"Fuck!" Wade muttered, watching Ethan get flung across the room, clearly in bad shape. But Wade had his own problems to deal with.
As soon as the muscular woman sent Ethan flying, Wade leapt onto her back, wrapping his arms around her neck in an attempt to choke her. But instead of panicking, the woman seemed merely annoyed, barely feeling Wade's grip.
With a grunt, she pried Wade's arms loose, effortlessly breaking his hold.
"Come on, lady," Wade quipped, "you're strong enough to bench-press a car. Pity your poor husband—bet he can't even turn over in his sleep. Probably has to bear your whole... weight in every aspect of life—"
Before Wade could finish his sentence, the woman bent her knees and smashed him into the ground with brutal force. Bones cracked as Wade hit the floor, his body mangled from the impact.
In mere moments, she had taken both of them down. Frustrated by Wade's taunts, she grabbed a steel bar and drove it into his back, pinning him to the ground.
"Gina, calm down. No need to take things so personally," Francis said with a smirk, patting her shoulder. "Is everything ready?"
"All materials from the lab have been destroyed, and we've relocated the remaining subjects to our other branches," Gina replied coolly.
"Perfect. Let's go," Francis said, giving one last look at Wade and Ethan before leaving them behind in the smoldering wreckage of the lab.
=========
Not long after, Wade, who was pinned to the ground, stirred.
With great effort, he raised his head to glance at where Ethan lay sprawled. Over their time together, Ethan had grown on him, becoming a friend—maybe the first real friend Wade had since Vanessa. Seeing him lying there, lifeless, stirred up some painful memories.
"Sorry, buddy," Wade muttered sadly. "Guess I won't be able to show you the wonders of the world's best… What the hell?"
To his utter shock, Ethan's supposedly lifeless body began to twitch and move. Slowly, he rose to his feet, his wounds regenerating before Wade's eyes.
"Whoa, whoa, wait! Did I accidentally step onto the set of Resident Evil?"
"Relax, I can't die… and neither can you," Ethan replied, looking a bit worse for wear but very much alive. He walked over, gripped the steel bar embedded in Wade, and yanked it out.
As the metal left his body, Wade's wound began to close up, too. "Oh my god, I've been infected! Am I going to turn into a zombie? Can I only eat human flesh now? What about chicken tacos?"
"Stop panicking!" Ethan snapped, pulling Wade to his feet. "We need to get out of here. This place is going to collapse any minute!"
The room was ablaze, thick smoke filling every corner, making it almost impossible to see.
"You got in here; you should know the way out!" Ethan shouted over the crackling flames.
Wade thought for a moment, pointing in a random direction. "I think it's that way?"
There wasn't much time to argue. Dragging Wade, Ethan plunged into the wall of flames.
========
A few minutes later, two soot-covered figures stumbled out of the burning building, coughing and gasping for air. The abandoned factory in the distance continued to blaze, flames licking at the sky.
"Finally… freedom!" Ethan murmured, gazing at the building that had been his prison for so long. After two endless months, he was finally out, breathing fresh air again. But as relief settled in, so did uncertainty.
He was a stranger in a world he barely understood.
Turning to Wade, he asked, "So, what's next?"
Wade didn't hesitate. "I'm getting Vanessa back!"
"Uh… like that?" Ethan smirked, eyeing Wade's current state.
Having just escaped through the fire, both of them were covered in burns and ash, but Wade's clothes had fared the worst. While Ethan still had enough scraps to maintain some decency, Wade was… completely exposed.
"Wow, nice 'roast chicken' look you got going there," Ethan chuckled, glancing pointedly down.
Wade followed his gaze and sighed. "Great. There go my chances with the ladies."