Chapter 18

"What do you mean that you want the first shot at killing Wesker?" Edward turned and asked me. "Is there something that you're not telling me?"

"Just some things I started remembering," I told the STARS Bravo Team member. "He's the one that sabotaged the chopper and set us up to die on this mountain."

"And you know this, how?" He asked me as we began the trek up to the massive mansion complex that we were supposed to rendezvous at with the rest of Bravo Team.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," I said to the other man as we continued up the mountain. "Let's just say that sometimes a moment of clarity strikes when you least expect it and leave it at that."

"Did that knot on the back of your head get worse when I wasn't looking?" Edward turned to me incredulously before stumbling slightly as a distant explosion shook the ground for a couple of seconds. "Because it sounds to me like you're going a little insane here."

"No, the hit on my head actually fixed some of the issues I've been having," I replied. "I actually remember how I got to Raccoon City for one, and I know that I can't go back and see my family ever again."

"You came into Raccoon City on a bus!" Edward exclaimed. "You missed your stop and ended up falling into a run of good luck."

"I did come to Raccoon City on a bus," I agreed with a chuckle. "But I doubt you'd ever find that specific bus again."

"Well no fucking shit, Sherlock," Edward replied. "There's hundreds if not thousands of buses in the States, and I doubt I could track down one specific bus from two years ago."

"You know what," I said after a minute. "It's not important right now, let's just get to the mansion and regroup with Bravo Team. I'm sure they've got a pretty important story to tell right now."

We walked into the light of the morning sun as it rose to the east of us, painting the mountains in a beautiful glow and showing us that even if it had been an awful night, that the day would bring a much better view of things.

"You know, it's views like this that make you remember that there's a beauty to every world," I said to myself under my breath as I considered the rising sun and the glow that it cast over the mountains. "I may not remember everything about myself or about this world, but I'm going to make it a place worth living in. I'll take on the whole of Umbrella and what comes after by myself if I have to."

"Anyone know why the entire complex behind us just exploded?" Rebecca asked as she tried to catch her breath. "Because I'm fairly certain that we didn't do that."

"If I were a company or corporation trying to hide something like the stuff going on there I'd put in a self-destruct," Kenneth said as he filmed the burning complex. "It's hard to find conclusive evidence on something if it's all gone."

"Either way," Captain Marini said. "We should get moving towards the big mansion, it's a fairly decent walk, and the sun should be coming up soon."

"How are we going to get into contact with anyone from the RPD to let them know to rescue us?" Rebecca asked as she stood up and began to walk in formation with the rest of Bravo Team.

"If there's power run to the place then a landline should be somewhere in the complex," Richard said with a shrug. "I've got a cousin who works with electricians and he's always complaining about how the older places ran the phone lines in with the electrical systems and how it can cause some issues."

"Well, let's hope that you're right," Forest said as he stopped to look at the sunrise. "Because I have a feeling we're not done with this mountain yet."

"Bravo Team has been out of contact for the last twenty-four hours," Wesker told the waiting STARS Alpha team. "Proper protocol dictates that we're supposed to wait for forty-eight hours before we conduct a search."

"I understand that," Chris said to the Alpha Team Captain. "But we're already ready and waiting to go."

"I'll go talk to Chief Irons and see if we can bend the rules," Wesker told the assembled group. "But I can't make any promises."

"The Captain doesn't seem to be worried about Bravo Team," Vickers said as he flinched away from the glares of the rest of the team. "I'm just saying, maybe he's right and they don't really need our help."

"Captain Marini would have called either way," Barry stated. "And Mark is absolutely anal about checking in with people at the right times. You know that if they were able to contact us that they would have."

"It was just an opinion," Brad Vickers seemed to shake in slight fear.

"Look," Joseph Frost said as he changed the subject. "If we're able to leave immediately after Captain Wesker comes back, then we're golden, but either way I'm going to do some last minute checks on the backup chopper. I could use the extra hands if you're all looking for something to keep your minds busy."

"I'll help!" Jill offered. "I've been meaning to ask you about some of the problems that my car has been having, anyway."

"That junk heap?" Joseph scoffed. "I've told you to replace that thing a half-dozen times by now."

"It gets me from A to B and both the A/C and Heat work though," Jill complained. "And new cars are so expensive."

"Well, when you're looking for my opinion as a mechanic you don't get to complain when I give you facts," Joseph laughed. "In all seriousness though, I think you could get another ten to thirty thousand miles on it before the transmission starts wearing out on you. Those models just aren't built the same as some of the other brands."

"So another six months to a year depending on how often I end up driving," Jill said as she grimaced at the thought of car shopping. "Well, it certainly beats walking for now, and that's all I really need."

"Frost, Valentine," Captain Wesker's voice echoed over the maintenance area. "We leave in around twelve hours, get some rest and make sure your gear is squared away."

"Well, it's not immediately," Joseph said with a sigh as he wiped his hands off on a nearby shop towel. "But it's better than waiting forty-eight hours to find out what happened to them."