Breathing heavily as she rested on the ground, she kept a watch on the woods around her. The moon provided little to no light. The forest was dark, and strange sounds emanating from it put Cass on edge. Stretching her arms, she stood up from the ground. It was at least midnight, and she had no idea how long the helicopter would be there. Despite how heavy and sore her body felt, she started walking toward the forest.
The feel of the pistol in her hands helped her feel more reassured. As she scanned the darkness, she turned off the safety. Quietly sneaking through the forest, she briefly wondered what other kinds of creatures might be hiding in these woods. Not even Umbrella could be stupid enough to set monsters like that free… right? With a sudden burst of energy, she picked up her pace toward the helicopter.
The sound of nearby gunfire caught her attention. Cass ran for cover as the sound got closer. As Cass quickly hid behind a tree, she heard the sound of someone frantically running and a click as a gun jammed. A growl made her peek out in time to see a man being chased by two dogs. The dogs looked like the ones that had attacked her and Jack with the skin rotting off of them to reveal the muscle underneath. Cass froze in fear. Those dogs took quite a lot of bullets last time. Was seven enough to deal with them?
A sudden crash and the sound of the man swearing told her that he had fallen down. Jumping out from behind the tree, Cass fired two shots at one of the dogs. It went down with one small yelp. The other dog turned to growl at her, but the man kicked it into a tree, momentarily stunning it. Cass quickly pulled the trigger. The first two shots hit the dog, but the wounds didn't seem to faze it as it leapt toward her. She quickly moved out the way as its jaws snapped at the air. Before it could land, Cass kicked it as hard as she could. She used two more of her bullets. The dog stopped moving.
Cass glanced toward the stranger as she loaded her last bullet into the gun. He had out a knife and plunged it into the dog's throat. He shrugged at her look of horror and explained, "Just making sure. Dead things don't stay dead around here."
Giving the dogs an apologetic look, she checked the darkness for more. No movement made her feel more secure. With a sigh, the man sat back to rest on a tree with a wince. He held his side and gave her a sheepish grin before he asked, "So… you come here often?"
Cass rolled her eyes and replied, "There's no time for that… or for rest unfortunately. A helicopter landed nearby, and it's our best bet if we want to survive. So unless you want to become puppy chow, follow me… and I'd suggest you do so quietly and quickly."
"Yes, ma'am," the man retorted with a mock salute.
"Funny…" Cass murmured as she tried to figure out which way they should head.
The stranger looked oddly familiar to her. She tried to think of where she'd seen him as he stood up. A memory of a file flashed in her mind's eye. Billy Coen. Tension gripped her body, and she slowly lifted up the gun.
Billy noticed with another sigh and raised his arms in surrender. "You one of Umbrella's cronies?"
"No."
"Well, you'd probably have killed me already if you were… S.T.A.R.S. then? Like Rebecca?"
Cass lowered the gun but kept a firm grip. "You saw Rebecca? Is she okay?"
"Yeah… at least she was the last time I saw her."
"Then why isn't she with you now?!"
"She wanted to find the other members; I want to get the hell out of here. She was fine… but sleep deprived. Which I believe we all are," he said and looked at Cass for confirmation. "Look. We need to get out of here. There are more than infected dogs lurking around here… in fact, it looks like you met something yourself."
Cass followed his glance to see that the glass had wounded her worse than expected. At least she didn't have a bite would to go with it. Keeping her gun lowered, she gestured for him to follow her. She'd rather save the bullet anyway. Billy had been scheduled for transport to a nearby secure facility.
Realizing with horror that she'd seen the file on Wesker's desk, she wondered if the "secure facility" could have been one of Umbrella's laboratories. A death-row inmate would hardly be missed. Pushing her hair from her face, she focused on getting to the helicopter. Peeking behind her, she caught a glimpse of Billy looking warily into the darkness behind them.
Billy had been tried and convicted of killing innocent villagers. Would he try to kill her once they found the helicopter? Had he lied about Rebecca? She would deal with that in the future. He likely wouldn't kill her before they found the helicopter.
There was a sudden tug on her short as he pulled her behind him. Cass peeked around him. Three men in all black combat fatigues emerged from the darkness.
"Who the hell are you?" Billy asked in a suspicious tone, trying to shield her from view.
"Step away from the girl," one of the men replied, pointing his gun towards Billy.
"Why? So you can get a better shot?!"
The man sighed and explained, "We are here to escort Miss Catherine Walker to safety. You are free to go."
"Why just me?" Cass asked before realizing that they were the "team" Wesker had mentioned. They must have gotten to the enclosure just after she escaped. No doubt the sound of gunfire had led them right to Cass and Billy.
"Your 'Captain' can't wait to see you, Miss Walker. You passed his test beyond any of our expectations. Consider the job yours."
"Oh, geez, thanks."
Sarcasm coated her words, and the man tilted his head to the side in confusion and replied, "No need for rudeness. The benefits far outweigh the… unpleasant tasks. And you'll be Wesker's personal assistant. That's one of the cushier jobs. So be a good girl and come with us. Otherwise, your new friend… well, he is a death-row inmate anyway."
Billy's body tensed, but he didn't back down.
"Hey," he whispered to Cass. "Be ready to run."
"Miss Walker, please don't make this more difficult than it needs to be," the man said with impatience before a scream pierced the night air.
One of the infected dogs had bitten the man closest to the back. As another dog raced forward, the two men turned their guns toward it before a third dog leapt from the darkness.
"Now!" Billy growled and grabbed her arm.
As they ran through the woods, the sounds of screams and gunshots followed them. The sound of water made Cass look forward. A small river flowed between them and the helicopter. The current didn't seem too fast, but Cass eyed the water with suspicion.
"Guess we need to take a swim."
Billy jumped into the water. Cass searched the water for any movement beneath the water's surface. Soon he was on the other side. Only after making sure nothing had followed him did she take the plunge. The cold water washed away her sleepiness as she swam.
Resting on the other side, she felt her muscles ache. At least the water had washed the blood and glass residue from her arms. Billy leaned down to offer her a hand.
"We should get going," he said with a wince of pain.
Blood trickled down his other arm, and Cass got up to take a look at it. A bullet had grazed his arm. It wasn't deadly, but it could cause other problems. Cass looked around the forest, hoping to see the telltale signs of a specific plant. The green herb was known to be useful in stopping bleeding. It was even kept in several areas of the police building. Quickly crawling into the bushes, she found one growing near a fallen tree. Billy gave her a concerned look as she headed back to the river to find two rocks.
"What are you doing?"
"Just a minute. If any of those dogs are alive, that wound might draw them to us."
"And your buddies? I doubt all of them died. They had a lot of ammo."
"Here. Done," Cass said irritably before handing him some of the paste from the freshly ground herb. "Rub this onto your wound. It'll stop the bleeding."
Cass rubbed some of the herb onto her arms and watched as Billy hesitantly applied it to his wound. Giving her a thankful nod, he started leading the way to the helicopter. Cass took a final look back to the other side of the river. With a small sigh, she followed Billy into the dark woods.