Resident Evil Recall: Necropolis

Chapter Twenty Eight: Bacillus Terminate

Feeling as if only moments had passed since walking toward the helicopter, Tobias was still a little groggy when he opened his eyes. Blinking rapidly to clear the haze from his vision, the first thing that came into focus was the face of a young woman, but after a moment he realized that it was not Elza. She was a brunette, and older than Elza, but only by about five or six years at the most.

"Hey, you're awake." She said softly, rubbing a damp cloth on his forehead. "Try to relax, you'll feel better soon."

"What? Where… where am I?" The Lieutenant replied, turning his head to look around. "Elza? Where's Elza?"

As the room came into focus, it became clear that he was in some kind of hospital or maybe a laboratory, with its sterile-white colors, and matching fluorescent lighting. Monitoring and surveillance equipment was placed around the room as well, including on the platform, a kind of hospital bed that was upright to the point where Tobias was standing almost straight up, that he was lying on. Actually, it wasn't really like lying on it, and more like shackled to the frame so that he couldn't move his arms or legs.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know any Elza." The brunette continued, re-wetting the cloth. "My designation is C-008, but if it's all right, I'd like to be called Gillette when the doctors aren't around. You know, like that commercial… the best a man can get… I know it's silly, but I dream of having a family someday. Oh, and that's R-002 over there, but he likes to be called Reynaldo… do you have a name you'd like to use when it's just us?"

Turning his head the other way to see who she was pointing at, Tobias saw that on the far side of the room was a metal cage, where a disheartened-looking young man waved to him upon being mentioned. Now remembering that older man giving him the designation of P-001 before everything went dark, the Lieutenant realized that these two must've been captured just like he had been. Of course, having a research subject designation meant that something was wrong with each of them, and that didn't mean it was always good.

"Tobias." He answered, turning back to look at her. "My name is Tobias Liquid… I'm a Homicide Detective from Raccoon City."

"Oh my, that's really interesting, Tobias." Gillette replied with a smile. "Sometimes I like to imagine things, too, like living in a real house like the ones on TV, and having a husband, and a big family where everyone loves me. My sisters in the A and B series wanted that, too, but the doctors said they were flawed, but… I'm hoping that if I'm real good, and do what the doctors tell me, they might not have to prototype that D series they were talking about. Then I'll get to go out and find a real family."

"It's true, Tobias." Reynaldo added, leaning on the bars of his cage. "Every human who gets enough of Gillette's spores, starts to love her before too long, and when she finds a family, I get to go with her, and be her big brother. Hey, maybe you can come too, and you're older, so… maybe you can be her uncle or something."

"All right, you freaks, quiet down in here." A stern looking man in a hazard suit ordered when the doors slid open with a hiss. "Time for the daily status update."

This man was flanked by four much bigger men who were all wearing suits as well, with pouches across their front, and a rifle slung under their arms. Taking a clipboard off one of the nearby tables, the stern man scanned his eyes over the sheets, and smugly commented that subject R-002 was to remain in confinement, while P-001 was restrained for transport. Then a smile crossed his lips as he looked at Gillette, and while almost laughing, he announced that it was time for C-008 to take her medicine.

"What?" The brunette asked timidly as two of the men grabbed her arms. "No! The Director said I didn't have to take it if I was good! Please, no!"

Gillette shrieked, trying to stop herself as the two men pulled her over to one of the examination tables, with the brunette starting to become hysterical when the third man took out a large syringe from one of his pouches. The tube contained a strange kind of black substance, and the brunette started crying when she saw it, kicking and fighting while they lifted up the back of her shirt, where several large injection marks were visible on the small of her back.

"Stop!" A familiar voice ordered. "I'm the Director, and I order you to let her go at once!"

Having to blink again to make sure he wasn't seeing things, where Reynaldo had been standing inside the cage just a moment ago, the older man who had captured Tobias was now standing in his place. But how in the hell had he gotten in there? And where was Reynaldo? The answer to this question came when the stern man pressed a button on his watch, making the director scream when the cage was electrified. Suddenly the Director's body changed, becoming taller, more muscular, and scaly like a lizard. This creature howled in agony while the electrical energy flowed up and down its body, and then the stern man let go of the button, the creature collapsed.

"What the fuck?" Tobias asked, wide-eyed. "What the hell kind of place is this?"

"That was cute, R-002." The stern man scoffed, turning back to the brunette. "Just for that, we won't go so easy on her. Proceed."

"No! No, don't please, don't!" Gillette begged as they readied the syringe. "I don't like the medicine! Please, I'll be good, I promise! Please!"

Her words became a horrific shriek as the needle was jammed into her back as hard as they could, and she sounded like she was being burned alive when the plunger was being pressed down. However, once the syringe was empty, and they pulled out the needle without bandaging it, the brunette quieted down. Gillette tried to stand up, but her movements were becoming sluggish, with her eyes kind of floating around like she couldn't focus on anything.

"I… uh… can't." She kind of slurred while starting to drool. "Can't… oh… feel… sick… help."

She looked like she had been heavily drugged, now starting to wobble like she was losing her balance, and reaching out toward the men with a shaky hand for help. Unfortunately for Gillette, upon getting a nod from the stern man, one of the others unslung his rifle, and struck her with the stock right between her eyes. Letting out a kind of squeak as she fell backwards, there was a clang as her head struck the table on the way down to the floor, where she kind of moaned while rolling her head back and forth.

"Oh, you're real tough, aren't you?" Tobias found himself saying. "Beating on a drugged girl... how would you like it if that was how I treated your mother… again?"

"Maybe you want some of her medicine, too, huh, smart guy?" The suit-wearing man asked, starting to take out another syringe as he approached.

"Keep that away from him, you idiot!" The stern man warned, almost panicked. "If P-001 gets infected with anything, he's more dangerous than a T-002. Now stop fucking around, and move him to the Director's office."

Now the armed men moved over to the Lieutenant, unlocking the brakes on his table's wheels, and quickly pushing him toward the door. Outside of where Gillette and Reynaldo were kept was just as sterile and white, everything from the corridors, to the elevator, and the large office where the older man he had met in Raccoon City was seated behind a desk. Locking the brakes again, the armed men left, leaving them alone.

"Ah, good morning, P-001." He said, getting up and walking closer. "You may address me as Director, now that you are a permanent member of our happy facility. Oh, and don't worry about your friend, Elza, or should I say, Prisoner #833225? She's loving her new home, and will stay alive as long as you play nice here. Oh, but first I wanted you to see something."

Picking up a remote control from his desk, the Director pushed the button, turning on one of the TV screens on the wall, where a news broadcast was starting to play. The older man mentioned that it was from yesterday, but that he had recorded the broadcast just for Tobias, and this made sense when the headline behind the attractive anchorwoman read: RACCOON CITY DESTROYED.

"This morning at five AM, residents of the Arklay County, as well as all across the State, witnessed a bright flash in the sky." She said solemnly. "That flash, according to sources in Washington, was the final solution to the extreme small-pox outbreak in Raccoon City. The President, acting on advice from Congress, and the Joint Chiefs, determined that Bacillus Terminate, the emergency containment plan to use nuclear weapons to stop the spread of disease, was merited in this extreme situation. As of five o'clock this morning, Raccoon City has been literally wiped off the map… latest projections estimate the death toll surpassing the one hundred thousand mark… our hearts go out to those poor civilians… of Raccoon City."

No, this couldn't be true, Tobias thought as the Director turned off the monitor. Raccoon City, his city, couldn't be gone, it just couldn't. This had been his last chance… he might have failed in the Arklay Mountains, but this time was supposed to be different… he was going to get to the RPD, gather what was left of the police, and save the city, but… but now as he felt a tear running down his cheek, the Lieutenant was starting to realize that he had failed the city he loved, a second time.

"Guards, please escort P-001 back to the tank." The Director said into his intercom. "Now, I know you've got a lot to process here, so we won't start the experiments until tomorrow… after all, you're going to be with us for a long, long time."

Unable to move, or to even think of anything to say, Tobias simply hung there as the guards came in, unlocking the brakes on his table, and slowly wheeling him back down into the holding area where the other subjects were located. How was he supposed to get out of this one? What was happening to Elza? What… was he going to do? What could he do?