The ventilation shaft was a claustrophobic, dust-filled tunnel, barely wide enough for them to crawl through.
Alice pressed close behind Alexandra, her breath warm against Alexandra’s back, with Matt Addison dragging himself forward just behind Alice.
The journey was tense, every scrape of their gear and every rustle of dust feeling amplified in the confined space.
The Red Queen’s holographic arrows glowed faintly before Alexandra, guiding their path through the metallic labyrinth.
“Ventilation system bypass: Check,” The Red Queen’s voice echoed dryly from a small ceiling speaker embedded in the ductwork.
“Optimal route to Rail Hub: Check. Environmental surveillance feeds active along your approach. You remain within my operational focus, Alexandra.”
Operational focus?
That’s a weird way to put it.
She forced her breathing to stay even, pushing a stray bolt of fear deep down.
Relying on the Red Queen is insane, she thought.
Then again…
stumbling blind through infected corridors is worse.
The vent opened into a small, bare chamber containing nothing but a heavy metal door and a control panel.
The Red Queen’s voice echoed from a wall speaker above.
“Auxiliary Access Elevator. Direct vertical transport to Rail Hub Platform B. Step inside.”
The door hissed open, revealing a cramped elevator car.
They piled in, the door sealing shut behind them.
The ascent was swift and smooth, a dizzying rush that felt out of place after the frantic scrambling through the vents and corridors.
They emerged into a short, narrow passage constructed of cold concrete, leading directly to the Rail Hub waiting room.
The Red Queen’s speakers were absent here, replaced by the low, ambient hum of the facility, the sound of distant roars, and the unsettling drips of unseen water.
Just as they reached the end of the passage, a deep, concussive boom shook the entire structure.
Dust rained down from the ceiling.
The sound came from somewhere deeper within The Hive, followed by a cascade of secondary explosions.
Matt yelped, stumbling back against the wall.
“What was that?! What’s happening?!” His eyes darted around, wide with renewed terror.
His bravery in the face of the infected was one thing, but this felt like the entire facility was tearing itself apart.
“Don’t worry about it,” Alexandra said, keeping her voice steady, though she felt the vibration through the floor.
“Probably just Lickers having a party. Or Umbrella’s countermeasures kicking in harder now that containment’s broken.” She didn’t slow her pace, reaching the entrance to the waiting room.
“Keep an eye on our backs, both of you.” Encountering a Licker in this narrow passage would be suicide.
High overhead, a small security lens swiveled, tracking them as a speaker crackled to life.
“Probability of Lickers ‘having a party’ directly correlating with increased structural instability: High,” The Red Queen noted, her flat synthetic tone cutting through the ambient noise.
“Suggesting we expedite the ‘getting on the train’ part of the plan, guest.”
Nearing the opening into the waiting room, Alexandra didn’t rush out.
She pulled a small, polished piece of metal from her gear—a shard of reflective plating from a broken console.
She held it just outside the opening and angled it carefully—a makeshift mirror that let her inspect the room without exposing herself.
Her blood ran cold.
The waiting room was large, designed for corporate personnel awaiting transport.
Benches lined the walls, signs pointed towards surface access, and in the center of the room…
…a Licker.
It was massive, its bare muscle rippling as long claws clicked on the tiled floor.
The exposed brain atop its skull pulsed faintly.
It sniffed the air, its long, prehensile tongue flickering out.
It hadn’t seen them yet.
Alexandra pulled the mirror back, retreating silently.
Alice and Matt stopped, their eyes on her, seeing the sudden shift in her demeanor—a quiet gravity taking over her face.
Alexandra mouthed the words carefully, keeping her voice to a whisper.
“Licker. It’s in the waiting room.” She pointed back down the passage with her thumb, then held a hand out flat, emphasizing silence and stillness.
“Stay quiet. Don’t move.”
Matt’s face went white.
Alice’s hand tightened on the pistol Alexandra had given her, her eyes wide and focused.
Alexandra’s chest tightened as she ran through her inventory.
Shotgun with barely any shells…
a few pistol mags…
combat knives.
She swore silently at herself.
Crap, fighting a Licker is practically suicide.
From a corner monitor, the Red Queen projected a small, disembodied holographic window.
“Tactical assessment: Sub-optimal. Probability of direct engagement success: Low. Recommend tactical retreat or leveraging external environmental factors.”
No kidding, Alexandra thought grimly.
External factors…
Alice stared up at the nearest wall speaker, her breath catching.
Her eyes snapped from the glowing red interface back to Alexandra, hard and deeply unsettled.
“Why is it talking to you like that?” Alice demanded in a harsh whisper, her grip tightening around her pistol.
“That thing locked down the entire facility, it killed everyone… but it’s giving you tactical advice? Who the hell are you working for?”
Matt shrank back against the concrete wall, clutching his bleeding thigh, his eyes darting between Alexandra and the security camera tracking them from the ceiling.
“She’s right,” Matt muttered, his voice trembling with panic.
“Umbrella’s systems don’t just chat with contractors. What did you know before we even stepped down here?”
Alexandra kept her expression locked, though a cold knot tightened in her stomach.
Oh, great.
The Red Queen wasn’t even keeping its observations to itself.
Alice and Matt could hear every word.
And now they think I’m hiding something.
She couldn’t blame them.
If she were standing in their place, she’d be suspicious too.
That didn’t make it any less annoying.
Yet instead of locking her out, purging her access, or setting the automated defenses to vaporize her, the AI was still talking to her.
Alexandra didn’t know why.
Maybe the Red Queen had simply decided she was useful.
Maybe it had noticed how much she knew.
Maybe it had noticed something else entirely.
Whatever the reason, the attention was starting to feel less like assistance and more like observation.
Great.
Even the homicidal supercomputer is curious about me.
Alexandra kept her expression neutral and looked away from the camera.
“I’m surviving,” she snapped back quietly, keeping her voice sharp enough to cut through their panic without drawing the Licker’s attention.
“If you’d rather argue with the mainframe, feel free to stay out here while I find the train.”
Alice looked at her, then down at the weapon in her own hands.
For a second, the suspicion flickered, replaced by expectation.
Alice was waiting for her to make the call.
Matt was huddled against the concrete, watching Alexandra’s face for the next instruction like a man clutching a lifeline.
Oh.
They’re actually looking at me.
The realization made Alexandra’s stomach twist harder than the Red Queen’s commentary had.
She hadn’t asked for this.
She’d spent most of this nightmare trying to stay in the background, answering only what she had to, and letting the professionals make the decisions.
That plan had stopped working the second she started changing things.
Rain was alive because she’d stepped in.
J.D.
and Kaplan were alive.
Spence was heading into a trap because she’d altered the timeline.
And now Alice and Matt were looking to her because she was the only one in the room who seemed to know what the hell to do next.
She didn’t want the responsibility.
She didn’t want everyone examining her, and she certainly didn’t want to be the person everyone looked at when things went wrong.
I really, really hate being in charge.
She swallowed, forcing her hands to stay steady on the shotgun grip.
Fine.
Step up.
If keeping quiet meant watching them get shredded by a biological horror just to protect her own cover, she couldn’t live with that.
Okay, think, she told herself.
Luring it into the tunnel?
We get trapped and die.
Fighting it head-on?
Shredded in five seconds.
She remembered the Red Queen’s earlier tracking broadcast.
Wait…
Spence is coming to the Rail Hub.
“We wait,” Alexandra whispered back, her voice firming up into something quiet and absolute.
“Spence is heading this way. He should be here soon. He might provide a distraction.”
Alice looked at her for a moment, then back toward the waiting room.
Alexandra kept watching the entrance.
Do I want him to survive this run, or do I want the monster to tear him apart?
she wondered.
Honestly…
as long as he makes enough noise to buy us an opening, I don’t care.
The minutes stretched on, filled only by the sound of their breathing and the distant, muffled roars and explosions from deeper within The Hive.
Then came frantic footsteps from the direction the Red Queen’s tracking grid had indicated—uneven, stumbling footsteps paired with heavy gasping.
Spence Parks burst into the waiting room, red-faced and clutching his side.
His leather jacket was torn and stained with blood, sweat, and grime.
He stumbled to a halt, panting as his eyes darted around the room.
He had fought his way through infected halls and collapsing floors to reach this platform alone.
He was alive.
For the moment, that was enough.
His eyes landed on the hidden panel along the side of the train car.
He lunged for it, fumbling with the latch until he pulled out a padded metal box.
Almost there.
Almost safe.
His mind raced.
He knew the bite on his wrist was a death sentence.
Lisa had bitten him—he knew what came next.
But he wasn’t going to turn into a monster.
Not after everything he’d done.
The antidote was right in his hands.
He opened the box, revealing two small vials—one blue, one green.
He clutched them with trembling fingers.
Thank God he hadn’t handed these over yet.
He’d played everyone: Umbrella, the environmentalists, even Alice.
Poor Alice.
He almost regretted that part; she was fun.
But money was money, and with the profit from selling these, he could buy anything he wanted.
He pushed Alice from his thoughts, focusing solely on survival.
He drew the syringe from the box, steadying his hands.
He was about to draw liquid from the first vial when a shadow fell over him.
A low growl rumbled overhead, accompanied by a putrid, metallic smell.
Spence froze, syringe in hand.
His eyes widened in terror as he stared straight ahead.
His neck felt locked; he couldn’t look up.
He simply felt the heavy, silent weight towering over him.
The Licker’s long tongue shot out before a sound could clear his throat, wrapping around Spence’s head.
With a snap, it wrenched his head clean off his shoulders.
Blood spurted from Spence’s neck as his headless body hit the platform.
The Licker raised Spence’s head to its jaws, ready to feed.
[Kill Confirmed: Spence Parks] [Reward Points: Pending Scenario Completion]
Alexandra barely registered the translucent text appearing at the edge of her vision.
Later.
“Now!” Alexandra yelled, bursting from the passage with her shotgun raised.
The Licker dropped Spence’s head, its attention snapping toward her.
It let out a deafening shriek that echoed off the concrete walls.
Alexandra fired, aiming for the exposed brain on its skull.
The shotgun blast tore into the tissue.
The monster reeled back with a howl, dropping to all fours as its raw muscles bunched to charge.
“Alright, ugly!” Alexandra yelled, grabbing a handful of loose papers from an overturned bin and tossing them into the air to hold its focus.
“Come and get it!”
The Licker lunged in a blur of claws and muscle.
Alexandra pivoted on her heel, slipping under the razor-sharp arc of bone before the claw could touch her.
A wall speaker overhead crackled.
“Interesting.”
Alexandra glanced toward the security lens while keeping her shotgun trained on the monster.
“What?”
“Your movement pattern does not correspond with the combat experience recorded in your available personnel data.”
Alexandra stared at the camera lens.
“Oh, fuck you.”
She ducked another swipe that shattered a concrete bench behind her.
Alice pressed herself against the wall near the passage entrance, her heart hammering against her ribs.
She squeezed her eyes shut for a split second, forcing herself to breathe and focus.
Alexandra had expected Alice to panic when the Licker charged, but Alice watched, waited for an opening, and moved.
Matt stood beside her, pale, but keeping his eyes locked on the creature.
“Matt!” Alice whispered urgently.
“Its weakness! Do you see it?!”
Alexandra fired again, another shot striking the Licker’s brain.
It reeled back, its head tilting as its long tongue lashed out blindly.
Its chest heaved, exposing the ribcage beneath the taut muscle.
“Its heart!” Matt yelled, pointing a hand forward.
“I see its heart!”
There’s the heart.
Wide open.
Alexandra racked a fresh shell into the shotgun.
No more messing around.
“Cover me!” Alexandra yelled, sprinting forward to line up a shot at its chest.
The Licker, blinded by rage and pain, focused entirely on Alexandra.
It lunged at her again with claws extended.
Alice and Matt burst from the passage, firing their pistols to draw its focus.
Alice pulled out the high-tension garrote wire she carried, sprinting toward two sturdy pillars in the waiting room to string the line at knee height.
“Run, Alexandra!” Matt yelled, firing continuously.
Alexandra dodged under a swipe of claws, sliding across the tile floor toward the line Alice had set.
The Licker, unable to check its momentum, hurtled after her.
“Now!” Alice yelled, pulling the wire taut between the pillars.
Alexandra rolled, coming up on the far side of the wire just as the Licker hit it.
The wire sliced through the creature’s raw muscle.
Bisected in an instant, its upper body collapsed onto the platform with a wet thud while its lower half skidded away.
Silence returned to the waiting room, broken only by their heavy breathing.
[Target Eliminated: Licker] [Kill Credit: Assist] [Reward Points: Pending Scenario Completion]
Alexandra’s eyes flicked across the notification and away again.
Later.
Alice detached the wire from the pillars, her hands trembling slightly.
She walked over to Alexandra and handed back her discarded pistol.
Their hands brushed as Alexandra took it—a brief moment of contact after the shared fight.
Matt sank to the floor, covering his face with a shaky breath.
“Holy hell,” he muttered.
Another violent tremor shook the Rail Hub, stronger than the last.
The ground vibrated, lights flickered, and distant rumbles echoed through the walls.
“Get on the train!” Alexandra ordered, her voice cutting through the shock.
They hurried toward the train car.
Alexandra kept one hand firmly on her shotgun as her eyes swept the dark concrete passage behind them.
The corridor remained empty.
Please let them have made it.
One.
Kaplan.
J.D.
And Rain.
Her thoughts caught on Rain for a moment longer.
The bite on Rain’s arm had been getting darker before they split up, and Alexandra had no idea how much time was left on that clock.
Come on, Rain.
Hang in there.
Part of her brain automatically logged the system mechanics—Rain was part of her objectives, her survival tied directly to points.
But beneath the metagame math lay a simpler truth: she wanted Rain to live regardless of the payout.
She turned back toward the train car.
Spence had reached the vials first, but his luck had run out there.
The antidote lay in its padded box right beside his body where the Licker had dropped him.
Alexandra let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
Good.
At least that bastard didn’t take the antiviral with him.
Then she saw Alice stop dead.
The body was headless, lying in a pool of blood in a torn leather jacket.
Beside it lay the small, open box with its blue and green vials.
Alice’s gaze dropped to the dead hand lying open on the tile, where a simple gold ring matched the ring on her own finger.
Spence Parks.
Her husband.
The traitor.
Dead.
Alice stood frozen, staring down at the ring as the realization settled over her.
Alexandra paused beside her.
For two quiet seconds, she didn’t bark an order or grab her arm.
She simply stood at Alice’s side, letting her absorb the weight of it.
Then, gently, Alexandra laid a hand on Alice’s shoulder.
“Alice. We have to go.”
Alice offered a single, mute nod, letting Alexandra guide her through the open doors into the train car.