Disclaimer: Capcom owns all of Resident Evil.

Chapter 9 – Chase

It seemed like they were running forever. Every corridor looked the same and every corner they turned seemed to stretch on for miles. The walls were cracked and dirty. The ceiling was dripping with water everywhere making the ground wet and a little slippery. The air smelled dank and musty. As they kept running and trying to figure the way out, they seemed to get deeper into oblivion. Running down the hall, the duo came to a rusted metal door. Opening it Sherry came to yet another long hallway that looked the same as everywhere else. Looking at both directions, she decided on going left which ended up in another long corridor. This is nothing but a maze of hallways and corridors, she thought trying to keep her exasperation at bay.

"Damn it. I feel like a rat stuck into a maze," her male companion said looking around. So far they were lucky in avoiding any Javos or infected. Now they just have to find a way out of the place. Getting stuck in this hellhole is the last thing they want. The faint footsteps of the infected seemed to echo and get louder as seconds ticked by. In no time they will have nowhere to hide. "We need to get the hell out of here. Where's our position anyway?"

She looked around trying to decipher which way to go. "I`m not so sure. I`ll go check my GPS." She retrieved her smart phone from her coat pocket and turned it on. She touched the map icon and activated it. However a message reading, "Your request can not be fulfilled right now." displayed on the screen. "Damn it. I think the strong snowstorm may be affecting the signal for my phone. I can`t access my phone at the moment. The blizzard outside must be interfering with the signal."

"Shit. We're sitting ducks."

"Keep moving. We're bound to find an exit."

The pair ran down the corridor and came into a dead end. Sherry back tracked and ran the opposite way. Her partner followed suit. There are doorways lining up the corridor, each room dark and empty. Cobwebs hung on the ceiling. It looked like no one's been around the place for years. Footsteps grew louder as the pair moved on.

"We've got to hurry! Looks like they're catching up to us," Sherry exclaimed running faster. Up ahead she saw a faded green metal door. Rushing towards it, she pushed the door opened and came across yet another long hallway. I'm getting sick of looking at hallways, she complained silently to herself. However she tried to keep her cool. Freaking out now won't get herself and her partner anywhere. Looking both ways, she decided to go left where the hallway seemed brighter. Looking at both directions, she contemplated where to head to next.

"Alright. Where to?" her partner asked with a shrug having no clue which way is the right one.

She didn't answer because she has no idea herself. Suddenly a loud roar erupted within the vicinity. Both of them jumped up in surprise. Jake feeling the tension rise up from his body looked around alertly of any danger lurking around. He had a bad feeling about this. He took a step back closer to Sherry when a group of Javos emerged from the end of the hallway.

"Here they come!" Sherry exclaimed. Both she and her partner aimed their guns towards the monsters and opened fire. Just when they took a Javo out, at least another two replaced the fallen monster. Sensing they will be overpowered soon she turned to her partner. "Let`s go! This is a waste of time."

"Yeah, no shit!" Jake called as he lowered his gun. The two turned around and ran the opposite direction. They could hear the infected chasing after them. After going through a few more empty and dark hallways the two emerged in an opening. The blizzard had calmed down and instead sunlight was streaming down the place penetrating through the darkness. Squinting through the bright light, the mercenary led them forward. His partner followed him shielding her eyes from the sunlight. Before they could do anything another roar erupted, louder and closer this time. Spinning around, the duo gaped in shock and horror at what they saw.

A huge BOW stood before them. It has thick leathery greenish skin, rough and uneven throughout its body. It towered over them standing at around ten feet or more. Its hair swept to one side, dirty and tangled as its fearsome face contorted into fury. One thing that's even more fearsome in a type of device stuck to its arm. Metal hooks are attached to its arm that formed a type of huge metallic claw. On its back are more of those metallic devices each forming a sharp pointy spear that glinted dangerously against the sunlight.

"Motherfucker! Looks like we're in deeper shit than I thought," Jake said in a low voice, his eyes never leaving the monstrosity before them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his female companion a look of utter horror written on her face. Her job of protecting him has taken into a whole new level of difficulty. They have no backups, there's no more BSAA who's going to help them this time. Raising his handgun towards the monster, he took aim ready for anything. His partner mimicked his actions.

The monster gave another angry roar. It picked up an infected and raised it up high in the air. In its haste to catch up to them, it barreled down any Javos in its way. The infected Javo cried in fear as it pleaded for the monster to let it go. Terror ripped through its body as it cried for mercy. Speaking in its native eastern European dialect, Jake managed to catch a few words as it started calling for help. Paying no attention to its victim the monster squeezed the infected mercilessly, its claws tightening around his waist cutting off his air supply. The infected made a choking gurgling sound in his throat as he struggled to breathe. He let out a choked cry as he tried to scream but was unsuccessful. The monster gave a final squeeze killing him. His waist bursted like a water balloon, blood and intestines spilling down the monster. His legs dangled in the air lifelessly. The monster roared again as if it was happy for his accomplishment of brutality.

Jake pulled the trigger trying to aim at its head. He has no plans on waiting on what the monster is going to do next. He knows its next victims are himself and his partner. His partner also started firing shots but it didn't seem to do a lot of damage. Its thick skin acted like a bullet proof vest as the bullets barely penetrated its thick layer. This seemed to aggravate the monster even further as it angrily growled at them.

Sensing there's nothing much they can do right now, Sherry lowered her weapon. "Run!" she cried as she hopped over a barricade. She looked around desperately for a way out.

Jake followed his partner. They're going to need heavier firepower in the hopes of doing some damage to this thing. Seeing an explosive barrel at the side of the wall, he didn't waste any more time. Raising his gun, he pulled the trigger aimed towards the barrel. "Eat this!"

A huge deafening explosion echoed out throughout the warehouse. The pair ducked and took cover behind the barricade in front of them as they tried to avoid bits of scrap and metal flying their direction from the explosion. Sherry opened her eyes as she stood up. Glancing at the destruction caused by the explosive barrel in disbelief, she looked at her male partner incredulously. She couldn't believe he would try something so risky without even telling her first. "Thanks for the warning," she said, sarcasm dripping in her voice.

Her partner merely shrugged. He pointed back towards the BOW. "Uhhh…" he didn't know quite where to start. The monster was back on its feet again. Is this thing indestructible or what? By now it looked like he pissed the shit out of it more. He looked like he wanted to chew his head off and spit it out. It let out an angry howl, enough to rattle the broken glasses on the windows. Waving a hand, he said, "Ok. We go with your plan."

Sherry silently agreed. Nothing much they can really do right now. They're not really in a suitable place to fight off this monster anyway. Turning her heel briskly, she began to run as fast as she could swiftly followed by her partner. Jumping over some barricades she could hear the loud crashes as the monster tossed and shoved them away easily as if they weigh like paper. She forced her legs to move faster.

"Son of a bitch, he's strong!" Jake exclaimed as he glanced behind him. The monster is incredibly fast despite its size. It was nearly upon them. Feeling adrenaline pumping through his veins he felt a burst of speed as he began to overtake Sherry. Seeing a sharp corner ahead, he grabbed her arm as he rounded off dragging her with him. He landed on his hands and knees on a pool of water wetting his pants and making wet splatters across his face and chest. He glanced at his partner to see her on her back, a horrified look on her face. Sensing an unwanted presence behind him he just had enough time to look and see that the monster is just behind them, close enough to grab one of them. He mentally cursed. They need to move fast! Getting back on his feet he pumped his legs as he continued to run, Sherry not far behind. The concrete ground ended and an opening came before them. A feeling of dread came over him as he didn't know if they'll be jumping to their demise or not. He quickly pushed the thoughts away. It's either stay behind and get killed or jump. None of their options are great but maybe they could survive a fall better than get their lungs squeezed like jelly. "Here goes nothing!" he exclaimed as he leaped off the ground flying in the air for a few seconds. He landed on his feet and managed to keep his balance. However as he turned around, he felt the ground shake as the giant monster followed them and jumped on the platform he was on. He stumbled as he fell on his back.

"Jake!"

He turned to his partner's voice, urgent and desperate. He saw that she was merely hanging on a thin scraggly rope. It won't hold her weight much longer. Getting to his feet he ran to the edge of the platform. Loud thudding steps confirmed that the BOW has no plans of letting him get away.

They need to get away from it fast.

Sherry is going to fall any second now.

These thoughts ran through his head as he saw her hands shake and began to slip. Damn, does he need to save her all the time? "It's always something with women!" Giving his head a little shake, he leaped off the platform and wrapped his arms around her waist as they flew through the air and crashed into the glass window behind them. Bits of broken glass shattered on the ground as he maneuvered their bodies around so his body strucked the ground first with Sherry on top of him. Letting her go, he rolled to his side and on his feet. His partner looked a little shaken but otherwise fine as she too stood up. He heard a loud crash as the monster tried to get in the window but its size was far too big for it to go through. Roaring angrily at them he began to climb up the warehouse.

"What the hell is that thing?!" he cried in disbelief. He had never seen a badass motherfucker as this one. Deep down he knew it wouldn't be the last he's gonna see of it.

"He's tracking us. Well, technically you," Sherry replied. She had no doubt that that monster is after Jake. She knew she wasn't the only one tasked to track down the redheaded mercenary after all. A lot of individuals and groups are after him too. "You're the most wanted man, Jake."

He let out a scornful laugh. "What can I say? I'm a fucking celebrity. Maybe if they all line up and pay me, I can give them my autograph."

"Come on, we gotta get moving," she said as she led the way again in yet another abandoned warehouse. Taking out her smartphone from her pocket, she activated the GPS. Thankfully it's now working again. She saw that the warehouse they're in is not a big one, certainly not a maze unlike the previous one they were in. The map showed her the quickest way to exit the building. Following the arrows on the map she led them through a door. It was shut tightly. She gave it a push but it remained closed. It seemed to be jammed. She looked at her partner and nodded. With a burst of strength they both kicked the door down off its hinges. They came upon a big spacious room with catwalks outlining the perimeter in an upper level. Straight ahead of them is yet another set of double doors. "We can get out of there through those doors."

Jake walked forward leading the way across the expanse of the catwalk. He turned to the ceiling as it began to shake and bits of rubble and cement began to fall from the ceiling. This place isn't safe either. "This place looks like it's gonna collapse too. Somebody oughta call the building inspector."

His partner nodded. She felt a chill run down her spine as the temperature dropped in the warehouse. "Yeah. Boy, it's even colder in here than it is outside."

Both jumped down from the catwalk at the ground level as they proceeded to another door, bent and broken but still attached to its hinges. Standing side by side the pair kicked the door down. The pair barely made it a few feet when several infected rappelled down a rope from the ceiling in the room.

"Damn it! They found us!" Sherry said alarm rising in her voice. She took out her electric stun rod attached to her belt. Raising it in front of her, she prepared to strike at anyone who makes a move to attack her or her partner. She needs to get him out in one piece. She felt her muscles tense as they began to surround the two of them.

"Don't these assholes have anything better to do?" Jake asked sarcasm evident on his voice. A quick glance at his ammo pouch told him he's running low on bullets. He studied his enemies and noted there are three of them surrounding him and his partner. Three to two, I think we can handle them, he thought silently as he decided to conserve his ammo and not use his gun for now. Flexing his fists he took on a fighting stance eyes sharp on whoever makes the first move to attack. He saw one of the infected making a move towards him. Rushing forward he delivered a swift and powerful spinning flying kick that sent it sprawling on the ground. Before it could get up, he ran towards it and grabbed him under its legs. Mustering the strength in his arms he picked it up and spinning around he threw the helpless Javo a few feet away. Glancing back at his partner he saw that she was fighting off an infected.

Sherry swung her stun rod across the infected catching him under his chin. He let out a pained scream as electricity ran down his body. Using this moment to her advantage, she attached her stun rod back to her belt. Rushing towards her enemy, she held on to his shoulders as she used it as leverage to jump at his chest. Pushing her feet as hard as she could, she performed a graceful back flip landing on her feet. The Javo was thrown back to the floor and stopped moving.

"Nice!"

She turned at the sound of her partner`s voice. He stood there and gave her a smile and a thumbs up sign.

"Thanks," she replied. She raised her eyebrows as she saw a figure moving up silently behind her partner. "Behind you!"

In a swift move, her partner turned around and delivered a palm strike on the Javos chest, the force enough to send it staggering against a pillar. Not giving it any moment to regain its composure, he grabbed its head and slammed it against the concrete wall. Blood oozed down its face as its skull cracked open. Raising an elbow, he struck him in the chest feeling a rib or two crack under the pressure. The Javo slumped on the ground lifeless.

She was too busy watching her partner that she didn't notice the third one crept up behind her. Suddenly she felt a pair of arms grab her from behind. Locking its arms under hers, it held her in a tight hold limiting the use of her hands and preventing her from reaching to her gun. She let out a cry. Turning her head, she glanced at the Javo behind her. Its multiple pairs of eyes bulged from their sockets like a fly. Thick, red leathery skin formed the surface of his face. Lips curled back in a snarl revealing sharp rows of teeth. It growled at her angrily. Drool dripped down its cracked and bleeding lips. She tried to free her arms from its tight grip. It seemed to aggravate it more as it started pulling her away from her partner. She pulled her foot and swung it behind her catching the infected in the shin. It howled in pain and doubled forward but didn't release its grip from her. She struggled to twist away. The Javo gripped her arms harder causing pain to travel down her arms. She cried out in pain as it dragged her forcefully and painfully. Suddenly it released an arm from her but before she could react she saw the glint of a knife held in its hand. She saw a brief look of her face in the reflection of the blade as he raised it above her head, a look of horror written in her eyes. Suddenly a loud shot rang out. She felt something wet and sticky at the back of her neck. The arm holding her in a vice like grip released her suddenly as she heard a heavy thud behind her. Spinning around she saw the Javo lying lifelessly on the ground, knife still on its hand. She reached behind her neck and when she brought up her hand, it was covered in blood.

"Can't let your guard down with these fuckers. You make one wrong move and it's over."

She looked up and saw her partner holding his gun. He had shot the infected square in the head. She let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I knew you'll come through," she replied gratefully.

"Let's get the hell out of here."

The two hurried towards a set of green double doors. As Sherry reached to open it, they heard another rumble as bits and pieces of loose dirt and rubble fell from the sky. Looking up they saw the giant BOW coming down from the ceiling. She felt her whole body tense up again knowing that there's nowhere for them to run. Suddenly it rushed towards them ready to barrel down them. The two leaped out of the way forcing them to get further away from the exit. "I don't think he's too keen on us leaving."

Jake grunted as he dove at the ground. Spinning around to face the monster he gritted his teeth in anger. Can't they get a fucking break from this thing? "Well, he'll just have to get over it, huh?" There's no way this shithead is going to keep him from getting to his money.

"Uh oh. Here comes more trouble," his partner called out. He saw more Javos rappel down ropes from the ceiling. The two of them could probably handle the infected on their own. However adding the monstrosity before them gives this task of getting away a whole new level of difficulty. His eyes scanned his opponents counting three of the infected surrounding them and the BOW behind them. Their teamwork is really gonna have to come through for them to make it out alive in this one. He felt the ground shake as the giant monster took a step towards him closer.

"Alright. Sherry, you take care of these assholes. This motherfucker's mine," he said, his voice even as he studied his opponent. Knowing from his experience before bullets won't do much damage to this thing. He's just gonna have to introduce it to his fists. Clenching them tightly on his sides, he prepared to fight.

His female partner glanced at him worriedly. "Jake, are you sure? He's pretty strong."

"Positive. Besides he might be strong but the fucker's not smart."

Raising her gun, Sherry aimed at the nearest Javo and fired. It hit him in the shoulder making him stagger backwards but didn't bring him down. Raising the butt of her gun, she bought it down as hard as she could to its head. Doubling over in pain, she gave a spinning kick towards him bringing him down. Taking her stun rod from her belt, she brought it down and stabbed the fallen Javo making sure he won't be getting up again. She braced her stun rod in front of her as the remaining two advanced on her. She felt every muscle in her body alert and ready to attack. One of the Javo raised his gun and aimed at her. Predicting this would happen, she did a side roll avoiding the line of fire. She rushed at him and quickly stunned him with electricity. His body shook and he cried in pain but she never stopped. He dropped on his knees coughing. Grabbing his head she brought it down towards her knee bashing his face. She repeatedly did this until she heard a crack. Letting go of his head, the infected stumbled back, his nose a bloody pulp. She raised a foot and stomped on its head, crushing the skull. The last infected swung a combat knife at her. She ducked just barely missing it by inches. She grabbed its arm holding the knife and spun him around making him lose his balance. She kicked its hand making him drop the knife on the ground. Kicking it away she grabbed her gun and aimed straight at his face firing a few shots point blank. "You're not taking Jake!"

Speaking of her male companion she turned towards his direction to find him in a hand to hand combat with the monster. She looked at him in disbelief. Is he really going to take down that thing just using his fists? He's either courageous or suicidal. She decided it was probably the latter. She reloaded her gun and prepared to help him. As she made a move towards her partner she stopped for a moment and stared at him in surprise and amazement. He threw a couple of hard punches towards the monster following it with an elbow strike to its stomach. The BOW grunted in pain as it doubled over and staggered backwards. Raising his palm he strucked the monster in the chin. He dropped to the ground and spinning his body, he stuck a leg out hitting his opponent in the legs. He jumped afterwards and gave a punch to the monster finally bringing it down on its knees. He's not doing badly at all. She stood there mesmerized at what she saw. Her partner displayed excellent and highly skilled close quarter combat techniques that even a giant BOW is finding it a challenge to detain him. The thing that she noticed instantly is the strength the mercenary had. His reactive heightened sense is incomparable from the other agents and mercenaries she saw. His punches land harder, enough to break bones and bruise heavily. His kicks are powerful making his opponents fly in the opposite direction. She noted earlier that he was able to lift a Javo who was similar to his height but weigh a little more and throw him a few feet away. Jake is definitely a power house when it comes to melee attacks.

Catching a glimpse of her standing several feet away, he slightly turned his head towards her direction. "I hope you haven't forgotten my fifty million dollars." He dove to the ground and did a backward roll to avoid the BOW's swinging arm.

Sherry shook her head. "Talk to my boss. If we make it out here alive."

Roaring angrily, the BOW took out a heavy device from his back. Attaching it to his arm, it glared at the two of them furiously. She studied the mechanism carefully. It appeared to be a metallic device with large hooked claw. A metallic whirring sound could be heard and behind the monster came more pointed spears. She gulped. "Jake, be careful. Don't let him get you!"

The mercenary fell a few feet back, eyes never leaving the monster's arm. "Shit just got real."

In a flash, the mechanic hooked arm extended making a grab for the mercenary. He let out a grunt as he ducked on the ground just missing him by inches. He leaped on his feet and got ready to evade the arm again. However this time it took an interest on his female partner. Eyeing her, it swung its arm and extended the claw preparing to grab her. Jake dove towards her and shoved her out of the way. She went sprawling on the ground missing the arm completely. However he wasn't so lucky this time. The arm managed to grab him around his waist and pulled him back towards him. Raising him high in the air, the monster growled at him.

"Jake!"

He gave a groan of pain as the claw tightened around his waist limiting his oxygen supply. "Piece of shit," he muttered under his breath. He winced in pain. He saw an evil looking spear raise above his head. The spear jabbed forward towards him aiming at his chest. In a quick reflex he managed to grab it with both hands and held it back as hard as he could. He gritted his teeth as the monster put more pressure around his waist and the spear inching it forward towards him. His grunts grew louder as he tried to keep the spear at bay but he couldn't stay like this forever. He felt the spear get closer towards him as it inched forward, the tip pricking the skin of his chest through his shirt. He heard rushed footsteps near him and suddenly the pressure on his waist loosened. He looked down and managed to see his partner giving a hard kick to the monster in the stomach. The monster gave a cry of pain as it dropped the mercenary on the ground. He gasped in air as it flowed back to his body.

"Come on!" Sherry cried as she grabbed her partner's arm and led them away from the monster. Jake held his side with his other free arm and he let his partner guide him around the warehouse. The two collapsed against a wall and he tried to catch his breath.

"Grazie."

"Are you ok?"

"I'll be fine. But he won't be for long." He motioned to the monster's direction with his head. "We're gonna have to find a way to beat his ass. He's not gonna let us go."

"Ok. I'm gonna try and distract him. Then you can catch him when his guard is down."

"How are you gonna do that?"

"Like this," she replied as she stood up and ran out in the open. "Hey! Over here!"

Jake couldn't help but smile towards his partner. When situations needs be, the girl's got some spunk in her. He kinda likes it. He watched as the BOW turned towards the sound of her voice and made a run for her. She turned around and led him in a chase around the open. "Jake!"

At the sound of her voice calling him, he quickly stood up and ran behind the monster. Unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks, the monster spun around and tried to punch him. Anticipating his move, the mercenary quickly ducked and rolled out of the way. Manoeuvring around the monster, he tried to attack from his back where he's vulnerable the most. He gave a hard kick on its ass making it stagger forward. "What's wrong, asshole? Losing your nerve?" he taunted as he delivered a spinning kick connecting it on its back. He saw bullets hitting its chest and shoulder knowing it was Sherry shooting at it. He moved several feet away from it to move out of the way from the line of fire. Just then, he spotted a red explosive barrel a couple of feet away from the monster. Grabbing his gun from his holster, he aimed at it and fired. The bullet hit its mark sending a deafening explosion taking the BOW along with it. The monster howled and stumbled backwards hitting a pillar.

"Got you, you son of a bitch!" Jake yelled. It felt good knowing they managed to outsmart and overpower this piece of shit over.

The pillar fell forward towards the pair. Both moved away from it as it fell between them. A loud cracking sound can be heard as the ground below their feet started giving way. Sherry gave a cry as they both fell in oblivion, darkness swallowing them up.