Ch. 14: So Close yet So Far

A/N: Past the halfway point.

Daniel & Rebecca

After avoiding the narrow confrontation with Rebecca, Daniel decided it prudent to avoid the room's hidden item, for now. He did feel free to point out the file at the broken computer station: a page from the Laboratory Manager's diary describing the platform code. Rebecca frowned while she folded the page. "This is the second time Marcus has referred to 'babies'." Her wary eyes settled on Daniel. "You think he's referring to his leeches?"

"It's likely," Daniel agreed without hesitation. Don't have to worry about saying anything too incriminating here. "We know that the leech zombies like to pretend to be him, and they are the primary component of his research. Maybe he became obsessed with them too."

Rebecca rolled her tongue inside her mouth, while her eyes squinted. If Daniel didn't know any better, he'd thought she just bit into something extremely sour. "I'm glad we won't have ever have to meet him," She declared emphatically before she marched towards the only door.

About that... Daniel let the thought trail off before he followed. She'd learn soon enough. The paper map hanging next to the door brought a smile to her face as she grabbed it. She intensely pored over it while radioing her find to Billy. "It's weird though. The downstairs hallway isn't supposed to end that soon, over."

"What do you mean, Rebecca?" Billy checked.

"I mean there isn't supposed to be a wall there. It's supposed to go past there and turn to the right for a bit then turn back left," Rebecca explained while she puzzled over it. "It doesn't make sense. No one has worked on this place in the last decade or two. It's not like walls can just drop from the ceiling."

"Maybe they can."

Rebecca shot the soldier a frown as he stood in the open doorway. "You're not helping, Daniel."

Daniel's lips were already open with the waiting explanation about to charge forth from the back of his throat when his name brought a pause. He couldn't remember the last time she actually called him that to him even though he'd given her permission all the way back at the train. Focus. "Look out here."

Still not convinced ceilings could drop walls, Rebecca sighed before walking out of the room. To her surprise, she walked onto the overview spot with railing that she saw earlier when the four of them first walked in. But Daniel's pointing finger directed her gaze to a red button on the right wall. Daniel allowed her a moment to absorb the information before he pressed the red button.

The medic violently twitched, looking all around her before she realized a stone wall was elevating and covering the view down into the lower hallway. She sheepishly avoided Daniel's gaze, undoubtedly wondering about the twitch. Hey, bad things follow red buttons! She wanted to yell, defending herself. But that simply sounded too much like what would Jessica say...even if it might be true. Moment before the wall section completed its move, both of them heard a 'squish-slrrrplop' noise. "Another one?" She whispered fearfully.

"Warn Billy." Daniel calmly dictated.

Billy & Jessica

"I'm booorrrreeeeddd," Jessica reiterated as she swung her legs beneath the table she sat on. "Tell me how ya got framed for the murder spree."

Rebecca's voice crackled into the air, sparing Billy from his comrade's insistent questioning. "Billy, we've opened the rest of the hallway to you two, but there's a leech zombie in the way. Use incendiary grenades, over!"

"Message received, Billy out." With an air of casual indifference, the convict popped off the last red grenade off a belt loop.

Jessica sighed. "And, I still don't git to fight anythin'. At least I finally git to see what one of these things look like." She casted a sideways glance at him as they walked to the exit. "Nervous? I mean, thanks to leech zombies, we lost Shantia and Eddy. Pretty impressive score when ya figure in that none of the other monsters have killed anyone."

"What about the third soldier?" Billy pointed out as he jerked the firing pin off.

"Ah, right, Bart," she blithely remembered. "Okay, so the score is Leech Zombies: 2. Zombie dogs: 1. Everything else: 0."

Billy shot her an annoyed frown before he took his spot behind her. "Do you actually care if any of your friends die? And I want you to throw the door open and stay here while I take it out."

She put her hand on the doorknob, her muscles pulled taut. "Frankly-speakin', I'm only good friends with Sims. The rest of them are his friends. That said, when they die, that makes Sims sad. And boy's got enough troubles on his plate as is. Ready?"

Billy wasn't sure about that last part. Part of him felt repulsed by her value on the other kids. Even if she wasn't close to them, they were still kids like her. On the other hand, he knew she wouldn't start cracking if any more of them died. He decided to give her a neutral score for it. He nodded.

Jessica yanked the knob hard and allowed her body to travel with the door as they swung inward. Billy leaned out and his eyes bugged open when he saw the green man at the corner of the hallway. He remembered Rebecca's descriptions, but he now knew his own mental images were woefully inadequate. Standing underneath a light's umbrella, it's 'skin' glistened as though even its clothes were sweating. It noticed him and took a shaky step forward. Considering the door was literally only a foot away from him, one step forward placed it far too close for his comfort.

"Now that's disgustin'," Jessica analyzed after poking her head through the doorway.

"Back in!" He yelled as his thumbed flipped off the grenade's safety lever. He cocked his arm back. One mississippi, two missi- . The thing mirrored his arm. But instead of throwing something, its arm shot forward...three feet forward as it inhumanly stretched. "Woah!" Billy shouted as he stumbled back into the room, his arm reflexively throwing the grenade.

"That's different," Jessica mumbled as she watched the green arm retract.

"Shut the door!" Billy shouted before he flung it shut. He hoped the leech zombie was as slow as the regular ones. One second after the door slammed back into the doorway, a fire-laced explosion thundered in the hallway, mixed with a high-pitch shriek.

"Sounds like a fricken' banshee," The cowgirl observed. She gave it a moment before she cautiously opened the door. As she looked over the new scene of carnage, she silently thanked the architect, whoever he was, for making sure this hallway comprised of stone. Collateral damage limited itself to the Persian rug in the new section of the hallway along with a couple of paintings. "Hope they weren't priceless." Billy stepped out after her and noted the big pile of goo where he saw the leech zombie last.

"Everything okay down there?"

Billy looked up toward where the second floor view was. "Leech zombie is neutralized. But we're stuck here until the fires burn out."

Jessica groaned. "That's goin' to take forever! I'm goin' inside to grab one of the rugs and smother them out."

"You do that," Billy agreed as he stepped back inside away from the small patches of fire.

Daniel and Rebecca

"Well, they're okay," Rebecca said softly as she stepped away from the wall.

"That's good, we've lost enough people already," Daniel chimed in, his voice somewhere between relief and hurt before he returned to exploring the rest of the upstairs hallway.

The medic looked over at him and silently nodded. He's lost friends helping us, hasn't he? But it's strange. Why bring any of his friends to help out if he knew that they could die? Did he bring them on purpose or were they an accident? So many questions, and not enough answers.

Almost as if to further antagonize her, the first door they checked, which was at the opposite corner of their door, was locked. Can't anything just go completely our way for more than five minutes? She grumbled to herself as they traveled down the hallway and tried the next door. When Daniel opened it, Rebecca felt a small boost. When they stepped inside, her spirit threatened to soar. She took another step in, her boot echoing off the steel floor. "Is...is that what I think it is?"

Daniel nodded, looking slightly better too. "Yes, yes it is."

They walked onto a metal platform that carried a large control room over the lower floor. Lights glowed indicating that the place still had power. The platform covered a third of the room, giving them an easy overview of the rest of the place. But what grabbed their attention was on the lower level. Sitting quietly and sleepily was a curved rectangle of a vehicle attached to a series of metal wires and supports above it. "A cable car," Rebecca said dreamily. "An actual cable car. With this, we can escape!" For the first time since she discovered they were cut off in the training facility, the STARS member felt like they were actually making progress. The fact that it didn't enjoy electricity as the rest of the place did couldn't dampen her hopes.

The smile she now wore was so happy and uplifting that a twang of guilt struck Daniel when he thought about warning her it probably wasn't going to be that easy. ...in fact, he knew it wasn't that simple. I'll let her have a moment. He turned his attention on the control room. With a locked door, the game pushed the player into using the hook shot to get in there through a hole in the control room's floor. Where did we leave that thing? After a moment of intense concentration, Daniel realized he didn't remember where the hook shot was. Screw it. He flipped the M16 around in his hands and slammed the rifle's butt stock against the glass. The glass cracked but resisted his efforts for a new entrance until a third hit broke through. Daniel gently pulled his rifle back through the new hole trying to make sure he didn't spill any glass shards toward him. Then he gingerly went about widening the hole, chipping away at it and forcing the glass to fall inside. Rebecca joined him, using her submachine gun to work in the opposite direction. The room's only noise was the sharp clinks of falling glass as they worked.

Once the hole was wide enough, Daniel set his rifle to the side before he took off his jacket. After wrapping his right hand in the sturdy fabric, the soldier swept away all the glass within his reach. "Alright, that should be good enough," He declared after he finished.

While he picked out the glass in the jacket, Rebecca carefully slid through the new portal. Power, power, need to find the power. Working from left to right, she pored over the numerous knobs, buttons, and dials, meticulously checking each and every single inch. Time-consuming it was, desperate to get it right, she also was. Then, three-quarters the way across, she discovered something that threatened to smash her hopes. Two key electronic pieces' outlines sat empty. Combined this observation with the little knowledge of electronics she acquired over some spare readings, she quickly made a deduction: unless they find the missing pieces, there was no power. No power meant no escape. ! #$! Can't anything just go perfectly right for once!? She felt weak as frustrated tears threatened to tear out of her. Some STARS member she was.

She twitched when Daniel placed a hand on her shoulder. When she twisted her head to look at him, she found a sympathetic expression waiting for her. He knew. He already knew. Abruptly, she turned her body toward him and grabbed his hand. "Daniel, please. Just...just this once. Please just tell me how to fix this as quickly as possible. I know you know what we need to get out of here. I swear I won't tell anyone else that you helped, just this one time, don't hold back, please."

All of his previous mental warnings to sticking to the cover story didn't have the same strength anymore. He wasn't sure what tugged at his heart more: those watery eyes filled with trust set in that mask of weariness or the melody of grief and desperation spiked with hope that she spoke with. A hope he could either extinguish or fulfill. "It's..." Be vague, be vague, be vague. "Not that simple. ...even if I...'helped' there are still difficulties that I can't get us around."

Rebecca admitted to herself that wasn't the answer she hoped for. Then again, he didn't outright deny her either. "What kind of difficulties? Are we talking about monsters or more roadblocks?"

Very reluctantly as he frowned, he answered, "Both."

Rebecca's optimism fought against the weights tied around its waist as it tried to climb higher. "But, at least nothing we haven't seen before...right?"

Although he understood it wasn't his fault at all, Daniel found it harder and harder to face her as he could see her hopes waver. "Well...if we keep calm, it's nothing we can't handle," He said upbeatedly. Before she could ask any more questions, he walked back toward the broken window. He didn't want to risk bringing her down and tried a different tactic as he climbed out of the room. "So...what is your favorite genre of movies?"

Rebecca wasn't sure if she was grateful or vexed by the abrupt topic change. Either way, she allowed him to distract her. He's letting me know about the future. No specifics, but he's not trying to hide it this time. "Well, I like comedies and Sci-Fi. ...I used to like B-move horror movies about science experiments gone wrong," She quietly added as she climbed out of the control room.

Daniel couldn't fight the smile. "Yeah, I can understand that. I'm sure this gives you a whole new perspective on those movies. As for me, I like most kinds of movies. My Dad is a big movie fan. So, I've seen all kinds. But I really do like sci-fi's and comedies too. What's your favorite movie?"

"Hmmm. I'm not sure if I have just one favorite film," Rebecca said after they stepped back into the hallway. "What about yours?"

"Evil question," He muttered good-naturedly.

"Evil?"

"I hate questions that try to make me pick one thing out of so many good choices," He elaborated as he led the way back to the lab room. "Let's see...how about you just give me a genre to work with?"

"Okay," She easily acceded. "Sci-Fi."

Daniel pondered the question. Let's see, let's see, let's see. Sci-Fi...oh crap. I probably should give out a 90s movie instead of a 00's movie. Does it really matter? We're not exactly hiding the truth, now are we? But we can't just outright blurt things from the future. Think about the timeline! Well, we're already screwing that up by being here right? Unless this is a different Resident Evil universe in which we were supposed to come here and make it different. Then it would be a stable temporal loop. But what if it isn't? What if it's like that one Star Trek episode where the other temporal law is in effect? ARGH! I hate time travel!

His silence provoked her to sneak up and glance at him. The little show waiting for her caught her off-guard. She didn't know if she simply didn't notice it before if it was just how he reacted to 'evil questions', but as she watched him, his face went through several exaggerated expressions. First, he frowned and he clutched his chin in annoyance. But abruptly the expression went away and now his face was calm, glancing upwards in detached curiosity that had nothing to do with the ceiling. If he had a pipe in his mouth, she could easily imagine him as some old, Oxford professor deliberating on the latest intellectual quandary. Then it vanished as he looked to the left, as though he were glaring at someone else. A giggle brought him out of his inner turmoil. As tired as she was, Rebecca sported a small smile now, aimed at him. "Did you know that you make funny faces when you don't think anyone is watching?"

"I...can't say I'm surprised," He admitted embarrassingly, trying to smile it off. Inside, he felt his spirit falling down another step. Goofy faces...I would make those to make my sisters laugh. Daniel thought finishing Basic Training would cure him of homesickness for life. But here it was, attacking him again. I'll make it home. Someday. Back in the upper lab room, he headed for the fridge the leech zombie unintentionally guarded. ...or maybe Marcus sent it here to guard it? To make sure we don't advance any farther? Regardless of the why, the leech zombie was nothing more than a pile of goo that Daniel stepped through.

The fridge proved to be no barrier. One press of a button and it opened. As the glass door whirred open, the inside light switched from a bright blue to a darker red. Inside the fridge were a series of capsules containing dead leeches. Except one of them. "It's glowing," Rebecca murmured as she stared at the guilty capsule.

Daniel grabbed the glowing capsule before he looked at her. "We need to open this."

Now closer, Rebecca saw a strange membrane covering the capsule's opening. "How?"

"The hard way." Daniel walked toward the door again but instead of going for the door, the glasses-wearing soldier wedged the capsule in the corner next to it. He fell back two steps before taking aim with his rifle. With two careful bullets, he shattered the plexi-glass before he retrieved the prize. Better this than walking all the way back to the infirmary for the stupid chemical.

"What is it?" Rebecca asked curiously. The item still looked like a leech and she couldn't derive any other purpose from its form.

"It's a key." Daniel sighed. "A key for one of the downstairs doors."

Before Rebecca replied, her radio chimed. "Yo Becky! We need help down here!"

The medic glared at the radio before she unhooked then handed it to Daniel. "You answer her."

Daniel accepted the radio without complaint. "Sims here."

"She's still avoidin' me, huh? Anyway, we're stuck. The other two doors in the rest of the hallway are locked. One is missin' a dial and the other has this weird box thing on it."

Daniel pressed the button. "I might have found what you're looking for. I'm dropping it through the hole."

"That's what I like about ya, Sims. Ya get things done. Jessica out."

"What about us? What are we doing?" Rebecca inquired, worriedly. She did not want to wait around until Jessica found what they needed.

"The last door in the hallway is unlocked," He explained as he walked to the other end of the lab. "We'll clear out the zombies and be ready for when the others have...found whatever they should find." Daniel peered down the hole before he flipped the blue leech into it, watching as it spun through the air before landing.

Rebecca slowly nodded. "Well, zombies haven't been a problem for us."