Disclaimer: I do not own either Jonny Quest or Resident Evil.

A New Nightmare

Chapter 3

By: Sigokat

Dr. Quest and the others returned to the tent and were waiting for Corbin to return. No one spoke on the short walk back across the camp site, but Race could feel Estella's glare as if it had pierced straight through his heart. Never had he imagined that they would be put in another situation such as this, however he now realized that he had indeed underestimated Umbrella's powers. Whether Estella's anger was directed solely at him he could not tell, however he did know that it was due in part to him and his actions in general. He could definitely feel a fight starting to brew.

As the others entered the tent, Estella grabbed Race by the elbow and stopped him from entering. He turned towards her and saw just how angry and frightened she really was.

"What?" He asked, really not wanting to have this discussion now, but knowing that he could not avoid it.

"What was all that talk about the 'last time'?" She asked.

"There was an incident that we were involved in a number of months ago." Race answered. He decided it would probably be best to leave out the main reason that he had been involved.

"What type of incident?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Dr. Quest and Hadji were kidnapped by Umbrella. We had to go and get them back."

"You took Jessie along with you?"

"Estella, it was a last minute thing. We had nowhere else for them to go. If I had known what Umbrella had been doing, I never would have taken her and Jonny along."

Estella snorted her disgust. "You and Corbin did this?"

"Yes." He also decided it was best to leave out Jade's role in the affair. He didn't want to anger her more then she already had been.

"Why on earth…" Estella started.

"Estella, look," Race said, he could feel his own anger growing inside him; not at Umbrella or these Los Illuminados people, but at Estella and her constant bickering and fighting. "We had no idea what was going on. Do you honestly believe that if I had known that I would have endangered our daughter in that way?"

Estella shook her head, "I honestly don't know anymore, Race. I would hope not, however it seems that she is always in danger when she is with you. Add your buddy, Corbin, into the mix and it is a recipe for disaster."

"Believe it or not, Estella, Corbin saved Jessie's life that day. We were separated in the facility and he had to get her through that hell on his own. I think you need to give the man a little more credit then you do."

Estella rolled her eyes, "I just think she would be safer with me."

"Yeah, like this place is really safe. We'd probably all be dead already if Corbin hadn't of shown up. How long do you think those things would have waited before they'd have attacked? There are probably hundreds of them out there."

Before Estella could reply they saw Corbin driving towards them in a small SUV. He parked the truck next to where they were standing and climbed out. He smiled at them and said, "Did I interrupt something? I can come back later."

Estella snorted, turned on her heels, and stormed into the tent.

"What's up with her?" Corbin asked.

"She's scared, so she's taking it out on me."

"That sucks." Corbin replied.

"Yeah, well she still hates you too." Race grinned as he punched his friend lightly in the chest.

Corbin shrugged, "Hey, that's your woman."

"I told her about Washington." Race admitted.

"I figured you would have had to tell her eventually. How'd she take it?"

"Like she always does; threatening to take Jessie away from me again."

"I think we have bigger things to worry about now." Corbin said as he opened the rear door of the SUV and pulled out a computer bag and some maps. He handed the maps to Race and they walked to the tent.

Inside, Dr. Quest had been nursing a cup of coffee, perhaps hoping that the warmth of the beverage would wash away the cold terror that he felt inside. He had been held hostage in the Washington facility, however he had been forced to watch Race, Jonny, and the others as they wound their way through the maze of death and horror in search of him and Hadji.

Jonny and Jessie sat at the table, side by side, but they did not speak. There were no words of comfort or comedy that they could share to lighten their spirits. Instead, they sat there in silence, tightly holding hands together.

The assistant David stood in a corner, but approached Estella as she walked into the tent. He could see that she was not in a talkative mood, so he stood next to her and waited for her to speak. Before he could get anything out of her, the tent flaps flew open again and Race and Phil walked in. David took a step back out of the way. He had planned to avoid anymore confrontations with men that could easily kill him in a heartbeat if they were so inclined to do so. David did notice that Race still appeared to be unarmed, however Corbin still had his rifle and pistol, but the rifle was now slung across his back.

Race unrolled the maps and placed them on the table as Corbin opened the computer case. He quickly opened it and logged on. He opened up some programs and within a few minutes there were satellite images displayed on the screen.

Everyone gathered around the table. Corbin pointed towards a spot on the map that indicated the camp site.

"This is our current location." He began. He moved his hand north on the map and pointed at an image of a structure. "That is where I am headed; to the castle. It's approximately twelve miles from here, but the terrain is thick and rugged, with many small villages scattered between here and there. Trying to take a straight line distance would probably be impossible, so it is difficult to judge exactly how long it will take to get there."

"What's at the castle?" Dr. Quest asked.

"Supposedly that is the base of operations for the Los Illuminados. I've hooked into some of our satellites to try and obtain some real time feed of this general area; however with the weather quickly turning to shit it is difficult to make out anything more then

what we can see on this map."

"You said that you are headed to the castle." Race stated.

"Yes." Corbin said as he straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What about the rest of us?" Race asked.

"You will take them back to the city and then back to Rota where you can return to the states at any time."

Race shook his head. "You want us to leave?"

"Yes. This is my problem, not yours."

"Phil, I don't think…" Race started.

"This isn't a negotiation, Race. It's an order. The longer you all stay here the more danger you face."

Race slammed his fist on the table, "Hell no, Phil. You can't send us back. I'll take the rest back to the city, but then I'm coming back. You can't possibly do this on your own. There could be hundreds or thousands of those things out there and who knows what else."

"I'm not leaving either." Estella said. "I'm not letting some thugs scare me off."

Corbin rolled his eyes, "Those aren't 'thugs' out there, Estella. This isn't a debate." He hesitated before continuing his train of thought, "Besides you'd only slow me down."

"Sorry, Phil." Dr. Quest said. "What these people are doing is a disgrace to science and a horror to all of humanity. You can't expect us to just turn away and do nothing. You said it earlier, they have to be stopped."

Corbin gritted his teeth. He knew this was going to happen. Race was his best agent, but he was stubborn and thick headed and Phil truly believed that those traits had rubbed off onto the good doctor and the kids. He ran his hands over his face and then suddenly stopped. He turned his gaze to the young assistant David, recognition flashing in his eyes.

"Now I remember." Corbin said.

"Remember what?" David asked nervously.

Instead of answering, Corbin drew his pistol and aimed it at the man's chest. David's arms shot up in the air and he stumbled backwards. "What are you doing?" He managed to say.

Everyone else stepped back out of the line of fire, shocked at this sudden turn of events.

"Phil, what are you doing?" Estella demanded.

"He works for them." Corbin replied; never taking his eyes off of his target. He cocked the hammer back on the pistol and stepped forward which caused the other man to step back

"What?" Race asked, "For who?"

"Umbrella or Los Illuminados, either one it doesn't matter. He's one of the enemy."

"How do you know?" Dr. Quest asked.

"This is ridiculous." David shouted. "I've done nothing wrong. You've seen what this man did to those people in the woods. He's just trigger happy or something."

"Access the folder on my laptop labeled Spain. There are pictures inside. One picture shows two men on a boat disposing of dead bodies into one of the lakes. Supposedly there is some sort of monster in that lake that they sacrifice unwilling villagers to. This guy is on that boat."

Race did as Corbin instructed and after clicking through some of the pictures he found the one in question. After zooming in on the boat the picture lost some of its quality, but it was clear that David was one of the men in the picture.

David continued to step backwards, but he was quickly running out of room. He knew that they would never let him escape, so in his desperation he reached out and grabbed a hold of Estella's hair and pulled her close to him, using her as a shield. Corbin tightened his grip on his pistol and readjusted his aim, but Race held up his hand to stop him from firing.

"Let her go." He demanded.

Estella screamed as David jerked her hair, straining her neck. "I walk out of here and then I will let her go."

Race nodded at the man and said, "Alright, just be cool. No one is going to get hurt."

"You think you all know something, but you don't. You have no idea of the awesome power that Los Illuminados possesses. You cannot stop us. You will all die."

Corbin took another step forward. He knew he could take the kid out now, but he held back for Estella's sake.

David continued to back step towards the tent flap and when he reached it, he pushed Estella forward and quickly dove out the door. Corbin surged forward and leapt over Estella's prone body and was out the door in a matter of seconds. He heard movement to his right and saw David running through the woods. He holstered his pistol, unslung his rifle, knelt and took aim. The forest was thick and he couldn't get a clear shot because the other man kept twisting and weaving his way through the woods. Corbin clicked the selector level back to safe and stood. He's probably as good as dead anyways and if he does manage to make it to his friends, he can't really tell them anything more then they probably already knew about the Quests and the dig site he thought. Corbin sighed and stepped back into the tent.

Estella was sitting at the table with the others gathered around her. She was relatively unharmed; more shook up then anything else. A few tears ran down her cheeks, more then likely caused by her hair being violently pulled by her attacker. Race looked up from his ex-wife when he saw Corbin walk back in.

"Did you get him?"

Corbin shook his head. "No, but he probably won't last very long out there anyway."

"What if he gets back to his people?" Jessie asked.

Corbin shrugged. "He can't really tell them anymore then they probably already know."

Dr. Quest ran a hand through his graying hair and spoke. "So now that we know that the threat is real, what do you propose we do? When do we leave?"

"Six people are a lot to have together at one time in this environment." Corbin replied.

"Then we split up." Race guessed.

"I don't have enough weapons and equipment for everybody." Corbin replied. "I don't like this at all, but since there is no arguing with you then I suppose the best plan would be to separate into two teams and move on the castle that way. We can cover more ground and collect any evidence that we may come across while en route."

Jonny looked up at his father and said, "I want to stay with you."

Dr. Quest nodded his agreement and placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder. "I agree, Jonny."

"Well I'm not leaving Jessie." Estella said, having recovered from her episode. "And now that I know David is one of them, I am more determined then ever to stop this."

"So that leaves you and me." Race said to his boss. "I'll take Jonny and Dr. Quest and Jessie and Estella can go with you."

Corbin shook his head; he didn't like being responsible for watching the two women. It had been hard enough for him with Jessie the first time. It wasn't that he didn't think she couldn't hold her own, he knew that she could and had seen her do so, he just didn't like knowing that he had to watch out for his friend's family in this situation.

"Race, maybe you should…" He started.

Race shook his head and led Corbin to a corner of the tent for some privacy. "No. I think its best this way. If I was with them I don't think I would be able to function to my fullest abilities. I can do that with the Quests. You took care of Jessie last time; she trusts you and so do I."

"It would be better if none of them came at all."

"Perhaps, but that's not going to happen, you know that. Besides, it would waste too much time especially now that that creep has gotten away and could be reporting back to his associates at any moment."

Corbin sighed, "Fine. But if your wife starts running her mouth, I'm gonna have to gag her."

Race smiled at his friend's ability to crack jokes even in these grave situations. "I guess that's fair enough and she's my ex-wife remember."

The two men turned back to the group to discuss the plan of attack. "Alright, so I will be taking Jonny and Dr. Quest," Race started, "Jessie and Estella you two will be going with Phil."

Estella snorted and rolled her eyes, but she did not object.

"What's the plan of attack?" Race asked.

"Like I said earlier, there are numerous villages between here and the castle." Corbin said as he directed their attention back to the map. "Supposedly there is a secret mine of some sort beyond the main lake; however the only access to it is by boat which means crossing the lake. The paths are too narrow to take any vehicles so we'd be walking and I think we should at least investigate some of the villages to try and determine how many people Saddler has infected."

"Do we have any idea how long this has been going on?" Dr. Quest asked.

"No." Corbin replied.

"So we have no idea how many of those things are out there."

"That's correct."

"Great." Jonny said.

Race crossed his arms over his chest. "We can investigate the lake and see about going that route while you take the foot paths to the nearest village."

Corbin shrugged, "That works for me. I have some gear outside in the truck. I kind of figured that I would need more then one set."

"When are we going to leave?" Estella asked. "It'll be dark within the hour."

"I don't like going into unfamiliar territory in the dark unless we have to." Race said. "You think we can wait till first light and move then?"

"That's fine. We can go over the basic plan again if you want. We'll switch off pulling guard duty. I suggest everyone sleep in the same tent tonight." Corbin replied.
I'll bring the stuff inside."

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After the truck had been unloaded, Corbin divided the equipment between himself and Race. Besides the weapons that he already carried, there was another M4 rifle and .45 semi-automatic pistol, both of which he gave to Race, as well as enough ammunition for the both of them. There was a limited number of incendiary and fragmentation grenades, so he divided each in half and gave six of each to Race and he kept six of each for himself. The two men loaded up the spare magazines and grenades onto the tactical vests that Corbin had acquired when he had arrived. He had also requested two way hands-free communications devices. The radios clipped to the belt and came with earpieces and speaking devices; the radios were supposed to have a ten mile radius depending on the terrain. He hadn't requested, but had received anyway, two transponders with PDAs. Uploaded into the PDAs were maps of the area and when the transponders were activated they would be able to track each other's movements. He also had two pair of infrared binoculars. It was a lot of equipment to carry, but he and Race had carried more for other missions as well. His informant had wanted him to collect evidence as well, so he kept the needed equipment he was supplied with in a small assault pack that he attached to the back of his vest.

Once the equipment had been divided they were getting ready to move to the other tent to try and get some sleep, when Corbin's cell phone rang. Everyone stopped and turned towards the man as he answered the phone.

"Yeah?" He said as he flipped open the phone open and answered.

He waited a few moments before responding, obviously listening to what the caller had to say. "We aren't leaving till dawn. We don't know what is out there right now."

More waiting, then, "I understand that, however I'm not taking these people out there right now. I'm here now, so this is going to be on my terms, not yours."

The others watched him intently, as he nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. He pulled the PDA out of his pocket and switched it on and then he spoke again, "Yeah I see them on here. That's fine. Anything else?"

The caller must have been giving more instructions, however after a few minutes Corbin hung up without a reply.

"Who was that?" Race asked.

"The person that sent me here."

"So, how come you didn't bring any back-up?" Jonny asked. "This would be a lot easier with a whole assault team and some helicopters and stuff."

"It's too dangerous. I don't know who to trust anymore." Corbin answered. "Who knows for sure who in the government Umbrella has paid off."

"You obviously trust this informant of yours." Estella said.

"I had no choice in the matter." Corbin replied.

Dr. Quest could sense another argument brewing, so before it could erupt he spoke up. "Well, we are here now and that is all that matters. I suggest we try and get some sleep before we have to leave in the morning."

"I'll pull the first guard duty." Corbin said. "You all get some rest."

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When he had reached a safe location, David pulled out a phone and quickly dialed a number. After only two rings the line was picked up.

"The Quests and the archeologist bitch know what is going on. Some government agent

they know showed up and told them about us."

He paused, "I don't know who he is or how he knows about us. He recognized me from a photograph of the lake that he had somehow obtained. I'm surprised he didn't kill me right away, the man seems pretty crazy. He killed the two that had been keeping watch on the site."

David sat on top of a rock formation; he was covered in sweat from running so long. He hadn't wanted to stop because he had no idea if they had decided to follow him or not.

"You can't tell Lord Saddler about this." He said into the phone, his voice becoming shaky.

"All I know is that they plan to come to the castle."

Another pause, "You want me to go back? They'll kill me for sure."

"I'll make it up, I swear. Lord Saddler will be pleased. We can capture them and let Lord Saddler's pet have its way with them."

"I won't fail, I swear." David hung up the phone.

He had no intention of going back to the site or to the castle. He would let the crazy government agent and the Quests do all the dirty work and then when it was safe, he would escape. He had seen first hand how unforgiving Lord Saddler could be in matters such as these and if he went back to the castle then he was surely as dead as if he went back to the camp. For now, he would lay low and wait till things had calmed down. Perhaps if the group succeeded in eliminating Saddler, David would be able to take over control of the cult and use Las Plagas to start his own personal war.

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Fortunately the night passed quickly and with no incidents. The relative quiet and calm of the surrounding forest gave a false impression of safety and normalcy, however everyone knew otherwise. There were things out there, waiting for them, more then likely even watching them and it caused everyone's nerves to be on end. They all tried to sleep, however none were able to get more then a few hours and even those were restless.

Estella had informed her team that some unexpected events had arisen and the dig had to be postponed indefinitely. She had instructed them that they all had to leave and return to the city at dawn. This was disheartening to some, since the discovery of the fossil they had assumed that things would pick up, not stop so suddenly. Estella assured the team that it was only a temporary halt and that they should be able to return to the site within a week at most.

Race and Phil spent time cleaning their weapons and studying the maps. There were many small pockets of villages, some could be bypassed, but some could not. Phil had also informed Race that his nameless informant had told him that there were weapons caches located throughout the area; most had been marked on the PDA map. It would solve their ammunition and weapon shortage problems. Race and trained Jonny, Jessie, and even Dr. Quest in the proper use of firearms, however he did not relish the fact that they would more then likely have to use them. Jonny and Jessie had proven their abilities in the warehouse in Washington, however he was still worried. Race had confidence in Corbin to protect his daughter and ex-wife; he knew they would be in good hands and that Corbin would risk his own life to ensure they were safe. His only worries came from if something were to happen to either himself or Phil that the others would be left alone and vulnerable. Perhaps he now understood why Corbin wanted to go alone, however he knew that the others would not want to leave and it was safer to keep them together then leave them because he knew they would eventually venture out in the forest alone.

Corbin was studying his PDA and uploading checkpoints when Race turned to him and spoke, "So, you have no idea who this informant is or who she is working for?"

Corbin did not look up from the PDA, "Nope."

"So how do you know we can trust her?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't for sure, but my instinct is telling me that she is on our side." He finally looked up at Race, "Besides, she did tell me you all were in trouble, which proved to be correct."

"Sure, but didn't you say she said it was a trap?"

"Yes."

Race thought for a minute, "You don't think Estella…" He couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence.

"No, I don't think that. You really think that if she was involved she would risk her daughter's life? And the lives of Dr. Quest and Jonny?"

"Well, no, I don't. Hey, what about me?" Race exclaimed upon realization that Corbin had omitted his name.

"You? She probably wants you dead." Corbin smiled at his friend, "I know I do sometimes. You are as stubborn as a mule."

"You're not much better." Race retorted.

"Never said I was."

"You know I feel like a mouse, trapped in some huge maze, with your mysterious informant watching over us, leading us to some slice of cheese, but I don't know if I want the cheese."

"Cheese makes you fat." Corbin replied.

"I'm being serious, asshole." Race said.

"So, am I. You've gained some weight since going to live with the Quests. Too much cheese I guess."

Race reached over and popped his friend lightly on the side of the head. "You have an amazing talent for humor in grave situations."

"It's my defense mechanism. Besides, I'm the one who has to go out there with you wife. That alone scares the hell out of me. Add plague infested people and who knows what else into the mix and I'm screwed. If I do make it out of here alive I'll have to spend the next five years in therapy thanks to your wife."

"I know a good one. I can get you his card and remember she's my ex-wife." Race smiled.

"She still treats you like your married and you still bow down to her."

"I think I'm going to kick your ass now." Race smiled.

"You can try, tubby."

Race placed his rifle down on the ground and lunged at Corbin, wrapping his arms around the other man's waist as he knocked him off his seat and pinned him to the ground. Corbin countered by placing his right knee into Race's gut and wrapping his left arm around Race's arm and as he twisted he flipped Race onto his back.

"So, am I playing you or Estella right now?" Corbin grinned.

Race curled his hand into a fist and hit Corbin on the side of the head and then raised his leg and kicked the other man in the stomach, throwing him off. Corbin fell backwards and said, "I guess that means I'm playing you."

Before Race could reply, Dr. Quest and the others came out of the tent, obviously drawn out by the commotion.

"You two boys having fun?" Estella asked.

Corbin grinned at Race and Race shot him a glance, "Don't you dare say a word."

Corbin raised his arms in defeat, "Alright you win. But you didn't have to hit me so hard in the head."

"Don't call me tubby again." Race smiled as he helped his friend to his feet.

Estella shook her head and rolled her eyes at the two. "Men. I swear, I don't understand men sometimes."

"Its ok, we don't understand you women either." Corbin replied.

Jonny suppressed a giggle as Race elbowed Corbin in the ribs. "Remember you have to deal with her." He whispered to his friend.

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me."

"What did you two say?" Estella said.

"Nothing." Both men replied as one.

"The sun will be up soon, so I suggest we finish getting ready." Dr. Quest said as he shook his head at Race and Corbin.

"I'll go finish up rationing the food and water." Jessie said.

"I'll help you, honey." Estella said as she turned back towards the tent.

"Make sure you give the cheese to Race." Corbin said a little too loudly.

Race punched his friend in ribs, causing Corbin to exhale loudly. Estella looked at the two men, rolled her eyes and turned back to the tent. "Men." She snorted once again as she walked into the tent.

"You suck, Phil." Race said.

"So do you, Race."

The two men sat back down, Jonny sat next to Race, and they went over the maps again; covering checkpoints and the weapons caches along the routes they planned to take.

"So…" Jonny said as he joined the two men.

"So what?" Race asked.

"Race, there's something else I need to tell you as well." Corbin said, his face turning serious. "The last message I received had a warning about something more deadly then those creatures lurking in the woods."

"Did the message say what it was?" Jonny asked.

"No, however when I received that phone call earlier, the caller reiterated the statement again. Whatever it is, it's probably near the castle."

"Well, who knows what to expect if Umbrella is involved." Race said.

"I don't know how involved Umbrella is." Phil said, "Perhaps they only recently discovered this Saddler person and what he had been doing and now they want the Las Plagas and whatever else is here for themselves."

"Can it be any worse then what we saw before?" Jonny asked.

"I hope not, Jonny, but I don't know." Phil answered.

"Well, we just need to stay vigilant." Race said as he stood up.

Corbin reached into his pocket, grabbed a cigarette and lit it. "Hey, I thought you quit." Race said.

"Whenever flesh eating zombies and horror movie creatures enter my life I always seem to start up again." Corbin shrugged.

"You probably shouldn't be smoking that. They may see." Jonny said.

"They already know we are here, they are probably watching us right now; I'm not exactly concerned about that. Once the sun rises we will be on our way."

"Well, when do I get a weapon?" Jonny asked.

Corbin glanced at Race, "Hey, kiddo," Race started as he placed a hand on Jonny's shoulder, "You got me for now."

"Yeah, but I still want a gun. You remember what happened last time."

"Yes, I do. We'll see what we can do." Race answered as he and Jonny walked back towards the tent. Corbin watched them go and after they had disappeared into the tent he scanned the area, his mind projecting images in front of his eyes as to what was lurking out there…waiting for them.

The sun would be up soon and then they would depart, a whole new nightmare waiting for them in the unknown.

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To be continued…