Chapter 6: The Secret Passage
Just as Billy and Rebecca were entering back into the conference room, they heard a loud, metallic click. They watched on just in time as the swords from the guarding knights lifted up, allowing entrance to the previously blocked door. They stood there for a moment, expecting a monster or something to come through, but the conference room just settled into silence again.
"Okay…that was creepy," Rebecca mumbled.
"I wonder if that means the other door is unlocked now…the one back in the room with Centipedzilla."
"We are not going back there!" Rebecca barked.
"Relax, doll face. Now, which door to you want to go through next?"
"Hmm," Rebecca mumbled as she thought, tapping her chin. "Let's try this one first, and then follow them down the line."
Billy nodded and they walked over to the first door. Billy glanced down at the knight's door one last time before Rebecca opened the door in front of them, and they went through into a small hallway. As they walked around the corner, one drunken zombie stood with its back to them. Billy raised his handgun just as the undead creature turned to face them, moaning and swaying. Billy fired a single shot. The bullet slapped home in the zombie's skull, and it crumbled to the floor dead. The stench from the monster started to fill the room.
"Do you think someone is watching us?" Billy asked as they walked forward. There was a set of double doors to their left, but up ahead the small hallway turned right.
"Watching us?" Rebecca grunted.
"Yeah, why do you think that those doors came open like that?"
"Maybe they are on a timer," Rebecca shrugged.
"Or maybe someone is watching us. I mean, there are security cameras up everywhere. See, watch. I will wave at one," Billy pointed out. He walked over to the one camera that was hanging in the corner, dragging Rebecca along with him. But instead of waving at it like he said he was going to, he just raised his middle finger and flipped the camera off.
"See? Now he knows just how I feel," Billy chuckled.
Rebecca blinked at him, and then glared. "Are you paranoid or something? I bet those camera's aren't even working! Who would be watching us when there are monsters around like it was some kind of T.V show?! I would be getting my ass out of here if I were them!"
"True, but maybe they are evil, mad scientists who created these things and are now watching us battle their, err creations! Like Frankenstein, ya know?"
Rebecca started laughing. Billy glared down at her, but the small, petite woman kept on laughing. Billy headed straight past her, making her spin around from the handcuffs and be torn forward.
"Frankenstein," she mumbled as they entered the double doors. When they closed the doors behind them, they froze. The room was a large library, dim-lit with a door to their left and an old elevator lift ahead of them. Rebecca was mesmerized by all of the biology books. She dragged Billy forward so she could get a closer look. "Wow! Some of these books are really old! I mean, you can't touch some of these without paying a fortune! Look at them all!"
Billy did not hold her same excitement over the books. In fact, it made him even more uneasy seeing all of the books on biology, virology, microbiology, and pathology. Rebecca danced beside him, practically quivering like an excited Chihuahua. She pointed up at a book on a shelf a foot up from her full reach.
"Get that one for me, please! It's the one called Herbs and Natural Cures! That book has been out of print since the late fifties!"
"You are way too excited," Billy heaved. "And maybe if you say pretty please with a cherry on top, I will get it for you."
She glared at him, but then sighed. "Pretty please with a cherry on top! Billy!"
"Okay! Sheesh!" he grumbled. He easily reached the book and pulled the dusty thing down from the old shelf. Rebecca snatched it away from him. Her eyes were sparkling as she flipped through it. "My grandmother used to have a copy of this book. This was one of the best back in the day!"
"Are you going to haul that thing around everywhere with us?" Billy sighed.
Rebecca frowned, looking almost guilty. "No. That would be stealing. I better just put it back."
Billy snorted with laughter. "Stealing? Honey, I don't think they care. They are the walking dead for crying out loud."
Rebecca sat the large book down at a nearby table. She shook her head, smiling up at Billy. "Yeah, I know, but we need to focus on surviving. I don't think a book can help with that right now."
"It might help with…I don't know natural cures," Billy sighed.
"Yes, but I already know that book from front to back," Rebecca giggled, and slipped past him.
"What?!" Billy hissed, following her hand. "Then why the hell did you want me to get it down."
"I haven't seen it since I was a kid! Sorry, it was like a cloud of nostalgia came over me!" Rebecca laughed. "So, shall we go on? We obviously can't go up the lift. Let's check this door.
They opened the door, which had a small candle-lit lantern hanging on the door frame on the left. It opened right up, but led to another, smaller library. Billy immediately slammed the door shut, blowing out the candle. Rebecca glared up at him.
"Nothing in there! Let's move on. I need to get you away from all these books."
"Alright, book hater," Rebecca grumbled, following Billy out.
"I don't hate books. I actually like reading, thank you very much. However, I find that your…quivering excitement over biology and virology to be scary."
"Are you making a retort back to the Frankenstein thing again?"
Billy smirked down at her. Rebecca found herself liking that smirk more and more. "Glad that you are catching on, doll face."
They headed further down the hallway. They turned right at the junction, only to come face to face with red steel door. It was locked, and there was no way Billy was going to kick it in. They decided to head back to the conference room to check the next door.
"Just because there are books of all that, doesn't mean that they were creating monsters. Maybe it is a natural cause, like a disease."
"Yes, but knowing the nature of our race, I won't be surprised if this was man-made."
Rebecca stared up at him, at a lost for words for a moment. She remained quiet until they came back out into the quiet conference room. Billy stared down at her, waiting for her to move with him over to the knight door.
"You are a cynical man, aren't you?" Rebecca asked.
Billy shrugged. "It comes from years of disappointment. Come on."
***
Just as the system was finishing up its first test, William decided to watch Billy and Rebecca as they moved forward. He decided to unlock the knight doors to see if the two would get themselves into deeper trouble. There were many monsters creeping around, and it wasn't just the zombies and loose dogs. They stopped to talk in the small hallway that led to the library. William watched as Billy took out a zombie with a single bullet.
William rolled his eyes. "Show off."
The two were talking again. William wished he had audio so he could hear what they were saying. He leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head so he can watch on comfortably. He saw Billy walk over to the camera, looking directly up into it. Curious, William cocked his head, sitting forward to get a better look. Billy gave him the bird, smirking evilly before turning back to talk to Rebecca.
"Hey now! That is uncalled for!" William growled.
At first Rebecca seemed agitated, then she burst out into laughter on the screen. William felt his own agitation bubble up, and then it quickly went away as he got anxious. "Holy crap! What if they are on to me?"
He sat there for a moment, debating on whether he should call on the intercom or not. Surely they were not that smart to know of his location, to know that he was watching. He was so tense while he thought, that he practically leaped out of his skin when his cell phone started going off. The Wicked Witch theme off of the Wizard of Oz let him know that it was his loving wife, Annette.
"Yello? William Birkin the Great speaking!"
"Why must you answer like that? Have you sent those documents yet?"
"Geez, you sound like Wesker. Have you sent those documents yet, have you blown the Training Facility yet, have you spotted James Marcus and his leeches yet?"
"What in the hell are you talking about, Will? Are you planning on blowing up the Training Facility? And what are you talking abut with James Marcus? He's dead, you dolt!"
William smacked himself in the forehead. "Me? Blow up the Training Facility? Nah! No way! That was…that was uhh, Wesker's idea of fun! And the Marcus thing was just a joke. Funny right? Hahahaha,"
The other line was quiet for a moment. "Whatever, did Albert tell you that you need to pick up Sherry tonight from my sister's? I'm going in early."
"No, he forgot. He's too worried about dragging his team into the mansion to kill them," William sighed, doodling on a nearby piece of paper.
There was a long moment of silence."…What? What is he doing?"
"I mean, he is working double shift at the precinct tonight and forgot! I will be sure to do that after I blow, err I mean leave the Training Facility tonight!"
"William, are you alright?"
"I'm really fine, thanks hon!" William laughed. His eyes widened as he saw a giant bat flying around the courtyard of the Training Facility on the cameras outside. "Now, I have to go, there is a giant Chiropteran flying around and he is going to hit my power lines!"
He flipped the cell phone shut, gaping at the size of the giant, infected bat. There were several small ones following it around. Sure enough, the bat struck a power line to the second section of the Training Facility with its feet. His almost finished test on the computer disappeared. All of the security cameras went off, and the lights shut him into the dark.
"That's just great. Now I am gonna have to go downstairs to boot up the secondary power supply. And, I'm gonna have to do that test all over again! Argh!"
***
They didn't find much in the rooms beyond the hallway in from the knight doors. In the back was an old, musty infirmary room filled with dirty and bloody sheeted beds, first aid equipment, surgery utensils, and medical books and computers. Rebecca was thrilled to have found some more first aid supplies, and packed up as much as she could on her belt and waist pack. Billy pointed out the odd notes left behind from Umbrella. Rebecca started feeling nervous now. Billy must have sensed her unease, so he pushed her gently for the door so they could continue on.
They went to the last doors, a set of double doors that led them into a large study room. On the wide floor in front of them was a giant chessboard with only a few pieces. The chess pieces were as big as Rebecca, and she blinked in surprise at them. The game looked to have won in a checkmate. In the corner to their left was a small round table and self. Next to the self was a huge globe rotting away by age. They stepped carefully across the chessboard to get to the desk at the back of the room.
"Okay, somebody likes chess a little too much," Billy mumbled.
Rebecca could only agree, and she smiled a little too. The desk was a mess of papers and books. The computer was off, and the keyboard was missing. There was nothing here for use to them.
"Oh, jackpot!" Billy cackled.
Before Rebecca could register what he meant, she was jerked forward to the other side of the desk. She grumbled, glaring up at Billy as he stared at a large gun cabinet. It was locked away. They had no idea if there were guns in it or not. Billy looked like a boy who had just opened a Christmas present as he stared at the gun cabinet.
"Are you okay? Do you think that you can get that open?"
"Hey, you can get all excited over your books, but these are the things that are going to save our asses."
Rebecca rubbed at her wrist where the cuff was starting to rub. "Touché."
Billy snickered at her, then started to glance over the study, hoping to find a good place where a key could be hidden. Rebecca turned back to the desk.
"There might be a key-"
Two rounds went off, making her leap out of her skin. Billy had fired right at the lock, and now he was kicking at it. Rebecca gawked at him until he was able to tear the door off of its hinges. There inside was a 9mm handgun and some bullets for it. Billy scooped up the two cases of 9mm bullets. There was also a case of shotgun rounds, in which he grabbed as well. The racks for rifles and shotguns were empty save for a little carbine on top.
"Well, would you lookie here!" Billy laughed, pulling it out. "Something just for you."
Rebecca saw the carbine and her eyes lit up. "That's the perfect size for me! It's a carbine! I used to have one of these when I would go shooting with my dad and brother!"
She snatched it from Billy's hands, checking it for ammo. It was fully loaded, but there was no more ammo in the gun cabinet.
"Maybe we will get lucky again, and find more ammo," Billy said to her as Rebecca slung the carbine over her shoulder.
"Well, you are just lucky there were things in there. I mean, you wasted two bullets!" Rebecca sighed; she then noticed a key hanging on the nearby coat rack. The tag on it read "Gun Cabinet". "And look, the key was right there!"
Billy beheld the key for a moment, and then shrugged it off. "All well, let's get going, Rebecca."
They headed back out into the conference room. The last door was the small one on their left. Rebecca could hear coyotes, birds, and katydids coming from the other side. This door must have led to the outside somehow. Before they could turn the knob, they heard a rumbling rise from the main hall. They could hear a mechanical gear turning something, and then it stopped.
"What the hell was that?" Billy asked.
"Let's go check it out! Maybe it's another person!"
Rebecca jerked forward. Billy followed on at the tug of the handcuffs. They entered through the double doors back out into the main hall. The hall was quiet, still dim-lit and cold. Billy and Rebecca exchanged glances, and then headed cautiously down the steps. Once they reached the bottom, it was an obvious change. The portrait of James Marcus was now gone, now revealing stairs that led down into a concrete hallway that smelled of mildew and dust.
"Wow, that's creepy," Rebecca mumbled.
"It kinda reminds me of Frankenstein…again."
She glared up at him. "Don't be like that. Maybe it will lead to a way out. Let's go."
"Why are you so gun-ho all of a sudden?" Billy snorted, not moving and folding his arms.
She glared at him some more. Billy sighed, moving forward with her. They took the staircase down with extreme caution. As they were nearing the bottom, they could hear movement coming around the corner. The fluorescent lights on above them cast odd shadows along the wall. They got their weapons ready. Rebecca was not hearing any moaning or growling and was confused on what it could be.
They stepped around the corner, both aiming their weapons. At first, nothing was in front of them, just an empty hallway that led down to a junction. Then movement came above them, and Rebecca saw the huge, hair leg of a spider reach down. She froze in horror as a tarantula almost the size of a horse dropped down onto the floor. The bleu-gray hair covered it all over, and the arachnid hissed out at them, clicking its foot long fangs.
"Holy shi-"
Before Billy could finish his words, Rebecca let out a horrendous screech. The scream echoed down the hallway, agitating the spider and attracting two others. Rebecca freaked out and started back up the stairs, for once dragging Billy behind her. They stumbled back out into the main hall. Billy watched as Rebecca shook in horror and disgust.
"Ew ew ew ew ew!"
"Hey, calm down. We are still alive, aren't we?" Billy said, trying to calm her.
Rebecca slapped him hard in the chest. "You jerk! You jinxed us!"
"I did not!"
Rebecca took a deep breath, finally getting some color back into her face. She rubbed her temples. "You're right…sorry. It's just a coincidence. How about we avoid that place?"
Billy stared down at her. "Are you kidding? Did you see how different the hallway was compared to others? That tunnel leads to somewhere. It has to be safer than wondering around outside."
Rebecca shook her head dramatically. "No! No! No! I'm not going down there!"
Billy glared at her and she glared right back. Billy unslung the shotgun, cocking it and getting it ready to go. When he went to aim it, Rebecca's arm length was cut in half. Billy started walking back towards the staircase, keeping the shotgun aimed.
"Billy!" Rebecca barked, trying to get him to stop, but she was just too small.
"Keep behind me!"
She had no choice but to comply. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Billy turned the corner and aimed. The tarantula was at the far end of the corridor. It quickly sensed them, however, and all eight legs moved swiftly to close the distance. The hiss that came from the hairy spider made Rebecca's skin crawl. Billy fired the shotgun. The blast took out a huge cavity in the spider's head. It collapsed before it could even raise its front legs to attack.
They continued down the tunnel. There was door to their right, which they ignored for now, and turned left to continue on. Two more were here. One tarantula was on the ceiling, the other just at the end on the floor. The tarantula on the ceiling started spitting up acid, which fell just feet in front of them with a splashing hiss. Billy aimed up and fired again, pumping the shotgun afterward. The tarantula on the ceiling crashed down to the floor, its legs whipped about until they closed into themselves. The last tarantula was close now, raising its front legs in the classic aggressive stance of tarantulas. The fangs came straight for them. Billy fired one more shot, sending this one hurling backwards from the force. It died within seconds.
"Ta-duh," Billy said, smirking over at her after slinging the shotgun onto his shoulder. "Now that's what I call big game hunter."
"You aren't funny," Rebecca sighed. "But, thanks."
"You're welcome."
They went ahead and entered through the nearest door in front of them, careful of anymore spiders. They came into a small room that looked like the entrance to a dungeon. Old red pipes came out of the wall and ran the ceiling. The window had a bar grille on it, making it impossible to budge or move. There was a small desk with notes and a typewriter. They continued on into the next room. This room was also a dungeon looking place. The limestone walls were crumbling and old. There were chains tied up everywhere along the walls and stone. As Billy looked onto the floor, he found old leftovers of bones, rusted weapons, and blood. The feeling in the pit of his stomach made him stop. This was not a good place. Rebecca seemed to have the same feeling, and so they went back to the tunnel. They tried the last door, coming back up.
Through this door was a dark room with some lockers and a few beds. A dead zombie lay on the floor, while another one dressed in a white lab coat stood in the back swaying. Rebecca aimed and fired her gun. The standing one moaned and gurgled at the shots he received, but collapsed dead on the third shot. They stepped forward slowly, checking the room out. It was a complete mess in the back. As Rebecca stepped by the dead one, it suddenly leeched out and snagged her ankle. Rebecca gave a startled yelp. While trying to maintain her balance, she tried to kick the creature off before it could bite her. Finally, Billy slammed his boot down on top of the zombie's head. It burst like a balloon, sending blood spilling out all over.
"Some of them seem a little smart," Billy mumbled. It had pretended to be dead to get a meal that was passing by.
"Yeah," Rebecca mumbled.
They went through the only door in the room. As soon as they entered, this heavy tension fell upon them. Rebecca was horrified, tasting the bile that rose in her throat. The chamber they came out into was large torture room. A whole wall and a row of electric chairs, all with deep claw marks on the arm rests. There was some kind of drowning device in the corner, where a person was hung upside down in an iron cage and were descended into the well it hung over. Then there were a few iron maidens in the room, all soaked with old blood. The room smelled musky and old, but it also smelled of decay. Rebecca was at the point of vomiting. Billy, who had become almost as a white as a ghost, grabbed her arm and they left quickly. Back in the tunnel, Rebecca bent over to get some fresh air, trying not to puke. Billy swallowed hard; the look in his eyes told her that it was not the first time for him to see a place like that.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. You're right…these people…Umbrella. They are doing horrible things here. I have a feeling that that place wasn't the worst yet."
Billy slowly nodded. "I agree."
They headed back up the tunnel, walking up the stairs side by side. They were quiet, even when they reached the main hall of the Training Facility once more. They stood there for a long moment, collecting thoughts and just relaxing in each other's company before continuing on.
***
William dusted his hands together in victory as he managed to return power to this section of the Training Facility. It was only a short walk from the security room. He took along his gun and flashlight. Surprisingly, he didn't run into any zombies or dogs. The zombies were nothing. The dogs and the occasional mutated insect was what worried him. William was just glad that the Eliminators and Hunters were caged up for now. It was a big waste for William just to blow them up, but he had to do what he had to do.
He checked over the breaker box one more time, making sure he got everything. He then noticed that he accidentally initialized some of the doors back in the other section of the Training Facility. One of them had been the secret tunnel behind Marcus's portrait.
"Oh, crap…wait…never mind. It might be a good thing if those two discover that. And if that is unlocked, then that means that the steam died down in the other hallway."
He considered it for a moment, and then shrugged. It was of no importance if they found out everything about Umbrella or not. They were not going to survive tonight. William was going to make sure of that. He stared back to the security room, whistling a tune as he walked the hallways.
He heard a moan come from behind him. Turning, William saw a tall, male zombie standing about ten feet away. It swayed as it stood, looking drunk and confused. The thing moaned again, trying to raise its arms to walk for William. William squinted his eyes at the zombie, recognizing some of the leftover facial features of the creature, and even the nametag on the things bloody lab coat.
"Bob? Is that you?" William chuckled. "Wow, you don't look so good. Say, I thought you got transferred to Europe?"
The zombie only groaned, trying to touch William with bony, grimy fingers. William took a few more steps back, getting out his handgun.
"Oh, that's right. You got transferred back here. Well, that's dandy and all, but I really got to get back to work. Here, how about I put you out of your misery?"
William fired the handgun. The bullet slapped home into the zombie's skull. Bob crumbled to the ground, ceasing to moan anymore. William pocketed the handgun, then headed back the way he came. As he was nearing the security room, he heard someone talking on the other side. It was definitely male, and he sounded agitated. William caught something about him being territorial, and that they were going to die soon.
Confused, William went through the door. "Wesker, is that you?"
There was no one in the security room. The cameras continued to show all the angles of the Training Facility on the multiple screens. The dim-lit room was running normally, and William was definitely alone. William scratched the back of his head, sitting down in his chair.
"That was weird. I could've sworn I heard somebody."
He saw Billy and Rebecca looking around the torture chamber. William was surprised that they found the tunnel so quickly after he had opened it. He leaned back in his chair, grinning at their horrified faces. He would watch them for a few minutes, then reset the test again. After the test was finished, he would head to the basement to set the self-destruct system. Little did William notice, there was a leech that was slipping under the door to the security room to escape from his eyes and follow its master.
What William did finally notice, however, was that the cages to the Eliminators and Hunters were open. His eye twitched, and he felt compelled to beat his head against the keyboard. He knows he didn't mess with that at the breaker box. Somebody else messed with it. It couldn't have been Billy or Rebecca. Wesker was definitely not guilty, as he was gone to Raccoon City. That only left his psycho, revived mentor, James Marcus. William cursed to himself. Now he was going to have to deal with both creatures to get to the basement for sure.
A/N: Phew! I thought I wasn't going to finish this chapter in time! Well, there we have it! Rebecca freaked at the sight of spiders, went crazy in the library, and Billy loves guns a little too much. Oh, and let's not even get started with William! Lol! Yes, it was James Marcus (his young, pyscho self) that was talking in the security room about being territorial before William came back. Uh-oh, the Eliminators and Hunters are out...I guess that means that poor Rebecca and Billy have more to worry about than dogs, zombies, and yes...spiders! Oh, and for all of you BillyxRebecca fans, I created a community called Fates Entwined for Billy and Rebecca stories. I hope to add more soon, but I put some wonderful, original works in it by wonderful people! xSummonerYunax, silver-fox89, Grusnoid, Arcane Legacy, Hazel1406, and Kise-chan are all in there, and I hope to add more wonderful authors! Thanks again! XD