Yeah! Chapter 3! :D
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Chapter 3:
Confusion
2:42 P.M.
"There… I think that should do it…" Rin placed gauze over Amy's cut. Amy winced a little. "Now, don't whine," Rin said, laughing. She removed the gauze from Amy's cheek. "There. Much better."
Amy rubbed her cheek softly. "Thank you, Rin," she said. After Jill had radioed in, she'd taken Amy and her fellow classmates to "base", where two others were waiting. She'd hi-jacked a car and they were on their way. The way there had been fairly smooth; what little zombies there were, Jill had taken care of. Danny, Isaac, and Crystal had almost no use for their guns. While getting there had been the easy part, the awkward silence had been almost unbearable. No one had spoken on the way to the base, which only added to the tension. Amy could feel people hitting their breaking points.
The base, what Jill had referred to, was simply an abandoned old farm. When they stepped out, Amy sighed, breathing in fresh air. In her point of view, getting sandwiched in between Danny and Keith had only one advantage and one disadvantage. Either way, she had been glad to be out.
Jill walked them inside the farmhouse, one hand gripping Rebecca's shoulder. Inside the main room, a person sat on the couch, curled into a little ball. She had long, red pretty hair, tied up into a ponytail. She had a black, cropped jacket and a pink tank top underneath. She had jean shorts on and red sneakers. She had looked up. "Jill… thank god you're all right." She glanced at Rebecca.
"Glad to see you're okay, too," Jill said, offering a small smile. "Where's Chris?"
"Upstairs. He's contacting Leon." The lady looked at the group. "Hey. My name's Claire." The group was silent and did nothing, except Rin, who waved in return. Claire turned back to Jill, trying very hard to ignore Rebecca. "Maybe now we'll have some answers."
Jill cleared her throat. "Yeah…"
A man started to walk down the stairs, the creaking of the steps catching the group's attention. He had a very muscular figure; Amy figured that it was probably the work of steroids. He had flat, messy brown hair. His had a dark green shirt, an emblem similar to Jill's on his one sleeve. He had dark tan pants on and green sneakers. He looked at the group assembled downstairs. He said in a deep voice, "Leon's got his arms full in D.C. There's chaos everywhere."
"Is no one else coming, Chris?" Claire said a little nervously.
"Barry's coming to pick us up," Chris said. "He's had a hard time trying to find a safe place for his family. It's getting harder to know who to trust…" He looked awkwardly away. Rebecca said nothing, trying to stay composed.
"We wait, then?" Isaac said out of nowhere.
Chris looked at him. "Yeah. Sorry, what're your names…?"
"Isaac Jones," he said.
Rin smiled. "I'm Rin Fuji."
"Danny Remington. Nice to meet you."
"Sam Carroll," Sam said moodily.
" Name's Crystal Danver."
"Keith Wood," Keith smirked, looking at Claire. "It's a pleasure."
Chris was not amused. Claire looked at him, laughing. "You might want to cut that out. Chris here has a very prominent big brother complex."
Keith laughed. "Well, I-" He froze. "Wait… what?" He looked back and forth between Chris and Claire. "You mean to say that such a gorgeous girl like you is related to a gorilla like him?"
Jill looked at Claire, their eyes widening. Rebecca had a little smile creeping out of the corners of her mouth. Chris inhaled and exhaled slowly, then turned to Keith who let out a small eek. "Listen, kid, it's obvious you're just jealous of these muscles."
Keith scoffed. "Of course no-" Crystal stomped on his foot. "Oww! Wait- I mean, of course I'm jealous! I mean, who wouldn't be?" He cried. Crystal rolled her eyes.
Chris merely chuckled. "We've got an interesting bunch- oh, sorry," he said, glancing at Amy. "You're so quiet… I almost didn't see you."
Amy smiled a little. "It's okay. I'm Amy Taylor."
"Taylor…?" Chris said, raising an eyebrow. "Weren't there a pair of Umbrella scientists with that last name…?"
Jill looked at Claire. Claire shrugged. "I dunno."
Chris shook his head. "Uh, never mind." He noticed Amy's cut. "That needs treatment. We'll have Reb-" He stopped mid-sentence. "… There's a bathroom upstairs with medical supplies."
"I'll go with her," Rin had offered, gently pulling Amy toward the staircase.
Now, after, Rin had helped clean up Amy, Amy wanted to ask her something. "…Rin?"
Rin turned around, still cheerful. "Yes?"
"What do you think… is Rebecca really guilty?"
Rin's smile vanished. It took her a few seconds to answer. "Well… I do think she is."
Amy's eyes widened. "What… but, earlier, you were…"
Rin nodded. "I know. But, if Rebecca did do it, she had a good reason. She's a good person. Just like Chris, Claire, and Jill. Did you notice?" she added.
"What?"
"Chris, Claire, and Jill knew Rebecca. Like, really knew. I could tell they'd been good friends at one point. They weren't being hostile to her, but trying to ignore her."
"You're right," Amy said. "What could've happened then…?"
Rin shrugged, walking out of the bathroom. "Friendships break sometimes."
Amy looked down, laughing softly. "I know… I've had experience."
Rin looked with sympathy at her. "Sam, right?"
Amy nodded, feeling tears well up in her eyes.
Rin looked away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so forward." She edged toward the staircase. "Listen, if you need a moment, I'll go down now." She glanced once more at Amy, then proceeded down the stairs.
Amy heard Rin's footsteps fading. Amy looked into the bathroom's mirror. The reflection that looked back at her was pale, a ghost. She opened the faucet and splashed water on her face. She stopped though, feeling a little sick. She coughed suddenly, and blood flew out, hitting the sink. She groaned, her head spinning again. Voices echoed through her mind.
"Amy… Stay with us…"
"Her heartbeat's dropping! She's gonna flat line…"
"We have to use it. Before it's too late…"
"Is it safe? We left it unguarded! It could've been tampered with!"
"We have no choice- inject it into her body!"
Amy collapsed to the floor. Before blacking out, she saw a flash of reddish brown hair…
7:58 P.M.
Amy was having a dream.
In her dream, she was laying on a small bed. Three people surrounded her, arguing. She couldn't make out their faces, but, for some reason, they seemed eerily familiar. They turned to her, holding a vial. She screamed for them to stop, but they ignored her and took her arm. Amy flailed around, but it was no use. They had already injected her, her blood-pressure was rising, her heart rapidly pumping-
"Amy?"
Amy sprung up, her breathing rapid, her face red.
Danny sat on a bed next to her, worried. "Amy? What's wrong?"
Amy had the look of a lunatic. She looked around, her eyes wide. "Where… where are we?"
"A bedroom upstairs," he answered. "Are you okay?"
"Upstairs…" Amy said, remembering the old farmhouse.
"Rebecca found you unconscious upstairs," Danny said. "Chris and the others let her treat you. Apparently, she's an amazing medic. Good thing she didn't screw up on purpose, or, y'know…"
Amy shook her head. "I'm sure she wouldn't do that. Ooh, my head…" she said, moaning.
"What happened?" Danny said, his voice full of concern. "Did you hit your head, or something? There was blood all over the sink…"
"I… don't know," Amy said, scared. "I just suddenly felt sick…" Her hands suddenly started to shake.
Danny noticed this and took her hands. His hands were strong and warm… "We'll get out of this," he said, smiling.
Amy felt her face redden. "I-um…Danny-"
"Am I interrupting something?"
Danny and Amy turned around to see Crystal standing in the doorway, inspecting her nails. They broke hand contact. She smirked. "No time for lovey-dovey moments. The dude with the chopper is almost here." She whirled around, walking away.
"Crystal…" Danny said, laughing awkwardly. He looked at Amy. "Can you stand?" Amy nodded, getting out of the bed. They walked out of the room and down the stairs. Rin and Isaac were sitting on the couch, silent. Crystal stood, crossing her arms. Keith was examining his knife. Jill, Chris, Claire, Rebecca, and Sam were nowhere in sight.
"Where're the others?" Danny asked.
"Sam's outside," Isaac answered. "Jill, Chris, and Claire are in the barn with Rebecca."
"Probably interrogating her," Crystal said nonchalantly.
Rin grimaced. "Let's hope they can find where the antivirus is."
"If there's any left," Isaac said.
"Way to be a downer," Keith proclaimed. "This is getting too stale. Sam's always pissed off, to begin with. Can't we have livelier people?"
"Keith," Danny said, rolling his eyes. "Has it occurred to you that there's a zombie invasion occurring? Right now?"
"Sure," he said. "I'm just saying that you could be a bit less… depressed. It's like you're all on your periods or something."
Isaac cleared his throat. Danny glared at Keith.
"Not you guys," Keith said. "You know what I mean." He leaned back. "Well, at least-" He was suddenly cut off by a piercing scream.
"Who was that?" Rin yelled, getting up.
Amy felt the color drain from her face. "Sam. That was Sam." Isaac grabbed his gun. Keith and Crystal did the same.
All six of them rushed outside, hoping they weren't too late. Outside, a group of men had surrounded Sam. They all had black suits on. Sam was crying, screaming, "What do you want with me?"
"Sam, do you just attract the wrong attention?" Crystal yelled, aiming her gun. The black figures turned around. Amy could make out a emblem on each of their shirts, something red and white…
"Which of you has it?" one asked, his voice low and dangerous.
Everyone stayed silent.
"Answer, little children, or you will all be shot where you stand." The black men took out guns. One of them placed a gun to Sam's head. "The little Irish girl will go first." Sam squeaked in fear.
"What are you talking about?" Isaac said calmly, as if this were not a life or death situation.
"Isaac…" Crystal hissed quietly. "I don't think it's smart to-"
"Quiet," Isaac said in the same calm voice. He turned back to the men. "What exactly is "it"?"
The men remained silent, this time. The first guy who had spoken took out a small pad. It looked like a pad, anyway. He pressed some buttons on it. He held it out toward the group, waving it slowly. A faint beeping gradually got louder as he moved the pad through the group. Finally, the beeping became a shrieking when it was pointed at Amy…
The man smirked, and Amy shivered. "So you have it…"
Suddenly, a bright light emerged from the sky. Chopper blades could be heard ripping through the air furiously. "GET DOWN, KIDS!" someone yelled. Gunshots suddenly emerged from the sky, raining down on the men. The men screamed in pain, but they were soon cut off. The bullets suddenly stopped. It had stopped just as fast as it had began.
Adjusting to the light, Rin squinted at the sky. "Guys, look! It's the helicopter!" The helicopter was gray, hard to see against the dark sky. It landed slowly, dust swirling around it as it settled. Someone inside killed the engines. A person stepped out, avoiding one of the fallen bodies. He looked an old but fit for his age. He had fading brown hair and a scruffy beard. He had a red vest on and a dark blue shirt underneath. He had brown pants and ankle-length boots.
The man beamed at the kids. "No one got hurt, right?"
"If you mean any of us," Keith began. "then, yeah. I can't say the same for the dead guys…"
The man laughed, a booming sound.
Isaac said, "You are Barry Burton, correct?"
The man raised his eyebrow. "You're pretty damn formal for a kid. But, yeah, I am."
"Barry!"
Jill, Chris, and Claire came running from the barn.
"What happened?" Jill shouted urgently. "Did anyone get hurt?"
"No, we're all good, Jill," Barry said reassuringly. "Not counting the dead bodies, of course," he said, smiling.
Chris snorted. "Wow, Barry. I might have the worst sense of humor, but you've won the prize for most twisted." He approached the bodies. "That symbol…" he said, trailing off. "It's true…"
Claire knelt next to him. "They're back," she said with difficulty.
"It's just a red and white umbrella," Sam said, getting over her trauma.
"It's not just any umbrella," Claire said, glancing at her.
Jill shook her head. "Umbrella Corporation is back. Today marks their rising from the ashes of their failure…"
"And what better way to kick things off than with a new and improved T-virus…" Chris said quietly.
While Chris, Claire, Barry, and Jill were distraught, the rest didn't know what the hell was going on. "Excuse me," Rin said politely. "What exactly is Umbrella?"
Jill turned around. "Umbrella Corporations. Inventor of the T-virus, or zombie virus."
Rin gasped. "So, they were the ones to distribute the virus?"
"It would seem so…" Claire breathed. "But, it doesn't make sense. Umbrella fell years ago. Wesker's dead. What's the point?"
"Sorry- what?" Keith said, not sure he was hearing correctly. "Did you just say Whisker?"
It was spontaneous- Barry boomed with laughter, Chris snorted in attempt to hide his laughter, Jill covered her face, grinning, and Claire smiled, shaking her head.
"What?" Keith said, annoyed. "That's what I heard."
Isaac shook his head. "You misheard. Claire said Wesker, not Whisker."
Chris grimaced. "Yeah, he name might sound funny, but he sure as hell isn't." They quieted down. It seemed as though mentioning Wesker cast a dark gloom on everyone.
"Chris, I saw you. You and Sheva," Jill said slowly. "He's dead."
"What if he's not?" Chris said angrily. "What if he's alive? He's cheated death before. Why not again?"
"Chris," Barry said calmly. "You're over thinking this. Someone else could have brought Umbrella back. We don't know for sure if it was him."
Chris gritted his teeth. "Then, who?"
Claire looked worryingly at her brother. "Chris… please. Don't."
He looked at his sister, calming down at the sound of her voice. "… Yeah. Sorry." He stood up, looking at the rest of the group, mainly Sam. "So, Sam, what happened?"
Sam swallowed. "Look, these guys just appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me. They were saying 'Where is it?' over and over."
"It?" Jill asked.
Sam rolled her eyes. "Don't ask me like I know."
Jill sighed. "Cool it. That kind of attitude will get you killed if you keep it up."
Claire cut in. "Anyway, did they say anything else?"
They were silent. Amy fidgeted. 'Crap,' she thought. 'Might as well say it…' Amy cleared her voice. "Um… one of them took out some sort of scanner. When it scanned me, the guy said I had… it, whatever it is," she finished nervously.
Chris looked at her. "What?" Amy felt herself shrink. "You-"
"I don't know what it is!" Amy cried suddenly. She sobbed back tears. "Please… don't hurt me…"
The group looked at her. Danny came over and hugged her. She melted at his touch, sobbing quietly. Her thoughts spun around. She was so confused, so hurt, and so freaked out. Danny held her comfortingly. He looked at Chris, his tone serious. "Stop it. You're freaking her out."
Chris looked back at him, his expression blank.
Barry chuckled. "You've got some serious guts, kid."
Claire stepped forward, her tone apologetic. "I'll apologize on behalf of Chris. He's does have a right to be upset though. Umbrella's left him with a lot of scars."
Amy rubbed her tears away. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted so harshly."
Chris smiled sadly at her. "I'm sorry too." He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I have a feeling we'll find out of "it" is later."
"Let's get back inside," Jill suggested. "Barry, you can update us on what's happened."
Barry nodded.
Chris led the way back, the rest of the group following. Danny stayed next to Amy, smiling at her every now and then. Sam watched them, envy evident in her eyes.
Back in the barn, Rebecca watched them trudge back into the house, sighing softly. She closed her eyes. "It's starting…"
Aaaand… cue cliff-hanger! Hope you guys enjoyed!
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