Investigate the NEST

Sherry is suffering from both infections. Claire has to find a way to save her friend before it’s too late. In the NEST, abominations beyond her imagination awaits her.

Chapter 9 - A Girl's **** Wish

There were only two other areas in the South Area - the reception hall and the cafeteria. Starting by the reception hall, Claire searched every file available to learn the location of the vaccine. Although that didn’t turn out well for her, she did find something notable.

One of them was a nap room log. There was a researcher, Wayne Li, that had entered the nap room days ago without leaving. He might possess a general staff clearance, which was what Claire needed at the moment.

The other one was a manifest, having recorded a transfer where Dr. Sara Takahashi had taken a test subject for her latest experiment a week ago. The time matched the one in the factory director’s diary, where he noted that Sam’s sister had been taken to the NEST by Takahashi.

“What experiments are they doing on her...” Claire didn’t dare to imagine.

“Claire. I see that you’re in the NEST.” A camera on the ceiling rolled a bit, and then a female’s voice came from Claire’s radio.

“Annette?” She picked the radio up and asked, “I know that the DEVIL is in the East Area. Where is the vaccine?”

“It’s in the North Area.” Annette replied, with several sounds of gunshots and monstrous screams in the background. Claire wondered what she was fighting.

“Good. You grab the vaccine and I go get the DEVIL. Together we can save Sherry!”

“No. I don’t have time. I need to go to the West Area to secure the G-Virus sample.” Annette fired another shot before turning off the radio.

“What? Are you f-...Damn it!” Claire couldn’t help but curse the unfit mother.

“...Claire!” To her surprise, Leon’s voice suddenly came from the radio.

“Leon? You’re down here, too!?” She almost cried out of joy, “It’s so good to hear you!”

“Me too! I’m in the North Area. You were saying ‘save Sherry’? What happened to her?” Leon sounded a little breathy, like he was tired or hurt.

“Sherry was infected...” Claire held the radio tightly, “But she can still be saved! Leon, I need you to find a vampire virus vaccine in the North Area? I’ll go find another antiviral agent in the East Area. If you find it, please go to the security room in the South Area and give it to Sherry!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll find it.” Leon’s voice was so assuring, “Good luck, Claire.”

“You too.” Claire sighed a breath of relief.

The nap room was behind the cafeteria, so she wasted no time and headed inside. The cafeteria was basically a feeding ground, where several vampire researcher were sitting on the table and biting or licking what has been served. When Claire approached the door and it automatically opened, all vampires inside looked up at her.

“Hi. Sorry for interrupting your midnight snacks.” Claire looked around and saw at least 6 pairs of red eyes. She loaded the grenade launcher with flame round and got ready.

“Our menu is designed for your nutritional needs using our latest biological research. Please enjoy out tasty selection of healthy foods.” The synthetic voice said calmly, while the vampires were being cooked.

The nap room entry required a general staff clearance, so Claire climbed a ladder at the back of the cafeteria to get in the maintenance section, before dropping down to the kitchen. The nap room was just ahead. With the hope of getting what she needed, Claire opened the door carefully.

But she was not careful enough. A vampire was hiding behind the door. He grabbed the grenade launcher and pulled Claire inside. She fell forward to the ground, and by the time she turned around, the vampire has already lunged at her and was ready to bite.

“Get the hell off me!” Claire punched his face and got rid of him quite easily. The male vampire was weak, presumably having been hungry for days. He had an Asian look and got a wristband on his left hand. This must be Wayne Li, she thought.

“Ah!” The vampire growled mindlessly and tried to charge again, only to get a head shot from her pistol. Although he would regenerate in a few minutes, there was enough time for Claire to grab his wristband.

“That’s easy...” Claire stood up and installed the general staff clearance to her wristband, while noticing a written note on the desk. There might be some useful information on it, she thought, and picked it up to read.

God has forsaken me! A genius! But I will keep my mind clear. I need blood. I got a taste of Takahashi but she broke free. I lured Paige inside and quenched the thirst, only for several hours. Now I need to locked him in the cell.

I did better with Archer. I kept him alive for two days for me to extract blood, but eventually my fangs took him. Please, I need more...more blood...

Claire gasped for air in horror and looked to the three locked sleeping cells beside her. She wouldn’t want to open them and check what was inside. She quickly left the room when Wayne Li’s body started twitching. Without the wristband, he couldn’t even get out.

With the clearance, Claire could now walk through the reception hall and get into the Main Shaft, a central knot which connected the four areas of the NEST. The gate to the North Area was still shut, which meant that Leon hasn’t come out yet. The bridge control panel was on the north side, so even if Claire wanted, she couldn’t get into the North Area.

Leon, I’m counting on you now...She thought and headed towards the East Area.

The moment she went through the gate to the East Area, she felt that there was something wrong about the air. She couldn’t tell precisely, but the oxygen level in the area was much higher than usual.

As she went deeper, she saw several overgrown vines coming from the ceilings or corners, tangling dead bodies of some soldiers. She got closer to check their outfits, and noticed the U.S.S. - Umbrella Security Service - tags on them. What the hell happened in here?

Suddenly, something dropped from the ceiling behind her. She turned around and found out it was exactly the same tentacle monster that she encountered before. The acid burns left several marks on its vines, however, it has become even larger than before.

The tentacle monster screamed again and, with all three fanged tentacles coming out, walked towards her. It never feared and it never stopped.

“Jesus, you persistent bitch...” Claire loaded another flame round.

She couldn’t believe these thing not only survived the fall, but also chased all the way from the sewer to the NEST. Why the hell did it chase her, anyway?

Claire fired, hoping that in such a narrow corridor it couldn’t evade the blast, however, a giant vine suddenly burst out the wall and deflected the round. It was at this moment she realized that, the vines on the tentacle monster looked exactly like those vines that killed the soldiers.

Now she knew. Umbrella created this monster and this was its nest.

Knowing that she couldn’t defeat the monster with the weapons she had, she immediately turned around and ran away. After going into the lobby, she locked the door behind her, preventing the monster and the giant vines from breaking through.

However, that was the only way out, too. With the giant vines blocking it, she couldn’t get out even if she had found the DEVIL, let alone save Sherry.

“Alright...Let’s hope Umbrella had a plan to deal with that thing...” Claire took a deep breath and continued searching the East Area.