The heavy thud… thud… thud shook the corridor, dust and grit raining from the cracked ceiling. Each step echoed like a drumbeat inside Jack's chest.
Rebecca tightened her grip on the makeshift flamethrower, eyes darting toward him. "It's him, isn't it?"
Jack raised his M4, jaw clenched. "Yeah. He's back."
The far wall split apart with a deafening crash. Steel and concrete ripped open as something massive forced its way through.
The Proto-Tyrant stepped into the light. Its flesh was charred from the fire Jack had set earlier, patches of raw muscle twitching beneath cracked skin. Its single red eye glowed like a furnace, searing through the haze of smoke.
And once again, it locked on Jack.
Rebecca's breath caught. "It's after you…"
Jack's lips pressed into a thin line. "Yeah. And it won't stop."
The Tyrant roared, the sound reverberating through the entire facility. Jack shoved Rebecca toward the side passage.
"Stay clear—this one's mine."
But the beast was already charging, its massive claw tearing up the floor with every step. Jack opened fire, the corridor strobing with muzzle flashes as rounds hammered into its chest and shoulder. Black ichor sprayed, but the monster didn't slow.
Rebecca shouted over the thunder of gunfire. "Jack, it's not working!"
He gritted his teeth, bracing himself as the Tyrant bore down. "Then we'll just have to make it work!"
Jack emptied another burst into its chest. It only slowed for half a step before charging again, smashing through a steel door as if it were paper.
"Move!" Jack barked, grabbing Rebecca's arm and dragging her toward the branching hall. The distant groan of machinery echoed above them—elevators. Heavy-duty ones. Maybe their only way up.
The floor rattled as the Tyrant thundered after them, each step cracking tiles and shaking ceiling fixtures loose. Rebecca glanced back, terror flashing in her eyes. "It's not giving up!"
"It won't," Jack grunted, his body aching under the strain. "Just keep moving!"
They sprinted through a corridor cluttered with broken lab equipment. Jack shoved a rolling cart into the path, buying seconds. The Tyrant smashed it aside with a single swing, shards of glass flying past Rebecca's face.
Jack cursed, yanking a frag grenade he'd scavenged back in the medical bay from his vest. He pulled the pin and hurled it over his shoulder. The blast rocked the hallway, fire and shrapnel slamming into the Tyrant.
But when the smoke cleared, it was still coming.
Rebecca scanned the walls as they ran, her sharp eyes darting. "Pipes! Hit the pressure valves!"
Jack spotted them—bright red lines running along the ceiling. He raised his rifle and fired a burst. Steam exploded outward, a boiling white cloud enveloping the Tyrant. The creature roared, staggering blindly for a moment.
"Good call," Jack muttered, reloading on the move.
They burst into a wide service chamber. At the far end, massive industrial elevators loomed, their grated doors half open—the kind used for hauling equipment and vehicles. Jack's heart pounded. That was their way out.
"Go!" he ordered.
Rebecca sprinted for the controls as Jack turned, planting himself between her and the monster. The Proto-Tyrant tore through the steam cloud, its red eye burning like a beacon through the haze. It charged, smashing through walls, debris cascading around it.
Jack fired, then grabbed a loose length of pipe, hurling it like a spear. It slammed into the Tyrant's chest, slowing it for a breath. Not enough.
Rebecca slammed her hand against the elevator controls. "It's starting, but it's slow!"
Jack gritted his teeth, pulling another grenade. He held it until the last second, then threw it into the beast's face. The explosion rocked the chamber, knocking the Tyrant back just as the elevator doors ground open.
"Inside, now!" Jack roared, covering Rebecca as she scrambled in. He followed, firing one last burst into the approaching monster.
The grated doors clanged shut. The elevator shuddered as it began to rise, gears grinding loudly in the shaft.
But the Proto-Tyrant wasn't finished. With a furious roar, it leapt, clawing onto the edge of the rising platform.
The elevator rattled and groaned as it crawled upward, gears screaming under the strain. Sparks rained from the ceiling, the old machinery protesting the sudden weight.
Then the Tyrant's massive claw slammed onto the edge of the platform. The whole lift shuddered. Its glowing red eye fixed on Jack as it hauled its hulking body up, muscles straining, clamps snapping loose and clattering to the floor.
Rebecca gasped. "It's climbing up!"
Jack shoved her behind him, M4 barking in rapid bursts. Bullets tore into the Tyrant's face and chest, ichor spraying, but it didn't let go. Its claw lashed out, gouging deep into the elevator wall.
"Shit!" Jack growled, yanking another mag from his vest. His hands trembled—not from fear, but because his body wasn't listening to his mind. The lockdown dragged at his nerves, each command delayed, every movement fighting against him.
The Tyrant heaved itself higher.
Rebecca's mind raced. Her gaze darted across the platform: the whirring control box, a maintenance ladder bolted to the shaft wall, a dangling chain from the pulley system above. Her chest tightened—improvised chemistry wouldn't save them this time.
"Jack! The cables—if we overload the system, we can drop it!"
Jack spared her a glance, sweat streaking his face. "And us with it!"
"No—if we time it right, we ride it up and cut it loose!" Rebecca snapped, already moving toward the control box.
The Tyrant lunged, massive claw swiping. Jack shoved Rebecca aside, raising his rifle and firing point-blank. The rounds chewed into its arm, knocking it back a half step, but the impact rattled his bones. His vest tore, blood soaking through where claws had grazed him.
Rebecca ripped open the control panel, sparks flying. Her hands moved fast, rerouting wires with practiced precision. "Buy me thirty seconds!"
Jack gritted his teeth. "I'll give you twenty."
The Tyrant roared, pulling itself fully onto the platform now, towering over them both. The elevator screamed under its added weight, the gears grinding in protest.
Jack dropped the rifle, pulling his combat knife free. "Come on, you ugly bastard…"
He met the Tyrant head-on. The claw swung wide—Jack ducked low, slashing across exposed muscle. Ichor sprayed. The return swing caught him in the ribs, hurling him against the grated wall. Pain shot through his chest, but he forced himself back up, knife clenched tight.
Rebecca twisted wires together. A warning klaxon wailed through the shaft. The lift jolted violently, gears straining to hold. "Jack—NOW!"
He feinted left, then drove the knife deep into the Tyrant's wrist, forcing its claw away from Rebecca. With a grunt, he kicked it square in the chest.
The platform lurched upward one last time before Rebecca yanked the release.
With a scream of tearing steel, the secondary cables snapped free. The Tyrant's weight dragged it backward. For a heartbeat, its claw caught the edge of the platform again, red eye burning into Jack's.
Jack roared and stomped down on its arm, boot crunching through bone.
The Proto-Tyrant bellowed as it fell, its body slamming into the shaft below, echoing endlessly until the sound was lost in the dark.
The elevator shuddered violently but stabilized, continuing to grind upward. Smoke and dust filled the air.
Rebecca staggered to Jack's side, hands trembling. "You're insane…"
Jack gave her a weak grin through blood and sweat. "Yeah. But it worked."
The elevator creaked as it finally ground to a halt, doors screeching open into another ruined corridor. The air here was different—damp, metallic, laced with chemicals that stung her nose.
Rebecca pulled Jack's arm over her shoulder, steadying him as they stepped out. He was pale, veins faintly black beneath his skin, but he refused to slow down.
A faint glow caught her eye. Along the wall, a still-functioning terminal blinked on backup power. She eased Jack against the wall and hurried to it, brushing away dust from the cracked display.
Lines of data scrolled across the screen:
Umbrella Treatment Plant – Active Systems Online
Last Access: Dr. Alexander Isaacs
Containment Status: Compromised
Viral Waste Transfer: Pending
Rebecca's stomach knotted. "The Treatment Plant… this is where it all funnels to. All the experiments, all the data… it ends up here."
Jack looked at her through half-lidded eyes. "And Umbrella will want it back."
Her hand tightened on the edge of the console. "Which is why we make sure they never do. But before we burn it, we gather everything we can."
She turned back to Jack, resolve burning in her chest. "This is it. If Umbrella wants to erase you, erase everything they've done—we make sure the truth gets out first."
Jack smirked faintly, though his eyes were heavy. "That's your department, Becca. Just point me at what needs to burn."
Rebecca shouldered his arm again, guiding him forward. "Then let's finish this. The Treatment Plant's waiting."
In the distance, a low groan echoed through the pipes.
The Proto-Tyrant wasn't finished.