Resident Evil Recall: Operation Arklay

Episode Eight: Night Terrors

Part Four

The Arklay Resort, 8:30 PM…

There weren't any words that could have adequately described what Chambers was feeling as McGee pulled him out the window of a suite that was on the tenth floor of The Arklay Resort. Mirroring the Detective's posture of having one hand grabbing the makeshift rope while the other was holding onto his partner, the Rookie couldn't help but let out a cry of terror as their fall began. In the room they had been inside, their weight on the rope pulled the bed across the floor to where it slammed to a stop against the wall, giving them just enough time to shatter the glass of a window on the next floor before the post it was tied to broke off.

Chambers didn't see the bed post fall through the darkness outside the window, nor did he notice their makeshift rope vanish with it a moment later, being as he and McGee were busy using a rather uncomfortable coffee table to break their fall. With both men taking a few moments to both catch their breath and groan in agony, they were glad that the resort had been evacuated by the fire alarm, because this would have been kind of difficult to explain to whoever was occupying that room if they had been there.

"We're alive?" Chambers groaned as he sat up. "Holy crap, we're alive!"

"Yeah, I can't believe that really worked." McGee replied while rolling onto his stomach. "Come on, kid… let's go repay Reginald for his hospitality."

It took a second for them to get on their feet, and then they reloaded their weapons, hiding them again before leaving the room. It wouldn't help them if a guest saw them with guns, and warned the resort's manager by screaming or something, and the two cops took the stairs since they might be seen getting off the elevator. They wanted no chance for Reginald to get away after what he had done to them, and thankfully there was not a person in sight when they left the stairwell on the ground floor.

"He's probably outside with the guests." Chambers suggested while trying unsuccessfully to see through the tinted front windows. "Should be easy to spot, should we go out and grab him?"

"No, he might see us and run for it." McGee replied while pointing across the lobby. "We'll wait in his office and grab him there… five bucks says he wets himself when we do."

Chambers liked this plan, and couldn't help smiling a bit as he thought about what was going to happen as they walked across the shiny floor, but then they had to run the rest of the way to make it unseen, since the room suddenly went silent as the fire alarm stopped. The door into the manager's office had been left open, so they went in and took positions; McGee turning off the light before sitting in Reginald's chair, while Chambers got behind where the door would open. For a time there was silence, but then the Rookie heard the front doors opening, followed by the chattering voices of agitated guests that were now on the way back to their rooms.

"Yes, we are truly sorry for the inconvenience." Reginald's voice said as it slowly got closer. "Please try not to let this minor incident ruin the rest of your evening, and if there's anything at all we can do to make the rest of your stay more comfortable, please don't hesitate to ask."

The manager continued to say these things as he walked into the darkened office, but once the door was closed, he began to grumble under his breath. He then felt along the wall for the light switch, turning it on with a click, and then letting out a startled gasp when he saw the now smiling McGee sitting in his chair.

"Hi, Reggie." The Detective said politely. "Why don't you have a seat?"

The manager let out a slight shriek as he turned around to run out the door, but then the stopped, and then he became pale as he came face to face with the barrel of Chambers' pistol. The Rookie was also smiling at this situation, but then stopped when a new sound reached his ears, and he looked down once to see a yellowish colored liquid running out from under Reginald's pant leg.

"Well, thanks a lot, Reggie." Chambers replied with an annoyed tone. "You just cost me five bucks… now sit the hell down."

The manager's knees were shaking and tears were running down his cheeks as he sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk, and he squeaked a bit when the Rookie locked the door and closed the blinds. Once done, Chambers sat down in the other chair while turning it to face their suspect, and Reginald looked like he was about to pass out. The two cops just looked at him for over a minute, and the manager made a few attempts to say something, but it was nothing coherent. They continued to listen to this babbling for a few seconds until McGee made a motion with his closed fist, and Chambers was more than happy to punch the manager in the side of the head.

"How did you?!" Reginald babbled. "But you were… and those things… but!"

"How about that, he can speak." McGee interrupted. "Praise the Lord and his miracles… now, since you've just been touched by the Holy Spirit, you should repay that divine kindness with the truth. Because, you see, Reginald, only the truth can set you free, lest the devil take you to hell and cast you into the Lake of Fire."

"He means tell us everything you know right now." Chambers explained. "Or else, I'm gonna take you up to the tenth floor and lock you in with that little freak show of yours. And good luck with that, since I'm pretty sure we destroyed the only way out."

"I don't know anything!" Reginald insisted after Chambers grabbed his shoulder. "A few weeks ago I got a call… a woman on the penthouse floor, saying that her husband was ill… I went up with two of my staff, but when we got there the woman was dead, and her husband… he attacked us. He was sick, or on drugs… he killed both of them, and came after me… I yelled for the other guests to stay in their rooms as I ran for the stairs, but… but they came out to see what was happening… everyone panicked, and he kept attacking them, I… I didn't know what to do. I locked the elevator with my key and then the stairs after I was out... don't you understand, I had no choice!"

"Oh, you had no choice?" McGee asked. "You just left those people up there to get… whatever happened to the first guy? Why didn't you report it? And better yet, what demon would possess you to think that you could get away with locking us up there?"

"I can't wait to hear this one." Chambers added.

"I couldn't let anyone find out, not yet." Reginald continued as he started crying more. "I couldn't have police, and the CDC, or whoever else closing this place down… it's the middle of tourist season, for God's sake… I was gonna report it, I swear… but that doesn't matter now, because I've taken care of it… I couldn't let anyone find out about you."

Chambers was about to ask him what he meant, when suddenly an explosion from high above was heard, shaking the whole building, and making the lights flicker. This was enough of a distraction to allow the manager to grab the vase from his desk and smash it over the Rookie's head, getting a hold of his pistol while he was falling over. Then the office lit up with a flash of light as a single gunshot echoed throughout the room.

Liquid Family Cabin, 8:30 PM…

"Come on, this way!" Liquid yelled as he fired again. "That's right, follow me!"

Long realizing that his bullets were having no effect on this guy for some reason, the Lieutenant decided to instead use them to lure the giant out of the burning cabin while Lopez rescued Ashwood. He sure hoped that she was all right, but for now he had to focus on his enemy. Backing out the door and down the short stairs, he fired a third shot that he was sure hit the giant in the throat, but there was still no reaction. For a moment he was reminded of movies like The Terminator and Robocop, but those were just films, and this was real.

Still, the big guy was incredibly resilient, be it from drugs, or body armor, or whatever was keeping him on his feet, but it also made him slow. So slow, in fact, that Liquid was nearly to the SUV by the time the giant had made it down the porch stairs. Maybe he didn't need Lopez to call for help, since he could probably use the radio and reload his shotgun before the giant got anywhere near him. The big guy continued his slow march as Liquid opened the vehicle's door, and the Lieutenant was reaching for the radio, when everything changed.

The giant stopped moving for a second, only to crouch down, and then sprint like a linebacker toward the SUV. Liquid only had enough time to gasp and leap out of the way before the big guy collided with the front of the vehicle hard enough to shove it backwards several feet, and then the giant raised both fists, literally crushing the SUV's front end when he brought them down onto the hood. For a moment Liquid was awestruck by the physical power that this person possessed, but with this came the realization that they had just lost their only means of escape… and possibly the only way to call for help.

"Liquid, I got her!" Lopez yelled from behind while coughing. "I got her!"

Looking back, Liquid saw Lopez running from the now completely enflamed cabin with an unconscious Ashwood in his arms. This was a huge relief, since he was worried that they wouldn't be able to get out in time, but as nice as this was, there was still the green-coated giant to worry about. He had returned to his normal slower speed as he turned from the vehicle to come after Liquid, so the Lieutenant got to his feet. He started to reload his revolver, but stopped as he remembered that his shock baton had made him stop for a second when he had used it to free Lopez.

"You rest here, Ashwood." Lopez said as he set her down against a tree. "Hold on, Liquid, I'm coming!"

"No, check the radio first!" Liquid ordered as he holstered his weapon. "If it still works, call for backup, just uh… don't take too long, huh?"

Lopez had already started toward them, but then stopped and ran for the ruined vehicle once he heard the orders. Liquid, meanwhile, had taken the shock baton off his belt, and electricity crackled around it once it was extended. He expected the giant to remember the weapon and maybe hesitate or run away, but this was not the case. It kept walking toward him, completely unmoved, so the Lieutenant decided to make the first move. Three quick breaths later he ran toward the big guy, ducking under the first swing of his massive arm, and making sparks fly as the baton was dragged across his back.

As before, the giant stopped moving for a second as the electrical energy flowed over him, but then he resumed movement, turning around while swinging his arm again, this time just barely hitting Liquid in the side. The blow only grazed him, but it was enough to knock him down, and the giant would've grabbed him if he hadn't wildly swung the baton, hitting the big guy in the hand. Not stopping this time, Liquid brought it across the giant's knees twice, making the big guy stumble back a bit, and then he did an upward swing, causing another flash of light as it struck the giant's chin.

"No one would be dumb enough to rob us." The Lieutenant suddenly remembered saying to his son. "Do you know why that is, Isaac?"

"Because my Dad's the best Detective in Raccoon City." His son had replied. "And you'd whoop'em with your shock baton, right Dad?"

Filled with rage stemming from this memory, Liquid slammed the shock baton into the giant's body again and again, forcing the big guy farther back with each hit. This was the weapons that he was supposed to defend his family with, the weapon that every perp he had ever arrested was now more afraid of than any gun, and now he was going to use it to bring this monster down. He was only dimly aware that they had passed the tree line; Liquid's attention divided between dodging his enemy's attacks and drawing hateful strength from how he had failed his family, but then he realized something as another memory came into his mind.

"Isaac, don't go into the woods, honey." Lilly had called to the boy a few years before while he was playing. "It's dangerous by those cliffs, you could fall."

The cliffs! Of course, the cliffs were only a short distance past the trees on this side of the cabin, and thanks to the flames that were now consuming his vacation home, he could see the edge that was not too far behind the giant. Unfortunately, this realization had broken his focus and hatred, and now he was getting tired. The big guy's attacks were getting harder to dodge, while his shock baton was moving more and more slowly, and then it happened. The Lieutenant's arm was getting so sore that he had to stop for a second, just a second for a breath, and that was all the giant needed in order to backhand him across the face.

His attempt to move backwards to avoid it, caused the giant's fingers to hit him instead of the whole hand, but it was still enough to make Liquid spin around before he stumbled sideways and fell over. He was dizzy and unable to do anything to defend himself, but the worst part was that the big guy's heels were only about an inch from the edge. The Lieutenant made an effort to move, but failed miserably as the giant raised his arm up for the final blow, and then a new sound filled the forest. It was the sound of someone screaming, and it got closer and closer until Liquid saw the unmistakable form of Lopez run past him.

The half-blond man continued screaming as he went past Liquid and jumped up, slamming both of his feet into the giant's chest with all of his speed and force behind the blow. As expected, the big guy stumbled back to keep his balance, but this time there was nothing to catch him. Nothing, except a drop that was well over a hundred feet onto the rocks below, but the giant still didn't make a sound as he vanished down into the darkness. Lopez hit the ground next to Liquid as the big guy's body was heard bouncing off the rocks on the way down, and they stayed there, trying to catch their breath as the cabin behind them continued to burn.