A/N - Revised 14Sept2012 .. oh, it flows sooo much better now :)

Chapter 9

Whipped

They were running again. Kind of. More like gimping hurriedly. Rain was recovering, even though her strength was waning from the effort of healing and fighting the T-virus. Her body was weak, and she needed the support that Anise had happily offered. Matt had gamely accepted the dubious honor of assisting Kaplan limp around. Alice was on point, wielding the ax that Anise had waved off, saying she would prefer her hands wrapped around a pretty girl rather than anything's shaft. Kaplan had guffawed loudly and did not stop until he ran out of breath. His laughter was catchy, infecting the others with his humor. Rain irritably informed Anise that if she ever called her pretty again, she'd deck her. Giggles escaped Anise at those words, and Rain's lips twitched into her little half-smirk, half-snarl.

The relaxing laughter was good therapy for their fear ravaged minds. The lightened mood stayed with them, even when Alice dispatched a few zombies along the way. Wide steps led down to the train platform, which was littered with neat stacks of cargo crates and barrels. Everyone became more alert the closer they drew to the crowded area, expecting trouble at any moment.

Anise and Kaplan had been updated along the way that the Red Queen had broadcasted Spence's terrible death. The same creature that had broken into the lab, had first chewed on Spence before he could inject himself with the antivirus. The creature had then mutated into something even stronger and more deadly than it was before.

Great. Just awesome. Anise once again wondered why those things in the cages had never been destroyed. Creepy fuckers, let's keep em in cages. Upper management were, without any shred of doubt, asinine morons.

As they approached the train they caught sight of Spence's mutilated body. Bright red blood was smeared everywhere. The monster's bloody tracks could easily be followed across the platform and up a concrete support column. Alice told them to get the train running, and she would get the virus. No one argued.

Inside, Anise lowered Rain to the floor. The cargo area was empty except for a bundle of iron pipes, of several different sizes, suspended from the ceiling by chains. Rain's squadmate limped away to do whatever was needed to make the train go. Matt took a standing position near the women. The stoic soldier nonchalantly checked the remaining time on her watch and then showed Anise the remaining countdown. Minutes remained.

"Your metabolism is speeding up, Rain. You need to eat something." Anise knelt down and pulled a protein bar from her soaked bag, shook off the water, and ripped open the foil packaging. The food was still dry and she put it in front of Rain's mouth.

Rain objected, sharply turning her face. "Ugh. It smells awful."

"Your body is trying to heal itself. It needs the calories."

Again, Rain refused. "Fuck off. I'm not eating that shit."

"Don't make me use my 'drill sergeant voice' again."

Rain glared at her while Matt chuckled. "Is that what you did back in the tunnels? How did you know that would work?"

"She looked like a soldier. Umbrella's commandos are usually former military." Anise shrugged. "I had a few friends in college that were ex-military. They told me stories about boot camp." She turned back to Rain, put the bar against her lips, and growled out a command. "Eat, you stubborn bitch."

For a stubborn moment, she worried Rain that would not take the food. The mulish woman glared, her lips curling back in a silent growl. Then the soldier suddenly opened her mouth, leaned forward a smidge, and wrapped her pink lips around the bar. She bit down and chewed. Her features twisted in disgust as she swallowed. "That shit is foul. How do you eat it?"

Smiling indulgently, Anise glanced at the food and took a bite. "I've gotten used to it, I guess. Eating enough protein, calories, and nutrients to replace the liters of blood Doc Belst took every week was a challenge sometimes. It's why they amped up my metabolism so high, so I can quickly replace lost blood. Healing fast is a combined side effect of that and what they did to make me immune. Eat more."

Rain grimaced, but complied. It was then that Anise heard the Chief stride to the train. She turned in time to see Alice grinning at Rain's submission. The soldier chewed angrily and flipped her off. Chuckling along with Anise, she knelt down to open the precious case. Noticing the missing ax, Anise raised an eyebrow. She refrained from asking about it, so she could shove another mouthful down Rain's throat.

Kaplan hollered back from the control room. "Full power. We're leaving!"

"Is she really getting better?" Alice asked, her hands hovering above the injectors.

No hesitation colored Anise's response. "Yea. Absolutely."

"Should we still give her the antivirus?" Alice picked up an injector after the train jolted forward on the tracks.

Anise took a moment to consider and fed the grumbling Rain another bite. Color was rapidly returning to her pale face, the bite on her neck was still an angry red, yet it was healing nicely. The bite on her hand had a healthy scab. What Anise had told the Red Queen was true, Rain's body was compatible with the project's objective: to provide a living cure to the T-virus. It looked like Rain had also inherited the rapid healing benefits. She wondered what else might be improving.

"I don't know for sure how much it would help. It couldn't hurt though." Anise finally responded. "Do you remember how to administer it? Or should I do it?"

"I do, but I'd better give Kap a dose." The train was really moving now. Alice made her way to Kaplan to inject him with the bright blue antivirus.

Anise pushed the last of the protein bar into Rain's mouth and picked up a syringe. She made sure it was fully prepped before finding a good vein on Rain's arm. For the first time, she thanked Belst for teaching her how to properly inject the stuff and making her practice on the project team. The needle smoothly pierced the skin and eased into a vein. Anise squeezed the trigger, emptying the contents into Rain's bloodstream. After pulling out the needle, she put pressure on the injection site to prevent bleeding.

"Good girl. All done," she teased the commando, who had looked away during the procedure. Setting aside the instrument, she reached for her last bottle of juice. She opened it and held it in front of Rain's glowering face, chuckling lightly. "Can you hold this yourself? Or do I need to help you with this too?"

Rain snatched the bottle away and took several satisfying gulps. Swishing a bit in her mouth, she closed her eyes, and her lips actually curled all the way up into a real smile. "Orange juice makes everything better." She murmured.

Teasing the commando was too much fun. "The great and mighty Rain has admitted to liking something?"

The Latina snorted, her smile growing just a little.

"Here. You should drink the rest." Rain had opened her eyes and offered Anise the bottle. When Anise hesitated, Rain pushed it into her good hand and wrapped her fingers around the bottle. The warmth of Rain's hands around her own distracted her immensely. "Drink. You've lost a lot of blood too."

Regaining her focus when the Latina pulled her hands away, Anise lifted the bottle to her lips and drank. Cool OJ felt good going down her dry throat. She finished, put the empty bottle back in her bag, and looked back up at Rain. The look in the other woman's dark eyes was fierce, not angry or offended or happy. It was something Anise couldn't place. It unsettled her, and she licked her suddenly dry lips. Rain stared unblinking into her eyes and began to lean forward. Her touch was light and gentle, as her lips softly caressed Anise's for a brief, delicious moment. Rain sat back and watched the woman in the filthy, stained labcoat react.

Shocked at the kiss, Anise was even more astonished it had been so gentle. Rain gave off the badass aura of a soldier, and she had imagined, that when Rain kissed, it would be rough, dominant, not tender and sweet. She certainly wasn't going to complain. The soldier's delicate kiss had been way better than what Anise had spent her few moments of downtime fantasizing about. "Yum," was her eloquent response.

Rain's lips curled up, and she grew smug and relaxed.

Matt coughed. Both women looked up at his childishly grinning face. He was leaning haphazardly on the wall, watching them. "Enjoy the show?" Rain taunted.

"Well..."

SCREEEAACHHH!

Talons burst through the wall of the train, ripping gouges in the steel and Matt's upper arm. He yelped and jumped back as Anise grabbed Rain, yanking her away from the wall. Alice whipped out a pistol she had probably taken from Spence's dead body. The creature's heavy body clattered across the top of train car.

"What's going on back there?" Frightened, Kaplan yelled at them.

Anise chose a pipe from the bundle just before Kap started screaming. The creature had burst through the control room's outer door and wrapped its insanely long tongue around the man's leg. Kap managed to grab the doorframe to keep from being pulled outside, although he was easily losing the battle. A knife sprouted from the thing's tongue. It let go with a shriek, and Kaplan collapsed to the floor. As Rain bounded over to Kap, Anise could see her empty belt sheath flapping on her belt. The petite commando dragged him into the hold so Alice could shut the connecting door.

Cocking her head, Anise followed the sounds of the creature across the roof. Bastard was heading for the other open door. She got there first and slammed it shut, engaged the lock, then jumped back. The experiment tore into the metal door and ripped it right off its frame. It jumped into the cargo area hissing, exposing its vicious teeth, and whipping its creepy elongated tongue around. It was fucking massive and freaky, with its muscles and brain exposed. The T-virus produced disgusting, irrational mutations in the creatures it was exposed to and they always smelled awful. Anise cursed the idiocy of arrogant Umbrella bureaucrats once again.

Alice fired three slugs into its unprotected brain. She pissed it off, and it coiled its powerful tongue around her leg, yanking her off her feet. Anise slammed her heavy pipe onto its skull. It hissed at her and continued pulling Alice toward its mouth. She whacked it again, and this time she earned a heavy paw backhanding her into the wall. Why was she always being thrown into walls? Dazed, she lost her grip on the pipe. It rolled back toward the fight.

Still struggling with the tongue, Alice had threaded her fingers into the floor's grating. Matt grabbed the bundle of swaying pipes and started running it at the beast. The momentum slammed the heavy pipes into the creature, pushing it back and forcing it to let go of the blonde, who scampered away quickly. Pipes clanked and scattered across the train floor as the creature shook itself to recover. Faster than Anise could blink, it was after her next, crossing the six feet in a single leap and pinning her down. It's huge jaws opened, prepping to chew her face off. Instead, the shaved end of a narrow pipe exploded through its throat.

Blood gushed from the beast's wound. It screeched horribly and thrashed, throwing Rain, who was still holding on, into Alice. The tall woman tried to roll out from under it. Failing that, she was also unable to avoid the clawed talons that sliced into her stomach and out her side. Her own blood splashed to the floor, mixing with the beast's, and she screamed in agony. Through the bright spots dancing in her vision, she saw another pipe, heavier, smash into the beast's chest. It was pushed back long enough for someone to pull Anise out from underneath it, still screaming wildly. Matt stood in front of her with another slim pipe, while Rain hefted the sturdy iron and swung at the experiment again. It dodged the soldier's blow, but met Matt's jab with its shoulder. More blood poured to the floor as the pipe was pulled from his hands. Rain's heavy swings kept the monster from trampling Anise, while Alice attacked with yet another slim pipe that lodged in its ribs.

A fighting bull, Anise's mind decided while trying to ignore the waves of blinding pain. That's what the enraged thing looked like, with bloody pipes hanging from its body. It staggered sideways, howling in pain and anger that its prey was fighting back.

"Open the door!" Alice suddenly yelled from next to Anise's ear.

The floor split open beneath the creature. Its hind paws fell, yet its talons grasped the lip and its tongue shot out and snaked around Anise's thighs. It slipped down and Anise, with Alice who still held her, was yanked with it. "You can't have her!" Rain howled, while slamming heavy iron onto its vulnerable tongue.

Blinking through pain-filled tears, Anise watched Rain keep bringing the pipe down until the tongue let go, retracting into that horrible mouth. Screeching, it scrabbled to get back into the train car as its hindquarters burst into flame from contact with the electric tracks. While Rain caught her breath, Matt hammered away at the beast's right paw, turning it to mush, then began on the other one. Once more, that awful tongue flew out to grab hold of something and wrapped around the dangling ceiling chains. Its other paw was destroyed. Nothing except the tongue was keeping it up off the tracks.

The two doors started moving back up. They mated and easily sliced through the meaty flesh. The creature's haunting shrieks echoed briefly before fading. Anise looked to the front of the train where Kaplan pulled his hand away from the large button on the wall, triumphant. Anise collapsed.