Resident Evil: Field of Blood - Pt 8

Leon shook his head. "No. You haven't been infected yet. They needed to verify the fusion first."

He skimmed through the formulae and data for the Omega Virus. He understood little of it, but one word stood out to him: vaccine. Leon rushed through the notes.

"Ramsey was smart enough to plan ahead in case his project failed. He created a vaccine to neutralize the virus." Leon quickly drew a flash memory card from his pack and inserted it into the computer initiating a file copy. "I'm getting this info to the DSO. With this, we can dismantle Eclipse."

Sara sat rigidly, her mouth set grimly.

Leon gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sara, we are getting out of here."

Sara nodded slowly, averting his gaze.

While the files were downloaded, Leon sifted through the other files. A folder labeled CERBERUS MM caught his eye. He opened the file. Its contents were disconcerting. "Ah, hell."

Sara glanced at the screen, eyes going wide. "You’ve gotta be kidding me,” she muttered.

The image of the hound-like creature that had pursued them to the Waste Disposal Area was displayed on the monitor.

"Wonderful. A supersized version of CERBERUS," Leon said dryly.

"You're familiar with that thing?" asked Sara.

"Yeah; smaller, equally vicious versions of that big pain in the ass."

Suddenly, the lights dimmed and a loud click was heard from the hidden door of the laboratory. Leon and Sara exchanged apprehensive glances. On the computer screen flashed the words “Lockdown on Area C. Access denied”. Fortunately, behind the threatening message, a dialog box had popped up indicating that the file copy was complete.

"We’re trapped,” Sara fretted.

Leon quickly removed the memory card and stored it. He rose immediately, assessing the room. There was only one way in or out. Leon’s searching gaze fell on the mobile bookshelf by the door.

“Sara, help me push this thing over. We can block the entrance; it’ll buy us some time.”

Sara rushed up beside him and began hastily flinging out binders to lighten the weight. Heaving and grunting, they managed to push the large unit over. It fell against a tall cabinet at an awkward angle, partially obstructing the lab entrance.

Leon grabbed hold of Sara’s hand and pulled her down with him behind a lab cart. Just as they had ducked out of sight, the sound of rushing footsteps echoed down the corridor. Then the door clicked and slid open.

Various weapons were cocked, signifying a sizable group of soldiers ready to fire. Leon drew his own guns, rapidly trying to fabricate an exit strategy. Behind him, he felt Sara stiffen with dread.

A cold voice broke through the tension. “Hold your fire,” it said.

Leon immediately recognized it as the man who had spoken to them through the speakers near the Waste Disposal Area.

“You know, you’ve been much more trouble to me than you're worth,” the man said.

“Yeah, I get that a lot. Dr. Grey, I presume?” Leon answered, trying to peer out from behind the cart unseen.

“Well, well. It seems you have me at a disadvantage: you know my name, but I don’t know yours,” Grey replied.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“It doesn’t matter; 'Agent' will do. Now, Agent, the girl is very important to me, so I’m going to make a deal with you. Send her over to me now, and I’ll make sure you get a quick, painless death,” Grey said.

Leon’s eyes narrowed. “Tempting as that sounds, I'm gonna have to pass,” he answered. "You're not turning her into a freak for Devon Ramsey's sideshow here."

Leon managed a quick look and saw the uniformed legs of several soldiers. How many soldiers did Ramsey have on that small island?

"You're well-informed, Agent. But you can't see the big, brilliant picture. Mr. Ramsey is going to create a new world―purge it of the weak and the craven to unite it under a banner of power and order. And in such a world, there is no room for those who suffer from a lack of vision. Like yourself," Grey proclaimed.

"I don't need vision to know what a world of infected looks like. I already caught the sneak preview of that show."

Leon felt Sara touch his arm lightly. He glanced over his shoulder at her. She pointed silently up and across the room. He looked up and saw a ceiling access door. It was their shot at escape! He bobbed his head in acknowledgment.

"Agent, you and I both know you haven't got a prayer to get out of this alive. Make things easier for us all and just give me the girl. The odds are stacked against you," Grey said languidly.

"I don't deal in odds," Leon replied staunchly.

"Aha. So you want to play the hero. Suit yourself, then. I've had enough of this chatter."

"Ain't thrilling me, either, buddy," Leon answered. His grip on his guns tightened as he prepared to strike out. It was anybody's guess how this would go down, but Leon was prepared to give them hell. He leaned out carefully, aiming for the exposed legs of the soldiers.

"Cover me!" Sara hissed suddenly.

"What?" Leon's eyes widened as Sara flashed past him, sprinting toward the ceiling access panel. "Sara, don't!"

His shout was instantly drowned out in a storm of gunfire as the soldiers unleashed a volley of bullets.

"Stop, you imbeciles! You'll kill the girl!" Grey shouted over the din.

Sara shrieked as shards of glass sprayed around her from the cabinets and jars, but she didn't check her speed.

Leon was on the move immediately. He leaped out from his hiding place, shooting as many of the feet and legs of the soldiers as he could before rolling to the far end of the room. Screams of rage and pain mingled with continued gunfire and shattering glass, the fragments of which nicked Leon's face and neck.

"Cease fire, damn it!" Grey thundered. "Move the shelf! Get that shit out of the way!"

Leon sprang to his feet and dashed over to Sara who was briskly clearing off a lab cart, blood trickling from multiple cuts on her cheeks. She clumsily tried to climb atop the cart, slipping in her haste. Leon effortlessly lifted her onto it. He felt her body trembling in fear.

She turned to face him abruptly, her dark eyes wild, and thrust something into his hand before heaving herself up through the panel. He realized it was Grey's gun. Somewhat surprised, Leon shoved it into the waist of his pants.

Even as Sara disappeared from view, Leon heard the grunting of the soldiers as they worked to hoist the upset shelf away. A quick glance toward the door confirmed that they had nearly cleared the entrance. He needed to buy some time.

Thinking quickly, he turned on his flashlight and shot out the lights. A wave of shouts and swearing broke forth as the room was plunged into darkness.

"Son of a bitch!" Grey roared. "They went through the ceiling! Foster: send out three teams, and search the facility. Shoot the agent on sight, but I need the girl alive!"

Leon hopped onto the cart and through the panel. He hated being hunted quarry; staying ahead of the game wasn't going to be easy. Balancing himself carefully on a beam, Leon sought his charge. Sara was less than a foot away from him, gripping the edges of an L-shaped intersection of beams. Her flashlight was on, casting strange shadows on her pallid face. She stared at Leon with the terrified look of a cornered rat.

"Where do we go now?" she queried in the ghost of a voice.

Leon exhaled with relief to see her. "Anywhere but here," he answered. "Keep quiet and follow me. Grey's got search parties sniffing for us like bloodhounds."

He began crawling forward carefully. Sara followed slowly and tremulously, teetering on the narrow beams as she progressed. Leon perceived her fear in her shallow, rapid breathing. "Stay calm; eyes on me," he whispered.

Sara grunted nervously in reply.

They crawled about for several minutes. Every now and then, voices barking out orders and reports could be heard as the soldiers hunted Leon and Sara. For a while, the haphazard trek was uneventful, Leon searching for a way back down into the facility.

At length, Leon discovered a hatch leading down. He reached out to try it when he heard a rabid snarl behind him, and a cry erupt from Sara. He craned his neck to look back. His stomach clenched as he saw an undead creature seize Sara's ankle.

"Shit!"

The zombie snapped and snarled as Sara struggled to kick it off. She fell off the beam onto the ceiling panel and the creature pounced upon her. There was no choice but to shoot the thing. Leon quickly fired a single shot at its head.

The zombie fell onto Sara who quickly kicked it away from her with a low whimper, brushing dirt and partially-congealed blood off her face with quivering hands.

"They must've heard that. We have to move!" Leon hissed to her.

Sara scrambled back onto the beam in panic, and they moved on ahead.

"Most people only have to worry about rats in the walls. Here you gotta worry about zombies, too. You okay?"

Before Sara could reply, several shots rang out, and she cried out shrilly in pain. Bullet holes perforated the panels, and it was all Leon could do to avoid getting hit. He felt the thin tiling begin to give way beneath him.