Parasite Eve: Black Berets
Day 1: Resonance
New York, Carnegie Hall, 1997.
"The beginning is more than half of everything."
– Aristotle
A black limousine pulls up to the local opera house. The doormen immediately roll out the red carpet, open the door. It is immediately obvious that an influential and rich man has arrived. A couple gets out of it - a blonde girl and a guy, after which they go to the entrance to the theater. The girl stopped and hesitated a little, thinking about something of her own. She understands perfectly well that most likely her boyfriend will try to drag her into bed, but she couldn't say it directly to her face, and it's too late.
Why did she decide to choose opera? Unfortunately, she could not understand this. Aya herself was quite beautiful – a girl of about 25, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and yet, she had some Asian facial features, although her eyes were like ordinary people, not Japanese, or, for example, Koreans. You could see how unhurriedly, gracefully she could move, and she looked quite decent. This explains why she is popular among many men. Nevertheless, she preferred to achieve everything on her own, which she showed by her diligent studies at the University of Virginia, studying criminology for two years, and after two years of service, she received the position of a detective, albeit an rookie.
- What's wrong?... You're the one who wanted to come to the opera... - the man in the tuxedo asked her.
- ...I dunno… I just... You're right... I'll try to have more fun. - the girl answered him.
- Aren't you glad you decided to go on a date with me? I even asked my dad to find us the best seats in the theater tonight! So lighten up! We'll have a great time, you'll see! - her "beau" tried to cheer Aya up. Of course, her "boyfriend" was a rich and influential man. Money opens up a lot, if not everything in life – that's how we live.
In fact, he just got her with an offer of a date, and she chose the opera only as a decoration, nothing more. The girl was able to bring a Beretta M84F pistol and a telescopic baton here – as a NYPD detective, she had the right to carry weapons in public places for self-defense.
The young couple, slowly, approached the doors of the opera house. She allowed the guy to take her arm, but it was a little obvious that her "boyfriend" began to annoy the girl a little. The doorman standing at the entrance quickly opened the door for them, greeted them and closed the door again. There were a lot of people in the building itself – everyone wanted to see the Christmas play. There was a big crowd at the locker room, where the girl went, and the guy just followed her. The girl only threw off her fur coat from her shoulders, behind which a black dress with a slit was hidden, after which she gave it to the cloakroom attendant, who hung the fur coat on a hanger. When she wanted to approach the entrance to the hall, the guy somewhat hurried Aya.
- Come on quickly. The show will start soon. - with these words, they hurried to the auditorium, where the audience was just gathering, and then sat down in the first row. The performance begins...
The curtain rises, the actors come on stage.
After some time, he shows the unrequited love of Prince Edward and Evе, which is hindered by the king - the prince's father. His son wanted to get the hand and heart of his beloved, but he flatly refused, accusing the girl that everyone who fell under her love spell died a terrible and painful death.
- Father, please give me your permission to marry Evе. - the prince began, kneeling, but was immediately interrupted.
- I FOBBID IT! - the king shouted.
- You know what will happen if you do! Those who succumbed to her beauty died in horrible ways! - the man in the robe answered him.
- You don't understand! SHE is the one that has suffered after the deaths. - prince tried to explain.
- She is EVIL! Guard! Grab HER! And... BURN her at the stake! - he shouted, ordering the guard to take the girl by the arms, so that later she could be burned at the stake, but the prince blocked their way, being ready to die with his beloved.
- Father! - he shouted to king.
- If you are sentencing her to death... then I ask you you to take my life along with hers... - son of king replied, preparing to die with her.
- Edward... - actress said, before performing her opera solo.
An actress enters the stage - a girl of about thirty, in a scarlet dress, performing an opera solo. The whole audience is in complete amazement and silent delight, all their attention is focused on the singer. Until she fell silent for a while, looking around the rows, she saw Aya, who was sitting in the front rows of the auditorium. The actress looked at the girl strangely, and she noticed that the eyes of this singer had changed their color from brown to emerald green. At that moment, a real nightmare began.
The prince, the king, the guards, and other actors all burst into flames and began to burn with a bright flame. Everyone, including Aya, thought it was a production and part of the show, but several more people started burn after them. The person sitting closest to Aya flared up like a match. The "living torch" let out a heart-rending scream, fell to the floor and began to roll on it, hoping to extinguish the fire that engulfed her body. Panic gripped the auditorium, and the audience began to run out of the hall, and then out of the theater itself, shouting to the rest of the passers-by to flee too. The rest of the rows, upper and lower, were also on fire: many people were burning alive, turning into corpses burned to the state of coal, and the actress on stage continued to perform her solo, as if she was indifferent to the fate of burning people.
One of them even fell from the top row, which is why Aya had to jump over one of the rows, which she managed. She could only see how the falling man, turned into a torch, fell right on the place where she was sitting. Soon, the entire auditorium was engulfed in flames, and tongues of fire caressed the curtain of the stage, while the singer finished her fatal solo, which became a requiem for several hundred people who came to watch the opera performance. Most of the people were burned, with the exception of Aya and her boyfriend, who was now pale from what had happened, and his legs involuntarily shook and almost gave way. She decided to just push him away – she just didn't have time to mess with it.
- Jesus! I... don't wanna...! Oh my god!..! I.. I.. - he mumbled out of fear, looking at the actress, then at the partially burned auditorium, but Aya interrupted him, pulling out a gun. Detective Brea believed that since the actress is related to what happened, it is necessary to interrogate her.
- Go! Get outta here! NOW! - the girl shouted to him. He ran away from here as fast as possible, and at that time Officer Brea went up on stage and aimed the Beretta at the actress.
- Freeze! NYPD! – she shouted, stopping the actress, still holding her at gunpoint.
- Hmph... You're the only one who seems to be fine... - she said, not even scared at the moment when the gun was pointed at her.
- What? - Aya asked her, not understanding what she wanted from her, or was she just mocking her, but in her own way.
- You should be awakening soon... - the actress still answered her interlocutor in the same ornate way, confusing her completely.
- Wha… What are you talking about?! - detective asked the lady in red dress again, who had already decided to continue the dialogue. She wanted to grab the girl to detain her, but unexpectedly for Aya herself, she only casually waved away, and this was quite enough to push the girl aside.
- Listen... Your cells are trying to communicate... They're... calling out... - she answered Aya. Without taking the gun off the stranger, fired a single shot that did not cause her any harm, and in response to the shot, she only laughed, simultaneously pointing her hand at her opponent, from which a greenish color came, and then she fired something like a laser, trying to hit Aya, but managed to dodge and make several more shots at the actress. She felt her right hand getting hot, as if she had been burned by something very hot. Withdrawing her hand, hiding the pain, feeling her body sink into a slight heat, she said:
- What's happening...? My body!... It's!... It's getting hot! - this is how the girl described her feelings.
- ... Just as I thought... - the actress answered her, continuing to levitate over the floor, continuing to talk to her.
- What... is this? What did you DO TO ME?! - Aya almost screamed, not understanding what was happening.
- Our bodies are communicating with each other...
- ...WHAT?! Communicating what? What do you want?! – she doesn't understand exactly what's going on at all.
- The more you use that power, the more you will become like... me...
- POWER...? What power?! Who ARE you...?! - Aya asked her.
- Eve... - with a strange intonation, the actress replied, and somehow hurriedly and quickly, as if she was in a hurry somewhere.
- Eve?... - blonde girl said questioningly.
- I'm surprised you don't know me, Aya... You should know me well... - Eva asked in surprise.
- What... - Detective Brea began, clutching her incredibly sore temples. Bright white light flooded her eyes, after which she dropped the weapon to the ground and screamed, pressing her palms to her temples.
She saw a hospital room, there was medical equipment everywhere...
Finally, that light dissipated, but she still held onto her temples and said:
- ... What was that?... - she asked herself. Indeed, it was a vision. The most real vision. But where did it come from? The girl could not answer this question.
She was brought back to her senses by the loud and ominous laughter of Eva, who, levitating over the floor, quickly disappeared behind the scenes. It was floating, not walking.
- W, wait! Where you are going?! I'm not through with you yet! - the girl shouted angrily to her and followed her, trying to guess where she went. It was all very strange and abnormal, it seemed that she was sleeping, but Aya understood perfectly well that all this was really happening. The floor slowly began to creak under her, and she wondered: if the girl would fall under it somewhere. Her shoes were a little in the way, and the girl was thinking of taking them off, but this was prevented by shards of glass: if she went barefoot, she would get several cuts, and she would walk much worse than now. Fortunately for her, the girl's dress was loose and did not constrain her movements, so she was able to reach the passage in the form of a hole. No one knew where she came from at all, and how she ended up there, but after calculating by eye, she decided - I'll go down, since it's not particularly high there.
- ... I know she's down there...
She didn't know whether to come down here or not, but sirens sounded behind the girl. Aya smiled a little. "
- Sounds like my backup arrived. - she said, climbing into the gap that had formed. After descending, the detective briefly examined the place in which she found herself. It looked like a service room leading to a staff room, but suddenly a blonde girl appeared in front of her eyes, standing here completely alone.
- ... Are you alone? It's dangerous here... You should go... - the girl did not have time to finish, as the girl laughed happily, ran in the direction of the staff rooms and disappeared, as if she had disappeared into thin air, as if this girl had never existed, leaving Aya in complete confusion. She couldn't believe that the one she was trying to talk to just appeared out of nowhere and immediately disappeared.
- That girl! It couldn't be.. - something familiar flashed through Aya's mind, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
She couldn't believe that the one she was trying to talk to just appeared out of nowhere and immediately disappeared. Calming down a little, Detective Brea picked up a gun, opened the door, on which it was written "The entrance is only for service personnel and actors", and entered the corridor, turned left and opened the door, keeping her way through it, after which she found herself in another corridor, in which there were several more doors - dressing rooms and rooms for actors, as well as many utility rooms. She was walking with her weapon at the ready, after which she heard some kind of squeak. It was a very ordinary rat, which Aya should not have been afraid of until this animal began to squeak even more pitifully and experience pain.
The rat stood up on its hind legs, experiencing incredible torment and shuddering from internal pain, after which it began to vomit a little with some orange mucus, and foam was coming out of its mouth. The animal began to increase in size, becoming the size of a small cat, wool began to disappear from some parts of the muzzle and paws, the claws became simply huge, and the muzzle was replenished with a number of razor-sharp teeth. The skin was slowly sliding off the muzzle and some parts of the body, exposing the bloody flesh, which did not look particularly pleasant, and the smell of blood and flesh was in the air. The end of this transformation was her tail, which opened like a tentacle or a second mouth.
It was more like the tail of a scorpion, at the end of which there was something like a trap from a Venus flytrap and this monster was going to attack the girl, but Brea fired a pistol at the rat, killing it with one shot, a direct hit to the head, right in the eye. She announced the corridor with a long roar, after which she fell right at Aya's feet. She only finished off the rat with the toe of her shoe, and after making sure that she was really dead, she continued on her way, calming herself by going into one of the rooms in which there was nothing but scenery.
- Jesus! Did "Eve" do that to the rat...?! What is going on HERE?! - the girl involuntarily asked herself, going into the next room. It was a room for the cast. She only found two charred bodies that did not cause her any emotions – she had already seen enough of them with a vengeance. Passing by them, one of the bodies let out a groan. Aya turned around. The half-burned girl slowly tried to crawl to her, but it turned out very badly for her. Rushing to the stranger's aid, Aya tried to calm her down:
- You're still alive! Hold on! Let me call the paramedics!
- M... Melissa... she's... a... monster... - The burnt lady barely whispered, hardly moving.
- Don't try to talk now. Melissa...? Melissa... You mean the main actress! - Aya still remembered her name from newspaper lines and posters.
- She probably got the Suzanne... too... You'll have to stop... her... - the dying actress tried to speak, but it was too late. She only twitched in the last death convulsions and remained lying on the floor.
- No! Please! Wake up! Hang in there...! - she shouted. The detective wanted to save her with all her might, but nothing came of it. We will have to accept her death and continue to move on. She opened the next door, and went into a room that turned out to be a dressing room, where there was a bedside table with a mirror, cabinets with outfits for actors and several more posters, where one of the actors dressed as a clown turned out to be. When he saw Aya, he thought that some kind of robber had come to him.
- Ahhhh! Here! Take it! Take everything! It's all on the counter! - the stranger begged for mercy, hoping to buy her off with the money he had, and was even ready to give her the watch, but she calmed him down.
- Don't scare me! I'm with NYPD... - a girl introduced herself to the actor.
- You're the one that scared ME, lady! I was getting ready. You know, only STAFF are allowed in here... - he said with a sigh of relief.
- There was a incident here. You need to evacuate. - Aya did not have time to finish, as the clown immediately ran away, turning pale with fear, which was not visible through his makeup.
- WHAT?! You're KIDDING, right?! Hey, I'm not dying here tonight! SEE YA...! - after learning about what happened in the theater, he began to run, moving as fast as he could, as soon as he heard the word "evacuation", shouting:
- I DON'T WANT TO DIE! NOT THIS TIME! - the man's voice echoed through the corridors, and only muffled fragments of his phrases reached the girl. Still, the girl continued on her way, passing through the corridors, and found another burnt body. After leaving the room, she met a couple more mutated rats. No matter how scary, nasty and strange they were, they no longer caused fear in Aya: she knew they could be killed. The girl pointed a pistol at the rat and fired a single shot. One of them was shot in the head, the second began to back away to hide and attack Aya at an unexpected moment, but she was also killed by two gun shots.
Walking a little further down the corridor, I saw a burnt corpse lying in the agony of death. After examining him, she recognized him as the actor with whom she had talked a few minutes ago.
- It's that clown... from the dressing room... - Aya said, looking at the body with horror and moving on.
Checking the doors, all were closed except one, which the girl entered. It was a dressing room, in which there were wardrobes with outfits, a lot of hats, boxes stacked one on top of another, a pedestal, a mirror, and there was also a parrot cage. In the middle of all this lay a badly burned corpse, which clutched the table lid with one hand, and the other was reaching for the phone on the nightstand.
"Apparently, he wanted to call someone for help." - the detective thought, looking around the room.
- It's better that I still notify the department about what's happened... - Aya said with a note of alarm, after which she examined the body. The girl found the key that was lying next to the corpse that she picked up. It turned out to be the key to another dressing room.
She was about to leave, but she heard a rustle, which caused her to take up the gun and point it towards the direction of the noise, after which she pushed the hangers away, when suddenly a multicolored parrot flew into her face.
- Hot! Hot! Help! Help! - the bird screamed, repeating the last dying words of the man who lay clutching the bedside table. The girl instinctively covered her face with her hand and stepped aside, touching the corpse, which fell to the floor, and the bird, in turn, flew through the door of the room. Aya went out into the corridor and entered the next room, where the bird flew in.
- Merry! Merry! Christmas!... Goodbye! - the parrot screamed, after which it also began to change rapidly: The hair began to fall from the head to the neck, the parrot's claws became much larger, becoming more curved and sharp, and the beak became somewhat longer. But the mutant did not have time to attack, because Aya was alert and shot the bird in the head, after which the parrot fell dead, but without a head, splattering the wall with blood and showering the floor with feathers.
- What's going on here at all? - the girl was surprised at everything that was happening here. Everything was too strange, but there's nothing to do, we need to move on.
Aya continued to look for Eve, entering the warehouse, where there was nothing but various junk and decorations for performances. There were knight's armor next to the boxes, a spear in the corner, and a shield hung on the wall. Slowly entering the room, the girl noticed a large, gnawed hole in the lower part of the wall. When she approached it, she noticed that it could be expanded.
- That's odd... this wall is looks like it's about to crumble... - said Aya and was able to expand the hole a little by digging it. It was wide enough for the girl to crawl into the next room. There were a lot of boxes, decorations, things, as well as a closet that began to move a little. This alerted her, and with a gun in her hands, she aimed at the source of the noise. The doors opened, and a rat got out, which was killed by two shots from a pistol. The first bullet hit the torso, the second - exactly in the head, damaging the brain. Realizing that Eva's search in the warehouse did not lead to anything, the girl left the warehouse through the same hole and went out into the corridor.
Opening another door with a key, it creaked open, showing another dressing room, where there was almost everything the same as in the previous room. There was no one here either, but after looking around, the girl found a diary with Melissa's notes.
- A diary...? - the detective thought and began to read the entries made in the diary.
"November 3 /Mon/
A Christmas show is set. This has been my dream! The main actress has a solo concert at the theater in Central Park. I took all medications to get here. I HAVE to get the lead part! I'll even sell my soul to the devil if I have to.""
"November 17 /Mon/
The cast was announced and Suzanne and I are double cast. I want to play part alone, but everybody knows she's good..."
"November 21 /Fri/
I think I'm overdoing this. My body is getting hotter than ever for some reason. I'd better take more medicine."
"December 6 /Sat/
I collapsed today. I lost consciousness after my body getting hot. I don't care if I die. I just want to get through that show."
"December 10 /Wed/
I passed out again... They told me to the doctor and get some rest. If this continues, Suzanne will definitely take my part. I need to get better. I'd better take a lot of medication tonight."
"December 11 /Th/
Suzanne was burned in an apartment fire. Is it because I wanted the part so bad? God, forgive me..."
"December 17 /Wed/
It looks like I'll be the lead. I'd better take some medication and work it."
"December 23 /Tu/
Opening night. Everything went smoothly. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We should have the biggest crowd of the season. And... I have the solo concert the next day at the park. But I'm not feeling well. I'd better shade up if I want to get through this. I'd better take more medication."
After reading her diary, the girl was clearly in shock. It seems that the actress is sitting on some substances, which is why she began to see hallucinations and feel not the most pleasant feelings.
- For what...? Why she taking so much...?! She must have a drug problem... - the detective believed that Melissa was using drugs. After searching the nightstand, Aya found the key, then hurriedly left the room and headed for the door. It was also closed, and the inscription on the door read: "Room for actors." Now it is clear why the doors were locked – so that nothing interfered with the rehearsals of the actors, and outsiders could not get into the room. Holding the key in her hands, Aya inserted it into the lock and opened the door. Opening it, she went into the rehearsal room, which was practically empty. There was nothing here but the piano, at which the actress was sitting, playing some melody. The girl did not waste time and approached her, pointing a gun at her. She stopped playing and began to stare at Aya, after which she grabbed her head and started screaming:
- I'm... Melissa... I'm... NO...! I'm... I... I am... I... am... Eve...! Aaah...! I'm... I'm... getting HOT! - she shouted in Aya's direction. After that, actress contiune:
- Nucleic domination has finally come to an end once and for all. - she said, and suddenly began to change, turning into an ugly, human-like creature.
- What?! - Detective Brea was completely perplexed, only with undisguised surprise, looking through the sight of a pistol at how Melissa was changing, losing the last remnants of humanity, morality, transforming into something else, sounding like a mockery of the entire human race living on Earth. Her fingers turned into longer, sharper claws that smashed the piano keys, instead of her legs she had a gray-dark tail that looked more like some kind of appendage, her hair looked like some kind of snag, and her skin became deathly pale, the dress somehow miraculously remained on her in the form of scraps. She appeared in this form in front of Aya, flying up in the ascension pose, somewhat levitating above the floor.
- Once again... the day for the mitochondria to be free has finally arrived! - Eva shouted, rejoicing in her freedom and the fact that she had taken control of the actress' body. The battle began. Eva started shooting greenish beams of light from her hands, similar to lasers, trying to hit Aya, but she repeatedly dodged the mutant's attacks and shot back with a pistol, hitting exactly the target. Another volley of lasers, several more shots, and her opponent tried to reduce everything to a conversation.
- Looks like you still need some time, girl... until your mitochondria is completely FREE... - Eve said.
- Mitochondria? What're you SAYING?! I don't understand YOU! - the girl answered her, not understanding what Eva was talking about at all. A bright flash hit Aya's eyes again, and from the pain in her head, she held her head, watching another vision. The same ward with the same medical equipment, only on the bed lay a little blonde girl, whom she had already seen.
- ... What? Where is it? Is that...? Is that the little girl I saw...? No, it's... - she was just amazed at what hallucinations she sees with her own eyes. A man in a medical gown approached the bed with the girl.
- ... That doctor... Wait! - after that, everything was again drowned in white light. Gradually, the light dissipated, and the pain receded. Aya was in the same room again, but this time, there was a large hole in the floor that Eva had made in an attempt to escape.
.
- Mitochondria... to be free?... - she asked herself and approach to the hole.
"Where'd she go? Maybe, she's fooling me with these visions again to escape." - the girl thought, deciding to go down into this hole. With the ease of a high school student, the girl threw one leg over here, and feeling something hard under her feet, she pushed the other, thereby ending up in the sewer, which turned out to be well lit. Perhaps Eva decided to escape through it, because there were no other options. Aya followed forward, moving through the water surface, fortunately it was not very deep here.
Unexpectedly for her, three rats emerged from the water. The girl pulled out a gun and fired three times, killing the first mutant. The second one spewed three fireballs from her tail and threw them towards Aya, but the mutant missed. A rookie detective shot a second rat in the head. The third ran to the girl to take her apart. Aya reacted instantly and from the "Beretta" hit this creature exactly in the eye. That's it for sure now. Again she had to walk, being able to contemplate the creations of Eve and graffiti on the walls. Halfway to Eva, the detective came across two overgrown rats and one giant mutated frog or toad, without front paws, with a lot of eyes and an incredibly long and hypertrophied tongue. Fortunately, Aya was ready and attacked first, killing the first mutant with one shot to the head, leaving a bullet hole between the eyes. The rat dropped dead without making a sound.
The second threw a fireball at Aya, which flew a millimeter away from her, but did not touch the girl. The second one was also killed by two more shots. Aiming the gun at the mutant toad, Detective Brea pulled the trigger, but there was a treacherous click – the cartridges ran out. Taking out a new clip, she replaced the one in the gun. The mutant began to jump, moving to the left side, the concrete pavement trembled under the girl's feet. Opening a big mouth, a giant tongue flew out of it, which did not hit the girl, but directly on the cold lattice of the doors, thereby freezing his own tongue and giving Aya a chance to kill the mutant. She opened fire with a pistol without wasting a second. With five or seven shots, she killed this creature, which immediately fell, having managed to unhook the grate along with the tongue before dying.
Walking through the sewers, she met the same girl again. Everything was confusing and strange, Aya asked her:
- ?! You're the girl I saw at the theater!... Are you lost...?! - detective asked her. In response, there was another ringing laugh, and she ran to the brightly lit passage.
- ... Wait...! Little girl...! Don't... go...! - Aya warned her, but she disappeared again, disappearing into thin air, just like the previous time. Noticing a large hole in the wall on the right side, Aya went there, then did the same, noticing another hole, and went to the passage, which was blocked by bars. Lowering the lever, the girl opened a passage for herself and again made her way through the water surface, which was knee-deep to her. When she saw Eva, she shouted:
- EVE! - Detective Brea stopped her, and a little closer, pointed a gun at her.
- HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! - aiming, Aya shouted to her. She felt hot again.
- ...My body... My body's getting... hot AGAIN! - she shouted again. Eve just laughed.
- Aya's ready to take me on just by yourself. - with a sneer, she replied to the girl.
- Well, even if you did have more people with you, they'd just BURN, right?! - she subtly hinted to Aya that she might accidentally arrange the same thing as Eve at Carnegie Hall.
- Everyone else... but YOU... YOU are...
- TELL ME, EVE...! Why..? Why am I the only one...? - Aya asked her.
- You'll find out. Eventually... Even if you don't understand... don't worry, your mitochondria will. They've always known... - Eva answered her calmly and continued:
- I'm going to give you some time... some time to think and some time to evolve... And the day shall arrive when YOU will... AWAKEN... - she had already hinted to her that Aya would join her.
The detective wanted to arrest her, but Eva, turning into slime, passed through the bars, reassembled herself into a single whole and fled, leaving Aya alone with an alligator, which she turned into an incredible monster.
A giant something standing on its hind legs, from a mouth with a deformed jaw, having only four sharp fangs, from which barely visible electrical discharges were coming, with front paws that had sharp claws that could kill a person to death, a back covered with spikes, a giant tail like the body of a tapeworm, emerged from the water and was about to pounce on the girl. She took aim again and shot three times in the head. The mutant tried to hit her with his tail, but did not hit Aya – she dodged the blow, after which she again began shooting at the head of the mutated alligator, which was already running towards her to tear her apart.
Aya ran away, but got a small cut, which somehow quickly healed, healed and was not visible, but the pain still remained, only she was not up to it. Again, a few more shots to the tail and head, but the creature turned out to be quite tenacious than Aya could imagine. Running around him, the girl again shot several times, but this time in the back and head of the monster. He was already running towards her to kill her. Taking aim, she pointed the gun precisely at the head and fired. A shot was heard, as well as a loud roar of the monster, which, not reaching her, fell straight into the water and surfaced again, but already spewing pillars of flame from its mouth, while gradually getting out of the water. Having managed to make several shots, Aya dodged the jet of fire, reloading. Seeing the girl, the mutant let out three more jets of fire from his mouth, but he did not hit the girl, but the last two shots to the head became fatal for him. Having announced the entire sewer with an incredibly loud roar, he fell again, this time – dead. After making sure that it was definitely dead, Aya continued on her way.
She was only thinking what Eve was hinting at…
- When "I" will awaken...? Just tell me what you want, EVE! - so the detective expressed her negative thoughts and misunderstanding towards her.
After getting out of the sewer back to Carnegie Hall, she went out through the front entrance of the opera house, she noticed a reporter who was leading a news release from the event. An ambulance and a police car were standing next to him.
- We're live in front of Carnegie Hall, which has become a scene of complete chaos! - said the one, after which he turned to Aya.
- Miss! You are the sole survivor of this horrible ordeal, CORRECT?! – the man addressed her, holding out a microphone to her. She hesitated a little, because all this was pressing on her.
- I...
- Until now, this combustion theory has been acknowledged by occult enthusiasts...
- Please... just... leave me alone... - Aya answered.
- This incident happened to take place on... Christmas Eve, at all nights! - the reporter was still reporting from the scene. He didn't notice Daniel was behind him.
- I would like to represent the citizens of the city and interview you exclusively... - before he could finish, a broad-shouldered, tall, dark-skinned man gave him with all his strength right in the face. He didn't have time to say anything, he fell right on his back. Unspeakably surprised by such impudence, he shouted to him:
- Are you CRAZY?! ...Jim! Did you det this on a tape...?! - the reporter shouted to the operator.
- Scram, buddy! - her partner shouted at him.
- Daniel... - Aya tried to stop him, but she no longer had the strength to continue.
- Sorry, I'm late, Aya. - he apologized to her for being late.
- It's okay... - the girl answered him. Together, they got into the car, and then moved towards the police station. Daniel was very stressed by Aya's depressed state, so he asked her:
- Aya, you OK? That was really SOMETHING that happened back here...
- Yes... Oh, but my date... - she was hinting at that rich man who was with her at the opera.
- Heard from a cop that your boyfriend ran outta here like a wuss! - he laughed a little. He really did not have any respect for this impudent, only a slightly angry look from the girl said that everything went very badly.…
- Er... sorry, your date didn't go well, ahem...
- It's not like that! I had escort him, cuz he kept pestering me for a date. – she was a little angry that her boyfriend was getting on her nerves.
- Yeah, but of all places... the OPERA?! There's a story! Ha! - Daniel decided to ask his partner about the opera:
- So why the opera, huh? Is that the "in" thing right now? - he asked about Aya's choice of a place for a date.
- Saw the ad in the paper. I dunno... just caught my eye... - she chose the opera simply as a random place that was chosen in a hurry, simply because she was annoyed by this guy.
- Don't tell me you were on to this case?! Haha... so you got finally got some cop instinct in ya, huh? - Daniel grinned.
- ... Instinct...? – she said, as if asking herself.
- Daniel… shouldn't you be with your son? It's Christmas Eve... - she asked him.
- He knows his dad's is a cop... My boy understands... - a dark-skinned man answered her.
- ANYWAY... to change the subject... I heard things from people who were there... but this is ONE HELL of an incident, huh?!... - Daniel moved on to the topic of what happened at the opera.
- ... Mitochondria... mitochondria...? Symbiosis...? When was I in hospital...? - Aya barely babbled, after which she fell asleep.
- ... Hey, Aya... You asleep? Oh, well... Don't blame me ya... after what you've been through tonight... - Daniel apologized to her, treating her with sympathy. They have long developed a father/daughter relationship, since Aya has worked with him since the first days of service.
She did not interfere in his personal life, and he did not bother her with his advice. However, Dollis treated her like his daughter…
People will eventually forget and go on with their lives...
But I will never forget it. It was pure terror, but...
It was also 6 days filled with familiar memories...
Moscow, Residence of the President of the USSR, 1997. 16:21.
The President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Alexander Suvorov, was at that time in his residence, which was in the Kremlin, waiting for a call from the President of the United States. He found out about it after the incident in the theater, a few hours after the incident. Alexander held his head a little: how could they just ignore the threat of Eve? After all, in Japan, they were able to track and neutralize it almost immediately. It seemed that everything was over, and you could exhale, but as they say "We are peaceful people, but our armored train is on a siding!", therefore, OBU-9 special units to combat the biological threat were on high alert - in case Eve ever decided to reassert herself. And now, this day has come. She showed herself at the Carnegie Hall Opera House. The president was tense: In case of alarming situations, they call the red phone, and that was the case... There was no time for foreplay, preparation, it was a matter that did not require delay. Behind Suvorov, the voice of his assistant rang out:
- Comrade President, the communication line and encryption channels are working normally. We are ready to negotiate. - his subordinate reported about it.
- Get started, and as soon as possible. - Alexander answered him, picking up the phone and waiting for an answer from the other end of the wire. He decided to start the conversation first.
- The Kremlin is listening. What happened, Clinton? - he asked Bill. After waiting a little, Suvorov heard Bill Clinton's answer:
- Hello, Mr. Suvorov. This is the White House. - the US president replied to him. His voice sounded with some anxiety and apprehension, which Alexander noticed.
"It looks like they really had something serious..." - he thought, then said:
- What happened?
— I apologize for the late call, but there was an emergency. The United States is facing a biohazard threat that has arisen in New York. Its nature is still unknown. Our units contain the threat, preventing it from spreading beyond the city, but I have to ask for your help before the scale of this threat increases. - this is the answer he received from Clinton.
The Soviet President has remained silent so far. How could they have missed a threat of this magnitude? Still, it's unclear how she got to New York in the first place. But thoughts gradually faded into the background, so, without wasting time, Alexander replied:
- Хорошо. Help will be sent immediately, as soon as possible. - that was Alexander's answer.
- Thank you, Mr. Suvorov. See you soon. - in response, Suvorov received thanks from Clinton. Bill hoped that the Russians would solve this problem.
- Goodbye, Clinton.
He hung up the phone, then frowned a little. "We need to solve this problem faster," he said to himself in his thoughts, and immediately called his assistant.
- Transmit the order to advance the 211st Regiment immediately! The sooner we do everything, the better!
- Yes, Comrade President!
Now, Soviet Union will save the world again, as it once saved the world from Nazi Germany in 1941-1945. The order of the president was immediately delivered to the Far Eastern Military District, where this regiment was based. He was put on full alert in a few hours and was moved to New York...
Vladivostok, "Centralnaya Uglovaya" Airbase, 17:02.
Major Dmitry Petrov raised the personnel as soon as the alarm was announced. The siren was howling, and the voice of the announcer was heard through the loudspeaker:
- Attention! The presence of a biological threat has been confirmed! This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill! All personnel - report to the airfield!
- Faster, faster, go, go! - Dmitry hurried his soldiers, simultaneously grabbing his AK–74 assault rifle. The soldiers gathered quickly, putting on bulletproof vests, stuffed pouches with clips for machine guns, everyone took their own weapons due to their specialty - machinegunners took machine guns, snipers - sniper rifles, and so on. Behind the backs of many soldiers were RPO "Shmel-M", RPG-7 with thermobaric ammunition. Thermobarics and rocket-assisted flamethrowers performed well against the offspring of Eve and herself in 1989, during the Morskogradian Incident, for this reason, a lot of flamethrower and thermobaric weapons, a large number of flamethrower mixtures, incendiary ammunition got into the list of weapons.
The soldiers were already on the runway, where Il-76s were standing in orderly rows, into which paratroopers, equipment, and helicopters were loaded. Dmitry became a little gloomy – he already felt on his own skin what he would have to face back in the Morskograd, when he was a simple lieutenant. A slight chill went down his spine.
- Kondratiev, it will have to be like then... - the major said to the captain, hinting at what happened more than eight years ago.
- We will have to, Comrade Major, there is no other way. - Konstantin answered him. He had served with the major and knew how it was. Many understood how everything would happen.
- The Americans are in deep trouble... - Dmitry said anxiously, after which he began to command the battalion:
- Battalion - attention! Take the parachutes and load into the transporters! Now! - Petrov shouted to them.
- Так точно! - the soldiers answered, entering the IL-76 and receiving parachutes on the way, and all this was done quickly, at a pace. The major also did not lag behind, and having received a parachute, he dressed it on the move and climbed into the plane.
- Check the parachutes for the correct fastening! - the major commanded. He didn't want to lose people because of negligence in safety. Checking the fastenings and how he put on the parachute, everything was firmly attached and held well – there were no problems. Fortunately, the others were fine. The personnel were ready to land. Petrov's battalion was just the most mobile and quickly brought into full combat readiness, besides, the regiment was reinforced with DSHB units that had helicopter connections.
- Five minutes to takeoff! - announced the Il-76 pilot. So far, pre-flight training was underway, during which many soldiers exchanged phrases.
- Eve raised her head again... - Kondratiev answered with notes of negativity.
- Nothing, now it will lower again. - Dmitry said with a smile. The soldiers smiled too – it's worth a lot to make a joke at such a time, and even successfully.
The preflight was over, and the radio announced to the pilots:
- 567th, 568th, 569th, to you - takeoff! - the dispatcher said.
- Copy that, we're taking off.
The sound of the engines of three Il-76 was heard, which were gaining speed, and then they broke away from the runway, soaring into the pristine blue sky. The first forces were moving to New York, in rapid order. Silhouettes of landing planes could be seen in the sky, which became smaller and smaller, moving away from the airfield, until they became very small dots, which soon disappeared.
- We're going to have a long flight to New York - about six or seven hours. - the pilot informed the flight time to the landing point. Petrov will have to take the fight against Eva. There was a tense atmosphere and complete silence in the landing compartment...
Having had the opportunity to get some sleep, Dmitry took a nap, resting his head on his backpack, and then fell asleep...
It all started back in Morskograd… Eva did a great job there, but it's good that then we came at the right moment, and I killed her…
In '95, we prevented another incident, but this time in Japan. I don't want to see another threat near our borders and risk the lives of my compatriots.
Today - is America. We need to nip the threat in the bud before it gets stronger.
That's why they sent us. Back then, it was hell in six days.
Six days of a nightmare that will make me remember everything I went through...
You can forget a lot, but these six days will remain in my memory for a long time…
Author's Notes:
DSHB (ДШБ, Desantno-Shturmovaya Brigada, Десантно-штурмовая бригада, Airborne Assault Brigade) - formations and individual units of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, intended to perform tactical and operational-tactical landings.