Author's Note: It's all at the end.
Disclaimer: I still own nothing.
Chapter Five
Emmy had always mocked her seventeen year old daughter for her constant fear of the dark. It was an embarrassing phobia that had followed Kit through her childhood years and had only been strengthened by her love of horror movies. Her few friends thought it odd, who was afraid of the dark, yet loved movies that made every bump in the night terrifying? It was many of the hypocritical parts of Kit's life.
However, as she followed close behind Alice in the foreboding dark, Kit now realized what it felt like to be in a horror movie. This would be the part of the movie where she could be currently screaming at her television set and throwing popcorn at the dumb blond on the screen walking in to the unknown danger that lay ahead of her. She had always thought those people were dumber than doorknobs. Though sadly, sometimes going in the dark was the only choice you had.
Alice walked cautiously into the center of the room where a large computer membrane sat. It was menacing in the half light that shown from the few lights hanging from the ceiling. Kaplan looked around the room nervously and quickly set to work hacking into the system.
"You shouldn't be here," an eerily young voice called from the dark, causing everyone but Kaplan to jump. He continued his work, looking up to the confused others and gave them serious looks.
"That would be the Red Queen," he explained, forcing a front panel off of the computer. "She's programmed to stop us. Don't listen to anything she says."
Alice looked at him, slightly amazed. "She's real?"
"She was modeled after the creator's daughter," Kaplan said with a nod.
Kit listened to the conversation in confusion, who the hell was the 'Red Queen'?
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the voice called out again as Kaplan started to pull a circuit board out of the computer. Kit jumped as a hologram appeared next to her in the form of a small girl, around the age of ten. The girl didn't notice Kit or any of the others, but stared straight ahead of herself, directly at a wall. At Kaplan's look of annoyance and partial fear, Kit guessed that this new 'girl' was the Red Queen.
"Shut up," Spencer told the girl with heat, "Turn her off already," he turned to Kaplan who nodded his head and went to finish with the board.
The Red Queen turned to Kit, "You're all going to die down here."
The power went out just as Kit's stomach dropped like a cold stone. The Red Queen's hologram broke apart and dissolved into the air, leaving them in the dark. Everyone sat in silence for a few minutes and Kaplan let out a deep sigh of relief.
"Was that it?" Kit asked meekly after almost three minutes of nothing. The darkness was starting to creep closer to her, and the Queen's last words were burned into her mind. She did not come all this way, get bitten by a friend, and watch five people be chopped into bits, just to die. There was no way in hell.
"Yeah," Kaplan said with an almost grin. "That was it."
Kit grinned and felt like jumping. Sure, she still didn't have any freaking idea what the hell had happened, where her mother was, or even if JD and Rain were still alive where they'd left them, but hell, it was over. In ten minutes at the most, she and the others would go down and meet back up with JD and then they'd high tail it out of the Hive. Goodbye hellish underground secret facility, I hope you go up in flames.
"Sweet," Kit announced, causing Alice to give her a small smile. She knew how very naïve she must be sounding, but if Kaplan had done his job the way he had been trained to, it should only be a matter of time before they reached the surface again.
Kit didn't wait for the others as she walked hurriedly down the bright corridor, not looking at Shade and the others, only at the room on the other side. The images of their fallen bodies were already burned into her mind for the rest of all eternity and Kit had no desire to have to see them again in person. She heard Alice following close behind with Kaplan and Spence bringing up the back.
As she broke out of the control room, Kit felt the want to run and started jogging lightly down the hall, not caring if the others thought her odd. As far as she was concerned, she was halfway to freedom. Just so long as Jeremy didn't pop out from around the corner and JD and the others were still alive, everything would be okay.
She didn't quite know what she was going to do once they got out of the Hive. Surely Umbrella wasn't going to let her just walk away from what had happened, Kit had seen too much for her not to be a security risk. Maybe she could make a run for it once they reached the surface. She had sneaking suspicion that if she did, no one would be stopping her. Alice, Kaplan, and Spence had all seen what she had, and no doubt JD or even Rain would want her to be forced into a foster home supported by Umbrella.
Running the first chance she was given seemed the best idea. It was either that or be forced into Umbrella care for the rest of her life. Kit could go anywhere, Paris, Boston, even Las Vegas. Anywhere was better than here, that was all Kit knew for sure, and there was no way she was going to stay any longer than she had to.
"Slow down kid," Spence called up to her from halfway down the hall. Kit slowed her pace and looked at the office sectionals as she passed them by, looking once again for any other signs of life.
Just like the first time Kit had entered into the Hive earlier that afternoon, the normal hustle and bustle was lacking the offices. Not yells of deadlines or phones ringing could be heard. In fact, except for the steady breathing of the others, the entire floor seemed entirely silent. It was overly unnerving as Kit knew that more than likely Jeremy was lurking around on one of the floors. She didn't doubt that he could make it off of the floor they had been on, and the thought of him being behind any corner as she turned was starting to wear down her nerves. At least when Kit had been with JD, she had the security of knowing that he had a nice big shiny gun hanging on his back, ready for action. No offense to Kaplan and his gun, but she thought the techie wasn't nearly as frightening as JD did with his.
Kit would feel much safer once they reached the others. Unconsciously, she quickened her pace once again, only to be held back by a gentle hand on her arm.
"We need to stay together."
Alice walked beside Kit, keeping her close to her side as she searched through the empty office rooms. The lack of bodies was what confused the security officer the most. Granted, she didn't remember anything before the so called 'attack', but she still found it odd that none of the bodies could be seen anywhere. The only evidence she'd been able to see of anyone living in the Hive was the young girl walking beside her and the floating technician in the flooded lab.
The rest of Alice's thoughts were interrupted by the soft singing that was coming from Kit beside her. It took a few seconds for her to realize it was an old song of the Beatles.
"You an oldies fan?" Alice questioned, looking at the girl with a small smile, hoping to break the silence and possibly help relive the tension that was floating thickly in the air.
Kit shrugged, a light pink coloring her face. "A little, my mom loved the Beatles. They were always playing on our stereo when I came home," she slowed down slightly, her eyes showing sorrow in the deepest corners of them. "You sort of memorize things when you hear them everyday of your life."
"Hey Jude was always my favorite," Kaplan piped up, lifting his head to give Kit a small smile.
"Mine too." Kit grinned at the computer genius with sincerity before turning back to look down the hall but stopped short at the sounds traveling towards them from where Cafeteria B was supposed to be located.
Everyone in the small survivors stopped and Kit looked at Alice in slight fear. "Are those gun shots?" she asked, fearing the answer she knew was coming. No one waited for an answer as they took off running down the hall, Kaplan pulling out his gun as they went.
Kit followed close behind Alice as they sprinted down the hall as a few more shots could be heard echoing down the hall. She didn't have time to question what the shooting was about or who was being shot at, all that mattered was getting to the others. It didn't matter that Jeremy could be in the other room or that more like him had arrived, all that mattered was getting to the only people that Kit had left to count on.
If she was trying to be realistic about the matter at hand, Kit would have to look at that known facts and accept the fact that her mother was dead. Everyone who had ever looked at her like part of a family was dead. There was no one left in the Hive, and no family members for her to live with on the outside. She refused to let Umbrella overtake her life, and as far as the teen was concerned, the only people left to help her were the ones surrounding her and the ones currently being shot at.
They might've only known each other for a few hours, but that was more than enough time for Kit to realize that Alice and JD and all the others were the only ones left that she cared about. The only ones who would be able to understand her when all of the shit was done hitting the fan. No one on the outside would be able to understand what it was like seeing Shade be diced to pieces or coming home to find everyone dead. She couldn't imagine going back to school and trying to explain how her mother mysteriously died.
The only people who would be truly able to understand what she was going through would be the ones who had gone through it with her.
Kit wasn't about to lose the only people left to her that meant anything to her.
So, I'm really not dead. Sorry it's taken so stupidly long for me to update. It's only been... three months. Don't feel special or anything though, I've come back from the dead after a year once; it was rather awe inspiring to most. Pen name has changed, but it's the same me, so no worries.
However, updates should be becoming more regular once again. I finally got to see the third movie. The whole powers thing pissed me off, but otherwise it was fairly good. I have pretty much everything for this story planned out until the end of the third movie. Still debating on how everything will end, but that won't be for quite a while anyways.
Thanks to everyone who's still along for the ride. I really do appreciate the reviews you've given already and would love to see more. Reviews are like heroine, feed the ever present addiction.
xxfin