Chapter Thirteen

Peter took Adam's hand and started to climb the steel steps towards the exit at the end of the massive room. Hernandez rushed from behind one of the stasis tanks and out into the open. He took the shotgun from Page and aimed it towards Peter.

"Where are you going?" He called letting his voice violently echo throughout the open room.

Peter stopped instantly and looked out. He saw the soldier and Page dead center in the middle of the enclosure. The mutated man let go of the little boy's hand gently and ushered him up the stairs.

"I will be right behind you," he whispered. Adam nodded and continued up the flight of stairs alone. Peter turned back and watched the soldier and woman among the stasis tanks. He smiled and took out a small remote device.

"Take another step!" The mutated man called out. "See these beautiful specimen?" Hernandez not once took his eyes off of Peter. "With this button, I will awaken them." The ex-researcher said. He looked down at Hernandez and narrowed his eyes.

Page held Hernandez back. She looked at the soldier concerned.

"What?" he asked her, as he took a moment to look into her eyes. They were blue with a hint of violet. That was rare. Only a few people in the world had eye color like that but there was something else about those eyes that left Hernandez wondering who Page was. Who was she really and what was her involvement in all of this. Was she truly a Tricell employee sent to oversee Peter's operations or just another deceitful person like so many of the people Hernandez had come across over the years? He narrowed his eyes in thought.

"He's got the code to release the tanks," Page whispered.

"And?" Hernandez said, "I got his code right here!" Slightly waving his shotgun.

"Yea, but brute force isn't going to work here." She responded.

"Alright, so what do you suggest?" He questioned a little irritated by her comments.

"Let me talk to him." She suggested.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yea," Page replied as she started walking, "Just cover me…"

"I can definitely do that." He proudly replied and repeated it in a whisper. He wondered what she had up her sleeve.

"Just don't get killed. I might need your help later." He called.

She half-waved.

Back in the white confined room, Tripper sat up in the bed while Arynn sat on the floor. The two did not speak a word to one another. Arynn's thoughts wandered back to Raccoon and then to the UK facility. She wished that none of them, Tripper, Hernandez or herself had come to the ruins of the small city. She didn't want anyone to suffer like she did. And now as she and Tripper sat in the white room, those creatures in the stasis tanks—her bloodline, her offspring were bring harnessed for something unspeakable. She couldn't let that continue.

"I'm sorry." Tripper replied breaking the silence. "I should've never got close to you."

Arynn rose from off of the wall and walked to the bolted door.

"Help me with this door," she commanded lightly.

"I've already tried it many times." He sighed. "It's not going to budge."

"I just wanna be sure." She said.

"Fine." He replied as he blew out some air.

The two scrambled with the internal locking mechanism of the door. Arynn found an old pen lying by a nightstand and broke it. She took out the lean inner pen and placed it in the small hole of the locking system. She fiddled with the bolts and cogs inside waiting to hear the bearings click. A light sound made her smile. She then took out a lock pick that she took off of one of the dead guards a few levels back and inserted it into the lock. A loud click came and she knew they were close to getting out of here.

"Lift the hatch." She said.

Tripper used all of his strength to raise the hatch and then rotated it clockwise. When it couldn't rotate any longer he pulled the hatch down and the door creaked open.

"Arynn, I need to tell you something," He said immediately as he held the door open.

"I'm listening." She replied as she slipped out into the dark corridor.

"I know Sabriel's identity." He confessed.

Arynn turned to him. "How long have you known this?" she asked.

"For a long time," He said looking away.

Arynn slapped the Lead Commando. Tripper turned his face back to her. She tried to slap him again but he caught her hand.

"I know I deserve that." He said. His voice was solemn and tired. Arynn's rage and impatience was growing. For someone that she thought she could trust, she was ready to kill him.

"What else do you know?" She asked ignoring the thoughts of hurting the commando.

"Everything." He answered.

"Are you f****king serious…" she yelled as he joined her out in the dark hall beyond the metal door. "So when were you going to let me know all of this?" Throwing her hands up in anger. He took her by the arms and calmed her down.

"I didn't feel that it was the time to disclose any information to a vigilante."

"A vigilante!" She shouted. "Now you are starting to tick me off."

"Wait." He calmly continued, "But when you saved me and Eddie and taught me not to always follow orders. I listened." He quickly replied letting go of her. "I know about your family history. Everyone back at headquarters knows and they advised all of us to not trust you. See, Arynn, I trust you. Honestly, you're the only person besides Eddie that I've ever trusted."

"Okay." She replied with her arms folded.

"I just needed to realize that on my own. And now that I'm certain, I need to get this off of my chest." The Lead Commando spoke.

Arynn looked down both ends of the hall making sure that nothing was lurking.

"Tell me what you know." She demanded.

"Back during the slave days, your family worked alongside the Ashfords as servants. Even after the abolishment of slavery, they continued as employees." Tripper started. "There are files of information on your family, Arynn—tons of DNA notes gathered on your rare blood types and hereditary characteristics. Among the ones that stood out were the ability to regenerate at a highly accelerated rate and immunity to all known viruses and diseases at the time."

Arynn paced the hall in thought thinking back to her life in Raccoon City and her family. Her brother was the one who did a lot of sports. There were times when he would come home covered in deep gashes to a point where he needed stitches; the next day, however, his wounds be healed. Arynn remembered her mother telling Jacob that it was normal to heal that fast but not to tell anyone for fear of being treated differently. It was all making sense now to Arynn as the Lead Commando continued.

"You know Peter began as a young genius working with some of the best scientists in the world." Tripper began. "In an old interview, he once said that he wanted to invent something that would kill all viruses so that no one would ever be sick."

"A bonafide Mother Theresa." Arynn commented.

"No, far from it." Tripper said. "It didn't last. See we know about Ashford going to the same Training Facility as Albert Wesker and the program that Spencer single-handedly had Ashford expelled from."

"Did Spencer have something against him?" Arynn asked.

"Not sure." Tripper responded. "It's not noted in any of the reports." Tripper sighed. "Personally, I think that Ashford hated Spencer for his grandfather's death and despised the fact that Spencer favored Wesker over him, but that's just my opinion."

"That's interesting." Arynn commented.

"Yes." Tripper agreed. He cleared his throat. "Ashford had many connections; he could literally be at a presidential function shaking hands with some of our top officials. We're not sure how this happened but he severed all ties to many of the people we were watching."

"Why?"

"We don't know. Whatever happened, it sent Peter packing and running to some secluded place off the coast of Brazil; doing research for an archeological company down there."

"The Dino DNA…" Arynn whispered as she remembered Peter telling her the ingredients used to produce the O-virus.

"What?" Tripper asked.

"Peter told me that he used ancient strands of DNA from a few lizards and the saber family for the O-virus."

"Interesting…" Tripper replied. "The progenitor was something that Peter's uncle, Edward Ashford worked on for many years, trying to achieve the ultimate virus annihilator. Spencer killed Ashford's uncle so that he could have Umbrella to his self. No one knew that Edward passed down what he knew to his son, Alexander." Tripper continued, "And Alexander gave his most prized possession to his favorite nephew, Peter Ashford."

"You know in all this," Arynn said, "I thought Alexia and Alfred were the last of the Ashford line."

"Yea," Tripper gave a slight smile, "But the Ashford men were known for their numerous affairs and having illegitimate children."

"So you're saying Peter's trying to reinstate the honor of a family that never wanted him? " Arynn asked.

"Exactly," Tripper answered.

"But why use me and Adam?" She asked.

"Because you're his proof that he succeeded in what his uncle and great-uncle couldn't do." Tripper replied, "You and Adam are just another pawn in his 'take-over-the-world' scheme."

"Let's get to the point here, who is Sabriel?" Arynn sternly asked.

"He's your grandfather…" Tripper replied staring into the woman's eyes. "The O-virus was just a recessive gene that could only be found in your family. When Alexander harnessed it, he found something valuable and later kept it as a family secret. Alexander tried to inject himself with your grandfather's blood with no result."

"So Edward made my grandfather into a lifeless host for his experiments?"

"Unfortunately yes," Tripper replied. "I'm sorry, Arynn."

Arynn took a step back and paced the concrete. She held herself and stared into the darkness. The monstrosity that had sat in a comatose state for years never knew what became of his family. He probably didn't know that she had grown up and that her brother, Jacob had passed on years before the outbreak. Nathaniel probably had no idea of the demise of Arynn's immediate family nor that a nuke was dropped in Raccoon City on American soil. If he was human again and saw the devastation and ruins of the once small but peaceful city, what would he do? Would he even care to know that the virus spread to nearby cities and the National Guard quarantined everything up to Canada and towards the West? Arynn snapped out of her thoughts and looked back at Tripper. He stood watching her with those same old insightful eyes.

"I should've told you sooner," He said, his voice low.

"Don't worry about it." She said lightly touching his shoulder. "I will get what I came here for…"

"What's that?" He asked with a soft voice.

"Revenge…" Arynn answered sternly.

Arynn walked and Tripper followed closely behind.

"Just be careful, Arynn," he said. "Peter is different now and if you get in his way, he will kill you."

"I know." Arynn replied, "But I'll make sure to kill him first…"