Chapter 17
"She's dead?" asked Kagura in disbelief.
Kimura nodded. "S-she fell. Those things got her. She asked me to shoot her." He paused. "So I did. She'd been wounded she would have died anyway" said the man, adjusting his opaque glasses. "I put her out of her pain."
"Well shit" said Ohyama. "Who's left now in this damn place."
"Have you heard from Kubo or Yukari?" asked Kagura.
Minamo shook her head. "Haven't heard anything from either of them."
"Great, so how do we even know if they're alive?" said Ohyama, speaking what Kagura was thinking. As though as response to his question the emergency lighting suddenly switched off, replaced by the normal lighting. Kagura grumbled as the sudden bright light blinded her, the girl fumbling around in the whiteness. Slowly her vision returned to normal.
"They could have warned us before they did that" grumbled Ohyama.
The walkie-talkie crackled into life, having recently been turned on by Minamo.
"Anyone out there?" called out Yukari.
"Yeah, some of us are still here. We lost one" said Minamo. "There's four of us all huddled together in a wet lab."
"Sounds like fun" said Yukari. "Now get the hell up here, we're getting out of here."
"What about Hirano?" asked Minamo.
"We've tried to contact him, we got nothing back. We're preparing to move out. We'll give him some time, then it's back to the surface. See you soon Nyamo."
"Ok."
She placed the walkie-talkie back into her torn looking bag. As she opened her mouth to speak, she had to hold back a curse word as a disembodied voice surprised her.
"You must all escape while you can!"
"What the hell is that?" said Ohyama, "Who's saying those words."
"That would be me" said a pigtailed girl appearing. She stepped forwards, emitted from the camera.
"Who are you?" said Kimura.
"I am a visual representation of the Red Queen."
"Huh?"
"I am hologram based on the daughter of the creator of my system, Dr Mihama." The red girl smiled and joined her hands together. "I'm supposed to look over this facility."
"Pretty good job you did there" said Ohyama sarcastically.
"I tried my best Mr Masaaki Ohyama" said the girl.
"How do you know my name?"
"My database contains files on every single employee within this facility" replied the girl. "Hence why I asked you for help Miss Kagura before I was shut down."
"Why did you lock down this place and trap everyone inside?" asked Minamo accusingly. "I'm sure people could have escaped."
"Please" said the girl holding up her hands. "I attempted to isolate the outbreak to one section of the facility, but I received a command to lock down all of the facility. I had no choice but to comply, it is part of my code."
"Wait, outbreak? Outbreak of what?" asked Minamo.
"On the fifteenth of March a small amount of the T-virus was released. Animals were infected and some humans too. This led to some deaths, but the infection seemed to be under control. Operations within this place continued as usual. However on the seventh of April the virus was released within this place. Yesterday your other squad appeared, and then you appeared and shut me down."
"T-virus. What's that?" asked Minamo.
"The virus was created by Umbrella to act as a biological weapon" said the girl. "The virus infects cells. My knowledge is limited, as little data related to the virus is stored within my system. The virus destroys and replaces mitochondria, producing energy for motor neurone use and basic brain functions. It reanimates dead entities but only with basic activities- walking and eating."
"Biological weapon?"
"The virus gives all infected a deeper sense of rage and an animalistic nature. Living entities that are infected lose higher brain functions. The virus is transmitted with great ease. One bite can be enough."
Minamo slowly held up her bandaged hand. "Well that's just great."
"Please Miss, you do not need to worry yet!"
"And why not?" asked Minamo. "I've been infected. I don't want to end up like one of those things."
"The T-virus was not all that was created. An antivirus was also created- a cure."
"Cure?" said Minamo, lifting her slightly fallen head.
Kagura glanced across at Ohyama who seemed to be holding his hands nervously.
"Yes a cure that will reverse and neutralise the effects if administered soon enough."
"Where is this antivirus?" asked Kagura standing up.
"That is currently unknown" said the girl. "The antivirus has been stolen and is currently missing from its storage."
"Stolen?" asked Kagura. "Who stole it?" she asked, Ohyama looking down at the ground.
"After observing security footage I am ninety five percent certain that the perpetrator was Mr Masaaki Ohyama" said the girl, the holographic eyes focused on Ohyama. Slowly the others turned to face him as well.
---
Kubo sat within the train, setting up the system again, the train humming slightly as power began to flow back into the machine, the engine slowly starting up. He pushed himself out of the train and stepped back down onto the solid granite floor. He stretched out and picked up his rifle, slinging his bag into the train. Slowly he traipsed across to Yukari.
"Did you manage to get into contact with the others?" he asked.
She nodded. "Spoke to Nyamo. Apparently one person died. Three others are with her. Haven't heard a thing from Hirano."
"We'll give him a little while" said Kubo, "Then we are out of here."
"Yeah, just a little while" said Yukari. "Don't wait for a stupid amount of time, let those things get to us." She paused for a moment. "I know he wouldn't wait for us for a long time if he had the others with him."
Kubo shrugged. "Maybe. I'd like to think you might wait for me" he said.
"Of course I would…I guess" said Yukari winking.
The duo sat in silence for a short while, Kubo busy reading through his now bent volume of manga, Yukari flicking a shotgun shell in boredom. Yukari flicked the shell up into the air and caught it, Kubo placing a bookmark into the volume as he finished the last page. The two paused and turned to one another, both engrossed in boredom.
"So what now?" asked Yukari.
"Why don't we go down and help the others?" suggested Kubo. "Only Kimura and Minamo will have weapons, so it'd be helpful for them."
"And it would actually give us something to do" said Yukari, "Instead of sitting here in boredom."
"Yeah, I guess there's that too…" said Kubo.
Both stood up, picking up their freshly loaded weapons. They walked away from the train, stepping back into the hive.
"I just hope we're out of here before any of those things decide to investigate what lurks up here" said Yukari hopefully.
"I just want to get out of here" said Kubo.
They stepped away, footsteps echoing. In the now empty room a faint sound could be heard. The steel roof buckled slightly as something walked through the roof space, having torn a large enough space to walk through. It hissed and peered down at the ground below. It stood waiting, hidden above the ceiling.