into a dusty mess and settled in a cloud of dust.
ONE MINUTE UNTIL SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE IS ACTIVATED
"Jill, hurry up! Get Barry!" Chris yelled from the helicopter.
Jill ran over to Barry and picked him up off the ground. She watched as he slowly regained consciousness.
"C'mon big guy," she said, "We have to get out of here."
She helped him limp to the helicopter as he groaned and tried to make sense out of what had happened.
THIRTY-SECONDS UNTIL SELF-DESTRUCT SQUENCE IS ACTIVATED
"Hurry up!" Brad said as the two climbed into the helicopter, "We d-d-don't have much t-time left!"
After Jill and Barry had climbed in, Brad took the helicopter straight up as the final countdown sounded.
TEN
NINE
EIGHT
"We aren't high enough!" Chris shouted.
SEVEN
SIX
FIVE
FOUR
"C'mon Brad!" Jill pleaded.
THREE
TWO
The helicopter reached safe altitude and distance from the mansion grounds as the final second sounded.
ONE
BOOM!
The helicopter shuddered, along with its passengers as the mansion and surrounding grounds that they had inhabited over the past evening exploded into a fiery mess before their eyes.
There was an extended moment of solace and silence amongst the remaining S.T.A.R.S.
"All those innocent lives," Rebecca said breaking the silence.
"All those S.T.A.R.S members." Chris added.
"Let us honor those who lost their lives in the line of duty: Forrest Speyer, Enrico Marini, Richard Aiken and Kenneth Sullivan. You will never be forgotten." Barry said.
"And to you Justin," Jill whispered as she removed her beret and handed it to Barry.
"Let this be a symbol of their courage. May they rest in peace." Barry said as he through the beret out of the helicopter and into the woods below them.
"T-t-that was b-b-beautiful Barry," Brad added from the cockpit.
The rest of the flight was silent as the helicopter headed back towards S.T.A.R.S headquarters in Raccoon City. Jill rested her head on Chris's shoulder, and Rebecca did the same to Barry. They were exhausted, hurt, astonished, shocked and way to confused to even speak of what happened over the past evening. Though nobody said a word a silent pact was made between the remaining five lives.
The sun was starting to rise on a new day, and the remaining S.T.A.R.S. knew they had a new job to do.
Umbrella had to be shut down.
No matter what the consequences.