36A/N: Finally, after several months, I am back. My apologies to anyone who may have been waiting for a new chapter. A very sincere thank you to all reviewers, and anyone who has added my story to their favorites or alerts. I hope to add chapters more frequently from this point on, but no guarantees. This chapter literally took me months to flesh out, because I had multiple ideas of how I wanted to involve the Grahams, but I couldn't decide which direction to take. In the end, I thought of a new idea, and went with it. Anyway, please continue to read and review. Without further ado here is "Resident Evil: Kenwood Falls" chapter 9.
Chapter 9: While You Were Out
"Where am I?"
Leon's head was spinning. He heard seemingly distant voices...
"He'll be fine now, thanks to you."
"What was Hunnigan doing here?" he thought.
"Well, if you hadn't come, we'd still be out there," He heard Rebecca say, with an unmistakable hint of guilt in her voice,
"If only I hadn't let my guard down."
"Don't beat yourself up Rebecca," Hunnigan said, "From what you've told me, it sounds like that last attack literally came out of nowhere."
"What the hell happened?" Leon grunted as he started to sit up, only to be besieged by a sharp pain in his torso and the back of his head. His vision was blurred, but as his focus returned he started to see two silhouettes bathed in a bright light. The shadowy figures slowly came into focus to reveal Rebecca and Hunnigan, and the light started to dim somewhat, revealing what looked like the gray metal walls of an infirmary.
"You're finally awake!" exclaimed Rebecca, unable to hide the relief in her own voice.
Leon tried to stand, but his wobbly knees gave way and he found himself sitting back on the gurney.
"Whoa! Easy there cowboy! Take it slow." It was Hunnigan.
Rebecca spoke again, "Fortunately there's no head trauma, like a concussion or anything, but your ribs are a bit tender right now. Your tough Leon, I'll give you that. No concussion, and only bruised ribs after that blow. I guess that vest helped protect you from having your ribs broken."
"Yes, " Hunnigan began, "but his head is just naturally hard as steel." she laughed.
"But, all kidding aside Leon," Rebecca said as she stopped chuckling, her voice going back to feeling guilty, "You may have saved my life back there."
Leon suddenly remembered:
"Rebecca, watch yourself. These things are called 'lickers'. They use their tongues to attack!"
"Eww, that's disgusting!" Rebecca replied, as she and Leon began to fire on their attackers.
"They can wrap their tongue around you and strangle you, or they can stab you with the barbs on the tips of their tongues. Get close enough and they'll go straight through you. It's best to try and get them in the exposed parts of their brains."
At that point one of the enemies wrapped it's tongue around Leon's neck. He unsheathed his combat knife and sliced it off. The creature fell back in pain and Leon was able to get a clear shot at it's brain, killing it instantly. As that was happening, Rebecca deftly dodged a piercing attack from her own attacker and released three rounds into it's chest, and one in it's skull for the kill. After dodging pouncing attacks from the final two, Leon and Rebecca took them out with a single shot each from their more powerful weapons. Rebecca put her shotgun down and turned to the doors. Suddenly, a fifth, larger licker materialized and headed toward her.
"REBECCA LOOK OUT!" Leon jumped in front of her and took a powerful kick to the torso which knocked him back into the steel doors head first. The attacker's kick revealed it's position and Rebecca fired a single shotgun blast into it's brain, killing it. Just like that, the attack was over. Leon felt Rebecca trying to move him, and barely heard her calling for back-up just seconds before he passed out.
"How long have I been out?" he asked.
"About four-and-a-half hours. It's nighttime now." Hunnigan answered.
"Hunnigan helped me get you in here. We're inside the the WilPharma labs. She came about a half an hour after I called her on the radio. We were able to secure the area, which thankfully wasn't too hard. We're actually not that far from where we fought those monsters; maybe halfway down the hall. Unfortunately we've been sealed in. A solid steel panel slid down and blocked off the entry point shortly after we got in. A security measure to keep people in and out I suppose. I've been able to hack some of these computer files, hoping to find a passage out, but I haven't had much luck so far. However, we seem to be safe for now. Apparently, that last creature that attacked us was a licker that had been genetically altered with DNA from something called a 'novistador'."
Leon interrupted, "A giant insect with enhanced strength, flight abilities and a cloaking ability to render itself invisible."
Rebecca looked stunned, "Exactly, but how...?"
"I've encountered the 'novistadors' before. Back in Spain. They, like most of the enemies we've seen so far are controlled by 'Las Plagas'. But who else has a master plaga? That's the big question. I thought Saddler had the only master plaga, but I guess I was wrong."
Arthur Graham woke up in an unfamiliar room. His head was pounding. It took less than a moment for him to realize he was alone, and he remembered the last thing that had happened before he blacked out.
"Arthur? What is is it?"
"Jennifer, get Ashley, we need to leave now. I'll explain on the way to the airstrip."
He looked at one of his Secret Service men and said, "Make the call. I want an armored car out front, like yesterday!"
"Sorry Sir, but I can't do that." He replied, as he put on a gas mask.
President Graham thought of his family as knockout gas flooded the White House dining room.
"Well, I see you've woken up. Did you enjoy your nap?"
The sudden sound of a distorted human voice brought the President back to the present. He looked around and noticed a camera mounted near the ceiling on the opposite wall, directly facing him. The voice was coming through a speaker on the ceiling, just above the electronically sealed door that marked the only way in or out of the room.
"Who are you? What the hell do you want with me? And where is my family?"
"My, my," the disembodied voice said, with a sneering tone, "We are quite the inquisitive one aren't we? And rather grumpy I might add. You should be grateful, after all you're still alive...for now." A cold, unfeeling laugh flooded the room.
Then the voice continued, "Very well, since you asked so nicely," The distinct sound of a throat being cleared could be heard before the strange voice continued.
"Who I am, is none of your concern, and shall remain undisclosed for the time being. However, I will tell you that your wife and daughter are safe, for the moment. Whether or not they remain so, is up to you."
"You see, you are here for a very special purpose Arthur," the mysterious speaker paused briefly, "May I call you that? Seeing as how you're not really presiding over anything at this time, I'd rather be less formal."
" Anyway, as I was saying, You are here for a special training session. You are at a secret location, where my experiments need to be assessed before being released to the highest bidder. As a former war hero, I expect you to give them a challenge. Your wife, Jennifer, is located somewhere south of your current location, and your daughter, Ashley, is located east. Your task is to find them before they become playthings for my little pets. Oh, by the way, they have been infected as well, and shall be no more than mindless flesh-eaters soon, if they survive." Once again, a cold unfeeling laugh filtered into the room through the speaker.
"You sonuvabitch! Why are you doing this!"
"Oh, don't think me completely without a sense of fair play. There is an antidote. It is located somewhere within the walls of this facility." The door to the room suddenly slid open, revealing a long, dark corridor. "There is also a handgun in the room next door, I wouldn't want you to die before seeing your family again, though they may not recognize you. In fact, if you don't find them within the next two hours and inject them with the serum, they won't. You'll be nothing more than another meal to them. Good luck, Mister President." One more cruel chuckle, and then there was only silence.