A/N - Revised 14Sept2012

Chapter 8

Twisted and Wrong

"Well? Do you hear anything?"

"I hear lots of things. Water dripping. You breathing. Something specific you think I should hear?"

"Anise..."

"Alice..."

Winning a staring contest with Alice was like trying to knock down all three bottles at a county fair game. Anise huffed. "Geez. I don't hear anything that sounds like it wants to chew on my intestines. Open the damn thing, Alice."

She watched as Alice climbed the short ladder and pushed the hinged floor grating up slightly. Matt poked his head up with her to peer around. "Looks clear." He glanced back at Anise, who shrugged.

"Still quiet. Wish I had my ax though."

Rain leaned against the shoulder holding her up. Her body temperature felt like it had dropped again. "If I find another one, I'll let you have it. OK?"

"You're so generous." Anise looked down.

The soldier smiled at the sarcastic joke, but it was twisted and wrong. Her skin, under the dried gore, was pale and sallow. Sweat dripped down her neck. The infection was progressing quickly now. She couldn't walk on her own anymore, and her voice was raspier than ever.

Between the four of them, they managed to get Rain up the ladder to the next level. From there Anise and Matt each took a pale arm around their shoulders and supported most of the commando's weight. The Latina's boots practically dragged along the floor. From several paces ahead, Spence watched, his rugged features contorted by annoyance and fear. He turned around when Anise stuck her tongue out at him.

"When I get outta here, I think I'm gonna get laid." Rain stated.

Matt snickered. "Good plan. Someone in mind?"

"Yea."

Anise had started to ask 'who' just as Rain stumbled and vomited. Awesome. Now her pants had barf to join the piss and blood. Sighing, she started moving forward again. Alice looked back and grimaced sympathetically before taking the lead again.

They followed the woman in the short red dress through the eerily quiet maze of labs. Nothing tried to eat them, and the only moaning came from the living. Hopefully the horde would not make it out of the tunnels to chase them again. Carrying Rain made them slow and even more vulnerable.

"Here. This is where they kept it. Hold on, Rain. You're gonna be okay." Alice had stopped in front of a familiar room with a foot of water in it. A little staircase with three steps led down into the sunken lab. The security operatives splashed into the room, followed by the trio, who gently helped Rain down to sit on the small landing. Anise trailed after the others to look for the antivirus. Her gaze swept over the damp lab. She had only been inside a few times with Belst to pick up samples. T-virus production was not part of her project, so they had to request it for Afterthought's own experiments.

"Why is it wet?" She mumbled to herself. Then it clicked, the medic had mentioned halon levels. That Red Bitch had killed everyone with the fire suppression system. Halon distribution and water sprinklers had been activated. At least the gas would have been fast. But death by drowning? She shuddered, wondering how long it had taken to fill up the sealed rooms.

"Where is it? I don't understand!" Alice shouted angrily, drawing Anise from her thoughts.

"What?" It was heartbreaking, that defeated tone of Rain's.

Anise shoved Spence aside to walk into the containment room. "Fuck me." She cursed and hung her head. It was gone. All of it. The T-virus and antivirus tubes were missing from their respective trays. Spence peeked into the room, yet did not enter, a thoughtful look on his roguish features. Disturbed, Anise glanced back at Rain. The woman wouldn't meet her eye. Alice and Matt had moved away from the group and were whispering. Curious, Anise focused her powerful hearing to listen over the water dripping. Spence and Rain looked too distracted to really be paying attention.

"How do you know for sure it was supposed to be here?" Matt was demanding.

"I was going to steal it." Alice revealed. "I was your sister's contact."

Matt's face was impassive. "You betrayed her."

"I don't remember."

"You caused all of this."

"No. I don't know." Alice's voice was stressed, yet whether from guilt, fear, lies, or the uncertainty of memory loss, Anise couldn't quite tell.

"The truth," he hissed.

"I don't remember the truth." Alice jerked away from Matt. His cold blue eyes tracked her angrily.

Holy hell, Anise thought. How was it possible to make this shit even more complicated?

"It's gone. It's not there." Alice announced unnecessarily.

"I can't." Rain was giving up. "I just can't. It's over."

Alice strode over to the distraught soldier. "No. It's not." She tried to gather her in a hug and Rain flinched. Alice tried again and was allowed to stroke the soldier's soaked hair and place a comforting hand on her thigh.

Anise kicked herself mentally for not getting to Rain's side sooner. She walked into the main lab, ending up next to Spence. The man still looked disturbingly thoughtful, not concerned, only preoccupied. Quickly she looked away and back to Rain, who appeared to be trying hard not to cry again. The soldier's features hardened and finally shrugged off Alice, having convinced her that she wouldn't give up just yet. Alice nodded and turned to Spence.

"Spence?" She queried, her voice worried and obviously seeking comfort of her own.

He continued zoning out, oblivious to Alice's repeated attempts to gain his attention. The poor woman, Anise thought, to have a husband like him. A look came over his features that Anise didn't recognize. Alice seemed to, and her face showed concern, maybe a little fear. The married couple was caught in a brief staring match until they both raced to something that Anise could not see. Spence won and leveled a gun at Alice's head.

Alice was distraught, stumbling back to Rain and Matt.

"What the fuck?" Anise blurted out. The pistol was in her face, and the muzzle pressed to her cheek. She stepped back a foot.

"I never could stand you, Anise. You were always a fucking pain in my ass with your untamed mouth and stupid pranks." Growled Spence to the woman on the business end of his weapon. He turned to his wife. "We can still make it out of here. Come with me. We can have everything we ever wanted. You wouldn't believe the amount of money out there, just waiting."

"This was how you were going to make all my dreams come true?" Alice deadpanned.

Matt dashed forward at Spence, but the asshole just casually pointed the gun at his chest. A dark flush shadowed Matt's face as he backed up several steps. Anise swung an arm at Spence, and he merely ducked, then rose and crashed the gun into her jaw. She stumbled, and his boot came up, connecting solidly with her chest. The woman flew back into the door frame, cracking her head painfully against the unyielding metal. Her limp body slid down to slump in a sitting position, mouth barely above the waterline. Anise blacked out.

The next thing Anise knew was a splitting headache. Peeling open her eyes rewarded her with a blurry image of red and a painful knife in her skull. She closed them quickly.

"Owww," she groaned. Her jaw hurt too. Putting a hand to it, she felt something sticky. Blood? What happened?

"You woke up." Someone sounded relieved. Alice maybe?

"Mmph." She muttered and tried opening her eyes again. This time, she was expecting the pain and was able to push it aside to focus on the world around her. Alice was crouching beside her, eyes full of concern. Gone was the leather jacket, and her nipples were straining against the thin red fabric of the dress. Anise agreed with the two buttons pointing at her. Yea, it was fucking cold in this water. She tried to stand up, staggered until she was caught and supported by the strong Chief. Fighting down a wave of nausea, she leaned back on the frigid steel wall.

"Welcome back." Rain greeted Anise from a chair on the other side of the room. An ax was leaning against her thigh. The thick glass window next to her was full of little holes about the size of the pointed end of the ax. Were those put there by Rain? Matt stood close by, looking sympathetic and pissed at the same time. The super douche was not in sight and both exits were closed. Good riddance to that asshole, she thought bitterly. That meant the jacket had probably been Spence's, which explained why Alice's buttons were cold and exposed. She saw the jacket floating in the water by Matt's feet and smiled to herself.

"Her boyfriend's a real asshole, huh?" Rain joked.

"Yea. I always thought so. You guys OK?"

"We're trapped in here." Matt supplied. "While you were unconscious, Spence locked us in here and took off to the train where he had stashed the antivirus and virus in a duffel bag."

"He got out? Did he take it with him?"

Alice shook her head. "No. Some early experiment got to him first. The bag is still on the train."

"Early experiment? Oh. Those things."

The diminished group grew silent. Matt was fiddling with the second door's keypad. Anise closed her eyes and considered going back to sleep, thinking it would be more pleasant than the pain and horror she was trapped in now.

"No pressure, guys." From her chair, where she sat shivering, Rain announced. "We're getting short on time here."

Another voice burst into the room. "You require the four-digit access code. I can give you the code, but first you must do something for me." The Red Queen. Everyone exchanged wary glances. Anise sure as hell did not want to make a deal with the mass murderer.

Alice was the first to ask. "Want do you want?"

"One of your group is infected. I require her life for the code." The computer demanded, her juvenile voice grating on Anise's nerves.

"The antivirus is right there on the platform. RIGHT THERE!" Incredulous, Alice screamed at the AI, pointing her finger at the door.

"I am sorry, but it's a risk I cannot take. You must kill the soldier."

Rain stood up, a martyred look on her face, and held out the ax toward Alice. "She's right. It's the only way, you're gonna have to kill me."

"No." Anise thought it, though Alice spoke it.

"Otherwise we all die down here." Rain insisted.

"Wait. You said one of our group was infected. Anise was bitten too. Several times." Sweet, intelligent, observant Matt proclaimed. "Why aren't you asking for her life too?" Anise wondered if she'd done something to piss him off.

"Ms. Barrows cannot be infected by the T-virus. It is not her death that I require."

Throwing Anise a wide-eyed look, Matt responded with disbelief. "She can't be infected?"

"Correct. However, her immunity is not the topic of consequence. You must kill the soldier if you wish to live."

Fucking bitch! "She doesn't need to die." Anise inserted, desperation lacing her words.

"I cannot risk the virus getting out. She must die."

"No!"

THUMP.

Something large threw itself at one of the glass windows, causing the crew to jump in fright. It was one of the things from 'dining hall B'. Fuck, it was a scary son of a bitch.

"The glass will hold but not for long. You must kill her now." The computer repeated its demand.

Rain shoved the ax into Alice's hand. "Do it. You guys have to get out."

"No."

THUMP.

"Kill me."

Alice shivered, hesitating. Anise stood petrified, staring at Rain's submission to death, unable to move or speak.

THUMP.

"NOW!" Rain shrieked, loudly, strongly.

Alice brought up the ax, while Matt's jaw tensed and worked silently.

"Do it!" Rain screamed again.

THUMP. Cracks splintered the glass.

"Kill her!"

Finally, the tall, enhanced woman found her voice. "No," Anise whispered.

The ax hovered in the air, the creature continued banging into the weakening glass, Rain stood with her head bowed waiting, and Matt stared at the scene, paralyzed by fear.

"STOP!" Anise yelled into the cacophony. Her thunderous demand had everyone flinching. "Don't do it."

Alice guiltily lowered the ax, and the Red Queen quit her death mantra.

Gesturing angrily, Anise continued. "Look at her wounds. They've started to scab over. Her voice is stronger and her skin is getting color back! She's healing."

Relief and confusion flashed across the others' faces. Rain was scrutinized closely by Alice and Matt, who started nodding. "You're right."

"How's your vision?" Anise stared into the soldier's chocolate eyes.

The petite woman hesitated and replied slowly, unsure of her answer. "Better... But, how?"

THUMP. Crack.

"Her body is fighting the infection. Let us out, you bitch!" Glaring at the monitor from which the Red Queen had been speaking, Anise pointed frantically at Rain's healing body.

Outside the room, the creature hissed. Fear once again sending his heart racing, Matt returned to pounding random numbers into the keypad.

"The changes are minute, possibly caused by adrenaline. Her improving health does not necessarily mean that the T-virus cannot still be transmitted outside this facility. Her death for the code." The computer was uncompromising, vicious in her demands.

Face and ears flushing red, Anise was livid, and she shook her damaged fist at the monitor. "Damn you! My blood has infiltrated her open wounds. Those wounds have started to close. The point of Project Afterthought was for exactly this kind of situation. Her physiology is being altered to resist the T-virus. You know by the time we get out of here, she won't be infectious any longer. She won't become one of those things!"

THUMP. Crack. Crackle. The window was losing its own battle against time.

"No subject was ever found to be fully compatible with the project with the exception of you, Ms. Barrows. The chances of her complete modification are too slim."

"No other subject infected ever showed this kind of rapid change. She must be compatible. Open the damn door." On the last words, Anise's voice pitched shrilly.

"No." It was final and irrefutable, the Red Queen could not be goaded further.

THUMP. Crackle. Crackle. Pieces of glass fell into the water and the creature roared triumphantly. It reared back to charge again.

Anise figured it was over now. Her frustrated tears dripped down to mix with the lake at her feet. She was really getting tired of crying. "Dammit."

The room abruptly went dark, and the door by Matt opened by itself. He jumped back several feet.

Alice raced toward it, the ax raised and ready to kill.

A hand grabbed the outside of the door and body garbed in black followed. Kaplan hobbled into sight, the EMP switch in his hand.

"Kap?" Whimpered Rain.

Kaplan smiled boyishly, despite the pain from his wounds creasing his features. "Bitch wouldn't open the door."

CRASH! The window collapsed inward as the creature roared again and got ready to pounce on the humans.

"Go!" Anise grabbed Rain and dashed to the door just in front of the creature's slashing talons. In front of them, Matt and Alice shoved Kap back into the hallway. They slammed the door just as the creature made it to the threshold and bolted it shut.

WHAM. The steel door dented from the beast's flying impact.

"What the fuck was that?" He bellowed in horrified confusion.

"It's a long story! Come on." Alice hollered at him over the banging of the creature on the metal door. More dents appeared.

"Shit." The commando whined before following the others down the hall.