Chapter Text
The ground quaked from the distant assault of artillery half a city away. Concrete walls trembled around him shivering dust down upon him. Jake brushed it off as he walked the frigid halls of the building. He whistled, absently blocking out the sounds of people tearing his homeland apart yet again. He was used to the sounds of gun fire and the hovering whir of choppers flying low overhead to deploy more troops to combat the problem. He had strayed a thought to ponder why exactly the BSAA was present in what was yet another civil war. One of many and most likely not the last to happen. He estimated the reconstruction of the city wouldn't even reach half finished before the next war kicked off.
That was the life he tried to escape but was inevitably drawn back to over and over again. He left Edonia for better opportunities and wound up right back here. He would have laughed were it not so painful to think about. He couldn't escape this life, or those painful memories that accompanied it. He prayed the fighting stayed far away from his home city. Had he the chance he would have gone back there to see his mother again. To check on her grave, maybe leave some flowers and a bottle of her favorite spiced apple cider for her. Unfortunately there weren't any flower shops left open around here, or intact. He's pretty sure the last one was blown up by mortar rounds three days ago.
‘Not like I'll survive this place long enough to see her again.’ It was getting pretty wild out there. Oh well. He twirled the energy booster between his fingers as he contemplated the reasoning behind it. Field testing like this was typically reserved for controlled environments. He doubted any of the men in his platoon would survive the next fight long enough to report back on how well it served them. But he wasn't going to say no when they were paying him to trial it.
‘Here goes nothing.’ He thought to himself before inserting the small needle into his neck and pushing the plunger down. It hurt at first, which he expected as much, but after a moment the pain started to fade out. It was cold and uncomfortable but nothing he couldn't endure for the moment. He stretched his neck and breathed the mild discomfort away.
Several minutes passed by. He didn't really feel anything of note. For an energy booster, he imagined a decent cup of coffee would do the trick far better than this. It would certainly do a better job of warming him up and filling his stomach for good measure. Down the corridor, the metallic clang of a door being thrown open in a sudden explosion of activity set his heart racing. A man that Jake recognized vaguely that had been added to their platoon in the last few days came charging towards him. Breathing heavy and ragged, the mercenary turned his attention towards the freaky mess that the man’s face had become with extra eyes bulging from his skull like something straight from a horror show.
Jake prepared himself to intercept his former comrade when the silhouette of a second figure stepped across the threshold. A leather clad hand grappled the back of the infected man's head as it was shoved forcefully into the nearby brickwork. The skull cracked under the immense force of the stranger's grip. The mutated man thrashed wildly, hissing and cursing as bloody saliva dripped from his open maw. Those bloodshot eyes had a yellowish sickly hue to them as they rolled around in his skull independently of each other as vile insults were spat in gutteral snarls. The figure that stepped into the entryway while restraining his former comrade was tall and lean much like Jake himself. He estimated they were roughly the same height given the distance from the overhead door frame. The gloved hand drew the head back before slamming it against the wall with a single brutal finality in the motion. Bone cracked as the vertebrae in the neck gave under the pressure just as easily as the man's skull did. His head rolled uselessly against his shoulder as the hand holding tight suddenly released the body all at once to slump helplessly to the cold grimy ground.
The stranger dusted their hands clean as they stepped past the rapidly deteriorating corpse of his former comrade. Jake tensed, preparing himself for an even greater danger as it presented itself before him. The stranger was covered head to toe without an inch of skin exposed. He wore simple clothing akin to Jake's own attire with combat boots, sturdy dark cargo trousers and a dark hooded jacket underneath a protective black trench coat that broke the bitter Edonian winter wind. He had on black leather gloves that were carefully tucked into the sleeves of his coat. His face was hidden behind a heavily tinted pair of goggles that reminded Jake of the kind that skiers often used up in the mountains, while the lower half was concealed with a respirator of some kind. The dark hood covered the rest of his head making it hard to discern anything else such as hair color or skin tone.
The voice that greeted him was clearly male and spoke in crisp clear English with an odd almost elitist accent that drew along the edges of his words. “Mr. Muller I presume?”
“Who's asking?” Jake challenged cautiously in return as he inspected the man over. Meticulously sizing him up as he searched for any sign of a weapon that he could spot. He had a feeling the man was doing the same in return.
“You may call me Orion Arklay.” The man tilted his head towards Jake as if in a show of respect as he continued. “I'm here to escort you safely out of the country.”
“Escort me?” Jake scoffed in disbelief as this Orion guy strolled casually towards him. “I think you've got the wrong idea pal. Typically people pay me to escort them around here.”
“Hm.” He got the sudden feeling this Orion guy was giving him a judgemental look. “I do suppose you look the type.” The sarcastic line hit home as Jake bristled at the joking and somewhat daring comment. He was willing to let the bastard have that one considering Jake did walk right into it.
After a pause, and an unamused scowl from the mercenary, this newcomer announced. “You're being hunted, Mr. Muller. By a very dangerous group of individuals who want you badly. Badly enough that they do not care whether it's dead or alive. These same individuals have issued those trial run vials of energy boosters to spread a bioterror outbreak across this country.”
The man nodded back towards the ashy remains of Jake's former comrade as he continued. “The C-Virus is no laughing matter, and certainly not something that can be overlooked.”
“What does that have to do with me?” Jake didn't necessarily like the direction this conversation was headed, or the implications Orion was asserting with his explanations so far.
“You have the natural antibodies to fight against the C-Virus. A fact proven just now upon injecting yourself with a dose. You've yet to mutate like your comrades. A result that is highly valued by those individuals I mentioned previously.” Jake reflexively touched the area along his neck where the puncture wound from the needle still smarted. The area was tender under his calloused fingers, but otherwise didn't feel unusual from the normal jabs he got when traveling to other countries. He stared fretfully at the dark stain in the doorway and pondered his own survival now that these facts were set before him. His thoughts didn't linger long on the concept and the ensuing consequences when more of the mercenary's unit came rushing into the corridor looking just as bad as the first guy.
Orion ushered Jake towards an open hatch he had pulled free of its safety latch to reveal a waste disposal chute. The man quickly drew his sidearm as he expertly aimed at the kneecap of the rushing infected striding hastily towards them. He fired off a single round shattering the joint upon impact. The lead man fell to the ground as his face collided hard with the cold concrete smearing blackish blood and oily fluids from the porous sores flaking painfully across his skin onto the ground. The former mercs stumbled and fell into a chaotic heap together as they sprawled into the concrete giving Jake time to dip into the chute with Orion swiftly following suit.
When they reached the bottom, Jake landed with years of quick reflexes honed through experience and expertise. Orion followed after with a similar grace but a hardy noise of disgust that accompanied his landing as the cold muddy water splashed up against his pant legs. He couldn't see the man's facial expressions but Jake imagined if he was as posh as he sounded, there was a pretty decent chance the look was one of seething contempt and mild horror.
“Not used to getting dirty, I take it?” The merc joked at the man's expense. There was a brief dusting off of his hands to smooth down the front of his jacket as Orion sneered.
“Being accustomed to traversing sewers does not mean I have to enjoy it.”
That was a fair response, Jake supposed. Still, he chuckled at the man's expense as they began their trek towards the maintenance stairs that would lead them back up to street level. The sound of gunfire and the noisy hovering of choppers persisted and grew louder the closer they got to the main streets. Through the bars of the building, Jake could see the mercenaries and BSAA agents alike being riddled by bullets and ripped apart by the grotesque mutations of various rival platoons all turned into walking monsters. It was a fucking nightmare. Blood splattered the muddy snow as the earth was churned up by hot lead and the scorch marks of grenade blasts. Debris rained down all around them. Jake shielded his face with his right hand to stop the gravel from pelting his unprotected flesh from the force of the blasts. Bullets ricocheted off of concrete and iron pipework as they rushed quickly ahead to evade notice. Orion was close at his heel.
Ahead of them was a doorway that opened up to a BSAA chopper as bullets hailed against the exterior facade of the water treatment building they were huddled within. Orion gripped Jake by the shoulder to tuck him back out of sight just as a bullet deflected off the concrete where his head had been milliseconds earlier. He felt the hot shards of chipped concrete flake off against his cheek.
“What the hell are they shooting at us for? We're not one of the infected!”
“Your entire unit is and you're dressed just like them.” Orion retorted as he darted forward, his fingers gripping the lapel of Jake's coat in a brief yank to urge him along as the chopper adjusted its course above the ramshackle buildings. From somewhere unexpected a rocket launcher ignited the air as it collided with the aircraft upon impact. Smoke and gunfire filled the sky as the vessel tail-spinned out of control towards the frozen river below the crumbling embankment.
They ran as quickly as they could, darting from one cover to the next using the buildings for what little shelter they could provide. Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling as Jake ducked his head and leapt over a low window frame. Another infected mercenary ran ahead of him holding a freshly loaded rocket launcher over his shoulder. Orion trailed close behind as they dipped into the next open doorway to avoid further conflict. It didn't feel like much of a reprieve when they did find a sturdy building away from the chaos to properly talk and catch their breath. The bitter cold air stung his lungs and made every inhale a painful one. The ragged breathing of his impromptu counterpart didn't sound any better through the raspy tinny noise of the respirator.
Orion looked relieved for the moment to recover his composure. A cautious warning from his lips rattled out in quickened breaths. “Careful you don't overdo it. We don't need hypothermia taking you before the J’avo do.”
“I'll keep that in mind while we're on this little Sunday stroll, then.”
“It's Tuesday.” Orion corrected curtly. That caused Jake to pause and recall what day of the week it was exactly. Mentally rifling through the paperwork he filled out earlier, he realized that Orion was correct but being pedantic was the last thing on his mind right now.
“You're a real prat, aren't you?”
“You'll get used to it.” The man didn't even have the decency to deny it. Jake surveyed the window near their hiding spot. This building was another city work's building, built low into the side of the cliffs like many others that maintained rickety walkways and serviced the old historic bridges they catered to. There were tool chests and metal pipe work, both rusted and new, lying against one wall. The window was at eye level looking out over the steep ravine and the river below. Large sheets of ice broke up and churned in the sleepy rapids that laid deceptively beneath the frozen surface. Only the war disturbed them as bodies fell or were intentionally dumped into the rushing rapids. Even without the added dangers of the warzone going on all around them, Jake wouldn't dare to cross the river on foot. That was a cold plunge and a miserable death sentence waiting to happen.
“So what now?” He asked. This Orion guy seemed like a man who had a plan, though Jake wasn't entirely certain he trusted the guy completely, he knew he definitely trusted the other guys far less. He didn't know what exactly Orion's motives were and why Jake’s survival mattered at all.
“Now we make our way to the border. There are safe houses we can turn to with supplies that should hold us over until Neo-Umbrella loses interest or our trail.” Orion stated that in a matter-of-fact tone that Jake wasn't very fond of hearing. It was too little and too simple. It left way too much room for mistakes and way too much to go wrong.
“Safe houses?” That sounded ridiculous. Did he even have a support network to back him up? An organization or a handler? Someone? Jake would have thought he'd at least have a client or two paying him a hefty sum for this kind of work, and instead he got altruistic bullshit. “Who the hell are you?”
“A man who was once in your exact same position many years ago. I suppose this is an act of atonement that I may spare you a worse fate than what was in store for me.”
‘A worse fate?’ He didn't understand, or more specifically, he was afraid to ask. Orion wore a pretty strange get up even in these temperatures, but if that was entirely due to the nature of these mutations and this so-called virus, did that mean he was like the J’avo too? But he sounded normal -sane at least- compared to the way the rest of his platoon turned out. It made Jake pause to reconsider the circumstances of his new colleague. If Orion was a survivor then maybe this was a little more genuine than he was expecting -or a very poorly thought out trap arranged by the other guys.
He needed to keep his guard up no matter the reason. He didn't trust this man and judging by the cautious distance he sustained between them both, the feeling was most likely a mutual one.
“So you get me out of here, we lay low and then what? I'm a free man?”
“We will never be free men as long as the likes of Neo-Umbrella and all of its predecessors remain in this world, Mr. Muller.” Orion stood ominously in the corner as the shadows of the dying day stretched long over his body. The darkness huddled within his chosen corner like some mindless beast he could call upon to shelter him from view. It was eerie and very unsettling. A chill ran down Jake's spine and it wasn't the fury of the Edonian mountain air doing it. “I aim to ratify that once all of Umbrella's legacy is burned to the ground.”
“Sounds promising.” He tried to withhold the sarcasm in his voice though he swore some of it slipped out with a small grimace at the edges of his lips. He didn't hold the most confidence in this man's abilities but he seemed persistent enough. At most, Jake could use him to reach the safety of the border then leave this weird son of a bitch behind to embark on his own mission for freedom. He doubted he'd make it out of this city in one piece without the BSAA or the Edonian Army getting their hands on him in the process. Until then, Jake was more than happy to let Orion play meat shield for him like he seemed so eager to do.
They tried to use the irrigation tunnels that ran beneath the city towards the river to help navigate away from some of the gunfire, but the J’avo had set up choke points to catch evacuees and BSAA soldiers unaware. This also included him and Orion as they raced through the tunnels on foot to avoid the pursuing infected. Orion fired off several piercing rounds that hit their mark every single time. Brain matter and blood splattered the icy stonework as frigid stagnant water splashed up their pant legs in their hasty departure. It chilled Jake with a shiver of discomfort while simultaneously he thanked the universe that the insulated waterproofing of his boots was holding up well so far. The last thing he needed was soggy socks adding to his problems.
They carefully evaded the soldiers but something else awaited them in those tunnels. A really big problem that roared its contempt at them as it fell quickly into pursuit of them both. “Jesus Christ!” Jake cursed as the big behemoth with the metal arm came menacingly towards them after flinging several uninfected mercenaries around like puppets to be played with. Their blood still steamed fresh and hot in the cold air where it sprayed the creature’s body. There were explosive ordinances leftover from a mercenary platoon’s partial choke point that Jake stopped to aim at. Orion stood at his back, the urgency of his insistence that they flee halting momentarily when his gaze fell upon the mercenary’s plan. Jake could feel it sizing up the situation as Orion purred his approval in the young merc’s ear. He hated how much that satisfied him to hear it as he fired off a well placed shot just as the big guy stepped in line with it.
The blaze of the blast was a terrifying heat that flushed his skin from several yards away as the concussive boom rocked his ear drums even through the special plugs he wore during combat. A fire ball engulfed the entryway of the tunnel as fire snarled up in blackened plumes towards the snow speckled grey sky.
“Good job, Mr. Muller.” Orion bid pleasantly. Jake’s smirk only lasted a few seconds as he heard -and felt- the heavy thump of the creature’s approaching footsteps. His nervous chuckle faded out as he took a cautious step back. Orion noticed just as Jake did, that this wasn't the end to their very big, very terrifying problems.
“Run!” Jake blurted as he turned to flee the creature as it roared its displeasure at them. Orion fell easily into step directly at Jake's side. He moved as if he could easily outpace the mercenary but was choosing to stay close to the younger man by virtue of whatever altruistic promise he made with himself. It simultaneously irritated and relieved Jake to know the bastard wasn't going to leave him behind as they raced through the tunnels until they reached a crumbled wall overlooking a building. They leapt over the rumble as Orion jumped for a rope to catch himself on. Jake followed quickly after as the big bastard cut the distance. He prayed the rope would hold both their weight as he leapt at the risk. It held, for a few heart pounding seconds, before it snapped upon the first swing. They fell. The drop was fifteen meters at the minimum as Jake prepared himself for the pain of the fall. His grip on Orion's coat that he clung to upon reaching the rope never let go. In fact, he felt Orion hold him back just as firmly as strong arms encircled his body. He could have sworn they rotated positions in the air as they collided with the ground far below.
Orion’s body took the brunt of the fall as something hard hit with a jarring crack that echoed in Jake's ear. His knees bumped the ground with bruising force but nothing worse as far as he could tell. Rolling off of the older man, he tried to get their bearings. The roar of the creature howled into the sky rivalling the distant explosions of nearby war carrying on a couple neighborhoods away. He crouched at Orion's side as the man laid unmoving from the pavement.
“Hey.” Jake nudged his shoulder in urgency. He could see the slow rise and fall of Orion's chest reassuring him that the man was still breathing at least. His eyes surveyed the surrounding snow packed beneath the impressions of their bodies. No signs of blood anywhere that he could tell. He gave Orion's shoulder another nudge. “You still alive?”
“Unfortunately.” Orion groaned from behind his respirator. He moved slowly, like his body was all locked up from the fall. Jake was patient. He kept his eyes peeled as he surveyed the surrounding street and narrow alleys between for signs of danger.
“We need to get to cover soon before someone sees us.” He noted quietly. Orion grunted in agreement as he slowly sat up. Another quickened breath followed by a smaller groan escaped him. “You break something?”
It was a genuine concern with that fall. Realistically Jake knew the man shouldn't be moving around at all after a fall like that. The risk to his spine alone would be detrimental but they didn't have the luxury of such concerns when their survival was on the line in a literal hellscape.
“I don't believe so.” He could hear the grimace in the older man's voice. Orion reached behind himself to touch his lower back and hung his head for a moment. A stifled sound was muffled through the respirator that Jake wasn't sure was a moan of pleasure or a groan of pain. “I think….that fixed my back.”
An incredulous laugh snorted out of Jake unexpectedly. “Oh yeah?”
“Yes, indeed.” Orion confirmed as he slowly started to push himself up off the ground. Jake was feeling generous enough to offer him a helping hand instead as he pulled the man up to his feet. Only a mild sound of discomfort stirred from the man's chest as he took an unsteady step in place. “My coccyx isn't too pleased however.”
“Your what?” Jake barked out a sound of disbelief and confusion.
“My tailbone, Mr. Muller. I landed on my tailbone. Get your mind out of the proverbial gutter.” Orion corrected as he took a few seconds to try to stretch his stiff limbs slowly easing out the tension and tenderness from his body after absorbing an insane amount of impact with the ground. His suspicion that this Orion fella was just like the J’avo was steadily growing by the minute.
Shaking his head at the older man, he interjected. “You can call me Jake. Enough with the formalities. It's getting on my nerves.”
Orion turned to address him silently. Jake could feel the man's eye on him, sizing him up just like before, then he nodded. “Fair enough. I can amend my addressment of you. However, one request in return?”
Jake cocked his head in question, chin tilted up in encouragement as he urged. “Shoot.”
Orion reached for the ELA patch on Jake's bicep then tore it free of its loosened hasty stitching with a single jerk of his hand. Jake startled at first before Orion started to explain. “If we're to survive we need to slip under the BSAA’s radar as well. This has to go.”
It was a reasonable enough explanation but Jake still bristled at the assumptions of the man’s actions. He offered the patch back to Jake to keep as if it were a token he may have given a damn about. His unit was gone. His contract was terminated. He worked for nobody now. He didn't give a single fuck about the ELA anymore. Not when they all signed themselves over to become monsters. He took the patch from Orion's hand as the older man turned away to begin limping in one seemingly safe direction. Jake looked down at the stylized emblem of the resistance of his homeland and let it fall to the ground by his boots. His hasty steps followed after Orion to take point while the man sluggishly staggered forward.
“You sure you didn't break something, old man?” He teased as they stood side by side. “I'm pretty sure I heard bones breaking.”
“That was my back.” Orion grumbled. “Do me a favor, Jake, and don't take your youth for granted. Age brings only pain in this world.” There was a bitterness to those words that made Jake second guess whether there was another meaning to what Orion was talking about. He could guess, but guessing took up more time than it was worth when he could just ask for straight answers or mind his own fucking business. As they entered a new building with a promise for decent shelter, he went with the latter option, at least until he could ensure it was empty first.