Chapter 82: Poor Emma ´ᯅ`

Cold sewage flowed down her trouser legs, each step bringing up a sickening stench.

Jill shone her flashlight on the familiar pipe walls ahead, where the escape arrows she and Chloe had marked with a permanent marker still remained. The red ink, blurred from being soaked in sewage, felt like a needle stabbing deep into her heart.

She had been walking in the sewers for nearly twenty minutes. The Nemesis's roars had long been left behind, but the chill of being watched by a predator still crept up her spine.

The Shotgun barrel was still warm, and the blood of a Hunter Gamma splashed on her tactical suit had already dried into dark brown patches.

Jill wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. Just then, the radio clipped to her waist suddenly crackled with static; the previously silent channel finally had a signal.

She immediately stopped, grabbed the radio, and held it to her ear. Her voice was raspy from dehydration. "Carlos, can you hear me?"

"Jill? Thank God! Are you okay?" Carlos's voice carried clear relief and anxiety. "We were worried sick, we thought you..."

"Yeah, I'm alive. I lost it." Jill leaned against the cold pipe wall, gasping for breath.

"Great! The subway has been fully serviced, and the tracks are clear. We're just waiting for you to get back so we can leave immediately." Carlos's voice sounded relieved.

"Understood, I'll be as fast as I can." Jill turned off the radio and gripped her Shotgun. Not far ahead was the ground exit she and Chloe had marked. From there, she just had to cross two streets to get back to the subway station.

She quickened her pace along the pipe. Soon, a rusty iron ladder appeared, with faint daylight peeking through the manhole cover at the top.

Jill slung her Shotgun over her back, gripped the cold iron ladder, and climbed up step by step.

The ladder was dilapidated; it groaned with every step. Jill reached the top and pushed open the heavy manhole cover.

The moment half her body emerged from the ground, a wave of scorching heat hit her face.

A massive, vein-covered hand suddenly grabbed her head.

Before Jill could even cry out, she was hoisted up by an irresistible force and slammed onto the hard concrete like a piece of trash.

Thud!

The moment her back hit the ground, Jill felt as if her internal organs had shifted, and blood welled up in her throat. Enduring the intense pain, she opened her eyes to see the Nemesis's hideous face.

Its yellow eyes gleamed with malice in the dark. Its thick right arm held a Flamethrower nozzle connected to a hose. A massive black fuel tank was strapped to its back, its metal casing stained with fresh blood.

"S.T.A.R.S.!"

The Nemesis let out a deafening roar and pulled the Flamethrower's trigger.

A tongue of fire several meters long erupted instantly. Jill instinctively rolled to the side; the flames grazed her shoulder, and the sleeve of her tactical suit caught fire.

She rolled on the ground to extinguish the fire and scrambled forward. Not far ahead was a construction site; tall scaffolding pierced the night sky—it was her only way out.

Jill rushed into the construction site and pulled down the rolling shutter door behind her.

Boom—!

The Flamethrower's fire slammed into the shutter door. The metal panels shrieked and quickly turned glowing red and deformed. Jill didn't dare stop, sprinting up the stairs.

The sound of the shutter door being smashed echoed behind her. The Nemesis's footsteps and the roar of the Flamethrower intertwined like a death knell. Flames spread up the stairs, and thick smoke made Jill cough incessantly.

Gritting her teeth, she climbed onto the scaffolding. She was dozens of meters above the ground, the wooden planks beneath her feet swaying slightly in the wind. The Nemesis followed her up, its heavy body causing the entire structure to shake violently.

Whoosh—!

Another tongue of fire swept toward her. Jill grabbed a nearby steel pipe and swung herself to the scaffolding on the other side. The flames burned through the plank she had just been on, sending it falling into the abyss in a shower of sparks.

Jill continued climbing and finally reached the rooftop.

The rooftop was vast and empty, save for a few discarded concrete blocks and a pile of rebar. Just as Jill found her footing, she heard a loud crash behind her.

The Nemesis leaped up from the scaffolding, the massive impact shaking the entire rooftop. It blocked the only exit, its yellow eyes fixed on Jill as the Flamethrower's nozzle slowly rose.

Jill took a deep breath, held her Shotgun to her chest, and reached for the Grenade Launcher at her waist.

"Come on, you damn monster," Jill whispered.

The Nemesis roared and pulled the trigger, fire erupting once more. Jill used the concrete blocks as cover, dodging nimbly. The flames made the concrete crackle and pop, sending stone fragments flying.

Seizing an opportunity, she leaned out from behind a block and fired two shots into the Nemesis's chest. The Shotgun shells tore bloody holes in its body, but it seemed not to feel a thing, continuing its advance toward her.

Jill backed away to create space. The moment the Nemesis raised its Flamethrower again, she whipped up her Grenade Launcher and aimed it at the fuel tank on its back.

"Goodbye."

Jill pulled the trigger.

The grenade trailed fire as it struck the fuel tank with precision.

Boom—!

An earth-shattering explosion rang out as a massive fireball soared into the sky. The fuel tank was blown to bits, and burning fuel splashed everywhere, turning the entire rooftop into a sea of fire.

Jill was prepared; she threw herself to the ground the moment the grenade was fired, shielding her head with her arms. The shockwave swept over her, throwing her several meters back.

She scrambled to her feet and, under the cover of smoke and flames, ran toward the edge of the rooftop. There was a slope leading down to the construction site below—an escape route she had scouted earlier.

Without a moment's hesitation, Jill leaped off.

She landed on the slope and slid down. Just then, the explosion's shockwave snapped a cable on a nearby construction elevator. The elevator plunged and hung precariously in mid-air.

With quick reflexes, Jill grabbed onto the elevator's railing.

The snapped cable groaned under the strain, and the other cable began to fray. Jill gripped the railing tightly, suspended several meters in the air.

Snap—

The last cable snapped.

The elevator, with Jill inside, plummeted toward the ground.

Jill closed her eyes and braced for impact.

Crash!

The elevator slammed into the ground and shattered. Jill was thrown out, landing hard on a pile of sand.

The massive impact made her vision go dark, and she nearly blacked out. Clutching her stomach, Jill struggled to crawl out of the sand.

Fortunately, the elevator had been only a few meters from the ground when it fell. She had sustained some scrapes and bruises, but no broken bones.

She looked up at the rooftop; it was still engulfed in flames, and the Nemesis had disappeared into the fire.

"The bastard's finally dead," Jill whispered, her voice tinged with exhaustion and relief.

She picked up her fallen Shotgun and limped toward the subway station.

With every step, a sharp pain shot through her abdomen, but she didn't dare stop. The subway was about to depart, and she had to get back before the tunnel demolition.

Jill took out her radio and pressed the talk button. "Carlos, this is Jill. Do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear. Are you okay? What was that explosion just now?" Carlos's voice was frantic.

"I'm fine... the bastard's dead. I blew up its Flamethrower fuel tank." Jill leaned against a wall, catching her breath. "I'm near the police station. I should be at the subway in about ten minutes."

"Good, he had it coming! But what were you thinking? Using yourself as bait? You could have died!" Carlos's tone held a hint of reproach, but mostly concern.

"Drop it, it was the only choice," Jill said flatly. "If I hadn't lured it away, it would have stormed the subway station, and everyone would be dead."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end before Carlos's voice came through. "I understand. And... thanks, Jill. The subway is preparing to leave; we'll wait for you until the last possible second. Just get back here."

"Understood."

Jill turned off the radio and continued forward. She was currently in the back alley of the Raccoon City Police Department. Cutting through here was the fastest way to the subway station.

She reached the underground garage gate and found it locked. On the ground above the garage sat a scrapped armored SUV, its body mangled beyond recognition and riddled with bullet holes and claw marks.

Four armed personnel in black tactical gear, with S.T.A.R.S. patches on their left arms, lay on the ground in a gruesome state. Their bodies had begun to stiffen; they had clearly been dead for quite some time.

This was the backup team Chris had sent.

Jill walked over to their bodies, removed her cap, and bowed her head in silence.

Four battle-hardened veterans hadn't died on the battlefield, but at the hands of Umbrella's monsters. If Brad hadn't narrowly escaped, no one might have ever known of their deaths.

Jill observed a minute of silence for them before turning to leave. She couldn't stay long; time was running out.

She walked through the side alley and immediately spotted the sign for Kendo's Gun Shop. The door was slightly ajar, and it was pitch black inside.

Jill hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Don't move!"

A sudden shout rang out as Kendo stood up from the back, leveling a Shotgun directly at Jill.

"Kendo? It's me, Jill," she said slowly, raising her hands.

Seeing it was Jill, Kendo's tense body relaxed, and he lowered his gun.

"Sorry, I'm a bit on edge," Kendo's voice was incredibly raspy. "In this world, you never know what's going to crawl out from behind a door next."

"I understand." Jill nodded. "Why are you still here? Didn't I tell you to take Emma to the police station for shelter?"

At the mention of Emma, Kendo's head slumped, and his shoulders began to tremble.

Jill's heart sank as a bad premonition washed over her. "Did something happen to Emma?"

Kendo didn't speak; he clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. After a long moment, he looked up, his eyes bloodshot and filled with despair, his voice cracking:

"I was going to take Emma to the station, but she refused. She said she wanted to say goodbye to her mother. I tried to convince her several times, but I softened... and then..."

Kendo's voice broke. He covered his face, completely breaking down. "I executed her... I executed her with my own hands..."

"What? You executed Emma!" Jill stared at him in disbelief, her heart feeling as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer.

"No! Not Emma!" Kendo snapped his head up and shouted. "Emma was scratched! My wife... I finished her off myself... right in front of Emma!"

Jill was stunned. She opened her mouth but didn't know what words of comfort to offer. In this disaster, no one was lucky. Everyone was losing something, and everyone was enduring unimaginable pain.

"Go on and evacuate, Jill." Kendo wiped the tears from his face, his tone becoming calm, yet carrying a deathly despair.

"Take care. If you're heading to the subway, take the alley by the shop door. I hung the key to the iron gate there on the door. It's the shortest path and has few zombies."

Jill started to speak but ultimately said nothing. She knew that any comfort would be hollow at this moment.

Kendo turned and walked into the back room, closing the door.

Jill walked to the door and was about to take the key when she instinctively peeked through the crack in the door into the back room.

She saw a small figure curled up on the sofa—it was Emma. Her arm was wrapped in thick bandages, her face pale, looking timidly at Kendo.

"Daddy..." Emma's voice trembled slightly.

"It's okay, sweetheart, don't be afraid." Kendo knelt down and gently stroked Emma's head, his tone softer than Jill had ever heard. "You're such a good girl. Daddy will protect you; I won't let anyone hurt you."

Jill's heart wrenched.

Looking at Emma's clear yet fearful eyes, she suddenly thought of Chloe.

She remembered the girl who always followed quietly behind her, who, though trembling with fear herself, would unhesitatingly rush forward to push her out of harm's way when danger struck.

She remembered her in that blue floral dress, the light shining in her eyes when she had ice cream for the first time.

Kendo and Emma were just like her and Chloe.

Only, she had lost her little girl, while Kendo was still doing everything in his power to protect his.

Jill sighed softly, not wanting to disturb them. She took the key from the door and walked out of the gun shop.

The night was deep, and distant fires still burned. Gunshots and roars echoed intermittently. Jill gripped the key in her hand and looked toward the subway station.

She had to survive.

Not just for herself, but for Chloe, and for everyone who had died in this disaster.

Jill took a deep breath, pushed open the iron gate of the alley, and vanished into the darkness.