Be VERY afraid

There were a lot of things Rebecca knows she probably   shouldn't   have done. Rescuing somebody would never be on that list, no matter how much danger it would put herself in. It had been her purpose in coming this far with her studies and her research. It remained her purpose and grew when she was propositioned into S.T.A.R.S.,  when she survived those terrifying July nights.  All the civilians she went out of her way to do what she could for, there was no question she'd be going back for Annette, too.

She couldn't let herself stutter at the state of her injuries, of the blood, of the unfocused glaze in her eyes. If Rebecca was going to help, she needed to be at her best-   needed to push the worry, the fear as far away as possible for as long as she could muster. Her eyes go dry and both her throat and chest tighten up with something terribly cold, but it doesn't stop her from rushing to her side.

The laboratory self-destruct countdown blares with bright red lights and a continuous alarm that, at this point, had simply become a low droning at the back of her mind. Crouched in front of Annette, she isn't stone faced as much as she is almost serene, an absence of expression outside of pure focus.

       ❝ Focus on my voice if you can, Annette. ❞   Calm and even-toned. Loud enough to crawl over the alarms, soft enough to be comforting. Without taking her eyes away from her wounds, Rebecca fishes around her packs to pull out what supplies she could. For now an all-purpose first-aid spray and some instant adhesive bandages would have to do. Administered as quick as she could manage, Rebecca tries to keep her attention.   

       ❝ They plan to  wipe out  Raccoon City. ❞   Not that she intended to push fear further into their ticking clock, but it felt wrong to withhold the knowledge from Annette.   ❝ We can get out in time, but we can't stop once I get you up, okay? ❞   Non-negotiable.  She wasn't leaving without her.

The first aid spray is a stopgap-- she knows that. There's only so much that a can of whatever that stuff is made of can really do for a viral implantation site and a gaping wound that she's honestly amazed didn't turn into a full-on disembowelment. But it definitely helps with the pain, and the bandages help make sure the blood stays inside her body, and she definitely appreciates that.

"They're wiping out the city?" She frowns. "My god... Rebecca, did you find Sherry? Is she alright?" She can feel worry settling in again-- she doesn't know what is happening, doesn't know if Claire got her daughter to safety, or if they're still stuck somewhere in the sewers, doesn't know if the cure was enough to save Sherry from the implantation... God, is she going to be able to synthesize a cure in time to save herself?