I don't own Resident Evil.

And just so that everyone knows, I have only played the first three games, so things may be way off-please be kind and overlook them if so. Some of the ideas come from S.D. Perry's novelizations; I don't own those either. Melissa and CeDca-and a few other things to come-are the only things that I can lay any possible claim to. So read, enjoy, comments, critiques, and hate mail always welcome.

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Melissa heard the deep rumbling from somewhere far overhead. It sounded as though someone was using the old service elevator, but she knew that was impossible; the few people who knew about this place were either dead or…well, undead. A shiver ran up her backbone at the thought; she had dispatched of many of the zombies in the structure, but she knew there had to be dozens more around-surely they hadn't learned to use the elevator?! No, it was impossible; they didn't have enough neurons and usable synapses left for such complicated motor skills. The poor things couldn't even open doors. Melissa felt a twinge of pity for the once-humans; it was not their fault, really. Only a handful of the researchers here had known of the T-virus' existence; most of them had been legit pharmaceutical researchers, and many of the other victims were maintenance workers or receptionists; they had had no idea.

Melissa sighed and leaned against the wall of her small bunk room. It had been weeks since the 'spill'; she had not seen another living soul inside the compound. She knew that it was ridiculous to think that anyone would be here now. Umbrella's top brass probably had no clue that this compound had ever existed, or they surely would have either blasted it off the map or sent a crew into clean up the mess by now. It was probably all in her hea…

The rumbling sounded again. Melissa started, frightened out of her skin. Surely not, no one knew this place was here, no one else who is able to tell them anything anyways…except for James, and she doubted very much that James was still alive. The thought tugged at her heart, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes…

She pushed the thoughts away and listened intently. The rumbling had stopped, and no other sound but the hum of her computer could be heard. It probably was all in her head; weeks of solitude were a sure was to make someone insane and paranoid. Melissa felt sure that she could fit into both categories. She would almost welcome an Umbrella crew, welcome the impending death she knew that one would mean; she wanted out of this hell hole, she wanted to be free of the worry and the guilt, she wanted to no longer be so sick and weak and miserable, she wanted to be with her family again. She wanted OUT.

The only thing that was keeping her going, the only thing preventing her from just ending it all was CeDca…her baby, her pet. CeDca would right all these wrongs, it would make everything better. It was nearly complete, if only she could get well for more than a day or so at a time, she could have it finished, give her gift to the world, and then let Umbrella come, let them do what they might, she would see that the god-forsaken bastards fell before she did. Oh yes, Umbrella would pay dearly. She had enough info on them now to go public, but just as with the Raccoon disaster she knew they would neatly cover their tracks. She wanted to ensure no one else could be hurt before she started on her kill-Umbrella campaign. CeDca would do just that.

Melissa smiled at the thought. She felt enough to take a little trip down to the labs, see how much progress she could make before she collapsed again. She picked up her keys and her gun from the nightstand, and was just starting towards the door when she heard it…

…slow, stealthy footsteps echoing from the floor above.