Resident Evil: Exodus - The Tale of Elza Walker

Chapter 20 - Reversal

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The five adults gathered in the front foyer of the Umbrella Factory's Main Warehouse regarded the little girl in their midst. A surprised Linda was the first to speak. "How could you know?" she asked bluntly. "No offense, Sherry, but you're just a little girl. You didn't have access to that kind of information."

"No, I didn't," Sherry said. "But back when my friends and I used to play in here, right before Dad was reassigned to his new lab, they tore the old warehouse apart and built this new one in its place. It's a lot bigger than the old one. And they were usin' the elevator to get down to the Lab before they finished putting up the walls for the new one. My friends and I, we saw 'em use it."

Elza leaned forward somewhat, propping one arm on her knee and resting her chin on her fist in an almost classic thinking pose. "Tell us about the elevator, Sherry, and what you saw."

Sherry did not answer. Instead, she looked at Linda for a long time. She then looked back at Elza, then at the others, then back at Linda again, and finally at Elza. "Is it all right?" she asked. "I mean, can we trust Miss Linda now?"

Everyone looked at each other. It was Linda who finally spoke. "It's okay, Sherry. I understand. I've behaved rather badly recently, I threatened you, and I put Miss Walker in serious danger. It's no wonder you don't trust me, even though I'm trying to make good on all of that. I'm not sure the others fully trust me yet either." She stood up, then walked to the back of the room, where there was a familiar-looking sliding security door in the back right corner. "Tell you what. Why don't I go explore the warehouse, and that way you can talk freely? Will that be okay, Sherry?"

Elza promptly stood up too. "Are you sure that's wise, Linda?"

Linda smiled sadly, shaking her head. "No, Miss Walker, I'm not. All the same, you guys need what only Sherry knows. She won't tell you as long as I'm in here with her, since she still doesn't trust me." She pulled out her pistol. "I should be all right. All of those lickers are still outside, and I've got this."

"All that we know," Rita said, also standing. Kevin rose with her, and John followed half a second later. "You don't know what's in there, Linda. Now that we're at the focal point of this storm, as I seem to recall a certain someone saying, it's not a good idea to go anywhere alone. We did it back at the station because we had to, because there were so few of us then and we didn't have radios, but now it's probably best to remain grouped up."

"Ah'll go wid her," John promptly volunteered.

Kevin looked at the others, then nodded. "Okay, John. You'll play escort to Linda while she, uhmmm, takes a stroll. Elza, can you loan him your radio again?" He kept talking even as Elza pulled Rita's radio out of its pouch on her armor vest and handed it to John, who stuck it in the back pocket opposite of the one where he carried his broken one. "Try not to go too far, and don't go anywhere we can't find you or get to you easy. If you see that elevator, sing out. If you get into trouble, sing out. If you get trapped and can't get out, sing out."

"Got it, boss," John said. He picked up his shotgun and checked it to make sure it was fully loaded. At the same time, Linda checked her own pistol. For someone who hadn't known anything about guns prior to the Outbreak, she had come remarkably far in a very short time, thanks largely to Elza's instruction back in the Sewers. Linda remained standing where she was until John walked up beside her. Once they were together, she keyed the door and it whoooshed open. Nothing leapt out to ambush them, and they walked through without incident into the warehouse proper. The door whoooshed shut again, and with that Sherry was alone with the remaining adults.