Resident Evil:
The Whole Story.
Chapter Twenty-Five.
Rebecca breathed heavily as she nervously tapped her fingers against her desk and squirmed in her hard plastic chair, she was trying to not to panic or look like she was really anxious but it was more easily said than done, it sort of felt like everyone was looking at her in that moment, like they were expecting her to be the one to fall apart and she didn't want to prove their expectations right, she didn't want to disappoint anyone.
It was her first real mission after all and her only chance to make a good first impression on the team, she was the new girl and she was one of the youngest members of the team and S.T.A.R.S was her first real police job, she had been chosen do to her expert technical scores and the fact that Bravo had desperately needed a new medic considering their last one had retired a few months before she had graduated from the academy.
Her lack of experience had been marked as a problem against her but even so she was still the best possible candidate of the ones that had been available to them and she's gotten the job.
It wasn't just her lack of experience that was making her nervous or that she was afraid of screwing up in front of the rest of her team or even worse someone dying because she made a mistake but the fact that they were going out so early.
They weren't supposed to begin the searching the forest for the murderers until the end of the week but now they were going tonight, in less than an hour as a matter of fact. It had thrown her off when Enrico called her and told her to come in.
The other S.T.A.R.S bravo team members all looked so cool, so held together like this was just normal for them. She hated it, it made her feel like even more of an outsider, like all she really was the inexperienced rookie who they would have to depend on to patch them up if something went wrong.
"Hey, you want to take a breath? You kind of look like you're going to pass out?" An amused voice brought Rebecca out of her thoughts and she looked up from her hands to see Richard Aiken standing at the side of her desk, a comforting smile on his face. Rebecca liked Richard, along with Kenneth he had been one of the most welcoming
"I'm fine, I think I'm fine." Rebecca admitted with a sigh, Richard sat on the edge of her desk and placed a hand on her shoulder which made her look at his face. She sighed heavily. "I just don't want to let anyone down."
"I understand that, I used to be the rookie once." Richard admitted with a roll of his shoulders. "Got that tight feeling in your gut? That's normal, it's always there and it never really leaves, you just get better at hiding it. Plus, you aren't going to screw up, if Wesker or Enrico though there was any chance of that then there was no way that they would agree to hire you, you're going to do fine."
Rebecca took deep breath and nodded, she knew that she was going to be fine but it was just hard to believe that at the moment, still it would be over sooner or later and she would feel better knowing that she finally had a real mission under her belt and she had helped bring these murderers to justice. "Thank you for talking to me Richard, I feel a lot better." She didn't, at least not by much but she appreciated it regardless.
"Not a problem, let me know if you ever need to talk to me about anything." Richard said with another smile as he stood up from the desk and walked back to his desk, Rebecca watched him go and turned her eyes to the rest of her coworkers in the office.
Enrico, Edward and Kevin were standing in front of large map which showed the entire Arklay Mountain region, they were once again going over the plan for what there serach should be. They were going to start in quadrant four beta and search the old Spencer Estate as well which was located within that quadrant, once the estate and the rest of the quadrant had been fully searched they would widen their search to the rest of the quadrants.
Edward had a frown on his face as he studied the board but to be honest that did not surprise her as he always seemed to have a frown on his face, Edward had always intimidated her a little, he was over six foot tall and was the tallest member of Bravo team and he did not speak much and when he did it was often short and too the point.
He had not spoken to her at all since she had joined the team and she got the feeling that he didn't like her very much, she hated to admit this but the feeling was returned, he had made no attempt to make her feel welcome and if he didn't like her than that was fine, she didn't really care if he liked her or not but he didn't have to be such a jerk about it.
One time when she had said good morning to him all he had done was grunted and looked at her before he had gone to sit at his desk, she hadn't thought much of it at the time as she had just assumed that maybe he was in a bad mood so she had let it go.
But every time she had greeted him or tried to speak to him at all about anything all she got was a grunt and disdainful look, it wasn't as if she was trying to have a long, in-depth conversation with him, all she ever said was "hello" or "good morning" and all she got was that same response. She didn't know what his problem was with her but she eventually decided not to keep bothering with him.
Thankfully, everyone else on her team was a lot nicer. Kenneth was probably the one she was closest, he was Bravo's forensic officer and he had been acting as the Medic until she had joined up and they had been often working together as he had been the one mostly closely supervising her training and he had offered more than a few times to help her with anything she needed and she had greatly appreciated it.
Richard was a total sweetheart, he was certainly the warmest and most open of the S.T.A.R.S members and he always said hello to her as soon as she came into the room. Rebecca was an only child so she wasn't sure but she got the feeling that if she did have a big brother, then he would be a lot like Richard or at least she hoped that he would be like Richard.
Forest's work effort still irritated her a lot but he wasn't a bad person, she knew that and the more she got to know him the more she found that he wasn't...too bad, still, she wished he took things a little more seriously.
Kevin was alright, they didn't talk all that much unless it was about something important and most of the time he wasn't in the office but up on the roof making sure that helicopter was in perfect working condition.
Enrico was the last member and she liked him, again like with Kevin they didn't talk all that much but he was good man and good captain and she respected him and it was clear that everyone else on the team did as well.
All in all, she was glad she was on Bravo, the people on Alpha team seemed nice as well for the most part but there were a lot of older members on that team and she got the feeling that her feeling of inexperience would be even worse on that team than on Bravo and she had gotten used to working with Bravo at any rate.
Rebecca took another deep breath and stretched her arms, not long to go now. The door to the Bravo officer swung open and everyone looked to see Chris, Jill, Barry, Jessica, David, Joseph, Rosa, Jake and William walked in and Rebecca frowned softly, why were they here? Had something gone wrong with the mission, were they coming out with them? Had Bravo been pulled off the mission?
Thankfully, Rebecca wasn't kept wondering. "Figured we'd stop by and wish you guys look." Chris said with a grin as he and Rosa walked over to Forest's desk, Chris sat down and pulled Rosa, who laughed, into his lap. "Considering your track record you're going to need it."
"Up yours Redfield." Forest muttered as he leaned back in his chair, placing his feet up on his desk and held up his finger to his best friend who mirrored the gesture and in reply Chris held up both of his middle and in retaliation Forest held up both of his middle fingers and stuck out his tongue.
Rebecca watched the escalating conflict in disbelief, were they sure that she was the youngest person to join the team? They were acting exactly like a pair of frat boys that she used to know back at collage.
"Boys, huh?" Jill said with a smirk as she and Jessica walked over to her desk and Jill sat down on the corner of her desk. "I don't know why we put up with them."
"Feeling nervous?" Jessica asked after crossing her arms and looked down at her counterpart with a comforting smile. "God, I know I was. My first mission? I thought I was going to be sick."
"If I remember correctly you were sick on the helicopter ride back." Jill pointed out with a grin of her own, Jessica shot her an annoyed glare and punched her in the shoulder.
"We'd been under fire by survivalists who had taken enough coke to fry their brains and were armed with AK-47's, all things considered for a first mission I did pretty damn well and hey, I wanted to vomit all through out that mission so losing my breakfast on the way back isn't too bad." Jessica said as Jill rubbed her arm, and while it had clearly hurt Jill was still smirking.
"How did you keep it together?" Rebecca asked quietly as she glanced around the room, looking at all of her teammates.
"It's difficult, I'm not goanna lie to you." Jessica admitted with a small smile before she reached out a hand and put it on Rebecca's shoulder. "You're going to think that you aren't going to be able to handle it, you probably feel like you want to throw up right now and I get that, I do but during a situation like that all your thinking about is that your under fire and you've got people to keep alive, you're so busy dealing with that you're too busy to think about anything else."
"What about you Jill?" Rebecca asked as she looked at the other woman, when Jill turned her head to look at her with a raised eyebrow Rebecca elaborated. "I mean, what was it like for you on your first mission?"
"Well, I on my first S.T.A.R.S mission I was pretty much fine, the usual stuff that happens no matter how experienced you get, you know the anxiety before a mission, wondering if this is the day you're going to die but that never really goes away no matter how hard you try, you just getter better at hiding it." Jill revealed before Rebecca interrupted her.
"Richard said something like that."
"Well, I would say that great minds think alike but that would imply he has a great mind." Jill said with a smirk and a chuckle and neither Rebecca or Jessica could keep the smiles of their faces.
"Fuck you!" Richard called from his desk but Rebecca could tell from the tone of his voice and the face that he seemed to be keeping his head down to hide a smile that he wasn't angry at all, he seemed to find it as funny as they had.
"You fucking wish Aiken! I've thrown better away." Jill called back and there was a loud chorus of laughter around the room, even Edward and Jake who weren't ones for laughing at the best of times couldn't help but smirk a little. Rebecca smiled but didn't laugh, even though they weren't on the same teams it was clear the entire S.T.A.R.S unit got along well.
She hoped that after the mission was over the feeling of not belonging, of inadequacy would vanish, it wasn't that they hadn't been welcoming but she had only been hired on to replace another team member. She wanted to be part of the team in her own right, not to be though as the rookie, the replacement or the new girl just another member of the team.
She knew that it was kind of unrealistic to expect that much this early, but it was what she truly wanted at that moment more than anything, she had traded in her future of becoming a doctor for this, it was to be her life from now on. She wanted to belong here.
Rebecca was brought out of her thoughts by the office door opening and Captain Wesker walking in, as soon as he did so the laughter quickly died down and everyone seemed to suddenly start acting a lot more seriously, as through they were trying to seem like they had all been hard at work.
Captain Wesker didn't seem to be fooled or impressed by this and he glanced at all of his team members who all seemed to look uncomfortable under his gaze. He turned to look at Enrico and spoke firmly. "It's almost time Captain, I would recommend that you start preparing to go." The tone of Wesker's voice made it clear that it wasn't a suggestion.
Both men may have been captains but as Wesker was in command of Alpha team he was in overall charge and thus Enrico was his subordinate as well, Wesker answered to no one but the Chief of Police.
Rebecca had only met Chief Irons once, on the day that she had joined the police force, and she hoped that she would never have to be alone in a room with him again, he was a creepy man with small dark eyes like a rat and unpleasant looking face that was dominated by a bushy moustache, Rebecca was raised not to judge by appearances but something about the man set her on edge.
The way he had looked at her, like how a lion looked at a gazelle before it ripped it's prey apart, had caused her to get out of the room as soon as possible. Considering how she heard that many of his secretaries quit after a few months and the whispers about how they quit, well, she was just glad that she had chosen to trust her instincts.
Enrico nodded in agreement and the Bravo members shot to attention, Wesker glanced at his subordinates and nodded towards the still open door, the Alphas all made their own way out of the office, muttering goodbyes and wishing them good luck as they went, as soon as they had all filed out of the room, looking for all the world like a bunch of misbehaving school children, Wesker nodded to Enrico and followed his team out, not bothering to shut the door.
Enrico sighed and looked around at his team. "All right people, let's get to it! Kevin!" He shouted at the helicopter pilot who peaked his head up. "Is the helicopter completely serviced?"
"Did a check just over an hour ago, she's ready to fly."
"Go back up there and get the engine running, I want us ready to go as soon as we're ready." Enrico ordered and Kevin nodded before running out of the room, the captain turned to the rest of his team mates and began to bark further orders. "Forest, Edward, make sure that we have a decent stock of weapons in the hold on the chopper, don't go crazy but make sure we have all of our bases covered."
Both men nodded and left the office, as soon as they left Enrico turned to Richard. "Go and make sure that all our radios are in working condition and store them in the helicopter and then make sure that the radio in the chopper in working as well."
"You got it boss." Richard said with an almost lazy looking salute before he strolled out of the room, it may have been a trick of the light but Rebecca was sure that she could almost see Enrico trying to fight against a smirk.
He finally turned to her and Kenneth. "You two go and pack everything we might need flares, extra batteries for out flashlights and anything else that you think might be useful, speaking of Ken make sure that you pack some medical supplies as well, I know it's Rebecca's job but just in case."
Kenneth and Rebecca nodded and stood up before leaving the office, they decided to forgo using the elevator as they were on something of a time limit so the two of them quickly ran down one of the stations many staircases all the way down to the basement level where the supply depot was located, the basement was unfortunately still as creepy as she remembered.
Kenneth opened the door to the depot and the two S.T.A.R.S members walked in, the room was practically overflowing with supplies such as flares, various medical supplies, canned food and tons of other supplies that would be useful in dozens of situations, if a survivalist walked in here then they would probably die from sheer joy.
At the back of the room was a wall of metal mesh with a counter behind, there was a small hole at the bottom of the mesh where someone behind it could slid items from behind the mesh. There was a woman who seemed to be in her late fifties, her grey hair was tied back into a pony tail and was wearing a small pair of glasses and dressed in a grey shirt, a orange vest that was so puffy that it reminded Rebecca of a life jacket and blue jeans, Kenneth stepped towards the mesh and gave the woman a smile. "Hey Martha."
"Hey hon, what do you need?" The old woman said with a smile, her eyes glanced over to Rebecca. "This the new girl?" She asked Kenneth, when the man nodded Martha smiled at Rebecca and greeted her warmly. "Hey there hon, you alright?"
"Not too bad." Rebecca said with a shy smile as she kept her head down.
"Good to hear it, now, lets get you two kitted out. What do you need?"
After fifteen minutes of sorting out what they would need the two S.T.A.R.S members were just about ready to go, Rebecca had filled the large medical pouch clipped to the back of her belt with as much medical supplies as she could fit into it, antibiotics and antiseptic and bandages and a large bag of cotton balls, ice packs, a reel of sutures and a few small needles to thread as well injection needles. Her pack almost felt like it was going to burst.
Aside from the medical side Rebecca had also personally taken a small box of flares as well as extra strength batteries for her flashlight, a single pair of them would last for twelve hours and the pack held eight batteries which meant she could keep her flashlight on for two days, not counting the two batteries already in her flashlight.
Kenneth was loaded down much the same as she was, batteries for his flashlight and flares, he also asked for a long clear tube which Rebecca soon recognised as a glow stick that light up as it was shaken, he also got a container of fingerprint power and a small UV light.
They also filled two large duffle bags with supplies, more batteries for all of the flashlights and tins and tins of canned food as well as three large bottles of water and a small camp fire stove, they could be out in the forest for days so they would need to eat.
They zipped the bags up and both slung one over their shoulders, with a shout goodbye to Martha, Kenneth and Rebecca left the depot.
The two of them began to walk back upstairs, though this time their trip took a great deal longer considering they were weighed down far more heavily this time, and it took them almost twenty minutes before they got back to the floor where their office was located but they did not stop there, they continued to ascend the stairs until they finally reached the top floor.
Kenneth pushed open the door to the roof and Rebecca heaved out a sigh of relief as she saw the Bravo team helicopter sitting in the middle of the flat roof, she half ran, half stumbled over to the helicopter and placed the heavy bag into the helicopter, panting as she did so. She really needed to put some more muscle on.
Kenneth placed his bag next to hers and clapped Rebecca on the shoulder, the two of them sat in the open doorway of the helicopter and waited for a moment to catch their breath. Kevin was sitting in the cockpit and getting ready to fly.
The door to the roof opened once more and Edward, Forest and Enrico stepped out on to the roof, Rebecca and Kenneth stood out of the way so Forest and Edward could get in and began to store weapons into the hold, shotguns, sub-machine guns and a dozen spare pistols and dozens of magazines and boxes of ammunition for each.
"We all loaded up?" Enrico asked as Forest and Edward finished up and as his eyes strayed to the bags.
"Yep, all the basics." Kenneth said as put his hands on his knees and leaned forward.
Enrico nodded and waited for Edward and Forest to completely finish and get sat down, Edward in the co-pilot seat and Forest in the back, Richard came walked through the door with a similar duffel bag slung over his shoulder, without saying a word he climbed aboard the helicopter and saw down near towards the front. "All right." Enrico muttered before he nodded. "Let's get going people, the sooner we go the sooner we can come back."
Rebecca and Kenneth climbed in and took their own seats, next to Richard and Enrico climbed in before sliding the helicopter door shut. Once he was sure that it was firmly shut he sat in the seat nearest to the cockpit and shouted. "Alright! Let's get in the air!"
It took less than twenty seconds for the helicopter to take off and in another ten it was hovering over the R.P.D building, the helicopter began to head east towards the mountains and the forest. Rebecca looked out of her window and looked down at the city below, the sky had already began to turn dark when they had all been sent to gather their supplies so there were not that many out at the moment but the few there were really did look like ants from all the way up hear.
The sprawling urban centre soon faded into a few small suburbs and then even those faded, becoming a field of green grass with only a farm house and a barn or two to attest to any life, soon the grass became trees and there was no sign of any life at all.
"We are approaching Quadrant Four Beta, repeat we are approaching Quadrant Four Beta." Kevin's voice came over the helicopter intercom and Rebecca looked back through the window, she wasn't sure because now it was almost pitch black but just peeking over the trees she thought that she could just about make out the outline of a chimney...
Suddenly, there was a loud bang that reminded her of a bottle rocket and the entire helicopter seemed to shake, the interior was bathed in red light and a siren began to sound out. "Kevin! Kevin! Report! What was that!?" Enrico shouted, sounding desperate to be heard over the wailing siren.
"I don't know, but the engine failed! Oh god! We're going down!" Kevin screamed and the elevator began to plummet towards the ground, it's metal body crashing through the thick branches and sliding into a small clearing.
As it fully came to rest, all was silent. Even the sirens had stopped. It seemed there was not a sound to be heard.
And then, somewhere off in the distance, a wolf howled.
End of Chapter Twenty-Five.
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