Ch. 6: Exploring the Cage

Author's note: Who knew playing Alpha Zombies on Halo: Reach could help inspire a writer to work on his Resident Evil fanfic? And, sorry for not having this chapter up sooner. But my usual beta reader was extra busy than normal, and I had a lot of traveling to do this summer. Now that summer is over, and if I can find enough free time, I'll try to get back into the habit of writing. And to solve the beta reader issue, I have a second one. Though if anyone wants to be a third or fourth one on the list, just send me a message.

Everyone

"It's him," Rebecca said quietly to herself as she climbed up the first two steps of the stairway. Her green eyes were fixed on the large, faded portrait in front of her. The face looked exactly like the leech man she ran into earlier. She turned around and caught Daniel's eye, who nodded, seeing the connection. She rested her head on a fist. "But... what does it even mean?" Rebecca wondered, confused about the eerie coincidence.

"What does what mean?" Billy questioned as he looked between Daniel, Rebecca, and the portrait.

Before Rebecca could elaborate, everyone froze as an old recording began to play. An old man's voice spoke of a reminder, telling his employees to quietly reflect on the company motto. The voice identified itself as Dr. Marcus. The motto was as such :"Obedience breeds Discipline. Discipline breeds Unity. Unity breeds Power. Power is life."

Almost like a devotion, Daniel sourly noted. No wonder that Umbrella has a large share of screwed-up employees.

Rebecca pointed at the old painting. "The leech monster looked exactly like him before it transformed."

"A leech monster?" Shantia repeated disbelievingly. She turned to Daniel for verification.

He nodded. "You heard right. A leech monster that can mimic humans. Or, at least, this human in particular."

"So that might mean this place is crowded with monsters just waiting to be slaughtered?" Jessica asked hopefully.

"Just because Umbrella owned the train and this facility does not mean that whatever happened out there has happened in here," Edward countered. He waved an arm over the room. "The power is still on. If we're lucky, we can find another human being and contact the rest of Bravo team."

"Um, Edward," Rebecca began quietly, hesitantly. "It might not be like that."

The burly Bravo member didn't like what he was hearing. "Do you have evidence to suggest otherwise, Rebecca?" He asked in a clipped, official tone.

Rebecca reached behind her and pulled out a diary along with a bloodied and torn piece of paper. "Remember the files I discovered during my investigation on the train? It says that there was an investigation unit on the train that was headed to this facility to re-activate it. In addition to that, it looks like Umbrella was conducting illegal viral research, using something called the 'T-virus'." She frowned as she finished. "And it looks like this T-virus can infect multiple species. It's probably behind the creation of all the monsters and zombies we've seen."

Edward stared intensely at the medic for a moment. Finally, he asked, "Do you know how it spreads? Is there a cure?" All the while, his spare hand rested on his bitten shoulder.

Rebecca did her best not to stare at Edward's shoulder even as old zombie movie clichés filled her head. It's always spread by bites, right? "No, it just says that it is a possible source of the outbreak. Nothing else."

"Hmph." Edward turned to face the barred main door. "Well, regardless of what's happened here, we have the fugitive in custody. Our top priority now is to reestablish contact with STARS and ensure that Kevin receives proper medical treatment. We'll investigate this facility later." He glared at the glistening knights, whose swords barred the main exit. "And that means we need to get through this door."

Billy, while ignoring the word "fugitive", was already scanning the metallic bodies. He walked up to one and knocked on the mechanical knight. The sound that reverberated was not hollow, to Billy's dismay. Edward was now by the other knight, rapping his knuckles against it. He frowned before he knocked it, harder. Though it rattled, it did not budge from its spot. Edward growled at it. He cocked his leg back, and slammed it against the machine. To his increasing frustration, the knight held its ground. "DAMN!"

"Language."

Edward glared at Tim, who had an arm around Katelyn. Tim glanced at Katelyn and glared back at Edward. Of all the... The Bravo halted the thought and took a deep breath. Getting angry won't help, Edward reminded himself.

"On the plus side," Billy began dryly. "If we could open their hands, I'm sure those swords would come in handy."

"Well!" Jessica declared loudly. "Looks like we'll have to do some explorin'!" Her head jerked to and fro as she analyzed the doors. "Which one, which one, which?" Her eyes stopped as she stared at the doors behind her good friend, Daniel.

While Billy and Edward had fruitlessly struggled to clear the main door, the male soldier turned his eyes to the ceiling. Somewhere up there, Wesker and Birkin are watching this. I wonder what they'll make of this? Rebecca, Edward, and Kevin shouldn't throw Wesker off. But six new teenagers? Is he confused? Does he care? Daniel's silent reflection was brought to a halt as he felt someone's gaze on him. He looked back down and saw Jessica staring right at him, her eyes burning a noiseless question into him. His eyes flashed to the doors behind her before he looked back at her. Jessica got the answer as she whirled around to face the doors. A huge grin sprouted onto her face. "I'MMA GOIN' MONSTER SLAYIN'!"

Billy, who caught the devilish expression and immediately understood the cowgirl's plan, nearly leaped from the knight as he tried to grab onto her shoulder. His hand reached forward...and swiped at the air that now occupied the space.

Katelyn blinked and replayed the scene in her mind. Jessica shouted, then tore off like a lightning bolt toward the doors. I didn't even know she could run that fast... An image of an old Bugs Bunny cartoon came to mind. A speedy getaway, so fast, that it left a dust cloud in Bug's shape.

"No! We have to stay together!" Edward commanded as forcefully as he could. The effect was...negligible. With negligible equaling to no effect whatsoever. The poor doors didn't stand a chance as the teenager charged through them. Billy was right behind her. Edward looked at the others, anger and frustration characterizing his feelings.

"I think it'll be a good idea if you can keep an eye on those two. I'll organize the rest of us to begin searching the rest of the building for life, an exit, and a phone," Daniel rattled off, watching closely to see if the STARS member would agree with him.

Edward paused before he nodded. "Safety is still top priority!" Then he ran after the first two.

"Don't forget to keep the doors closed!" Daniel replied. He turned to the others. "Alright, Rebecca, you and I will check the upper double doors. Tim and Shantia, I want you two to check that door." He pointed at the second story door that was on the opposite wall to where Jessica charged through.

"Okay," Rebecca nodded, while she went over Kevin's bandages one last time.

While the medic was finishing, Daniel motioned for Shantia to join him for a moment. The bun-haired soldier did so. "I hope you're about to tell me what is going to happen once we go through that door," she whispered quickly.

"I am. It's a single room, a study, I think. There are two important items: a document on the coffee table in the center of the room, and a handle by itself in a small cabinet by the door. Get them and any spare ammo or herbs and get out. As soon as you grab the handle, it should trigger a crow attack coming in from the window. Don't fight, just run." He paused as he saw Rebecca stand. He continued at normal volume. "In case there's only one room, I want you to try to catch up with us and report your findings, alright?"

"Got it." Shantia waved to Tim and the two of them started climbing the steps.

Rebecca shot a puzzled a look between the two US soldiers. "What were you talking about?"

"Just some searching procedures, nothing much really," Daniel answered blandly with a shrug. "Let's get started." He led the way up the stairs with a not-quite-convinced Rebecca following.

Edward, Billy, & Jessica

After closing the door, they found themselves in a fancy dining room. Tables lined the wall, while others occupied the center of the room. Each one was covered by white cloth and had a complete set of dishware and utensils. Also, each one had a candlestick. Blood stains marked the wall. Much more pressing was the five zombies that limped toward them. Jessica was having a grand ol' time. The zombies that patrolled the dining room might have been able to easily defeat the rambunctious cowgirl if they tried to zerg rush her. But they were content to notice her one at a time, proving to be easy prey for her dual handguns.

"Great. More of these rotting bastards." Billy said dryly, content to save his ammo. After all, what if they ran into another giant insect?

Edward followed Billy's example, allowing Jessica to rack up the kills. "So much for finding life."

"Boom! Headshot! Boom! Headshot! Mwahahahahaha!"

"What kind of door is that?" Edward said rhetorically. With the room clear, he walked around the large table and arrived at a door tucked away in the back. The door was a dark red color. Or was simply red in a dark room. It was carved with intricate branches in four corners surrounding a circle of carefully detailed flames. He checked the handle. "Locked," he declared, unsurprised.

"That's not a problem." Billy stared through the pass-through into the kitchen. Unlike the one on the train, this one was large enough to accommodate all of them, even Edward's large size. A ceiling light illuminated most of the room and from what Billy could see, no hostiles of any sort were in there. "I'll go in first."

"No," Edward answered, spying the open window next to the door.

Billy rolled his eyes. "Come on. Where would I run to? For all I know, I could run into giant cockroaches in that forest.

"Good grief! When will you two start working together!?" Jessica interrupted exasperatedly, glaring at them. "All your whining means I'm going to miss out on the monsters!"

"And I'm getting sick of your attitude, young lady," Edward barked back.

"Just let the damned man go already!"

The STARS officer growled at the impudent high school student. Gotta stay in control. I'm in charge. How does Enrico do this? "Fine, I'll cover you," he told Billy, pointing his machine gun into the vacant kitchen.

The fugitive nodded, only partially satisfied that the cop was being more cooperative. That girl though, she's going to get us all killed. Making sure his weapons were on safe and put away, he crawled through the hole in the wall. He slid in head first, scanning the floor. Once he saw nothing was directly beneath him, he pulled the rest of his body in, dropping onto the floor. It took two seconds for him to get back to his feet. Another scan of the room agreed with his initial assessment that it was safe. He side-stepped to the right and unlocked the red door. Edward came in, his eyes checking Billy first before moving on to the rest of the room. He's cautious, I'll give him that. Jessica stepped in next. She took a whiff of the air, scrunched up her face, and announced, "This is no way to treat a kitchen!"

Billy agreed the room had certainly seen better days . Dirty dishes were overflowing in the sink. Rotting food was strewn all over the counters. There wasn't a section of the room that wasn't covered with stains whether they belong to dirt, water, or blood. "Maybe you should clean it and whip up a meal for everyone."

"Is there anything in the fridge?" Billy paused, and stared at the cowgirl, caught off-guard by the sincerity of her question. She stared right back as she walked in. "...well?"

"You can stop pulling my chain."

"I'm serious," she protested.

Now Edward halted as he regarded the teenager. "You two need to stop playing around and get back to work."

Jessica glared at the STARS officer. "You're not hungry? I mean, the power was left on this entire time, right? There has to be something to eat in there. And I'm hungry."

Edward leapt at the chance to keep Jessica out of trouble and away from the fighting. "Let me check." He opened the fridge...and slammed it shut as his poor nose was subjected to pure, aroma torture for a second too long.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad, you wussy," Jessica declared as she headed for the fridge. Edward's reply was to take one large step back and gestured for her to check it out herself. Billy ignored the two and refilled his dead lighter with some recently-found lighter fluid. She threw open the door...and her haughty expression froze in place. Coincidentally, a smug grin appeared on Edward's. Jessica breathed out and crouched to get a better view of the contents. "Well, looks like the milk is rotten. Along with everything else. Maybe the freezer." The fridge door was slammed shut a second time. Much more cautiously, Jessica opened the freezer door. No foul odor greeted her. Encouraged, she took a closer view of the contents. "Wow, they really didn't spare any expense for these guys. There's meat, ice-cream, and a boatload of frozen sandwiches. Heck, I could get our boys some snacks within half an hour. If I leave the meat to thaw now, I could probably have a decent meal ready in a few hours." The brunette glanced up at Edward. "And me and the others haven't had anything to eat in a while."

The mechanic nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, do what you can, clean what you need to. We'll secure the window, check a couple more rooms and be back here in ten minutes."

Jessica was about to shoot the idea down, unhappy with any missed chance of action. But then, her stomach growled, and the argument died before she could voice it. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, she relented. "Fine. But don't kill anything you don't have to!"

"Trust me," Billy answered as he locked the window. "We'll avoid any and all unnecessary fights. "

Edward turned to leave as Jessica started on her new task. Back outside the kitchen, the men pored over the new corpses. No new information came to light, but the two did discover more than enough ammo to compensate.

Shantia and Tim

They entered the dark room. Light was provided by moonlight through the windows and an old lamp that stood guard on a coffee table. An unlit fireplace adorned the room along with several old paintings. A wilted plant sat next to an old sofa, having died long ago. Across the table from the sofa were two chairs. On the table were an old file, a teapot, a cup on its saucer, and another teacup that was on its side. It looked as though that two people were enjoying some tea before they were interrupted.

"It's creepy in here." Shantia noted as she watched for movement beyond the windows. She did not appreciate the gnarled tree branches that snaked across the windows' views.

"Just turn on the lights," Tim answered as he retrieved the file, who was also eager to be out of here.

"No way. It might bring in the z-crows in early."

"Alright."

Shantia slowly walked over to the cabinet, eyes still focused on the window. Tim was already opening the door. "Here goes nothing." She pulled out the handle. They waited for a moment.

"Guess he was- ," They both jumped as a flock of infected crows crashed in. As the birds began to dive at them, Shantia charged out of the room, while Tim slammed the door behind them. Safely back in the foyer, they took a moment to calm down.

Daniel and Rebecca

Daniel's original plan was to search the conference room, go through the first left door, enter the library and have Shantia and Tim rendezvous with them with the needed handle. Like many of his other expectations, it was quickly derailed. This time the derailing was accomplished solely by Rebecca. After climbing up both flights of stairs, the medic turned her full attention on the white marble statue of justice. The soldier patiently waited by the double doors for Rebecca to finish her inspection. What she said, floored him. "I wonder if this is part of an elaborate lock."

"...what?"

She turned and waved for him to come closer. "Look at it. Why is the scale functional? Instead of simply being carved marble too? And read this inscription: 'When good and evil are brought into balance, a new path will be opened to you.' I seriously think that solving this riddle might unlock something." She peered past the statue at the two mechanical knights. "Maybe it'll open the front doors."

Daniel struggled to keep his face straight. "Yeah, that makes sense," he replied slowly. "Any idea what's the riddle's answer?"

Rebecca rested her chin on her fist, undoubtedly going into contemplation mode again. "Hmmm, I'm not sure. But let's just focus on the scale. It's already tilting to one side, so all we have to do is get it into balance and that, hopefully will take care of everything. But what should we use as a weight?" She peeked at Daniel. "What do you have in your pockets?"

"Well..." The soldier slung his assault rifle before digging into his many, many pockets. "A couple of magazines, cell phone, wallet...and a flashlight." You know, I never really did use the flashlight. Daniel looked from the small pile of stuff in his hands to Rebecca.

"You had a cell phone? Why didn't you use it?"

"I haven't had any service since I entered the forest. And, by the time I realized I had no service, we were already in pretty deep," Daniel answered, being completely honest.

"You guys are incredibly lucky, aren't you?" She murmured as she glanced between the items and the scales. "Well, since it isn't working, may I borrow it?"

"Sure."

"Thank you." She grabbed the phone and the unused flashlight and placed them on the scales. The scales rocked back and forth before stopping. It was still uneven. "Hmmmm. Maybe..." Her train of thought was brought to a halt as Tim and Shantia came running in from their room. Tim slammed the door behind him. Several loud thumps crashed into the now-closed door.

Huh. I wonder if that can be an effective way to kill z-crows, Daniel privately wondered. "You two alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," Shantia wheezed out. "But trust me, you don' wanna go back in there. Looks like the infection has hit the local bird population."

Rebecca's worries instantly doubled. "Can they spread the infection?" Tim replied with a did-you-honestly-think-we-would-check!?' look. The medic got the message. "This is really bad. If they can spread the infection, then there's no way we can keep this area quarantined beyond a gigantic explosion to wipe out this whole area. Worse, they'll make terrible targets."

"The shotgun would be ideal for clearing them out, wouldn't it," Daniel advised confidently. "It'd be like using AA shrapnel against fighters."

The STARS member glanced at him, surprised. "Yeah. I think you're completely right. We would just have to make sure no one tries to go outside without the shotgun we found earlier. Give me a moment," she pulled out her radio. "I need to warn Edward and the others."

As she passed along the new info, Daniel took a few steps up to Shantia and Tim as the pair made their way back to the staircase. Tim glared at him as Shantia handed over the handle. "I hope this was worth it, Sims. Just because I watched the Resident Evil movies doesn't means that I want to get the bejeebus scared out of me."

Daniel glanced toward the elevator where the broken lift was before looking at the locked door on the other side of the statue. "It was worth it." He turned the handle over and under. "We need this to get out of here."

"Alright then, what's next?" Shantia asked.

"Wait! That just might work!" The three dimension travelers turned to look at Rebecca, each with a huge question mark written on their faces. The medic was pointing at the retrieved handle. "Can I see that?"

"Um, sure?" Daniel muttered. She's not going to do that...is she?

"Thank you," she shot back as she took the handle then placed it on the scale plate with his cell phone. The scales quivered before resting in balance. "There!" Rebecca declared triumphantly. The sound of old gears turning grabbed everyone's attention.

"The picture!" Katelyn yelled from the ground floor. "It just sank into the floor!"

"I was right!" Rebecca said excitedly as she hurried down to the landing. Shantia and Tim followed, curious about this new entry.

Daniel seemed frozen in place, jaw gaping. But, but, we were supposed to find the angel and demon statues and their missing wings! Good grief, is all my game knowledge going to be completely useless? Maybe, I should just start thinking outside the box. His mental rant concluded as he joined the others on the in-between floors landing.

Behind the portrait was another stairway leading into the basement area. Lights were still working and they were able to get a glimpse of what it was like. Whereas the training facility had a grand, elegant architecture to it, the basement had a very plain, utilitarian feel to it. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all concrete with several pipes and wires connected to them. And like the rest of the place, there was a touch of age and decay.

"Well, that's not ominous at all," Shantia sarcastically quipped.

"We need to check it out. There might be a way to unlock the main doors down there." Rebecca readied her handgun as she took the first step.

"Hold it!"

Rebecca glared at Daniel. "What? We need to move quickly. Kevin still needs medical attention."

"Just wait a second. We need more people if we're going to search the basement," the spectacled male soldier argued.

"We have four people right here," Rebecca countered, waving an arm over the small band of teenagers.

"No, we don't. Tim and Shantia need to stay up here to make sure nothing inhuman gets up here. Otherwise, they'll be able to feast on the others, who have no way to defend themselves. I think we should have at least one more person," Daniel held up a finger for emphasis. "Before we head down there."

Despite her eagerness, Rebecca could see the logic in Daniel's plan. "You're right," she sighed. She grabbed her radio again. "I'll talk to Edward and see if they can come back."