RESIDENT EVIL • Assignment Ashley: Rescue Condor One (RE4)

The Chase

As we descended, the world seemed to slow down, every shard of glass catching the early light like fragments of a shattered dream. The ground rushed to meet us, and we fired our grabbing guns in unison, cables hissing as they extended and anchored to the nearest spires.

Swinging out over the cathedral grounds, our momentum carried us beyond the reach of the mob and Lord Eye.

We soared through the air like birds breaking free from a cage, yet any sense of freedom was tainted by the grim reality that Lord Eye had allowed us to escape.
Below us, the industrial area stretched out, and in the distance, Washington's skyline remained cloaked in darkness.

"Come on, this way!" Aaron shouted over his shoulder, taking off towards a side alley, a few blocks away from the cathedral.

I followed closely behind him. As we ran, my mind raced with questions. How did Aaron escaped Lord Eye's control? What had happened to him in that place?

I also had unanswered questions about myself. I glanced at my hand again—it was as smooth as if it had never been injured, healed by whatever Sadder had done to me. I had an urge to vomit, knowing that I was sharing a part of myself with that monster. The taste of bile rose in my throat. Saddler was back, and he was closer to me than ever before.

He had been silent ever since I chose to save Aaron. I didn't know whether it was my sheer will that suppressed him or the fact that we were far away from the Amber again.

The Amber. God, what was I going to do now? The Las Plagas were getting consumed by the city—or possibly the country—through the tainted alcohol. The scale of the contamination was staggering, spreading like a silent epidemic. Each bottle was a potential threat, each sip closer to chaos. The thought of people unwittingly ingesting the parasite filled me with dread.

Everything had changed in less than two hours. A part of me wished I had never gotten involved, never uncovered the horrors lurking beneath the city. But it was too late to back out now. Countless lives depended on us staying the course.

Turning a corner, we found ourselves in a narrow alleyway lined with dumpsters and graffiti-covered walls. The air smelled of garbage and damp concrete.

Aaron slowed to a stop, leaning against a brick wall and catching his breath. Since no one came chasing us, it was safe to take a moment to gather ourselves. We didn't even know how far we had travelled from the subway station, where Aaron had parked his bike earlier.

I joined him, my chest heaving as I tried to calm my racing heart. We exchanged a silent glance until I finally managed to ask, "Are you okay?" my voice hoarse from the strain.

Aaron nodded, his eyes returning to scan the alley for any signs of danger. "Yeah, I think so," he replied.

Too many unanswered questions and undisclosed truths were creating a chasm between us. In this line of work, trust was crucial, and keeping secrets from your partner could prove deadly.

I hadn't told him about Saddler; I wasn't completely sure if I should.

For now, I will keep it to myself. There's so much to discuss, but this conversation is for another time.

"Do you think Simon can track us now that we're above ground?" I asked, hoping our tech-savvy friend could provide some guidance.

"Speak of the devil," Aaron said, pulling out his earpiece just as Simon's voice crackled through it.

I adjusted mine, there was a crackle of static before Simon's voice came through, filled with relief and concern. "¡Por fin! Good to have you back on the grid. Are you two safe? It's been nearly two hours since I lost your signal. Looks like you've managed to travel further south than your previous location. How did you end up so far away? So the subway station did lead to somewhere—"