Chapter Eleven

Hernandez tried as hard as he could to keep up with Page. His leg was throbbing and he couldn't risk moving it anymore.

"Hold on!" he shouted.

Page stopped and turned as much as she could in the confined space. "Don't stop. If you don't circulate that leg of yours, it'll swell up." She replied.

"What are you a doctor now?" Hernandez blurted out.

Page ignored his comment and turned back to the opening of the shaft, "Come on."

Hernandez got back on his stomach and lunged forward.

"How far now?" he asked the young woman.

"We're getting real close," Page called back, "We haveta keep quiet." She whispered.

They continued onward through the old shaft of the ventilation system. Hernandez hoped that Arynn and Adam were alright. He wanted to run and get to Arynn but with his condition and where he was, it was impossible.

"Wait." Hernandez said as he pressed his back against the steel wall. "I need to know something, right now."

"What," Page answered as she turned around and faced him.

"What is this all about?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Page replied.

"Are you working for Peter or for Umbrella?" the solder asked trying to catch his breath.

Page sighed and crawled back to him. She rested her back along the steel wall too. "Alright I'll answer your questions." Page cleared her throat slowly, "I work for Tricell. My purpose is to make sure that Peter doesn't do anything that the company would not approve of."

Hernandez cracked a smile and let out a small chuckle, "Well I'm pretty sure your dude is doing a lot of shit that the company won't approve."

"Yea, I know that." Page replied un-phased.

"So then why don't you just take him out?" the soldier asked.

"If you haven't already noticed…he can't be killed." She sarcastically replied.

"Come on," Hernandez said, "Even a girl like you should've picked up on this—"

"Excuse me?" Page called with a slight of attitude.

"Arynn has the anti-virus." Hernandez said.

"And?" Page asked.

"You said Peter needs Arynn's blood to keep him stable but what if we give him her blood mixed with the anti-virus? What do yea think it'll do?"

Page thought about this and sat quiet for a few seconds. A lucrid smile formed on her face. "Well I think it'll make him normal for a few minutes." She answered.

"Just enough time to—" Hernandez began.

"—Kill him." Page ended.

Hernandez looked at the young woman. She looked at him and they sat still examining each other. Page took up the lead again and Hernandez followed.

"Adam, come here," commanded Peter as he climbed the staircase from the floor below to join his son.

The boy walked out from the main room into the sublevel. He took his father's hand and looked out to the field of stasis tanks. He looked around.

"Where's Arynn?" Adam asked.

"She's going to stay here for a while. She'll come back soon." Peter answered without hesitation. "Daddy's got important things to take care of. Let's go."

Adam could sense that something wasn't right but he followed his father down the cave-like enclosure. They walked passed numerous stasis tanks towards the end of the room.

Back in the white room, Arynn stood watching Tripper the man that she and Hernandez had frantically been searching for since they first got to the medical institute. There was definitely something different about him. He looked run-down and tired. The soldier, who would never deviate from orders, wouldn't hesitate to take action or help out his fellow soldier, was stressed and restless. Arynn wanted to help him as best she could but the man put up a mental barrier between the two. Arynn wondered what was he hiding.

"Listen," Arynn started. Tripper looked towards her slowly. "I am not leaving here without you; not with that deranged man and his monsters out there."

"Stop." The soldier replied. "I'm not going anywhere, Arynn."

"I didn't come this far for this!" Arynn nearly yelled as she tried to maintain her composure but she was finding it hard to with Tripper in the condition that he was in.

"You're very f***g stubborn!" The man said as he rose up from the sofa and stood watching her. "Don't you get it? You can't save me, Arynn!"

"Does it look like I care?" Arynn sarcastically replied. "I'm taking you out of here if I have to knock you out."

Tripper turned his back to the woman and started to walk towards the hallway that he came from. "Get the f***k outta here, Arynn," the soldier commanded, "I'm warning you. I'm not going to be able to control myself."

"I don't care." Arynn sternly replied as she took a few steps closer to the departing man. "I'm taking you out of here no matter the consequences."

Tripper walked away leaving the woman by herself. Arynn looked away and exhaled. Why does he have to make everything so hard? She wondered to herself. She tried for the door and fiddled with the lock. There had to be a way out of here.

The crawlspace ended at a double-vent at the end of the narrow ventilation shaft. Page sat up and peered through the metal slits to the room below. Hernandez rested his weight on the side of the wall giving his injured leg some relief. Page was calm as she scoped the barren hall leading to the underground laboratory. Hernandez wondered how long it would be until she would turn on him and try to kill him. Even in his condition, he had to make sure that he was ready to take her out if need be.

"What's going on?" the soldier asked the young woman.

"Absolutely nothing." Page answered. She turned to him and glanced down at his leg. "Ya sure you wanna go down there?"

"Yes." The soldier answered.

"Alright." She replied as she used all her strength to open the vent.

Hernandez was intrigued at her power. For such a lean young woman, Page could possibly match Arynn and that made Hernandez narrow his eyes. It was impossible for someone like Page to be like Arynn…or could it… The soldier stayed quiet but pondered the question deeply.

Page jumped down and landed nicely on the floor below. She looked up and signaled for Hernandez to join her. As carefully as possible, Hernandez lowered himself just a few feet from the opened vent and let go. Page stood ready waiting for the soldier's impact. He landed correctly with Page holding onto his injured leg.

"How are yea?" she asked quickly.

"I'm good." The soldier answered. Hernandez shifted his shotgun along his side.

Page started to walk and Hernandez followed closely behind.

"Why did Ashford kill that doctor back there?" Hernandez asked as he limped along.

Page ignored him and followed the pathway of the hall.

"What doctor?" she replied.

"Taylor, who else am I talking about?" Hernandez stated.

"Taylor was just an assistant. He wasn't important." Page said quietly.

"I don't believe that."

"Believe it!" she raised her voice.

"You were going to use him to get to Umbrella…weren't you?"

Page stopped abruptly. She turned and faced the soldier.

"Finally…" he whispered under his breath. He stood ready for whatever the young woman was going to do.

"What's it to yea?" she said taking out a small knife from her back pocket and raising it towards Hernandez.

"If you really work for Tricell, then why would they do business with the likes of Ashford?" he asked.

Page sighed then put the knife away. "It's simple," she started, "Ashford's family was one of the original founders of Umbrella. Having someone like that on Tricell's side would hurt any plans of a revival by the remaining Umbrella sectors."

Hernandez fell quiet. Page watched him closely. "You know?" Page continued, "All these questions you have. I have a question for you."

"What's that?" Hernandez asked.

"Does your department know that you're all down here?"

Hernandez shook his head slowly.

"I thought so." Page said. "I'll help you contact them but I need a favor…"

"What." Hernandez sarcastically replied.

"If you succeed in killing Ashford, leave his body to me and my team for further examination."

"No," the soldier plainly spoke. "Why should I do that?"

"If his body is left without proper disposal, this will all happen again." Page replied putting away the knife.

"Alright. Alright." Hernandez replied. "Sure you can have him. Just let me be the one to kill him."

"Thank you." Page replied.

Hernandez nodded and the two continued on.