Title: Finding Evil: Part Seven.

Author: quew

See part one for disclaimer, archiving info and classification.

Warnings: As this is a x-over with the first Resident Evil game, please don't read if you are easily offended by zombies, blood, gore and angst.

Notes: I seem to have a compulsion to end each part with at least a little cliff-hanger. I can't seem to help this, and I apologise ;) I added the sister storyline in an effort to give the story a few more emotional elements…did it work? Oh, and someone pointed out to me that the way the story keeps changing viewpoints is a little hard to read, and I thought I had better explain something that someone else also pointed out to me. Because the story does switch from character to character, if someone has told their name to one character in one scene it might not carry over to the next character, which is why the story often reverts to 'the other woman,' or 'the brunette,' ect, etc. I'm sorry if this makes the story harder to read, but I think everyone know's each other's names now, so that should be all done ;)

#

For a moment the woman's face was completely open, a picture of shock, and then it closed again. 'What do you want with her?' The woman asked.

'So you know her?'

'You could say that,' the woman said, leaning forward, suspicion warring with curiosity in her eyes.

Torres sighed and sat down next to her, a move that made surprise flicker across her features, but the soldier didn't notice. She was too busy thinking how to phrase her next sentence.

'Are you always this paranoid?' Lanna asked finally. 'If you must know…here.'

She thrust the letter into the woman's surprised hands and watched as she unfolded it. 'Oh my…'

Lanna suddenly found the letter thrust back into her hands while the woman desperately rifled through her own pockets, pulling out a battered and ripped piece of paper. 'Here…' she managed, echoing Lanna's earlier word.

Lanna took the paper and opened it, careful not to damage it as it had obviously been through the wringer. The first thing that caught her eye was the familiar RCSSD logo at the top of the page, followed by her own very familiar handwriting scrawling down the page.

'Nadia?' She managed. Looking up, her brown eyes wide, shocked and hopeful.

'Lanna?' Nadia said, a grin stealing across her face.

Lanna let out a half laugh, half gasp as Nadia shot forward, grabbing her round the middle and hugging her fiercely. Lanna wrapped her arms around Nadia and squeezed back, letting out a little laugh.

'What's going on?' Sam asked, standing over them and looking bemused.

Lanna stood and dragged Nadia up with her. 'Sam,' she said, grinning, 'this is my sister, Nadia.'

Sam's mouth fell open and a crooked smile appeared. 'Huh?'

'It's a long story,' Nadia said, smiling.

Soon, everyone was gathered around the pair, congratulating them on their reunion.

'I hate to be the one to break up the lovefest,' Paris said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at the last word. The women groaned. 'But shouldn't we be thinking about getting out of here?'

'For once, you're right Paris,' Lanna said, earning a grin from the others. 'But we need a plan. We can't just go rushing back out there.'

'The heli-pad,' Kathryn said. Annika nodded as the others looked at them expectantly. 'Annika and I were both trying to get to the heli-pad to send up an emergency flare and use the radio equipment stored there. The quickest way is underground,' she clarified.

'Then why were you up here?' Sam asked.

'There was…a beast that tried to stop us. We had to use the lift to escape.'

'Do you think we could make it through?' Lanna asked, hefting her gun.

The scientists shared a look. 'Maybe…there's other things down there too…'

'What's the alternative?' Paris asked. 'Ask the zombies to let us go? Maybe if we ask them nicely they'll give us an escort!'

'Shut up, Paris,' Lanna and Nadia said simultaneously.

#

'Everyone ready?' Lanna asked, checking her shotgun was loaded. She'd spent a quick five minutes teaching Kathryn, Annika and Nadia to shoot and re-load a gun and had distributed spare weapons between the three.

Kathryn carried Paris's rifle that he'd fixed, while the blonde man carried Chapman's pistols, and Annika was looking decidedly nervous at wielding the shotgun she'd been given. Torres had discovered that Nadia's stubborn streak ran as deeply as her own as the woman had flatly refused to leave the chainsaw behind, taking a pistol but tucking it down where she'd tied the sleeves of her overalls together.

'No way!' She repeated, putting the hand not holding the 'saw on her hip. 'We might need it!'

'In case any dangerous logs attack?' Lanna snapped, stopping short of snatching the machine away.

'Can we just get on with it, ladies?' Paris said, rolling his eyes.

The sisters stared at each other, and despite the physical differences between them everyone was suddenly struck by the similarity of their postures and expressions. Finally, Lanna threw up her hands and stomped over to stand next to the blonde scientist, who smiled at her.

'Just let her take it,' she advised. 'It might come in handy.'

Torres looked up with every intention of opening her mouth and arguing her point, but all she could when she saw those clear blue eyes was nod and say. 'Lets go.'

The six of them piled into the small lift, Nadia having to be careful not to damage anyone's legs with the teeth of the saw. She saw her neglected axe leaning against one of the corners - Kathryn had dropped it when Annika had been shot - and re-tied it to the rope on her back. Lanna saw her do it and scowled, her eyes touching on the gun carelessly tucked into Nadia's overalls.

Nadia locked gazes with her, and Lanna couldn't be angry with her anymore. She saw fear there, fear that they would never get to know one another beyond the time they spent now, fighting for their lives. I just want to be prepared, Nadia's gaze said.

She looked away, suddenly afraid of the emotions rushing through her own mind and she took comfort in the warmth of Annika's body pressed against her own in the tight confines of the lift. As if sensing the soldiers' turmoil, Annika leant forward, running her free hand up and down Lanna's back.

Kathryn was also aware something was wrong, and she looked across at Nadia's face. She was separated from the woman by Sam's body, and couldn't offer any comfort when she saw Nadia's tight, nervous expression.

It seemed to take an unmentionable amount of time for the lift to get down to the third level basement, and when it did a wave of fear and tension passed through the room. Everyone subtly straightened and readied the weapons as the doors opened.

They were immediately thrust into a world of artificial light and grasping hands. Zombies filled the corridor, all of them turning toward the people as they looked on in horror.

Finally, with Lanna and Paris in the lead, the six of them left the lift fighting, clearing the way ahead step by step and making good time.

'Which way!?' Lanna yelled as they reached a junction, hallways stretching away left and right and double doors facing them.

'Go left!' Kathryn called, firing wildly back the way they had come.

Moving in sync, the group started down the left-hand path. The zombies they met were, luckily, few and far between, and it seemed to them that they were doing really well when Sam paused, looking over her shoulder.

'Did anyone else hear that?' She whispered.

Kathryn and Annika shared a look, aware that what had attacked them before could not have possibly missed all the noise their group had made so far. Noise travelled well in the concrete confines of the underground facility.

The rest of them slowed, peering back into the dimness of the corridor. Just as Nadia's lips formed the words 'I can't hear anything,' a long, low hiss reverberated around them.

'Sounds like some sort of gas leak,' Lanna mumbled.

The hiss sounded again and again, sounding closer each time. The group had reached the end of the hall and had their backs against a pair of solid metal doors. Annika moved and turned around, searching for the keycard reader and sliding her card through the slot. The machine squealed and the light blinked red.

'My card's not working!' She hissed, looking worried.

Kathryn frowned and pulled hers out of her pocket. She tried it once, twice and a third time, only to get the aggravated mechanical beep and flash each time. As the scientists stared at the lock, they heard a voice behind them.

'Um…' Paris managed.

Slowly, the pair turned around. At first they couldn't see anything, except something seemed to be blocking the hallway back the way they had come. Kathryn squinted as the 'something' moved, resolving itself into a giant obstruction.

'What the hell is it?' She whispered.

Annika opened her mouth to say she didn't know when they realised the thing was moving. As they watched it passed under another fluorescent light, being framed by an orange glow.

'Oh…' Lanna managed, watching the giant snake as it lifted its head and hissed at them, the noise so loud that it made them want to cover their ears.

'Suggestions?' Someone squeaked.

#