29
"Did you hear that?"
Leon stopped for a moment and reached out into the darkness with his ears, "Err nope."
Chris leant on the banister and looked up through the other levels, it was silent and the singing that he thought he heard vanished. He stepped back with a very confused expression and scratched his head, "Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Leon huffed, "Anyway what did you hear?"
"Singing and it's so familiar," he tapped the wooden frame, "I know I heard it before!"
Leon stood still not knowing what to say, he began walking up to a door on the first floor. Chris gave up on the ambient song and continued behind Leon to the next level. A burst of light shone in their eyes; at first they thought it was someone with a flashlight. They both pulled out their guns instantaneously. Leon stumbled back almost falling down the stairs; he stopped himself before it could happen.
"You alright?" asked Chris. He nodded his head still a little surprised by the flash of light in his eyes.
He re-sheathed his gun, "Well that was unexpected."
"A lot of things are unexpected here." Chris moved to a window on the stairway and glanced out, "I wonder why the power came on?"
"Lock down will commence in T-minus ten seconds," droned the mechanical female's voice. Both looked at each other shocked, they couldn't leave and they certainly didn't want to stay.
"…Nine…Eight…Seven…Six…"
They shrugged at each other and carried on.
"…Five…Four…Three…Two…One…"
Suddenly huge metal shutters slid in front of the windows blocking any means of escape. Leon walked to one and knocked on it, its low heavy sound indicated its thickness. He whistled, "That's about two maybe even three inches thick."
Chris frowned, "Great that's all we need." He walked up in front towards the door, he grabbed the bronze doorknob and twisted; he glanced back at Leon who was ready with his Desert Eagle. He nodded pushing the door in and aiming as well with his Magnum.
The zone was clear.
The inside looked like an examination room, Leon shuddered there was one thing he hated the most, other than Umbrella, was hospitals. That disinfectant smell was so apparent. The examination table with screen, the doctor's desk filled to the brim with papers and the shiny lino floor, it all reminded him too much of a hospital. Chris walked to the desk and shifted through some of the files. Useless crap, nothing of any interest.
Leon moved to the screen, he pointed his gun up leaning close into it; he breathed in slightly and hurled the cloth away.
"Hey Chris come look at this."
Chris came running eager to see what the fuss was about. Leon held up to the light blueprints of some sort. There were loads scattered over the table, "Nice of them to leave some clues," he smiled.
"It's a little too nice of them," Chris walked over to the examination table and picked up a blueprint, "Memorial Mental Institute Facility," he read, "U1."
He placed it back and viewed each plan carefully. There were five blueprints in total all representing a level, "Five underground levels," he said, "All belonging to Umbrella."
Leon bent down closer looking at each paper, "With the power on we can go to them."
Chris shook his head, "Not without Claire."
"Of course," he said, "There must be something very important down here with all the trouble H.C.F brought. It looked like they were planning a fucking war; I wonder what they're after?"
"Me too. Although whatever it is it's not going to be good."
Leon agreed, just to get in they killed everyone without a moment's thought, so whatever they were after it was big and very important to them. He collected the underground blueprints and shoved them in his bag. He checked the other papers just to make sure if there was anything else of importance. There wasn't very much only a sheet indicting the radio frequency the commando's should communicate with and a letter carrying the name of a Captain Albert Wesker, informing him that this was H.C.F's last attempt in obtaining Umbrella's 'project'. It had a very hefty warning to Wesker pointing out the disadvantages to him failing this mission. It was enough to make Leon shudder.
He handed it over to Chris who only burst out laughing, "Just desserts," he commented tossing the scrape of paper back on the table. Then he noticed a few walkie-talkies, he picked one up and threw it to Leon. He caught it and tuned it in accordance with the frequency. He placed it in the middle of the table and listened. Strange but there was no sound, only static.
He glanced at Chris who only shrugged, "Maybe they went into radio silence for a while."
"Maybe," Chris said, "Anyway these delightful walkie-talkies are a great asset," he picked one for himself and tuned it into another frequency also telling Leon to do the same, "Right whatever you do keep it with you at all times."
Leon saluted already knowing that he and Chris would have to spilt and go in it alone, "Level two or this one?"
He badly wanted level two, that song and that voice was still playing over and over in his mind. It reminded him so much of Alexia Ashford, he needed to be sure if Umbrella brought her back from the dead or if she never really died in the first place, "Two."
Leon walked to the door and opened it up, his gun in hand he moved out scanning the stairs for any unwelcome visitors, "Meet you on level two in ten minutes, if you're no there then I'm moving up to three ok?"
Chris nodded, "Here," he pulled out a XM1014 shotgun and a few packs of 12 gauge shells from his backpack, "Find her Leon."
He took the weapon and smiled, "It's her who always finds me."
Chris smiled, "See you in ten then."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Chris moved up the stairs and disappeared. Leon on the other hand switched guns. He loaded the shotgun, took a deep breath and walked down the corridor on the first floor. He gazed at each door; there were four in total with no glass windows. Damnit! It would take longer to search and he really wanted to do this quickly.
He opened door number one very slowly, there was a strange sound coming from inside. He took another breath and shoved open the door fully. There were six zombies in total all wearing lab coats and nurse's uniforms, three were on the floor munching on a dead body and the other three were just standing about. They groaned turning to him. Their blackened eyes gave all their attention to him and him alone.
Leon shut the door and sighed. He glanced at the stairs and then back at the door, was there a need to get in there?
No. He had a long enough look to see if Claire was inside. She wasn't, so he opted for moving on. The door knocked violently, he cursed, the zombies were hungry and he was on the menu.
He moved away and went to door number two, it sounded quiet however the next-door neighbours weren't so quiet and he couldn't really hear. He turned the knob, but it didn't move. He kicked it and kicked it only making a small hole at the bottom. He was about to move on went he heard moving sounds inside. Fast and frightened sounds.
"Hello?"
Silence.
"Hello? Is there anyone who is not of the un-dead or commando kind in there?" he paused, "If you're wondering I'm not a commando."
The door unlocked suddenly. He pushed it open, the lights were off and it was too quiet in there, "Hello?" he called again. He moved in just a little…
He fell to the floor dazed, "What the fuck!" He turned over gazing up at a young woman dressed in a white nurse's uniform.
She held a piece of wood in her hands, "Don't move or I'll hit you again!" her voice was filled with fear and she looked it. She knelt down grasping his shotgun and Desert Eagle. She shoved the gun in her pocket and threw the shotgun in the room, "Who are you?"
"What are you on lady?"
"Don't be a smartass! Answer the fucking question!" she almost screamed.
"I'm not a commando!!"
"Why all the weapons huh?"
"I'm a cop."
"If you're really a cop show me some I.D!" She held the wood high; he knew if he could distract her then he could get to the wood. And thing was he didn't have his I.D, what was the point of carrying something when the place he used it in was now a crater?
He reached into his pocket, just to make it look like he was getting his 'I.D'. She watched him but not closely. She was a frightened woman who didn't know how this went. He unexpectedly grabbed her arm yanking the wood out of her hand; she fell back to the floor. She had only a spilt second to retaliate, she reached for the gun only to find that the strange man was pinning her to the floor, "Get off me!"
"Calm down!" he said. She struggled under his grip trying desperately to be freed, "Stop struggling."
She did, she turned her face away from his, "Get it over with," she sobbed.
Leon sighed; she was really scared and would do anything for her life. He felt so sorry for her; she was caught up in a huge mess just because of Umbrella. He released his hold and sat up, "I'm not like that," he said in defence.
She wiped her face and scrambled away from him, "Who are you really?"
That was a tough one; he really didn't want to go through the whole Raccoon City palaver. So he just told her the basics that he was searching for someone who got trapped in there and that the place was own by a corporation that likes to cause trouble that is why he has the weapons.
She started laughing, Leon frowned, "Well you'll see soon enough."
"I'm sorry…err…"
"Leon," he said completing her sentence.
She smiled, "Nice to meet you Leon. I'm Miriam," she held out her hand and he took it shaking hers gently.
"I'm not sure if it's nice to meet you. You hit hard."
She giggled moving closer to him, "I'm sorry about that Leon, but what with everything happening I just thought you were one of the bad guys," she touched his head rubbing the sore area gently. Her long black hair tickled his face; it was so black and so soft like feathers. Her skin was olive, very European. Her eyes were beautifully green, just like emerald. For someone who had been crying and stressed for God knows how long she looked lovely. She wore small round glasses and they made her look cuter than she already was.
She moved away pushing her hair back and adjusted her spectacles, "Ok?"
Leon rubbed his head, smiling, "Just about."
Miriam stood up holding her hand out, "I hate being out in the corridor," she glanced in front and behind, the paranoia was beginning, "You can hear the most creepiness sounds. But the thing is they aren't screams, they're more like howls of some sort. We best get inside."
Leon reached up grabbing a hold of her sensing the fear and the deep sadness. Whatever she heard it was going to haunt her for a very long time. She dragged him up and ushered him inside closing the door.
She flicked the light switch and smiled, "Welcome to my parlour said the spider to the fly."
"Did you hear that?"
Leon stopped for a moment and reached out into the darkness with his ears, "Err nope."
Chris leant on the banister and looked up through the other levels, it was silent and the singing that he thought he heard vanished. He stepped back with a very confused expression and scratched his head, "Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Leon huffed, "Anyway what did you hear?"
"Singing and it's so familiar," he tapped the wooden frame, "I know I heard it before!"
Leon stood still not knowing what to say, he began walking up to a door on the first floor. Chris gave up on the ambient song and continued behind Leon to the next level. A burst of light shone in their eyes; at first they thought it was someone with a flashlight. They both pulled out their guns instantaneously. Leon stumbled back almost falling down the stairs; he stopped himself before it could happen.
"You alright?" asked Chris. He nodded his head still a little surprised by the flash of light in his eyes.
He re-sheathed his gun, "Well that was unexpected."
"A lot of things are unexpected here." Chris moved to a window on the stairway and glanced out, "I wonder why the power came on?"
"Lock down will commence in T-minus ten seconds," droned the mechanical female's voice. Both looked at each other shocked, they couldn't leave and they certainly didn't want to stay.
"…Nine…Eight…Seven…Six…"
They shrugged at each other and carried on.
"…Five…Four…Three…Two…One…"
Suddenly huge metal shutters slid in front of the windows blocking any means of escape. Leon walked to one and knocked on it, its low heavy sound indicated its thickness. He whistled, "That's about two maybe even three inches thick."
Chris frowned, "Great that's all we need." He walked up in front towards the door, he grabbed the bronze doorknob and twisted; he glanced back at Leon who was ready with his Desert Eagle. He nodded pushing the door in and aiming as well with his Magnum.
The zone was clear.
The inside looked like an examination room, Leon shuddered there was one thing he hated the most, other than Umbrella, was hospitals. That disinfectant smell was so apparent. The examination table with screen, the doctor's desk filled to the brim with papers and the shiny lino floor, it all reminded him too much of a hospital. Chris walked to the desk and shifted through some of the files. Useless crap, nothing of any interest.
Leon moved to the screen, he pointed his gun up leaning close into it; he breathed in slightly and hurled the cloth away.
"Hey Chris come look at this."
Chris came running eager to see what the fuss was about. Leon held up to the light blueprints of some sort. There were loads scattered over the table, "Nice of them to leave some clues," he smiled.
"It's a little too nice of them," Chris walked over to the examination table and picked up a blueprint, "Memorial Mental Institute Facility," he read, "U1."
He placed it back and viewed each plan carefully. There were five blueprints in total all representing a level, "Five underground levels," he said, "All belonging to Umbrella."
Leon bent down closer looking at each paper, "With the power on we can go to them."
Chris shook his head, "Not without Claire."
"Of course," he said, "There must be something very important down here with all the trouble H.C.F brought. It looked like they were planning a fucking war; I wonder what they're after?"
"Me too. Although whatever it is it's not going to be good."
Leon agreed, just to get in they killed everyone without a moment's thought, so whatever they were after it was big and very important to them. He collected the underground blueprints and shoved them in his bag. He checked the other papers just to make sure if there was anything else of importance. There wasn't very much only a sheet indicting the radio frequency the commando's should communicate with and a letter carrying the name of a Captain Albert Wesker, informing him that this was H.C.F's last attempt in obtaining Umbrella's 'project'. It had a very hefty warning to Wesker pointing out the disadvantages to him failing this mission. It was enough to make Leon shudder.
He handed it over to Chris who only burst out laughing, "Just desserts," he commented tossing the scrape of paper back on the table. Then he noticed a few walkie-talkies, he picked one up and threw it to Leon. He caught it and tuned it in accordance with the frequency. He placed it in the middle of the table and listened. Strange but there was no sound, only static.
He glanced at Chris who only shrugged, "Maybe they went into radio silence for a while."
"Maybe," Chris said, "Anyway these delightful walkie-talkies are a great asset," he picked one for himself and tuned it into another frequency also telling Leon to do the same, "Right whatever you do keep it with you at all times."
Leon saluted already knowing that he and Chris would have to spilt and go in it alone, "Level two or this one?"
He badly wanted level two, that song and that voice was still playing over and over in his mind. It reminded him so much of Alexia Ashford, he needed to be sure if Umbrella brought her back from the dead or if she never really died in the first place, "Two."
Leon walked to the door and opened it up, his gun in hand he moved out scanning the stairs for any unwelcome visitors, "Meet you on level two in ten minutes, if you're no there then I'm moving up to three ok?"
Chris nodded, "Here," he pulled out a XM1014 shotgun and a few packs of 12 gauge shells from his backpack, "Find her Leon."
He took the weapon and smiled, "It's her who always finds me."
Chris smiled, "See you in ten then."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Chris moved up the stairs and disappeared. Leon on the other hand switched guns. He loaded the shotgun, took a deep breath and walked down the corridor on the first floor. He gazed at each door; there were four in total with no glass windows. Damnit! It would take longer to search and he really wanted to do this quickly.
He opened door number one very slowly, there was a strange sound coming from inside. He took another breath and shoved open the door fully. There were six zombies in total all wearing lab coats and nurse's uniforms, three were on the floor munching on a dead body and the other three were just standing about. They groaned turning to him. Their blackened eyes gave all their attention to him and him alone.
Leon shut the door and sighed. He glanced at the stairs and then back at the door, was there a need to get in there?
No. He had a long enough look to see if Claire was inside. She wasn't, so he opted for moving on. The door knocked violently, he cursed, the zombies were hungry and he was on the menu.
He moved away and went to door number two, it sounded quiet however the next-door neighbours weren't so quiet and he couldn't really hear. He turned the knob, but it didn't move. He kicked it and kicked it only making a small hole at the bottom. He was about to move on went he heard moving sounds inside. Fast and frightened sounds.
"Hello?"
Silence.
"Hello? Is there anyone who is not of the un-dead or commando kind in there?" he paused, "If you're wondering I'm not a commando."
The door unlocked suddenly. He pushed it open, the lights were off and it was too quiet in there, "Hello?" he called again. He moved in just a little…
He fell to the floor dazed, "What the fuck!" He turned over gazing up at a young woman dressed in a white nurse's uniform.
She held a piece of wood in her hands, "Don't move or I'll hit you again!" her voice was filled with fear and she looked it. She knelt down grasping his shotgun and Desert Eagle. She shoved the gun in her pocket and threw the shotgun in the room, "Who are you?"
"What are you on lady?"
"Don't be a smartass! Answer the fucking question!" she almost screamed.
"I'm not a commando!!"
"Why all the weapons huh?"
"I'm a cop."
"If you're really a cop show me some I.D!" She held the wood high; he knew if he could distract her then he could get to the wood. And thing was he didn't have his I.D, what was the point of carrying something when the place he used it in was now a crater?
He reached into his pocket, just to make it look like he was getting his 'I.D'. She watched him but not closely. She was a frightened woman who didn't know how this went. He unexpectedly grabbed her arm yanking the wood out of her hand; she fell back to the floor. She had only a spilt second to retaliate, she reached for the gun only to find that the strange man was pinning her to the floor, "Get off me!"
"Calm down!" he said. She struggled under his grip trying desperately to be freed, "Stop struggling."
She did, she turned her face away from his, "Get it over with," she sobbed.
Leon sighed; she was really scared and would do anything for her life. He felt so sorry for her; she was caught up in a huge mess just because of Umbrella. He released his hold and sat up, "I'm not like that," he said in defence.
She wiped her face and scrambled away from him, "Who are you really?"
That was a tough one; he really didn't want to go through the whole Raccoon City palaver. So he just told her the basics that he was searching for someone who got trapped in there and that the place was own by a corporation that likes to cause trouble that is why he has the weapons.
She started laughing, Leon frowned, "Well you'll see soon enough."
"I'm sorry…err…"
"Leon," he said completing her sentence.
She smiled, "Nice to meet you Leon. I'm Miriam," she held out her hand and he took it shaking hers gently.
"I'm not sure if it's nice to meet you. You hit hard."
She giggled moving closer to him, "I'm sorry about that Leon, but what with everything happening I just thought you were one of the bad guys," she touched his head rubbing the sore area gently. Her long black hair tickled his face; it was so black and so soft like feathers. Her skin was olive, very European. Her eyes were beautifully green, just like emerald. For someone who had been crying and stressed for God knows how long she looked lovely. She wore small round glasses and they made her look cuter than she already was.
She moved away pushing her hair back and adjusted her spectacles, "Ok?"
Leon rubbed his head, smiling, "Just about."
Miriam stood up holding her hand out, "I hate being out in the corridor," she glanced in front and behind, the paranoia was beginning, "You can hear the most creepiness sounds. But the thing is they aren't screams, they're more like howls of some sort. We best get inside."
Leon reached up grabbing a hold of her sensing the fear and the deep sadness. Whatever she heard it was going to haunt her for a very long time. She dragged him up and ushered him inside closing the door.
She flicked the light switch and smiled, "Welcome to my parlour said the spider to the fly."