simiteen: Wow! Been a long time since I’ve updated. Four months in fact. That’s what college will do to you. Since I'm actually doing my work, I’m afraid I can’t update regularly for a while. Small price to pay for good grades. Oh well. Now onto the Chapter!

Ch.22 Saving Billy

It was a reasonable question. After all, a few minutes ago, he was ready to collapse. Back in the elevator, he had been trying to come up with some kind of mental trigger to stay awake. But his thoughts were already slipping away. Randomly, he remembered what was coming up. As his thoughts drifted toward Billy’s situation, he grabbed onto it on impulse. He could die if we don’t get there. He imagined what it would be like if that happened. He could see Tiffany getting pissed off like heck, and going on a rampage. Alicia wouldn’t care too much. He’d have to just soldier on. Rebecca, sensitive Rebecca probably would break out in tears. David didn’t like that thought at all. Gotta save Billy. He began to repeat the phrase over and over in his mind. He focused on it, until he could no longer feel his physical ailments. Then he was off.

The room he had just entered was occupied by large, cylindrical containers. The path went forward a little bit before sharply turning to the left. Since it hugged the wall, David couldn’t see anything beyond the turn. It was one of those spots that invited ambush. Too bad for the leech zombie, he already knew what to expect. He threw the gas tank he’d been carrying at the corner. The loud sound alerted the monster. David took aim.

Tiffany, who had just caught up, was confused. “What are y-“ She was interrupted by the leech zombie rounding the corner. “I’v-“

Before she could finish, David fired. The resulting inferno overwhelmed the monster. They paused, waiting for the flames to die out. Tiffany glanced behind her, and saw Rebecca and Alicia were only now descending on the lift. The sound of boots hitting concrete brought her attention back to David. He was already running down the corridor. She charged after him.

What the hell do you think you’re doing? A part of David roared at him. He answered promptly as he passed by a locked door. I have to save Billy.

Bullshit! The others can take care of him. And he’s in no danger, unlike you! You are pushing our body too hard!

David pushed the thoughts away as he exited the room. He was now in a break room. A billards table stood in the center of the room still in the same position when the game was abruptly ended. Some empty bottles occupied a small table next to the left wall with a floor map above them. A stairway led to the lower levels on the opposite side of the room. The bar sat on the right wall with four red stools for seats. A former construction worker ambled aimlessly around the room. His walk interrupted by a bullet.

I can make it, he insisted. He headed down the stairs after grabbing the map. Now at the bottom of the stairs, he was now in an open area. A forklift was next to the stairs, facing a rock wall. Beyond it and some railing was the underground river. A few barrels were sprawled throughout the room. A large pipe ran from the opposite wall into the river. Next to it was a door.

You can’t! You’ve never been able to sprint for this long when you weren’t mauled! Our body is about to collapse. And you can't simply imagine it away! It’s hopeless! Stop, before you kill us!

David tried to ignore the thought, but the damage was done. With his concentration broken, he was now acutely aware of his physical condition. His lungs felt like they were on fire and breathing became a hard chore. Pain seemed to make a nest in his chest. His legs were tired from the constant sprinting. Exhaustion steamrolled into him. His abrupt stop alerted Tiffany. “Simic?”

He managed one step toward the river before vomiting. The second his body was sure that his stomach was empty, he collapsed onto his side.

“Damn it, Simic!” Tiffany was by his side in a heartbeat, concern written on her face for the first time. She tried to diagnose his symptoms. His breathing was hard and erratic. One of his hands clutched his chest.

I warned you!

David fixed his eyes on Tiffany. With a shaky finger, he first pointed at the door, “Billy,” before pointing at a ledge above the forklift, “item.”

“Okay, I got it! Now stay with me!”

Can’t, he tried to say, but he was already losing consciousness. When his eyes shut, Tiffany didn’t know what to make of it. Although he was breathing, he still looked pretty bad. Thankfully, Rebecca and Alicia soon arrived on the scene.

“What happened?” Rebecca demanded as she kneeled down next to them.

“He stopped, puked, and fell over.”

Rebecca scowled at him. “He should have never left the elevator.”

“Before he blacked out, he said he thought he heard Billy through there.” Tiffany briefly gestured at the door. “Alicia, c’mon!” Once again, the two rushed off leaving Rebecca to care for David. Rebecca felt like shouting something at Tiffany. But what was the use? Satisfied that he was in no danger of dying, she resumed her usual vigil.

Tiffany and Alicia entered into a room containing a large pit, which occupied a quarter of the floor on their left. A slim walkway was separated from the majority of the room by the pit, which extended along the entire length of the room. A series of descending steps led into the pit. Besides the railing around the pit, a small platform perched on the edge. It held a control panel. For whatever reason, a valve handle was on the walkway. No sign of Billy. “C’mon,” Tiffany urged, heading to the next door. “Simic said Billy was this way.”

The next room was hardly a room. It was mostly a stairway leading to a lower level. The leeches worried them, until they realized they didn’t move, just squirm. Shrugging, the pair continued onward, stepping on a few of the leeches along the way.

When they rushed through the next door, they found themselves on a suspended walkway above a shallow pool of water. A large pipe in the corner continually sprayed water onto the floor. Laying sprawled out at the end of the walkway was Billy.

“Finally!” Tiffany exclaimed as they ran over to him. As they neared him, they could see him breathing, pushing any worries away. When Tiffany started pulling him away from the edge, he coughed up some water before opening his eyes. She grinned. “Rise and shine!” She let him go as he stood up. “How do you feel?”

“Like shit,” he groaned. Then his eyes locked onto a corner of the room. Following his gaze, Alicia and Tiffany found what he was staring at: a pile of skeletons lying in a heap.

“Guess we found where Marcus stashed the bodies,” Alicia stated.

“Let’s make sure we don’t end up like that,” Billy replied.

“Right.” Tiffany scanned the water before looking at Billy. “No grenade launcher.

He shook his head. “Lost it in the river. And my ammo’s wet.” Tiffany nodded before handing some of her rounds. He paused. “Where are the others?”

“Simic and Rebecca are a few rooms back. Everyone else is still in the training facility. We still haven’t found the exit. So, let’s get a move on.”

When they walked into the pit room, Tiffany abruptly stopped. “What is it?” Alicia inquired.

“I bet we’re gonna need that.” She pointed at the valve handle. “Isn’t it suspicious how it’s just sitting there all by itself?”

“Normally, I would say no. But it’s been like that all over the place.”

“Exactly.” She peered into the pit. A revolving fence stood in the center of the pit. Several crates, including a metal one, were scattered within the pit. There was only one ladder and it was only on their side.

While Tiffany was checking the pit, Billy investigated the console. Next to one of the buttons was the word “Fill.” He pushed it. Water began to shoot up from a grille in the floor. Soon the whole pit was full. The wooden boxes floated on the surface. “Well that helps,” Tiffany said. After removing her weapons, she swam to the other side, retrieved the handle, and swam back, completely ignoring the boxes.

“So, any idea when we’re going to use this?” Alicia asked her.

“Not a clue. This entire place has been like one giant jigsaw puzzle.” Finished with their business in this room, they moved on.

“Billy!” Rebecca shouted as she ran up to him and hugged him. Billy was caught off-guard and awkwardly returned the hug. Tiffany glared daggers at the young cop. Rebecca stepped back and smiled him. “I’m glad you’re okay. You had us worried there for a while.”

“Well, don’t worry about me. I’m pretty tough.” Eager to switch topics, Billy looked around the room, his eyes stopping at Simic. “What happened to him?” He questioned as he walked toward the soldier.

“A lot.” She went on to explain the leech attack and then the giant monster they had faced against in the turntable area.

Billy shook his head. “Zombies, leeches, and now giants. Just what the hell was the point of all this? Bio-weapons, human experimentation. Just what the hell does Umbrella hope to get out of all of this?”

“Money. You’ve seen the files. These guys actually think they’re going to rich off this kinda shit.” Tiffany answered.

“I can’t believe anyone would do something like this just for money,” Rebecca commented.

Tiffany scoffed at Rebecca. “You really are naïve, aren’t you?” Rebecca only stared at her surroundings.

Billy knelt down next to David. “How long has he been like this?”

“Only a few minutes.” Rebecca walked up to them. “He’s been sleeping a little here and there, but he’s desperate to get everyone out of here. He’s been pushing himself pretty hard. If he would just let us handle it, he wouldn’t be like this.”

“Then let’s find that exit before he gets back up.” Billy stood up. He noticed Tiffany climbing on the forklift. “What are you up to?”

“Thought I saw something up here, while we’re coming down the stairs.” After a minute, she came back with a red and black keycard. “Well, this saves us a trip.”

“Good. You wouldn’t happen to find a map of this place, too?”

Tiffany grinned at Billy before pulling out a map from one of Simic’s pockets. “Will this do?”

Billy smiled before saying, “excellent.”

The four of them pored over the piece of paper. Rebecca pointed at a room at one end of the facility. “We should be able to get to the surface from here.”

Billy glanced at her, surprised. “How do you know that?”

“We ran into Captain Enrico when we faced the giant. He told us where to find the way out.”

He quietly eyed her for a moment. “Did you tell him about me?”

She turned her attention from the map to him. “No. We never did bring you up.”

“I see.”

“Alright! Now that we know where we’re headed to, let’s start moving!” Tiffany interrupted.

“Are we going to leave Simic and Rebecca here,” Alicia questioned, gesturing at their cave-like surroundings.

Rebecca pointed at the stairway. “There’s a break room up those stairs. It’s safe.”

As Tiffany put away the map, Billy swung David onto his back. “You sure you can handle it?” Billy grunted affirmative. After the group had climbed back up the stairs, Billy gently placed David on the pool table. Tiffany glanced at Rebecca. “You know the deal.” Rebecca nodded and sat down on one of the stools. The other three headed back the way they came. In their haste to save Billy, most of the doors were left open. More zombies wandered into the area. “Finally! I get to kill something!” Tiffany cheered. Billy stopped her. “What now?”

“We’re running low on ammo. We need to start conserving it.” Tiffany glared at him before pointing at one of them. This zombie was blocking the only unchecked door. She started to say something, but Billy was ahead of her. After walking up to his target, he drew his knife, dodged its reaching hands, and plunged the knife into its temples, all in one fluid motion. Alicia was impressed, while Tiffany glared at him for stealing “her” kill. When they turned their attention on the door, they discovered it had no handle. Instead, there was a slot in the center of the door. Alicia tried to insert the valve handle. It was a perfect fit. “Okay, I know I should be used to this,” Tiffany began. “but what the hell?! What kind of company builds a door that opens up with a frickin’ valve handle?!”

“Umbrella,” was Billy’s reply. Without further ado, they walked in. The light right above the door illuminated most of the room. Old, rusted pipes ran throughout the room along the walls. The smell of decay, which had hounded them since entering the facility, was even stronger here. Some industrial machinery occupied the center of the room, which divided the room roughly in half. From the right side, they could hear the sound of munching mouths and crunching teeth. The sounds abruptly stopped. Then the moaning began as the undead made their way to their new prey. Another two came from the left. With guns ready, the trio waited for them to enter line of fire. But when the zombies shambled into view, not one shot was fired.

Billy raised an eyebrow. Alicia’s face scrunched in revulsion. Tiffany’s jaw dropped. Unlike the rest of the walking corpses, these were different. They were naked. Thankfully, the bodies had decomposed to the point where gender was no longer identifiable. Which still didn’t explain the absence of clothes.

“What…the…f**k!” Tiffany shouted before unloading her firepower. The ensuing fight was a mirror for most of their conflicts with the infected humans: short and one-sided. “Can someone please explain to me, where the hell are their clothes?”

“Maybe…they were torn off?” Alicia offered.

“Remember that diary we found in the basement? As the infection spreads, the victims lose their minds. They might’ve ripped their clothes off to try to get rid of the infection, or maybe they were trying to cool down from the fever.” Billy guess.

“Whatever the case, I hope we don’t run into anymore of them. Cause that’s just wrong!” Now with the room cleared, they began their search. Since they couldn’t find anything of value, they decided to climb a ladder on the left wall.

Alicia eyed the ladder uneasily. “That’s a good spot to get ambushed.”

“Who’s going first?” Unanimously, both of them looked at Tiffany.

“Honestly, why do you even ask?”