-CHAPTER 4-
The rusty, steel door slammed shut, startling the diligent man in a brown trench coat. Two men in white coats waltzed in, gasping as if on a ten-mile jog. The man in the trench coat spun his chair around to meet their exhausted faces.
"What happened?" he let out softly, his deep voice not sounding as intimidating as he looked. No answer from the shocked men in white. From his seat, he noticed the one leaning against the door was heavily wounded, bleeding in two places, his forearm and thigh.
"What is the status!" he shouted this time, forcing the untouched man to snap out of his shock.
". . . T-virus, someone must have spilt it . . ."
"Damn," said the man in trench coat. "How bad is it? Has it spread to each compound?"
"We've yet to figure that out, but we do know that the power to most areas here are out, probably trashed by the carriers." His words were as distorted as his face was, filled with a dread that would regrettably last for a while.
"Just great. But how could they have . . . we would have noticed if they fell victim to the virus. Was it an airborne?"
"Um . . . that isn't all we should worry about," the uninjured man said, barely maintaining composure. "Being the control room, if those carriers get a hold of the power to the others' cells . . . and there's the problem with the NP-virus. . ."
"What! Don't tell me it was released!"
"NO . . . ! It's just a prototype. Had it been released, who knew what would have happened. All I know is that none of us would be standing here right now."
The trench coat man stood up from his chair, his eye trained on the man behind him, silent and pale with fear. He wasn't even concentrating on their conversation. The man took out his gun, a Desert Eagle magnum, and aimed it at the man who he was just speaking to, stirring him even more than he already was.
"W-wait! Don't shoot . . ."
"Move!"
Out of fear and panic, the man shifted, his back smacking into one of the gray walls in the computer room. To his horror, he noticed just who he was aiming at; the other survivor. The other man in white saw the gun directed at him, knew that his superior was going to surely kill him because of the bites he received. He simply closed his eyes and accepted his grim fate. In another second, the magnum went off, leaving a headless body to slump onto the floor. Dark, thin blood leaked onto the cold floor, near the other man. He could only stare in revulsion and pity at the man he had known just a little while ago.
"How did you know he was infected?" asked the last man in white, feeling like he committed an injustice. "He didn't show the symptoms! And we could've given him the antidote in medical bay!"
"Please, don't be so ignorant, Hugo," said the man, holstering his magnum. "You know, for a scientist of your caliber, you sure have a horrible memory. We all took our vaccines for the T-virus, correct? What you just saw wasn't just the T-virus we know."
"But, maybe the vaccines just didn't have a long expiration time, or maybe the capacity of the leak was too great, the infection overtook them."
"And maybe you're a dumbass," the man shot back. "Somebody tampered with our stuff. In fact, I'll bet you our traitor is still on the island."
". . ."
"Well, no sense in telling the others. May ruin the visitors' stay. As much as I hate to say it, we need those maggots." He shut his eyes and lowered his head, searching his thoughts for something he needed to say. "The agents. What happened to the agents that we to be brought here?"
"All them were dead by the time we left the storage room. We were hiding, waiting for them . . ."
"Damn it! Well, that's what they get for using uninfected, normal scientists. Now we need to worry about damn traitors! Guess it's up to me, now."
Hugo looked down, seeming unnerved. Sweat was trickling down from his dark brown hair and falling onto his youthful face.
"Still jarred by what happened? Oh, brother! Maybe they should've made you all full-blown infected zombies, like the workers. You're lucky they need your intellect."
The man took off, heading in an opposite door Hugo came from.
"H-hey, wait! You're just going to leave? There are probably others down there who're still alive!"
"Then you go and rescue them," he said coldly, tossing him the magnum. "Six rounds left. See what good you can do us now."
With those final words, he was left alone, alone with Aden's body. Alone in a lab he regretted ever setting eyes on.
R E B E C C A
The door creaked open, the old wooden frame worn out from constant use. Nash held it for Rebecca to pass, the expression on her face hiding her true fear. After a few minutes of pondering on the matter, she figured it had to be someone from the government doing this little ploy. She thought about what one would want from someone such as her. Whatever the case, it had to involve the infamous Mansion Incident, which in part meant that it was related to either Umbrella or the T-cure she worked so hard to create. But how would they know about the vaccine? Only the government and people she trusted knew about it.
"Come on, loosen up. This won't be too hard!"
Nash's words had no correlation. If only she could tell him, it would make her feel safer, but who knew exactly who was up to this. She didn't want to make a horrible mistake.
"Alright, I will! But could you walk me to my room? I know it sounds stupid, but I'm paranoid about things like that." Although the circumstances seemed strange, that would make things a bit safer for her. He shrugged, wearing his delighted smile again.
"Well, okay. I guess every genius has their quirks."
The interior was all wood, almost like a cabin. It kind of reminded her when she went camping a while back with the others. It also brought back nasty memories of the eerie rooms of the residence in the Arklay Mountains, making her heart beat even faster. The two stood in a hallway going straight down, lit by three lamps above. The hall branched out through other smaller halls, two on the left and two on the right, which were where their rooms would be. On the wall was a poster reading, "Welcome! All even-numbered rooms are to your left and all odd-numbered rooms are to your right." Among other things were the schedules for room service etc. It almost felt like she was staying at a motel.
Rebecca's room was the first even-numbered room, so they headed to their first left, the hall turning to face a newly replaced window straight ahead and a door to the left. The room plate read "102". Rebecca paused at the door, taking in a glimpse of the wavering trees as night began to slowly pour over the land.
"I suppose I should be going back to my room," Nash stated, turning back into the main hall.
"Don't you know anything about being a gentleman? You're suppose to wait outside the door, until I get in safely."
"Ugh, you ladies," he said, seeming to enjoy it. He waited for Rebecca to unlock the door, the clicking sound very soft. The door squeaked open, revealing a cozy-looking motel-like room, nothing more.
"All better?" he told her, leaning in the doorway.
"Yeah," she replied. She turned to him, still looking uneasy, but not finding the words.
"What's wrong?"
" . . . nothing." Rebecca put her hand on the knob, giving him a warm-hearted smile. "Thanks, Nash. You've been more than a gentleman to me."
"Anytime, beautiful. And hey! Don't forget, my place after you pack."
"This isn't any date!" she scolded him, her face slightly blushing.
"I didn't say it was, did I?" his voice sounding teasingly.
"Then stop making it sound like one. We're just going to explore around a bit."
"I don't know about you, but I know what I'm exploring!"
"Oh, just go away," she smiled to him, closing the door.
Her smile faded as she took a deep breath. Feeling more relaxed, she surveyed the room, taking note of everything. Her bed was at the upper left-hand corner, the bed appearing untouched. To her immediate right was a dresser, a rose vase placed for decoration. Another dresser was beside the bed to her right with a simple lamp standing on top of it. Upon closer examination, there was a book on the table entitled "How to Relax in Our Hectic World." To the left of the doorway was a bookshelf filled with various novels and books based on different sciences, which she knew would interest her.
Rebecca sat on the edge of her bed, letting her things drop to the ground. Straight across from her was the window again, this time noting the trees tossing and turning side to side. With winds like that, it was most likely going to pour.
Well, so much for the mysterious note.
It was still too early to assume anything, but the room was pretty fine from what she could see. She took out the note again, rereading every message carefully. "Mannequin9778," "below the funny man," what could the messages possibly mean? Whoever the person was, he or she must've been on crack while writing it. However, the note preceding those "warnings" were very accurate. They knew her for sure.
Rebecca knelt down on the small carpet that lay in the middle of the room, unpacking her things. Besides clothes, there were notebooks with various memos from when she was studying in the university. There were also two textbooks involving biochemistry and two more novels, although with the collection provided, she probably wouldn't need them. She had her personal items, such as her toothbrush and shampoo, in a separate bag. She felt something press against her jeans and took out her cell, suddenly remembering that her friends and family had planned on messaging her. She dialed the "voice mail" button, but static filled the phone instead. Rebecca looked at the main LCD, seeing the words "connection lost" on it. She shrugged and tossed it aside for the time being.
She walked over next to the larger dresser across the room and noticed the door, where the bathroom would be, right on the wall next to the entrance door's. Overall, the room was quite comfortable.
She opened the dresser's double doors and on the top shelf saw a gun, the sight of it making her feel weak. She shut the dresser after a moment, not knowing what to do first.
Crap, the note!
She didn't know why the mystery person did it, or what they intended for her to use it for. She didn't want to know. Rebecca put a hand on her forehead and walked to the door and locked it, the bolt securely turned. Her attention then turned to the dresser, the gun sitting in plain sight. She picked it up, the Browning HP's weight seeming too much for her drained body to handle. It was also quite loaded, all thirteen bullets in the clip it held. Not only that, the safety was off, too. It gave her a bad feeling in the pit of her gut, making her feel ironically unsafe.
Rebecca searched the drawers down on the lowest segment of the dresser and uncovered yet another clip, and beneath that a note. It simply read, "We knew you'd trust us." The note should have made her body less tense, but instead her paranoia and doubts began to rise. A booming thunderbolt shook the tiny cabin, startling Rebecca as she glanced out the window. The dark sky finally released the rain it held on to for awhile, the rain falling suddenly and rapidly. She went to close the shades, knowing she'd feel a little better if she did-
-and something caught her attention. At first, there was nothing but trees, the small forest nearby barely letting the sky into view. But something moved. She had to get in a bit closer to notice, but there was definitely movement. Could it be a soldier? By why so close to the residence?
The fright she felt was slightly mixed with curiosity as she struggled to see through the rain. Something moved again, and that time, she saw the figure of someone, or something limping, no, waddling in the underbrush of the forest. She only caught a glimpse of a brownish leathery outside as her eyes tensed more. The figure was only several feet away at that point. Although it was hard to tell which direction it was going, it was obvious the figure was getting closer. A nearby tree got in the way, blocking her view.
What the hell is that thing? It isn't human is it? Must be some harmless injured animal or something, maybe a deer.
She knew very well that it wasn't any deer or anything. She couldn't rationalize. Determined, she continued to look-
-and the thing stood only a few feet away, wide human-like eyes gleaming in her direction. Rebecca flinched, gasping as she did, her eyes still on it. Unable to keep her sight off of it, she saw it, hunched-back-looking and its face utterly distorted; an enigmatic mess. Its bulging eyes remained on her, studying her as its crooked mouth opened and closed involuntarily. Rain or saliva, she couldn't tell, began to drip from its deformed chin, the thing slowly edging its way toward her window.
Rebecca's body entered a state of panic, her eyes still trying to take in the battered, bloody body and misshapen features, but her mind struggled to just get away. She backed up slowly, her hands shaking, and did the only thing that came naturally to her. She put up her gun, aiming at the advancing creature, and it stopped dead in its tracks.
The thing let out a rough guttural cry and ran maladroitly into the woods. Rebecca was breathing hard, the image of the mutant still fresh in her mind. She lowered the gun, glad she didn't have to use it. It would've been hard to explain to the authorities why and how she had a gun on her. She sat on her bed, shivering at the next thought that came to mind.
Zombie, a goddamn zombie.
It wasn't exactly like one, but it was the first thing that came to mind when she gazed at the monster. Could she have been hallucinating? Rebecca's mind raced as if to figure out how it could connect to the island, the government, the mystery men, and the people who came with her. It all didn't make sense . . . except the gun. Those "benefactors" give her a gun, she sees something potentially dangerous, and somehow she is saved. There was a tinge of conspiracy welling up, she thought.
She took one last deep breath before deciding not to dwell so much. Her mind cleared, Rebecca decided she'd go meet up with Nash. She had plan brewing that involved her little walk with him.
K I N G
It took them until nightfall to finally hike up into the inland. Between the forest and hills of rocks, it wasn't easy. King hoped that when they gave them the signal, they took all this hiking into account.
When they finally reached high enough to see down below, they all paused.
"Lucky for us there was this mountain trail," Joker sighed.
"You mean lucky for you, old timer," Ace said with a big grin.
"Shut your trap. If I wasn't so damn tired, I'd smack you."
"Come on, guys, hurry," Queen scolded them, waiting at the top alongside King and Jack.
The path continued down this time, allowing the group a vague glimpse of the base below. Four major complexes could be seen from their position, and further out were two tall buildings, one obviously a mansion.
"I just felt a drop of rain," Queen said miserably, "we better hurry it up. I, for one, do not wish to get drenched."
"I told you we shouldn't bring women with us on missions," Ace joked.
"Hey, if you can suffice with a complete moron, I guess a gal wouldn't hurt." Ace shot a smile at her and Queen responded back in kind. They advanced down the rocky path, the rain worsening with a strike of lightning preceding thunder here and there. Each bolt illuminated their path a bit, unveiling forested areas on each side. It made the path look narrow, putting them all on high alert.
"What is this, a typhoon?" Ace questioned.
"No, a hurricane," Joker corrected, "typhoons are in the Pacific."
"Oh, I knew that."
The gang pressed on, weapons in hand. Jack had his usual bow gun, which he was extremely talented with. Joker had a rifle, although he enjoyed the occasional handgun. The other three had the standard-issue Berettas, although Ace also brought twin knives for his preferred hand-to-hand combat. Miniature waterfalls were forming from craggy cliffs above, the splashing of water drowning out all other sounds. They kept on descending until all that was visible were ragged rocks, tall trees, and the darkened sky.
Eventually, they viewed a giant building, appearing like a factory from the outside. Huge industrial double doors barred access as King, the first to reach it, attempted to pull. Next to it was a closed panel, probably where one entered the code. He lifted the cover, the numbered buttons glowing red. He entered a code which in turn released the lock.
"How do you think they knew?" Ace asked King.
"Knew what?"
"The code."
"I suppose they have their ways," he responded.
They went inside, taking in a dim hallway with two caged sides next to them. On the mesh-like cages were locks, guarding some security systems of sorts. They all followed King, who was unusually silent. He opened the next steel-enforced door, the air within quite frigid. It opened into a tightened, much brighter hallway with gray-colored walls. Doors covered the hall left and right, confounding the team.
"Alright," King began, "our goal is to find any concrete evidence to take back with us. Documents and Umbrella logos are fine, but disks of any kind are even better. There shouldn't be much security since this lab was supposed to be well hidden. Even the path we took was concealed where no one, not even from a plane, could spot it."
"Is that what our intelligence told you?" Queen asked quizzically.
"Right."
"Then all we do is that, huh?"
"Right again."
"Let's just get it over with already," Ace whined.
"Alright, but don't forget about security cameras, too. I've heard they also had ones that move about, like robots."
"That's freaky," Joker added. Jack remained quiet as usual.
"Okay, so does splitting up sound like a good idea, or should we group up?" King asked.
"Well, we can't leave Ace by himself," Joker said, smirking in his direction.
"Yeah, you're right," Queen said. "I'll take the burden, I suppose."
"Hey, you should be honored!" Ace spat.
"I guess I'll go with the boss," Joker said. "I'll assume Jack wants in by himself."
"Mmm hmm," Jack nodded. He excelled at sneaking and other espionage missions much better alone. Because he takes actions abruptly and silently, one would loose track of him easily.
"Fine. So Joker and I will check out this entire basement hall. Queen and Ace will head over to the end of the hall and check out the first floor. And Jack, because I know how talented you are at it, you can take that." King pointed to the ventilation shaft above. "Try and observe as much as you can and use the radios to communicate. If we don't answer, we're either preoccupied or near a room with others. All of you remember that as well. And don't forget what I said about the cameras."
They all nodded in agreement, looking more serious and psyched for the assignment. Where they'd get plunged in they didn't know.