Chapter 27 - 27. holding the twilight's burning wings

"Philip. Cassandra. Hold on! We can get out of here."

While waiting for the elevator, they were all at a disadvantage.
What's more, Philips and Cassandra are still in pain. Their condition was very pale and also sweating a lot as if they were showing symptoms of fever. When the two of them were brought into the elevator, their condition began to decline. But when they got out of the elevator..

"Hans. You said the passengers were on the 2nd floor, right?"

They didn't expect that the 2nd floor was now filled with something strange sticking to every deck or ship wall.
Not only that, although there weren't many but there were body parts scattered about.

"Captain. I know that's a silly question. But, why did you only use a knife to fight those lickers earlier?"

Seeing that Hans was worried about him, he understood and smiled.
However, what Chris did at that time was not only against the Lickers.
He realized that something was wrong with the licker he had fought earlier.

"I don't know, Hans. But I have a bad feeling there will be a big threat waiting for us at any moment. I feel the temperature on this cruise ship is slowly getting unstable. So I can't be careless at all when I try to fight those damn lickers."

Hans saw Chris still trying to hold back his anger. He even saw Chris holding his knife quite tightly

"If captain thinks so. Maybe you're right. It was getting hot in the elevator earlier too."

"Besides that, there is one thing that also caught my attention. Hans. Listen to me carefully. At that time.. "

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At that time..

Chris saw the surveillance camera light suddenly turn on for no reason. At first he thought it was just a system glitch. But he immediately understood. Because the camera light had been blinking like forming a code. He also remembered that in the radio communication room on the 4th floor there was a special room for monitoring hidden camera recordings.
Because of that, at that time chris chose to fight with a knife, because he also tried to observe the situation where he was fighting against the lickers.

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When they tried to get out, they were intercepted by the presence of BOW in the form of a ship's crew. But some of them are oddly shaped, because some of them look like half spiders.
Chris tried his best not to waste any bullets. He relied on his gun as well as his knife to clear a way for them to pass.
Seeing Chris trying to buy time, Hans even thought about what Chris had said at that time..

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"Maybe what I noticed is almost like a code. and if I translate it, B-U-R-N-T. is burned.
That's it, there is a possibility that one of the floors on the cruise caught fire. And that might hinder the vermilion team from securing an escape route. The first thing we can do is find another way to get to the 3rd floor where Team Vermilion is waiting for us. But we also have to pay attention to temperature changes here. If only there was something that could be used to get to the 3rd floor."

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(Arthur. Hang in there!)

After feeling safe, Chris returned to where Hans and the others were.
But he was quick to react and threw the knife away when a licker slithered up from above. And fortunately it was right on the Licker's head.

"Come on! We can get out of here."

It's just..

"Watch out!!"

Chris almost got attacked by BOW. But what a surprise. The BOW didn't attack Chris, the BOW was instead blocked by a licker which tore the BOW apart into several pieces.
Chris might be okay.

"Hans. Philips. Cassandra. Are you all right?"

However..

"Those eyes..."

Chris was surprised because philips and cassandra's eyes had changed. Their eyes are very similar to BOW's.

"Philips! Cassandra! What happened to you guys?"

Instantly he realized since saving Philips and Cassandra that time. And the weirdness of the Lickers showing up somewhere. Everything sounds reasonable.
He couldn't scold either of them. He tried to stay calm even though it sounded difficult for him.

"Philips. Cassandra. How long have you two been infected?"

How surprised Hans was when Chris said that. Philips and Cassandra couldn't do much because their bodies also started to feel strange since their eyes reacted like a BOW.
Philips gives a hand signal indicating the number 20.
Instantly, Chris immediately understood.

"Hans. At this rate, we have to take them too. But we.."

Cassandra suddenly forced herself to stand up. He motioned for Chris to trust him as if he had a plan.

"Alright! I trust you. But don't push yourself. Philip too. You better hold Hans shoulder. Or you can hold mine."

Chris reloaded his gun and immediately got ready. But philips shook his head and instead put his hand on hans shoulder. When chris looked at hans, he signaled that he didn't mind. Even though he also had to carry Rachel.

"Alright. We can't waste any more time. We need to find a way to the 3rd floor as soon as possible."

Sometimes Chris holds Cassandra's hand if at any time Cassandra will fall.
Regardless, philips moved his mouth, and hans watched carefully. Not long after, he fell silent and continued to hold Rachel while letting Philip hold his shoulder.

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"Cassandra and I have been infected. Although we can still be conscious. But we don't want to hurt anyone. Our estimated time to be able to withstand the reactions of our bodies is about 20 minutes. Cassandra knows what she will do. So let her lead the way.."

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It had been about 10 minutes since they searched the 2nd floor. So far, they had found nothing but a few body pieces scattered along the corridors and blood still on the ship's walls.
Once they arrived at the restaurant room. Unfortunately, all they found were scattered body parts. nothing lives or survives.
But what Chris felt was silent while holding back his anger. Because the situation he was in now, had reminded him of the incident at the Spencer house back then.
But Chris came back to his senses when Cassandra held his hand. They then continued their search again.
But when he was about to open the door on the 3rd floor, he heard another explosion. Surprisingly, the explosion was so powerful that it rocked the ship.
Not only that, even though the fire on the 3rd floor at this time only left flames and also a very thick puff of smoke, suddenly there was a very clear roar. Moreover, the sound was getting closer.

"I knew it, something went wrong has happened."

As soon as they looked back, how surprised they were because the explosion and sound came from the BOW that started coming towards them.

"Is that... DOUGLAS?!"

Not only that, suddenly the Lickers started attacking BOW. But they just realized that Philip's eyes began to turn blood red.

"Philip.."

"Don't worry. I can handle this. Hans. Tell Chris and Cassandra to keep running."

Hearing that, he couldn't do anything. especially when he still remembered what Philips had said back then.
Left with no choice, Hans motioned for Chris to go ahead and was forced to leave Philip behind.
Even though Chris refused, seeing the increasingly chaotic situation, Chris was forced to do what Hans hinted at.

(Cassandra. I entrust them to you. We promise to get them and Arthur out safely.)

The lickers probably managed to tear them apart and make BOW scream in excruciating pain. But the sudden vomiting of blood he felt while he was trying to control the lickers to attack relentlessly. But on the other hand, he has no regrets for what he is doing now.

They ran through the fire.
Even though Hans was getting tired of carrying Rachel for a long time, Chris tried to protect Hans and Rachel when the fire suddenly spread. They kept running as fast as they could.
Even when they were being attacked by so many BOWs like spiders and others, they continued to charge through without stopping.
Once at the exit, they saw a helicopter not far from the cruise ship.
They kept running towards the helicopter no matter how tired they felt.
But when they managed to get into the helicopter, they realized that actually Cassandra was not coming with them.
Because when the helicopter starts to fly high enough..

"Casandra. No!"

Chris saw cassandra just standing there saluting.
And at the same time..

(I'm sorry. Chris. Hans. I entrust Arthur, and Rachel to you. Pass our apologies to Dominic.)

Explosions started. The successive explosions caused the cruise ship to slowly be destroyed.
Once again, Chris felt that he could do nothing. He couldn't save anyone. Until he fell silent again.
However..

"Chris. Don't feel guilty. You did your best to save them. And it was he who also fought hard to tell us his location."

He just realized that Parker was trying to calm him down. while one takes care of hans and the others. What was even more surprising was...

"Arthur Howard!"

"He was found unconscious. He probably fell from the top floor and suffered a head injury. He had a piece of glass stuck to his hand. Luckily his life was saved. Chris, I know you can't hear anything yet. So we better let them get help first. You can rest. For now."

Chris could only nod as he understood what Parker was saying. He might not be able to save Philips or Cassandra. But he managed to save Arthur. Hans. Rachel. Although inevitably he had to undergo treatment to restore his hearing.

Chris saw Hans sleeping, but he was seen still holding Rachel's hand. Looking at the two of them, he started to think. When will he be able to spend time with his little sister. As did Hans and Rachel.
But he knew that he couldn't do that.
As long as he is still attached to his mission.
As a member of the BSAA.

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(Next time you wake up. I'll buy you a beautiful bracelet. I can't believe the damn Douglas took off the bracelet that symbolizes our inner bond. But I'm glad that as a big sister, I was able to save you. My Little Rachel. )

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