Chapter 3
July 23, 1998
We anxiously wait for Wesker to give us some sort of signal. We waited all morning for him to give us a sign.
"Hey, Tina." Matt asked, looking at me.
He was sitting on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Yeah?" I asked, also sitting on my bed.
"Birkin hasn't shown up for our lesson, it's almost noon. He should have come and left by now." Matt commented, looking at the clock resting next to his bed.
"You're right." I said, looking at my own clock. "He must be busy with his research." I figured. "Well, have you ever wondered what he's been researching this whole time? I mean, he never talks about what he does in his lab." Matt stated.
Matt was right.
"I'm sure it's nothing too dangerous. It's just probably too scientific and confusing for us to understand. Maybe he's not even researching anything. He could just be working on a theory." I guessed, continuing to stare at the ceiling.
Matt looked around.
"Gosh, will Sunglasses Man ever give us a signal?" he asked.
"Maybe he won't, or maybe he already did." I shrugged.
I didn't have as much faith in him as Matt did. I could tell that as much as Matt teased him, he looked up to Wesker.
"Oh? Do I sense some sort of romantic attraction?" Matt teased, hopping off of the bed.
"Eww, no. He looks like he's about forty. He's old enough to be my father." I said, wrinkling my nose in disgust.
"I'm thirty-eight, but that was a fair guess." Wesker corrected, his face suddenly appearing on our TV screen.
Matt and I jumped back at the sudden interruption in our conversation. How long had he been listening in?
"Did I startle you? Well, you've got your signal. I'll start the diversion in a minute, so get ready." Wesker's face disappeared from the screen with a *click*.
Matt and I retrieved our guns from their hiding places. As we loaded them, Wesker's face reappeared on our screen.
"You two ready?" We nod. "Good. There's an airshaft next to William's room. It leads to the city. The station the train is leaving at is across the street. Good luck." Wesker waved and his face disappeared from the screen once more.
As soon as the screen went dark, the facility's alarms began to sound. The Red Queen's computer voice could be heard over the intercom.
"All facility employees and staff must report to their rooms immediately. This is not a drill. All employees and staff must report to their rooms immediately." The Red Queen continued to repeat the message, but we were already out the door.
We shuffled through the throng of white lab coats. I tried to stay with Matt as much as I could, until a firm hand grabbed my wrist and wouldn't let go. It was Mr. Birkin's wife, Annette Birkin. "Tina? What are you doing? You're dorm's the other way! And where's Matt?" Annette sounded distressed to see me, but I was more concerned about the task at hand.
"Mrs. Birkin, I'm just looking for, Sherry." I stumbled, in a hurry.
"Sherry's still at school. Now I'm going to take you to your room. Where's Matt?" Annette, not letting go of my hand, began to drag me in the direction of my room.
In desperation, I kicked Annette in the stomach.
"Tina! What's gotten into you?" Annette screamed as she kneeled onto the ground.
She let go of my hand and before she could chase me, I ran to find Matt in the panicking crowd. While trying to get away from Annette, I had lost sight of Matt. I ran to the airshaft that Wesker had instructed us to enter. It's cover had been opened. I hoped it was Matt who had left the cover open as I squeezed through the airshaft and began to crawl through.