Ch. 19: Someone wants a Rematch

Main Hall Survivors

I finally get a moment alone with Katelyn and I can't take advantage of it, Tim thought ruefully. Now that they were by themselves, the hall felt more menacing. Although an assault rifle sat next to him in the seat over, its promise of heavy firepower did little to relieve his worries. He wanted to talk and at least break through the sadistic silence, but its grip was ironclad, warning him that he'd only accomplish distracting himself. And if that moment came, BAM! Something would attack them. Or at least he thought that's what would happen. Given that this was a Resident Evil game, he believed it was more than likely. So he sat there, quietly, chafing at the waiting. The first hour of waiting after Daniel and the others had left to explore had been almost unbearable. He couldn't talk because of the threat of ambush. He couldn't use his phone, or it'd run out of battery power. He swore the first thing he'd do once he was back in civilization was to call his folks and let them know he was alright.

He almost left the main hall to try to catch up with the others. Doing something would be infinitely better than waiting around and accomplishing nothing. But he couldn't for three reasons. One, he didn't know where the others were. Two, Kevin still needed to be guarded while he slept. Three, and biggest one of all, Katelyn. If she came, then he'd be putting her in danger. If she didn't come, then she'd be stuck here worried sick about him. So, he was stuck. The double doors behind the statue aggravated him as he wished the others would come back. Now that he knew that they might be getting out of here soon, the waiting was painful.

Then sweet, sweet relief arrived in the form of opening doors as Daniel lead the others, including an awake and walking Kevin, back into the main hall.

"We're getting out of here." The blond soldier announced as he and the others marched down the stairs. "Enrico found a way through the train, and that's how we're getting out."

"That's great!" Tim replied before looking over at Katelyn with a big grin. "Not long now!" She returned a smaller but no less enthusiastic smile.

"Here's how we're going to do this," Daniel began as he stepped onto the mezzanine. "Tim, you and Bru-!" A large thump came from behind Marcus' large portrait. The startled group swung all attention and several gun barrels at the noise.

Kevin stared at the portrait with complete befuddlement. "What's that?"

"Not sure, but it can't get through," Daniel reassured them as he relaxed, showing a look of confidence for the pilot. He opened his mouth to return to his plan when a loud moan emitted from where the thumps were. The color drained out of Rebecca's face as she identified it first.

Kevin's confusion was replaced by shock. "Is...is that Edward's voice?"

Daniel grimaced before waving them on. "It doesn't matter. All that matters-" His voice faltered again when a second moan joined the first. He didn't need anyone to tell him whose it was.

"Shantia," Tim muttered as he stared at Marcus' face nervously.

No matter how powerful the urge was, Daniel resolve not to look at the portrait. No matter if it felt like all of his past failures were now confronting him. No matter if his heart ached and asked, "What did I do wrong?" He tried to shake it all off. Focus. "We...," He paused as the word that slipped out sounded far too meek. He took a breath and attempted to harden his voice and face like a tough soldier. "We need to get everyone out of here as quickly and as safely as possible. I'll keep point. Tim, Bruce, you guys defend the rear. Katelyn, since you don't have a gun, you're staying in the center of the group. Got it?"

Feeble acknowledgements echoed from each of them. Daniel moved off the stairs, rounding around the railing and took a moment to study the ladder to the sewers. Isn't there supposed to be a zombie waiting down there now? Or am I confusing things with the Leech Hunter mini-game? Regardless, after nothing moved for a minute, he slung his rifle across his back before he climbed down. He hopped off the stairs, skipping the last two rungs and immediately grabbed his rifle. Nothing rose to greet him. He made way as the others descended. Nice and quiet, he thought as the group trudged through.

Daniel was two steps from the door when Tim called out, "Does anyone else hear that?"

"Everyone freeze," The point man commanded. The group waited as the water noises stopped. Then they all heard it. A sound of something slimy slithering across stone and water. Daniel and Rebecca shared a look before the medic shined her flashlight behind them, piercing through the darkness behind the metal bars. "Oh crap." He remembered the train hallway littered with leech eggs, the horror as those eggs began to pop. This was worse. Because the swarm of giant leeches behind them were coming at them full speed, already intent on drinking their blood.

"Those are the leeches!?" Kevin shouted out as he watched the swarm close the distance between them.

"Run!" Daniel ordered. His hand snapped out and threw open the exit door. Instead of diving in, he jumped to the side, frantically gesturing for the others to go first. "Run along the wall! Give me a line of fire!"

"Careful where you aim that!" Tim warned him as he and Katelyn rushed through the door.

Even before he opened fire, Daniel knew he couldn't slow them down. But at least I feel useful! Every shot echoed throughout the sewers, making it sound like an entire squad was defending itself instead of one lone man.

"We're in!" Bruce yelled at him as he leapt through, a leech only a foot behind his leg.

Daniel needed no other incentive as he surrendered his position to the leeches. He jumped through the open doorway before Rebecca slammed it shut behind him. "Everyone okay?"

Tim nodded. "Yeah, we got- holy crap, your leg!"

Daniel's head snapped down. And he saw what Tim saw. One lone leech trying to bite through his tough boot. "Gyah!" He shook his foot furiously, but it wouldn't fly off. He paused, looked around, and banged his foot and it against the wall. After three tries, it wasn't smooshed. He felt a tiny fang begin to puncture through and nearly panicked. When he felt something else against his other foot, he nearly yelped as he imagined a second leech hitchhiker. But when he scanned it, he found something much more helpful. Need to remember to thank Billy. With a lot less caution than he'd normally use, his hand curled around the knife's handle and jerked it out, nearly cutting his entire calf. He knelt down, passed the knife from his left hand to right, and proceeded to saw through the leech. It squealed but refused to relinquish its grip until after he cut it into two. Once both halves of it were off, he rested on his knees and waited for his breathing to slow down.

Rebecca knelt next to him. "Did it bite you?" She fretted.

Daniel paused before sticking two of his fingers down the edge of the boot. When he pulled them out, they were distinctly blood-free. He shook his head. "I'm alright." Ha! Screw you, Marcus! Screw! You! After carefully replacing the knife into its sheath, he pushed himself off the ground and pointed at the train. "Let's get out of here before anything else shows up."

"I second that!" Tim declared enthusiastically before leading his girlfriend to the train. "Since it's gonna be a mess inside, I say we walk along the top."

"Sounds good enough for me," Daniel replied.

Kevin frowned at the turned over car. "I'm going to need some help," He admitted reluctantly, unconsciously rubbing his bandaged arm.

"Don't worry, we'll get you up there," Tim assured him before he ascended, using the open doorway to get him on top of the train. One by one, the group made their way up with Daniel being the last one. Just as he got a hand on the top edge of the train, they all heard a noise coming from the back of the station.

Katelyn stared in the direction with a quizzical expression. "Is that an elevator?"

Daniel shot one alarmed look that way before he scrambled up. "Keep moving," he urged energetically.

"What if it's another person?" Kevin protested as he strained to get a good look.

"Kevin, there are only two groups of humans left in this place," Daniel barked back. "Us and the others at the exit. Whatever's coming up, it isn't friendly. Now move it!"

A ding alerted everyone that the elevator arrived. Tim took one last look before he accepted his friend's advice, Bruce and Katelyn in tow. Yet, Kevin remained obstinate. "How can you know that?"

A familiar, heavy trudging incited a panicked look on Rebecca. "It can't be. We, we killed it. Enrico hit it with grenades!"

Kevin's eyes flashed in-between the footsteps and Rebecca. "What? What is it?" Then he saw it. Its heart was still black and blue, and it still twitched unnaturally every few steps. But the Tyrant had them in its sights. "Oh my god."

Daniel had already shifted into a kneeling firing position, rifle set to 'burst'. "Now will you please run!?" He demanded before firing the first part of the fusillade. The Tyrant snarled as new holes punctured its heart. It lifted its massive claw, and Daniel readied himself to run when if it jumped. But then it didn't attack. It merely held its claw there, in front of its heart, while it resumed its advance, depriving them of an easy yet critical target. Argh! Why does it have to have any intelligence? Even with Rebecca firing, their combined hail of rounds couldn't convince the Tyrant to drop its claw. We might as well be poking it with sticks! When it crouched, both of them took the sign and sprinted away.

Once the echoes of their volley died away, Rebecca heard her radio. "Come in, Rebecca! What is the situation? Report!" She reached for it when a large clunk blared from behind them. She peeked backwards and saw it rising from a new and large dent in the train. If only he fell through it!

Daniel didn't resist the urge to look back either. He was glad for it. He spun around and fired a quick burst, catching it with its guard down. Or that was the intent. His three shots ricocheted harmlessly off the train. He muttered a curse before taking a moment to aim. The claw was still out of the way, he had time for one more try. Then when he heard the 'click' of an empty chamber, he shouted, "Come on!"

"It's coming closer!" She warned him before jumping to the next car.

He didn't follow just yet as he frantically changed his clips. When his hand reached into his right cargo pocket, he came upon an unpleasant discovery. "Last clip!"

Rebecca wanted to scream at him to stop reloading and just run. As she watched from the end of the next car, the Tyrant was only a few feet away from him. Her machine gun couldn't pierce its defense...but maybe the magnum could. She hastily switched guns and unwilling counted the decreasing distance between the Tyrant and him. She jerked the magnum into position, lined up a quick shot, and squeezed the trigger. She didn't see if her round punched through. The powerful recoil laughed at her thin arms and her poor posture. It threw the magnum back, crashing the heavy piece of metal right into her right eye. The medic yelped as she nearly stepped backwards, coming close to falling into the space between train cars behind her.

The soldier finished reloading and hopped over onto Rebecca's current car, the Tyrant twitching right behind him. He caught up to her and blinked in surprise when he saw her clutching her eye. "What happened?"

Rebecca did her best not to sniffle. "An accident." Her good eye looked past him and watched their adversary come closer to the first jump. "He's about to come across. It's our best chance to get another shot in when he jumps." Daniel dropped the 'eye' subject for now as he turned around, however, when the blue giant came to the space between cars, it merely took one large step across, never exposing its weakness. "How are we supposed to stop it?"

Daniel waited until he and Rebecca made it to the far edge of the third car before digging into his other cargo pocket. "Grenades," he answered as he readied a throw after slinging his rifle. "Billy gave you two, right?"

She nodded and pulled out a bright green one. She bit her lip before asking, "How do I use it?"

He looked at her, surprised. "I thought all STARS members knew how to use them?"

"I'm new and the medic!" She replied defensively. With a heavy step, the Tyrant stepped onto their car. She wished it would simply step through a window.

Daniel didn't let it faze him for long. "I'll show you, but we need more distance first!" They retreated to the end of the next car, putting them next to the train engine. "First put your pin through the firing pin," he explained as he mirrored his words. "Pull it out." She flinched when he did it right there and wondered how long he had before it went off. "Keep your other thumb on the safety lever. It won't explode until the safety lever is off." The STARS member relaxed when she realized it wasn't going to go off. "Pull your arm back..." He shifted his gaze from her to the tyrant, which was now about to step onto their car. "And throw!" He imagined the grenade sailing through the air to lightly bounce off the creature's chest, placing it directly in front of him. In seconds, it'd go boom, giving them enough time to duck.

Now, if only reality matched his imagination.

Instead, the grenade flew high, bounced off the ceiling, and flew straight down. It crashed through a window before disappearing inside the train, no threat to him, Rebecca, or his target. Daniel didn't know what was worse: the wasted grenade or the embarrassment. Oh...right...I almost failed the grenade assault course, now that I think about it. As the Tyrant stepped onto their train car, a voice shouted from behind them. "Get outta there! We've got an entire, frickin' firin' squad waitin' out here!"

"Never thought I'd be happy to hear her voice," Rebecca muttered before she and Daniel sprinted for the exit. Their withdrawal went smoothly until Rebecca's damaged vision caused her to misstep halfway across. Her foot went too far left, stepping through an open window. She 'oofed' as she down, wincing as she banged one hard against the metal.

Daniel immediately halted and helped her back up, "You alright?"

"How close is it?" Was her fearful reply.

Daniel took one look and saw it only four feet behind them. "Move!" Rebecca didn't need any other encouragement. As they reached the end of the train, he finally saw everyone else. Katelyn, Bruce, and Kevin were far away in the forest, just at the edge of their vision. The others formed a large half-circle around the tunnel's entrance, weapons at the ready. It was a very welcomed sight. When the heavy stomps behind them stopped, Daniel reflexively looked back. The Tyrant hadn't caught up to them, but now that it was halfway across their car, it halted to crouch. Daniel knew what came next.

Rebecca stepped forward lightly, making sure she didn't slip off again before she jumped. Next thing her mind registered was a force hitting her from behind, throwing her off the train. For a brief, frightened second, she thought the giant super-zombie had hit her. But when she landed, she landed on something softer than the ground, accompanied by a familiar grunt.

Daniel would've cursed gravity for throwing him beneath Rebecca, yet again. But, truth be told, after watching the tip of the Tyrant's claw come within two inches of his neck, in slow motion no less, he was simply happy to be alive. He glanced up and saw that the Tyrant recovering from its miss. More space. He tightened his grip on Rebecca before rolling them away from the train.

Enrico mentally applauded the soldier's quick reactions. Now to take advantage of them. Billy, Jessica, Bruce, and Tim quickly opened fire on the exposed heart. Unfortunately, Enrico couldn't. In combat, one of the worst things to do is simply wait for the right moment. But as quickly as Daniel was moving, Enrico had to be sure he and Rebecca were out of the blast radius before Enrico could pull the trigger. The Tyrant jerked side-to-side as it stood up, the claw taking its former place over its heart. The STARS leader gritted his teeth at the missed opportunity and silently urged his two comrades to hurry. Right as the giant blue-skin crouched again, Enrico judged his two subordinates finally in the safe zone. Let's find out how tough that claw really is. The first grenade crashed into the tyrant, stopping it from jumping. The second grenade pinned it at the spot. But the third grenade still hadn't blown off that scaly claw! One more, just one more! Enrico chanted to himself as he fired again...only for the grenade launcher to click empty. The Bravo Captain muttered a curse as he grabbed the last grenades for the weapon.

Daniel helped Rebecca up and took stock of the situation. He didn't like what he saw. Bruce was patting his pockets, checking for spare ammo, though Daniel was sure he didn't have any, which meant they were down one gun. Tim convinced Daniel that giving him the M16 was a mistake. The football player was very cautious, firing once every eight seconds. With a posture that tense, Daniel wouldn't have been surprised if Tim was missing all of his shots. Jessica was hollering insults as she kept the pressure up. But with two handguns, there wasn't any punch in her firepower. Only Enrico and Billy offered a staunch resistance strong enough to hold the Tyrant back. Now Enrico had to reload.

Back into the fray, Daniel thought as he turned to fire on the boss. He took one look, and shouted, "Enrico, incoming!"

The black-haired man looked before diving out of the way before the giant B.O.W. landed in his spot, creating a crater. "Get back!" Rebecca warned everyone before tossing a light green grenade at her target. Daniel recognized the color and scrambled behind the nearest tree as everyone cleared out. The Tyrant drew up to its full height and took a step back as it searched for its first target. The explosion showered it in poisonous liquid, seeping into its heart and its wounds. It howled as the acid sizzled over and in it.

"Finish it off!" Jessica hollered before jumping out from cover, shotgun blasting into its chest. The others followed her example as two machine guns and two assault rifles created an intense rain of metal, slamming into its exposed heart. It stumbled back and loosed one final defiant roar before it collapsed onto its back.

A lull swept over the impromptu battlefield so rapidly that Daniel thought for one irrational, split second that everyone else was knocked out. But a quick scan reassured him that everyone was merely watching the Tyrant warily. "Is it actually dead this time?" Jessica called out, breaking the silence.

"Only one way to be sure," Billy answered as he marched forward. "Somebody toss me a frag grenade."

Daniel checked his reserves and discovered he only had a last acid grenade. Enrico reacted to the request with a suspicious stare. Rebecca dug into her pocket and slowly pulled out a frag grenade. She glanced timidly at Enrico. But then she turned to Billy, and with one last bit of hesitation, tossed the grenade to him. Billy caught it and knelt down next to the powerful B.O.W. He ripped off the grenade's firing pin before shoving it into the Tyrant's mouth, the safety lever falling off. He sprinted away. With a final eruption, the Tyrant jerked before falling into stillness again.