EotD: Hey everyone. Sorry about the wait, but I finally finished this chapter! I really hope you guys like it because I haven't done much action writing. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Climbing over some rubble, Ada and Carla started searching for the two agents. Leon and Helena had gotten out before them, but some parts of the ceiling had fallen due to the explosion. Ada silently hoped that the others hadn't been crushed beneath stone and plaster.
The sprinkler system slowed to a halt as Ada heard movement around the corner. It seemed Leon and Helena had escaped relatively unscathed, however, they were still a bit shaken up from the blast.
"Glad to see you're still alive," Leon commented in his usual monotone.
He really was cute, especially with the scruffy beginnings of a beard showing on his chin, but from what Ada had seen, he was amazingly boring. She would periodically check in on him when she could spare the time. She had learned that Leon was almost always on missions. And when he wasn't doing that, he was drinking. Needless to say, Ada had little interest in a real romance with the broody agent. Although, she found teasing him was quite amusing.
She flipped her hair confidently and smirked. "Of course. You should know it would take much more than something like that to kill me."
This brought a small smile to the man. "Right."
Just then, Leon and Helena's cell phones rang. They both answered to see Hunnigan's face on the screen.
"Leon? Helena? I've been trying to reach you, but there's a lot of interference on your end." Her voice and image crackled through static.
"We're pretty far underground right now so I'm not surprised," Helena commented.
Hunnigan nodded. "So did you find anything?"
At this, both agents looked up at Ada and Carla. There were a few beats of tense silence that were finally broken by Helena.
"We recovered some information on the site from the main server. We can send it to you when we get back to the surface," she provided, seeming to guard her words carefully.
"Well, you two had better hurry. The local military is itching to blow that place off the map." Her warning wasn't lost on anyone present. "They responded in record time. I doubt they were as ignorant of the true nature of this facility as they claim."
Leon nodded. "More reason for us to get this info to you."
"Good luck." And with that she disconnected.
Carla smirked. "Must be nice to play the hero."
Ada shot her a look, then turned to the others. "We'd better get on our way then."
They all nodded and hurried down the now darkened hallway with only the slowly flashing emergency lights to guide them. The entire atmosphere had seemed to change with the explosion. The group proceeded in silence, both sides still mistrustful of one another. It didn't help that the strange message, probably obliterated by rubble, kept echoing in Ada's head. It was starting to look more and more like she had gotten into another dark, twisted plot of some sort. Those things were always so messy.
When they arrived at the lift, Ada breathed a sigh of relief to see that it was still functioning. She nodded to Carla, who punched in the command to extend the walkway. The lights here were still on, thankfully, so there was hope that the ride up would be smooth sailing.
As the lift ascended, an eerie chill ran up her spine. A quiet whisper of danger in the inner reaches of her conscious mind. It was the feeling a zebra gets when being silently stalked by a lion hidden in the grass. They were being watched, of that much she was certain. Controlling her breathing, Ada checked and reloaded her gun. If things went south, she needed to be prepared.
"Well," Leon sighed, breaking the silence. "At least the air strike warning made the J'avo clear out."
"I don't like it," Helena murmured. "Too much silence."
Ada couldn't agree more. It was as if they were being coaxed into a false sense of security. Or being led into a trap.
Her thoughts were broken by Leon calling to her and tossing something at her. She caught the object easily and smiled when she saw what it was.
"Thought I'd return the compact you left in the helicopter back in China," he stated with a small smirk.
"Thanks," Ada replied nonchalantly.
Pretending to check her make-up in the small mirror, she watched the agent's face drop slightly. What did he expect? Gushing gratitude and a kiss for an easily replaceable make-up kit? The poor boy fell for her tricks every time.
At that moment, she saw a flicker of movement in the mirror. A loud crash sounded as the lift jerked and shuddered to a stop. The lights cut out, bathing the chasm in red emergency light.
"Shit." Ada had let her guard down for a moment and hadn't spotted whatever had cut the power.
Sparks shot out from one of the walls. Even in the dim light, she could make out large gashes in the metal. Something was in here with them.
"Carla, get this thing back on line right now!" she warned, eyes scanning the shadows for signs of movement.
"Already on it," the woman replied. She connected to the control terminal as the others formed a protective circle, guns drawn and ready.
Tense moments passed with small sounds echoing from the darkness. Then, shots rang out.
"It's there!" Helena shouted as she opened fire.
Ada and Leon turned to see an enormous shadow swoop down from above. It landed on the edge of the platform, crushing part of the railing and causing the whole structure to shake. Glowing red eyes burned in the face of the reptilian monstrosity looming over them. It seemed to be roughly human shaped, almost like a severely deformed lizard-human hybrid. Saliva dripped from open jaws filled with long, jagged teeth. The red light illuminated the spines along its back and a thick, armored tail.
Ada didn't hesitate to open fire on the beast. Neither did Leon or Helena. But, the creature just let out an ungodly roar and stomped forward.
"Carla," she called in warning as the creature advanced on them.
"I'm doing my best here." The woman slammed her fists down. "Shit! I'm gonna have to reroute power manually."
Ada and the others dove out of the way of the charging beast.
"Whatever you have to do, do it fast!" Helena shouted.
Carla pried open a panel on the side of the control terminal. "Just keep ugly over there occupied, all right?"
Long, bulky arms swung at the group. Ada had to figure out the beast's weakness if they were going to survive. As it charged again, knocking Leon over, she spotted what she was looking for. While most of the monster was covered in thick scales and bony spines, there was soft, discolored skin between the shoulder blades.
Jackpot, she thought with a grin and fired several bullets into the spot. The beast shrieked and doubled over, allowing Helena and Leon to get some good shots to its face. It flailed and jumped off the platform, hanging onto the wall.
At this point, the spines on its back grew and laced together, making something like an armored shell. The beast turned and its skin split from the mouth down to the collarbone, opening to reveal a sickeningly wet and fang-filled maw. A glowing organ nestled deep in the open throat spewed putrid liquid at the lift.
Everyone dove out of the way and watched the liquid corrode the metal it touched.
"Acid?!" Leon exclaimed. "Do you think they made it dangerous enough?"
"I'm not sure it was made to do that. I think it mutated to be able to fight us from a distance," Helena concluded from behind the cover of some crates. "We've got to hit it when it opens up again.
Ada jumped up, tracking the creature as it stalked along the wall. When it stopped to spit its acid again, she lined up her shot and pulled the trigger. But, the gun only clicked. She cursed as she rolled away from the attack. When she reached cover, Ada searched for a new clip to reload. Nothing.
"Shit." She glanced at the control terminal to see Carla fiddling with wires, with occasional sparks flying. "Will you hurry up?"
"Almost there!" Carla shouted back. "And…done."
An electronic whir emitted from the terminal and the lift jolted upward.
Another awful howl jerked Ada's attention back to the attack underway. The beast raced along the wall in pursuit as they rose. It passed them and jumped from above.
"Ada!"
She whipped around to see Carla toss the loaded crossbow. Catching it easily, she took aim at the now exposed glowing organ. The explosive arrow let loose and struck its mark, detonating moments later.
The creature fell hard onto the platform, causing the surface to fracture along the places the acid had corroded. Acting quickly, both Ada and Carla grabbed the others and shot their grappling hooks high up. They swung to the nearest platform and dropped the two agents there. But instead of stopping there, they ascended and vaulted over to another exit.
Standing side by side, the two leaned over the edge to watch the last remnants of the lift crumble and fall into the abyss below. Their eyes met the gaze of Leon and Helena on the opposite side of the open shaft.
"Looks like we'll be taking the high road," Ada called to them in an amused tone.
Leon nodded. "Looks like it. Thanks for the save, by the way. I owe you one."
This made her smirk. "The more things change, the more they stay the same. Good luck, Leon."
She turned and started down the corridor, muttering, "You're gonna need it."
Climbing ten flights of stairs definitely wasn't on Ada's list of favorite things to do, but at this point she really didn't want to ride any more elevators. So, the two started the long climb to the surface.
On the second flight, it seemed Carla wanted to break the silence.
"So, why did we ditch those two anyway?"
Ada shrugged. "Keeps them from attempting to pry information from us. I don't know about you, but I'd rather avoid an interrogation."
"You sure it wasn't just to give your boyfriend the slip?" Carla asked in a knowing tone.
Rolling her eyes, Ada continued the climb. "He's not my boyfriend. And if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous," she added as a shot at the other woman.
"Hmph."
This peaked her interest. It seemed her sideways remark had struck a nerve. She turned and trapped Carla against the railing.
Ada leaned in to the woman's slightly startled face. "You are jealous."
An indignant look accompanied a light blush on Carla's cheeks. "I am not jealous of that scruffy blonde blockhead."
With a wry smile, she lifted the younger woman's chin. Barely a whisper separated their lips. But instead of closing the distance, Ada turned Carla's chin to the side.
"Liar," she chided in her captive's ear.
Scoffing, Carla shoved her away and stomped up the stairs. Ada merely smiled and followed. While the romantic games she played with Leon were amusing, the power struggle between her and Carla was absolutely electrifying. The risk of playing with someone on the same level enticed her. And she'd be lying if she said she wasn't pleased by Carla's jealousy.
However, the game could also be used to get Carla to be more talkative. She was certain the woman hadn't told her everything about her motives and what went down here.
At about the fifth flight, Ada started her probing.
"So what was so important that you would risk navigating this facility by yourself?"
There was a beat of silence. "I already told you. They were trying to replicate the enhanced C-virus. I needed to see how far they had gotten and if anyone else was involved. I have to destroy any progress so it doesn't get mass produced."
"Then why do I get the feeling there's a lot more to this place? What else were you looking for?" Ada argued.
"Just your imagination."
"Bullshit."
Carla whipped around. "Leave it alone. I don't have to tell you anything. It doesn't involve you."
"Yes, you do. You involved me the moment you barged into my safe house and set up shop."
They stopped a few steps below the exit. Carla turned to her with an irritated expression shaping her features.
"Fine. You want to know? I was looking for any of my staff and evidence of my last experiment," she snapped.
"Last experiment? The J'avo?"
The younger woman shook her head. "No. During those last few months leading up to the attacks, I used the enhanced virus to do a lot of experiments. Unfortunately, my memory of the last few days is patchy. I think my exposure to the virus," she chuckled darkly, "and being effectively blown up, damaged my frontal cortex. A big function of which is memory."
Ada stood with hands on her hips. "So, you're saying it's amnesia?" she asked skeptically.
"Look, all I know is that I have a really bad feeling about the last project I worked on. I remember keeping it in the Quad Tower facility, but when I try to dig deeper, I hit a wall."
As soon as Ada heard mention of the Quad Tower, memories of the fight with Simmons and the lone chrysalis in Carla's inner sanctum breaking open to reveal a slimy hand reaching for freedom flooded her mind. Her stomach turned and she pinned Carla to the wall with her forearm.
"That thing is dead. I killed it when I destroyed your research data," she hissed darkly.
Carla's eyes widened. "You saw it? What was it?"
"Didn't really get a good look. It was just another chrysalis. From the look of things, you used one of your own scientists to make it," Ada gritted her teeth as the memory of the flames burned in her eyes. "But, I was more concerned with destroying your mistakes than figuring out what they were."
A cringe twisted the woman's face as she turned away from Ada's withering gaze. "I hope you really destroyed that thing." Her eyes closed. "Because I get the feeling that it could tear down all that we know."
Ada eased her grip on the younger woman. She sighed. "I already said I'd help you with this. But, you're gonna have to be honest with me for that to happen."
The younger woman returned her intense amber eyes in a suspicious glance. She gently pushed Ada away and continued to the door.
"Fine, fine. Just stop with the speeches already." Carla turned back with a smirk. "I just might think you're getting soft, Ms. Wong. We can't have that now, can we?"
The playful insult held weight and they both knew it. Ada had to keep reminding herself that the game they were playing was just that, a game. The two of them were merely making moves and counter-moves. Both had their own motives for their current arrangement. The possibility for anything more was out of the question. However, the fact that these thoughts kept drifting back into her mind whenever the two interacted was concerning. If she got too attached, Carla would gain the upper hand or worse, break her heart.
Ada wasn't all that worried about heartbreak though. She'd given up any desire for love ages ago. Losing advantage was the real threat here.
She followed Carla through the door, which was an emergency exit on the backside of the facility. Her eyes were temporarily blinded from stepping into the light. As her vision adjusted, Ada examined their position. Fortune seemed to be on their side this time, since they had come out fairly close to the extraction point and wouldn't have to go through town.
"So, what's the game plan?" Carla asked.
"Well, we're gonna go up through that pass to that hill on the western slope," she said, gesturing to the locations. "Up there is the extraction point. We'll get there long before the military bombs this place."
Carla whistled. "Certainly hope the dream team back there has a way out."
Ada nodded and took some more ammo from the gun case slung over the other woman's shoulder. She reloaded her handgun, holstered it, and began the trek toward the mountains.
The pair had made their way about halfway up the mountain pass when they came to a ridge that afforded them a wide view of the carnage of the town below them. Fire and infected ran rampant over the ruins of the most likely quiet village. While it was a terrible sight to behold, something much closer caught her eye. A pick-up truck was speeding down one of the few roads out of town.
"Hmm." She turned to Carla and took the sniper rifle from its gun case.
"What is it?" Carla inquired.
Ada peered the scope at the vehicle. "Someone's trying to get out of here."
This gave Carla a haughty smirk. "Good luck. There's no way the militia will leave any witnesses to this fiasco."
Usually Ada would've continued on at this point, but something told her to take a closer look. And sure enough, she saw that Leon and Helena were the ones in the truck. More disturbing was that right when she recognized the two, a monstrous infected erupted from the brush and slammed into their truck. This sent it tumbling away from the road.
"It's those two idiots and they need our help," Ada relayed to her companion. "Give me all the sniper ammo."
Carla rolled her eyes, but complied, mumbling, "They're too much work to keep alive."
Ignoring that, Ada lay down and positioned herself at the best vantage point. Looks like I'll have to be the guardian angel again. So annoying.
The creature attacking the others looked to be about 10 feet or so tall. Deformed and lopsided, it lumbered around trying to smash everything that moved with a telephone pole it found lying around. Things were complicated by J'avo attacking with the beast. She figured it was best to start off by picking off some of them. Let the others deal with the big one.
This was the kind of fight she liked best, one where she could work from the shadows, out of the way of the mess. She steadied her breathing and heartrate, lining up the shots with the cool precision she had trained for years to learn. One by one the J'avo fell to either her shots or those of Leon and Helena fighting far below.
A weight on her back disturbed her concentration.
"I'm bored," came a whine right next to her ear.
Carla had laid on top of her, resting her head on Ada's shoulders. The act had distracted her for several reasons, not the least of which was being slightly turned on at the close proximity and body weight pressed against her.
"Get off, Carla," she growled, feeling her temperature begin to rise, which was actually nice in the cold mountain air.
This made the woman chuckle. "Oh, I'd love to get off. But, I don't think this is quite the time for that sort of thing. Tsk, tsk. Naughty Ada."
Ada groaned at the crude pun and rolled her eyes so hard she could swear she could see out of the back of her head.
"Shut up. I've got more important things to. Just don't fuck up my shots."
A smile could be felt from the woman on her back. "Well, shooting will be a bit difficult with increased heartrate and uneven breathing, won't it darling?" At this Carla, pressed her hips into Ada's rear, making the shot land in the arm of the giant infected.
"Goddammit! Stay still or I'll pin you to the ground with an arrow." She knew the threat was empty, but Carla fooling around like this could endanger lives and she didn't particularly want Leon dead.
No doubt feeling triumphant, Carla was silent for a few minutes after that. This left Ada to concentrate on the battle below. It seemed the beast was weakening slowly, but surely.
"That Helena is one hell of a shot," Carla commented over Ada's shoulder. "Wouldn't want to be on her bad side."
Nodding in agreement, Ada waited for her next shot. It seemed her contributions had not gone unnoticed by those down at the bottom of the ravine. The two agents likely knew she was helping them.
A well placed shot from Helena brought the beast to its knees, but it still had plenty of strength to pick up a boulder to hurl at the two agents. Ada saw her opening and put a bullet right between its eyes. This finally brought the monstrous infected down for good (hopefully since sometimes they didn't always stay dead for long).
"Nice going, Annie Oakley," came more commentary from behind.
She saw Leon turn in her direction and give a knowing nod of appreciation before motioning to Helena to return to the road. Satisfied that the two could make the rest of the way on her own, Ada pushed Carla off of her and packed up the rifle. At being so unceremoniously dropped, the woman pouted and brushed herself off in annoyance.
"I have no idea why you keep him around. Natural selection should have killed him off ages ago."
Ada shrugged and handed the gun case to her. "He's more resilient than many, otherwise he wouldn't be here. And besides," She couldn't suppress a smirk. "He's so easy to get info out of it's almost sad."
A smile grew on Carla's face. "You've got that right. Maybe we're just that good."
"We?" Ada asked with an incredulous tone. She started back up the path that would lead them to escape, breaking into a fast jog. "If you're going to lump us together, you'll have to keep up."
Carla matched her pace easily, but both women fell silent, knowing that they wouldn't be in the clear until they were far away from this godforsaken mountain side.
Suddenly, Ada's ear piece crackled with orders being shouted in what sounded like some variation of Russian. She understood enough of it to know that it was the local militia and armed forces beginning their sterilization of the area. Jets passing overhead and explosions in the valley below affirmed her suspicions.
"We've got to move!" she shouted, going from a fast jog to full sprint up the uneven trail.
"No shit, Sherlock. I tried death on once already and I'm not keen to try it again," Carla chided, voice dripping in sarcasm.
In moments, the pair finally ascended the hill where a small helicopter was waiting for them. The two jumped in and started it up as fast as they could.
"How do we know they won't shoot us down as soon as we take off?" Carla asked hesitantly after they had donned the headsets.
The helicopter began take off, ascending as fast as was physically safe to do.
"My employer passed a message to the military to not attack this chopper," Ada responded.
As she sped away from the doomed valley, she chanced a look back. There was little left but flames and Ada hoped that she could untangle the web of secrets now entangling her.
EotD: Things are getting interesting now, eh? There's so much going on behind the scenes. I'm so excited to write about it! Thank you all for reading. It means so much that you all enjoy my writing. You guys keep me from giving up on this even when I'm busy or have writer's block. See you next time.