Decisions, Decisions
...
It was no surprise to find Peter dead. Kevin and Cindy had been so optimistic, George was tempted to let himself be swept up in the dream, but he had always suspected the reality. So many people had already been lost to this nightmare, why would Peter be any different?
What was shocking was that Peter had been murdered, shot through the head. The immediate question was why. The only reason George could think of was the cure, but who could want to destroy that? It couldn't be the infected, since they didn't have the cognitive ability to use a gun. The only ones who might have a motive were Umbrella, and it chilled him to think of their operatives stalking the little group of survivors.
It was immediately decided that they split into three teams to find the cure ingredients, though George fully intended to analyse them before they prepped the cure. Yoko had identified a lab that should be suitable. A cure would be such a precious thing, they couldn't risk escaping the city with something faulty, dooming themselves and infecting others.
Predictably, this was in part because Kevin and Alyssa butted heads over the group's direction. Alyssa was certain that as a former student of the university and employee of Umbrella, Yoko should be the one to lead them. Meanwhile Kevin nominated George, due to his relationship with Peter, knowledge of medicine and limited familiarity with the university. Therefore it was decided that Yoko would search for the V-Poison with Alyssa and Jim, while George would take Kevin and Cindy. Mark and David were left to gather the T-Blood, which sounded perhaps like the simplest task, as any of those infected with the T-Virus would presumably have the correct blood.
The P-Base was in some kind of basement lab. If not for the directions in Peter's note, George would never have suspected that a place like this existed within the university.
"What the hell is all this?" Kevin asked as they look in the machines, sinister pods and chambers, and the vast expanse of water that seemed to link into the sewer.
"This lab must have existed for Umbrella's purposes," said George. "We already know that they had control of various facilities in the city, enough to keep their endeavours quiet. Perhaps this is how they recruited workers like Yoko. Promising students eager for a job the opportunity to work for such a prestigious organisation. Students would probably have fewer suspicions too."
"I'll bet they found a few test subjects here too," Kevin said darkly. "Most students are pretty desperate for money."
George nodded. He hadn't considered that. In fact, this was the only time he had ever lacked for anything. He hadn't even changed his shirt in days.
"I never went to college," Cindy said thoughtfully as she returned from inspecting the machinery. "My family couldn't really afford the fees. Part of why I started working at J's Bar was to save up for it."
"What would you have studied?" George asked.
"Well, honestly I've always wanted to do medicine. I like helping people, and I like the idea of treating them when they're sick. That's why I took to herbalism so well."
"You'd be great at it," Kevin said warmly, and was rewarded with a smile. "Maybe when we get out of here, huh?"
George agreed. Cindy was exactly the kind of person medical staff should be – intelligent, compassionate, diligent. Perhaps if Raccoon City had more like her, there wouldn't have been so many gruesome experiments and medical abuses.
They gave the pods a wide berth, knowing that there was probably some horrific monster waiting inside. It was too much to hope that whatever was inside had died already.
It turned out to be surprisingly easy to acquire the P-Base, as there was a machine inside one of the labs with the concoction already whipped up. George decided to take a few minutes to take a look through the files so that he could make sure exactly what it was they were collecting.
"All this seem a little too simple to you guys?" Kevin asked. "Where's all the ugly bad guys that're usually trying to stop us?"
"Maybe they can't get out of the pods?" Cindy said hopefully. "Or they haven't noticed us."
"With any luck it will stay that way," George said. "I don't particularly fancy trying to clamber along those pipes again with such creatures attacking."
"Don't worry man, I'll protect you both." Kevin grinned, and the doctor felt comforted. He often felt out of his depth in this nightmare, but Kevin seemed to exude confidence and positivity. It obviously helped that he was the most athletic of them, despite not having as much experience as Mark in battle.
As they headed back out into the corridor, a smashing sound could be heard nearby. George had an awful sinking feeling that the creatures in the pods were responsible.
"I guess we shouldn't have tempted fate," Cindy said nervously.
Kevin motioned for them to get behind him, and they backed up to the wall, approaching the door slowly in single file.
He nudged the door open with his foot and entered with his gun aimed. As George slipped in last, Cindy grasped his hand and tugged him down.
The three of them crouched behind some sort of generator, from which various thick pipes were leading away. Likely some of these pipes were connected to those pods. The creatures that had broken free were toad-like in nature, and leapt surprising distances into the water.
The only way for the three of them to get back to the ladder was via the overhead pipes, the way they had come. Whatever entrance the staff had used to access this place, they had not been able to find it. Umbrella seemed notorious for its key cards and codes to prevent people from stumbling upon their experiments. A pity they hadn't been as concerned about containing the experiments themselves.
"If two of us provide covering fire, one should be able to get to the opposite side," Kevin suggested quietly. "It should probably be Cindy."
"You should take the reagent," George added, pressing the capsule into her hands.
"No!" Cindy whispered. "You're the one who knows what to do with this capsule, it should be you. I can take care of myself, you don't need to worry." She gave him a smile that seemed a little too forced.
"Cindy–"
"Please. This reagent is the most important thing we have. It doesn't matter if I get to safety if there's no cure to stop me turning into a zombie later."
George gave a reluctant nod, and tucked the capsule into his jacket pocket.
"Alright," said Kevin. "George, you try and get across, and we'll be shooting those frogs down from this side. On three." They readied their guns, edging into position whilst they could still use stealth. "One. Two. Three!"
They launched into action. Bullets rang out as George jumped up and grasped the pipe above him, moving one hand after the other to laboriously pull himself across the expanse of water. It didn't take long for his muscles to start burning, the tension of having to drag his body across not once, but twice in such a short space of time.
George forced himself to ignore the sound and continue. The bullets were still firing in rapid succession.
He cricked his neck to get a glimpse of the opposite platform. One of the creatures stood there, its talons brushing the floor as it awaited him. The predatory intelligence these monsters exhibited frightened him more than anything else. No wonder their cousins had been called 'Hunters'. It was truly humbling to rank lower on the food chain after all.
A moment later, there was a heavy thud as a bullet from Kevin's powerful gun took it in the head. Cindy shrieked.
George instinctively tried to twist on the pipe so that he could see if she was okay. It was foolish, what could he do to help from here? But he couldn't help it. He lost his grip, struggling with only one hand fastened around the pipe whilst the other flailed for purchase.
The creatures seemed to sense his fear, and one of them leaped out of the water, its talons ripping into his blazer. The extra weight was too much, and George felt himself slipping.
Kevin and Cindy came through, and the creature toppled into the water under a storm of precise gunshots. George managed to fasten his other hand around the pipe and made the last few painful metres to the opposite platform. He dropped down, arms painful as his muscles protested.
George ignored it and reached for his gun so that Cindy could make her way across. She was looking more anxious about this than staying behind to offer covering fire.
More creatures seemed to be coming from somewhere – likely the water, since the tunnels were connected to the sewers. Given Umbrella's penchant for underground bases, he shouldn't be surprised if every monstrous being they had ever spawned had poured into the sewers by now.
He focused on shooting them down before they could hurt Cindy. Though he wasn't as good a shot as Kevin and aiming was difficult when his arms felt so tired, he was good enough to keep them at bay.
Another leapt out of the water to try and latch onto her the same way they had George, and she kicked out at it in a futile attempt to keep it away. Kevin and George shot it down before it could do any harm.
George got as close as he could to the platform edge as Cindy drew closer. In case she should fall, he wanted to be within reach to try and grab her. She dropped onto the platform a moment later.
"Just like playing on the monkey bars as a kid," she said with a breathy laugh. Her face fell in an instant. "The reagent!"
George looked down to see that his jacket pocket had been ripped clear. The reagent capsule must have fallen into the water when the creature attacked him on the crossing. That little capsule was vital to creating the cure, without out it the survivors were doomed to turn into monsters. The virus would spread, and Umbrella's folly would see many more innocents die.
"Look alive, you two!" Kevin shouted as he gunned down a nearby creature.
"Kevin!" George yelled. "We have to go back! The reagent fell into the water with the monsters!"
The cop looked shocked for only a moment. He glanced at the murky water, and then fixed on George's gaze. The doctor's heart sank.
"Cover me!" Kevin ordered, and then he dived into the water.
Cindy screamed, and George yelled for him to stop, but the cop had already disappeared below the surface. All they could do was shoot the frenzied monsters that were rushing to return to the water. The more they took out, the fewer could reach Kevin.
As each second stretched on, George feared that the cop wouldn't return, and they would lose a friend as well as their hope for a cure. How long could a person hold their breath for? Even such a simple fact seemed elusive in his panic.
"Over there!" Cindy cried, shooting into the tunnel were the water was churning.
The creatures must have realised a human had entered their waters, because they were pouring in at a faster rate now.
A hand burst out of the water in front of them, trying to claw at the platform. George dropped to his knees and grasped the hand in his own, heaving Kevin out of the water. Cindy provided covering fire as George pulled him up, the creatures clamped onto him falling back into the water under gunfire.
The moment Kevin was onto the platform, Cindy helped him over to the ladders. She went up first, and then George paused from shooting to help boost the wounded cop up. He hauled himself up the ladders and was pulled out by Cindy once he was close enough to the top. She ducked her hand through the manhole to provide a little covering fire as George ascended.
The moment he was through, they slammed the manhole cover in place, pushing an abandoned car over the top. Cindy sagged against it panting, for only a moment. Then she fixed Kevin with a furious look.
"Are you crazy!" she cried. "You could've gotten yourself killed!"
Kevin gave her a lopsided grin and produced the reagent capsule from his pocket. "It worked though."
She made a noise halfway between a laugh and a sob, and flung her arms around him, squeezing the cop tight.
"Hey, hey, easy on the ribs!" he said with a wince.
She backed off, looking at him anxiously. "Does it hurt badly?"
"Only when I breathe."
"Sit down a moment," George advised. As Kevin gingerly lowered himself onto the ground, the doctor felt for broken bones and twisted limbs. "Cindy's right, that was an insane stunt you just performed." He sighed. "Thank you."
Kevin shrugged, his grin slipping into a grimace. "All in a day's work, doc. We need this cure. I just hope the others haven't been slacking off."
"You have couple of fractured ribs," George told him. He fished some painkillers out of his medical kit for Kevin to take. Fortunately the damage didn't seem too bad, so hopefully once they escaped the city, Kevin's ribs would be able to heal naturally.
George helped him to his feet, and the three of them crossed the courtyard to the university. Bodies littered the courtyard, which was no great surprise. Everywhere in the city seemed to have been transformed into an open grave. It wouldn't be long until these ones rose, he imagined. The main difference was the strange military uniforms. Had the government sent in soldiers after all? They didn't look like US army soldiers. The only other possibility was that they were the Umbrella operatives George feared running into. If they were all dead, where was the monster that had killed them?
They collected extra weapons from the bodies – assault rifles and shotguns mostly. He and Cindy didn't know how to use them, but Kevin did and he could show them. Besides, there was a good chance some of the others would have more experience. Every advantage was needed.
Once they were back in the university, there wasn't a moment to catch their breath.
Mark came charging through a door up ahead, whilst David slammed it shut behind him. Both men were soaked in sweat and looking frazzled. From a glance George didn't think they had sustained injuries, though Mark's jacket was soaked with blood.
"Get to the elevator!" he commanded. "Move!"
Cindy immediately went for the door to the hall, and George followed, steering Kevin. From the looks of it, now wasn't the time for the young cop and the old veteran to be butting heads over leadership.
George was halfway across the hall when a crash filled the room. He spun and slammed into the ground as he tried to avoid flying debris. A huge hole had been smashed through the wall, with bits of brick and plaster sprayed everywhere.
Through the hole stepped a towering creature, almost human, but with leathery pure black skin. Its long arms ended in talons that could skewer a man, and George's mind revisited the courtyard with the dead soldiers.
Mark and David weren't even attempting to fight it, instead they were tearing across the hallway before the creature could target them. George scrambled to his feet and headed for the elevator passage.
He made it into the elevator, where Kevin and Cindy were waiting, the waitress poised to shut the doors. Mark rushed in a moment later.
The monster was hot on David's heels, and much faster than him. It slammed the heel of its huge hand into his back, and the man was flung down the corridor towards the elevator. Mark and George dashed out and dragged him in, with Cindy thumping the button to close the doors.
The doors pinged and closed, but a second later the metal buckled as a huge hand punched into it.
The elevator was rising though, despite the horrible grating sound from somewhere below.
"I think it's trying to stop the elevator!" Kevin exclaimed.
"We're almost there!" said Cindy, eyes fixed on the buttons as each floor lit up.
Just as light went off 2F, the elevator gave a horrible lurch. The grinding sound was worse, and George wondered if it was doing something with the winch to stop them getting any higher. Would it try to tear the whole elevator down?
"Help me get the doors," Mark said, and George immediately moved over to assist. He may not be as strong as Kevin, but he didn't want the cop injuring himself further.
Together they prized the doors open, as Cindy clambered through the narrow gap to 3F. Mark was the last to try, struggling due to his heavy build. They grabbed him by the arms and dragged him in, moments before the elevator gave an almighty screech and fell free.
George darted over to the elevator shaft, watching as it plummeted and smacked into the monster, taking it with it as the elevator fell all the way down to the basement levels.
"Oh God," Cindy gasped. "Please make the others be safe."
Mark bowed his head grimly.
"Don't worry, Cindy," Kevin said. "They'll have gotten here ages ago. You know what Alyssa's like, everything a competition. She's probably through there with Yoko and Jim right now, waiting to gloat about it."
"Are you hurt?" George asked David, since the man had been thrown a good several metres by a monster. The plumber just shrugged him off, so George decided not to press the issue. Instead he checked on Mark.
"Don't worry, it's not my blood," the veteran said, with a glance at his bloodied jacket. "We got the T-Blood component off that big bastard down there, it just got a little messier than I anticipated."
"Sounds fun!" Kevin said with a grin.
"It wasn't," Mark replied, giving him a flat look.
"We had better check if the others have arrived," George suggested. "If they have, then hopefully we are now in possession of all three reagents."
They moved through the corridors and adjoining labs until they reached the one Yoko had recommended for mixing the cure.
Thankfully, they heard voices before they even entered. The moment the door opened, Jim was on them, hugging people and laughing. He and Cindy danced around in a little celebratory circle.
"If you've finished, Yoko needs some medical assistance," Alyssa pointed out scathingly.
George and Cindy immediately went to her, but since she was suffering from a poison they had seen earlier – transmitted via giant wasps – Cindy took charge. Her herbal mixtures were excellent when applied to such wounds, forcing the body to purge the venom.
"I take it from all that noise that you've got the reagents?" Alyssa asked.
"T-Blood and P-Base, all accounted for," said Kevin.
"What the hell was that thing?" Mark wondered.
"A Tyrant," Yoko said quietly. "The best killing machine Umbrella has made. I remember... they were experimenting to create them while I was at Umbrella. I was part of it..." She shuddered, and Cindy put an arm round the girl.
George eyed her apprehensively. Sometimes he wasn't quite sure whether he could trust her or not. She was only young, but she was also a former employee of Umbrella and certainly hadn't told them all the full details of her experience with the corporation.
He took the different reagents and created small samples for microscope slides. While he tried to get a good idea of what he was dealing with from these meagre university tools, the others settled around the lab, treating more minor wounds and resting aching bodies.
After a short while, he loaded each reagent into the machine and set it. In about five minutes, they should have their first sample of the cure. He could hardly believe it. They still had to escape the city without being killed, but knowing that they would never turn into monsters was such a huge relief. He was ashamed that the relief outweighed his concern about stopping the infection spreading elsewhere. That was the primary point of the cure of course, to stop another Raccoon City from happening, but he couldn't help how happy he felt for himself and his friends.
"I hope lots of other people have escaped," Cindy said, leaning against the table next to him as he watched the capsules whirring in the machine. "That way we can save a lot more people."
"I hope so too."
"Is your family here?" she asked softly.
"Only my ex-wife." He gave a humourless laugh. "I imagine the zombies are more afraid of her than she is of them. She's not the most pleasant woman. Or perhaps was. I imagine she might be dead now." George winced. "I feel... I feel foolish for being worried about her."
Cindy smiled, squeezing his hand. "That's not foolish at all. No matter what's happened between you, you loved her once, right? It's only natural to be worried."
"I doubt she would feel the same." He shook his head. "And yourself, do you have any family here?"
"No, thankfully. Just friends, co-workers, all the ordinary people I used to see every day." She gazed at the cure being created, though she didn't seem to be truly seeing it.
Here he had been thinking about his own safety, whilst she mourned the loss of those who wouldn't benefit from the cure, and hoped for those who might. Part of him wished he was ten years younger. She was the sort of kind, intelligent woman he had always admired.
The machine came to a halt.
"Is it finished?" Kevin asked.
"No," George replied with a frown. It was supposed to run for another twenty seconds, no more, no less. He checked the machine with a sinking feeling. "The power's been cut."
"Want to guess if the culprit's through the electronically locked door?" Alyssa asked. She tried the handle, and it opened without problem. Previously it had been sealed shut.
Someone was herding them. Half the group decided to stay with the cure to keep it safe, whilst the other half – Alyssa, George, Yoko and Kevin – decided to find out who was responsible. They didn't want anyone tricking them into leaving the cure unguarded only to have it stolen or destroyed at the last moment. George only hoped the Tyrant wasn't somehow responsible.
They moved through an autopsy room that contained at least two dead bodies on gurneys. George had a horrible feeling that they were not there for any benign reason.
The one responsible was waiting through the next room, stood in front of his desk like a lecturer about to take a class. George was sure he even recognised the man from the university premises before.
Hearing him talk, it was clear that the man was insane. He was the one responsible for unleashing this Tyrant upon them, and undoubtedly was an Umbrella scientist. Their insidious presence reached everywhere.
"Were you also the one who murdered Peter Jenkins?" George demanded.
The scientist smiled indulgently. "Ah, Peter. He was a very useful tool in helping me develop Daylight – the cure you are so eagerly anticipating – but like all tools there came a time when he had to be discarded. I needed his mind, but he was becoming too suspicious. I couldn't risk him running off with that cure."
"Did you unleash your monster on him, or did you at least have the nerve to murder him yourself?"
"I did it myself of course. If it helps, I took no pleasure in killing him. The man was a genius. It is simply standard procedure for Umbrella to tie up such loose ends. I'm sure you understand that, don't you, Yoko?"
The girl gasped, staring at him uncertainly.
"How do you know Yoko?" Alyssa asked, fingers on her gun.
"We go back, what is it, two years now? Oh, I suppose you may not remember that. After all, what happened was so–" he smiled "–traumatic, I imagine you'd want to erase it from your memory."
"You're one of them," she whispered. "You're one of the ones who experimented on me. Greg... that's your name."
Kevin drew his gun, and Alyssa had hers aimed a moment later.
"Don't feel so ashamed, Yoko," Greg said, seeming disturbingly relaxed for a man with two guns trained on his head. "Your participation was invaluable towards our refinement of the T-Virus. Without you, and those who were slightly less resilient in the experiments, I wouldn't have been able to create the masterpiece you have witnessed today."
"You call that a masterpiece?" Kevin said. "Are you completely fucking insane? You can't control that, it'll kill you as easily as it would us."
"Thanatos is a god," Greg breathed. "You should be in thrall of it."
There was a quiet pop, and blood spurted out of the bottom of his head. The life was gone from his eyes in an instant. George glanced at Kevin and Alyssa, but they looked as perplexed as him.
Someone was running away on the metal supports above their heads, someone in military similar to the bodies they had seen outside. It seemed Greg hadn't been wrong about Umbrella clearing up loose ends.
"Oh fuck," Kevin exclaimed, eyeing the underside of the walkway. "He's set charges. This whole place is going to blow in 10 minutes, max."
Yoko darted over the computers arrayed on Greg's desk. "Okay, I've released all the locks on the premises... and started up the reagent incubator."
The four of them wasted no time in racing back to the lab, leaving Greg's dead body with as little ceremony as he had given Peter.
Alyssa quickly filled the others in on the situation as George prepped the first dose of the cure. The machine would need time to synthesise enough for all of them, but if he could administer the cure to one person and give them a second vial to take safely out of the city, it would be enough.
"Cindy, give me your arm," George instructed. He injected her with the cure.
"I don't feel any different yet," she said.
"You've been cured," he assured her, before retrieving a second sample from the machine and pressing the vial into her hands. "You need to take this with you, they'll need it to generate enough for everyone to be safe."
"What do you mean?" she asked as he beckoned Yoko for an injection. "Aren't you coming too?"
"Yes, as soon as I can. This entire building is likely rigged to explode though, and there is no one I trust more with the safety of this vial."
He administered the cure to Alyssa. "Cindy, will you do it?"
Her brows scrunched up, but she nodded. "I'll see you soon."
The evacuation began, and the three women took off. They were the first to be cured, but with that tiny vial in Cindy's possession, they hopefully wouldn't be the last.
George injected Jim next, and then Kevin. "Go on," Mark urged as Jim dithered, his self-preservation instinct warring with his feelings for the veteran. "Get yourself to safety."
Jim nodded, heading for the door. "That means you too, Kevin," George added as he prepped David's injection. "You've already had your turn at being a foolish hero today."
The cop grinned. "If you're not out in that courtyard in two minutes, I'm coming back and hauling your ass out myself."
He left a moment later, followed by David. George administered Mark's dose. The veteran didn't move.
"Go, I'll follow shortly."
Then George was alone. He injected himself with the cure. As Cindy had said, he felt no different, but he was positive this had worked. What little analysis he had been able to do suggested so. Even if it hadn't, he refused to believe that his friend had died for nothing.
His palms were slick with sweat as he took the final sample from the machine, a second vial in case the worst should happen to Cindy's. George didn't wait a moment longer.
He tore back to Greg's office, through a door to a side passage. None of the surroundings registered as he raced through them. It was all a blur, all he was aware of was his racing heart and the burn as he pushed his body to its limit. The only thing he could think of was to escape. He wouldn't be cured only to die here.
Ladders separated him from the floor below, and he jumped down, landing painfully on his ankle. No time to think about it now. No time.
George sprinted down the final corridor. The doors were wide open.
He burst out onto the courtyard, momentum carrying him forward to where eight other survivors were catching their breath. Behind him, the university exploded, taking its horrors and its secrets with it. None of it would matter soon. He could hear the sound of helicopter blades whipping the air, and nothing had ever sounded so beautiful. They would escape this hell, and bring salvation to everyone Umbrella had threatened. This horror would never happen again.