Chapter 16

Just a flesh wound

Hut, Eastern Europe, 2006

Drake had awoke in the strangest place. And for a second he had forgotten the horror he saw in the temple. He groaned as he pulled himself up to sit on the cheap mattress that was placed inside a small hut. He looked across the room to see a beautiful red haired woman sitting at a clay table. She was drinking coffee out of a polished marble mug with a small inscription on it stated the words clearly. 'Happy Birthday Claire! Another year of getting into trouble for us. Love you sis! I hope you have another great year! -Chris.'

She smiled as she pulled her mug away from her lips and gently placed the mug on the table. She stood and slowly approached Drake. "And it seems sleeping beauty awakens from her slumber."

The woman giggled before holding her hand out to Drake and waited for him to shake her hand. He pulled himself up from the mattress and shook her hand lazily, looking her to the familiar delicate features he recognized as his daughter but, realized it was her. It couldn't be her. She was... dead. The woman standing before him was a woman in her early 30's with flowing red hair, that she pulled back into a ponytail with her bangs parted in the middle. Her striking blue eyes peered down at him with a look of tired optimism. No... she wasn't his Emily.

"Where am I?" He asked groggily before groaning in pain as he tried to move his body off the itchy bed. He felt a sharp pain is upper chest as he tried to move his muscles. He pulled up his shirt and examined the imprints those mercenaries left. He looked at purple bruises scattered across his side and saw the marking that indicated that he was kicked into unconsciousness.'How embarrassing.' He old man thought.

"You were on the road. Injured and alone. What was I gonna do? Leave you there for the ganados to get you?" She exclaimed as she sat on the other side of the bed and looked to the bruises. "My friend is out scouting for bandages." She stood and walked to the table she was situated at when he awoke. "You're outside the city. This is a compound the military set up for survivors. Me and my partner dragged you back here so, they could fix you up... Do you want some coffee?"

She asked as she picked up her coffee mug. Drake nodded as she turned to a coffee maker. "Black, please." Drake spoke as the redhead giggled at the comment.

"My brother, Chris loves his coffee black. Says it makes him more 'manly'. Wouldn't drink it any other way." She sighed as she started brewing it.

"My daughter hates it. 'Needs the sugar' She tells me. It's weird because, even without it... I swear she jumps of the wall."

"She sound...amazing. How old is she?"

"She's...was 27." He gulped.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The coffee maker dinged and she poured the coffee into another mug and passed it to him. "My name is Claire." She told him.

"Drake Gillette." He told her as she sipped at her cup. "Claire, what are you doing here."

"Me and my partner were investigating some ganado presence outside the city and we stayed here for the night. How about you?"

"I'm a federal agent. I was supposed to infiltrate and dispatch a mercenary group active here. The Poisoned Claws." Claire's eyes widened and words escaped her mouth quickly. So, quickly in fact Drake missed most of it. "What?"

"What happened to the leader? Sergei Justir?"

"He was killed by one of those 'ganados'" A look of relief and worry pass by the girls face.

"Damn..." She looked down to her lap as she swore angrily. "I needed him alive."

"Why?"

"I think his group's responsible for the outbreak. I need his ID to get to the head quarters."

"I'm sorry..." But, then he recalled the boy named Jake that was with him before. He had slipped something into Drake's Badge when, Drake had showed it to him. Drake pulled it out and found the ID. Claire's face lit up as she reached for the card. But, it was pulled away before she snatched it.

"I want revenge." He told her. "I'll give you the cards if you let me get my revenge."

Sewer underneath the museum

The smell of waste filled their nostrils as the group walked on the rickety sidewalk of the wide sewer. Ada groaned as the muck of the sewer ruined her priceless red heels. She looked to her companions and observed them from her usual manipulative side. The tall woman with the dark brown hair would be easy to take advantage of. The key would be to find the one thing that holds her life together. The older man appeared tough and he was. But, if he was picked at because of some secret event. That caused him tons of grief. And, Leon. Leon was already effectively charmed by her. Which was one of the strangest things that happened to her. She never made an attempt. His infatuation with her is still a great mystery to everyone.

Ada smiled as they neared the ladder that went up to the garbage dump where Leon and his group can go up to find Chris, Sheva, Keran and Naomi. Andrea eyed the lean Asian woman suspiciously as she speed up to stand near Leon who was a couple of feet from Ada. She whispered to the blond.

"I don't trust her Leon." She stated.

"She's a hard person to trust. She's always working an angle." She told the brunette.

"Now the question, is which one?" She sneered.

"How's Sherry?" He asked coldly.

"She's... had some issues earlier this year with Claire move to New York. And, she's going to college this summer."

"What?" Leon said confused. "She's not old enough for college." Andrea was alerted by this reaction and stopped their pace.

"She's 23 years old, Leon." Andrea said scolding him. "I know your job is important to you but..."

"Not this again." Leon stated. "Your job's important to you too."

"Leon, that little girl was your responsibility once upon time. She loves you so much even through you haven't spoke in years. Can't you just visit once in a while?"

"My job-"

"Neither mind then, Leon." She coldly interrupted before walking away from the blond man. Ada smiled as she stepped toward the ladder.

"Come on, this is your way in." The group gather around the ladder. "Now for my pay."

"You said you were doing this for free." Drake stated.

"Yes, I showed you where to get in but, now you need a key to get through that door." She said pointing up to a platform where a solid metal door sat. "A key that only one person has."

"That one person is you isn't it." Andrea said.

"What do you want?" Leon spoke.

"You all were involved in the discovery of the Tricell lab in Arabia. I'd like to know about the mysterious mutation you encountered there. The newest form of tyrant." Ada demanded as the group became tense.

"Why?" Leon asked.

"I believe that this is outbreak is derived from that mutation. So, I need to know where it is."

"That's classified information missy." Drake said.

"You want to save your friends. Tell me about it's location."

"It's was stolen from the labs. We don't know where it is now." Leon gave in earning a deep scowl from Andrea.

"Who stole it?" Ada said grating her teeth into annoyed expression.

"A group called the Bhai. We had agents undercover in one of their factories. Looking for proof of it. That's all we were told." Ada's eyes sparked as he spoke. A sly smile spreading across her face. 'The Bhai, huh. It's my lucky day.' Ada thought as she began to strut down the hall. She pulled a key out from her cleavage and threw it backwards, yelling "Catch." Leon swiftly catches it, looking to the disappointed face of Andrea.

"Really, Leon? I thought you were better than that." She spat before angrily turning to climb up the ladder.

The Cell Block Main Room

Sheva had been contemplating the actions Carla had told her to do. On one hand Carla was most likely apart of a bio-terrorist group and would use it for a virus but, she was still hesitant to reject her order. 'This decision should be easy. Its 8 people against possibly 8 million people.' Sheva thought as she and Chris finally stepped through hexagonal shaped room. Maybe it was only one person, Chris. Sheva knew that in her past she felt something about Chris but, she was over it. She thought she was over it.

The room was filled with smoke that left the two coughing loudly. It however wasn't the poisonous smoke that left them unconscious before. The previous had a tang smell to it, this one was from a fire. A quite potent one at that it seemed. The two looked up to see a raging fire on the next level of the underground complex. It must have occurred when that large shake hit a while ago.

"We're trapped!" Chris coughed as he gazed at the broken elevator. The shaft must have been close to the blast.

"There must be a way out of here!" Sheva yelled out before the thick smoke clouded her vision. "Chris!" She yelled quickly running toward the place Chris had stood. 'I could swear this is were he was standing.' The petite woman thought as she looked around. "Chris!" Sheva yelled urgently not realizing that someone was quickly advancing near her position. And the two beings collided and fell to the hard white tile floor. Sheva exhaled in relief of seeing her partners face. Until she realized the awkwardness of their position. He had falling on top of her. He looked to her eyes intently. 'Why is he staring at me like that?' Sheva thought but, it wasn't until she looked back she understand. Right in that moment, the two focused onto each other. Inside her mind Sheva screamed. She need to get out of this trance. Jill is a good person, and Sheva couldn't do that to her. But, those thoughts were pushed further down her mind as their gaze continued. Their faces inched closer and closer. Almost to the point of a kiss.

But, then a loud sound rang in the two's ears. Snapping them out of their trance. The sound sounded like metal scrapping against something and a subtle moan. Chris pushed himself off of Sheva. She stood quickly as a body stepped towards them. It was the corpse they had first saw when they entered the museum. The long gash that Sheva had cut into the B.O.W's neck had a layer of pus along the sides. The gaping hole in the side of it's face had become rotten and smelt putrid. The B.O.W slowly approached them chanting the same words as before.

"The candle flame was extinguished, but the candle isn't melted. They try to ignite it but, the spark is gone. They didn't realize it couldn't be lit again, they kept trying. I told them there was no spark but, they never gave up." It spoke in a deep scarred voice repeating itself quicker than before. It's elongated neck hung down and almost touched the floor. It approached Chris this time. The disgusting creature stood over him menacingly. A piercing growl sounding as it wrapped it's muscular arms around him and cut its long sharp nails into Chris's back. Earning a groan of pain.

Sheva reacted almost immediately by wrapping her arms around it's torso and pulling back with all the force she could muster. It was enough to pull the nails out of Chris's back and throw it back a few feet. But, the angry creature looked over to Sheva and almost too calmly threw Sheva to the other side of the room. She crashed into a reception desk. Sheva felt the corner of the desk impact with her side and then her body falling to the tile floor.

Chris pulled himself up off the ground to see the creature quickly running over to him and pressing his body up against the wall. Sheva slowly pulled herself off the ground and pulled out the Jail Breaker Shotgun and slowly walking to the source of the struggle while holding her side. She held it up and fired 3 shells. That easily got the creature to notice. It ran full speed to the injured young woman and ripped it's nails upward through her stomach. Chris saw his partner fall to the ground and rushed to pick up his L. Hawk Magnum revolver and aimed for it's head then shot. The creature slumped down to it's knees and the fight was over. Chris quickly ran to Sheva as she heaved in and out in pain.

"Sheva are you okay?" Chris asked.

"It's just a flesh wound." Sheva quoted jokingly.

"Really? Monty Python." Chris said as the blood spurted out of her stomach and onto his lap.

"Come on, Chris. It was a funny movie." She said as he vision blurred and darkened.

"Sheva!" Chris shouted at the woman consciousness before him. Sheva eyes blurred, her ears muffled. She was losing too much blood. And just before she passed out she weakly said.

"Chris...I." Then the world went black.

Alright! Here's the new chapter. Sorry it took so long! I've had the worst case of writer's block that coupled with some other commitments that I had to get squared away, I didn't have much time to write. But, I really want to continue this story. So, I'd like to encourage you all to write a review to tell me what you think, to favorite the story and follow it as well.

-mrssherrymuller