Resident Evil Recall: Operation Arklay

Episode Ten: The Trap Is Sprung

Part Two

Unknown Location, 12:30 AM…

Groaning weakly as he struggled to open his eyes, all Chambers saw was a dark blur all around him. The last thing he remembered was being in his cell at the Sheriff's Station, when those black-armored freaks busted into the room and shot him with a bean-bag shotgun. He must've been knocked out from the impact, because he didn't remember anything between then and now, nor could he understand why it felt like he was being dragged across rocky terrain. As his vision slowly came into focus, he realized that this was because he was being dragged across rocky terrain.

It was a long, dark tunnel of some kind, with no illumination aside from the flashlights carried by the people dragging him. The walls and ceiling were stone, and the whole place smelled like dust, but the worst part was when he looked around and realized that he was not alone. Obviously the people dragging him by the arms were the same ones who had attacked the station, but now there were more of them, and they were dragging the rest of Task Force Arklay down this tunnel as well.

"Hey, look, one of them's awake." One of the women said through the mask. "Reward him for his constitution."

The Rookie was about to try and ask what she meant, but his words turned into a startled scream as one of the men holding him suddenly produced a can of Mace, and sprayed him right in the eyes. The others laughed at this, even more so at his feeble attempts to free himself, and then someone hit him in the stomach with what felt like the stock of a rifle, knocking the wind out of him. This generated even more laughter from the others as the dragging continued for what felt like several minutes before the black-armored people came to a stop.

"Cards ready." One of the men said. "Swipe in three… two… one."

Chambers might have been unable to see for the time being, but his hearing was as good as ever, forcing him to stop with surprise as an electronic beep echoed throughout the tunnel. The next thing he heard was the sound of a door sliding open as a dim light was produced, and then he felt the terrain change to a much smoother surface when they were dragged toward it. The sliding sound came again, from behind this time, and then he jumped a little when he felt a sudden downward motion. Had they been taken into an elevator?

The Rookie wished that his hands weren't cuffed behind his back so that he could feel around for his surroundings, or at least so that he could rub his burning eyes, although he knew it would just make things worse. Of course, they hadn't used much Mace on him, so the burning was starting to fade, and much more slowly his vision was refocusing. There was no more time to recover as the elevator came to a stop with another beep, but this time when the doors opened, it wasn't a dark tunnel that greeted him, but in incredibly bright light.

"Oh my." A new voice said as they were dragged out. "I assumed they would be harder to apprehend after how good they did against the resort subjects and the T-103. How did you capture all of them so quickly?"

"Because unlike you, we're good at our job." One of the men replied. "So here they are, the dreaded Task Force Arklay; four men and one woman, all from the RPD. Now pay up so we can leave."

"You'll get your money once they're secured." A familiar woman's voice added. "Honestly, Harland, you didn't have to do this. They didn't have a shred of evidence, nor were they even close to discovering the truth. Bringing them here puts everything in jeopardy."

"It would have had to be done eventually." The first voice argued. "Tobias Liquid is probably the most tenacious man I've ever seen, and besides… I owe him some pain for what he did to me."

"Yeah, sure whatever." The masked men continued. "Look, Doc, I don't care if this guy boned your sister at your fifteenth birthday party, just tell us where to put him, and give us our money."

All during this exchange, Chambers' eyesight was refocusing to the point where he could mostly make out his surroundings. The place he was lit up by a row of fluorescent ceiling lights, and the walls were white, making it look like some kind of hospital when he added the shiny tile floor. Then the dragging resumed as they were moved down the hall, but the two blurry figures stopped them once again when they came to a four-way junction.

"Take Tobias and the girl down to Quarantine." The man ordered as he pointed to the right. "Strap her down to the surgical bed in room three, and chain him up somewhere close so he can watch. Now let's see… I want the older one taken to the Kennels, because I don't like his face… and take the two young man to the holding cells until I can decide what I want to do with them."

There was nothing Chambers could do as Liquid and Carver were taken down one hallway, and McGee was taken down another. And he remained just as helpless when the remaining black-armored people dragged him and Lopez down the only remaining path. The people in charge had followed the group going to Quarantine, so there was no way to identify them, even though the Rookie's vision was now almost perfectly in focus. But even if he could, it wouldn't help since he was still handcuffed, with no idea where they had been taken.

Every part of this place looked the same, sort of like how the hospitals looked in that Nintendo game Fester's Quest. They passed door after door, and several more branching hallways until they came to an area that was marked Detention. Again the black-armored people had to use their cards to pass through the heavy doors, and once they were inside they were met with a row of chambers that looked like the cells back in the Sherriff's Station.

"What's going on?" Lopez groaned as he started to wake up. "Where am I?"

"You're in prison, my friend." One of the men replied. "Please allow us to give you the official welcome."

The once holding him suddenly dropped Lopez to the floor, and then the half-blond man started crying out, more from surprise than pain, as they began to kick and stomp him. Out of reflex, Chambers tried to get away in order to help him, but again he was struck with the stock of a rifle before being dropped onto the floor himself. Now they were beating Lopez with collapsible batons, hitting him several times before he screamed when one of the women took out the can of Mace, and nearly emptied it into his eyes while the others held him down.

"We hope you'll enjoy your stay here with us." The man continued while the half-blond man was dragged into the cell. "Please let us know if we can do anything to make your stay here more comfortable."

A woman removed his handcuffs and put them back in the pouch on her belt, before they exited the cell and locked the door. Lopez appeared to be dazed and weakened from their abuse, but then Chambers realized that he needed to worry about himself once all of the black-armored people were standing over him.

"I know what you're thinking." One of them said while tapping his baton on his leg. "You're worried that your punk-rocker friend in there was gonna have all the fun, right? Well, good news, buddy, we don't have any intention of making you feel left out."

"You know, that's really not necessary." The Rookie replied.

"Of course it is." One of the women said as she stepped forward. "You know what, stand him up for a second."

Chambers didn't like any of the possibilities going through his head about what was going to happen once they pulled him to his feet, but he was caught completely off guard when the woman in front of him removed her mask. Suddenly face to face with a beautiful brunette with brown eyes and freckles, the Rookie briefly forgot how bad this situation was when she put her arms around his neck and leaned in so that her mouth was close to his ear.

"Do you know what they're gonna do to you here?" She whispered. "They're going to strip away your humanity, and leave you just like those things you fought at the resort. You'll be a mindless husk, trapped forever in a waking nightmare, the likes of which will make you beg for the sweet release of death that will never come."

Maybe it was the fact that she was whispering, but everything this woman was saying scared the hell out of him. Who were these black-armored people? How did she know about those things at the resort? There were a hundred questions running through his mind, but then all conscious thought came to a screeching halt as she moved her head back around and kissed him on the lips. It was nice, and lasted for several seconds, leaving Chamber's with a stupid look on his face when their lips finally parted. Then the good feeling was ruined when she pulled back her leg, and slammed her foot into his groin as hard as she could.

His eyes went wide, and the Rookie made a strange sort of gasping sound as he collapsed to the floor, causing the black-armored people to laugh and give the woman high-fives as she put her mask back on. Chambers was still writhing in agony when they grabbed his arms and dragged him into the cell, removing his handcuffs before locking him in just as they had done to Lopez.

"Ah, that was fun." The woman continued once her mask was adjusted. "If you boys are smart, you'll find a way to kill yourselves before they come for you. See you later."

With that, the black-armored people left the way they came, leaving Chambers and Lopez locked in the cells. There was literally nothing inside of the tiny rooms, and since all of their weapons and tools had been taken from them at some point during capture, there didn't appear to be anything they could do to get out.