Chapter Fifteen: A Traitor's Orders
Though she walked softly, Jill's footfalls fell too heavily upon her ears. She kept picturing those giant spiders in her mind, of how they stretched their long, spindly legs out to reach for her. What else was waiting down here...now that she was alone…
Jill closed her eyes and breathed deeply, yet her heart still beat rapidly. She clutched the twelve gage. Holding it helped to keep the trembling at bay. More than once she thought she heard a high pitch scream echo throughout the caverns—a sound similar to the ones to that of those reptilian creatures. Jill froze, her body so tight her joints popped. She waited, hearing her pulse beat in her ears and the distant drip of water. Eventually, Jill forced herself to move on.
Every twist and turn of the old caverns looked the same. The lights strung up upon the gray rock produced an incessant buzzing noise that seemed to fill Jill's head and rattle her mind. She gradually picked up her pace. She wasn't walking in circles. At least, she didn't think that she was.
She turned the corner, coming face to face with a large, iron door. It was rusted with a simple curved handle. A card reader was set into the rock to the doors right. Jill grabbed the handle, flakes of rust breaking off on her gloved hand. She pulled but the door refused to budge. What was a door doing down here? The question buzzed in her head, unrelenting. She stared at it until she could see the rivets in the iron whenever she closed her eyes. There was something out of place about it…
The sound of shuffling footsteps came from behind. Jill spun around, raised her shotgun at what she was sure to be a walking pile of decaying flesh—
"Enrico!"
Enrico crashed into the opposite wall holding his side as dark red stained his vest.
"Is that you, Jill?" he asked, his breathing labored and a grimace set beneath his thick mustache. Jill took a step toward him, but the Bravo captain snatched the Beretta from his holster and aimed it at her chest. Jill's steps instantly faltered, her brow furrowing as she looked down the barrel of the handgun. "Are you…are you with anybody?"
"No," Jill replied. "I'm alone."
Enrico sighed. He held the Beretta up for a moment longer before he let his arm drop. His body sagged, side scraping against the stone wall, until his legs fell out from under him and he crumpled to the rough floor. Jill lingered for a moment, processing all that had happened. Then, in an instant, it felt as though a jolt of electricity coursed through her and she was kneeling at the captain's side.
"What happened?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper as she helped him sit upright. Enrico looked up at her, eyes glossy and heavy. Tired eyes. Jill's gaze flickered toward his side once again. The circle of blood had doubled in size. Jill felt her heart seize in her chest.
"The S.T.A.R.S. are finished," Enrico replied. He glanced at the corridor but then quickly looked back down, the loss of blood weakening him by the second. "Umbrella set us up. Go to the third-floor—"
The sound of a gunshot rang in Jill's ears.
Blood spurted out of a newly formed hole in the center of Enrico's chest. Jill instinctively turned in time to see a silhouette dart around the corner followed by the echoes of running footsteps.
"Jill," Enrico said, making Jill turn back to him. Blood spilled from his lips, glossy in the dim light. "Li…brary," he said through clenched teeth, each syllable an agony. With that, weariness overtook him. Enrico's gaze fell, staring vacantly at the floor, and his body slumped against the wall.
She sat there for a moment staring at Enrico's. Everything had happened too quickly—only a few moments ago he was standing right in front of her and now…she was back in Iraq. The howling of wind whipping up gusts of sand that stung her flesh. The child, his skin dark and his bones protruding. He staggered toward her, eyes pleading for what he couldn't ask for. If only she could get him some food—if only she could save him—
Jill took a deep breath, willing the memories to not overtake her. When they subsided, she felt a tightness in her hand. Jill looked down to see her fist tightly clenched. She relaxed it, but the joints still felt stiff. Okay, then, she thought. The library.
By the light of her flashlight, Jill could see footprints in the dirt in the corridor outside the chamber she had just been. She followed them, treading slowly in case whoever shot Enrico was still lurking nearby. Yet, the caverns appeared to be just as still as they had been before. It made Jill tremble even more.
Eventually, after a couple of iron doors and what felt like an endless length of underground, Jill found a ladder leading up. She craned her neck to see what lie beyond the opening above. Yet, all she could see was darkness. A low howl of wind echoed down from the opening.
Finally, a way out!
Jill took a deep breath of relief. She quickly grabbed the metal rungs (which proved to be more difficult than she initially thought while holding the shotgun) and ascended. As soon as her head emerged, a cool nightly wind swept over her brow. Her wounded thigh burned from the exertion, but she didn't mind. She was outside. The scent of rain still lingered in the air, teasing her nose and threatening a sneeze. Jill climbed onto the stone ground to find that she was standing within the dark opening in the courtyard before the guest quarters.
She stepped out into the vacant courtyard, each step ringing in her ear. Though dark clouds lingered in the sky, the faint luminescence of the moon was just visible in the west. Standing just beyond the tall walls of the courtyard stood the upper floors of the mansion. Its many dark windows stared down at her like the eyes of God.
Or the Devil.
Jill checked her pockets. Half a dozen shells left, along with Enrico's Beretta and the two clips he had on him. So, she tightened the grip on her shotgun and started her way up to the mansion.
It didn't take long to retrace her steps up the courtyard and back into the mansion. The stillness of the air made the hair on her arms stand on end. It was one thing to have had Barry and Richard by her side. But now…she wondered if they were even alive. She should head back to the guardhouse now to regroup—
But she couldn't forget Enrico's dying words.
Umbrella set us up.
She didn't know much about the Umbrella Corporation other that they were one of the biggest pharmaceutical corporations in the county and they were the main sources of income for Raccoon City. Hell, they even have 'Home of the Umbrella Corporation' plastered on the Welcome to Raccoon City sign—something that had always made Jill cringe a little. Sure, she knew corporations had some shady business practices but this…this was evil.
Jill opened the door to the mansion, the scent of rotting flesh crashing over her like a tidal wave. She took a deep breath and stepped in. The change from the tepid summer night air to the air-conditioned house was so rabid that she almost felt lightheaded. Though, she couldn't help but sigh as the sweat cooled on her brow. It was always a welcoming feeling when she was a kid. Like someone was there for her to wipe her stress away.
The door creaked as she shut it behind her. The corridor was quiet, undisturbed since she last left it. Jill walked a few steps forward, rounding the corner when—
The door behind her creaked open, followed by the clicking of something tapping the wood floor. Something like a talon.
Jill felt her body run cold.
A hulking figure stood in the shadow of the corridor. Jill remained still, her mind trying to process what she was seeing. It was one of the reptilian creatures from the courtyard.
The creature's beady white eyes fell on her. With that, it leaned back its slumped form, extended its massive arms, and shrieked. Jill raised her shotgun and fired. The buckshot hit it squarely in the chest. It staggered, a few drops of blood falling from where the bullets hit flesh instead of scale. It screamed again and bent its knees to leap once again. Jill pumped her shotgun once again, took aim at the head, and fired. The creature's jaw flew off, spraying dark blood over the wood floor. It thrashed about as it made a gurgled sound—perhaps trying to shriek. But then, finally, it slumped forward twitching. Once the pool of blood beneath it was halfway down the corridor, the creature grew still.
The encounter couldn't have lasted more than half of a minute. Yet, Jill's chest heaved to and fro and her body felt as though she had just run a marathon. The copper smell of blood began to overcome the corridor's usual scent of decaying flesh. Jill quickly turned away, heading out of the corridor before she released what little contents in her stomach onto the floor.
As Jill traversed the rest of the house in search of the library, she found that more of those creatures had found their way into the mansion. Most times she would attempt to sneak around them or find an alternate route, letting her muscle memory of her initial trip through the mansion be her guide. She had a few altercations, though she found that aiming for the head usually did the trick.
The general rule of thumb, she thought sardonically. When something won't go down, aim for the head.
Yet, by the time she did find the library tucked away in the corridor of the west wing, her remaining shotgun shells were cut by half. Luckily, though, there wasn't anything awaiting her past the double doors that served as an entrance. It wasn't a particularly large room. Several bookcases took up the center of the room, while several others lined the wall behind it. An iron ladder stood in front of the entrance, leading to a corridor a floor above.
Jill took a few steps across the checkered floor. Besides a few chairs, the room was otherwise bare. It was just an ordinary Library. Jill tightened her jaw. Did Enrico really say 'Library'? Had it been him frantically saying anything as he was dying. Had she misheard? Either had been a viable option. It had happened more times than she could count when she was overseas. Some soldier, a kid who wanted to do his mama and country proud, would get blown apart and in their dazed last moment say anything—maybe hoping that saying such a word would help them cling to life.
She tightened her jaw and pushed the thought away.
Jill walked around the central bookcase, inspecting the ones that lined the walls and pushing them lightly. Maybe there was a hidden room behind one of them, like in those old Vincent Price movies. Though, no matter how hard she pushed or what books she took out of the case, it remained firm. And with that, came the red-hot grain of frustration that grew in her chest.
What was she supposed to find? Where was she even supposed to start?
Jill spotted the ladder again. It was the only lead she had after all. She rounded on the ladder and grabbed the cold steel in her hands. It wasn't tall, about half the size the one she had climbed up from the underground. Still, by the time she had reached the top, her thigh ached. Jill leaned against the wall, taking a moment for the pain to subside.
The corridor turned to the right, lined by windows that let in the moonlight. Other than that, nothing else was relatively noteworthy. Jill took a step forward—
Something black and the size of a tree trunk burst through the window at the end of the hall. Then, it began to slither toward Jill. Jill's heart felt like a stone in the middle of her chest. She reached for the ladder, but she saw the snake was approaching too fast. She wouldn't make it down in time before it was on her—
Jill jumped.
She cried out as she landed, her thigh erupted into a volcano of pain. Jill clenched her teeth, the pain so extreme that her vision blacked over for a moment. When she came to, she was relieved to find that the shotgun was still firmly within her grim. She turned in time to see the snake drop from the second floor and hit the landing with a sickening wet sound. Jill staggered up as the rest of the creature's body fell from above and coiled behind it. Then it raised its narrow head, its black, emotionless eyes on her. It opened its mouth wide, and its foot massive fangs retracted.
Jill aimed the shotgun at the snake's fleshy underbelly and fired. The round blew a chunk off it, yet the giant only hissed and slithered toward her. She turned back toward the entrance, but the snake must have noticed this, for it darted around the room. Jill could have made the door, but as soon as she touched the doorknob, it would have her in its jaws.
Jill backed away as its massive head rounded on her, standing between her and the exit. Its tail whipped around the room to quickly coil behind it. At the very least, she could use the central bookcase to keep her from running out of room. Though, before she could make any further moves, the giant snake rushed forward. Jill quickly sidestepped into the shade of the balcony above. Yet, just as she dodged the snake's first attack, it whipped its massive head about once more and darted toward her once more. Its open maw filled Jill's vision. For a moment, the world slowed to a crawl. Jill's limbs wouldn't move, almost as if cement coursed through her veins.
Move damn it, she screamed at herself. Then, with what felt like the effort of moving a truck with her bare hands, Jill leaped to the right. Her shoulder collided painfully with the side of the central bookcase while she felt the thick, wet scales of the creature's body rub against her to the right.
The library rocked from the cacophony that immediately proceeded. Bits of wood stabbed Jill in the back. She glanced over her shoulder, an act that felt like it took years to accomplish. The snake had rammed into one of the bookcases that lined the walls, however, instead of meeting wall, the bookcase broke in half to reveal a portion of a room hidden behind.
Despite being pinned between a bookcase the end of the serpent, Jill couldn't help but grin. Guess the old movies were right about one thing. Though, as the snake moved its head back and began slithering back around the central bookcase, Jill noticed something glittering within the wreckage. Hanging out of a weapons cabinet—it's metal door hanging open now and heavily dented—was what looked like a silver weapon as long as he shotgun. A chamber bulged out of the weapon's middle, where it could hold six rounds.
Jill's grin grew wider. She had only fired one before when she was in Iraq. But that raw power she felt while wielding it—defiantly enough to tear a giant snake apart.
It was a grenade launcher.
Just as the serpent's tale passed enough to release her, Jill rushed forward. Her movements felt too slow, though, and stumbling over the debris and fallen books didn't help her situation. She could swear she heard the snake rounding the corner again—it's massive body sliding against the floorboards. But, she couldn't look behind. Couldn't risk the chance to make her hesitate. She stumbled, flailing her arms to find stability.
Her hand landed on the weapon. Jill staggered up, dropping the shotgun and scooping up the grenade launcher. Its weight was comforting in Jill's hands. She opened the chamber. Three explosive rounds were already loaded. She snapped it shut...just as a shadow fell over her.
The serpent lifted its head as it rounded the central bookcase once again. It opened its mouth, its fangs dripping with venom. Jill's thigh ached at the sight. It was either now or never. There was no escape. So, Jill raised the weapon, aimed right into the snake's gaping mouth, and fired.
The round went into the creature's mouth and disappeared down the fleshy passage of its throat. The creature jerked its head back and forth as though knowing that something was wrong. For a split something, nothing happened. Jill's brow furrowed. Had the grenade been a dud?
Jill was thrown back by the force of the explosion, crashing into the cabinet and landing upon the fallen books. A monstrous cry came from the creature as pieces of flesh pelted Jill. She looked up to find the snake was wreathing to and fro on the ground. It looked shorter than it had moments before. Then Jill realized that the grenade had blown the creature in half, its two halves attached by only a ragged strand of flesh.
Jill watched the creature in its death throes, the grenade launcher still aimed and readied. After a few more minutes, the serpent finally lay still. Her legs fell out from under her. Swear poured down her face and she rested her head on the metal cabinet as she struggled to regain breath. Jill closed her eyes, weariness sweeping over her. No, she couldn't sleep. Not now. Not until I'm dead, Jill thought.
She turned her head and finally opened her eyes. The secret room extended behind the other two bookcases, ending in a chair, a table and at least six computer monitors mounted on the wall. Five of the six displayed different parts of the mansion and the residence's quarters, while the fifth in the center bottom, showed only a black screen with a silver log-in display.
Jill pulled herself up and limped over to the console. She scanned each of the security feedback. One, in particular made, her stomach twist—it showed the room where she had gotten the shotgun mounted on the wall. Someone had been watching them all night. Several pieces of paper and a manila envelope lay next to the computer's keyboard. One seemed to be a list of usernames and passwords. The second was a letter. There was no logo or embellishments to the letter, only typed message. Jill picked the paper up and read:
TOP SECRET JULY 22, 1998 2:13
TO THE HEAD OF THE SECURITY DEPARTMENT
"X-day" is approaching. Complete the following orders within the week.
1. Lure the members of S.T.A.R.S. into the lab and have them fight with the B.O.W in order to obtain data of actual battle.
2. Collect two embryos per B.O.W. type, and files relating thereof, making sure to include all species except for Tyrant.
3. Destroy the Arklay Lab including all researchers and lab animals in a manner which will seem accidental.
S. Atkins
Jill had to read the letter three times.
Lure the members of S.T.A.R.S. Umbrella set us up.
Everything was right before her. The reason for everything that had happened that horrible night. Yet, as her trembling hand reached for the folder, a grip seemed to tighten around her stomach. She gently opened in. Within were a series of papers paper-clipped with photos—photos of the monsters she had seen that night. There was a photo of the dogs, with glossy meat and bone exposed, attached to a document titled 'Cerberus'. Jill flipped the page. This one was for the retile creatures, the document titled 'Hunter.' Jill's heart felt like a stone in her chest as she flipped through the remainder of the documents. Then, she reached the final photo and her body felt suddenly cold.
It was a photo of a team of researchers, all of which in white lab coats. Yet, there was one of the researchers that Jill's eyes locked onto. One with slicked back blonde hair and who wore a pair of sunglasses.
Albert Wesker.