Outbreak Chronicles: A New City, A New Story

Both Sweetboxer and Sylphstarwind have been doing nothing but internet related mischief for at least 8 days now, each one repeatedly checking their hit counter hoping to God that the other didn't win the bet. Eyes bloodshot, they finally decide...

SB: I can't do this anymore!

SSW: Me neither! How do these webmasters survive for Bawb's sake!

CJ: (Sits and laughs at their hilarious misfortunes) Did you notice that you've both received the same number of hits and that they come from the same IP addresses?

SB: ...This is...

SSW: ...What the?

SB and SSW: (Pointing at each other) YOU?

CJ: BWAHAHAHAHAHAH! (Falls backwards holding gut)

SSW: HEY! I can't help it if his Wesker pictures were drop dead sexy!

SB: She set us up somehow... I know it!

SSW: Eat...her...HAPPINESS! (Rushes at Cannibal Jello with a computer chair, followed by Sweetboxer who has picked up his computer monitor)

CJ: Gah! (Runs away)

Chapter Nine - Inner Heart Revealed

Alex heard the doorknob being shaken, and then he heard his father curse. Locked.

He gently laid his brother on the floor, then walked over to the door to try for himself. He drew back his fist and punched the door. It didn't even move. He tried again, putting all the force he could muster into this punch. He caused a loud bang and made a small dent in the door, but it was still inadequate. He couldn't break through.

.O.

"What was that?" Mark exclaimed, jumping back from the door. Something hit the door again, this time, harder.

"I hope there isn't a Hunter in there with your son...," Alyssa said. Kevin shot her a reproachful look before turning back to Mark.

"I'm sure they wouldn't put human subjects together with anything that dangerous," he said in a comforting tone.

"...Dad?" A small voice came through the door. It was muffled, but they could tell that it was a teenage boy.

"Alex? Is that you?" Mark responded, pressing his ear against the door.

"Yeah. Greg's here, too. He's asleep," Alex replied.

"Oh, thank God. Are you both alright?"

"Yeah. But... they did something to me. I'm different now."

Mark could almost feel his heart stop. They'd done something to his son? "What did they do, Alex?"

"I'm not sure. But it made me really strong, and my senses are better."

"Do you feel the same? Do you look the same?"

"Yeah."

Mark was somewhat relieved, but he was still worried. Who knew what those bastards had done to them? What if his boys have been infected with something, and it was only a matter of time? But he didn't want his son to worry. So he said, "We'll get you out of there in a minute. Don't you worry."

"I won't... I knew you'd come for me, and I know you'll get me out of here."

.O.

"What? They're still alive?"

Bower wasn't angry - yet - but he was perplexed, and becoming concerned. He had hoped that the BOWs would take care of these pests, but it seemed that the BOWs were busy elsewhere. The only one that they'd run into was that Licker, and they had managed to kill it. They had lost one of their number, sure, but it wasn't nearly enough.

"Perhaps I need to take care of matters myself...," he muttered, twisting the silencer onto his gun. He didn't have the firepower to get all of them, but maybe if he wounded or killed one of them, they would be slowed down enough for him to leave unhindered.

.O.

They needed a keycard. They had no idea where it was, so they decided that it would be best if they split up. No one loved the idea, what with the various monsters lurking these halls, but they didn't have much of a choice.

Carrie sighed. She knew that they were trying to save the kids, but she really wanted to get out of here, too. Those kids weren't her problem, after all. She hated to take that attitude, but every second that she was here was a risk. Any creature could come along, there could be some virus or chemical leak - hell, the whole damn building could blow up.

She sighed again, putting those thoughts aside, then pulled open a drawer and started shuffling through.

.O.

"What the hell?"

Hernan stood with his mouth agape, staring at the giant plant. It had vines that were whipping around like tentacles, and a large opening that probably served as a mouth.

"Let's search another room," he said nervously. He had Tara with him, since she didn't have a gun.

"Wait a second. What's that?" Tara asked, pointing. There was a flamethrower leaning against the wall in the corner of the room.

"You stay here," he told her. She didn't object. He crept along the wall, just in case that plant's reach extended this far. He picked up the weapon and went back to the door, and breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped out of the room.

"Okay, how about that door?"

.O.

"This is fucking stupid. We should be getting out of here, not saving some stupid mutant kids," Jeff complained. Terry's only response was a disgusted sigh, which pissed her fiancee off.

Oh yeah... She needs to learn her place..., he recalled with a cruel smile. But it would be hard to teach her while she had that gun from that doctor guy...

"Gimme the gun, Terry," he said.

"What? ...No, I think I'll keep it," she replied, eyeing him warily.

"I said give it to me," he growled.

"And I said no."

He grabbed her arm, and she tried to shake him off, but he was stronger. He took her gun, then flung her to the floor. Luckily, she landed on her shoulder, preventing harm to the baby, although a jolt of pain went down her arm. The wind was knocked out of her, and all she could do was glare up at him.

"I warned you not to mess with me, you bitch," he said. "Don't try it again."

.O.

"Why do I get the creepy room?" Vanessa asked quietly. She wasn't asking anyone in particular, because she was alone in the room. Hopefully.

The room was indeed creepy. The lights were starting to go out, so some areas had only flickering illumination, while others were totally dark. Worse, it was a narrow room with cages on either side, and she couldn't see inside them because of the poor lighting. She tried to walk down the middle as she headed for the desk at the other end of the room.

She reached it and searched the drawers, finding an emergency flashlight, but not what she had come for. She noticed a switch on the wall and flipped it, hoping that it might illuminate those cages, revealing that they were empty. But there was no visible change.

"Okay, that was pointless. I should've just--," she started, but fell silent when she heard a sound. It was a small clicking sound coming from inside the cages. She wondered what it could be, then it came to her - the sound of claws on a hard floor. The clicking was joined by another noise - a low growl.

"Oh shit," she squeaked. Okay, Vanessa, don't panic. They're in the cages, so...

Barks erupted all around the room, and she couldn't help but scream. A zombie dog leapt out of the darkened corners of the cage towards her, but hit the bars and was blown back in a rain of sparks. In the light of the sparks, she could make out a sign next to the cages. She took a step closer and raised the flashlight, reading the black and yellow sign:

WARNING: HIGH VOLTAGE

She fixed the light on the floor of the cage to see that the dog lay smoking and unmoving.

"Can't you read, bitch? 'High Voltage'!" she said, laughing nervously. As her chuckles were subsiding, another dog jumped towards her, causing her to scream again. It hit the bars and met the same fate as its brother.

"Okay, if that happens one more time, I'm going to lose my goddamn mind... If I haven't already," she said, putting a hand to her chest. She turned and headed back through the door.

.O.

David walked into a room, saying, "Don't worry. I'll be right in here. And don't hesitate to shoot if you see anything."

Yoko nodded and went through the adjacent door, entering a T-shaped hallway. The walls were pale green, and the floor was mesh. She could see a white hallway below. She stopped by nearby a metal shelf to search for the keycard, or anything else that would be useful. She started digging through a cardboard box.

"Thank God you're alive!" the lawyer said, stepping around the corner.

Yoko took her hands out of the cardboard box that she'd been searching, and picked up her pistol. "W-Who are you?" she asked, holding up her weapon.

"Don't you remember? I was with the group earlier. I got separated...," Bower said. He walked closer, his gun pointed at the floor.

Yoko hesitantly lowered her gun, and as soon as she did, he brought his up. He continued walking towards her. She took a few steps back, pressing against the door.

"Don't move. I don't plan to kill you, as long as you behave," Bower said.

"David's right in the next room. If you try anything, I'll scream," she warned. But she was shaking in fear. She didn't try to use her gun, because she knew that he'd shoot her before she could shoot him.

"Not if you value your life, little girl. Just go along, and you'll only suffer a minor wound," he explained, reaching out and stroking her hair. She grimaced at the touch. He stepped back, smirking, and shot her in the shoulder, and then he turned and started jogging down the hall. She slid down the door with a groan. Sitting on the floor, she took the gun from her other hand, and pointed it at Bower's retreating back. As he went around the corner, she clipped his left arm. She heard a grunt of pain, and then dropped her arm to the floor as she lost consciousness.

.O.

David gagged as he knelt by the corpse. He patted around on the pockets of the white lab coat.

"Son of a bitch... It had to be the deadest one... But at least it's not walking around, trying to eat me, I guess," he grumbled. The corpse was facedown, and little as he wanted to, he had to flip it over to search the front pants pockets. He put his hands under the chest and the thigh, trying not to touch any bare flesh. He realized that this one was a female, and he had just grabbed some zombie boob.

"Ugh." The front of the body was crusted with blood, from the pool that it had been laying in. There was a lanyard around its neck, with a card attached. He peeled it off and wiped some of the red gunk off. It was what he was looking for.

He stood and walked to the door, crossing the hall to get Yoko. He pulled the door open and she fell at his feet.

"Yoko? Quit messing around," he said, hoping that she was just playing a joke. But he knew that she wasn't the type, and when she didn't move, he became alarmed.

"Yoko! Talk to me!" he said gruffly. He knelt beside her still body and saw that she had a wound in her shoulder.

"I never should've let her go alone," he muttered, putting his ear next to her mouth and checking for breathing. He heard it, although it was shallow.

No mouth-to-mouth today, Davie, that annoying voice crooned. Ha, that was the first thing on your mind.

Not now, dammit! he snapped. He gently picked Yoko up and walked back into the hallway. He needed to take her to George. He walked quickly down the hall back to the place where they'd split up, where he took a moment to recall which door George's group had taken, and then he went through. He passed Jim, who was walking out of one of the rooms.

"Hey, what's going on? Is she okay?" he asked.

"Where's George?" he barked, ignoring the questions.

"Uh, I think he's in there." Jim pointed at a nearby door. David nodded his thanks and went in. George was at a desk, and he turned around when he heard David walk in.

"What happened?" he asked. David set Yoko down on the floor and George immediately started removing her jacket.

"I'm not sure. I just found her like this when I went to get her," David explained.

"...This looks like a bullet wound," George commented, pulling the strap of her dress aside.

She pushed weakly at his hands, muttering, "David's in the next room. If you try anything, I'll scream..."

"Dammit, it must've been that spy," David growled, feeling another pang of guilt running through his mind. He stood up and turned around to find Kevin and Jim in the doorway. It looked like Jim had brought the leader.

"Did someone get hurt?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah, I guess she got shot," David replied.

"And where the hell were you while this was happening?" Kevin demanded.

"Kevin, don't start this. He's going through enough as it is. And you know David wouldn't purposely allow her to get hurt," George said, pulling a bloody bullet out of the wound.

"Well, being careless is just as bad, isn't it?" Kevin asked.

"I'm sure that there was--"

"Yeah, it is," David said, cutting George off. He brushed past Kevin and Jim and went out into the hallway.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kevin asked, reaching out and grabbing the plumber's arm.

"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch," David replied, as if it were obvious.

"We can handle that. You're not going anywhere."

"Yoko needs you right now," George pointed out.

"But you're the doctor," David said.

"I've done all I can for now," the doctor replied, bandaging Yoko's shoulder. "But I think you're the best one for her to be near in this situation."

David looked down at Kevin's hand on his arm, and sighed. He walked back into the room. "It's down the hall. Yoko's gun should be on the floor, and the door should still be wide open. I don't know any more than that, and I suggest one of you takes this card and sets the kids free..." He handed over the keycard, sounding utterly defeated. Kevin took it, handing it to Jim.

"Go give this to Mark." He said, and Jim nodded, running off. He came back 6 seconds later. Before he could open his mouth, Kevin interrupted him.

"Second door on the left..." he said, annoyed.

"Oh, right!" Jim nodded again and ran off.

Kevin turned back to the room, shaking his head. He saw that David was sitting on the floor with Yoko's head in his lap. George had gone back to searching the desk, leaving David some semi-privacy. Kevin followed suit and left.

David was glad that nobody was watching. He had the urge to touch Yoko's hair again, and this time, he gave in, brushing a lock of hair off of her forehead.

I told her that I was right there, and she expected me to come for her. I couldn't help her in time... It's that little girl all over again. What if Yoko dies, too?

"God, I'm sorry," he whispered. He pulled her onto his lap and held her close, resting his chin on her shoulder. She groaned and he gave a start, surprised.

"Ow... David... My shoulder...," she groaned, clear as day.

"Good; she's awake," George said. At some point, he had turned around and was now looking at the two. David wondered if it had been long.

"Already? I thought...," David mumbled.

"It was just a flesh wound. Did I fail to mention that?" George asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, you did," David said flatly.

"Um, how did I get here?" Yoko wondered aloud. She looked at David. "Did you carry me here?"

He nodded. She was still on his lap, and he felt a slight blush creeping on his cheeks. He looked aside, trying to hide it.

"Thank you," she said, starting to blush, too.

"Yeah, you needed medical attention... But Yoko, I shouldn't have let you go alone. It was stupid."

"Oh, you can't be required to watch me all the time. I'm a grown woman, and I was armed," Yoko said lightly. She turned to George. "Could you give us a little privacy?"

George, who had turned back around but was listening to every word, nodded and left, closing the door behind him. He groaned internally. Nope, he definitely wasn't going to get those five dollars back.

"What's the privacy for?" David questioned.

She was a little out of it from the loss of blood, but she managed to focus on his face and look into his eyes. "I can see there's something really bothering you... I hate to see you this way, so please, talk to me..."

An expression of surprise crossed his face before he looked away. "It's nothing."

"Don't say that!" Yoko said sharply, and he was surprised again.

She continued, softening her voice a bit. "David, I've felt more connected to you than I have to anyone else in my life. I want to be by your side, to help you in whatever way I can. But I can't do that if you keep pushing me away. If you consider me your friend, like I consider you mine...you need to talk to me. I won't let you suffer by yourself."

David shook his head slowly and sighed, smiling ruefully. He was glad she was voicing how she felt, but...

"Fine. It's guilt, alright? I mean, I promised that I'd watch out for you...and you got hurt right in the next room. How am I supposed to feel?"

Yoko looked down, her face solemn. "I can understand how you must feel. And," she grabbed his hand, "you see, that's part of what makes you a good person. You feel the need to protect me, and now you're upset because I was still hurt. But, the only thing that I could hold against you is if you blame yourself for what happened... It makes me feel terrible, that you're suffering because of me, because I was too weak to take care of myself."

"Oh, Yoko, c'mon... That's just not fair...," David said, shaking his head.

She smiled, a hint of playfulness on her face. "Well, that's how it is. I couldn't forgive you for not forgiving yourself."

David looked away, thinking it over. Could he do it? Could he just let this go, let the guilt go? Well, it helped that Yoko's situation wasn't as serious as he had originally thought... And he would be more careful in the future...

"Okay. You win," he said finally.

"Good," Yoko sighed, relieved.

Then silence fell between them. She didn't move from his lap.

He cleared his throat. "So... Should we get back to the mission?"

Yoko looked mildly disappointed, though she tried to hide it. "Okay... If you think that's what we need to do."

"What...do you mean by that?" David asked, his face becoming warmer as he wondered what she was thinking.

"You don't know?" she asked hesitantly, her voice hardly above a whisper. Then she waited.

Ha! Of course he does! He's just denying it, a voice said snidely in David's head.

Dammit, you are really starting to piss me off, Mr. Voice...

You're naming me now. Hey, that's not crazy at all, Mr. Voice replied in an amused tone. Well, I'll make a deal with you. I'll leave you alone if you do one thing for yourself...

Yoko held her breath, looking into his eyes.

Fine; what is it? David asked.

You already know... It's the one thing you want most...

Don't fucking-- Oh, what the hell...

He didn't like to admit it, but yeah, he did know. He took a deep breath and planted a light kiss on Yoko's lips

She had almost given it up, and her eyes widened the slightest bit in surprise. Then she smiled, placing a hand at the back of his neck. He put his arms around her waist.

...They were interrupted by a knock on the door, and the two pulled away from each other, looking embarrassed.

Jim opened the door a little and poked his head through. "You ain't gettin' freaky in here, are you?"

"FUCK...OFF...JIM," David snarled, with as much force as he could muster. Apparently, it was quite a bit, because Jim suddenly looked frightened.

"Yes, um... Please?" Yoko added. Jim nodded and shut the door.

"I hate to say this, but he seems to be around right when he's least wanted...," Yoko said with a sigh.

"No, that's not true," David replied. She looked at him, surprised. He continued, "If that were the case, he'd always be around."

"That's so mean!" she said, but laughed a little. David laughed, too. It was rough and short, but it made Yoko smile nonetheless.

"I've never heard you laugh before...," she said.

"I'm not sure if I've heard you laugh, either. Our experiences together weren't too funny up to this point...," he said.

"That's true," Yoko agreed, becoming solemn again. "I think we'd better finish what we need to do before we..."

"Yeah."

She stood, swaying a little as a wave of dizziness hit her. He held her by the elbows to steady her. "Do you feel okay? Do you need a minute?"

She shook her head, but he put an arm around her waist and helped her walk, more because of him wanting to than her actually needing it. They went through the door to see that everyone was waiting for them, including the two Wilkins kids.

David felt a blush coming on, and looking down so that his bangs hung over most of his face, managed to spurt out, "Erm, uh... Well, she came to."

Kevin raised an eyebrow, looking stern. "No. Really?"

"Tell me," Alyssa said musingly, "Did you have to suck the bullet out through her mouth? Or was that just a perk?"

Kevin couldn't keep a straight face after that comment, and decided to turn his gaze elsewhere before he erupted in a fit of laughter. Oops, too late. David shot a glare in their direction. How long had they been outside the room? What had they heard? Cindy quickly walked up to them, and he would've punched her out because of the mood he was in now, if it hadn't been for the purely caring look on her face.

"Just ignore them," she whispered pulling out a handkerchief.

"What are you doing with that?" David grumbled.

Cindy giggled. "Take it. You have a lipstick mark here." She pointed to parts of his face. "Here, and here."

----- End of Chapter -----

SSW: That was nice and romantic near the end, but I have one question...

SB: Yeah?

SSW: Who was that voice inside David?

SB shrugs, and CJ quickly hides a microphone behind her back.

CJ: I dunno, but wasn't it great that something finally got David and Yoko together?

SB: Yeah. I can't believe they hadn't realized their love all through your Outbreak Chronicles, then in the months they spent together, and the first eight chapters of this story...

SSW: Yes, yes. They're a pair of imbeciles... But onto the real issue. BRING OUT THE PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER!

CJ, wearing a Vanna White-type sparkling gown, wheels out a chair on which sits... Ashley Graham. Luckily, there is duct tape over her mouth. The audience boos as it is ripped off, and Ashley's screech of pain is expelled from her mouth.

SSW: So, Ashley, would you like to tell everyone what our demands are?

Ashley: Bitch, I am sooooo totally WASTED! (Giggles wildly)

SSW: (Hits the girl on the head with a large paper fan) Focus!

Ashley: This one time... this... this... (Falls asleep)

SSW: What the hell is the matter with her! She seems... drunk! CJ! Did you give her alcohol?

CJ: Just a little...

SSW: (Raises paper fan threateningly) CJ!

CJ: What! She wouldn't shut up!

SB: You know how Ashley is. If I was assigned to guard duty with her, I'd probably booze her up, too.

SSW: (Visibly calms herself down, and lowers the fan) You're right. I suppose--

Ashley: (Wakes up) PARTY! WHOO! (Promptly goes back to sleep)

SSW, a cold expression on her face, drops the fan on the floor and pulls a handgun out of nowhere.

SB: Um, she's a hostage. If we kill her, the CIA will just come to get us...

SSW: But we'll never get our reviews is she won't say the message! I need to shoot somebody!

CJ grabs SSW's arm and the back of Ashley's chair and hauls them both away.

SB: We are now experiencing technical difficulties. Please leave a review, for our sanity...

SSW: (Yelling as she's pulled behind the curtain) If you want more of this story, you gotta work for it, dammit!