Chapter 12: The Escape

William was sure he was going to be sick. The leeches were everywhere, crawling, sliming, and sticking. He tried to step over one pile, and ended up crushing another that popped like wet, slimy slugs. They seemed harmless right now, but he saw them create the Mimicry Marcus on their very own. He decided to jump, hop, skip, and tiptoe across various areas in the large control room to get him to the platform that would lead him up to the underground helipad above. The final terminal was up there, and William needed to reach it in order to blow this place to hell.

"Almost there!"

"You are doing a wonderful job, William."

"Thanks, Marcus, you know I-" William cut his words short. He felt his eye twitch as the presence was hot behind him.

He slowly turned around, his jaw dropping open as he saw James Marcus standing there looking just as he had when he and Wesker shot him down ten years ago. He seemed a little greener…maybe a littler slimier, but definitely the same Marcus.

"Wow…this is awkward."

"Do you think I am just going to let you waltz around like a buffoon and destroy my plans? I am not going to let you blow this place up. You and Albert are going to pay for what you did to me, and so is Spencer and Umbrella!" Marcus yelled.

"Hey…just so we're clear…we were ordered to kill you."

"Albert suggested it to you, and then conned Spencer into doing it. Therefore, yes, it is your fault."

"Can you kill those two handcuffed people first? I need to call my wife."

Marcus narrowed his eyes, but then William saw a group of leeches forming together to create another creature. The Umbrella scientist slowly reached into his pocket and pulled the pin on the grenade. He then suddenly threw it and took off running. The grenade exploded seconds after landing on a pile of leeches, and pretty soon the creatures were catching on fire. Marcus was yelling out now, but it was too late, William had went through the bulkhead into the platform area and got away.

William jumped on the large platform and made it ascend to the upper level. When he hit the underground helipad floor, he took a moment to look around and find where the last terminal was located so he could set the Training Facility to blow and he could get the hell out of here.

When he spotted it down at the other end of the helipad, he grinned like a coyote. "Gotcha!"

The small explosion made the elevator shutter. The light flickered, startling Rebecca and Billy, but the elevator remained in motion. They got their weapons ready, wondering what that could have been. The elevator hit its floor, and the doors slung open. They stepped out into a large control room covered in leeches. Many of the leeches were on fire. There was a man standing in the middle of the leeches, faced towards the bulkhead that would lead them to the platform they needed to get to the surface.

The man must have sensed them, for he turned around to face the handcuffed partners. Rebecca was startled to see James Marcus there. Billy immediately raised his weapon, eyes sharp on the old man.

"James Marcus? How are you still alive?" Rebecca asked, grunting.

"Ten years ago, I was betrayed by my two apprentices. They had me killed and dumped my body in the sewers. My babies…my leeches, they found me and brought me back to life using the Progenitor Virus that I was experimenting with them. It has taken me this long to gather strength and numbers with my beautiful babies to plot my revenge. Now I am here, and the Queen is inside me, and I will hunt everyone down responsible and kill them!"

"Not if I can help it," Billy growled.

"Of course. You two think you two are the heroes in all this, hmm? Well, you know too much. I cannot allow you to live."

"Let's see you try old man!"

"Billy!" Rebecca hissed.

Marcus started laughing, raising his arms out to the side. He slowly started to change. He grew, and his clothes ripped away as green, leech-like skin formed instead. His head broke apart, taking form as a strange, leech-like head. It walked for them on two feet, roaring out.

"I need to learn to keep my mouth shut!" Billy yelled. He grabbed Rebecca's hand and they took off, barely evading the swiping limb of one of the Queen's arms. They started firing their weapons. Each bullet pelted the slimy, green hide but it did not stop the creature.

"The self-destruct system has been activated. You have ten minutes to evacuate. I repeat, the self-destruct system has been activated. All personnel evacuate immediately."

"Are you freaking serious?" Billy snapped.

"We have to get up to ground level quick!"

"But how? Our weapons are hardly damaging him at all!"

Rebecca looked around fast. Soon Billy was dragging her along by the cuffs to get away from the hissing Queen creature. They fired several more rounds. The creature slashed its arm out. The limb was able to stretch, and it hit the two right off their feet. As they were hurrying to get their footing back, Rebecca noticed a jug of gasoline by one of the computers.

"Billy! That gasoline! Catch him on fire!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" her partner yelled.

The two ran over to the gasoline jug. Billy tore it open, making Rebecca get behind him as he let the creature get close enough to dump the gas on it. The leech Queen hissed, slapping them hard with its arm and coming for them again. Billy grabbed his shotgun and fired. The bellow of the shot echoed and the creature went up in flames just like that. They kicked more leeches off of them as they scrambled to their feet. As the Queen creature was screaming, they waited no time to open the bulkhead and head through. Billy called the platform down, and they had no choice but to wait as it slowly descended.

"Come on! Come on!" Rebecca called, looking back to the bulkhead.

There was a loud slam. The bulkhead was bending. There was another slam, and the bulkhead was warping even more. A hissing scream came from the other side, and it somehow sounded louder before. They jumped on the large platform before it even finished descending. Billy hit the button for it to go up. The platform shuttered and slowly starting back up and was complaining.

"Almost there!" Billy yelled.

There was more light on the upper floor. Just as they were nearing the top, a loud roar bellowed from below. The platform was jerking now. They looked over the railing to see that the Queen creature had evolved into a bigger, sickening creature. Smoke was slithering away from its dark body as the fire died away in its new transformation. It slammed into the bottom of the platform, knocking Billy and Rebecca off of their feet. Rebecca slipped through the railing, screaming.

The cuff snagged her arm, and she was now dangling as the creature below howled out again, slamming its head into the platform to push it up itself. It was breaking the platform right off of its railway.

"Billy!"

"Hold on!" Billy reached through the railing to grab her hand. He pulled her up.

The two quickly got to their feet and ran for the nearest opening where they could jump up the short distance to be on the upper floor. Just as they were climbing up onto the next floor and getting out of the way, they heard the platform snap.

The Queen tossed the large metal platform up into the air. Billy and Rebecca got out of the way as it crashed not too far from them, bent up and mangled. The Queen crawled up onto the floor with them, roaring out. The leech-like monster was the size of a bus, now on four legs as it traced them down with an eyeless, featureless head and gaping mouth. Billy and Rebecca didn't have time to look around the underground helipad for a way to escape. They took off running with the monster right behind them. They knew their time was diminishing fast, and would have to come up with a plan fast.

The Queen tried to cut them off with speed that was surprising for its size. Sunlight was peaking through the overhead roof doors. As the creature cut them off, it stepped into the sunlight that pierced through to the concrete floor. The Queen howled out as jerked away from the sunlight, sizzling like a frying sausage. As the creature backed up, it hit another space with sunlight, and it yowled out again.

"Billy! We need to get the roof open!" Rebecca shouted.

"And how do you suggest we do that without getting eaten?"

"You shoot, I will run the valve!" Rebecca yelled, trying to drag Billy along by the cuffs, but his weight wouldn't budge to her. "C'mon!"

"Sure, you get the easy job!"

"This isn't the time for your smart-ass comments, Billy!"

They ran along, searching for the controls for the roof doors. Rebecca was glad that dawn had come across Arklay Forest already. The sun's rays would burn the Leech Queen just as it did with the normal leeches. Their time was quickly running out as the detonator counted down.

"I see the valve!" Rebecca hollered.

Billy was firing several shots at the hissing creature. The Queen screeched out at them, only growing angrier by each pelting bullet. The creature was quick but also sluggish from the islands of mechanical devices that severely cut the perimeter of the helipad. The only open areas were the now destroyed platform, and the helipad itself, outlined with painted yellow lines on the concrete floor.

Rebecca soon realized they had a problem when they reached the valve. She couldn't turn the valve at the same time that Billy was shooting because of the cuffs. She would need both arms, and that would limit Billy to only one hand.

"Do you mind shooting that handgun with only one hand?" Rebecca asked, voice exasperated.

"Yeah, sure! Get to turning!"

Billy fired several rounds with his handgun while Rebecca worked the valve as fast as she could. He would much rather be using his shotgun right now. The light hanging over the valve turned from orange to green. One of the doors slid open on the helipad, and blinding the Queen. The leech creature screeched again, jerking away from the light and giving Billy and Rebecca room to run across to the other side to get the other valve.

Billy didn't even have to shoot while Rebecca got the second valve, and opened the final door to the helipad. Now the underground helipad was completely lit up with morning sunlight. The Queen was sizzling and burning while screaming, but it still came at them in its distress.

"I smell bacon!"

"I'm all out of ammo!" Rebecca called.

Billy ran clean on his handgun as well. He tossed the gun aside. He went to take the shotgun out, but his arm brushed by the magnum revolver he had picked up earlier. He quickly pulled the gleaming six-shooter and aimed at the creature's head. Parts of its body had sizzle into burnt black scabs, while other parts were actually catching on fire. A single bullet from the magnum put the creature out of its misery. It howled, collapsing and continuing to burn in the light.

"Warning! There is less than five minutes left until detonation. All personnel evacuate immediately. I repeat, less than five minutes left until detonation!"

"Shit! We need to make a good run to get away from the blast zone!" Billy yelled.

Rebecca pointed to the EXIT sign placed over a set of concrete stairs that led outside. They immediately headed up and out of the underground helipad. They had no time to look around in the woods where they ended up, just took off running to get as far away as possible. When the explosion did erupt, they were a safe distance away. They still felt the pulsing hot wind that swept across the forest. A giant plume of smoke and fire rose to the sky like a god.

Rebecca couldn't believe that they made it out alive. They walked a few minutes, and then collapsed by a cliff that overlooked some more of the forest, as well as a large, spooky mansion. Her pulse was racing, but trying to calm now that immediate danger was gone, and they were safe right now. She frowned upon looking at the mansion.

"That must be the mansion that Enrico was talking about. Alpha Team must be looking Bravo Team in there."

Billy didn't say anything. She didn't expect him to. If he stuck with her, he would get arrested and put right back on his death row. Rebecca felt a stab to her heart, and she looked down to where the cuffs still linked them together.

"I guess we better find a way to get these handcuffs off so I can let you go, and I can reunite with the others."

"Let me…go?" Billy grunted.

They both rose to their feet. Billy gawked at her as if she was crazy. She was. There went her law enforcement career. Rebecca wasn't going to miss it. After what she and Billy went through, she was ready to retire already. She knew Billy was innocent. She owed him so much. It was the least she could do.

"I know you are innocent, Billy. So, I am going to let you go and tell everyone you are dead."

Billy's eyes fell to the ground. He told himself he was a fool for falling for Rebecca. He didn't want to lose her, even if that meant going with her to the mansion. He heaved a sigh, using his free hand to rub his neck.

"Yeah, and do you see anything we can use to get them off?"

Rebecca took a moment. "No."

"Guess you are stuck with me, doll face."

Rebecca shook her head, looking hurt. "I can't let my teammates arrest you."

"Maybe we work something out with them. Surely, they would be more worried about all this zombie and Umbrella bullshit than me."

Rebecca was unsure, but she slowly nodded anyway. "Okay…"

"Oh, before we head out…take these," Billy said softly. He used his free hand to pull the chain that was holding his dog tags from his neck. He used her baffled stare to his advantage and slipped the necklace on her without much of a fight. "In case something does happen to me. I would like someone to remember the real me."

His words brought tears to Rebecca's eyes. She suddenly hit him hard with a strong hug. Billy returned it, smiling faintly. They stayed like that for a long moment. Billy stroked Rebecca's back in a gentle, caring manner.

"We are both going to be fine," Rebecca stated, her words muffled from her face still being in his chest.

Billy pulled her back so he could look her in the eyes. He used his thumb to stroke her cheek, trying to put on a cheesy grin to comfort her. "Of course we will, doll face."

Rebecca smiled at him. She raised her arms up, taking one of his arms with hers, and wrapped them around his neck, drawing him down to her. They kissed, one that seemed to be in waiting forever. Billy instinctively wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her small form into him.

"I blame the handcuffs," Billy said into her ear, earning a giggle. He kissed her again.

"Why? It was your fault we got stuck like this in the first place!"

"It was?"

Rebecca hit him in the chest and they pulled away. They checked their remaining weapons and supplies, noticing how dirty and miserable they looked. Rebecca gave one last look to the mansion, and then looked back to where the smoke and fire was still reaching into the sky back from the way they came. They found the trail that would lead them to the mansion.

"You ready?" Rebecca asked.

"I was gonna ask you the same question."

Rebecca twitched a smile. "There's no need. I'm a professional now."

"Riiiight," Billy chuckled. "Well, Miss Professional, let's go find your friends and get the hell out of this hellhole."

"And let's hope that you don't get arrested in the process," Rebecca quickly added.

He pulled her into him so quickly, it surprised her and she squeaked. Billy kissed her on the temple before whispering into her ear. "Yeah, that too."

William couldn't believe his eyes. He was amazed the two handcuffed partners were able to kill Marcus and escape the Training Facility before getting blown to hell. There had to be something wrong with this picture, just had to be. He readied his gun, knowing that if he didn't kill the two of them, he would never hear the end of it from Albert. Hiding out in the bushes just wasn't his style, but he had no choice considering they were out in the middle of the forest. They looked as though they were heading to the mansion. William needed to head back the other way, towards the highway to meet up with Annette and Ada and further plan out their steps. Albert should be done with his end in some hours, depending on how things are playing out in the mansion. William trained the gun, finger on the trigger to shoot the two in their backs and end their almost unbelievable charade of luckiness in survival. But soon he found he couldn't pull the trigger. There was just something about the things they went through, and were able to survive despite everything he tried. Their relationship had evolved somehow.

Sighing, William lowered the gun. He could always make up some sort of excuse to Albert. He could say he swore that they were blown up. Yeah, that would work. After all, after going through what they had, being handcuffed together, and still surviving. They deserved to live...until they made it to the mansion and got killed by a BOW or Albert, one or the other. In other words, it was out of his hands now. William smiled, despite the situation. Shaking his head, he got up, and headed for the trail that would lead him to the highway without looking back.

The End

A/N: Well, that took freaking forever to finish! My computer crashed a while back when I was writing this chapter, and I lost it. It really made me mad, and then I didn't want to write it anymore lol. So, even though the original chapter I had going was longer and better, I am sorry that this is all you get now. I hope all of you enjoy it anyway! It's the final chapter too! I am still unsure about making a sequel to them going to the mansion. I might, but not right away lol. So, were you guys surprised that William let them go? :) He can be soft-hearted too! XD And what about that kiss everyone has been wanting lol? Thanks for everyone who has been so loyal to this story! And again, so sorry for the long wait! I hope it was worth it! Thank you guys! :)