"I am so burning these clothes."
"Considering we're literally knee-deep in shit, I might as well burn mine too."
Sliding down into sewer water was not something either of the two thought they would ever do yet here they are. Walking knee-deep in sewer water filled with shit, trash and rat piss.
Jill and Sara trekked through the sewer and followed the path forward. Apparently, the sewer had better security systems than anything they've seen from topside but why beef up security down here? What the hell was in this sewer that was so important that they needed to put up a high tech security system?
Whatever the answer was, they'll have to find out later because a giant... thing just crawled out of a tunnel and opened it's massive mouth before rushing towards them. A zombie rose from underneath the sewer water in front of the ugly fucker and the monster swallowed the zombie whole.
"What the fuck is that thing!?"
"Just shoot it!"
Following the S.T.A.R.S operative's command, Sara aimed her rifle and Jill did the same for her shotgun before the two women opened fire. Despite hitting it with their bullets, the monster continued towards them and causing them to create some distance as it drew closer.
The monster opened it's mouth just as Jill pulled the trigger before reloading. The shots struck the creature's open mouth and it caused it to stagger back. Jill saw this and figured out what to do to kill this thing before turning ger head towards Sara.
"Shoot it when it's mouth is open!"
"Got it."
Sara reloaded her weapon before the two waited for the thing to open it's mouth. Then Sara had an idea. Taking out one of her grenades, she pulled the pin and waited for the opportunity to present itself. The creature walked closer and opened it's mouth once more before rushing towards the U.B.C.S Medic who then proceeded to throw the grenade inside the creature's mouth before jumping back. Five seconds later, the grenade exploded, killing the creature and leaving behind only it's legs. Sara let out a sigh before the two walked over to it.
"Hey, Valentine. You think this is what happens when you flush down a dead fish in the toilet?"
Jill let out a snort before reloading her shotgun but frowned upon realizing she only had four shotgun shells left. Shaking her head, the two made their way further down the path. Sara sneered in disgust and wished she had a gas mask right about now as the sewer's stench was starting to hang onto her nose now. The two reached the end of the path and climbed up the ladder that led to a large room similar tobthe Manager's Office.
There was a desk next to the door and Jill walked over to it before grabbing the clipboard that caught her eye.
While Jill read the reports, Sara found herself grinning widely as she picked up the grenade launcher, as well as the notice that came with it. Holding the launcher in her right hand, she began reading the notice under her breath.
"Thank you for purchasing the- " Sara narrowed her eyes as the area where the name of the launcher was torn off... Weird "Something, something, Grenade Launcher. We've made special adjustments to this piece to ensure compatibility with a variety of ammunition types. Blah, blah, blah. Chamber needs to be cycled manually between shots. Blah, blah, blah."
She flipped the paper and saw a handwritten note on the back before reading it.
"Huh. This thing can fire Flame Rounds, Explosive Rounds, Acidic Rounds and... Mine Rounds? Cool."
Sara turned towards Jill and held up the Grenade Launcher.
"Hey, Valentine. You want this?"
Jill finished reading the Research Assistant's Logs and looked to Sara before her eyes widened a bit at what the U.B.C.S merc held.
"Where did you- " Jill shook her head "Nevermind."
She unslung her shotgun and threw it at Sara who caught it with her other hand before the woman threw the Grenade Launcher at Jill. The S.T.A.R.S operative familiarized herself with the new weapon, finding that it already had two Flame Rounds loaded, before placing the sling around her and facing Sara.
"That thing we just killed. It's called a Hunter Gamma. Some freak experiment that was supposed to be destroyed but the scientist who made them and his assistants smuggled the ones they could save down here before it was destroyed. They bribed the sewer management and let those things run around the sewers."
"That's... disturbing." Sara slung the shotgun before equipping her Assault Rifle "Hard to believe those things were running around underneath the city. Who made these fucking things?"
"You can thank your corporate overlords for that." Jill snarked much to the other's confusion.
Wordlessly, she handed the Research Assistant's Log to Sara who read all of it before grimacing at the part about combat potential after it swallowed a poor bastard whole and the mention about Umbrella's European branch. Okay that definitely spelled trouble. What the fuck was Umbrella doing? Shaking her head, she tossed the Log aside and looked at Jill.
"From the looks of it, there are more of those things down here. God-fucking-damnit." Sara cursed "I am so not looking forward to fighting more of those freaks."
"On that, we can agree. But I don't think we have much of a choice in that matter."
Jill rolled her shoulders before unholstering her G19 and checked how many bullets she had left on the mag. Even though she has her Samurai Edge, she's holding onto it as a backup gun in case her primary side arm runs out. She nodded to Sara and without another word, the two left the room and continued on their way to find that battery pack. Hopefully the lab they saw on the map has one or else they're never getting out of this shithole.
~Line Break~
"Jill, come in? Jill? Damnit."
Carlos released the radio with a frustrated sigh. It's been thirty minutes after Jill and Sara distracted the monster which was totally reckless in his opinion. Though if their roles were reversed, he probably would've done the same but still. The rugged U.B.C.S operative shook his head and made his way over to Alan who was speaking with Tyrell. Maintenance was finished but they were still waiting for Jill and Sara.
"Still no response I see."
Carlos rolled his eyes as he looked over to Nicholai who was leaning back on the subway car with his arms crossed.
"Didn't I tell you? She would get you killed. Parker is most likely dead with her. And now we're wasting our time waiting for a dead woman."
"She's not dead."
"Of course she is. Both of them are." Nicholai scoffed at Carlos before turning away to enter the subway car "We should've left the moment the train was ready."
Carlos glared at the man's retreating back before making his way over to Alan and Tyrell who watched the short confrontation silently.
"Don't listen to him, man." Tyrell patted him in the shoulder "You know he likes to get a rise out of everybody."
"From what I've seen, Sara was right." Alan added "The guy's an asshole."
"Yeah." Carlos chuckled.
The three laughed before Alan decided to take a seat on one of the ammo crates. Reaching into one of the pouches on his vest, he pulled out a Walkman before pressing play but lowering the volume enough so only the three of them can hear.
"Seriously?" Tyrell asked with an amused chuckle.
"What?" Alan smirked "Can't listen to some music while we wait?"
The three men chuckled. At least this lightened the mood somewhat. But in the back of his mind, Carlos kept thinking about how Jill and Sara were doing. Did they escape the monster? If so, then where the hell were they?
They jumped to their feet when they heard something crash against the shutter topside and the trio quickly ran up the stairs to see what it was. Once there, they saw the dozens and dozens of infected banging at the shutter. The three men quickly raised their weapons and opened fire without a word. The sounds of gunfire, bullets hitting flesh, shell casings hitting the floor and the groans and moans of the infected echoed throughout the empty station as the three men cleared out the horde.
"Where the hell did they come from!?"
Alan thought back to the big guy and how he got into the station. If he had to guess, it probably destroyed the entance to the station and that allowed the infected to get through. But as long as this shutter holds, it can keep the infected back while they shoot.
"That monster must've destroyed the shutter above us." Alan replied as he reloaded his weapon before firing at the infected once more "Explains how the infected got in."
Slowly, the infected dwindled in numbers until the hallway was filled with nothing more than dead bodies. Tyrell pressed the button on the shutter's controls to open it before the other two stepped out and double checked if the infected were dead-dead. Shooting them in the head and waited whether the body would move or not.
~Line Break~
"Jesus. Think this Carlisle guy got eaten by those things?"
"I don't wanna think about it."
"Yeah. Probably for the best."
Jill and Sara found the battery pack they needed in the lab but also found a letter regarding the Hunter Gammas. She was right when she said to shoot it when it's mouth is open. The letter confirmed this as well as revealing the Hunter Gammas' weakness to dry air or heat. Good thing that Grenade Launcher had Flame Rounds loaded in it.
"We have we need." Jill said as Sara looked around the room. Trying to find ammo but to no avail "Let's get outta here."
"Yeah. Let's bounce."
Sara walked over to the door and opened just in time as the infected behind the door lunged. The U.B.C.S Medic kept it back and Jill aimed her pistol at it but couldn't get a clear shot without accidentally shooting Sara. Said mercenary risked taking out her knife and jammed it in the infected's eye socket before pushing it away and staggered back. Jill didn't waste a second and pulled the trigger once she got a clear shot.
Firing one round to it's head before the infected fell backwards and into the sewer water below. The S.T.A.R.S operative was quickly joined by the mercenary and the two made their way over to the ledge and looked down to see if the zombie was getting up anytime soon.
Jill saw the rusty can by her feet and kicked it off the ledge right into the zombie's head. They waited but seeing as it wasn't moving, the two dropped down and Sara retrieved her knife before sheathing it then gave the zombie a quick kick to the head. Jill raised a brow and Sara shrugged.
"I'm not taking chances."
The two made their way back to where the secured door was but along the way, the Hunter Gammas were popping up and they had to fight their way back to the door.
"Fuck! These guys again!?"
Sara quickly aimed her rifle and opened fire once the Gamma closest to them opened it's mouth to attack. Meanwhile, Jill equipped the Grenade Launcher and aimed at the one behind it before pulling the trigger. The Flame Round shot through the air and went right inside the Gamma's mouth as it opened it's jaws. The round exploded and the Gamma burned from the inside out. Flames spewed from it's ginormous mouth before it fell to the ground, writhing in pain until it stilled.
The mercenary fired short controlled bursts at the other Gamma before switching to her side arm after her rifle ran empty. Sara quickly jumped back at the last second as the Hunter Gamma opened it's jaws and lunged. Time seemed to slow around her and Sara managed to fire off five shots in quick succession before taking out the shotgun and pulling the trigger. That proved to be the killing blow as the Hunter Gamma staggered back before falling dead.
Sara sighed before rising to her feet and reloaded her rifle. She spent a quarter of her ammo in this place and it fucking sucked. This sewer sucked. This whole fucking city sucked! Shaking her head, Sara followed after Jill as the two continued on to their trek back to the security door. They climbed up a ladder and took a half spiral staircase that lead to a locked door and another security door.
Jill place the battery pack on the slot and the door opened, revealing a path that lead to the otherside of the locked door. Something dripped on her shoulder and Jill heard a growl above her before rolling forward just as a Hunter Gamma dropped from the pipes above her. The S.T.A.R.S operative quickly aimed her pistol at the creature and opened fire. Sara shot the Hunter Gamma on the back to gain it's attention but it was solely focused on Jill. Thinking quickly, the U.B.C.S mercenary took one of her grenades off her vest and threw it at Jill.
"Heads up!"
Jill caught the grenade and quickly pulled the pin before throwing it inside the Gamma's mouth. She rolled out of the way as the grenade did it's job and exploded, taking the Gamma with it. Jill let out a sigh of relief before Sara joined her.
"You okay?"
"I'm alright. Thanks for the grenade."
"No problem."
While the S.T.A.R.S operative unlocked the locked door and retrieved the battery pack, Sara made her way over to the Security Room and found that it too needed a battery pack to open the door.
"Apparently, battery packs are the equivalent of keys in this place." She muttered to herself before Jill placed the battery pack into the slot.
Once inside, they found a hip pouch for Jill, some pistol ammo and Flame Rounds. Sadly, no shotgun shells. After making sure there was nothing left for them to scavenge, the two proceeded to leave the Security Room and grabbed the battery pack before making their way back to the first security door. All this just so they can get out of a sewer? At least with the door open they won't have to worry about anymore of those Hunter Gammas. When they reached the top of the stairs, Jill took out her handheld radio and tried to call Carlos.
"Carlos, come in. Can you hear me now?"
"Jill! Oh, thank God. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine too. Thanks for asking." Sara joked.
The corner of Jill's lips twitched before responding.
"Yeah, we're alive. We lost him."
"Great. The subway's ready to go. We'll leave as soon as you two make it back."
Jill and Sara climbed up the ladder that would lead them out of the sewers. Good riddance. Just as they were about to reach the top, a massive hand grabbed Jill by the face and pulled her up from the ladder.
"Jill!"
Sara climbed faster and got up off the hole to see the monster throw Jill to the ground. This time, however, the thing had a something attached to it's back and was carrying some sort of weapon. It didn't seem to care that Sara was close by and the U.B.C.S Medic quickly ran to Jill's side and helped her up.
Flames then spewed out of the monster's weapon, burning an infected was unfortunate enough to be standing right in front of the monster's weapon.
"Are you fucking serious!?"
"S.T.A.R.S."
Jill and Sara turned tail and ran towards the building with a half closed shutter. Feeling the heat of the flames as the monster fired it's flamethrower at them. Jill rolled underneath the shutter and Sara followed closely behind but not before taking a Flash Grenade off her vest and throwing it by the feet then closing the shutter.
"It can use weapons now?"
"I don't wanna think about what else it can use."
The two ran up the escalator to the second floor where they saw three infected total. One was blocking the doorway and two were on the ground eating up a corpse. Sara handed the shotgun back to Jill who ran up to the zombie blocking the door and fired the shotgun pointblank at it's head which exploded in a cloud of blood and brain matter.
Meanwhile, Sara took care of the other two infected by stomping her boot on the back of the one closer to her and shooting the second one multiple times in the head before aiming her rifle on the infected she was standing on and pulled the trigger. Once she was sure it was dead, Sara followed after Jill and the two ran up the staircase to the third floor.
The shutter door below was kicked open by the monster who then started burning everything on the ground floor.
"That thing's gonna burn the whole place down." Sara realized.
"We gotta get out of here fast."
Not looking back, the two quickly ran up the flight of stairs and hopefully find a way out of this building. They reached the third floor but found that a section of the floor was missing. Thinking quickly, Jill looked around them and saw several wooden planks on the side. She made her way over and quickly dropped the wooden planks and made a bridge for them to cross to the other side.
They heard the loud thuds of the monster's footsteps closing in behind them and the two quickly crossed the makeshift bridge and ran towards the ladder on the end of the hall. Jill was the first to climb up and Sara followed but stopped when she looked back and saw the monster menacingly walk around the corner and sent a torrent of flames towards her.
Sara climbed faster and felt the flames lick her boots but Jill grabbed her by the vest and pulled her to safety. Nodding her thanks, the two quickly ran up the stairs that led them to the fourth floor. A tentacle shot up and wrapped around a pillar before the monster pulled itself up to their floor and pointed it's flamethrower at them. The two quickly ran for the scaffolding outside of the building and made their way up to the roof. It was the only way they could go.
They climbed up a series of scaffolding to escape the flames and nearly fell to their doom until they reached the rooftop. Jill and Sara jumped off the scaffolding and landed on the roof to see some boxes here and there as well as some generators. A second later, the monster broke through the rooftop by jumping from the floor below and landing right in front of them in a crouch with it's back facing them.It slowly stood up and turned around to face them before pointing it's flamethrower pointing at them.
"S.T.A.R.S."
The monster fired it's weapon and the two women split up as the wave of flames flew towards them. Jill rolled to the left and Sara ducked to the right to avoid the getting burnt into a crisp. The monster then turned it's attention to the former and began chasing after Jill while sending a torrent of flames at the S.T.A.R.S operative. Seeing that it was distracted, Sara reloaded her rifle and began shooting what she assumed to be the fuel tank on it's back.
"Keep it distracted! I'll shoot the fuel tank."
"Got it. Hey, ugly! Over he- shit!"
Jill rolled back as the monster sent a wave of flames towards her. Her eyes then found the generator next to the monster and fired her pistol at it. The generator exploded and sent a massive shock to the monster that stunned it.
"Shoot it now!"
Sara didn't need to be told twice and unloaded a whole mag on the fuel tank before grabbing a new mag. Rather than focus on Jill, the monster turned around and fired it's weapon at Sara who ducked behind cover but accidentally dropped her fresh mag in the process. Taking out a Flash Grenade, Sara pulled the pin and threw it over her cover.
"Fuck you!"
The Flash Grenade managed to stun the monster and Jill quickly aimed both her G19 and Samurai Edge at the fuel tank and started shooting it. She managed to damage enough of the fuel tank that flames were spewing out if it but the creature vented the weapon before facing Jill and sending a wave of flames her way while also moving in to close the distance. Sara, who had retrieved her fallen mag and loaded it into the rifle, popped out of cover and began shooting the fuel tank once more.
Unfortunately, she was unaware of the infected sneaking up behind her until it grabbed her by the shoulders. Before it could clamp it's jaws on her neck and take a chunk out of it, Sara elbowed the infected's abdomen with all her might twice before it let her go and the U.B.C.S Medic fired her weapon at the infected's head. Two more were limping their way towards her and Sara emptied her mag on the one closest to her before switching to her side arm and shooting the third infected in the head.
Jill was having the same problem. Two zombies were attacking her and while the monster kept chasing after Jill. The S.T.A.R.S operative rolled underneath the infected's arm as it tried to grab her before quickly aiming her dual pistols at the zombie and shooting them alternatively. Getting four direct hits to the head with each bullet from the each pistol. Jill jumped to her feet and holstered her pistols before taking out the Grenade Launcher. She fired one right into the second zombie before shooting the monster.
Much to her shock, the monster dodged the Flame Round and continued it's pursuit of Jill. She fired another round and received the same result.
Bullets struck the side of the monster's head and Jill looked to see Sara shooting it while slowly walking towards her. The U.B.C.S merc stopped as the monster approached her. Sara eyed the generator next to the monster and shot it. The torrents of electricity stunned the big guy and Jill moved up behind it with shotgun in hand. Once she was close enough, Jill fired the weapon on the fuel tank, causing it to explode and catching the monster on fire. It dropped one knee and let go of it's weapon, giving the two women the perfect opportunity to unload their bullets on the damn thing.
"Why won't you die already!?"
The monster didn't reply to Sara but it did grab the destroyed weapon and slowly rose to it's feet before using it as a club.
"Are you serious? It's still kicking!?"
Jill jumped back as the monster slammed it's burning weapon on the ground right where Jill was standing. The S.T.A.R.S operative kept firing her shotgun at it while Sara used the last of her rifle ammo shooting it in the head. When her gun ran empty, she switched to her side arm but spotted an infected behind Jill.
"Valentine, behind you!"
Jill looked over her shoulder and rolled to the side just as the monster charged to stab her with the weapon. Instead it caught the zombie and lifted it up high before throwing the corpse towards Sara. The zombie hit the mercenary full force, pinning her to the ground and sending her into a daze.
Her vision was swimming as she saw the monster pursue Jill before hearing the zombie on top of her groan. Shakily, Sara retrieved her gun and pointed it on the infected's temple before pulling the trigger. This resulted in blood and brain matter splattering her face. Good thing her mouth wasn't open.
Sara pushed the corpse off of her and slowly got to her feet. Aiming the G18 at the monster's back, she fired the weapon but it simply didn't care. Intent on chasing after Jill.
"Persistent motherfucker."
Limping towards them, Sara switched her rate-of-fire from semi auto to three-round burst before aiming at the back of the monster's head and pulled the trigger. Three bullets struck the monster before it slowly looked over it's shoulder at Sara. Menacingly, the monster closed the distance between them and raised it's weapon high in the air to crush Sara who fired her weapon until it clicked empty.
"Fuck."
Before it could bring the weapon down however, Jill fired the Grenade Launcher at the monster's back. The blow from the Explosive Round caused the monster to stagger forward and gave Sara the opportunity to escape. Jill fired another round and forced the monster to it's knees. The S.T.A.R.S operative aimed the launcher to the back of the monster and pulled the trigger one last time. The Explosive Round hit and the monster fell face down on the ground.
"S.T.A.R.S..."
Sara regrouped with Jill but the two didn't have time to relax as the generators that were caught on fire began exploding. Leaving them no other choice, the two ran towards the edge of the roof but stopped at the railing. Sara looked down and saw a lift before looking iver her shoulder then back to Jill.
"Fuck it."
The mercenary jumped over the railing and slide down towards the lift with Jill following close behind. They slammed hard into the lift and caused one of the cables holding it in place to snap. The two were left hanging on the lift that was slowly swaying back and forth. Jill tried to climb up but another cable snapped and the two were sent plummeting to the ground below.
Sara screamed as she landed on her back with Jill landing roughly next to her. Still they had enough adrenaline in their body to roll to the side to avoid getting crushed by the lift as the last cable snapped. It slammed into the ground with a loud crash and the two women stared up at the burning building. Both were breathing heavily and didn't want to move but they still had to get back to the station.
Jill was the first to recover and get up before limping her way towards Sara. She crouched next to the mercenary who held her shoulder in pain.
"It's dislocated." Jill stated after she examined the woman's shoulder.
"No shit, Sherlock." Sara gasped in pain before looking up at Jill "You gotta realign it then get the First-aid Spray on my back pouch. That shit does wonders."
The mercenary slowly sat up with the help of Jill before reaching over at the back of the mercenary but stopped halfway.
"Which pouch?"
"Back pouch?"
"You got ten pouches back here."
"Left cheek."
Jill shook her head and reached for the back pouch on Sara's left cheek before taking out the First-aid Spray. She set it down on the ground next to her before placing her hand on Sara's shoulder.
"On three, ready? One."
Jill suddenly popped the arm back in to place and the mercenary screamed into the night.
"SON OF A FUCKING BITCH!!"
The S.T.A.R.S operative quickly sprayed the area around the mercenary's shoulder and relieved Sara from further pain. The mercenary was breathing heavily before rotating her arm then punched Jill on the shoulder with an accompanying glare.
"You said 'On three', you fucking bitch."
"Hey. I fixed it, didn't I?" Jill replied with a smirk before rising to her feet and spraying herself with the remainder of the First-aid Spray.
Sara simply gave the woman the 'finger' before getting up to her feet. Jill nodded to Sara before taking out her radio.
"Carlos. It's Jill, do you read me?"
"Loud and clear, you alright?" Carlos replied from the radio. One could clearly hear the relief in his tone of voice.
"Yeah... Bastard's dead."
"Good. Fuck 'im. But what the hell were you thinking? Turning yourself into bait. You could've been killed."
"Don't start." Jill growled back "I did what I had to."
"I know." Carlos' voice softened "And... thanks... Anyway. The subway's ready to go. Hurry back."
"See you there."
Jill clipped the radio back to her belt but looked over her shoulder when she heard Sara scoff.
"Didn't even ask about me." Sara muttered before smirking "Sounds like Oliveira's got a little crush on you."
Jill rolled her eyes at that and kept walking.
"Oh don't even start."
"I'm just saying."
"Whatever. He's all yours."
"Pft. Sorry. No one's tying this bitch down yet, Valentine."
Jill shook her head before the two continued on making their way back to the station. They soon found themselves staring at the cars and vehicles blocking the road towards the Police Station. Jill made her way over to the firetruck where there was a ladder they could climb.
The two made their way over to the other side before walking down the road. Jill lead the way until they were in front of Gun Shop Kendo. The S.T.A.R.S operative opened the doors and walked inside. When Sara walked in, she couldn't help but notice the lack of guns in a gun shop or anything really. Every shelf was empty and by the looks of it, it was looted. Considering everything that just happened tonight, she can see why anyone would wanna loot a gun shop.
"What a fucking dump."
"It wasn't always like this." Jill replied "Wonder if Kendo's still around."
"What's so special about this Kendo guy other than the fact he taught you guys how to put replace parts on a gun?"
"He's a great gunsmith. He's the one that made this." Jill held up her Samurai Edge "Standard issue for everyone in S.T.A.R.S. He's also provides weapons for the station. One thing Irons has done right."
"What do you mean?"
"Kendo provides the best guns. You want a good gun that's tailored to your taste, he's your man."
Sara whistled.
"Damn. Wish I'd met the guy."
As if the universe heard her, Robert Kendo himself jumped out of the corner and Sara found herself staring at the barrel of a shotgun.
"Kendo?"
"Jill?"
"Speak of the devil... " Sara muttered before slowly pushing the barrel of the gun away from her face.
"Kendo. You're alright."
Jill lowered her pistol as Kendo lowered his own weapon before looking around the gun shop as if a horde of zombies would just pop up out of the ground.
"Yeah, well, alright's a stretch." Kendo turned towards Sara "Sorry I got a little jumpy there. Heard some voices and thought some looters were back. Didn't know quite what to expect."
"Don't worry about it."
"Look. We're using the subway to get people out of town. You in?"
While Jill and Kendo conversed, Sara took out a cigarette from one of the pouches on her vest along with a lighter. She placed the cigarette between her lips and light it up before taking a drag and exhaling the smoke through her nose. God she needed that. Sara looked back at the other two and noticed Kendo looking at something to his right before giving Jill a shaky smile.
"Look, um... don't worry about me. I'm gonna make some other arrangements. Okay?"
Kendo stuttered out before patting Jill on the shoulder and walked away. Sara walked over to Jill and saw Kendo heading for a door on the end of the room.
"You better." Jill replied "You're the best gunsmith around. Don't do anything stupid."
"Oh. That's- That's your job, right?" Kendo said with a nervous laugh before turning to open the door but stopped and looked over his shoulder "Take care, Jill. And you too miss... "
"Sara."
"You ladies take care of yourselves."
Kendo opened the door and walked inside before quickly shutting the door behind him. Sara puffed out a smoke before looking over at Jill.
"Did that seem suspicious to you?"
"Yeah. He's not... He's acting strange."
Sara hummed before the two walked over to the door. Jill moved to knock but Kendo's voice rang from the other side.
"If you're heading to the station, take that service alley in the front if the shop. Okay? The key's hanging on the wall. Oh. And here's a little something for you Miss Sara."
The door opened up slightly and a pistol slid out before the door closed once more. Sara walked over and picked it up. Examining the gun, she found that it was a Samurai Edge with a blue tinted slide.
"An apology gift for, uh, almost shooting you in the face. I was supposed to give it to Chris as a replacement but he left before I could give it to him. It's yours now. You're gonna need it more than him anyway."
"Thanks, Kendo."
Kendo didn't reply and Sara turned to walk away but heard a faint cough that didn't belong to a man Kendo's age. She looked over her shoulder and listened intently before hearing a faint and hoarse 'Daddy' from the other side of the door.
"It's okay, pumpkin. That's a good girl. Good girl."
Sara didn't wanna hear anymore and briskly walked away. Throwing her the butt of her spent cigarette to the ground before exiting the building. She found Jill about to open the service alley's door but stopped her.
"Jill. Does Kendo have a kid?"
"Yeah. A daughter. Emma. Why do you ask?"
Sara looked over her shoulder before turning back to Jill.
"Look. Kendo gave me this before I left." Sara held up the Samurai Edge "Just as I was about to leave, I heard someone say daddy from behind the door."
"So?"
"It was hoarse, Jill. And before that, I heard a cough. You don't need to be a detective to put the two together."
Jill looked away and bit her lip. No wonder Kendo was acting jumpy abd why he didn't want to go with them to the subway station. God. Emma was infected. Poor Bob.
"We should leave."
"But what about- "
"But nothing." Jill turned around to look at Sara "It's not our business. Just... just let Kendo have this for a bit. We... we both know how it will end."
"So much for Search and Rescue."
"I know."
After that, the two remained silent on their way back to the subway station. Neither of them wanting to address Kendo and his family. Sara didn't even address the zombies with tentacles in their heads they encountered. They just continued on their way.
~Line Break~
"Jesus Christ!"
As soon as they exited the apartment building, the monster's burning flamethrower fell from the sky and almost crushed them.
"S.T.A.R.S."
The two turned around and saw the monster jump down from the roof and into street. It's massive figure holding a giant container with one hand before dropping it on the ground. The bolts on the container shot out with a hiss and the container's top popped open before the monster reached inside and pulled out a...
"A Rocket Launcher. Really?"
The rocket launcher emitted a yellow laser and it slowly crawled up from Jill's abdomen to her heart. The two quickly turned tail and ran just as the laser turned red. Jill looked over her shoulder and saw the monster fire a rocket at her before jumping to the side to avoid the rocket from hitting her.
Instead it hit a wall and emitted a small explosion. The laser locked on to Jill again and Sara pushed her out of the way as the laser turned red and an infected tried to grapple Jill. The rocket struck the zombie and ended it's life in a fiery explosion.
"Run for it!"
Jill and Sara ran down the alleyways away from the monster but they can't ignore the fact that it's laser was still targetting Jill. They could hear his heavy footsteps closing in on them and Sara took out her last grenade before pulling the pin and dropping it on the ground.
The monster stepped on the grenade and it exploded, forcing it to stagger a bit and give them a bit of time to gain some distance between them. Unfortunately, the monster managed to fire off one more rocket before they reached the road in front of the substation and hit the front of the squad car, causing it to flip over and almost crush them. Luckily it didn't. Just then, Jill's radio beeped and the S.T.A.R.S operative unclipped it from her belt and answered.
"Jill, you okay!?"
"Carlos, that monster's on my ass again!"
"Are you shitting me!? I thought you killed that thing."
"Me too."
They heard a loud crash in front of them and looked up to see the monster standing on top of a crushed car before aiming it's rocket launcher at them. The two quickly ran for it, not daring to look back but just as they reached a barricade, one of the rockets struck the area behind them and sent them flying over the barricade. In a way, that monster helped them get back faster. Still high on adrenaline, the two jumped to their feet and ran up the scaffolding before reaching a familiar rooftop. At least familiar to Jill. Before she can say anything, her radio beeped and Jill answered.
"Jill, here."
"Jill. I think I know a way to slow the fucker down. Head back towards the station."
"And lead them right to you!?"
"It's okay. Trust me."
"Carlos? Carlos!" Jill let out a frustrated sigh as she clipped the radio back to her belt "What the hell is he planning?"
A few moments later, the two women found themselves Downtown and walking up the set of stairs that would lead them to the Main Road. A rocket passed above them and struck the giant creepy head on top of the toy store. They heard something snap before the head fell off the building and was rolling towards them. The two women turned around and ran back to where they came. Hoping to outrun the giant head that was about to crush them.
"This is insane!"
"Fuck this Indiana Jones bullshit!" Sara yelled as they ran up turned right and was hair's breadth away from being turned into a pancaked by the giant creepy head. The two catched their breath for a bit before running up the ruins of the stairs.
"Screw that creepy-ass head."
"Yeah."
The two reached the top of the stairs only for the monster to drop in right in front of them. They quickly turned right and ran for the alleway. They turned the corner and, to their surprise, found Carlos waiting for them there.
"This way!"
Not bothering to ask, they followed after Carlos towards the back of the station's building. They passed by Alan who was crouching close to the gas pumps. The former cop quickly placed a Claymore on the ground before making a run for the station's service entrance where Tyrell was waiting by the shutter door. The monster turned the corner and walked right in front of the Claymore which then proceeded to explode and send the monster flying into a S.W.A.T van.
"Hey." Carlos placed his hand on Jill's arm "You okay?"
Before she could reply, the monster slowly got up and Carlos pushed her towards the others who were at the shutter door.
"Go... Go!"
Carlos then aimed his weapon at the monster and opened fire. Jill was about to run inside but stopped and turned around towards Carlos.
"C'mon. Forget about him!"
Carlos grunted in frustration when the monster didn't even slow before running towards the service entrance. Jill pressed the button that would lower the shutter and Carlos dropped into a slide before stopping into a crouch. Just before the shutter would close all the way, the U.B.C.S mercenary shot the gas truck next to the monster. He saw the flames spew out of the truck's gas container before the shutter fully closed and they heard an explosion outside. Jill and Carlos jumped back when the monster slammed into the shutter and left a dent in the shape of the monster.
"C'mon." Carlos nodded his head towards Jill "Let's get out of here."
"Yeah." Jill gave the shutter door one last look before turning to Carlos "Lead the way."
~Line Break~
"You saved my ass first. You're a hell of a lot braver than me."
Carlos gave Jill a boyish smile and a look of admiration before making their way over to the shutter. Jill's lips twitched into a small smile before she shook her head.
"Well." Jill cleared her throat and looked away "What matters is that we can get everyone out of the city now.
"Yeah. You'll be safe."
"What about you?"
They made their way downstairs to the subway cars.
"Well from the sound of it. I won't be catching the train."
That made Jill stop in her tracks and looked at Carlos.
"Why not?"
"Well." Carlos turned around and gave a shrug "There'll be new orders." A determined look crossed the taller man's face as he looked at Jill in the eye "If it means I can save the city, that's fine by me."
Without another word, Carlos turned around and continued on to the subway, leaving Jill to look at his retreating back before following. They reached the subway cars where Mikhail was talking to Tyrell, Sara and Alan. The old mercenary spotted her and let out a grin as she approached.
"Good work! You're reputation is well deserved." Mikhail chuckled before turning serious "Get inside. The subway's about to leave."
He then turned to the other three U.B.C.S mercenaries and Alan.
"Carlos, Tyrell, Sara. You have your orders. You need to go back out into the city and find Nathaniel Bard. Alan, this is your last chance to walk away."
"I already told you, old timer. I ain't leaving just yet."
"Bah! Your funeral."
Jill was about to step inside but stopped herself and looked at the U.B.C.S mercenaries.
"This isn't the last train out of town, right?"
"Do not worry. Once the civilians are safe, the train will be back." The old mercenary reassured her.
Jill didn't look convinced and her eyes went to Carlos who let out a reassuring smile.
"It's alright. You go on ahead. I'm not gonna die on you and leave you in a cold, cruel, Carlos-less world."
Alan and Sara snorted while Jill let out a small smile.
"Okay."
The S.T.A.R.S operative entered the subway car but couldn't help but overhear the conversation outside the car.
"You need to find this scientist." Mikhail stated as he looked at the four in the eyes "His vaccine research could save us all."
'A vaccine?'
Jill was shaken from her thoughts when she heard someone clapping and looked to the source to see Nicholai giving her that annoying smirk of his.
"You see? You're learning. The only life that matters is your own."
Jill turned away when Mikhail entered the subway car and held up a radio.
"Let's go."
The subway car's doors closed and the train shuddered before slowly moving. Jill looked outside to see the U.B.C.S mercenaries and Alan watching the train leave. Jill shared one last look with Carlos, before they were out of sight.
Meanwhile, Carlos was watching the train leave while Alan and Sara gave the man amused looks.
"Alright, loverboy" Alan placed his arm around Carlos' neck and pulled him away while ruffling the man's shaggy hair "We still got a scientist to find. Don't get lovesick on us now."
"Oh shut up."
Carlos pushed Alan off who laughed and made his way over to the stairs before looking over his shoulder.
"C'mon. Let's head to R.P.D. Maybe we can find some of my guys there. At least, the ones not infected." Alan looked away and walked up the stairs "I hope."
There was no telling what's the state of the police station right now. It could either be a safe zone or a nest of infected. He hoped it wasn't the latter.