Chapter XXI

Sherry

When Leon and Sherry heard the creaking of metal they looked at each other, wondering what that noise was and if it was coming from one of them, but suddenly they realized with a bit of surprise that it was not them, the ground beneath their feet started trembling, and the dirt began to shift.

"Go, go!" Leon whisper yelled and threw his weight to the right. Sherry quickly jogged a distance away as Leon lay flat against the tall grasses and she hid behind some bushes.

She waited patiently and took out her gun, hoping that she wouldn't need to use it but prepared nonetheless.

The metal square on the ground suddenly lifted, she watched with awe as a large crate came up from the ground and opened, releasing a bit of a strange gas and then opening to release two men.

She looked to where Leon was hiding, wondering if his view was as clear as hers. She could see that the two men were both complete opposites. Where one was tall, brawny, fair, and menacing in appearance the other one was short, thin, frail, almost nerdy looking and dark skinned. She waited for a signal from Leon to come out, but knew that there would be no way of knowing until he himself came up from the ground.

As the two men paced forward she suddenly became aware of the weapons in their hands. She narrowed her eyes a bit and observed how the shorter one held the handgun awkwardly as if it might blow up in his grip.

"Put your guns down and your hands up!" Leon suddenly yelled, coming up from the ground with his handgun aimed at the bigger ones head. She jumped out from behind the bush as the two men turned in shock and fright.

"Face forward!" She yelled at them coming closer and watching the shorter guy tremble, his eyes were beginning to water. A pang of pity filled Sherry but she let it go and came forward again, keeping her eyes on the bigger one who was slowly setting down his weapon. The shorter one seemed to not know how to set it down and so he just stood there trembling. Leon came forward and kicked the gun away as Sherry stood in front of the shorter one, waiting.

Finally he lowered the gun and then straightened up to stare at her full in the face.

"What's your name?" Sherry asked both of them, the big one with the iron eyes was Sully, and the shorter one was Ralph. "What are you doing up here?" She wanted to know if they had been spotted last night.

"T-t-they sent us to keep watch." Ralph stuttered with a tremble. Leon looked to Sherry with a raised brow, "Are you going to k-k-kill us?"

"Not if you don't give us a reason to." Sherry said stoically, knowing Leon wouldn't have the courage to say it without a bit of remorse on his face.

"We need to get to the main floor of the laboratory, mind tellin' us what floor that is?" Leon asked with a kick of Ralphs gun in the other direction. Ralph stared at Leon with wide eyes.

"There are five different floors here. I don't know which the 'main floor' is. We just got here, please don't kill us."

"If you're looking for the laboratory you'll have to go to every single level." Sully spoke up, looking at Sherry with appreciating eyes, "But I wouldn't recommend going in there,"

Leon stiffened, "and why not?"

"Because there are a lot of people with guns down there. Sure you could probably pop a few rounds off; I mean this place isn't exactly as secure as it should be. You'll probably kill three or five of them, but eventually they'll come down on you like the wrath of God." He grinned in Sherry's direction, "and with a pretty woman like yourself, I'm not sure that they'd let you go with just a bullet to the head like you might be thinkin'."

"Shut your disgusting mouth up right now." She growled fiercely.

"Oh, a fighter." He licked his lips, "The crazier boys down there will like that."

Leon stepped forward and kicked the man's legs out from underneath him. Ralph yelped and Sherry glared at Sully as Leon placed his foot on Sully's chest. "You do not say more than you have to say, do you understand? We ask. You answer. The next time you spew all that bullshit will be the last time you have that ability. Are we understood?"

"Crystal." The man growled out.

Leon then wanted to know if there was any man in there by the name Richard Kruspe. He knew he would be, but he wanted to hear it to be sure.

"Yes," Ralph answered immediately. Sherry lowered her gun; he didn't seem to be that bad. "He is usually on Level D. He has a name tag, you can't miss it. But…. May I say something?"

Sherry nodded.

Ralph closed his eyes momentarily and then opened them again, "there is security all over this place, okay? That means that whatever it is you're trying to do will fail if you do not have inside help. There are only two ways in and out of this place, that's underwater and then this elevator shaft right here." Sherry looked to Leon with worry, "as soon as this elevator takes you down you'll find yourself facing at least thirteen different guards armed with assault weapons. They'll shoot you if they don't see that you are either a prisoner, or a worker."

"What are you saying?" Leon asked, looking at Ralph and keeping his gun aimed at Sully who was still on the floor.

"He's saying that if we want to get in there we will have to get caught. Otherwise there is no way to get inside." Sherry answered with a dreary voice.

…

"Can you trust them?" Sherry asked when she and Leon had walked a distance away and told Ralph and Sully to also walk a few feet away from the elevators. They kept their eyes on them the entire time to make sure that they did not move towards it. Ralph looked like he was about to pass out from fear, poor guy – Sherry thought softly.

"I think we have to, don't you? We can't just assume that they are lying. I mean… we could try to figure out a way to make sure they keep their word. Ralph seems like the paranoid type, I'm sure if we threatened him he'd believe it. I'm not so sure about the bigger guy though." Leon said.

"Well then why don't we just go over, tell them that we'll let them bring us down but that at night they have to let us out somehow… I could heal, in front of them." Leon looked confused. "I can show them that I'm not normal, lie to them, scare them a little bit. Convince them that if they don't come to let me out that I'm going to heal whenever they try to kill me and then go after them and kill them. Sound good?"

Leon grinned, "That's perfect."

With that plan in mind they explained to Sully and Ralph how things were going to go. Sully and Ralph would kick them around a little bit and then take them down as prisoners. They would throw them in a cell, or whatever it was that they kept, and at night find a way to go and release them.

"And what makes you think that we will comply?" Sully asked, crossing his giant arms in front of him.

"This." Sherry pulled out her knife as Leon looked away and she quickly sliced her thigh.

"What the fuck!" Sully yelled with outrage as the blood started pouring out of her leg, she hissed in pain and quickly breathed in and out, willing her body to seal the wound. When she opened her eyes she found Sully and Ralph looking at her leg with amazement. Leon watched them carefully. "That-that-that-

"If you do not come to get us whenever they try to let take me out of the room I will escape, they'll shoot at me and I'll just heal it. When I've done that and I've killed every last one of them I will come after you and then your families. You are not to tell anyone about what you've just seen. Are we understood?"

Ralph nodded with a weary gaze; he looked like he might collapse at any moment now.

…

"Alright that's enough," Leon gazed at Sherry's face with horror, she had come up with the idea that they needed to look a little bruised and battered, at first Leon recoiled at the idea but found that she was right. How were they captured if they didn't put up at least a bit of a fight? So with that in mind Leon tore at his water suit and sliced his arm slightly, Sherry on the other hand went a bit crazy with it, cutting her leg up and then her arms, running her face against the down and toning down even her most natural healing abilities so that it became a welt on her face.

They resumed to throw their weapons over the side of the land so that Ralph and Sully couldn't find them. Chris is going to be so pissed – she thought humorously.

"Okay, come on." She heard Leon grunt, pulling her alongside him. Ralph stared at her in horror and held out a pair of handcuffs shakily.

"You need t-to put these on."

She nodded and allowed him to put them on her; he didn't tighten them too much, which she was thankful for. Sully grabbed Leon's wrists tightly and put on his handcuffs. They led them into the elevator shaft which was white and tiled. They pushed a red button with the letter B on it.

"We'll come and get you guys tonight, but if we run into some problems we'll probably take longer then that." Ralph told them with a tremor in his voice.

Sherry looked to Leon with a smile, "We'll be okay."

When they reached the floor her heart started drumming faster than she ever thought possible, and then the doors slid open.

The first thing she noticed was that there were at least twelve men walking around in simple gear, nothing too secure. They had weapons in their arms and all their eyes were turned to her, Leon, Ralph and Sully.

"What the fuck is this?!" Someone yelled with anger. Sherry looked to Leon with trepidation in her face as Ralph and Sully roughly pushed them out of the elevator, she could sense the uncertainty in Ralph's hands, Sully played this role much better.

"These are two spies we caught upstairs. They were tryin' to sneak in. So here we are." Sully sneered at the man, pushing Leon forward some more.

"And what happened to your weapons?" A man with pale hair and hazel eyes growled as he stepped forward and glared at Sherry, but asking Ralph.

"T-t-they threw them over the side of the island, sir."

The blonde stepped forward and towered over Sherry. She looked up at him with a glower, "Put this one in Cell F, put him in B. We need to get Richard up here, stat."

Ralph let out a shaky sound and pulled Sherry alongside him as she kept her eyes on the ground and Leon followed with Sully behind him.

They couldn't speak to one another or even cast glances, all around them there were men staring with shock, anger, some with lust.

Sherry trembled, realizing for the first time that she had yet to see a single woman in this place.

She made sure to looked at her surroundings, she noticed that they passed a cafeteria and that there was a long hallway in the distance, but before they could reach this hallway they were led to the right. They went past a sliding glass door and then into another white hallway. The floors were squeaky clean and when she looked down she could see just how bruised her face really was.

Leon was let go first, Sully roughly pushed him into a sliding glass door with a stark white room. The door slid closed as Leon landed on the white bed with a huff and revealed a red B imprinted on the glass. Sherry was led deeper into the hallway until she reached a door labeled F. Ralph came inside with her as the doors slid shut.

The first thing she noticed was a bed to the far left corner of the room, directly ot the right of this there was a small desk. Everything was white and there was nothing else in the room.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she turned to face him.

"Explaining a few things to you," he stuttered, "the first thing is that these rooms are soundproof. Keep that in mind if you try to taunt someone, no one will be able to hear you scream. The second is that when that light is on – "he pointed to a small camera in the corner of the room, "it means that you are being recorded." The light was on she noticed and kept quiet, "they go on as soon as those doors are open or as soon as the room detects vibration of voices. Do you understand?" She nodded. "They will come in here and ask you a few questions; they'll probably give you a change of clothing. Or bring a medic in here to… check your wounds." She nodded, noticing how he shifted uncomfortably, probably remembering what she had done.

"Okay." Was all she responded before Ralph shoved her for show onto the bed and escaped the room. She lay there for a long time, thinking of how she hoped that they kept their end of the bargain up, and trying to resist thoughts of Jake.

…

Sherry had to fight sleep for the next two hours. She knew that if she slept her body would heal the wounds, and that would be horribly awkward to try and explain to these people. She didn't know what time it was, and because there was no window in her cell she didn't know if the sun was still even up. She sighed heavily and sat on the bed quietly.

Finally there had been a beeping around her room.

She jumped to her feet and noticed someone standing by the glass door. A man with black hair and a tag that read Kruspe stared at her through the glass. She bit her lip and stepped back slightly, afraid for the first time in a long time.

He bent over to what she imagined was an intercom system and spoke, "What is your name?" He asked her, a smile playing at his lips when she stared at him like if he was an idiot.

"Do you really think I'd tell you that?"

"No, but I had to try." He laughed. He spoke again, "May I enter?"

"If I said no would that stop you?"

"Do you always ask so many questions?" Kruspe grinned at her with his steely eyes. She looked away from him and shifted from foot to foot. "It wouldn't stop me for long, but I would rather not be invited by force."

"Then it's not an invitation at all, is it?"

"Again with the sarcastic questions." Kruspe stated and swiped a card. The door slid open gracefully and he stepped forward, she noticed a man step around him and place items on the bed. He walked out swiftly and left her with Kruspe. "My name is Richard Kruspe, but I'm certain you knew that already." She didn't respond as he looked around the room with a curious gaze. "I assumed that this would make the people who were detained feel a little more at ease. All the white, it makes me always feel like I am in a safe and open place. But by the looks of your posture you are not feeling very comfortable."

"Would you, if you were handcuffed and bleeding?" She stated firmly, trying to keep the edge out of her voice. Her leg stung.

"I suppose not." He smiled warmly, "you know what is interesting about you spies? You speak in questions. Why is this? Is it some sort of intimidation tactic?"

"You tell me."

"Even that was demanding an answer of me. How strange." He shrugged then as if this was something he'd never understand. "But now it is time for me to ask question and for you to answer. What is your name?"

She thought about lying for a moment but then decided against it – knowing they'd eventually figure it out anyway. "Sherry Birkin."

His eyes widened and he stepped backwards for a moment, then he strode out of her room, leaving her confused.

What the hell just happened? Is he crazy?

As quickly as he had left he returned with a man at his side. She stepped backward until she was pressed against the wall and the man approached her, Kruspe watched her with utter fascination. "I just want to remove the cuffs miss Birkin." He assured her softly.

She nodded jerkily and turned around; she felt the trembling hands of the man behind her as he released her from her cuffs. She rubbed her sore wrists and turned to stare at Kruspe who watched her still.

"You must forgive that. That was simply protocol." He watched her with tension then, "Birkin… do you have any idea how brilliant a man your father was?" She didn't respond. "Your father… and Albert Wesker were two of the most prominent scientists in the world at that time, do you understand? Your father and Albert Wesker were an unstoppable force. It was always my dream to meet them, you see. To work with them, it's the reason why I became a scientists…" he spoke feverishly, touching his forehead, "it is a shame that both these men succumbed to their own creations, but you see it is my intention to perfect what they created as a sort of commemoration to these brilliant men. Albert Wesker was so close to the perfection of his mutation and yet succumbed to it when the power drove him mad. Your father never got that far… but my God. Birkin's daughter! An honor!"

She stared at him with wide eyes as he walked forward and took clothing off of her bed. Then he continued, "please get dressed in this." He passed her a stark white shirt and white pants; she blushed knowing the material would probably make it very easy to see through to her underwear and her bra.

She took the clothing and watched him stray out of the room. She would have been bothered by stripping her clothing off and knowing the camera was still on but refrained from letting it get to her, it was the least of her worries now that someone might see her in her bra and underwear.

As suspected, when she changed her clothing her blue bra and grey underwear were clearly visible. When Kruspe returned he didn't seem to take much notice of this, "Will you allow me to fetch you medical assistance for your injuries?" She nodded sharply and he smiled, almost gratefully. He rushed from the door again and returned with a young man who had a briefcase.

"This is Sherry Birkin," Kruspe told the man with the long nose and the thickly framed glasses. "She is a very valuable asset to us right now; you are to treat her with the utmost respect and care. If you do not there will be severe consequences. I will see to it that Miss Birkin gets the nourishment she requires, and then I will return in two hours. By then I expect Miss Birkin to look better than she does right now."

The man nodded shakily in Kruspe's direction and then stared at Sherry with an unsteady gaze, she stared back at him coldly.

"Miss Birkin, would you please take a seat and show me where your wounds are?" He went over to the small table to the right of her bed against the wall and set the briefcase there. She noticed herbs, a spray can, stitching materials, pills and a small square box of what appeared to be alcohol, and beside that another small box labeled water.

I could kill him with just my bare hands…

She sat on the bed and pulled the leg of her pants up, exposing the harsh gashes of her leg to him. He turned and narrowed his eyes at the wound and turned back around taking out the alcohol, and the herbs.

He pulled out the chair and sat before her and began organizing things on the bed quietly, his fingers trembled madly.

"What's your name?" She asked him gently.

He paused and looked up at her with a sweet smile on his face, she sighed, feeling more at ease by the warmth it radiated. "Daniel Burke."

:D told you it was going to pick up.

Hopefully you all liked that chapter, as you can hopefully see I did my best to keep the pace moving while providing you with some tension.

Questions:

1) What do you think Sherry's biggest priorities or worries should be with ONE being the most important.

Personally I would be worried the most about food and what they supply me with, I wouldn't want to eat anything that I was paranoid about.

Yeah, I'm THAT person haha.

2) What do you think is going on with Jake? Like do you have any ideas in your head of what is possibly going on with his side?

And yes - he will be returning to the story sooner than later :)

REVIEW Please I LOVE hearing from all of you so much.