Chapter 25
The dark corridor ahead seemed to host more carnage than any of the other floors of the building. Arynn and Tripper walked over assorted torn off arms and mangled legs. Whoever the body parts belonged to, the two hoped that the recipients were dead and not suffering through the eyes of the undead. Hernandez kept up his struggle to keep the weight off of his leg while Daniel tried his best to keep his composure among crushed heads and various human teeth embedded in the business carpet. The adolescent was not sure how long he could take being in this type of surrounding. He wished that he could be back home with his parents, away from the horror and death. All he could see was his aunt's horrific face as zombies tore the flesh from her neck and split open her chest. The young man started to tremble and stopped in his tracks. Hernandez stopped too and watched as the adolescent hold back tears.
"Hey..." The soldier said lightly. Daniel looked up at him with glossy eyes. "You alright?" the Lieutenant asked.
"Yea, I'm fine." Daniel whispered. Hernandez sighed.
"Look, you gotta be strong." He said. "You can't let it get to you."
"Yea, I know." Daniel replied. Tripper and Arynn had stopped and were watching the injured soldier comfort the young man.
"Keep it together." Hernandez continued. "This is nothing compared to what I've seen. If you let it get to you, then you've lost." The soldier stared down at the floor. He looked over at his friend then to Arynn and immediately cleared his throat.
"Thanks," Daniel said as he started to walk. Arynn put her hand on his shoulder while Tripper padded Hernandez on his back.
"Didn't know you had a side like that, man," The Lead Commando teased as he let out a slight chuckle.
"Whatever," Hernandez replied as he cleared his throat again. "Let's just keep moving."
The group came to a closed door at the end of the hall. They fell silent and watched as an unsettling feeling swept through them, scaring them and testing them. There was no turning back now. Arynn looked at the men's faces and she could see hesitation and fear in their eyes. Deep down inside, they all knew that they had overcome terrible obstacles here and in Raccoon City but what they were about to face was going to test every aspect of their beings. Arynn was not sure if Daniel could make it through this ordeal but she knew that Eddie and Joseph could. She had seen their bravery and skillsets in action and she knew that she could count on them if she could not continue on. As she turned back around, she sighed and began to turn the door knob.
The door creaked open and Arynn cautiously looked in. The coast was clear and she motioned for the three males to join her. The group quickly entered and stood still observing the dark projection room. Arynn noted the two exit doors.
"We have to make sure he can't get out." She whispered to Tripper. The Lead Commando nodded.
"Daniel," Tripper said, "Come with me." The two able men moved swiftly along the edges of the audience chairs looking for loose furniture to barricade the side doors. Hernandez's attention was focused on Page's unconscious body lying on the floor next to a podium. Arynn put her hand on his shoulder making him jump but she gave him an assuring smile.
"Don't worry about her, she'll be fine." She whispered to the Latino soldier. He said nothing and looked back at Page.
Tripper and Daniel rushed back to the group immediately. Tripper nodded at Arynn and she immediately clutched her fists.
"Alright." She said aloud. "Show your face, Peter!" She shouted. Her voice echoed around the room. If there were any humans left in the auditorium, they had long fled the building. There was not a living soul anywhere to be found.
"Gladly..." Hissed an inhuman voice that seemed to be everywhere.
The group could hear shuffling all around them but they could not see a thing. A massive shadow started to form on the other side of the room and at once Arynn told everyone to be alert. She watched as the shadow began to come towards them. Hernandez dashed out with what strength he could and went for Page. Arynn shouted at him but he did not listen. The shadow darted towards the soldier and Tripper grabbed Hernandez from the shadow's wrath. The two men were now facing the entity and separated from Arynn and Daniel.
"What are you gonna do?" The shadow hissed. "You cannot escape me."
"Peter!" Arynn shouted as the shadow turned it's back on the men and started for the woman. "Quickly," Arynn said to Daniel, "Hide!" The teen darted into the seats and struggled to get as far from the shadow as possible.
"Arynn!" Peter hissed as his body took shape again and he was now flesh in blood. "We are finally together."
"Where is my son?" She asked. A smile formed on his face as he held out his hand and a small child came walking down from a back room. He did not look the same as she remembered. The boy looked ghastly, pale and unrecognizable. "What have you done to him?" Arynn shouted as she ran to the boy and embraced him.
"I've done nothing to him." Peter said as he knelt down next to the woman and the boy. She shrieked and stepped away from him.
"Stay away from us!" She shouted as she ran towards Tripper and Hernandez.
"I'm afraid, I can't let you go." Peter said as his arms became tentacles and they gathered themselves around Arynn's torso, bringing her back into the man's care. "You belong to me and I can't let you leave here with my son!"
"Arynn..." Page's voice said as she got up. "The virus is too far along for the boy. You can't save him."
Arynn put the boy back down on the ground and watched as his eyes turned black and his skin became translucent like his father's. Page was right, the virus had taken a turn for the worse and the boy was no longer human. The dark-skinned woman started to tremble as the boy stared up to her then walked back to his father.
"What did you do to him?" She asked.
"I did nothing," Peter replied as his put his arm on Adam's shoulder. "The virus is changing him."
"I thought you said he was different and that he was perfect." Arynn said clinching her teeth.
"He is perfect. He is the next step, Arynn..." Peter said. "The virus has chosen its disciple and in a few hours, Adam will become a new species."
Arynn looked at Tripper then to Page. She wondered if any of them knew that this would happen to the boy. From the looks of his eyes, the innocence that she had seen hours ago was now long gone. Was it in God's plan to make Adam what he was? As Arynn pondered the question, tears started to come to her eyes and she tried to hold back the feeling. She knelt down and held out her hands towards the boy. He slowly came to her and embraced her. They stayed lock in a final hug between mother and son-a hug that Arynn did not want to end, even if she knew that Adam would not come home with her. She let go of him and whispered into his ear.
"I'm sorry, Adam..." She said as she let the tears finally come. The boy stared into her eyes and wiped the tears from her face.
"It's okay, Arynn." He said with a brave tone. He turned away and walked back to Peter.
"I hate you," Arynn mouthed to the man and he just simply smiled.
"Now that we have that settled," Peter said cutting short the mother and son separation, "on to business..."
Tripper helped Page up and she immediately took the lead against Peter. Arynn pushed the woman to the side and stood before Peter and Adam.
"Get out of my way. This is my fight, not yours." She said sternly to the woman.
"Alright, get your ass kicked then," Page said under her breath as she watched Arynn give her a dirty look.
"Ladies!" Tripper shouted. "We've got business to take care off. Leave the bitch fighting for later."
"Fine by me," Arynn said as she watched Peter.
"Don't hold your breath," Page said as she waited for Peter to lash out at the group.
The women settled their differences and got ready to face the main event. Hernandez gulped while Tripper clinched his teeth.
Arynn was the first to run towards Peter and land a few kicks on him. Page came next with an uppercut and a knife ready to strike. Tripper followed up with a penetrating slice to Peter's chest. The mutated man kneeled down clutching his chest. Tripper remained focused, he knew the fight just begun. Peter rose back up with so much agility that it made Tripper step back immediately. He came at the man with a menacing look and grabbed him by the neck. Peter flung the Lead Commando into a wall, knocking down a few of the inspirational paintings that hung neatly on the wall. The impact was not as bad as it could have been but Arynn widened her eyes in hopes that the soldier was okay. She looked back at Peter and immediately kneed him in the groin. The man held him self as he jumped back. Arynn stayed with him, lashing out ferocious blows to the man's chest and head.
"Your strength has increased tremendously!" The man shouted as he dodged her blows. "But you're still not where you should be!" He said as he started to landing double punches on her. Arynn stepped back as he kicked her down and began to punch her face numerous times.
Page jumped onto the man's back. She locked her arms around his neck in a headlock but he immediately flung her backwards. She landed on the podium motionless. Hernandez immediately came to her aid.
"Arynn!" Hernandez shouted. The dark-skinned woman slowly rose from the floor and looked at him. "Stop fucking around! Kill him!" He shouted.
Arynn's legs wobbled as she strained to keep herself up. She clinched her fists as she started to walk towards the maniacal man. She thought about Marks and Patterson and how they met their demise back in Raccoon City's ruins. Marks, the knowledgeable medic in Tripper's team and Patterson the only female soldier who was an arms expert, had both succumbed to Umbrella's lethal experiments. Their deaths should have never happened just like Arynn's family and friends should have never died in Raccoon City. This was all the doing of Umbrella but mostly the responsibility fell on the Ashfords for using Arynn's family as guinea pigs. The dark-skinned woman balled up her fists and took swings at the man.
He dodged each and every one of them. He fell and picked up Adam. The boy held onto his father as the mutated man caught sight of Daniel by the exit doors.
"Ah, who is this?" He snickered as he gracefully jumped into the air and landed moments before crushing Daniel. The teenager immediately rushed towards Hernandez and Page. Peter showed no sign of stopping. He walked after the teen, scaring him and frightening him.
Arynn jumped in the air and landed in front of Peter. She shielded the teen from the man.
"Help Hernandez and get out of here." She whispered to him as she kept her back to the group. Daniel put Hernandez's arm over his shoulder and started for the doors but Peter's tentacle lashed out blocking the barricaded exit.
"You're not going anywhere." He snarled as his human form started to liquefy. "No, it's not time." He said under his breath, as if he was giving his body a command to obey him. Arynn narrowed her eyes.
"What's wrong, Peter?" She asked sarcastically. "Having trouble?" She taunted him. She motioned for Hernandez and Daniel to keep going towards the doors. She stayed right next to the mutated man chipping at his ego. "Looks like the virus is getting the better of you." She said starting. She could see Tripper coming down the isle swiftly behind the man.
"No!" She shouted as Tripper leaped onto the man wrestling Peter down to the ground.
"Page, now!" Tripper shouted as the weight of Peter started to become heavy and his liquid form started to take over. Page ran towards the two and injected a green vial into the mutated man's skin. She threw him off of the soldier and helped Tripper up. The two ran towards the barricade and threw the furniture from the doors.
"What did you inject him with?" Arynn asked as she watch Peter squeal along the floor. Adam watched the man in fear as he looked towards his mother.
"A potent form of the Reaper Stalker strand."
"Why? Won't that make him stronger?" Arynn shouted. Tripper took off the last of the furniture and immediately looked at her.
"It's the complete opposite of the O-virus. It should cancel it out." He said as he took Hernandez's other arm and ran with Daniel down the hall.
Page started to run but saw that Arynn watched Peter and Adam, curious if the man would meet his end.
"It will weaken him significantly." Page added. "Just enough to kill him..."
Arynn's eyes lid up as she went back into the room against Page's shouts. The dark-skinned woman grabbed Adam by the hand and flung him onto her back.
"I'm not leaving without my son!" She shouted as she ran down the hall and Page took up the rear. The two women caught up to the men and ran for the elevator hall.
From behind them, they could hear Peter's high pitch screams and hisses. The anti-virus seemed to only hinder him giving the group just enough time to escape in one piece.
"Once we get to ground level, we're scot free!" Daniel said as he sighed.
"We're not out of this until Peter's dead," Arynn said as she set Adam down. The boy's complexion was ghost-like and Tripper looked away in disguise. He had to make a decision that he knew Arynn did not want to hear, even if it was staring her in the face.
"We can't take him with us..." The Lead Commando finally said. "It's too dangerous."
"He's coming with us." Arynn sternly insisted.
"Arynn, look at him," Tripper argued. "He'll turn any minute. I can't risk that."
"I will not leave him here! I don't care what your orders are! I will not lose another life to Umbrella!" Arynn shouted.
The sound of Peter's body rushed closer to the group as they waited nervously for the elevator. All they needed were just a few more seconds and they would be safe, on their way down to the first floor.
"Fuck!" Hernandez shouted. "We don't have time for this!"
"You're right!" Tripper agreed. "We can't stay here."
"What should we do?" Arynn asked. Tripper looked around the small lobby quickly. His eyes fell on the sign pointing to the rooftop entrance and he looked back at the dark-skinned woman. She glanced back at him uneasy of his silent suggestion.
"Up there?" Page blurted out.
"Why not?" Tripper said as he started for the stairs leading up to the roof. "Does it look like we have a choice?" He pointed passed her and she gasped when she saw Peter's water substance rushing towards them from the other end of the hall.
The group quickly ran up the stairs with Page and Hernandez taking the rear. Whatever plan the Lead Commando had, Arynn wasn't sure if the best place to execute it was at the top of the tallest building in the city.