Chapter 6: Vivace
Sitting down on the steps in the pitch-black stairway, Jill rested her head in her hands and tapped her right foot in frustration; she had been stuck there now for at least fifteen minutes. It was most peculiar—no matter how far down she went, the stairs never ended. She had quickened her pace descending, but still it went down and down, seemingly forever. Panicking at first, she had stopped dead on one of the steps and shut her eyes tightly, using techniques she had learnt at S.T.A.R.S. to calm herself through regulated breathing. After she had calmed down, she also tried running up the stairs, back towards the hallway, but it still went on endlessly, even though her speed going up was quicker than it was going down. Now she sat alone in the dark, annoyed and frustrated and wanting nothing more than a cigarette.
Biting her nails, Jill tried to at least make sense of the situation whilst she sat in what was basically solitary confinement. She and her friends, and some enemies, had somehow ended up in a room which had led into Rebecca's house, which was in what should be the destroyed Raccoon City. Logically, it did not make any sense, unless they had time travelled or something, but even then, that wouldn't explain the 'scary room' they had awoken in, nor the fact that everything 'outside' and 'hidden' (i.e. what you could not see, such as what was in the drawers, or wardrobes), seemingly did not exist.
Jill now focused her thoughts on what was logical: perhaps they had been drugged and taken to a secret location that recreated scenes from their lives for some sort of strange experiment? That seemed like the most logical answer, but it didn't hold much credibility when you entered the young versions of themselves into the equation. How could that possibly be? She asked herself, her fear dissipating somewhat as she pondered her circumstances. Her brain wracked more than ever before, Jill continued to tap her right foot on the wooden stairs as she sat in deep thought.
BACK IN THE KITCHEN
Dropping the knife to the floor in shock, Rebecca turned on her heel and ran quickly towards the kitchen door, leaving the lifeless bodies of Jill and Chris on the tiled floor. Pulling the door open, she quickly ran into the hallway and grabbed the banister as she pulled herself up onto the stairs and flew up them towards her bedroom where her real friends were. Tears streaming down her face, she kicked down her bedroom door and jumped inside, landing on the floor as she shivered uncontrollably.
Shocked to see her enter so violently- and covered in blood- Chris, Barry and Claire ran over to her as Wesker continued to sit on the bed smoking a cigarette.
"Jeez, Rebecca," Wesker began, "you were supposed to distract them, not kill them."
"Rebecca!" Barry called out, as he knelt down beside her. "What the hell has happened? I hope it's not Chris' blood!"
Rebecca slowly nodded her head as she wiped the tears away. Helping her up onto the bed, she heaved a sigh of relief as Chris closed the bedroom door and they all crowded around her; she felt safer now. Taking the cigarette off Wesker, Rebecca recounted to them what had happened in the kitchen.
"My God." Claire whispered. "That must have been awful for you."
"This just makes our situation even stranger." Chris sighed, looking out the window into blackness. "Wait a second." He suddenly exclaimed, turning around to face everyone. "Where the hell is Jill!"
"She must still be in the basement!" Barry cried, instinctively pulling out his magnum. "S.T.A.R.S. Team, Wesker," he commanded confidently, raising his magnum high in the air and waving it around a little. "Let's move out!"
BACK ON THE STAIRS
Jill continued to tap her foot on the wooden steps beneath her, unable to take much more of being alone in a pitch-black stairway. Standing up, she stood still for a moment, breathing heavily; what the hell am I gonna do?
Unable to think clearly, Jill turned her heel and looked upwards; she could at least try going back for the door again. Just as she lifted her left foot to place it on an upper step, her hand slipped from the wall as the wallpaper crumbled with age! Letting out a silent scream, she fell backwards, almost positive she would be killed by the fall, when suddenly she hit something on the way down—it was the door leading into the basement. Falling onto it, it burst open, and she fell flat on her face into the room, right in front of young Barry, Edward and Claire.
Jill wasn't too hurt by the fall, and managed to get up from the floor with the help of Edward and Barry.
"Geez, Jill!" Claire laughed, "How much have you drank?"
Smiling, Edward quickly hoisted Jill up on his shoulders and ran around the room. "Clearly not enough, if she can still stand up straight after this!" he laughed, spinning around on the spot.
"You're such a doofus." Claire sighed, flicking her hair back. Just then, she and Barry noticed the new uniform that Jill had donned. "Wow, you changed? What is that?"
"It looks like a police uniform." Barry said, stopping Edward from spinning and looking at her clothes while she slurred something unintelligible. "Anyway, put her down! I think she's had enough."
"Okay, okay." Edward sighed, gently placing her on her feet; Jill swayed violently.
"My turn now!" Barry said enthusiastically, grabbing Edward's shoulder.
"What! No way!" Edward exclaimed, backing off and heading towards the fridge to grab another beer. "You probably weigh a ton."
Feeling rejected, Barry sulkily turned his attention back to Jill.
"So what's with the get up?" he asked, elegantly catching a beer that Edward had thrown at him. He caught another one and gave it to Jill.
"I—um…" Jill wracked her brains for an excuse. "I thought I would liven up the party a little!" she suddenly exclaimed, laughing slightly. "I know you guys like a gal in uniform." She giggled, winking at Barry and heading over towards Claire.
"Well, I think Chris's jaw will fall off when he sees you." Claire smirked, as Jill sat down next to her. Swigging at her beer and seeing Edward Dewey attempting to play billiards, a huge wave of nostalgia washed over her- she had forgotten all about her situation, and couldn't help but feel like enjoying herself. Suddenly, she noticed Rebecca's absence, and the horrible thought that teenage Rebecca would encounter the real one caused her to panic somewhat.
"Where's Rebecca?" Jill suddenly cried out, drawing strange glances from her friends.
"She's gone out to the off-licence." Barry replied. "We're nearly out of liquor."
"But the nearest one is five blocks away!"
Edward winked at her as he swigged at his beer and burped loudly. "She's getting a taxi; we each chipped in for the fare. Which reminds me—"
"Thank God." Jill sighed, unable to contain her relief. She drew even stranger glances now. "I mean—" she suddenly added, "thank God she's getting more booze."
"I think you've probably had one too many already, eh Jill?" Barry smirked, winking at her as he picked up his cue to take his shot on the billiards game.
"She's fine; she can at least talk intelligibly, unlike some people." She giggled. Barry laughed sarcastically as he took his shot; he missed the target ball. "Damn it!" he spat, throwing the cue on the floor.
"You ain't gonna win." Edward laughed.
Barry folded his arms and looked moody. "I'm bored of this anyway. Let's dance for a little."
Claire jumped down from the table near the billiard table and ran over to the stereo. "Good idea!" she exclaimed, pushing a button on the cassette player. "Come on, Jill!" she cried happily, grabbing Jill's hands and pulling her onto the floor as a Spice Girl's song burst into life.
"Oh, I don't know…" Jill said, coyly. It had been a while since she had danced…
"Oh, come on! It's easy, watch!" Barry exclaimed, grabbing Edward's hands and forcing him to dance awkwardly to the hit 'If You Wanna Be My Lover'. Edward turned red and looked at the floor as he tried desperately to release himself from Barry's iron grip. Claire and Jill looked on, almost unable to contain their laughter. Quickly downing her beer in one gulp, Jill set it on the billiard table and began to dance with Claire as Barry moved Edward around the floor; it was obvious they were both drunk.