Marvel and Beyond

Both Max and Rebecca swallowed nervously, gathering their courage to peer out the window and locate the source of the sound. 

Looking into the night, they followed the humming and saw a mysterious man in flamboyant clothes standing alone on a cliff. In the eerie stillness of the dark, his presence exuded an unsettling strangeness—a creepy contrast to the silent surroundings.

Max suspected this was Queen Leech disguised as Marcus, or at least, that's what it seemed to be.

"Who's that person?" Rebecca asked, her voice tinged with doubt. But before Max could respond, the ground beneath their feet began to shift.

The train was moving!

Suddenly, something unexpected happened. As the train lurched forward, Rebecca, unsteady from the sudden motion—Newton's law of inertia in full effect—lost her balance and fell into Max.

Distracted by the figure of Marcus, Max hadn't noticed the shift until something heavy crashed into him.

With a stagger, they both tumbled onto the seat beside them, Max instinctively catching Rebecca with a quick pull.

Embarrassed, Rebecca, a young woman of only 18, blushed at her clumsy display. "I'm sorry," she whispered, quickly standing and apologizing.

Max, caught in the moment, mused with a lighter mood, 'Should I accept her apology if a beautiful woman takes advantage of me?'

He might have wished for such moments more often—if only he weren't stuck in a horror scenario in a world overrun by zombies.

They stood, and Max glanced out the window, but Marcus was no longer in sight.

Turning toward Rebecca, he said, "The train seems to be moving. Let's head to the front and check out the other cars."

Rebecca nodded without hesitation. "Yes, let's go."

Outside, the rain poured heavily, but they pushed through the coaches toward the front of the train.

According to the plot, Rebecca would have needed to perform various tasks once reaching the front, but since Max and Billy had come from the opposite direction, they had already cleared a few zombies.

On their way back, Max found some useful items: a shotgun and Molotov cocktails, which he had to craft from what was available.

'It's good that Rebecca knows a little about these things,' Max thought, shaking his head. 'It's not that difficult once you get the hang of it.'

He didn't waste time-solving puzzles like in the game. In the real world, violence took precedence—smashing through the locks with force.

That was his motto.

The identity of who started the train remained unclear. Max couldn't fully remember whether it was the USS squad under Umbrella's command or the Leech Queen.

From what he recalled, the USS primarily handled facility security, protected high-level officials, and executed behind-the-scenes tasks that needed to stay secret. This included recovering company assets and eliminating targets threatening the company's interests.

At this time, William Birkin and Wesker must have been in the underground monitoring room at the training facility. After learning the virus had leaked, Wesker must've ordered the train's destruction.

But as soon as the order was given, the people from Umbrella—whether USS or other squads on the train—were attacked by leeches and wiped out.

Max had no idea whether the train had been started before their deaths or if it was the leeches who did it.

Either way, when Max and Rebecca passed through the train cars, they found nothing and eventually reached the empty engine car.

However, the train's speed was rapidly increasing, and no one was in control.

Max looked around at the controls. "Any idea how to stop this thing?" he shouted over the roaring engine, fumbling with buttons and levers.

Rebecca nervously mimicked his actions but ultimately shook her head.

Frustrated, Max cursed under his breath. "Fuck it!" He yanked on a lever he judged to be the right one.

With brakes on, the speeding train screeched against the track, sparks emitting from the friction.

Though it seemed correct, he couldn't stop the train from speeding uncontrollably. Despite his efforts, the inevitable derailment couldn't be prevented.

The violent turbulence made it impossible to keep their footing. Max gripped the seat beside him with one hand while pulling Rebecca close with the other.

He swore to himself that his intentions weren't bad—he was more afraid for his life than anything else.

The next moment, it felt as though something struck the train hard. It rolled over into a deep tunnel, and the train burst into flames, engulfing everything in fire.

As the shaking finally stopped, Max took a deep breath and looked at Rebecca with concern. "Are you alright?"

She nodded weakly and leaned toward him. "I'm fine, but you don't look well."

Max forced a small smile, glancing at his bleeding arm. He waved it off. "It's just a small injury, nothing serious. But we need to find a way out of this goddamn place."

Rebecca pointed to the side and looked around. "John, there's a door over there."

"I'll go ahead. Be careful," Max called out as he moved forward.

When he opened the iron door with all his strength and took a deep breath, a foul stench immediately hit him. Something surged from his stomach, he pushed it down and hurriedly covered his nose.

Outside, a sewer filled with stagnant water emitted a nauseating smell.

Rebecca caught the same smell and bit her lip, suppressing her nausea as she walked slowly behind him.

"Do you know where this sewer leads?" she asked nervously, peering ahead into the dark tunnel.

Max covered his nose and shook his head. "I don't know, but I just hope there are no monsters here."

He prayed that from the bottom of his heart.

The sewer wasn't long, and after some distance, they found a ladder in the corner leading upwards.

With no other paths, they decided to climb.

After reaching the top, they found themselves in a hall. Bright lights and closed doors offered more comfort than their previous environments.

The giant Umbrella logo on the floor boldly indicated the ownership of the building.

'At least we made it this far safely,' Max sighed in relief, preparing himself for the dangers that lay ahead.

….

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