"You're hurt." Rebecca broke the silence as the car descended into darkness.
"It's nothing. I'll—"
"Tell me when you need help?" She snapped, her frustration sharp. "You've been saying that since we got to these godforsaken mountains. I'm starting to think you won't, even if it costs you your life."
"I'm serious, Rebecca. I don't—"
"Half your abdomen is nearly cut open, and you can barely walk!" She shot back, her eyes blazing. "Why do you keep pushing me away?"
"That's not what I'm doing!" I shouted, more defensive than I meant to be. "It's just better if you don't know the truth."
"It's too late for that, don't you think?"
The words hung in the air, heavier than the silence that followed. Rebecca moved closer, her hands steady despite the tension as she dug into her medical bag. I didn't argue. What was the point?
Billy finally broke the tension. "Maybe we should cool it. Stress isn't great for open wounds."
"It'll heal." I muttered, staring into the darkness outside.
"Doesn't mean I should ignore it." Rebecca shot back.
"Guess it's in your nature to help." I said with a faint smile.
She didn't smile back. Instead, as she secured the bandages, her voice softened. "Alex, you can't hide it anymore, so please, just tell us the truth…are you infected?"
I hesitated. The weight of the secret pressed down harder than the pain. But hiding it hadn't done me any favors. I met her eyes.
"I am."
Her hands froze for a second, then kept working. Billy let out a low whistle. "So that's what those claws were about, huh?"
"Yeah…but it's not as you might think. The Redlight virus has nothing to do with me. At least, I don't think so."
Rebecca frowned. "What do you mean?"
I exhaled slowly. "Back in Manhattan…I was part of a project. They tested on me for years, trying to develop a new virus—Blacklight."
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you talking about Gentek?"
I nodded. "When the lab went up in flames, I escaped. Been laying low ever since. But it wasn't them I was running from. I now realize that."
Billy leaned forward. "Then who?"
"Umbrella." The word tasted bitter. "Those soldiers on the train—they weren't after anything else but me."
"But why? How does Umbrella fit into this?"
"I don't know…"
Rebecca finished the bandages and sat back. "Then we'll figure it out together."
I blinked. "What?"
"You thought we'd just ditch you over this?" Billy chuckled. "It's not like you turned into a zombie." His voice gained a more genuine edge. "So don't worry, we're seeing this through the end, together."
Rebecca smiled, her determination clear. "We've got your back, just as you had ours. These…powers won't change that."
As I stared at them, relief washed over me, and for the first time in a long while, I felt like I could breathe.
…
"Hey, Rebecca…how'd you even figure it out?" I asked as the cable car descended toward the faint glow below, curiosity gnawing at me.
"You mean besides the journal?" She tapped her chin, thinking. "Those red veins for one—looked a lot like the Redlight creature. Plus, the analysis from our fight with the Hunters said the claw wounds didn't match theirs. They were from…something else."
I chuckled awkwardly. "Guess I wasn't as careful as I thought."
"Not really." She replied, smirking.
"Is it bad I didn't notice any of that?" Billy chimed in, shaking his head.
"Didn't you say soldiers were trained to pick up on details like that?" I teased, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, well…apparently I lied." He sighed dramatically, earning a small laugh from Rebecca.
"It's alright. Honestly, I was starting to think I was just being paranoid, overanalyzing everything." She admitted with a light chuckle.
The cable car began to slow, the distant lights growing brighter as we neared the ground.
"You feeling any better?" Billy asked, glancing at me.
"Yeah. I can walk on my own now." I nodded, though the dull ache in my side said otherwise. The wounds were closing, but I wasn't at full strength—not yet.
"Before we get off, take these." Rebecca handed us each a Molotov and a smoke bomb. "It's all I could put together with what I found in the lab. Not much, but considering we're nearly out of ammo…"
Her words trailed off, the weight of our situation settling over us again.
"You could just leave the fighting to me." I offered, flexing my fingers, feeling the faint pull of strained muscle and healing tissue.
"No." Rebecca's tone was firm. "Who knows what happens if you overuse your powers? There could be side effects. We can handle ourselves."
Billy groaned lightly. "Do we have to?"
Rebecca shot him a glare, but the corner of his mouth twitched in a reluctant smile.
I sighed, shaking my head. "Alright. We'll figure it out as we go."
With that, the cable car doors slid open, revealing what lay beyond.
…
Stepping out of the cable car, we were met with a grim sight.
Rusted pipes lined crumbling concrete walls, and cave-like tunnels branched into darkness. But it wasn't the deteriorating facility that stole our attention—it was the bodies.
"So many…" Rebecca whispered, her voice barely audible. Skeletons, shriveled corpses, and decaying remains littered the ground like discarded trash.
"Were these…test subjects?" Billy's jaw tightened, anger simmering beneath his words.
"Most likely." I muttered, the answer bitter on my tongue. The smell alone was overwhelming.
Then, like a phantom creeping from the shadows, his voice slithered through the silence.
"Oh? Still breathing, are we? Impressive, I must say." Marcus's unmistakable tone echoed from unseen speakers, smug and dripping with malice.
"But surely, you must feel it—your strength waning with each encounter. This is where you'll meet your end…among these mountains of corpses!" His laughter bounced off the walls, as if our deaths were already written in stone.
I scoffed. "Don't know what you're talking about. I'm feeling better than ever." A lie, but I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction.
"Oh, Alexander…" His voice darkened, his amusement shifting into something colder. "While this… nature of yours intrigues me, those wounds say otherwise." The way he said my name made my skin crawl, like he owned it.
"Hope you'll be laughing like that when we find you." I snapped.
"I have grand plans. A few children won't stop me." His voice faded, leaving only the oppressive silence.
Billy exhaled sharply. "I'm starting to think he's just playing with us."
"He's right about one thing." Rebecca murmured. "We're running on fumes. How long can we keep this up?"
"As long as we need to." I replied without hesitation. "We'll get out of here. I'm sure of it."
Billy gave a short nod. "Yeah…can't be much more of this place left."
"You'd better be right." Rebecca muttered.
We pressed on, a wall of collapsed rubble blocked the tunnel ahead, massive boulders sealing our path.
"Looks like it's blocked." Billy muttered, squinting at the mess.
"I…could clear it." I offered awkwardly, flexing my fingers. The idea of using my powers openly like that still felt strange.
Billy gave me a sidelong glance, brow twitching. "Man, that's weird to hear."
"But you don't need to." Rebecca interjected, pointing to a rusted red elevator tucked to the side. She jogged over and slammed the call button.
"You sure that thing won't collapse on us?" Billy crossed his arms, skeptical.
"Not like we've got many options." She shot back with a shrug.
"Again, I could—"
Before I could finish, the ground trembled beneath us. Dust fell from the ceiling, and the pile of boulders began to shift unnaturally.
"The hell…?" Billy muttered, stepping back as the trembling intensified.
A guttural roar erupted, deafening in the confined space. The rocks exploded outward, a shower of debris forcing us to shield our faces.
Emerging from the dust was a nightmare made flesh.
A towering, rotting giant, its pale skin stretched over bulging muscles. One grotesque hand ended in elongated, knife-like fingers. Its heart was fully exposed, pulsing grotesquely, protected only by strands of muscle.
"Are you two okay?!" I shouted over the chaos, my eyes never leaving the monstrosity.
"We're good!" Rebecca called back, coughing through the dust. Billy just grunted in response.
"Alright, stay back! I'll handle this!" I shouted, stepping forward despite the dull ache flaring in my side.
"Are you insane?! You're still injured!" Rebecca snapped.
"I don't doubt your skills, but that thing's not something you can solo right now." Billy added, positioning himself beside me.
"I just have to hold it off until the elevator arrives!" I insisted as the creature roared, charging with terrifying speed.
"Like hell you're doing this alone!" Rebecca shouted, yanking a smoke bomb from her belt and hurling it at the creature's face.
The canister exploded with a sharp hiss, engulfing the beast in smoke. It roared in fury, thrashing blindly.
"Move!" Rebecca screamed. I stumbled back as she threw a Molotov. The glass shattered against its chest, flames erupting in an instant, dancing across its decaying flesh.
The monster shrieked, flailing as the fire consumed it. I didn't waste the opportunity—I surged forward, ignoring the searing pain in my side.
'No running away this time.' I thought, remembering what happened on the platform mere minutes ago.
The beast swung wildly, its bladed fingers slicing through the smoke. I ducked under a swipe, feeling its claws just inches from my head. My strengthened arm connected with its ribs, causing a crack.
But It retaliated fast. A backhand caught me square in the chest, sending me sprawling across the floor. Pain exploded through my body.
"Alex!" Rebecca's voice pierced the haze as she approached me.
Billy charged in from the side, distracting the monster long enough for me to scramble to my feet. My ribs protested with every breath, but I couldn't stop.
"Raaagh!" The creature roared, swinging at Billy, who barely dodged, rolling to safety.
Rebecca didn't hesitate. She raised her hookshot, aiming for a corroded beam overhead. Thunk! The grapple lodged into the metal with a burst of sparks. "Go for the heart!" She shouted, yanking the hookshot with all her strength. The beam groaned under the tension before snapping free, crashing down onto the creature's back with a deafening clang. The impact forced the monster to one knee, debris scattering across the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, I sprinted forward, ignoring the searing pain in my leg. My hand morphed into razor-sharp claws, slicing through the thin layers of decayed flesh covering the exposed heart. The tissue tore like wet paper, revealing the pulsing, grotesque organ beneath.
But before I could strike, the creature reacted with terrifying speed. It crossed its bladed appendages over its chest, shielding its heart, then swung a massive chunk of debris at me. The force sent me sprawling, my injured leg buckling as I hit the ground hard.
Dazed, I barely managed to roll away as the monster lunged again. This time, I met its attack head-on. My mutated arm shot up, catching its knife-like fingers between my claws. The clash sent a shudder through my entire body, deep gashes splitting open along my forearm from the pressure.
We were locked in a brutal stalemate—neither of us giving an inch. My muscles screamed in protest, blood dripping down my arm. I can't keep this up…not with these wounds.
"Alex!" Billy's voice cut through the chaos. I glanced sideways, just enough to see him charging with a jagged steel pipe gripped tightly in both hands.
Realizing his plan, I roared, tightening my grip to hold the creature's arms in place. Billy didn't miss a beat—he drove the pipe straight into the creature's exposed heart with a sickening crunch.
The monster's reaction was immediate. It thrashed wildly, a distorted, almost human scream ripping from its throat. My grip faltered under the violent spasms, and the creature broke free, slashing at me with renewed fury. I barely managed to block the strike with my mutated arm, the blades carving a deep gash across my flesh. Pain flared, but I held firm.
"You okay?" I rasped, glancing at Billy as we both staggered back.
"I should be asking you that. But…thanks." He panted, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Don't mention it." I replied with a faint smirk, blood dripping from my arm onto the cracked floor.
The creature roared again, its rage undiminished despite the injury. But then—zip! A sharp metallic zing echoed through the corridor.
"Got you!" Rebecca's determined shout followed as the hookshot's head embedded itself directly into the creature's heart.
The monster let out an ear-piercing scream as it clawed at the embedded hookshot. With one violent motion, it sliced through the line with its bladed fingers and yanked the steel hook from its chest, blood spilling from the wound.
It staggered, glaring at us with burning, hate-filled eyes. For a brief, tense moment, I thought it would charge again. But instead, it retreated, limping back through the tunnel it had emerged from, leaving a trail of gore in its wake.
Ding. The elevator doors slowly creaked open behind us.
"Well…that's our ride." Billy muttered, still catching his breath.
"Sure took its sweet time." I sighed, clutching my side.
As we turned toward the elevator, a small metallic clatter caught my attention. From the narrow opening of the door, a cylindrical device rolled onto the ground.
"What the…?" Rebecca muttered, her voice laced with confusion.
The device clicked open at both ends, emitting a sharp, high-pitched whine.
"Get away from it!" Billy shouted, but the warning came a second too late.
A surge of electricity burst outward, searing through my body with agonizing intensity.
"Gaaahh!!" I gritted my teeth as pain shot through my nerves, amplified by my already battered state. My muscles locked up, refusing to obey.
Through strained vision, I saw Rebecca and Billy collapse onto the floor, unconscious.
I forced myself to move, to push past the pain, but every breath felt like dragging barbed wire through my lungs.
Then, the soft hiss of the elevator doors sliding open drew my attention. A familiar presence stepped forward. A deep, unyielding red locked onto me.
"You…!" My voice was thick with fury as I glared at the figure. "Just what do you want?"
I wanted to charge him, to tear into him, but my body refused to cooperate. The electricity had done its job.
"Not of your concern." He exclaimed coldly.
I heard the distinct click of a safety disengaging. My instincts screamed at me to move.
But before I could react, the shot rang out.
A sudden, searing pain ripped through my skull. My world was swallowed by blackness.
I stood frozen, disoriented. I could still feel the throb of pain. I could still hear my ragged breathing, still taste the blood in my mouth. But my sight…was gone.
He blinded me.
The thought hammered through my skull like a drumbeat. 'It happened again.'
A familiar rage stirred in my chest, a violent fire clawing its way to the surface.
"You think this is enough?" My voice came low, seething. "I can still see you!"
I sharpened my focus, stretching my senses outward. His presence lingered ahead—his breaths slow, measured. His boots scuffed against the floor as he moved, circling me like a predator toying with its prey.
I didn't wait. I lunged, my claws swiping at him.
The ground rumbled as he slid down, pain flaring as his boot intersected with my injured leg.
I stumbled, the sound of a metallic glint reaching my ears.
But before I could defend myself, a sharp, jagged object, most likely a combat knife, was stabbed into the gash of my abdomen.
"Aaahh!!" My voice was strained, the pain overwhelming.
I tried to push through, using my strengthened arm to attack, only to hit air.
The wind wooshed from my side, my arm swinging back just as the man stabbed some kind of needle into my neck.
The wind hit my face as I backhanded the soldier. Sending him flying back, the ground shaking as he landed.
The man didn't even let out a grunt, but that didn't matter right now. I could feel my blood being extracted by what I now realized was a syringe.
'That's what his after?' My mind swirled with questions.
I reached for it, fingers grasping—
Bang. A gunshot.
Something slammed into my forehead, jerking my head back.
For whatever reason, that was it.
That was the moment everything else faded. The pain, the questions, the hesitation—
All that remained was one thought, burning through me like an inferno.
Kill him.
"Aaahh!" My body moved on instinct, lunging forward. My claws sliced through the air, reaching for flesh, for blood.
He was fast—but not fast enough.
A rush of movement to my left. I twisted, swiping with all the force I could muster. Something solid—an arm, maybe his vest—caught beneath my claws, tearing as I raked through fabric and flesh alike.
He let out a sharp breath. Not a scream. Not a grunt. Just a brief exhale before he was gone again.
'Coward.'
I pivoted, sniffing the air. The scent of iron was thick now. His blood. I could taste it on my tongue.
I could hear the faint sound of his footsteps, and with a low growl, I charged, ignoring the bullets penetrating my body.
My shoulder slammed into something hard—his body. A second later, we crashed to the floor.
I was on top of him before he could react, my claws seeking his throat. I could feel his pulse beneath my grip, the frantic beat of a man who knew he was prey.
A sharp, mechanical hiss filled the air.
'Gas.'
The scent hit me instantly, burning my nostrils. My lungs seized as a sharp numbness crawled through my limbs.
I roared, thrashing, but my body was already slowing.
A hand gripped my wrist, forcing it back.
Another movement, a sharp tug, then the sickening snap of something pulling free from my skin.
The syringe, he'd taken it.
'No.'
'No, no, NO.'
I snarled, forcing my muscles to move, but my body wouldn't respond. The gas was taking hold, dragging me under.
Distantly, I heard him stand. The weight of his presence loomed over me for a moment, as if confirming I wasn't getting up anytime soon. Then, his footsteps. Calm. Steady. Retreating.
"Mission accomplished." He exclaimed through ragged breaths, most likely announcing his success to his superiors.
And with that, he was gone.
And I was left, blind, bleeding, furious.