Chapter Nineteen: Tyrant
"You gotta love Barry," Wesker said, watching Barry leave."He must really be afraid of Umbrella."
Jill's hands tightened into fists. She watched her own expression twist into a grimace within the captain's sunglasses.
"You and Umbrella took his family, you bastard!" Jill replied in a low voice. Wesker's grin only broadened. Jill's vision blackened as the hilt of his handgun collided with the side of her face. Her knees buckled, and before Jill could catch herself, she fell to the cold, concrete floor.
"Umbrella?" Wesker said. "Yes, they did order me to come here—preserve research, collect combat data against real flesh-and-blood combatants, destroy the evidence. A covert operation in which I would be the only survivor. Tragic really. Though my time with Umbrella, I'm afraid, is at its end." Wesker crotched down so that Jill could look directly into is sunglasses once again. He raised the floppy disk and envelope in his hand. "Do you know what this is? Over twenty years of research into the world's deadliest virus. Data records of the most powerful biological weapons ever created. Tell me, Valentine—how much do you think this is worth?" Wesker looked at the files in his hand, his smile fading. "The power to wipe out civilizations in hours, and nations will be clawing for it. Humanity…such a vile species." Wesker stood and turned back toward the computer, but kept his weapon trained on Jill.
"You're insane," Jill replied softly. Wesker must not have heard her, or if he did, took no notice.
"As for Barry," Wesker continued. "Well, I used some carrots and sticks to cow him, but it had nothing to do with Umbrella. I just used Barry for my personal interests. Though both you and Barry seem to think I was following Umbrella's orders."
"What? What are you planning?!"
Wesker tapped a few buttons on the computer. The large cylinder tank next to the computer terminal lit up from within.
"I guess it's time for show and tell," he said.
Jill turned her attention to the illuminated tank. What she saw made her gasp.
The creature stood nearly the length of the tube—at least seven feet tall. The creature inside was humanoid, rippling with muscle, but Jill couldn't call it exactly 'human.' A red tumor the size of a watermelon pulsed on the left side of its chest. It took a moment to realized that the tumor was the creature's engorged heart. Its face was hairless and skeletal—its eyes sunken in and its lipless teeth exposed. Its left arm looked charred and flayed, ending in a swollen hand in which pointed bone protruded from the tip of each finger.
"It's magnificent," Wesker said, staring up at the sleeping abomination. "The pursuit of the ultimate life form—Tyrant."
"For the sake of this "thing," Jill replied, her voice coming out in a wheeze. How could he be so casually throw away the lives of his team members for this monster? Again, the heat of rage flared within her. Wesker turned back to her.
"Of course, I wouldn't expect you to understand," Wesker said. "You know I hate goodbyes."
Wesker trained his gun on Jill. This time, it wasn't an idol aim to keep Jill from retaliating. This time, the move was quick and decisive. An intent to shoot. Time slowed to a crawl. Jill glanced down at her shotgun, but she knew that Wesker would have fired by the time she reached it. The barrel of the Samurai Edge filled her vision.
Gunfire filled the room. Jill winced, ears ringing. Yet, she felt no pain. Instead, Wesker cried out as he reeled to the floor. A dime-sized hole appeared in the shoulder of his blue fatigues. Jill was still trying to put together the pieces of what happened when a figure ran to her side. She glanced over to find—
"Barry!"
Barry walked up beside her, his gaze focused on Wesker. He nodded in response, though he couldn't bring himself to look at her. He stood there for a moment, his weapon trained on Wesker who was grasping at the console. Barry opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find the right words to say. Finally, he settled for two.
"Forgive me."
"No, you're not to blame," Jill replied. "It's Umbrella and Wesker."
Barry finally glanced over at her. Jill could see the lines etched on his face and the heavy look in his eyes. Though he stood over Jill and his frame was twice her size, a sense of frailty swept over him, as though he could crumble at any moment.
"Even if it meant my family,' he replied. "I couldn't bear turning my back on my friends again."
Movement out of Jill's peripheral made her glance at Wesker. He clung to the computer console, typing the keyboard rapidly.
"Shit!" Barry said. He rushed forward and yanked him off, but it was too late. The sound of rushing water filled the room as the cylindrical tank emptied within seconds. Wesker scrambled to his feet, watching as the creature—the Tyrant—opened its pale, blank eyes. The captain laughed, reaching out toward the tank. The monster looked down upon him, placing its normal, right hand on the glass.
It reminded Jill of some twisted, inverted rendition of Michelangelo's Creation of Adam.
Tyrant raised its other mutated hand. In one swift movement, the claw broke through the glass and impaled Wesker. The glass shattered as Tyrant dragged its claw up. Wesker convulsed, blood gushing from his mouth. Papers floated out of the folder in his hand. Tyrant stepped out of its capsule. He brought the dying man up to its face, cocking its head like a dog who found a new toy. Jill took a step back and Barry stood frozen, staring at the monster. Tyrant's vision snapped upon them and it flung its claw. Wesker flew across the room and collided with the machinery on the other end.
"CLASS A BIOHAZARD BREACH DETECTED," a female voice filled the room, followed by a blaring siren. Tyrant looked up, as though expecting to find a fourth person hanging from the ceiling. "LABORATORY B SELF-DESTRUCT INITIATED. TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES UNTIL DETENTION."
Jill snatched up her shotgun and pumped it. Barry turned toward her, reached into his pocket, and handed her a key.
"Jill, run. Free Chris and Rebecca," Barry said. Tyrant turned back to Barry, taking a sluggish step toward him.
"I'm not leaving you—" Jill said, but Barry had already turned back toward the approaching monster.
"You want a piece of me?" Barry cried out, raising his magnum and firing two shots into the creature's chest. Bullets that would have stopped a bodybuilder in their tracks didn't so much as stagger Tyrant. The creature swiped at Barry with the back of its clawed hand. Barry's eyes widened and he tried to dodge the blow. The strike caught him in the ribs, sending Barry sprawling toward the machinery behind him. A loud CRACK echoed through the room and Barry tumbled to the floor, where he lay unmoving.
"No! Barry!" Jill said, taking a step toward him. Tyrant turned its attention on her and she froze. It approached her in its sleepy, slow steps—flexing its long, pointed fingers. Jill stepped back with each step toward her it took. With the lengths of its long strides, if she didn't pick up the pace, it would still be upon her in a couple of steps. Jill aimed her shotgun at the beating tumor on the creature's chest. "You viral cultured freak!"
The shotgun bucked into her shoulder so hard it made Jill grit her teeth. She fired two rounds into Tyrant. Pale flesh blew apart, but nothing like it should. The creature should be nearly blown apart, but its wounds looked as though it were inflicted by a low powered handgun. Tyrant's stride faltered. It went to take another step, but its legs fell out from under it. It tumbled to the ground, face first, and didn't move.
Jill kept her weapon aimed at the felled monster. The ultimate bioweapon...and it had been dropped with three rounds. It had been too easy...
Barry moaned, pushing himself up laboriously. Jill edged around the downed behemoth, expecting it to rise or lash out at any moment. Once she was sure she was free from any attack, Jill darted past. She kneeled before Barry, holding him upright.
"You're alright!" Jill said, relieved.
"Alright is an overstatement," Barry grunted, followed by a gruff groan. "I was...clumsy."
"TWENTY MINUTES UNTIL DETENTION," the cool female voice reminded them from some hidden speaker.
"Come on," Jill said, wrapping Barry's arm around her neck.
Barry felt himself going in and out of consciousness. The pain in his side coursed through his body. Sinking into that comforting darkness, to escape the pain even for a few minutes, would be a blessing.
"Come on, Barry," Jill urged him on, pulling him back to consciousness. "We're almost there."
She was a strong girl, but he was also a big guy. He could feel her legs buckling with each step. They had exited the elevator and he thought they went through a door or two. Barry couldn't be for sure. They all looked the same.
We aren't going to make it, he kept thinking to himself. Not with her dragging him along like this.
"Wait!" Barry said, pulling away. It took Jill off guard and he easily slipped from her grip. Barry collided with the wall. He cried out as shockwaves of pain coursing from his afflicted side. His vision threatened to blacken and send him into the depths of unconsciousness once again. Barry slid down to the ground as the woman's voice told them they had fifteen minutes before their butts were sent into orbit. All he was doing was slowing Jill down.
"Come on, Barry," Jill said. "You can rest when we're clear of this place."
Barry smiled. He tasted something metallic in his mouth.
"Go on," Barry said. "I'll catch up. I just need a minute."
"I told you, I'm not leaving you—"
"Yes, you are," Barry replied, trying to make his voice as stern as possible. Like how he used to talk to Polly and Moria when they had done something bad. Though, he wouldn't be able to keep that steel up for too long. They would look up at him with those wide eyes and he would feel himself instantly melt. His heart ached. He wasn't going to ever see them again. "Just go and free Chris and Rebecca. I promise I'll be right behind you."
Jill stood over him, looking between him and down the hall. Leave girl, Barry kept thinking. Finally, Jill sighed, her brows furrowed.
Weariness swept over him like a wave.
"Just go," he muttered.
With the last of his strength, he reached into his vest, pulling out that faded photograph. Kathy, Moria, and Polly stared back at him. His girls. Back when all this was just a bad dream. Back when he was just a father, spending the day at the park with his family.
Barry smiled as he closed his eyes, the images of his girls the last thing he thought of before he slipped off.