Chapter 99: Enemies Meet
The wound on Chloe's left shoulder was still gushing blood, but the self-healing factors of the T+G Virus had already begun to work frantically, the torn muscles slowly writhing and mending beneath her skin.
Staring fixedly at the approaching G2 William, she rushed into the elevator, simultaneously grabbing the dazed Claire and slamming her fist onto the "B6" button at the bottom of the control panel.
"Close the door!"
The elevator doors let out a piercing metallic screech, slamming shut just a second before William Birkin's sharp claws could swing through.
Almost simultaneously, a deafening boom echoed from above, and the entire elevator car lurched downward violently, the steel cables groaning under the unbearable strain.
William Birkin's massive body slammed onto the roof of the elevator, the metal ceiling buckling inward instantly as hideous claws pierced through the steel plate, sending three blinding sparks flying over their heads.
"Hold on!" Chloe shouted. Before the other two could react, she pulled Sherry tightly into her arms and braced her back against the deforming ceiling. Claire reacted immediately as well, throwing herself over them to shield them from the falling metal debris.
The elevator's braking system failed completely. The sharp snaps of breaking steel cables rang out one after another as the entire car plummeted like a stone. A sense of weightlessness instantly swept over them, with nothing but the whistling wind and the muffled thuds of William Birkin's frantic pounding above. Chloe could clearly feel William Birkin's claws piercing the ceiling again and again, coming within less than ten centimeters of her back.
After an unknown amount of time, with an earth-shattering impact, the elevator slammed into the buffer pads at the bottom. The massive force knocked the three of them unconscious instantly, leaving the deformed elevator car twisted into a heap of scrap metal amidst a swirl of dust and rubble.
In the darkness, Claire regained a flicker of consciousness.
The sound of Sherry's tearful cries reached her ears, calling for "Big Sister Claire" one moment and "Big Sister Chloe" the next. She struggled to open her eyes, her vision a blur, only able to see a silver-white figure kneeling on the ground, using blade-claws to cut through the mangled metal trapping her.
"Claire! You're awake!" Seeing her open her eyes, Sherry immediately broke free from the woman's hand beside her and rushed to her side.
Claire shook her groggy head and slowly sat up. Only then did she see a woman standing nearby in a white researcher's uniform, holding a silver handgun aimed directly at Chloe, who was still clearing away metal fragments. The woman's face was pale, her eyes filled with vigilance, fear, and a hint of irrepressible madness.
"Mom! Don't!" Sherry stood in front of Chloe, spreading her small arms to protect her, tears streaming down her face in desperation. "Big Sister Chloe is a good person! She just saved me!"
"Sherry, come here!" Annette's voice was cold and firm, her hand holding the gun perfectly still. "She's not a good person, she's a monster! Get away from her!"
"I won't!" Sherry shook her head stubbornly, clinging tightly to Chloe's arm. "You can't hurt her!"
Chloe slowly straightened up. The wound on her left shoulder had mostly healed, leaving only a faint scar. She patted Sherry's back to reassure her, then looked up at Annette, her lips curling into a cold, mocking sneer.
"Annette. It's been a long time." She spread her hands, revealing the blade-claws in her palms, her tone carrying undisguised resentment. "I bet you never thought that S01, whom you threw into Arklay to die all those years ago, would still be standing alive before you, did you?"
Annette's pupils contracted sharply, and the hand holding the gun trembled slightly.
How could she ever forget?
Back at the Arklay Research Facility, she had personally drawn blood from this silver-haired girl countless times and performed numerous neurological tests. She had watched her body convulse under electrical stimulation and seen her grit her teeth to keep from losing control when the virus went berserk. She and William Birkin had marveled at this test subject's perfect mental resistance and discussed how to transform her into the ultimate Bio-Organic Weapon.
She had thought that after the Arklay explosion, this test subject had long since turned to ash along with those discarded B.O.W.s.
"You... monster!" Annette gritted her teeth, her voice tinged with hysteria. "Don't you dare hurt my daughter! If you want something, come at me!"
"Come at you?" Chloe scoffed and took a step forward. Annette immediately took half a step back, raising her gun even higher.
"Don't worry, if it weren't for Sherry's sake, I would have snapped your neck the second I saw you." Chloe's gaze was as cold as ice. "I haven't forgotten a single one of those experiments you and William Birkin performed on me. I owe this current appearance of mine to your husband, but right now, I have no interest in settling old scores with you."
Standing to the side, Claire was completely bewildered. She looked at the two women at each other's throats, then at the anxious Sherry, and finally couldn't help but speak up: "Wait... what exactly is going on? Who is she? You two know each other?"
"Ask her yourself." Chloe jerked her chin toward Annette. "I wasn't even planning on looking for trouble, yet she's the one pointing a gun at me first."
"S01, I don't know how you survived, nor do I know what you're planning." Annette took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "If you want revenge, take it out on me and William Birkin. But Sherry is innocent. I won't let you lay a finger on her."
With that, she grabbed Sherry and, ignoring the little girl's struggles, turned and walked quickly toward an alloy door at the end of the corridor.
"Mom! Let me go! Big Sister Chloe!" Sherry struggled desperately, looking back and shouting at Chloe.
Annette didn't look back. She swiped her ID card, and the alloy door slowly opened. She dragged Sherry inside, and the door slammed shut behind them with a heavy "click" as it locked.
Silence instantly returned to the corridor, leaving only the heavy breathing of the two remaining women.
Claire walked over to Chloe's side, looking at her tense profile, and asked cautiously, "Is she... really Sherry's mother?"
"Yeah." Chloe nodded, her eyes fixed on the closed alloy door with a complex expression. "Annette, wife of William Birkin and a core researcher for the Umbrella Corporation. Back in Arklay, she was William Birkin's assistant. She participated in every single experiment conducted on me."
Claire gasped. She finally understood why Chloe's tone had been so cold just now. The pain and torture she couldn't even imagine were all tied to this woman.
"So what do we do now?" Claire asked. "Will Sherry be in danger with her?"
"Not for now." Chloe shook her head. "Annette may be crazy, but she cares about Sherry more than anyone. She won't hurt her own daughter."
She paused, turning to look deeper into the corridor, her gaze sharpening. "But William Birkin will be after us soon. This is the outer perimeter of the NEST, and there are Umbrella Corporation test subjects everywhere. We have to follow them, or it'll be too late by the time William Birkin finds them."
Claire nodded, tightening her grip on her revolver.
Chloe walked to the alloy door and pressed her hand against the lock. With a slight exertion from her virus-enhanced fingertips, the metal lock cylinder snapped with a crisp sound. She pushed the door open and looked back at Claire, her voice calm yet filled with an undeniable determination.
"Let's go. Whether it's old scores or new grudges, it's time to settle them all here."
Behind the door was a long, narrow white corridor. The walls were lined with flickering indicator lights, and the air was thick with the heavy scent of disinfectant and reagents. The sound of their footsteps echoed in the empty hallway as they walked step by step toward the deepest darkness of the NEST.
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