Ch. 7: Behind the Portrait
Author's note: And the next chapter in less than a month! ...of course, I actually finished this chapter at the same time as the last one, but again, beta reader issues. Well, enjoy!
Main Hall Survivors
"Over." Rebecca put away the radio and focused her attention on the other three teenagers. "Edward is going to send Jessica to join us. And, she's actually bringing some sandwiches too."
"Sandwiches?" Tim repeated.
"Yeah. Apparently, they found a kitchen with a working freezer. Looks like one of the scientists froze sandwiches for a quick bite to eat. She's heating up some now for you guys."
"Thank God, I'm starvin'." Shantia's attention was now locked on the dining room door.
Daniel was happy with the news, after all, he hadn't had breakfast when he had been teleported. But he still kept an eye on the basement stairway.
"She should be here in a few minutes. After everyone has had a bite to eat, she'll come with us to check the basement."
Edward and Billy
He didn't like this mission. Not at all. After collecting all the ammo they could find on the dining room corpses (which was considerable, including a few grenades) and alerting Jessica about the basement area, they went through the last unchecked door in the dining room. But Edward couldn't stop thinking about the strange uniforms some of the bodies had been wearing. Like the ones on the train, they were paramilitary. But unlike those ones, these uniforms incorporated some green-and-black camouflage. The really strange part was the emblem on the back of the uniforms. It was Umbrella's famous icon with two swords crossed over it and a small shield over the swords. Written around the symbol was "Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Services". Add in the illegal viral research that Rebecca mentioned, and it looked like Umbrella was hip deep in things that it shouldn't be. But he pushed the thoughts away as he regarded the current situation.
Edward glared at the hissing steam that blocked their way. It was one more obstacle that limited him. Beyond it was a hallway with a stairway on the left and another door off to the right. So, they tried this alternate basement stairway. What they discovered was a mess of pipes and steam in the lower room. Besides a few medicinal herbs (which were pointed out by Billy of all people), they walked on a path that went around the machinery only to find out that somehow one of the pipes broke. Edward didn't doubt they could pass through it. But the burns encouraged them to search elsewhere.
So, with reluctance, they headed back up to the ground floor. Billy didn't like the hallway. At the opposite end was a window that wanted to be a mirror. As they walked toward the other door, all Billy could see was their reflection. If anyone or anything came crashing through it, there was a good chance that both of them would be caught off-guard. Of course, the fact that Edward refused to go anywhere without Billy up front didn't help matters. The man, though no longer disdaining of Billy, refused to trust him at any moment. It was becoming obnoxious. Thankfully, nothing came through the mirror-window and the pair checked out the next door.
This room had be the store room. Odds and ends were stacked against the wall. A giant bookcase nearly divided the room in two and was re-purposed to hold random junk. Billy's boots echoed off the stone tiled floor. The sound attracted the room's only occupants. A zombie in the same dark, combat uniform as the ones in the dining room and the train was the first to round the corner. Edward was simply going to shoot it when Billy held up a hand. "If there really is a horde in this place, then we need to conserve ammo." The former lieutenant unsheathed his knife and waited as the zombie staggered toward him. When it was only two feet away, it lunged. And the cadaver was rewarded when the small blade was slammed into its right eye. The now again-lifeless corpse collapsed at Billy's feet. He removed the blade and cleaned it on its clothes before readying for the next zombie. Two more came around the corner. Two more were stabbed.
Edward admitted that Billy's method did save ammo and was efficient. But he didn't like how easily Billy could use a knife on a human body - zombie or not. Now with the opposition gone, the two searched the rest of the room. Edward eyed the ladder that ascended to the floor above them. A closer inspection revealed that it led directly outside. "Looks like we'll have a chance to kill some infected crows soon," Edward muttered to himself.
"And with a better weapon," Billy's low voice sounded from behind him. Edward looked towards Billy, unhappy that he let the convict walk outside of his visual range even for a few seconds, to see that Billy had found a much better shotgun. "There were also some spare shells on a nearby shelf. Ammo shouldn't be an issue for a while." Billy zeroed in on the ladder. "I guess I'll be taking point again," he declared sarcastically.
Edward frowned. "Just move it."
Main Hall Survivors
The double doors that divided the main hall from the dining room opened as Jessica came in with a scavenged serving plate filled with hot sandwiches. "Come and get it!" Everybody, minus Daniel, Rebecca, and Kevin swarmed her. "Alright, got enough sandwiches for everybody to have three."
"You're a lifesaver, Jessica," Shantia announced as she grabbed her portion and took a seat.
"Thanks a bunch," Tim added as he took his and Katelyn's share. Bruce and Katelyn nodded, and said thank you before forming a small group with Tim to eat.
With the initial wave appeased, Jessica marched over to the last two conscious people. "Here you go."
"Much obliged," Daniel replied before feasting on his share.
Rebecca waved off her ration. "I'm not that hungry. Give my sandwiches to someone else."
"You should take at least one," Jessica suggested. "Who knows how long this night will be."
The medic wavered before nodding. "Okay, I'll take two."
"And, to make sure nobody fights over the last one, its mine, " Jessica announced. She removed the last sandwich before casually throwing the plate like a frisbee at the dining room door. "Ah. I've always wanted to do that. So," she continued after taking a bite. "We get to go explorin' down there?"
The soldier peered down the stairway. "Yep. Danger tends to double the lower you go, so I thought it'd be prudent to grab another person."
" 'Danger doubles the lower you go?' " Rebecca repeated, confused. "Is that an Army saying?"
"It's a horror movie thing."
The Bravo member raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You're comparing our situation to a horror movie?"
"Um, let's see," Jessica began rattling off, "mysterious murders occurring in nearby forest? Check. Police dispatched to solve mystery? Check. Police ambushed/split-up or somehow rendered ineffective? Check-"
"Hey!" Rebecca interrupted. "We're not ineffective!"
"Oh really? Last I checked, only two people in your squad are here and awake."
"But, nobody has died. Er, I mean," Rebecca corrected when she noticed the depressed Daniel. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that your friend was nobody. It's just, shouldn't more of us be dead to qualify as a horror movie," she finished awkwardly and embarrassed. "Aren't we more like an action film. A dark, zombie action film?"
"Hmmmm, you have a point," Jessica relented. "But! There's only way to find out." Her eyes were filled with a hungry look as she stared down the stairway.
"Make sure you're fully loaded," Daniel warned in between bites. "We don't want you reloading at the wrong moment."
Jessica rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dad." She emptied out her nearly-emptied magazines and began the tedious work of putting individual bullets in. By the time she was done, everyone was finishing their sandwiches.
"Alright, Tim, Shantia, you're holding topside," Daniel ordered as he unslung his M16.
"Gladly," Tim answered.
"Which means we get to explore the dark, dank, probably monster-filled basement!" Jessica shouted merrily. "Can I go first?"
Daniel was a little surprised to hear the question. I thought she would've simply run in.
"You know what? Why am I asking? CHAAAAARGE!" The cowgirl roared as she headed down the stairs.
"Just as I expected," Daniel muttered to himself. He tried to keep up with his friend's frenzied pace. Rebecca was the last one to enter the stairway.
"Wooooooah!"
"What? What is it, Jessica?" Rebecca called out from her spot in line. Then they reached the bottom. "Oh. My. God."
Three sets of eyes were locked onto a creature that was scurrying on the ceiling. "Well, that's a typical horror movie monster," Daniel casually commented. The giant, furry tarantula ceased its meandering as it noticed the intruders. That was all the incentive Jessica needed to open fire on the overgrown spider. The inhuman opponent was able to withstand the barrage for a few seconds before it fell upside-down onto the cold, concrete floor. Its legs twitched in its death throes before it ceased.
"Dude, that thing is massive!" Jessica said to no one in particular. She walked up to the body and started poking it with her boot.
"Cut it out! We need to keep moving," Rebecca commanded in a shaky voice, her gaze still locked on the dead spider.
The cowgirl glanced between the spider and Rebecca. A devilish grin manifested on her face. "Heeeeey Becky-"
"Rebecca!"
"What do you think of spiders?"
Rebecca fumed. "It doesn't matter! We have a mission to accomplish!"
"My, my. You say that with such volume, I can't help but wonder-"
"Enough," Daniel intervened, though Jessica easily spotted the amused and annoyed look in his eye. "We have a man upstairs who needs medical attention. Let's keep moving."
"...fine." Jessica made a point of walking over the dead body as she moved through the corridor. Daniel waited to see if Rebecca would need some encouragement.
The medic glanced nervously between the dead spider and Daniel. "I'm not really afraid of spiders. It's just that we don't know if they're poisonous or not. And spider venom can be really horrifying, you know?" Daniel nodded in silent agreement. The sound of nine millimeter rounds going off alerted them that Jessica found something else to shoot. Rebecca glanced at the turn in the hallway, then at the spider, then at Daniel, before stopping at the spider. She took a deep breath. She was able to walk a few steps forward before she flattened herself against the wall and started inching past the body. Daniel walked on the opposite space. Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief once she was past it. "Come on. We can't let Jessica get too far ahead of us."
"Right." The two double-timed it down the hallway. The pair turned on the corner, and Rebecca froze as she saw not one, but two dead spiders down the next length of the hallway.
Jessica was waiting at the opposite end, poking her latest kill. "You two took your sweet time. Don't tell me you were making out behind my back."
"Will you just quit it?" Rebecca implored as she stared at the dead critters.
Meanwhile, Daniel's face turned to a light shade of red. "You are making sure you're not using up too much ammo, right?"
Jessica groaned. "Yes, Dad." Her devilish grin quickly returned. "You know, you two would make a cute couple."
Daniel's face turned redder. "Do I hear zombies behind the door next to you?"
"You do?" The soldier's distraction was instantly successful as the cowgirl reached out to open the nearby metal door. Excitement vanished from her face as the door refused to budge. "Come on!" She kicked the door a couple of times as Rebecca inched her way past the next spider, Daniel behind her. "What's with all of these locked doors!? If people want to be rescued, then they need all the doors unlocked!"
"Never mind that this place has been devoid of human life for a decade," Daniel said in a deadpan, lazy snark. His efforts earned him a death glare of DOOM!
"Well, fine! There's another door over there anyway," Jessica stormed off to the last door in the hallway, hoping that it wasn't locked.
"Hey! We need to stay together," Rebecca reminded her as she stared at the last spider corpse.
"Then get your ass into gear and move it!"
The medic scowled at both the spider and the pushy teenager. "I'm coming." She gulped and began to tiptoe past the last obstacle. Jessica was not amused.
"That's it, you are taking too long." She marched back to her comrades. Rebecca froze.
"Wait, what are you going to do?" Rebecca demanded, completely unsure of what was about to happen.
"This!" And before Rebecca could protest, Jessica scooped up the much smaller woman and dropped her into the arms of an extremely-befuddled (but quick) Daniel. "Good, now keep up."
"What did you do that for!?" Daniel asked as he looked between the two women.
"There might be more spiders behind this door," Jessica coolly explained as she walked back to the door. "This way, we won't take two whole hours waiting for her to get a move on. Just make sure you don't drop her."
"I don't need to be carried!" The embarrassed medic shouted.
"And yet, you're still in his arms." Jessica glanced over her shoulder at Daniel. "Move it. She's already in your arms. Might as well as start walking. It'll be good exercise."
"Who does she think she is?" Rebecca muttered under her breath. Her gaze bounced from the dead spider to Daniel before shielding her eyes from the abhorrent object. "Please, just go with it."
I...can't believe... that this is happening, Daniel thought to himself, still mostly dumbfounded, as he sidestepped past the object of his latest trouble.
"...thank you." The quiet whisper was uttered the moment Daniel was past the furry body. Rebecca quickly slipped out of his arms and shot another glare at Jessica with her dark-red face. Jessica ignored her as she turned the handle. With glee, the cowgirl felt the door handle give way and threw the door open with gusto. Beyond the door was a small, stone room with two makeshift desks, one with several objects on top and the other one being completely bare, and a barred, glassless window. Plants were growing out of the floor through the stone, hinting at the room's age. Jessica's glee turned sour as she saw nothing to shoot. She growled as she checked the window. "Ammo here," Rebecca announced as she checked the desks. "9 mm." She looked at Jessica. "You'll probably need to reload and stock up after taking care of the spiders." The blue jacket-wearing teenager grumbled as she fetched the bullets and filled up her clips.
"This is interesting." Daniel offered a sheet of paper to Rebecca.
She took it and scanned the information. "Hm. We'll keep an eye out for this power regulator. I bet something has gone wrong with the boiler room. Though why they connected the power grid between the two, I have no idea."
Jessica growled. "Well, I've used up all of my spare rounds. Tell me if you see anymore."
"Better start conserving from now on," Daniel suggested with an accusing look in his eye. "No more of these barrages. A single head shot is all we need."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Jessica frowned at the barred window. "And I don't see anything in there."
"We should still check it," Daniel replied as he slowly opened the wooden door.
"Well lookie, here," Jessica retorted. "I do believe we've found the dungeon."
Rebecca, who was in last, couldn't help but agree with Jessica's analysis. A tall, torch lamp stood next to the door and served as they only illumination. Big, heavy metal chains shot out from the walls and a center column. There was even a hook and a pulley system against the back wall. "Why would Umbrella build this? What could possibly be the purpose of...of all of this?!"
"Do we really want to know?" The brunette cowgirl wondered.
"Over here." Rebecca turned away from the pulley system and found Daniel staring at a large, open vent. The screen had rusted until it had fallen open one day. "You said the other door was locked, right?"
Jessica stared at the vent and then looked over Daniel. "You might be a little big."
"Wait a second," Rebecca interrupted. "What are you two planning?"
Jessica shot her a you-don't-get-it? look. "We need to send someone through to investigate. It might lead to the locked rooms back there."
"But, what are the odds of that being the case?"
"Well, it is pointed in the right direction," Daniel commented.
"But is it that necessary that we have to investigate everything we come across?" Rebecca tried again, still a little confused by how calmly they were about exploring random vents.
"We need to try to get out of here ASAP," the soldier explained. "Something important might be behind those locked doors."
"Why is this such a hard concept for you to grasp?" Jessica inquired bluntly.
"It's just... weird how you two want to investigate something like that before we've even finished searching the rest of the house," Rebecca said with a shrug. "I know I can fit through there."
"Alright," Daniel began as he mentally measured the size of his rifle and the vent entrance. He slung it onto his back as he gestured for Rebecca to come closer. "I'll go through first. Then I want Rebecca to come in behind me."
"Damn this small vent," Jessica muttered before acknowledging the suggestion. "Don't like being left behind, Sims." She made a cup with her hands and watched as Rebecca mimicked her.
"It's just this one time." Daniel stepped up, Jessica catching his right foot while Rebecca got his left. His hands grabbed onto the entrance and he pulled himself in. Progress promptly stopped as his rifle was caught on the wall. "Dagnabbit."He tried again, trying to keep his body lower. The rifle butt hit the wall again.
"Come on, Sims. Get in there," Jessica urged as she worked to keep the blond teenager up.
This time, he flattened himself against the vent's floor and managed to slide in. To his displeasure, the vent was a tighter squeeze than he imagined. Still, he could move and began inching his way forward. As soon as his boots disappeared in, Jessica looked at Rebecca and jerked her head to the vent. The medic nodded and stepped onto Jessica's improvised step ladder. "Oh wow," Jessica muttered. "You are light."
"Um, thanks, I guess." Unlike Daniel, Rebecca slid right on in.
"I'll be waiting next to the door," Jessica called out sourly before leaving the dungeon.
Edward and Billy
Edward glared at the red, flame-inscribed door before him. It was the third locked door that he and Billy had run into since the kitchen. So far, the rest of their investigation since the storage room had proven interesting, but had brought them no closer to finding an exit. On the terrace, they cleared the zombies out, but only discovered a few plants that Billy thought were medicinal. The weird part was how the terrace was structured. It hugged the wall mostly, but one section diverged and ran straight into the wall of the observatory. Edward could understand it if it lead directly to the observatory's door. But all they could see was the wall. Unable to do anything they moved on and found a door that lead them back into the facility.
They entered into a seminar room. Desks were arranged in rows of four and columns of three with a pathway going down the middle and two more on each side. Each row occupied a lower level of flooring from the one behind it. Railing went along the sides and provided a boundary as the floor that ran around the desk area stayed level. Inside the boundary the floor dropped in levels. The back railing was divided into two parts. Each desk had a computer screen. At the front was a platform with speakers and a podium, with a microphone on it. There was a large screen behind the podium. To the right were two doors and an artist's scaffolding. The double doors closest to them were guarded by more of those weird lock knights. The door on the other side seemed normal. At the opposite side of the room were double doors that led into the main foyer. On the left side of the room was a pathway that led to a small table and a wilted plant. All along the walls were large paintings - most of them depicting violence and pain. The police officer was intrigued as to what information could be found on the screens, all the desk screens were used solely for viewing, except for a random switch. The podium contained a hard drive, but was password protected, although no keyboard was in sight.
The confusing podium was frustrating enough that the pair simply moved on. They checked the single door and found it unlocked. It led into another hallway with a few more walking corpses. Between Billy's knife and Edward's handgun, they quickly cleared it. They checked the double doors first and found a library. A pulpit was right in front of them with a map of the entire facility. Shelves of books lined the wall with several chairs for the busy reader. To the right was a desk and an old, dusty computer. Behind it was a painting and microfilm. In front of the desk was an unstable stepladder, and two computers. The weird part of the room was an old-fashioned lift in the back corner. However the handle used to turn the crank and raise the platform was missing. Next to the desk was another locked door with a candle lantern on the wall by it. Billy had lit up the candle, and to both of their surprises that unlocked the door. But to their dismay, all they found were more books and more zombies. It was when they returned to the hallway did they find this latest door.
"How many of these locked doors do we have to keep finding," Edward muttered to himself. "Before we find the damned exit."
"Well, at least, we have enough ammo to keep the monsters at bay," Billy commented. "In fact, we could just blast open the door with one of the grenades we found."
The Bravo member seriously contemplated the idea. His mind went back and forth between his anger at the door, and the giant scorpion they ran into earlier. Finally, he shook his head. "Let's just see if we can't find the key or something else."