Chapter eight:
Alice went to the computer with Carlos and Artemis. Carlos glanced over at Alice. "Are you sure you want to ask the computer for help? How can we trust it?"
"I know her sister was a homicidal bitch, but I don't have the necessary knowledge for how to do this. She'll know," Alice said.
Alice activated the computer. A little girl appeared. "Hello, Project Alice."
"Our friend was bitten by one of the doctor's special subjects. We need to cure her," Alice said.
"The answer is in her blood," the computer replied as she pointed at Artemis. "Dr. Isaacs mixed your blood with the T-virus to create the Super Undead. So, if you mix your human DNA with the cure, it should become strong enough to combat the infection."
Artemis held out her arm. "Take what you need."
"You'll have to walk me through this. Quickly," Alice said to the computer.
The computer paused. "I will help you save your friend if you also make a cure for the T-virus while you're here."
"There's a cure?" Alice asked.
"Yes. It does not kill the infected, but it reverses the effects of the T-virus. Anyone injected would have some memory restored, curbing their hunger for flesh," the computer explained.
Carlos huffed. "How does that help us? We can't inject everyone who's been infected."
"No, but it's a start," Alice said. "I'll make the cure. Just help us save our friend."
"Agreed," the computer said. "First, take her blood. The equipment is in that cupboard…"
After Alice drew some of Artemis' blood, she got to work on the serum to save Claire. When she finished it, she gave the serum to Artemis. Carlos and Alice stayed to create a cure for the T-virus while Artemis ran to Claire. Claire was still on the floor, fading fast. Artemis dropped to the floor beside her.
"Here, I have the new anti-virus," Artemis said.
As she injected Claire, Claire hazily smiled. "New anti-virus?"
"Yeah. We mixed the old one with my blood."
"You gave your blood to save me?"
"I did. This should work now. You'll be better in no time."
The cure worked its way through Claire's system, causing her to convulse slightly. "If it doesn't work, you'll handle it, won't you? You'll kill me if I turn into one of those things?"
"Hey, hey, hey…let's not go there. You're going to be fine," Artemis said. Claire coughed and fell weakly against her. Artemis supported Claire in her arms, feeling a familiar tug in her heart. "You have to stay with me, Claire. Fight back. You're a soldier like I am, right? So you have to fight it. You have to survive. It's what you do."
"Not sure if I can this time," Claire mumbled.
Artemis gently shook her so their eyes would meet. "Well, you're going to have to. Because I'm stuck in this reality, and I don't want to be stuck here without you. It's been a really long time since I've felt anything for anyone, and I'm clearly not the best at keeping promises. I told her I'd be with her forever, and I left her. But I wouldn't leave you if you stay now. If you stay right now, I won't go anywhere. I'll be right here for you. Just please don't give in."
Claire continued to fight against the T-virus in her body as the cure coursed through her veins. She held tightly to Artemis' arms, showing she was doing her best to remain.
In the lab, Alice and Carlos were putting the final touches on the cure. The computer had just finished explaining the final step. "Now that it's complete, all you have to do is inject the infected person. The results will be instantaneous. They'll never be human, but they will no longer be a threat. You have made enough to cure the immediate area. You can always return to make more."
"We have a cure," Carlos said in disbelief.
Alice looked at the vessel in amazement. "And it's made from me."
"I always figured you'd save the world somehow," Carlos commented.
"Well, not the world. Just the immediate area apparently. But I couldn't have done it without my friends. Or you."
"Do I not count as your friend anymore?" Carlos asked.
Alice smiled. "You're a little more than that now."
"A little? I'll take what I can get," Carlos replied. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and gestured to the hall. "I have to check on Claire. I'm worried to death about her."
"Go ahead. Let Artemis know we have to get moving soon. The portal is closed for now, but we still need to handle the gateway itself."
Carlos left to find Claire and Artemis. He found Artemis sitting on the floor, holding Claire in her lap. Claire had her arms around Artemis' shoulders and her head against Artemis' neck. However, the bite on her arm had almost completely healed itself. Carlos leaned against the wall with a smirk.
"Kiss her already. Seriously," he lightheartedly said.
Artemis gave him a look. "She's out cold. I think the cure worked. Her arm is healing itself. It's just taking a lot out of her. How'd it go in there?"
"The cure is ready. We need to get moving. That portal still exists, and we need to close it forever."
"Okay, we're coming," Artemis said. She lifted Claire into her arms and followed Carlos back to the lab. Alice looked at Artemis and Claire with raised eyebrows. "She'll be okay, I think. She needs a minute."
"We have the location for the portal, but I don't know how it works," Alice said.
Artemis set Claire on a desk chair and moved to join Alice at the computer. "That's all right. That's why I'm here. Let me look at the files."
Upon looking at the files, Artemis saw they had used a system of stones with markings similar to the Sky Tower. She knew those markings and the stones well. She had seen similar stones when she was taken from her reality with her men so many years earlier.
"What do you see?" Alice asked Artemis.
"If it's anything like the Sky Tower, we can't destroy the stones themselves without disrupting the balance of the world around us. But we can take away its power source. The Sky Tower is powered by lava, so I'm guessing Umbrella is using some kind of generator to create the necessary heat. If we destroy the generator, gather the stones, and keep them under guard, we should never have to worry about anyone reopening the gateway."
"There. They have built a generator. It's under the surface at these coordinates. If we leave some explosives, it'll cause a chain reaction and destroy the whole thing," Alice said.
"Works for me," Carlos said.
"Let's visit the armory. See what firepower we can take with us," Alice decided.
Carlos and Alice went to the facility's armory and lifted some explosives. The group then returned to the surface where more undead had gathered. They had the cure ready, and they were dying to see if it worked. Alice and Carlos set about stabbing the undead and injecting them with the serum. One by one, their eyes cleared and they became docile.
"It works," Carlos said.
"Too bad it isn't more efficient," Alice sighed.
Artemis, who was still holding Claire, shrugged. "As you said, Alice…it's a start."
"What is?" Claire hazily asked.
Artemis pointed at the cured undead. "They've been cured. We have a way to reverse the virus now."
"It's the beginning," Alice told Claire. "Now, we just have to close the portal. The last thing we need is to find a cure for the T-virus just to have big monsters crossing over next."
"I second that. You don't want to see what one Rathalos can do to a battalion," Artemis said.
They got into the SUV to begin their journey to the portal. Carlos drove while Alice worked on prepping the explosives in the front. Artemis and Claire were in the back, Claire still slumped on Artemis' shoulder. She was finally starting to feel better, the cure having taken effect, but she was still under the weather.
Upon reaching the middle of the desert, not far from where the convoy was taken away, Artemis recognized the stones. "That's it. We're found the portal."
"Let's get to work," Alice declared.
The four left the vehicle. Claire was able to walk on her own, but she found herself leaning on Artemis from time to time. At the stones, Artemis held Claire and the others back. "We can't move the stones until the seal is broken. I know the words. After I speak them, we'll have to be quick to move the stones away from their bases."
"What happens if we don't move fast enough?" Alice asked.
"They'll reactivate," Artemis said. "Just be ready. We'll have maybe two minutes."
Everyone nodded, prompting Artemis to speak the language from the New World. The markings on the stones turned white. Artemis, Carlos, and Alice rushed to gather as many stones as they could carry. Claire, in her current state, could only manage one. Just as Artemis and Carlos were preparing to take the final stones, they heard the growls of the undead.
A large group was moving towards them. They had seemingly come out of nowhere, and they were heading for Artemis and Carlos. Artemis managed to pull her final stone from the base, but Carlos was distracted by the undead. They had run out of time.
"The storm is back!" Alice called out.
In the distance, the storm was coming. If it reached them, it was sure to whisk all of them—including the group of undead—to the New World. That was the worst possible scenario, and it seemed likely.
"What do we do?" Carlos asked.
Artemis drew her dual blades, rolling her wrists to flip the blades in a tight circle. "What we came to do. We end this."
