Below Freezing Point
…
A gunshot ricocheted off the wall next to Yoko's head, and she ducked at the last moment just in case. The others froze in their tracks, further down the hallway. Yoko moved slowly on the spot to face the shooter.
The one responsible didn't fire again though. It was a young woman in the Umbrella uniform, who seemed so familiar. "Monica?"
Yoko remembered her face, different emotions – frustrated, relieved, excited, frightened. But she couldn't recall exactly how she knew Monica.
"I didn't expect you to return," the other woman replied, gesturing carelessly with the gun. "After your little 'incident', I assumed you went and hid under a rock like the little child that you are."
She winced inwardly. How could this woman talk about her like that? She could barely even remember Monica, yet she talked as though the pair of them had some bitter history.
Yoko glanced away, briefly distracted by the others creeping along the wall, guns at the ready. She felt caught in some kind of hostage situation. Only, Monica didn't seem to realise she had a hostage. Yoko wished she could indicate the others to stop. If she researcher knew, what if she attacked?
She gestured to the capsule incubator in Monica's hand. "What is that?" A cure for whatever was affecting people in the city? Or the cause of it all?
The researcher's eyes narrowed. "Wait. Wait! Are you after this too? Oh, you are, aren't you? You are so–"
"Stop it!" Yoko cried. "I don't understand what you're talking about."
"Don't play the innocent little girl with me. You can't fool me, you could never fool me. But... maybe we could work something out. Give me your ID card."
Yoko hesitated for a moment, before fishing it out of her pocket. Monica snatched the card out of her hands, a triumphant smirk on her face.
It only lasted a moment, as Kevin came barrelling out of the corridor, tackling Monica. The container was flung to the side, sliding along the ground. Yoko was riveted to the spot, eyes glued to the gun that Monica was trying to twist towards Kevin's face. Then she noticed Yoko.
The student darted away behind an abandoned train, just before the gunshot rang out. There was a flurry of red as Alyssa launched herself into the hall, completely ignoring the fight on the ground and making for the capsule.
Another gunshot, along with a pained grunt from Kevin. Yoko pressed her palms into her eyes, confusion and fear raging in her. Should she go help?
As she mustered up the courage, she heard Monica's shoes clattering as the researcher made her escape. Judging from the empty corridor, she had made off with the capsule and keycard too.
Alyssa was pushing herself to her feet, looking very peeved, but otherwise unhurt. Kevin was down on one knee, gasping quietly in pain.
Yoko put a tentative hand on Kevin's shoulder, feeling ashamed for letting him get hurt, but at the same time so annoyed that he didn't stay put. Monica would have just taken the card and left, wouldn't she? Why didn't he just let her go?
"What the hell was that?" Mark demanded, his deep voice giving the disapproval extra weight.
"I was trying to save Yoko's life," Kevin snapped, pressing a palm to his shoulder. A ribbon of blood seeped through his fingers. "Monica woulda shot her the moment she got what she wanted."
"Well at least her knight in shining armour was here to take the bullet," Alyssa remarked.
Kevin glanced at her. "Thanks for the back-up there, by the way," he said sarcastically.
She shrugged. "I wanted to know what was in that capsule."
"Would've been better to capture the person who knew then, wouldn't it?"
"Cindy and I wanted to help," George said, with a very pointed look at Mark and David. Yoko wondered if the pair had held them back to stop them joining the fray. That was probably the best idea – what if someone had gotten killed?
The doctor patched up Kevin's shoulder as best he could without removing the other man's body armour.
"So much for that capsule," Alyssa sighed. "That bitch will be out of here before we can ever find her. Don't suppose you know where she'd go, Yoko?"
"I... no." She shook her head, causing the reporter to sigh again.
"She sure hates you," Jim noted unhelpfully. "What did you ever do to piss her off?"
Yoko shrugged. "I don't know, I barely remember working here."
"Yet you thought this would be the best place to go?" George said, slightly sharp. He hadn't been keen on the idea from the start. It was probably because he didn't trust her after finding out she was a former Umbrella employee.
"If there's a cure, I'm sure it's here."
Kevin nodded. "Don't worry so much, Doc. There's nothing down here we can't handle."
George looked dubious at that, but didn't venture anymore complaints. Instead, the group eyed the emergency stairwell that would take them up into the main facility. There was no telling what they might find inside, but given Monica's behaviour, it was safe to say the lab wasn't unscathed.
This place made her so uncomfortable. It had been a bad idea to come here.
Her memories felt so elusive, yet she knew in her heart that the horrors she had seen were caused by Umbrella. Yoko had been in this place at some point before. Even if Monica's reaction hadn't been a giveaway, the keycard she'd had in her bag, and the uniform she had been wearing were a clear sign.
Perhaps it was Umbrella who had fragmented her memories. Things from her early life were so clear, but the past few years were a haze of images that could be real or imaginary. Yoko wondered if she knew too much about the cause of this outbreak, and that's why they had taken her memories. She didn't know. She just remembered being very frightened, and knowing she had to leave and hide her identity so she wouldn't be hurt.
This underground facility seemed like the most obvious clue to what had happened. Perhaps if they could find the cause, they could find the cure.
Yoko hadn't expected the others to support her idea. She had nervously put it to Kevin while he was alone, since he had been patient and looked after her. He latched onto the idea with surprising enthusiasm and told the others. With the exception of Jim and George, they had all thought it a good idea. She was hoping that the doctor's medical expertise would be useful in understanding what had happened.
"Where are all the workers?" Cindy asked.
"Maybe they got turned into zombies too," Jim suggested.
"Serves 'em right if they really did cause it," Alyssa said.
"Please stop calling them zombies," George said wearily. "It isn't scientifically possible for the dead to rise."
"Maybe they aren't risen dead then, isn't that the whole point of why we're here?" Alyssa argued. "If they've been infected with some kind of hallucinogenic drug or worse, we need to know how it's been distributed and what it's affecting."
A squabble broke out at the front of the group again. Yoko ignored it, deciding to take in her surroundings and see if anything triggered another memory. So far, nothing had, but it all felt eerily familiar.
The back of her neck prickled, and Yoko glanced around to see David watching her. His expression was unreadable, but it was probably hiding the thoughts the others had now. The others had started treating her strangely since she had led them here, as though they weren't sure if she could be trusted. In all honesty, she didn't even know if she could trust herself.
"You alright?" he asked softly.
"It's just strange, being here when I don't remember. What if I helped cause all this?"
"So what if you did?"
Yoko stared at him, and he shrugged. For a man in the midst of the apocalypse, he had a habit of acting like he had no cares in the world.
"You can't change what's already happened, no point beating yourself up about it."
"But all these deaths... they could be on my hands."
"Complaining won't change that."
Yoko blushed, and turned away, following the others. Maybe he was right, and it was selfish and pointless to be whining like this. She had to concentrate on doing something to fix this, to find out just what happened.
Someone shrieked. Yoko hurried to catch up with the others and saw Cindy clutching her face, the doctor's arm around her shoulders as he murmured reassurances. As she moved around the taller people in the group, she saw what had frightened Cindy so much.
It was a monster. Not one like the zombies up above. There was no way this creature had ever been human, it was too reptilian, claws like talons. The strangest part was that it was encased in ice, like some grotesque sculpture. "A Hunter," she said without thinking.
"How you know that?" Jim exclaimed.
"I remember seeing them when I was here before... experiments..." A memory flashed into her mind. "Oh god... I saw them kill."
She glanced up at the others, and saw them watching her with that look of suspicion and wariness. Even Kevin, who had been so kind to her, and David, who had just told her not to worry about her past. The only one who wasn't looking at her like that was Alyssa. The reporter was eyeing her like a bird of prey sizing up its next meal.
Yoko fixed her eyes on the ground. "I know the way to the labs. If there's information, it's probably in there."
"It would be ideal to split up," George suggested. Yoko wasn't looking at him, but she could feel the disapproval in his gaze. "I saw a map earlier that suggested there's a tram station here, I'm certain that's where Monica will be talking that capsule."
"But–" Yoko's protest died on her lips. She had wanted George's help since he would understand medicine and science better than the rest of them, but she knew they wouldn't listen to her. "I'll go to the labs then."
"We're more likely to find something useful if we cover more ground, anyhow."
"Alright," said Kevin. "I'll go with George." The doctor nodded thankfully.
"Me too!" Cindy said eagerly. She seemed to stick with Kevin and the doctor whenever she could. "Are you coming with us, Jim?" The waitress gave him an encouraging smile.
"Uhh..." he glanced at Yoko and Mark. "I wanna be in Yoko's crew, yo. She might find a cure or some shit. And she knows this place better than us."
Yoko felt a sinking feeling. Jim was the last person she wanted to have accompany her. She spent most of her time in fear, and she knew she was weaker than the others. Considering that she was already dead weight herself, the last thing she needed was extra dead weight.
She turned and set off down the corridor dejectedly.
"Wait, Yoko," called Kevin.
Yoko hesitated as he approached, a foolish part of her hoping that he had changed his mind. Alas, he handed her a gun instead. She held it in her hands like it was dynamite about to explode. "I... I don't know how to use it."
Kevin grinned. "Don't worry, it's a piece of cake. You just wrap your hands around it like this," he said, guiding her fingers to the correct places on the gun. "Stand up straight, kiddo." Kevin positioned himself behind her, looking over her shoulder to check her aim. "Lift your arms a little, nice and straight."
His breath was tickling her ear now, and Yoko felt a blush creeping up on her. Kevin moved away. "Nice. You'll need a couple extra magazines. They just go in here like this." He released the current clip from the gun and slipped it back in. She hesitatingly copied his actions until he gave a pleased nod. "Recoil shouldn't be bad, but bear it in mind, it can sneak up on ya."
"Thank you... Kevin."
He gave her a friendly slap on the back. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. See ya soon."
Yoko was so distracted watching him leave she didn't even see Alyssa sneak up on her. "Let me share some home truths," the older woman drawled. "Men are only good for one thing, and trust me when I say you ain't getting it during a zombie invasion."
She blushed. Had it been that obvious? The reporter eyed her and smirked.
"Well, let's get on with it," Alyssa said.
"Um...?"
"What, you don't think I'm going with Officer Doofus and his merry band of idiots, do you?" Alyssa chuckled. "Nope, me and that grumpy ass are on your team."
"Grumpy ass?" Yoko repeated.
"Here he comes now."
Yoko glanced over her shoulder to see David and Jim heading over. She could guess which one Alyssa was referring to. Still, she felt a little better. Now she had some fighters coming with her, she was less afraid to travel through this place.
They moved through corridors that seemed identical. There was no sign of life other than the security cameras that seemed to track their movements. Yoko wondered if Monica was watching them, but what reason could she have for that? Yoko didn't have enough recollection of her life here to know the other woman's motives.
As if she needed any more proof that she was connected to this place, her fingerprints registered on the scanner, opening doors that would otherwise remain locked. She wondered how far up her clearance went.
The icy monsters dotted every other hallway.
"Why the fuck are there so many of those freaky things here, anyway?" Jim asked as they passed their sixth one. "What the hell could you use those for?"
"Weapons," David said.
Yoko shuddered. She didn't want to imagine that she would have helped create monsters to kill people. Maybe she had thought the research was being used for something else? She was no scientist, she was just good with computers. But if she hadn't been involved with the monsters, why could she remember them? Why did it give her a sick feeling just thinking about them?
"I wonder if the government knows about this?" Alyssa said thoughtfully. "I guess they could be private suppliers for terrorist groups or something like that, but it doesn't seem likely. This whole thing stinks of a government cover up. How else would Umbrella have so much power and agency?"
"But, that won't stop them sending help, right?" Jim asked. He frowned. "Is that why we ain't seen any soldiers or evac choppers, yo?"
"Maybe they're just planning to blow us all to hell."
"All the more reason to find a way outta here," David said flatly.
Yoko was glad for the end of that conversation. She knew the government would want to do something to contain the situation if it really was only in Raccoon city, but she didn't want to imagine it was so drastic. It was bad enough to face zombies, without fearing that too.
Since the elevators were out, they were forced to use an emergency access shaft. Yoko sure felt unfit trying to climb three sets of ladders, but knowing the lab was waiting at the end helped push her onwards. She felt more anxious the closer they got, but at least she would have some answers.
The lab was just as icy as the other places they had been. Her companions set about checking the chemicals on the shelves, though she wasn't sure what they hoped to find. They probably wouldn't understand it.
All notes about experiments would surely be on the computers, so Yoko grabbed the one in the corner. She wasn't able to get very far in before it started insisting on passwords and correct clearance.
"I guess that's that then," David muttered.
"No," said Yoko. "I can get us in. Just a minute."
She was no hacker, but she did know programming, and she had a few ways that she could trick the system into letting her in. Yoko ran through them in her mind before her fingers started flying over the keyboard. It felt good to be able to do something useful for a change. And it was comforting to know that if she didn't have clearance for this top secret research, she couldn't be held responsible for the horrors that had befallen Raccoon City. Not to the same extent, anyway.
Yoko smiled as her back door into the system worked, and the computer started bringing up information on something called the 'T-Virus'.
"Nice going," Alyssa said appreciatively. "Time to air all that dirty laundry."
The four of them hunched over the computer to read.
It didn't take long to build up a picture of the truth. The Umbrella Corporation had been doing experiments into bio-engineered weapons. They had used living people as test subjects and turned them into zombies via a virus, with the intention of weaponizing this and dropping it on enemy cities in future wars.
Not only that, but they had created monsters like Hunters and Tyrants – a name than sent shudders through Yoko for some reason – to be highly efficient killing machines. The virus had the ability to adapt and mutate itself, but these creatures were something Umbrella had intended to create for a bio-war.
It had been intentional, all along.
The worst part was that the virus was highly infectious, and could be transmitted via air, water, bodily fluids. Yoko pulled up a report from one scientist who was worried that the virus could contaminate the city's water supply. Another thought that rats and birds could be carriers. It looked like they may have been right. It was disgusting to think that they had taken it into their bodies unknowingly, that they too were infected.
Yoko sat in a daze, until Alyssa reached over and took control of the computer. She pulled up a list of test subjects. Yoko's name was there, dancing in front of her eyes.
Alyssa seemed about to click on it without thinking, and then at the last moment, she turned to the younger woman. "Do you want to see?"
She took a deep breath. "I have to."
The computer brought up several files of notes, and they looked through each one. Apparently, Yoko had been selected along with several others to test the effects of the T-Virus. They were strapped to hospital beds and given periodic doses to see how long it would take to have an effect, and what effect that would be. She had been one of the longest to hold out against the hunger and madness, but she had witnessed the others succumbing. She had then witnessed the creatures in action first hand.
There was a video file. Yoko covered her mouth, watching with clenched teeth as some white-coated male scientist injected her and left the room. The Yoko on the video writhed in pain, gasping for air for several minutes. She stopped, seeming to fold in on herself, before thrashing against her bonds violently. The scientist returned and this alien Yoko became more violent, gnashing her teeth as though she wanted to bite him. Blood and spittle frothed from her mouth.
Yoko squeezed her eyes shut. "Turn it off. Please!"
David said quietly, "It's done."
Slowly, she opened her eyes. She didn't want to look at the others, and see the revulsion or pity in their eyes.
"We can't let them get away with this," Alyssa hissed, sounding angry. "We need to expose them, bring the bastards down."
"How?" Jim asked. "We're stuck here, and they've got a business empire across the whole world. They own everything."
"By the time I'm through with them, they'll own jack shit," she said vehemently. "First we need to escape the city, and then we take this all the way to the Supreme Court. I've got contacts in newspapers and news crews throughout the country. We'll tear this wide open."
Yoko opened a desk drawer and rooted around inside until she found an MO-Disk, before slipping it into the computer to save the files. "We need evidence. My testimony won't be enough alone."
Alyssa smiled at her, and she saw respect in the other woman's eyes.
"Damn," Jim murmured as Yoko slipped the disk safely into her pack. For good measure, she saved another copy for Alyssa. One way or another, the truth would get out. "What I don't get though, is if they did this shit to you before, how come you're not a zombie now? It looks like they injected you plenty of times."
"Careful where you're going with that line of thinking, pal," David said in a warning tone.
"Shit, no, I don't mean you're infected or something, Yoko," Jim said quickly. "No more than the rest of us, yo. But like, how is it you're okay now? Did they cure you?"
"I don't know," Yoko said. "Maybe this is a different strain. Or maybe it's still lurking inside of me."
"It doesn't matter," said David. "We're all infected."
"There's nothing on here about a cure," Alyssa sighed. "But they must have one, maybe at a different base. If we could find an Umbrella scientist still alive, it would help."
"Monica?" Yoko suggested. "I don't think she'd help but... maybe that's what her capsule contains."
"Worth a shot!" Jim said hopefully.
The four of them checked the computer for a blueprint of the facility so that they could locate this tram station George had mentioned. Yoko hoped the others were still safe. They figured that if Monica was trying to leave too, she would head to the same place. The quickest route seemed to be through a secondary shaft that ran through the ventilation chamber. It had various walkways leading to different areas, including the tram.
They found a shotgun near the access ladder, which Alyssa wrote off since the mechanism was jammed, but David was able to get it working again. He offered her it back, but surprisingly the reporter thought he should keep it, since he'd repaired it.
Since he had the best weapon, he was the one who went first when they entered the ventilation shaft. Yoko followed him cautiously out onto the walkway. She'd only taken a few steps when she heard a frightened squeak from Jim.
She glanced back to see a huge winged form rising into the air from a higher level of the shaft. Alyssa and Jim were inside, sheltered, but she and David were exposed out here on the walkway. Yoko felt her voice dry up in her throat as its shadow fell over her.
The creature ignored her, swooping instead towards her companion.
"David!" she cried.
He threw himself out of the way just in time, and Yoko lifted her gun to shoot it. The moth wheeled around, too fast for her to aim properly. It reared, ready to swoop down on her this time and she froze in fear.
A body slammed into her, knocking her to the ground just before she heard a whooshing noise over her head. Her saviour quickly got up, and Yoko was surprised to see Alyssa standing over her, defiantly shooting at the giant moth.
It came back around again.
"Hey, asshole, it's me you want!" David yelled. He was shooting now too.
Bullets seemed to echo through the chamber, louder than it should be for two people firing. That's when Yoko saw Kevin dashing across another walkway, firing off bullets from his 45. auto as he ran. The others were with him too, shooting at the moth with their own weapons so that it was forced to twist in the air to avoid them, unable to fix its attention on any one person.
A hand appeared in front of Yoko, and she gratefully took it, pulling herself to her feet.
"Guess if everyone's doing it..." Jim said nervously, before grabbing his own, rarely used gun.
Yoko nodded. She set her feet and straightened her back, just like Kevin had told her. She sighted the moth down the barrel of the gun and squeezed the trigger. The recoil hit her harder than he said it would, but she immediately refocused her aim and shot it again. She kept going until the whole clip had been emptied into the monster.
The moth finally tumbled down through the shaft, its wings and body riddled with holes. The T-Virus could make even innocent creatures into monstrosities, it seemed. Yoko exhaled, not realising she had been holding her breath this whole time. She could barely believe she had done that. She'd held her own in a fight, helped her comrades, defeated a monster.
Alyssa started laughing, sounding a little crazed as she wrapped an arm round Yoko's shoulder and gave her a squeeze. "Oh my god. That was insane!" She headed off to meet with the others.
"Who knew I had it in me?" Jim said, staring at his gun as though it had grown legs.
Yoko felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Thanks," David said softly.
She smiled, giving him a simple nod in return. They waited as the others came over to join them, to tell what they had learned. Yoko could feel the weight of the MO-Disk in her pack. The others couldn't know what had happened to her, that was between those who had witnessed it in the lab. But at least now she could have some closure, and the victims wouldn't have to suffer for nothing. She had a purpose now, something she could do. The Umbrella Corporation would be brought to justice, and Yoko would see them pay.