How We Got Here - Resident Evil 1

4

Jill shoved open the double doors, taking a few hasty steps into the main hall. Her boots skid to a stop when she realized that she and Barry were the only ones now in the grand room. Wesker was nowhere to be found.

Jill felt the pit in her stomach grow as she bit her lip nervously and looked behind her at Barry's shocked eyes which scanned the room. He seemed just as surprised that their Captain was gone.

"God, you've gotta be fucking kidding- WESKER?!" Jill muttered before she interrupted herself, throwing her hands up in frustration and cupping them together to call throughout the room.

Her voice echoed across the hall and she took a few steps forward, her heavy boots thudding against the floor quietly. Her eyes trailed up the staircase before she looked behind it to find a lower platform. Jill turned her attention back to the stairs before her and began stepping up the stairs, dragging her hand across the banister as she went.

When she reached the first landing, she peered up onto the second floor balcony, but still saw no sign of Wesker.

"Where could he be?" Jill muttered in an anxious tone, but mostly in irritation.

Barry wrung his hands together nervously as Jill skipped down the stairs back to the first floor. She sighed and took off her beret as she ran a hand through her messy hair. Her face now had a natural blush around her cheeks, most likely from all the stress and anxiety, which caused her to swipe the back of her hand across her forehead in an attempt to cool herself down.

"Barry, seriously... what is happening?" She huffed as she lowered her hand and pulled the beret back down onto her head, flattening her hair once more.

Barry's gaze snapped to Jill from his psyched-out glare at the floor and he cleared his throat awkwardly. "I-I don't know, Jill."

Jill groaned and began pacing nervously along the tile. "Two of S.T.A.R.S. is dead, our Captain randomly disappeared, and now we have even less of an idea where Chris is. Or anyone else, really."

Jill paused with her hands on her hips and exhaled shakily. She had known Wesker for a while and took a lot of joy in teasing him along with Chris, but she still didn't trust him to stick around. He was good at his job, but he didn't leave a lot of room for empathy.

Her head lifted up sightly as she heard Barry's shaky voice peep up from behind her.

"Maybe we should split up and look for them."

Jill furrowed her brows as she turned around and looked at Barry, who was still wringing his hands nervously.

His eyes widened as he saw Jill's look and quickly spoke again, nearly stumbling over his words. "I mean, we'll have a better chance of finding people if we split up. We can cover more ground. It's dangerous, sure, but you're the smartest and most capable person out of all of us." He blurted out.

Jill's gaze softened and she looked down to the pistol in her holster and pulled it from its snug spot to examine it. She relaxed her grip on the gun and looked up to Barry with a new determination in her eyes. "Alright. Let's meet up here if anything seems suspicious or goes wrong."

Like it hasn't already, Jill thought bitterly to herself.

She sighed shortly and gave Barry a quick nod before turning to head toward the doors they just came from.

"Jill, wait." Barry called out, extending an arm toward her. She whipped around to face him, her eyes gliding across Barry's grisly face.

He sighed before digging into his pocket. He grunted in frustration, emitting some short curses before gasping in relief as he pulled his hand out to reveal something shiny nestled on his glove.

He approached Jill as he tossed the object around in his palm before thrusting his arm out and holding the object in front of him.

Jill recognized it immediately. It was a smooth, red keychain with several small tools, some curved and some with a blunt edge. Barry's lockpick.

Jill felt excitement jump in her heart as she grabbed the device from Barry's palm. She watched in amazement as she turned the tools over and over in her hand.

"I think it's about time I passed this on to you. At this rate, you're much better at using it than I am. A master of unlocking, if you will."

Jill smiled at that and looked up to see a grin on Barry's face. Her excitement wavered as she saw his smile was almost... sad.

Nevertheless, Jill nodded and put the lockpick in her back pocket. She looked back up at Barry, smiling.

"Thank you, Barry. It's an honor."

Barry rolled his eyes and chuckled heartily. "Oh, please. It's just in case you get caught in a tight space."

Jill sighed and smiled even wider. "But it's from THE Barry Burton. The original unlocking master. I'll try to make you proud." She nodded before letting out a slight chuckle despite all the stress she was feeling. She almost forgot everything that had gone wrong in that moment. Almost.

Barry bit his lip and looked down at his brown boots. He then looked back up at Jill, patting her shoulder reassuringly.

He stepped back and moved towards the other side of the hall. He pulled out his magnum and reloaded it, before looking back up at Jill.

"Be careful, Jill." He murmured softly.

Jill had turned from the double doors again and looked over her shoulder at Barry from across the room. She gave him a quick nod and a firm smile. "I will."

She turned back to the door and placed her gloved hand on the handle again. She paused, and without turning to look at Barry, she murmured,

"Thank you, Barry. We'd all be lost without you."

She didn't wait for him to respond or acknowledge her words as she pushed open the dining room doors.