Mission #2…
(1) Locate Queen's Chamber
(2) Find Survivors
(3) Find Out What The Hell's Going On
Recap:
"She remembers you?" One asked, in disbelief. I smirked, smugly.
"I'm hard to forget." Glancing over my shoulder at him, I could feel Rain's glare on Alice and I which I ignored. Gently taking the blonde's hand, I gave her a sweet smile which she shockingly returned.
"Let's go, Alice."
Start:
We journeyed through the secret door in the Arklay Mansion which took us down a flight of stairs, we all moved quickly and cautiously through the main blast doors as Rain synchronized her watch with the timer. We finally reached the Alexia 5000 which happened to be our ride to officially get to The Hive.
"The Power's out." Kaplan informed, typing away on his wrist computer.
"So, fix it." One commanded, looking a bit irritated which caused me to sigh. I took a step forward; heading towards the opening when Rain glided passed me with a smirk on her face.
"I'm on it." Rain volunteered, stealing a small flashlight from my belt and sticking it in her mouth, while winking at me, and disappearing into the opening in the floor.
"That was mine." I complained, my eye twitching. Olga tried to hide her smile, One raised an eyebrow, and Warner gave me an eye wiggle. I shot every one of them an annoyed look. Kaplan and Twelve were nice enough to ignore our little exchange and focused on the job at hand.
What is she up to? Is she trying to piss me off?
"I think the correct phrase is: I told you so." Olga whispered, passing me while I glared at her smirking face.
"You're so not funny, Olga." I hissed. Alice raised her eyebrow again.
"Is something going on between you and her?" She motioned towards where Rain disappeared; I blushed in embarrassment and surprise. I could see J.D's face from the corner of my eye; he looked upset, confused, and angry.
Great, what's his problem?
"What!? Of course not, are you crazy?" I laughed, nervously. I ignored the knowing looks on my teammate's faces as J.D continued to stare at me while I looked everywhere else but into their eyes.
"Is-" Alice started but I cut her off.
She's always been good at seeing what's going on in my head when it comes to Rain.
"I'm not listening." I called in a sing-song voice before J.D made his way over to Rain, purposely bumping into me on the way but my glare went unnoticed as he ducked in his head down.
"Now calm down, Izzy." Kaplan said, trying to control my anger but it didn't work.
What the fuck is wrong with him?!
"He better leave me the hell alone." I said, glaring at the Hispanic man flirting with her.
"Jumpy, are we?" He teased before a spark scared the shit out of him and he jumped back. Rain came out smirking at him as we all walked inside of the train. I leaned against the wall as Alice followed after me; I could tell I was the only one she trusted at this moment. Kaplan and Warner started up the train and we began to move forward.
"Stand clear!" Twelve said, as the doors closed.
"This is such a pain in the ass." I muttered to myself. Rain headed towards the back door but struggled getting it open. She stepped back to take a break when she noticed Matthew glaring at her.
"Got a problem?" She sneered at him. He looks away as J.D approached her with One.
"How's the door coming along?" He questioned.
"Sealed shut, Sir." She responded.
"Allow me." J.D stepped forward, pumping up his chest while Rain mocking motions for him to do so. He messes with it for a few minutes when a male body almost falls on him. J.D jumped back while Rain, One, and Warner pointed their guns at the unnamed man. I just grinned at the looks on their faces.
"He's my husband." Alice whispered from beside me, I titled my head towards her as I looked at her.
"Nope, he's your security partner. Your marriage is a cover to protect The Hive. His name is Spence Parks" I answered before One could speak. I watched Alice for a moment as she looked at the engraved words on the ring before I closed and opened my eyes and met Rain's. I was taken aback by the intensified of her gaze before I peeled my eyes away from hers to watch Olga who was kneeled down by Spence. She was shining a light in his eyes when he opened them and started looking around.
"Lie still," The idiot kept moving, "I said lie still!" Olga commanded.
He finally settled down and followed the light as she commanded before she turned it off and held up a few fingers.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked.
"Three." He whispered as if he was out of breath.
"Good, now tell me your name?" She asked. I could tell she was annoyed by him already and that made me smirk a bit.
Spence was always a bit of an ass.
"I don't remember."
"He's fine. Memory loss, just like the other one." She concluded, glancing at me for a second. Our ride on the Alexia 5000 came to an end and we unboarded and made our way to the heavy metal door.
"Let's get that door open." One said. Alice walked right up to him as I backed away and looked at the scene with amusement.
"Alright, I want to know who you people are and what's going on here." One just looked away from her but Alice grabbed his arm.
She's so cool and sexy at the same time.
Kaplan elbowed me in the ribs and I snapped out of my little day dream. He motioned me to focus which I just waved him off.
"Now." She hissed. One sighed and backed away from her while giving me an annoyed look, I simply waved at him with a goofy smile on my face.
"You and I have the same employer. We both work for the Umbrella Corporation. The Arklay Mansion, where we entered, is an emergency entrance into The Hive. You and him," One nodded to Spence, "Are security operatives placed there in order to protect it." Alice looked back at me almost asking if he was telling the truth, I nodded.
"What is The Hive?' Matthew questioned.
"Show them." One ordered Kaplan who pulled out his trusty laptop which revealed the holographic blue print of the Arklay Mansion and The Hive which was underneath it even showed the Alexia 5000.
"The mansion is where we gained access to the Alexia 5000 which in turn bought us to The Hive. The Hive is located underground, deep beneath the streets of Raccoon City. It is a research facility owned and operated by Umbrella. The Hive houses over five-hundred technicians, scientists, and other support staff. They all live and work underground. Their research is classified and of the highest importance. Our position on the map is indicated by heat signature."
"Why can't I remember anything? Expect for Is?"
"The Hive has its own defense, all computer-controlled. A nerve gas was released into the Mansion. The side effects include acute memory loss lasting anywhere up to five hours. And your question about remembering Hal?" Matt, One, and Alice glanced at me but by this time I was helping Kaplan and Rain open the blast doors, "You have known her a lot longer than you knew us plus she does have an impacting personality. You two are…close. Ask her if you want to know the details." One concluded, shrugging.
"For low long?" Alice asked.
"Subjective. An hour, a day, a week. Depends on the person."
"So, this place was attacked?" Matt questioned. I watched as Rain walked down the stair while removing her helmet.
"Sir, we've reached The Hive."
We came to a dark room and stopped. I instinctively inched closer to Rain while staying in front of Alice, it was almost as if I was backing up Rain and protecting Alice subconsciously. Rain raised an eyebrow in my direction but I ignored the look, the last thing I need right now is to acknowledge I still want to protect her.
This is bullshit or is this karma? Either way it's messed up. She cheated on me with him! On our anniversary!
"J.D" One said, the said man nodded and walked into the dark room, equipped with his gun and night vision goggles. He explored the room for a moment before kicking on the lights before we all entered it. The windows contained a hologram of what the real city life would be if the residents weren't underground.
"Makes it easier to work underground." Matthew commented, giving Alice and I a small smile. I looked at him over my shoulder and let out a small laugh. Rain glanced at us with an unreadable expression on her face.
I haven't laughed in weeks.
"Ha, that's true." I said. Matthew smiled back at me and I looked towards the front when I heard a flare being dropped down in an elevator shaft. The 'ting' noise sounded off as it reached the bottom.
"Guess we're taking the stairs." J.D half joked. I rolled my eyes.
"Move it." Rain commanded, shoving Matt forward.
"Somebody's cranky." Twelve teased, I almost laughed at his face when Rain glared at him. He bumped his shoulder against mine as he went passed me and I stuck my tongue out at him. One simply shook his head as did Olga.
Twelve was always teased for being the "perfect solider", he was dead serious and tactical but around me, he showed his goofy side and he surprisingly had a sense of humor. Warner on the other hand was naturally intimidated when things went wrong but he was a sweetheart though we've never really connected like I did with the other members of the crew.
Pulling out my Beretta 92F, I noticed Alice's confused and startled face but I simply smiled at her.
"You can never be too careful. Stick with One or me, okay?" She nodded and I was satisfied.
When she regains all her memories, she'll be the one to push me behind her.
We made our way down the five flights of stairs before I ungracefully tripped but was caught by Alice.
"Are you okay?" She asked, I nodded completely not embarrassed about almost breaking my face on the stairs. I was naturally uncoordinated but in certain situations I was gracefully, I'm really weird.
I need to sleep more, urg. I'll try to see if Cain would let me get a few days off after this mission.
"Status?" One asked out of the blue.
"The Red Queen has locked on us. She knows we're here." Kaplan informed. I noticed the extra red light near the security cameras and waved.
"Yeap, she definitely knows were here." I commented with a smirk on my face. Kaplan and J.D gave me weird looks, I just stared at them until they looked away.
"Who's The Red Queen?" Alice questioned.
"She's a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence computer. She controls The Hive." I answered. We came into a hallway that contained a majority of the labs in The Hive which were all engulfed in water that also covered the floor by a few inches. The walls were mostly made up of glass which allowed the small puncture holes to sprout out water.
"This is gonna slow us down. Our route to the Queen takes us straight through these labs." Kaplan informed, One nodded as he looked around.
"Rain, J.D. Go see how bad the flooding is." One ordered, the two soldiers nodded and disappeared down the hall, "Kaplan, find another route to the Queen's Chamber."
"Understood." Kaplan acknowledged and begun his search.
"What happened?" Alice asked, glancing around.
"Five hours ago, The Red Queen went homicidal. She sealed The Hive and killed everyone down here." Twelve answered.
"Jesus." Matt said, shaking his head.
"When we realized what had happened, my team was dispatched to shut her down." One stated.
"Why did she do it?" Alice asked.
"We don't know. Outside interference is a possibility." One finished. Twelve was checking up on Kaplan while Olga and Warner was scoping the hallways, making sure nothing surprised us.
"You okay?" Spence asked Alice who had her arms wrapped around herself. "Here." He begun taking off his jacket to place it around her shoulders despite Alice refusing his help. I glared at the asshole.
What's up with men trying to steal my girlfriends?!
"No, I'm fine." She shook her head.
"It's cold in here. Just take it." He insisted. She stared at him after he turned away.
"Getting jealous, Hal?" Olga teased, I gave her a look.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I said, looking away from her.
"Sure." She said, dryly.
"It's okay if you do…I mean, you know." Warner tried to cheer me up. I stared which made him uncomfortable before I spoke.
"Gee, thanks, Warner." I said, patting his shoulder.
"Are you… Do you remember anything, before this?" Alice questioned Spence.
"No, nothing before the train. You?" He answered. I narrowed my eyes at him.
Why the hell is he lying?
"Nothing." Alice lied in return, shaking her head.
"Got it! If we double back and cut through Dining Hall B, we'll be on track." Kaplan said, looking up from his wrist computer just as Rain and J.D came back.
"Sir, no go. The whole level's flooded." Rain commented, walking closer.
"Alright, we're behind schedule, people. Let's move out." One commanded but was interrupted by a shout. Spence had peered into the murky water that engulfed the lab. There was something inside that he couldn't quite make out. Suddenly, something bumped against the glass, there's a male scientist floating inside – his face is hideously distorted and bloated. The faint image of another male was somewhat behind him and also disturbing looking but not nearly as horrifying as the first male's. That's when Spence jumped back and shouted causing the commandos except myself pointed their guns at the deceased scientists. Matt also shouted when a female scientist with long blonde hair floating in the water appeared behind, she was also bloated but her eyes were as beautiful as ever. Her mouth was frozen in a dying scream.
"Death by drowning, now that really sucks." I commented, walking a bit closer.
"How can you stand to look at that?!" Spence shouted, his hand gripping his heart.
"I've seen far worse...alot worse. At least you can see what gender they are." I replied, looking into the deceased female' eyes. Why? Because I could've sworn I saw her eye twitch for a second. Maybe it was the nightmares coming back or maybe it was the water, but I knew she did. Spence shivered at my statement.
…This isn't good. I have a really bad feeling about this shithole.
"Come on." One took lead while Olga, Kaplan, Twelve, and Warner followed closely behind. I gently pushed Alice and Matt forward while J.D shoved Spence. I heard Rain whispered, "Poor bastards" before we disappeared around the corner.
"Is?...Are you okay?" Alice questioned as we watched Rain worked on the locking mechanism on another pair of blast doors that were blocking our progress.
"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, trying to fake a smile.
Please don't start now. Sometimes I hate dealing with this shit.
"You're a lot quieter than usual… Even though I lost most of my memories I even know that's unusual for you." She commented, with a serious look on her face. I stared at her for a few moments before looking away.
"I…I feel like I've been here before. But I don't know how. It doesn't make any sense." I whispered to her, placing a hand on my forehead.
"How's it coming?" One asked Rain.
"Most of these doors are magnetically sealed. We're not going to get them open til we sever the power." She replied. Rain glanced in my direction to see that I was holding my head and not even looking at Alice.
"Can we cut through?" One questioned.
"It'll take way too much time." Rain answered, still looking at me. One glanced at his watch and noted the time – 02:15:32.
"Find another way." He said, then he noticed my posture.
"Hal? What's wrong?" He questioned, walking closer.
"I don't know. She just started holding her head and she slide down the wall." Alice replied.
"Is she okay?" Kaplan asked in concern. Olga kneeled down beside me and checked my temperature.
"She's burning up." She said in almost a panicked tone.
"Chill out, I'm fine." I groaned, trying to move away from them but One held me down by my shoulders.
"Hal? Damnit, just stay still." One commanded.
"Stop yelling, damnit. It really hurts." I complained, rubbing the side of my head. I placed my head on my knees as I willed it away after a minute it disappeared and I felt relieved.
"Peace at least." I called, with a smile. One sighed.
"You seriously need to get checked out for that. It's nerve-racking." He commented, standing up. I smirked.
"Were you worried, Mr. Shade?" I teased. He stared down at me with a look that caused me to frown and almost glare at him.
"Don't start. I don't want to hear it. It happens once in a while. Big deal."
"Isabella.-"
"No, it's only happened twice since I've been on your squad, Shade." I almost hissed, I didn't want anyone to know – Rain and Alice had no idea about my condition and I wanted to keep it that way.
"I'm not going to argue with you. We'll talk when this mission is over with. You, Cain, and I." He said with finality in his voice.
"What!?" Olga pushed me down before I could even get up and I glared at Rain's and J.D's concerned faces.
"I found a quicker way to the Dining Hall." Kaplan said, taking the attention off of me. Alice helped me stand and I ignored the looks I was getting, resisting the temptation to flick them all off but I knew they were only worried about me.
"Alright, let's go. Everyone, stay on guard." One commanded as we went on our way.
Kaplan punched in an access code – 667 and the heavy steel door slide away to reveal a vast semi-dark room filled with specimen tanks and different sized containers. The tanks were made of circular plexi and stretched from the ceiling to the floor. There are literally hundreds of them that almost formed a maze. Every tank was filled with a strange liquid, animals were spliced together, some were skeletons that barely looked human, while others looked like a mixture of an animal and human or something gruesomely monstrous. The ground was covered in a dense fog that covered out feet and the ground form view. The air was damp and cold.
"Now this is some surreal shit right here." Rain commented, looking around. I was oddly and disturbingly fascinated by these experiments almost as if I was connected in some way to them. I vaguely noticed Alice was captivated by this as well.
"Hal, you and Rain secure the exit and keep the prisoner here. The rest of you are with me." One ordered.
"Adios, boss man." I replied, grinning giving him the two-fingered salute to my surprise, he actually returned it and I felt my heart sink in despair for some odd reason.
What is this? Why do I feel so sad all of a sudden?
I saw Alice glance back at me and I gave her a reassuring nod.
"You'll be a-okay." I mouthed to her which caused her to smile. I saw J.D give Rain a smile which she returned. We watched as One and the others disappear and I heard the radio click on.
"Hey, Is." I sighed in annoyance.
"You're boy toy." I said to Rain, lighting tossing it to her, she gave me a questioning look which I ignored. I jumped on the container that Matthew was leaning against which was only about four-feet in the air and plopping myself down with my Berettas on both of my sides.
"He wants to talk to you, Hal." Rain commented.
"But I don't want to talk to him." I answered in a childish way.
"You're such a kid." Matthew grinned which caused Rain to glare at him.
"What's going on between you two and Alice?" J.D questioned over the radio, I could tell he was whispering.
"That's-" I cut Rain off.
"Who cares? It has nothing to do with you but then again you two do seem quite close." I replied in a bitchy tone.
"Hal-" Rain's voice sounded pissed off.
"Don't call me that." I cut her off again.
"That's bullshit. Look, I didn't mean to cause problems between you two." He replied. I jumped from my seat and snatched the radio from Rain who looked torn between being pissed off and sad. Matthew looked throughly uncomfortable.
"Too bad, you did when you fucked up." I answered in a hiss, conveying a double meaning in my words.
"Keep yourself personal life to yourself." Rain retorted, looking peeved that her sex life was being talk about in front of her.
"You're here so what's the fucking difference?" I snapped at her.
"Look you can take it out on me after the mission is finished, okay? Just don't be pissed off at Rain. I'm the one who practically forced myself on her." He insisted and pleaded.
"Go fuck yourself, I don't give a rat's ass if you did or not. Point blank, you both fucked me over." I answered almost emotionless. Rain stared at me in shock.
"Isabella! I'm trying to apologize to you! Stop making things harder for yourself and others around you." He hissed back into the radio.
"Ha, it's too bad I don't wanna hear your fucking apology. Maybe you'll think about the people around you, you wouldn't fuck everything up in the first place. Leave me the fuck alone and go do your job." I said, sarcastically.
"You didn't have to go there –"
"Shut up! You're the one who spoke to me first. You took something important away from me. You, J.D. You were supposed to be my bestfriend, no my brother. How the fuck did you think I felt when I saw you two together?" I was near the point of breaking down when I shoved the radio back into the shocked Rain's hands before I climbed on my platform and looked away from the other two human occupants of the room who were staring at me with mixed emotions.
"Bella-" I froze when she called me by her personal nickname for me, let's just say it's very personal and intimate.
"Just focus on the mission." I replied in a monotone voice. J.D sighed and cut off the radio. Minutes seemed like hours as the three of us sat or stood in silence. I felt sorry for Matthew who could feel the extreme tension between Rain and I. I silently sighed to myself as I glanced at Rain who was picking her nails with a combat knife.
"…How long?" I asked without finishing my question. She glanced at her watch.
"An hour and fifty-five minutes." She replied.
I hope King didn't destroy my shoes….
Then the power cut off and after thirty seconds it rebooted itself. I looked around and taking note that the larger container's lights had turned red instead of the stable green they were before.
"This place is freaky." Matt muttered under his breath. I couldn't help but smirk at that. Then the sound of something hitting metal on the floor echoed through the quiet room.
"I'm on it." Rain volunteered, cocking her gun after swiftly placing her knife in its holder.
"I'll do it." I said, jumping off the container and making my way in front of her. However, she had other plans. She pinned me lightly against one of the tanks.
"Look, Bella. Just listen to me. I said I got it." She whispered, once again inching closer to my face - too close. My eyes widened and I pushed her away before giving her an indifferent stare.
Keep your composure.
"Fine, go head." I replied, walking back to Matthew. I could feel her stare on me for a few seconds before she disappeared deeper into the room.
"Did something happen? Are you okay?" Matthew asked out of curiosity.
"You could say that." I answered, making sure my fingerless gloves were on completely before positioning my Beretta in front of me.
"Follow me, stay close. She's crazy if she thinks I'm just going to let her go down there alone." I replied, glancing over at my shoulder at him. He nodded and we made our way down the room when I heard Rain's shout.
"Hal! We have a survivor!" We moved faster when we heard Rain's scream, after a few more feet we came face to face with Rain trying to fend off a female scientist who had her mouth wide open almost as if Rain was her meal ticket.
"Hal, get her off of me before I stab her ass!" She shouted, I threw the woman away from her and turned to see Rain wrapping her hand in gauze.
"She bite me, man. She took a chunk clean out of me!" She exclaimed in disbelief. I whirled around to see the woman limping towards us.
"Look, lady. Stay back." I said, pointing my Beretta at her.
"She's crazy." Rain said from behind me.
"Have it your way." I said, when she still inched towards us. I fired a single bullet into her leg. Anyone would assume that the person who scream or grab the wound, right? Well, she didn't. She simply looked at it before glaring at me. I shot her twice in the chest but that didn't do anything. She moved quicker but was floored by Rain's MP5.
"Rain!" I gasped at her.
"What? She was going to make you her dessert. Trust me, being bitten isn't fun." Rain commented, holding up her wounded hand.
"But – What the fuck? I shot her in the heart two fucking times! What kind of mad scientist shit is this?" I exclaimed, freaking out.
"Bitch isn't standing now." She replied in a pissed off but pleased tone.
"You did see that, right?" I asked Matthew who nodded very slowly.
How reassurring...
"Great." I groaned. The sound of running footsteps put us on high alert but it was only Kaplan and the others. I let out a sigh.
"What was the shooting all about?" J.D questioned, looking back and forth between the three of us.
"We found a survivor." Rain answered, tightening the bandage on her wound. J.D immediately went to Rain's side while Alice stepped closer to me.
"And you shot him?!" Kaplan exclaimed.
"She was crazed, she bit me." Rain said in an irritated tone. At that moment, I took a look at where her body was suppose to be and was in for a shock.
We are sooo fucking screwed.
"Are you fucking kidding me!? She's fucking gone!" I shouted in disbelief.
Cliffhanger: Things really start to go different in the next chapter.
Review | Fav | Follow | Message - FEEDBACK, please?
Special Thanks To:
Spanish-Butterfly: I had to add a little Nicholai and Carlos. I was so mad when they die (but not as mad with Rain and L.J died) Hoped you liked the new chapter!
xXxWhiteWolfxXx: Thank you, I hope you enjoyed it.
Blissless: Thank you, yes. Cain and Is do have more of a big brother and little sister relationship. Rain and Is's relationship is intense because they really do have feelings for each other. I added more Is and Alice in this chapter as well.
Thank you for reviewing!
Thank you, Chachi94, ShadowHunter2012, Angi Marie, and Flouder5 for faving/following.