- Hey, Minnie? – Finn asked me as we were walking to a huge building. – What is your mission here? I mean, you're not a recruit to the BSAA, so then what are doing here, with us?
- I don't really know myself, Finn. – I answered as I laughed a bit. – I was just told to join your Team, that's it. So, my objectives match yours probably.
- That's ridiculous. – Piers, who was walking in front of us, mumbled still in a foul mood.
- You got a problem, mutt?
- Yeah! – He said as he turned and faced me. – And that problem is you! *Talk about mood swings.*
- Hey, it's not my fault you can't have everything your way, pup. Sometimes you just gotta do what you're told to do.
- Stop arguing, you two! – Chris yelled before Piers could say something more. – We're entering the building, get ready!
- I'm not finished, kid. – Piers mumbled as he readied his weapon.
- Good, because I haven't even started yet, mutt. – I mumbled back following his lead.
We waited a few moments, then the soldiers kicked open the door and all of us marched in with our guns ready to fire at any moment.
- OK, spread out. – Chris said. – Search this place top to bottom.
As we entered the main hall I saw a lot of strange statue like things that looked like people. I stopped at one and looked closer.
- Are these people? – Finn asked horrified.
- I'm picking up life-form readings. – Another soldier said. – It's like they're in cocoons.
- Let's hope that these cocoons don't hatch on us here. – I said quietly, when I heard a noise coming from the second floor. – What was that?
- Over here! – Finn motioned to a door on the second floor, next to the stairs. – I'm getting a reading on the other side of the door!
- Piers, Finn, Minnie – you're with me. – Chris ordered. Everyone else, keep searching out here.
- HQ, four of us are splitting off from the group. – Piers reported. – Heading further into the building.
- Up we go. – I murmured as I walked up the stairs.
Once on the second floor, we entered through the door that Finn had mentioned earlier. What we found behind the door was a bloody mess. Literally. There was a blood trail on the ground that went further on; the walls were covered in blood too. There was even something stabbed on the small table next to the door.
- Charming. – I said sarcastically.
- Gonna lose your lunch, kid? – Piers asked mockingly.
- Shut it, Nivans! – I said as we went furthered. I turned around the corner and saw someone dressed in blue go around another corner. – Someone's here! – I said as I ran after the person. After running by a door to my left, it shot open and a J'avo attacked the three men that were running after me. I stopped to help them but Chris told me not to.
- We'll take care of this one. Don't lose whoever's running away from us. They might give us answers!
- Roger! – I answered as I continued running after the stranger.
I followed the pursued through a door and looked around. There was no sign of the stranger. I jumped down to a lower floor, since the stairs were destroyed and looked around the room. There were the same three of those cocoon things. I saw a door and tried to open it, but it didn't budge. *Where the hell could he went?* I thought looking for a place for my target to leave. I saw a small window on the second floor, but it was out of my reach. To be honest, it wouldn't even be out of my reach if I actually was ON the second floor. There was no way to reach the bloody thing without special equipment, as the floor near it was destroyed, leaving no way of reaching the window by foot. I contacted the others.
- The stranger disappeared. It might have been just another B.O.W. But there's a door here, I need Finn to blow it open.
- Copy that. – I heard Chris' voice over the earpiece. – We're on our way.
I walked around a bit, but then I heard a strange noise behind me. I turned around and saw as one of those cocoons started hatching. *Oh, shit.* I thought as I watched the creature, aiming my weapon at it.
- You should really hurry up, guys. One of those cocoons is hatching. – I said into the earpiece. When the creature hatched it let out a shriek. I started shooting at it, but my bullets didn't do any damage to it. – What the fuck is this thing? – I asked myself as I dodged its attack.
- Move, Minnie! – Chris yelled from the second floor. I saw that he had a grenade ready in his hand. I did as I was told and took cover. He threw the grenade at the B.O.W. and it exploded. Unfortunately, the creature didn't die, but there was something different about it. It didn't have a shell on its back; there was only a muscle tissue. So I aimed at that place and after a few shots the creature died. The three men jumped down and ran towards me.
- You OK? – Chris asked.
- Yeah, you were just in time. – I answered and then I heard the other two cocoons start to hatch.
- Come on, let's kill these bastards! – Chris ordered.
- Aim to the shell on their backs first! – I yelled. – That's the only way to kill them.
- Got it! – They all said in unison. Fair enough, a few grenades later both of the B.O.W.s were without their shells and after that we didn't have much trouble putting them down.
- B.O.W.s neutralized. – Piers reported.
- Search the rest of the place, but stay on your guard. – Chris said.
We did as we were told and after carefully inspecting the room, Finn blew the door open. We continued our search for the mysterious stranger. We ran into a few J'avos on our way, but they didn't give us much trouble.
After we entered through one of the door it looked like we finally found a clue. There were a lot of strange small containers on the ground. They looked like something that would be used to vaccinate people.
- Captain. – Piers handed one of the containers to Chris.
- "C-Virus". – We heard a female voice say and we all aimed our weapons into the direction the voice was coming from. – That's what the guerillas were calling it. – A woman came from out of the shadows. She was wearing a blue dress with a neckline that went down almost to the bottom of her waist and she had a red scarf on. She had short black hair. – Nice to see the cavalry is here. – She said as she walked into the light with her hands up. I could finally see her face and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. *Ada?*
- Who are you? – Piers asked not letting his gun down. As for me, my arms were trembling so much that I had difficulty holding my weapon steady.
- I work here. – She answered. – My name's Ada Wong. They held me hostage. And I see that you've got quite young recruits. – She said looking at me. *What? How can she act as if she doesn't know me?*
- Wong? – Chris repeated. – I've heard that name somewhere before.
- Do you know me? – I asked the woman lowering my weapon. All of the people in the room looked at me strangely.
- No. I'm seeing you for the first time. – She answered. – Should I know you? Trust me, I'd remember a face like yours. *Either this isn't Ada, or she was completely brainwashed.*
- What's up with you? – Piers mumbled but I just ignored him and everyone else. I walked a bit to the side to observe the woman better. Maybe she really wasn't the person I thought she was. *But everything matches…*
- C-Virus. – Chris said as he turned his attention to Piers. – That must be what's creating those J'avo.
- Yeah, I heard them saying something about that. – The woman spoke. *Not only her appearance, but her voice is just like Ada's* I thought.
- What else did you hear? – Piers asked.
- Maybe you could put your guns down first? – She asked and took a step towards us. This made the three men, including myself, aim our weapons at her.
- Not until you give us a reason to. – Chris said. She just rolled her eyes.
- Neo – Umbrella. – She said and my stomach clutched at the mention of that name.
- Neo-Umbrella? – Chris asked suspiciously.
- The organization supporting the guerillas. – She continued. – Or at least I think that's what they were calling themselves.
- So the C-Virus came from them. – Piers said.
- That's all I know. – She said innocently. She was making me sick. I'd willingly put a bullet in her head even if she isn't the real Ada.
- Thank you. – Chris said lowering his gun. – We appreciate your cooperation. Finn, you're in charge of keeping her safe.
- Yes, sir. – Finn said and walked next to her. *That's ridiculous* I thought as I stepped forward.
- Woah, woah, woah! You're not actually thinking of bringing her with us, are you?! – I asked Chris.
- She's a survivor and we have to… - Chris started, but I interrupted him.
- Survivor my ass! I say we put a bullet in her head and everyone will be happier!
- What's gotten into you? – Chris asked as everyone looked shocked at me.
- Yeah, kid. – The woman spoke up. – I didn't do anything to you. I don't even know you.
- Oh, yeah?! – I snapped at her. – But I know you a lot better than I would like to. And I know very well that Ada Wong is not a person who can be trusted!
- That's enough, Minnie! – Chris yelled at me. – She's a survivor and she's coming with us. Whether you like it or not.
- Just don't say I didn't warn you. – I snapped at him this time.
- Let's move. – Chris ordered.
3RD PERSON POV.
Ada and Finn started walking out, Minnie not too far behind them. Before Piers and Chris started following them, Chris whispered to Piers.
- Keep an eye on her. – He motioned towards Ada.
- Will do. – Piers whispered back. – You should look after Minnie. Something's definitely not right with her.
- Don't worry, Piers, I will. – Chris said as they moved out after the other 3 people.
MINNIE'S POV.
If looks could kill, this Ada would be dead as a rock from my glare.
- We've found one of the staff. – Chris reported into the earpiece. – Returning to the foyer now.
- Come on. – Ada spoke. – I'll show you a quick way back to the entrance.
*This will be a trap, I know it. It's Ada we're dealing with* I thought as we followed her. Of course Finn was next to her "for protection", Piers walked beside me and Chris was right behind us. I was worried that something might happen to Finn. He's a rookie and doesn't have a lot of experience, and none of them know Ada Wong as much as I do. *I just hope no one will get hurt because of her.*
We approached a door and heard rapid gunfire behind it.
- Hurry! – Chris ordered as he kicked the door open. Just as I thought, those cocoons that were in the foyer had hatched and our comrades were having difficulty keeping the creatures down. – Shit! They're everywhere!
- We'll never get out! – Finn panicked.
- Calm down, Finn. – I murmured to him, my weapon ready to shoot those things.
- Everyone, get to the second floor! – A soldier yelled from up the stairs. – The foyer's too dangerous. – We did as we were told and made our way up the same stairs again.
- There's a way out on the second floor. – Ada said as a certain part of a wall moved to reveal a door. – I suggest we take it.
- No one really cares what you think. – I mumbled as I did my best to keep the B.O.W.s away from the stairs.
- Come on! – Chris yelled when he and Piers opened the door. When the five of us (Chris, Finn, Piers, Ada and I) and two other soldiers went through the door, Ada pressed a button and the wall moved again, hiding our secret escape route.
- Your friends are having a hard time. – Ada said.
- Shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you! – I snapped at her. Piers looked disapprovingly at me.
- Ma'am, please, just try to stay out of the way. – He told her calmly.
We moved forward but were attacked by another B.O.W. This one looked like a lizard and was letting out some sort of poisonous gas.
- We can't advance unless we eliminate these hostiles! – Piers ordered. I looked around and saw Finn protecting that woman. And as always, he didn't watch was happening behind his back. I shot a B.O.W. that was behind him and received a thankful smile from the rookie.
- Nice shot. – Ada said. – You saved us.
- Trust me, I didn't do it for you. – I spat the words at her. When the last of the monsters were killed we moved on, with Ada showing us the way.
- This door leads to the warehouse next door. – She said pointing to a door. – We can get outside through there.
Finn put the explosives on the door and it blew open. Sure enough, we've entered a warehouse that was filled with those lizard things and those other B.O.W.s that had a protective shell their backs.
- There are too many of them! – I yelled as I shot one of the creatures, but it was far from being dead. – We'll be wasting ammo!
- She's right! – Chris agreed. – Let's move!
A few minutes of running around the warehouse full of monsters and we were almost at the exit. We ran until we entered a new room. Chris and Piers were the first to go in. I was right behind them; then there were those two soldiers, and finally – Finn and Ada. We all had our weapons ready to shoot any moment. Chris and Piers were the first to cross the room and enter a corridor that would most likely lead us out. Suddenly Piers turned around and looked over the room I was still standing in. He frowned.
- The woman – she's gone. – He said. – Finn! – My eyes widened and I turned to the door that we just came in through. Piers was right, she was gone.
- I don't know what happened. – Finn stuttered as he looked around him. – She was here a second ago!
Then I heard a click between me and Piers. We both looked up and saw bars coming down from the top of the doorway. I stepped back, while Piers and Chris jumped forwards into the corridor. I grabbed at the bars and tried to move them, but it was no use. Now Chris and Piers were separated from me and the others.
- Can this go any more perfect? – I asked sarcastically as the two men were looking at me from behind the bars.
Then the bars appeared in the doorway through which we came in here. So now all of us, except Chris and Piers were trapped and it didn't look good. *Me and my big mouth!* I scolded myself.
- Ada! – Chris yelled as he aimed his weapon. I turned around and saw her standing behind the bars, on the warehouse side.
- I knew you were trouble, bitch! – I yelled at her and all of us aimed our weapons at her.
- Thanks for the escort. – She said smugly. – Here's something to remember me by. – She threw in a metal ball and my eyes widened in horror. I knew exactly what will happen to us.
- Oh, God. – I whispered as I turned away from it and waited for the needles to make contact with my flesh. Just as I thought, the ball exploded into a lot of needles that targeted everyone who was in the room. Everyone, except me. I couldn't understand why I didn't feel the sharp sting. Then I turned my head and gasped.
- Finn? – I murmured shakily. There he was, hovering over me, shielding me from any needles with his own body.
- I repaid my debt to you. – He laughed a bit. Then he winced in pain and fell to his knees. All of the soldiers started yelling in pain as strange smoke started coming from them. I moved to the side, scared of getting in their way. They were mutating. *Those needles were with the C-Virus.* I thought horrified.
- No! – Chris yelled. – No, goddam it! No! – He and Piers tried to break down the bars, but to no avail. I screamed out as Finn burst into flames. He was literally on fire. – Finn, hang in there! Not like this!
- Captain! – Finn yelled as he walked to the bars with the last of his strength. He and the other two soldiers were turning into those cocoons.
- No, goddamn it! – Chris yelled as Finn extended his arms to his Captain. – Finn! – Chris followed his lead and also extended his hand. But before he could grab his soldier, Finn turned into a cocoon along with the other two. Chris fell to his knees. A few tears left my eyes but before I could start crying I heard a familiar noise. The cocoons were hatching.
- Oh, God, no! – I screamed.
- Minnie! – I heard Piers' voice. – Where are you?! – I ran to the bars and stood in front of him. Apparently it was Finn's cocoon that was hatching. I put my back against the bars and shakily aimed my weapon at the creature that was once my comrade, my friend. When the bars were finally lifted I ran to the two men, my weapon still ready. I stood between Chris and Piers. Piers had his weapon aimed at the creature that had just hatched, but Chris was hesitating. – Now! We gotta go! – Piers yelled to Chris. But Chris didn't move. I saw as the B.O.W. ran to us and hit Chris. I got on the ground just in time to evade the hit but Chris was hit powerfully and as he was falling he knocked down Piers. I opened fire at the monster.
- You two, OK? Come on, let's go! – I yelled at them.
Unfortunately, as I was looking at the guys, the beast hit me and I got slammed into the wall. But it was nothing compared to what it did to Chris. The B.O.W. took Chris, slammed him into the wall, then hit him a few times and then with much power threw him into the ground. Chris would get lucky if he only had a concussion after all of this.
- Chris! – I yelled as I stood up in front of him and started shooting at the creature. Luckily, Piers was fine enough to grab Chris by the shoulder and drag him out, at the same time shooting at the monster, helping me out. Chris was barely conscious, mumbling something under his breath.
- Almost there! – Piers yelled. – Minnie, go through the door! Make sure it's clear outside!
- Roger! – I answered and did as I was told, leaving Piers to take care of the monster himself. It was a heavy metal door and it took all of my strength to open it up, but I did. Outside I saw more of the BSAA troops. – Piers! – I yelled letting him know that everything was OK. He exited the building dragging Chris after him and the other soldiers took care of the creature that was after us.
I sat down on the ground, my back against the wall, the gun lying right by my side. The medics quickly rushed to Chris' side, forgetting about me and Piers. I watched as the medics took care of the unconscious Chris, put him on a stretcher and rushed him into the hospital. I watched closely but somehow I couldn't focus my attention to anything for more than 1 minute.
- You OK? – I heard a voice say. I lifted my head up and saw Piers standing next to me. I turned my head away from him.
- I'll be fine. – I answered emotionlessly.
- Hey. – He said as he kneeled down beside me. – It's not your fault that…
- I said I'm fine! – I snapped at him. I knew what he would've said: "It's not your fault that Finn died." I knew that it wasn't my fault, but still, I couldn't help but blame myself for it. Finn wasn't the first person to die in front of me, but the fact that he died saving my life was just too much to handle. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but I knew I couldn't cry. Not now. I felt a hand on my shoulder.
- It's OK. Everything's gonna be OK. – He said softly, looking to the ground. He was trying to cheer me up. I couldn't help but smile at this. Even though I was acting not the nicest way with him, he was still trying to cheer me up. *That's nice.* I thought.
- Sledge? – Someone said. Both Piers and I looked up to see a soldier standing in front of us. – There's a call for you. Right there. – He motioned towards a military vehicle. I nodded and made my way there, Piers not too far behind me,
- Hello? – I said as I picked up the receiver.
- Good afternoon, Miss Sledge. – I heard a familiar male voice say. – I'm glad to hear that you're still alive.
- Who is this? – I asked suspiciously.
- Oh, how rude of me. – The man laughed. – It's me, Derek Simmons.
- I thought that I've recognized your voice. – I murmured bemused.
- Well then, let's cut to the chase. I see that you've completed your mission. The sum of money we've discussed will be transferred to your bank account in a few minutes.
- My mission? What do you… - and then it hit me. I felt anger boil up in me. – If you have anything to do with what's happened here, Simmons, trust me, you'll be very sorry. And that bitch that you've sent won't live long either. – I spat out.
- Oh I doubt it, Miss Sledge. I hope to see you soon. I might have a few more jobs for you to do. – He snickered.
- Go fuck yourself, Simmons! – I yelled and slammed the phone down.
- Problems? – Piers asked.
- Nope. Everything's fine. I always tell people to go fuck themselves and slam down the phone ending the conversation. – I answered sarcastically.
- Fair enough. – Piers rolled his eyes and started going away. *OK, maybe I was too harsh.*
- Hey, Piers. – I said as I grabbed his hand and he turned to face me. – Can I go see Chris? – I asked with an apologetic look.
- Come here. – He said as he led me to a military vehicle. We both got in and it took us to the hospital. – You should get your wound checked up. – He said while we were driving to the hospital.
- What for? – I asked. – I'm not bleeding or anything. There's no need to.
- When we bandaged you up the conditions were very unsanitary. We could've caused an infection.
- Oh, that. – I laughed a bit. – There's one good thing about my blood for me. I can't catch such infections. I might get sick, but whenever there's a risk for my blood to get infected because of unsanitary conditions and such, my blood kills the microbes. Or something like that, I'm not quite sure myself.
- You know, you never stop to amaze me. – He smiled as the vehicle stopped. – Let's go.
We got out of the vehicle and walked into a building that was now turned into a hospital. There were a lot of wounded soldiers; doctors and nurses were running around. I grabbed one nurse by the hand.
- Excuse me. – I said. – Chris Redfield was brought here today. Where can we find him?
- I'm sorry, Miss, but we have an emergency. – She said rushing away.
- Well, obviously. – I murmured. – This is a hospital after all. – I heard Piers snicker.
I tried asking a few other nurses, but they said the same thing as the first one. I got fed up with this and went up to a doctor.
- Look. – I started annoyed. – Chris Redfield was brought here. Where is he?
- Redfield? – The doctor asked. – Tall, brown haired, well-built, about 40 years old captain? He was because of head injury?
- Yes. – I said as I felt my heart clutch in my chest.
- I'm very sorry, Miss. – My eyes widened in horror. *He can't be dead.* I felt a strong hand on my shoulder. It was Piers. I could feel his hand tremble a bit. – He ran away as soon as he regained consciousness.
- WHAT?! – Piers and I yelled out in unison. – What do you mean he ran away?! How?! – I asked the doctor.
- I don't know what happened to him before, but after regaining consciousness he had lost all memory. We call this a post-traumatic amnesia. The man didn't even know who he was, not to mention what had happened. And as you can see we've got a lot of soldiers to look after at the moment, he was left lone for a while. When a nurse went to check up on him he was no longer there. We've sent a squad to look for him but they didn't find anything. You should try contacting his family or close friends, maybe he will go to them. Again, I am very sorry. – The doctor walked away. I was standing there, my eyes still wide. I grabbed my head in my hands.
- God! Chris, why the fuck did you have to do such a stupid thing?! – I yelled out.
- There's not time to waste. – Piers spoke up. – I'll contact HQ and start a search party. You're like family to him, you must know people that he could contact?
- Yeah, a few. – I answered lowering my head.
- Go home and contact them. You have nothing to do here in Edonia anymore. I'll be in charge of the search party. If you find any sort of information, contact me through HQ. I'll do the same if I find something out as well. OK? – He ordered. I just nodded. He came closer to me and put both his hands on my shoulders. – Look at me, Sledge. – He ordered me and, God knows why, I obeyed. My green eyes met up with his hazel ones. – We'll find him. I know that you care dearly for him, Minnie, but we'll find him. – One of his hands moved from my shoulder to my cheek and with his thumb he brushed away a single tear that I didn't know had escaped my eye. – I promise you.
I smiled widely and hugged him tight. Only when he wrapped one arm around me had I realized what happened. *Oh my God! What am I doing?!* I jumped away from him, my cheeks red from embarrassment.
- Sorry. – I murmured not looking into his eyes. – I think I should go and get myself a flight or a ride home – I said and walked away. While walking away I didn't see how Piers' shocked expression changed into a smile.
Hi, guys. Yeah, I know, I promised to update sooner, but I didn't. I'm really sorry T_T I want to assure you that I have the whole story written in my notebook and I need to type it into my laptop in order to post it here. I'm sorry for taking so long, but I want to make things clear that I will continue posting th chapters as soon as I can. I hope that there are still readers who will read this after such a break...
Anyway, I would like to thank all of the readers, also everyone who is reviewing this story and I want to say a huge thanks to jurassicpark12 who took up the task to translate my story to French ^_^ Thank you for reading and please review ^_^