A/N - Revised 13Sept2012

Chapter 7

Only One Left

"Hold up. There's a cure?" Hope blossomed in Rain's eyes.

"A cure." Alice whispered. "Blue is the virus. Green is the antivirus." Her voice got louder, more excited. "I know where they kept it."

Everyone's attention shifted immediately to Alice, and Anise clamped her mouth shut. Maybe she could avoid telling her story to a group of Umbrella employees and still escape after all.

"You remember?" Kaplan excitedly questioned.

"Yes. I can get us there. We just have to get out of these tunnels."

Rain let the hostage hand free, already forgotten. "What are sitting around for? Let's go."

Thus began the journey of crawling along slippery pipes above a throng of snarling, moaning, grasping, hungry zombies. To say it was painful would be lying. For Anise, it was agonizing. The scabs on her hands split open under the pressure of holding her torso's weight. Her blood was leaving a smeared trail, and her knees and shins were screaming too. Spence's ass in front of her face didn't help her mood. She swore if he farted she would push him off.

Idly, Anise wondered what Rain thought of her ass. The brash commando had fallen in behind her. Now that she thought of it, she wondered how the lineup had gotten rearranged. Kap had started out in front and Anise the rear because she had wasted time ditching her cumbersome labcoat. She supposed it was back at the big pipe junction. The pipe under her good hand creaked and shuddered. It began to move. She hurriedly shifted her weight off it as much as she could.

"Shit. Be more careful." Of course Rain berated her for the pipe's harness failing.

"Sorry, did you want to be in front? Or are you just back there for the view?"

"Keep moving." Rain drawled.

If Anise wasn't afraid of biting it off when another pipe moved, she would have stuck her tongue out. She settled for muttering to herself and crawling forward again.

Minutes later, a large open area appeared in front of the group. The ceiling jumped up a dozen feet and the pipes securing brackets grew in feet and weak points. There was a 'Y' in the pipes where one branch ended with an opening in the wall covered by metal grating that looked weak enough to kick down. Behind it appeared to be a shadowy corridor. It looked promising. The other led to a dark alcove that she couldn't see into. It did not look promising. Spence charged ahead, eager to be walking instead of crawling around, while Anise held back, concerned. Growing up with a dad that was in construction had taught her a few things about support structures.

Rain poked her thigh. "What? Go, go. My knees are killing me."

"It doesn't look safe." Shaking her head slowly, Anise responded.

"Have you looked around lately? This whole fuckin place isn't safe." She rasped back.

Rolling her eyes, Anise conceded and moved forward to join Spence crossing the bridge to the ledge. It shook in protest. The man kicked a few times and the grate blocking his path collapsed noisily. As the rest of the team added weight to the bridge, it started groaning and swaying. All of a sudden there was metal screeching and voices screaming. Anise had set foot on the ledge only to turn around in horror. Sometimes she really hated being right.

Metal brackets had ripped away from the ceiling. Pipes had collapsed under the stress of their crossing. Anise's new friends were sliding into the waiting arms of her dead friends.

"Move!" Rain pushed her back so she could get off the pipes. Alice was right behind her and Matt was clambering up the pipes, but Kaplan had fallen to the ground. Pushing back Anise and Spence behind the grate, Rain made room for Alice. Upon seeing Kap being overwhelmed, she tried getting back to the pipes, screaming for them to help her last squad member. She almost got past Alice. Matt joining the crowded ledge, and the pipes collapsing behind him, stopped her.

Trapped, Rain drew her gun to help Kaplan. Her arms shook, and she kept squeezing her eyes as if to clear them. Shots scattered across the room and not a single zombie dropped. Kap somehow managed to free himself from the horde and was crawling up the pipes on the other side. He was just at the top when an infected man with gray hair and a lab coat with coffee stains latched onto his leg and bit. Kaplan's screams sent violent shivers down Anise's spine.

"I can't focus," Rain was crying. "I can't see."

Alice grabbed the gun from the shaking woman, took aim, and put a bullet in the infected man's brain. Kaplan mounted the top of the incline while Alice mowed down infected with the remaining rounds. It clicked when it was empty. She cried out, frustrated, and threw the useless metal at the mob.

Gasping and holding his leg, Kap sat watching yet another infected start up the pipes toward him. He dumped the spent shells from his revolver. Everyone could see as he picked one out. He had a round left. Just one.

"Go!" The desperation on his face was painful for Anise. Her eyes filled again. Next to her, Rain screamed at him not to give up. That they could save him. That she wouldn't leave him behind too.

"I'm not going anywhere. Go!" Tears overflowed down Anise's filthy cheeks. She wrapped her good arm around Rain's waist and started pulling. Beside her, Spence actually looked upset. He nodded at Kaplan and walked ahead.

Rain struggled desperately against the arm trying to drag her away screaming. "NO! No, we can't leave him. Dammit, let me go. KAPLAN!"

"We gotta move." And Matt grabbed Rain too. Alice brought up the rear, the last to see Kaplan alive. Smiling weakly and lifting a hand in goodbye, she turned and followed the screaming Rain.

BANG.

"KAPPP!"

Bruises from Rain's elbows, combat boots, and fists were sprouting like weeds on Anise. The woman was weak from infection and still hit like a freight train. Anise was grateful she was not at full strength, broken ribs would really suck. As Rain's struggling lessened, Matt let go. She collapsed in Anise's arms. "They're dead. They're all dead now." Her voice was miserable and full of helplessness. "What am I supposed to do now?" A gasp. "I'm alone."

"No. You aren't. Rain, you aren't alone." Anise tried comforting the crying woman in her arms.

"What the fuck would you know?" Suddenly furious, Rain shoved herself from the embrace, pivoting around to slam Anise to the wall and scream at her. "You didn't just leave the last of your fuckin squad behind to die! We were in the Army together. I was at his wedding. He just had a baby boy. His wife was the sweetest person I ever met. What the hell am I supposed to say to her, huh?" She grabbed a shoulder and pinned it to the unyielding concrete. "Answer me that!"

Alice tried to touch the grieving soldier's arm. "Don't fucking touch me." A violent jerk discouraged Alice further. Rain turned back to her stricken hostage. "Well, answer me dammit!"

With a tongue of lead, Anise couldn't answer. She blinked, feeling more hot tears streak down her face. Rain continued shrieking at her to answer the question.

Abruptly, Anise's tears stopped, and she began speaking. "Her name was Terri."

"What?" Rain snapped angrily, confusion wrinkling her forehead.

"The first one you ran into. You called JD over because you found a survivor. She bit you. Don't you remember?"

"Of course I remember that bitch. What the fuck does it matter?"

"Her name, before the T-virus escaped and the Red Queen murdered everyone, was Terri." Anise had no idea why she was saying it. Her mouth was moving on its own, and her voice was unnaturally calm. "She was my best friend down here. She's got two adorable kids and a great husband that don't know she's dead, that she turned into a cannibalistic zombie before you snapped her neck. The first one I killed, his name was Patrick. He was a decent guy, had a crush on me for a long time. There was Jezebel and Fred, Tony, Kwan, Albert, Nina..."

"So?" Rain's grip had slacked. The venom in her voice was gone.

"And Kap, the one that got him was Belst. He was..." She finally choked. "You can tell her that," she sniffled, "That Kap wasn't the only one that Umbrella's arrogance got killed." Fresh tears followed her conclusion. Tears that were wiped away by a tender touch.

"Sure. I'll tell her that. Fuck. We'll tell the whole damn world."

"Great. That sounds fantastic. Can we get going now?" And Spence ruined a perfectly good moment. Asshole.