She made her way to the medical room; still no sign of any staff or patient, although it was made clear that most personnel had been disposed of prior to their arrival. She gathered the necessary items, and returned to the reception hall, her thoughts in complete chaos.
Mika... Raphael... She felt a crushing sensation in her chest. Her perpetual shivering made the procedure difficult, as she tried to extract the bullet from her stomach; fortunately for her, it wasn't a fatal wound, but such injury would still leave her at a great disadvantage. All these people... and for what..? A spectrum of emotions consumed her, the cruel truth finally sinking in. A solid twenty minutes passed, the endless silence displaying a dreadful atmosphere. A beeping sound eventually echoed across the hall; her eyes immediately locking in direction of the waiting room. A sliver of comfort found its way to her, as Billy came into frame.
"How bad is it?" He joined her side, his expression creasing with worries.
"Nothing too serious..." She averted his gaze, staring down at nothing; slammed by a brutal reality, feeling helpless, as the world around her continued to crumble. "What did you do... with Jase..?"
"..." He winced. "He won't be coming after you- you can be sure of that." Whatever that implied, she was relieved to hear. Few moments passed. "Listen... about what we saw... I'm-" He struggled with his words, trying to speak without coming out as insensitive. "I'm really sorry..."
"..." She remained silent, as she refocused on patching up her wound. He didn't push further, her pain clear as day. With both her physical and emotional state a complete wreck, she could no longer hold back. "Somehow... I knew... I knew this would happen..." Tears ran down her cheeks.
"..." A raging feeling waved across him; his fists tightened, he felt powerless.
"I need to finish this..." She locked eyes with him, desperate but resolute. "No matter the cost..." He appeared reluctant, but understood her plea.
"I'll be right there with you." He replied with a reassuring look. A few minutes longer, some more analgesics, and she was set and ready to end this nightmare once and for all.
"Let's go." She reloaded her weapon, took in a deep breathe, and tried to ease the tension building up on her shoulders and neck, as they proceeded to the elevator.
"I got the missing plugs from the last room- found the control panel and activated all five levers..." He informed her. "I had one more look around L-Wing before coming back up..." His eyes scowled. "Think I found the rest of the staff and most of the patients... clearly infected prior to being shot..." She remained in complete silence, unsure on how to process the ever growing insanity. "There's no way to know for sure... but it might be where the infection started- can't say how, or whether it was intentional or not... and where do the mercs fit in all this- I have no damn clue..."
They proceeded down, reaching B1 once again. She exited the car, and stared dead ahead; heading for the final stretch, the final confrontation with hell.
"All these people here..." A thought resurfaced. "We burned Lexi and the guards..."
"Right now... let's just focus on getting inside that room..." She brought up a valid point; however, the circumstances were different then. "Will deal with that after..." In a silent agreement, they continued on, back to the heavily fortified door.
"Two ID are needed..." She pulled out the stack of keycards, looking for a pair that would likely be a match for the card readers. "Here- that might do it..." They nodded at each other; one sweep, and a beep was heard, disengaging the remaining lock. This is it...
The way opened, the freezer-like atmosphere and structure following through; frosted monitors and medical equipment bordered the walls, two large glass tubes were anchored at the center rear of the room. In one of them was a small pale frame, still and lifeless. She approached it, feeling her heart rate increasing with every step. Her eyes were unblinking, locked upon the appalling sight.
"Lucy..." She placed a shivering hand against the glass; her breathing was become strained, her chest heavy. Small tubes were wired to girl's arms and legs, her frail body tied to a metal panel. "She's..." Her fist tightened, a spectrum of emotions clashing on her face. "She was barely six years old..." Fuck- Her hand on the glass clenched, but couldn't build up the strength to punch through. He walked to her side, his expression reflecting hers.
"How long has she-" He couldn't finish the question. His eyes followed her, as she walked to a nearby cabinet; her every move like a quiver, feeling a coming end, as she held onto the last of her stamina. She picked up a file, her face creasing with pain.
"Eight days..." She murmured. "She's... she's been dead for eight days..." Her eyes traveled to the empty tube. Ruben... She felt her heart shatter, a stabbing sensation against her head. "Lucy-" She gasped. "Whatever happened to her... she was kept in here... for study... something about dead cells..."
There was a long and grim silence, followed by a sound; they redirect their attention onto the opening door.
"You!?" Weapon in hand, they both aimed in direction of the figure.
