Six: Neptune
Stepping thorough a doorway he had never ventured through, Richard looked down at the ground and saw the bodies of two carriers sprawled across the floor; no doubt Redfield had made his way through here.
The room itself wasn't particularly big one. Aside from the double doors Richard had ventured through, there were two more doors on his right-hand side, and another down the hall. But as Rebecca continued to walk, Richard watched dumbfounded as she disappeared from sight. "It's this way," she said.
Across from the door at the end of the hall was a very narrow hallway that led to a steel gate. Richard barely noticed it himself before Rebecca had went through.
On the other end of the steel gate door, Richard readied his shotgun, going down the stone walkway that was littered with plants and vines on both sides. The passageway led to a steel gate with a stone and metal object placed in a contraption next to it.
"Chris found that piece to open the door," Rebecca said, "And when he showed me this place, that's when I started to make my rounds as well before making my way to you."
"You're telling me that this place is full of secret passageways and puzzles?" Richard asked.
"Apparently," Rebecca answered. "Just before, Chris had me playing the piano and a secret wall opened up. Whoever built this place must've been a really paranoid guy, having secrets and keys that made it impossible for one to figure out everything on their own."
"Good things we're cops," Richard smiled, nodding his head as he stepped through. The other side led to a giant storage house that had a set of stairs leading downwards and another door in front of them. Rather than check the downstairs, Richard decided to pull Rebecca through the door in front of them that led them to a new area.
Just like the stone passageway, this area was filled with plants and vines, not to mention the corpses of a few of the possessed zombie dogs. Richard knew he didn't have to worry about Redfield; aside from Forest, Chris was the best shot in the S.T.A.R.S.
Cautiously stepping in front of Rebecca, Richard aimed his shotgun forward and surveyed the area. Scanning to see if it was clear, Richard made his way to a double steel door and nodded over to Rebecca, who made her way to him.
Crossing through the double doors, Richard looked in front of him and noticed what looked like a pit that was recently drained had two ladders on both sides of them. "Chris definitely came this way," Richard said, looking over to Rebecca and receiving a nod. "And if he came this way, then we won't have to be worrying about anything biting into us, will we?"
Rebecca forced a smile and Richard could see that she did. He hurried down the ladder and up the next ladder, still playing cautious as he waited for Rebecca to do the same. Once up, the two continued down the narrow stone passageway that led to a small elevator.
Taking the elevator down, the two continued forward, looking at the floor as more bodies of the zombie dogs were sprawled out in the entire area.
"I can see it up ahead," Rebecca said, pointing to the northwest.
Richard nodded, taking Rebecca by the hand as he sprinted through another door and continued towards the small building.
Stepping through, Richard let Rebecca loose from his grip and readied himself; Redfield seemed to have made his way here in one piece, but how could he be sure that he was even still alive?
Richard shuddered…what if Redfield turned into one of those things…like Edward…like Forest…?
That's something I'll have to worry about if it comes to that, Richard thought to himself, shaking his head. He led Rebecca forward into the old and abandoned-looking house before he made a stop in front of him; there was a door on his right.
Stepping through, Richard could see that it was a safe room, a room that gave him the same sense of safety as the other room in the mansion he was sleeping in did. He wouldn't have to worry about Rebecca so long as she stood in this room while he made some rounds of the place.
"Rebecca," Richard began, nodding his head. "I want you to stay here while I go take a look around."
"What? Why me?" Rebecca asked.
"Listen, if Chris comes back here, then he can meet up with you and the two of you can come looking for me. I'll be searching the place for him anyway, and if I find him, I'll bring him back to you and we'll all go ahead like a team. There's no sense in putting the both of us in danger while we both search for him, you know? Plus, I'll be fine."
"How can you be so sure? You shouldn't even be walking at all at this point."
"Well, my body's as stubborn as my mind is," Richard smiled. "You just stay put and wait for me to come back."
Richard could see that Rebecca had a pained look on her face; she wasn't sure what it was…call it "woman's intuition", but she could sense that something terrible wrong was about to happen, whether it be to her or Richard.
"Hey," Richard said, putting his hand under Rebecca's chin and lifting it to his gaze. "Chin up, soldier. I told you I was going to come back for you, wasn't I? You don't have to worry about a thing."
"But what if you're wrong?" Rebecca asked. "Knock on wood, but what if something terribly wrong happens and I'm not there to help you, Richard? You were lucky I was there the first time around when you were bitten by that snake."
"'Becca, I know I was lucky and I have you and Chris to thank that I'm still here standing right now, but you're going to have to let me take care of some things on my own, ok? Chris is somewhere in this building, and I'm going in to go look for him. If it really bothers you that much, how about I just make you a deal then?"
"What kind of a deal?" Rebecca asked.
"If I'm not back in twenty minutes, you can come and look for me. How's that sound?"
Rebecca smiled and nodded. "Fifteen, and that's my final offer."
Richard smiled as well, nodding his head afterward. "Ok, fifteen minutes, and then you can come look for me if I haven't come back yet. But hey, I promise I'm gonna come back, and I promise we're gonna make it through this, Rebecca."
Rebecca watched as Richard turned the knob of the door. "I'll see you in fifteen," Richard joked, and then he disappeared from her sight.
That was the last thing he ever said to her.
Stepping through onto the other side of the safe room, Richard pressed forward and hooked the first right to another door. The building was old, rickety, and looked like it was about to fall apart at any moment. Richard didn't even want to think about the possibility of him even being in the same vicinity as this place went down. But thinking negatively wasn't going to change anything for anybody, so Richard pressed forward and hung a left once he hit another hallway.
This hallway held many doors, and since Richard discovered that the first one was locked, he decided to press forward to the other one, relieved to have found it unlocked.
As he stepped through, Richard noticed that a body was sprawled out in front of him. He didn't take a chance to see if it was dead before he pulled out his 9mm and shot it once through it's head, the thing haven't actually been dead and not making a noise afterward.
The room itself wasn't a very big one; it looked like his dorm room back when he was in college, but this seemed to be a little bigger. The room's occupant wasn't exactly the neatest person; papers were thrown on the floor, as were clothes, but given the circumstance, Richard could tell that this happened just as the shit hit the fan.
In front of him were two bookcases. He could see how heavy they were by just looking at them, and the books on the right bookcase were thrown on the floor, while the books on the left bookcase were all intact. Richard knew it was a silly thing to observe, but as he walked over to the left bookcase and tried to pry one of the books from the shelf, he could see that it was glued in, as were all the others.
The second thing Richard noticed was that the bookcase was a fake. Carefully pushing the fake bookcase in front of the other one, Richard discovered that there was a ladder behind the thing, one that led further down into an area he wasn't sure even existed.
Secrets, Richard thought, remembering what Rebecca said about the piano she had played. He contemplated going back for Rebecca and having the two of them explore this new place together, but he thought she was better off in that safe room waiting for Chris, away from danger.
"Well, here goes nothing," Richard said out loud, slinging his shotgun towards his back as he crept further and further down the ladder. He shuddered as he was making his way down; it felt like a freezer in there.
Richard quickly aimed forward once he touched the ground, but much to his surprise, there was nothing there except an empty corridor. He quietly tread through, making sure his footsteps weren't that audible in case there was something up ahead.
He hooked a left at the end of the corridor and made his way across a makeshift bridge made up of three boxes, and looked before him as he noticed a flooded area of the building. Water seeped through the door before him, so chances were that some kind of flood ensued from the place, but the water seemed level enough to continue his investigation.
The idea of getting himself wet wasn't something Richard had in mind, but if he was going to do his job or if the passageway led to some kind of sewer they could venture out of, it was worth taking the risk.
He stepped through.
On the other side of the flooded area that was shaped like a ring, Richard could see one massive tank that seemed to have shattered, due in part to the pressure that this place must've sustained to receive this damage. He didn't notice it until the last minute as something moved quickly through the water. By that time he was already very far from the door.
"Holy shit!" Richard exclaimed, running forward to a remotely safe area of the Aqua Ring. From behind, he could see a massive shark making its way to him, its massive head coming out of the water and its massive sharp teeth growling hungrily at Richard.
As Richard aimed forward, the massive shark's head knocked Richard's shotgun out of his hand and to the water, Richard watching in dismay as his weapon sunk to the darkness below.
But from where he was standing, the shark couldn't reach him, and until he came up with some kind of game plan, he would stay put.
Minutes passed, and Richard's heart was still pounding at the sharks that were swimming around him. He was screwed; there was no escape for him in this place.
He heard the steel door he had come through open, and he saw Chris Redfield step into view. Chris looked at him puzzlingly and made his way to him. "Richard!" he said, watching the horror in his friend's eyes instill the same horror into his.
Richard wanted to whisper to Chris to stay put and warn him of the dangers that lurked below, but he watched in horror as his comrade made his way to him and the shark make it way to Chris. "Chris, no! Wait!"
Chris stopped dead in his tracks, sensing something was wrong, but it was too late. The massive shark's head had come out of the water to feast upon Chris Redfield, but Richard had his own agenda in mind. Taking three sprinting steps forward, Richard exclaimed, "Chris, no!" and pushed his friend out of the way, the shark's teeth sinking into his torso, ripping him apart.
He caught one last glimpse of Chris Redfield before being pulled into the water below: he saw guilt, sorrow, horror, and confusion…but also a look of thanks.
Richard could see the water and facility at a very fast speed as he was being led through. As the pain seemed to pass…he had thought about everyone he had let down. He had promised Rebecca that they were going to escape together, but it looked like his promise will never be fulfilled.
Please, God… Richard thought with the last remaining strength in his body. Please, Rebecca…don't die.
The shark bit down once again, and Richard's eyes could see no more.
Fin
A/N: Thank you for all who read this. I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Take care of yourselves.