Resident Evil: Unloved [ENG]

Chapter 21

The elevator door opened after an almost eternal descent in front of what looked like a train station platform.

There, in front of them, a train was waiting for them with open doors.

"Attention! One minute to the detonation! REPEAT! One minute to the detonation!"

"Come on, let's get in!" exclaimed Liz in a strained voice.

Everyone quickly climbed into the first train car, designated as the engineer's room, almost praying that it would really be the end of the whole unexpected nightmare.

Once inside, they quickly headed for the control cabin.

The clock was ticking, and they had no idea how to operate the vehicle.

"Which one of these buttons turns it on?! There's no time, for fuck's sake!" cried Rhonda, starting to panic.

Thanks to Umbrella's thoughtfulness, however, the operating controls were indicated with a label above each button and lever.

At first, despite the correct procedure, the locomotive gave no signal despite the exact procedure...

However, after a slight jolt, the vehicle slowly began to move.
"Come on, come on! Move!" Exclaimed JR all nervous about the very little time he had left.

"Warning. Twenty seconds to the detonation. Access to the railroad is now shut! The train is departing!"

Gradually, the vehicle assumed a slight increase in speed, although still too slow for some of them, with Vince mentally counting how many seconds would be left.

"Seven...six... five...four..."

"MOVE FASTER, you piece of junk!" shouted Rhonda, slamming a fist into the terminal.

"NOOOOO!!!" cried Jonathan and Megan in chorus, both at the impending explosion and at the gesture just made by their companion, who they feared might tamper with the train's control panel.

However, the musician's gesture somehow made the train to go faster.

"I assume that, in the heat of it, you crushed something important!" Liz commented.

Meg then let herself fall while sitting on the floor, feeling her legs give out from the processed tension.

"Oh God... I can't stand up..." she chuckled nervously.

Vince hissed through clenched teeth.

"Fire in the hole!" he exclaimed immediately afterward.

Almost at the same moment, the train began to vibrate violently and persistently, as if struck by an earthquake tremor.

From one of the vehicle's rear-view windows, Rhonda saw a conspicuous curtain of fire engulf the last cars, slowly making its way further away, despite the huge bang that followed from the shock wave.

They stood still without uttering a word until they dared not think they were safe...

At least until there were no more flames in sight to block their hopes.

"I swear, when I get out of here, I'm going to do something crazy! I'm not a policewoman anymore anyway if Raccoon City is destroyed!" exclaimed Elizabeth, also sitting down in exhaustion.

"Wait, wait... we're not going towards Raccoon, I hope...?" asked Jonathan in a cold sweat, specifying how he didn't exactly like the idea of coming out of a normal explosion to find himself in a far worse one.

"No... these railways go completely out of town, nice and far from what I remember." Liz replied to that question, reassuring Romero.

"Ah, thank goodness..." he sighed, and then got up and went on wobbly legs to a carriage behind, declaring that he would sleep until his destination.