The Confluence

The Confluence Part IX

IX

It was the following day and Adrian was packing his things. He was stuffing clothes and books with quick angry thrusts, shoving it all down, and closed his suitcase. He strode out of his hospital room, or at least tried. His right leg could barely bend without giving him horrible pain, and so he was limping aggressively. The stitches in his stomach and thigh were sore and stabbed deep and painfully. He walked through seemingly endless hallways, until he reached the lobby, which was bathed in sunlight. There were few nurses milling around, folding laundry and writing on note pads. As Adrian opened the door outside, the chilly air greeted him with a rush of wind, carrying the scent of rain. The clouds were lumbering across the sky, and in a blink, had swallowed the sky, hiding the sun's rays and casting a grey pall across the environment. Gazing into the clouds, he reflected on the dream he had had last night. "There's gotta be a connection. An explanation, a reason, something." He muttered to himself. He gazed out from the top of the hill that the hospital was built on, looking out over the town. Everything looked calm and normal here. The sprawling industrial train yards, the small clusters of buildings, none taller than three stories. It was serene, and yet his eyes were drawn once again to the looming shadow of Mt. Wesker, and the mountain itself. When he looked at it he felt cold, and yet there was an immutable demand emanating from the monolith of stone, an undeniable calling, wanting Adrian, needing him like no woman or man has ever needed him. "What the hell is happening?" He asked the silent town. He knew then what he must do. The pieces of the puzzle in this place were all here, he just had to find them and bring them together when the image of truth would be revealed to him. The question was, where to begin?

An hour later, Adrian had returned to the library since his car was still there, parked out front. Why did they hide his death? Adrian wondered as he got inside his car. As he was sitting in his car, something clicked. He looked up the street at a manhole cover. Only one place they would hide something like that. He knew from the little bit of research he had done on the town's history that this is technically the third rebuilding of Kennedy, the first time because of an earthquake that hit suddenly, and the second time from fire. The ruins of the previous towns were all underneath the town itself, in an underground cave system that most of the original town was built on top of. One small earthquake later and half the town crumbled down into those caverns. The only way to get there had to be from the sewers. "Down. Gotta go down." He said to himself as he started his car. Gotta prepare first.

Adrian drove around town for a bit before he found the store he wanted. It was a hunting surplus shop, and when he went in he was greeted by a friendly smile and wave from the shopkeeper. The first thing to catch his eye was a Remington 870 pump shotgun. He wandered through the store for a bit before grabbing a heavy duty flashlight, some rope, and a bundle of glow sticks. "Preparing for some hunting, sir?" The shopkeeper asked Adrian when he rang up his purchases. "Yeah, pretty much." Adrian responded curtly. "I'd also like that Remington on the wall there, with two boxes of shells"

"Hey, anything for a local hero! You did us a great service by putting down that killer." The shopkeeper winked at him and then shuffled off to fetch the Remington. Adrian nodded his acknowledgement as the clerk hustled back up to the register to finish the transaction. Adrian stepped back out into the day, putting his new items into the trunk of his car. Now then, to find an entrance. He thought to himself, getting behind the wheel, and revving his engine, mentally preparing for whatever he might find down in that hostile dark.