Betrayal. Simmons had raised her like his own daughter just so he could turn around and use her as a disposable pawn. He promised he would guide them through the safest route toward their objective, but his deceit had led them straight into a den of monsters. This was the only thing Sherry could think of to keep her mind away from an even more horrifying reality: She was gagging to death as a Lepotitsa plunged its tongue down her throat. That muffled sound of gunfire in the distance may have been Jake making a bitter last stand, or maybe it was part of her imagination still struggling to be optimistic.
Simmons's voice echoed from a tiny earbud in the back of her head, taunting her in her final moments.
"I know this must be difficult for you, Sherry. But please try to relax."
His voice suddenly changed, dropping its manipulative filter. As her brain started to give out from oxygen deprivation, Sherry thought she heard Ada Wong speaking to her.
"It just wants to give mommy a kiss."
If Hell ever managed to freeze over, it would probably look something like this. Crystal formations covered the walls and floor, regulating the air through an unknown chemical process and turning the basement of the church into a cryogenic labyrinth. Leon thought he saw something squirming inside one of the cloudy spires before blaming it on the glare of his flashlight. The way the entire room had somehow been converted in a single giant ice cube would have seemed unusual, but nothing was ever usual when it came to dealing with C-Virus mutants. Still, something felt wrong.
"Why would they set a distress beacon here? This place looks like's been infested for weeks." Leon's breath came out in puffs of steam.
"I don't know, Leon." Hunnigan replied from the command post on the other end of the headset. "All I can tell you is our compound picked up the signal five hours ago and you were the closest ones who could respond. They have to be there."
Leon led the team of DSO agents deeper into the rocky playground. It wasn't long before they came across their first signs of life since fighting their way to the undercroft, but what they found was disheartening. A solitary Lepotitsa stumbled across their path and hardly seemed to notice them. The creature looked like a dried out husk of its usual self and seemed to be drunk off its own gaseous spores. Wherever this C-Virus carrier had blown its load, it didn't seem to be lingering in the local atmosphere.
More of the welcoming committee popped up from behind the glass hedges a few moments later. This time it was a single J'avo, if you put a J'avo on steroids and loaded springs into its feet. It even would have looked like an average J'avo if its skin wasn't covered with bizarre diamond-like formations that matched the decor of the room. It was able to soak up more bullets than the usual C-Virus zombie, but it finally went down after the crystal abscess growing out of its head was reduced to a bloody brainstem.
Leon stopped only when he noticed the poor bugger was clad in mercenary gear and still wearing its dog tags. He crouched next to the body so he could read the name.
MULLER
Half of the mission had ended in failure.
The team had to press on. Following Hunnigan's instructions, they came to a circular clearing in the heart of the basement. It was as if an organic form of Stonehenge had been cultivated by whatever C-Virus creation had run amuck on the place. According to the briefing, two desperately outnumbered agents had been sending a distress signal from this area only a few hours ago.
And right at the point of origin was a conspicuously Sherry-shaped cocoon.
The slimy amber shell had vaguely female proportions. An impression of Sherry's terrified face remained permanently stamped on the front of the cocoon, leaving no doubt toward its original contents. Worse yet, the reverse side was open and the interior was filled with hallow space. The Chrysalid had already hatched.
No one in Leon's crew noticed when the crystal formation just behind him started to move.
Leon spun around on reflex when he heard the first wet plop of a footstep approaching him. He drew his pistol, cautiously backing away as a humanoid chunk of one pillar pulled itself out of the garden and took slow, elegant strides toward him. The mass of crystals receded into a smoother shape to reveal the creature's natural form.
She was fairly short for a rogue B.O.W. A thick hide of jagged calcium deposits shielded her vital organs. Any unarmored features she had appeared lithe and feminine, if not slightly Tyrannical, giving her an certain eerie beauty compared to other infected. Her clothes were in soaked tatters and her skin had turned icy blue during her metamorphosis. It was hard to tell if the ring of oily fur around her neck was growing out of her shoulders or was a remnant of the coat she had been wearing when she was still human. Although her eyes had changed to a ghostly white and diseased veins erupted from her cheeks, her features still perfectly resembled the face on the cocoon.
"…Sherry?"
The mutation answered Leon's startled question with a hiss.
Hunnigan suddenly chuckled through the microphone. "Sounds like she finally woke up. She's probably not too happy about what you've been doing to her children."
Either Leon was going crazy, or he was listening to Hunnigan's voice gradually change octaves and turn into the voice of Ada Wong.
"I'll have to tell Simmons the good news."
"What the hell? Ada? What's going on?" Static filled Leon's headset in response.
The infected monster stretched out her palm and sneered. Realizing he was out of options, Leon didn't wait before he started firing. The bullets turned the creature's hand into Swiss cheese for a few seconds, before the wounds began to rapidly heal themselves.
She made her move while Leon struggled to load the next clip. She sent him staggering with a high kick that seemed far too graceful for a mindless rabid mutant, then cartwheeled over his shoulders and landed facing his back. Leon tried to turn and counter with a punch, but she had the better timing to catch his arm and twist him into a headlock. She plucked the gun from his hands and allowed the tiny open sores on her palm to ooze into the chamber. A quick tug of her elbow and her mutated strength were enough to snap his neck.
The creature focused on the other DSO agents as soon as she tossed Leon to the ground. She howled at them with an inhuman wail when they lined up to fire on her. Her entire body returned to its crystallized form, causing round after round to bounce off of her impenetrable hide. She then bent down to slam her open hand against the ground, sending veins of crackling ice through the floor. The agents who took the brunt of the shockwave soon had crystal growths shooting up their legs and engulfing their bodies. Mutation came instantly once the infection reached the brain, and in the next few seconds half of the squad were diamond coated J'avo attacking their own forces.
The DSO agents began falling into a tactical retreat, but the she-beast showed no mercy. Gripping the pistol that was still enriched with her cells, she again spun through the air and took pinpoint shots at the uninfected agents. Each bullet left the barrel in streams of bright blue. The added kick turned the ammo into armor piercing rounds, and every shot was aimed straight for the heart. Rather than outright killing its targets, however, the pathogen swiftly blasted through the remaining agents' bloodstreams, mutating them into another wave of J'avo. By the time her feet were back on the ground, the room had been overrun by armored zombies.
The gun slid from her fingers while the drones scouted for any remaining signs of hostility. When the human threat was over, she crouched on all fours and uttered a low growl. Nothing distracted her as she hungrily closed in on Leon's fresh corpse.
Subject 1007316 – "Majka"
Subject appears to be the product of a unique biological reaction between live C-Virus spores and the dormant G-Virus cells in Agent Sherry Birkin's bloodstream. Based on Dr. Radames's earlier hypothesis, the T-Veronica component acted as a catalyst to bring the original infection out of its 14 year stasis and turn Ms. Birkin into a virtually perfect cocktail of genetic mutation. All of the data collected on this subject was brought to us by a limited number of inexperienced firsthand witnesses, leaving much of the creature's nature open for speculation.
The primary characteristics of Majka are believed to have developed during the decade-long stasis period. Evidence of this includes the subject's preference for subzero environments and its ability to "freeze" any surrounding matter in a process resembling crystal petrification. It has also displayed the ability to instantly petrify parts of its own body as a defensive measure. It is able to reanimate its flesh through what appears to be a highly evolved form of the G-Virus's regenerative factor.
Other C-Virus subjects seem to respond to Majka with a "hive queen" mentality. This implies C-Virus life forms are instinctively aware their own genetic traits were derived from Ms. Birkin's blood samples and she is, for all intents and purposes, their biological mother. Majka may be able to communicate with the rest of the caste system through some form of extra sensory perception, as all C-Virus specimens within a 3 mile radius from the "Fridge" have shown unprecedented intelligence in their organization and counter-intrusion tactics. Recent reports suggest this command hierarchy may be spreading outward as the C-Virus subjects become more protective of their territory.
Majka is able to generate spores that rapidly infect organic tissue on contact. Human subjects can be fully assimilated in a matter of seconds, turning them into what appears to be an evolutionary derivative of the J'avo species. Majka can also cause previously contaminated C-Virus specimens to enter a crystal-based Chrysalid state that may last for several days. This process appears to reinforce existing mutations and evolve the creatures into what we tentatively refer to as C-Virus Stage II. Additional human subjects will be necessary before we can fully understand Majka and the new mutations it can create.
Majka is the most fascinating specimen we have observed to date. There is some debate over whether the creature's existence has compromised our operation, but these concerns are marginal compared to the subject's potential use in domesticating the C-Virus population. Several accounts have claimed the subject is able to engage in hand-to-hand combat using highly coordinated attack patterns that mimic the skills of trained DSO operatives. Combining these claims with some of the more creative methods Majka has allegedly used for virus transmission would suggest the subject does not act purely out of survival instinct. If it was able to retain any portion of its original human consciousness past the Chrysalid stage, there is a small possibility any DSO-related information Ms. Birkin was privy to could be shared between Majka and other C-Virus specimens. We have been monitoring the situation for some time and there have been no obvious warning signs of a security breach. Most of us have accepted this idea to be laughable paranoia brought on by the handful of half-mad survivors we have been able to interview.