RF0 Chapter 8

The rain is so loud on the train that Rebecca keeps looking over her shoulder as she moves through the cars. She keeps her gun in her holster; something is wrong with those women back there. They’re sick, and they need a hospital, not a bullet. She wonders if Edna Dewey is infected with the same thing.

Rebecca pauses, conflicted. There’s nothing sexy about this situation, but her body is as hot right now as it was in Wesker’s arms. It’s hard to think clearly. A part of her wants to find a private spot and touch herself to see if that would let her think straight. She must be infected as well.

She puts her hand on the door to the next car and lets herself through. It’s a dining car, and it smells worse than the rest of the train. A woman sits in a booth, her back to Rebecca. The dim lights flicker; it’s hard to see her clearly.

“RPD,” Rebecca says automatically as she approaches. “I’m here to help. Did you see a woman come through here? Tattoos on her arms? Ma’am?” She touches the woman’s shoulder, and her fingers come away slimy. “Huh? Oh god,” she says, flinching as the woman’s body shifts bizarrely with wet squelching noises. Pieces of her fall off.

Rebecca backpedals, grabbing for her gun as vague shapes the size of her fist squirm on the floor. She pulls the pistol only for the nearest thing to leap at her, trailing slime. Her gun clunks to the floor as she tries to shield her face. The thing, like a slug or a leech, sticks to her wrist. She’s too horrified to scream, and can only manage a strangled noise of alarm as she tries to shake the thing off, only for dozens more to leap onto her. Overcome with panic, she topples to the musty carpet, thrashing. They’re everywhere, warm and sticky.

Something hot is eating through her clothes. Rebecca gasps as one latches onto her breast, and several more slither determinedly between her legs. She tries vainly to knock them off, and a sudden jolt from her sensitive body makes her cry out and arch her back. It’s hard to fight them, and even harder to think. She rolls over and tries to crawl away, feeling them on her back and buttocks, eating through her tros.

A gunshot slaps through the confined space, and slime bursts through the air. Three more shots follow, and Rebecca feels a few of the things blasted off her. The rest drop from her body, slithering rapidly to merge into a single mass, which slides toward the door.

Billie steps forward, firing two more shots into the hideous, squirming lump, but that has no effect. It vanishes under the door.

Rebecca sits up dazedly.

“You OK?” Billie asks, tucking the gun into her jeans.

“I don’t know,” Rebecca replies shakily, looking down at herself. Her outfit is soiled and full of holes. One breast is exposed, and her pants are now crotchless. Her heart races, and it’s hard to make her eyes focus. “I think I need a hospital.”

“Here.”

She sees Billie’s outstretched hand and takes it. Billie pulls her upright.

“Yah!” Rebecca shrieks at the sharp sting in her bottom as Billie jabs her with something. Under the circumstances, all she can do is look at Billie indignantly.

Billie shows her an expended injector. “I found this in an Umbrella case. It’s supposed to be protect you from this weapon.”

“What weapon?”

Billie shrugs. “How the hell should I know? But what are the odds it’s not the reason every woman on this train has a dick and is suddenly super rapey?”

That’s a fair point. “Oh my god. What is happening?” Rebecca’s mind clears a little, but her body is still out of control. And exposed. “I need something to wear.” She shakes her head and bends to pick up her pistol, realizing too late that she’s offering Billie an explicit view. She leaps upright and tries to cover herself.

“Relax, sweetheart. I’ve seen naked women before,” Billie mutters, going to the window and peering out worriedly.

Blushing, Rebecca jams her pistol into its holster. “Thanks for saving me.”

“What can I say? You have big damsel energy. Still want to take me in?”

“I want to know what’s going on here. And to be checked out by a doctor.”

“It’s Umbrella’s train.” Billie tosses the injector at Rebecca’s feet. The Umbrella emblem stands out clearly on it. “I took a dose of that too. Still feel weird.”

“I need this. And anything else you found. It’s evidence,” Rebecca says.

Billie waves a hand. “All yours, beautiful. I’m already gone.”

The train lurches, making them both stumble. Rebecca catches herself on a seat as the train starts to move.

Billie hurries back to the window. “What the hell?”

Rebecca s her. The dark and the rain make it difficult to see. So much for her hopes of getting help from Bravo Team. Edna’s still aboard the train, but she’s sedated. Rebecca doesn’t know where this train is headed, but every second takes her farther from her team.