Chapter 39
“That’s strange,” Rebecca said. “One of the names on this list looks like one of my bosses at the police station. Same first initial and last name.”
“What name is it? Could it be the same guy?”
“Albert Wesker. I don’t know any of the other names on this list.”
Billy glanced down at the paper he was holding. “His name is on this one too,” he said, handing it to her.
Before Rebecca could read the paper, she heard a loud noise coming from somewhere else in the lab, making her jump. “What was that?” she asked nervously, stuffing the papers in her pocket and drawing out her pistol.
Billy raised his shotgun and was about to say something when they heard a scream that made their blood run cold. It was not a human scream, but it was a sound they recognized just the same.
“He found us,” Billy said through clenched teeth, flinching as another loud crash echoed through the hallways. “He must have come down the elevator.”
There was another door at the back of the lab, and Rebecca grabbed Billy’s arm to pull him along with her. They rushed through the door and found another lab much like the one they’d just left. They went down a short set of metal steps and hurried through the lab to a set of double doors to their left.
The screams got closer, and a reverberating crash echoed through the lab, the explosive sound of a wall being knocked down. The next hallway was wider than the others, with doors bearing labels like “Tissue Analysis” and “Blood Sample Containment.” Rebecca ran full tilt, gun in hand, while Billy trailed behind her, running sideways so he could see behind them, his shotgun ready in his hands.
A bestial scream echoed down the hall so loud it hurt Rebecca’s ears, and the doors far behind them crashed open violently, breaking apart into large chunks of plastic. The creature that used to be a man emerged from the wreckage, howling madly, running at them on all fours like an enraged gorilla.
Billy’s eyes grew wide and he turned to run backwards, pulling the trigger and quickly pumping the handle to rack another shell into the chamber. The used shell flipped up over his shoulder, swirling a thin line of smoke. He fired again and again, shouting over the roar of the gun.
The creature shuddered with the shots but did not slow down. Bits of cloth and flesh burst from its body but the creature did not even notice. It made up the distance in just a few seconds and was upon them like a cheetah bringing down a gazelle. Billy got one more shot off before the creature’s gigantic arm flew at him, bowling him right off his feet. He held his breath as he landed against the wall to keep it from getting knocked out of him.
Rebecca, farther down the hall, turned on her heel and fired her pistol rapidly. The shots did not even seem to effect the beast as it flew at her, swinging its arm like a battle mace. Rebecca jumped at a door, pushing it open and diving inside just as the arm struck the wall. The window on the door shattered, showering her in glass, and the wall smashed inward with the tremendous impact. She slid across the dusty floor, coughing and blinking her eyes, already sliding the used clip from her pistol and fumbling for another.
Billy got to his feet and raised the shotgun to his shoulder, taking just a second to aim as the beast turned its attention back to him. He pulled the trigger and the blast of buckshot caught the monster right in the face.
It staggered backwards, screaming so loud Billy thought his eardrums would break, flailing its arms wildly, smashing the walls around him like they were made of tissue paper. Then, as if by magic, the creature turned back toward him and its face was intact, twisted in hatred and anger. It ran at him in the blink of an eye and knocked the shotgun from his hands. He tried to duck under its arm, but the beast struck him in the chest and slammed him into the wall, knocking the wind out of him.
Gasping for breath, he found himself face to face with it. The face might have been human once, but now it was elongated like a lizard’s, with large eyes glowing red and bared teeth like nails. Long black hair hung from its head like a mane. It pushed him against the wall and screamed in his face.
Billy could not breath. The monster’s pressure on his chest kept him from inhaling, and he began to feel lightheaded as his body starved for oxygen. Staring up at the monster’s face, he thought he saw it changing, rippling like water, moving like a blanket with two bodies underneath. The beast’s skin was squirming as if something inside was fighting its way out. Billy’s sight began to grow dim.
Rebecca screamed and charged the monster. In her hands was a long metal pole with a wide base, and she ran right at the creature, striking it squarely in the back like a knight jousting with a lance. The pole sunk into the soft flesh and impaled the creature right through the abdomen. It howled and backed away, letting Billy fall to the floor. The creature shook like a dog shaking off water, and Rebecca jumped out of the way to avoid the end of the pole jutting from the monster’s back.
She knelt on the floor and fired her pistol, aiming at the beast’s face and neck. Each shot hit the mark and the creature finally had to back off, raising its arms in front of its face to take the brunt of the pistol shots.
Billy, behind it, regained consciousness enough to grab his shotgun and shoot the monster in the back. It reared at him, but instead of attacking, it bounded over him and ran back down the hallway where it had come from.. The metal pole fell away and clattered to the floor as the monster escaped.
Billy gasped for breath and sat up, staring in disbelief down the hallway. His breathing was hard and labored and a sheen of sweat covered his face. Rebecca ran over to him and helped him to his feet.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said. “He might come back.”
“I can’t believe we fought it off,” he gasped, letting her help him down the hallway.
They went to the doors at the other end of the hall and pushed them open. But instead of another sterile white lab room or hallway, they were surprised to find themselves standing on a cement walkway staring out into an industrial wasteland.
Large glowing lights hung from high above them, basking the area in ugly yellow light. They stood on a walkway that dropped off into darkness below. Across an expanse of maybe fifty feet, they saw gigantic columns lined with rust and covered in a maze-like network of pipes and hoses. The walls were composed of cracked, filthy concrete and sheets of rusted metal. A mechanical hum drifted around them, combined with the hushed sound of running water, but it was not loud enough to be very noticeable. Whatever the machines were, they were not turned on.
“Where in the world are we?” Rebecca whispered.
“We’re still underground,” Billy said. “But I have no idea what this place is.”
Rebecca went to the railing and looked down into oblivion. “I hear water. I think there’s an underground river here.”
“This must be a natural cavern. Maybe this is some kind of power generator.”
To their left was a metal staircase. They went down it quickly, holding onto the railing for balance, the whole huge room seeming to echo with their footsteps against the metal. At the bottom was another large cement walkway, but two rooms were built into the wall. Both were dark and silent, the light from above not reaching down that far. Billy found a row of switches and flipped them all with his arm. An arrow was painted on the wall, pointing up the stairs, with the words “Research Laboratories” written underneath.
Rebecca kept her gaze at the top of the steps. “Do you think he’ll come after us again?”
“Who knows?” Billy muttered, heading for the two rooms. “I hope we hurt him enough that he leaves us alone from now on.”
The first room had nothing in it except a lunch table and two vending machines. A break room. An ashtray was atop the table with ashes and crumpled cigarettes still inside, but they weren’t recent. It was easy to see that the room hadn’t been used in some time. The vending machines were dark and empty, even though they were still plug
ged in.
The next room had two computer banks with dozens of digital readouts and gauges, several dials and levers that could be adjusted, and a dusty computer monitor sitting atop an old wooden desk in the corner.
“Do you know what this stuff is?” Rebecca asked, coming up behind him. She had her arms wrapped around herself, but Billy couldn’t tell if it was because she was scared or just cold.
“An operator’s room, I guess,” he replied, stepping inside. Grime and dust covered the machinery, another indicator of its age. “This must be some kind of generator supplying power to the labs. Or maybe it controlled the ventilation system.”
“The lights are working, though.”
“Maybe they were connected to a different system. I really don’t know.”
“Can we use it?”
Billy cast a doubtful glance at the ancient machinery, covered in dirt and rust. “We could try, but I don’t see the point. We might overload it or something. It’s been dormant too long.”
Rebecca went to the desk in the corner. Stacked beside the computer monitor was a bunch of loose papers, wrinkled and yellowed with age. “These look like operation summaries,” she said, glancing them over. “Inventory lists, movement orders, I’m not sure.” She squinted to read the blurred writing. “It says that six specimens were transferred for removal. Specimens of what?”
“Do you really want to know?” Billy asked. “You can guess what they must have been doing here. You saw those observation rooms.”
“This one was signed by James Marcus. Isn’t he the man in that big painting we saw?”
“I think so. It said he was the director of this place.”
“This one says that three specimens were transferred to another facility.”
“So what?”
“Then there must be another facility somewhere nearby. Maybe we can get there.”
Billy shook his head. “Listen, up until that thing attacked us, I was all for just staying here for awhile. Right now I vote for going back up to the surface, except that thing is between us and the elevator now.”
Rebecca put her hands on her hips. “Well, if you don’t want to stay here and we can’t go back, I guess that means we should keep going forward.”
“What is with you?” Billy hissed. “Did almost getting killed screw up your brain? We keep going, and we’re just going to get farther away from any kind of help. No one’s down here but us. There’s no point in searching this whole place.”
“We’re right back where he started, then,” Rebecca said. “This place isn’t any safer than the mansion, because that monster is down here looking for us. We have no choice but to keep going forward.”
“To what end?”
“Maybe we can find another way out. Maybe we’ll find more survivors. Who knows, maybe we’ll find what’s causing all this.”
Billy pointed at her. “Yeah, and maybe you’re crazy.”
“Well, what do you suggest?” Rebecca asked, raising her voice in anger. “Finding a closet and hiding inside until the coast is clear? You keep saying that you used to be a soldier, but I can’t imagine a coward like you ever being a soldier.”
“I’m not a soldier anymore,” Billy said, his voice low. “And I don’t owe you anything. If you want to run off and solve some mystery and save the day, you go right ahead. If I knew that I would be walking into a death trap like this, I would have stayed in the truck.”
“You were going to spend the rest of your life in jail.”
“Yes!” Billy shouted. “But that doesn’t mean I wanted to come here and get killed instead!”
Rebecca stared at him but he stared right back, and she finally had to look away. She took a breath and crossed her arms, turning around as if to inspect the machinery. Behind her, she could hear Billy walk away.
She regretted calling him a coward. He might not be courageous, but he wasn’t a coward. He could have kept on running when they were attacked in the hallway, but he stood his ground and fought even when it seemed hopeless. When they first made their way into the mansion, he insisted on walking in front. And she couldn’t forget that he saved her life back on the train. He heard her scream and came to help her. A coward would not have done that.
But there was something about him she couldn’t understand. He was strong enough and smart enough to get through this alive, but he was holding back. She didn’t think he was afraid, but there was something nagging at him. If not fear, then what? It was as if his sense of self-preservation was battling with some sense of duty. He wanted to stay safe, but at the same time he felt the need to help and protect her. Despite their arguing, she knew that if she kept going forward he would follow her, resenting every minute of it.
But why? Rebecca wished she had read his file more carefully. She didn’t even know what branch of the military he had been a member of. She wanted to ask him who he killed and why, but he wold probably refuse to tell her. Something was bothering him, holding him back, making him want to save his own skin when she could see that he felt obligated to stay with her. Was it a sense of guilt? Did he regret his crime and thought that by protecting her he could redeem himself? Rebecca doubted it was that simple.
She turned back around and saw him standing outside the room, facing away from her, looking out across the chasm. She wondered if he was angry at her or with himself. She desperately wanted to know why he was convicted of murder, but didn’t have the courage to ask him straight out. Somehow, she felt that he would tell her when the time was right.
Deep down, she knew what her problem was. He demonstrated his courage and even saved her life, but she still didn’t know if she could trust him. He was a convicted murderer, and although she knew that military tribunals didn’t follow the same procedures as regular courts of law, that didn’t mean he was innocent. He was proven guilty in a military court, and that had to mean something. He claimed to be innocent though, and innocent people had been convicted in the past. She wanted to believe him.
She noticed that he had turned and was looking at her. In the poor lighting, his eyes were like black gems. He was still mad at her, but she could read more than just anger in his gaze. He was frustrated, but he was also fearful and sad. Emotions glimmered like reflections in his dark eyes.
After a long, drawn-out pause, Rebecca finally broke the silence. “What do you think we should do next?”