Disclaimer: I don't own Claire, Leon, Chris, Jill, Carlos, Barry, Sherry, Rebecca, Nicholai, and Eliza. Or the story line. They belong to Capcom. I don't make any money off of this, blah blah blah…
Author's Note: Everything in italics is thoughts or words stressed in dialog and everything in bold is a sound. Also please visit my web site if you haven't already, Dark Angel's Videogame fanfiction
Vengeful Eyes
Chapter 1
"No, please!" the Umbrella scientist begged out of breath from struggling. He stood in the middle of an exceptionally large room. From speckles to smudged handprints of blood decorated the rusted metal walls. Examining him from a glass window above were five Umbrella scientists each holding clipboards. The shouts and screams from the desperate man below did not shake their conscious at all; to them he was no different than any lab rat.
"Dr. Blair," began the scientist, Dr. Whitefield, over the intercom, "for your mishap with the police, we must make you pay. It's really a shame…but your usefulness is not over yet. You'll be our first test subject to see what the new E-virus monsters can do. Behold, Dr. Blair, the lynxerous!" The man above pushed a switch. The gate to the right of Blair slowly creaked open to reveal the creature.
The tiger-shaped monster submerged from the shadows. All of its skin had deteriorated leaving nothing but muscles covered in a glossy sticky film. Its spiked tail swung back and forth waiting to rip apart some poor soul. Its paws bore gigantic razor-sharp claws stained with blood. The monster growled baring its oddly shaped teeth; they seemed like bits and pieces of jagged glass. Drool slowly dripped out of its hungry mouth – a slight puddle formed at its feet. A thin layer of mucus covered his eyes causing them to look hazy and out of focus.
Suddenly, to the human in the pit it screeched a warning; it was like scraping fingernails across a chalkboard. Dr. Blair covered his ears and coward with pain. The noise was so high pitched, it almost shattered the glass window the scientists stood behind.
"Dinner time, Fluffy," Dr. Whitefield announced to the monster in a mocking and rather insane tone.
The lynxerous licked its lips with its meter-long tongue. It slowly inched towards Blair – with each step its claws made a clack that echoed through out the room.
Blair franticly searched the room for an exit or any type of weapon, but to his dismay the room was completely empty. No! There has to be something I can do! I can't give up…
Clack. Clack.
The creature drew nearer as it swung its tail back and forth like a clock's pendulum. Blair backed up still in hopes to find a weapon, but no such luck. Not long after, he found himself smack against the corner of the room. Fear stabbed at his heart.Instantly, the lynxerous froze and let out another ear-piercing screech. Its lips almost seemed to form a smirk. It was as if the thing was laughing at him.
What can I do? Come on damn it! Think!
Panic overwhelmed his thoughts. Wait a sec… I remember now! This thing used to be Fluffy, the cat that hung around the lab. Maybe it still remembers me…"Uh…Fluffy," Blair stuttered, "Remember me? I-I used to feed you tuna all the time…and I used to give you catnip. Want some?" He threw the catnip at Fluffy. The former cat sniffed it. It seemed like it was working. Blair extended his hand to pet the lynxerous asuringly. Mucus or whatever covered the thing adhered to the doctor's hand.
"Good kitty…" Blair soothed still terrified out of his mind. "Nice kit-"
All of a sudden the creature snapped its jaws around Blair's hand. The taste of blood that oozed from the punctures excited the lynxerous.
"Let go!!!" Blair screamed with pain and tried to jerk his hand away. But Fluffy ripped it back. Pain throbbed through his body; it felt like someone jabbed ten thousand needles into his hand. His wrist started to ache from the all the tugging. His skin started to tear at the wrist. The monster wildly swung its head back and forth.
Snap.
Blair went flying backwards and so did the monster. He moaned with pain and looked down at his right hand. It was gone. Gone. Blair's face went pale as he realized no one was going to save him. This was the end. He watched the lynxerous happily devour his hand.Not long after, Fluffy finished its appetizer and was ready for the main course. It charged at Blair who covered himself with his arms as if they were going to protect him. The cat violently swung its tail into his stomach. Blood sprayed every where like water from a busted pipe.
Blair screamed with agony. The lynxerous chewed off a chunk of flesh from his face. The doctor cried out for help, but to no avail. Next, the monster ripped out his eyeball and spat it back out into Blair's lap. It then, dug its claw into Blair's heart. The gapping hole in his chest gushed with blood. His remaining eye rolled back into his skull. His screams abruptly stopped. Doctor Blair remained motionless. The scientists above jotted something down on their clipboards, and left the lynxerous to finish its meal.
Chris Redfield sat alone in Stacie's dinner. He had been watching the small television overhead, and just seen the news flash on what happened to Raccoon City.
Jill, Barry, Rebecca, Brad…God I hope you guys made it out of there.
As he removed his sunglasses, a young woman walked by him. She looks about the same age as Claire…He was worrying about everyone, and he was starting to regret just leaving like that.He hadn't made it to Europe yet and was stuck in the airport because of delays – it was as if it were a sign that he should stay. He had been in the airport for two whole days now. He was going to go home, but he didn't want to be bothered by anyone. He wasn't in the mood to hear how he shouldn't go because it was dangerous and that he should get help and blah blah blah.
Chris took out his cell phone and decided to call Claire for the tenth time. She hadn't been home and he was starting to worry. He let it ring seven times but no one picked up. If only she had an answering machine… He paid for his coffee and decided to go back to Raccoon City. He was going to get to the bottom of this.
On the outskirts of Raccoon, Jill and Carlos searched Chris's apartment for any sign of his whereabouts.
"Nothing!" Jill expressed out raged, "Nothing but his stupid knife!"
Carlos stayed silent and carefully stepped over all the trash on the floor. The efficiency was a complete disaster area; it was as if a hurricane had hurdled through it.
"Your comrade isn't very neat." Carlos commented.
Jill ignored him and continued to shuffle through the pile of papers on the floor.
Carlos looked through his closet examining each article of clothing.
"What on earth are you doing?" Jill asked.
"Lady, I'm sick of wearing dis Umbrella uniform. It itches."
Jill rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
Carlos then grabbed a pair of black jeans, a T-shirt, and a black leather jacket, and headed towards the bathroom to change.
Jill on the other hand found something to an interest. It was a letter. "Hey, Carlos I found something. Come here."
He fumbled out of the bathroom zipping his pants up as he shut the door. Jill shook her head and any obscene thought with it. She could hardly believe she found the guy attractive.
"Look here," she said pointing to the paper, "It's a letter."
"I knew dat!" he snapped and snatched it from her. He read it out loud, "Dear Claire, I know I haven't talked wit you for a while now but dis is an emergency. Whatever you do, don't visit me at Raccoon City. I can't tell you why because it will probably put your life at risk. Please, Claire. I know whenever I tell you someding-"
"It's something," Jill corrected.
"Yeah, yeah," Carlos mumbled and continued, "you never listen. Just please don't. It's a mater of life or dead. Love, Chris."
"Dead? Don't you mean death?" Jill inquired.
"Stop correcting me! Just because I can't speak good inglés, you have to go an' make fun of me!" Carlos shouted.
Jill took the letter and read over it again. "What I want to know is who's Claire?"
"His girlfriend?" Carlos assumed.
"Maybe, but he would of mentioned it. I don't know."
"Hey, lets go find your other comrades. Barry and uh…Rebecca?"
"Barry said he was sending his family off to Canada, but Rebecca…I'm not sure where she is. She could be dead for all I know."
"Well, let's go, señorita," he said and dragged Jill out the door by her hand.
"Our hearts go out to the citizens of Raccoon Cit-" Barry Burton turned off the car radio. He didn't want to hear about Umbrella and their cover up. The media was informed that the city was infected with a flesh-eating virus. They were told nothing about the zombies, the experiments, or that it was all Umbrella's fault. No one knew and no one will ever know, for all the evidence was destroyed in Umbrella's cover up explosion. Barry may not have been able to save his home, Raccoon City, but he be damned if another city were to be decimated.
"I can't believe what happened to the city!" Rebecca exclaimed.
Barry changed the subject, "Well, at least my family will be safe in Canada. I couldn't bare it when Wesker manipulated me by threatening them." Barry still regrets to this day betraying his friends even though he was trying to protect his family. He never wants to become Umbrella's puppet again.
"What happened to Chris, Jill, and Brad?" Rebecca asked.
"Jill is alive and is looking for Chris at his apartment now. I doubt he died in that explosion; he left town the day before. Brad…Brad was killed…"
Rebecca gasped. "Brad is dead!? How?"
"He was killed by a new monster from Umbrella. I'm not sure about it…Jill knows more. She saw him die."
"Oh…" she muttered and kept quiet.
Shortly they arrived at the street where Chris's apartment is. Below the entrance of the building an annoyed Jill was arguing with Carlos. Barry shut the car off, and Rebecca and him got out.
"Jill! I was just kidding! Come on don't be so serious," Carlos affirmed.
Jill rolled her eyes and scolded, "Just don't touch me again!"
"JILL!" Rebecca shouted and rushed towards her and crushed her in a tight hug.
"It's good to see you too 'Becca," Jill managed to say, while prying her off.
"Who's the hottie?" she whispered to her.
"This is Carlos," she introduced, "Carlos, this is Rebecca."
"Hola, señorita," he greeted.
"Hi!" she said way too cheerfully. She always loves meeting new people.
"Did you find Chris?" Barry asked.
"No, but we found dis letter," Carlos replied and handed it to him.
Barry read it over.
"Do you know who Claire is?" Jill asked.
"Uhh…I believe she's his sister," Barry half thought out loud.
"Sister? How come he never mentioned it before?" Jill pointed out.
"I don't know…Let's just go and find Chris. He might be at the airport. There were a lot of delays."
With that they all got in Barry's car and drove off.
A woman looked at her self in the mirror. She used to be called Ada Wong, but this morning she would say good-bye to that name like all her other names she ever had. She felt her ab. This is Ada's scar not mine… She put on a navy blue suit. As she fixed her tie, the telephone rang. The agent pushed the speakerphone button.
"Agent #407 here," the woman answered.
"#407, for your next mission," the man over the intercom informed, "we want you to recover any survivors from Raccoon and bring them back here alive. We want to interrogate them. Mr. Death has already recovered a cop and a little girl. Meet him at Raccoon forest. He'll give you further information on your mission."
"I'll be right on it," Ada replied.
The interrogation room held nothing more than a metal table and two chairs on either side of it. The gray ceiling-fan above rhythmically hummed as it spun. At one end of the room where a pair of windows - sunshine slipped between the closed blinds, causing the room to fill with the little light it contained.
Leon Scott Kennedy sat at the table with his hands folded. His face was expressionless like a bluffing cowboy playing Poker. His once bright, excited eyes were now bloodshot and ruthlessly cold. Surviving the past nightmare had taken a lot from him. His hopes and dreams of becoming a cop had been striped away. All there was left for him was the satisfaction of taking down Umbrella for ruining so many people's lives.
A US government agent in his mid-fifties was interrogating the rookie cop.
"Leave Sherry alone! She's innocent!" Leon demanded.
"She knows too much," the man replied while slowly pacing back and forth; his footsteps echoed against the bare walls. He studied the rookie cop and continued, "But you have value. This is a good deal. Make your choice."
With our hesitation or regret, Leon closed his eyes and then sharply responded, "I'd rather die, than ever become one of you."
Nicholai smiled, "You're smarter than I thought, Kennedy. How did you know I was from Umbrella?"
Leon unfolded his hands and inquired, "Why would the government want to hire someone to assassinate S.T.A.R.S.?"
The Umbrella agent sipped from his cup of coffee and sat it down on the table. "If S.T.A.R.S. hadn't interfered with us, we would have never let the virus spread to the city."
"What about those people you experimented on?" he reminded him.
"Those were volunteers that sold their body to science."
He doubted it. "What if someone found out what you were doing?"
"Curiosity killed the cat," Nicholai responded with a sinister smirk.
Leon squinted in anger. "You sick bastard! Those people are innocent!"
"You, Kennedy are in no position to take that tone of voice with me."
The cop sat back, remembering his bullet wound. He's right, He thought, I might be able to get past him, but the place is probably swarming with guards. Leon looked down – his hair fell forward, covering his crystal blue eyes. "What are you going to do with me?" he asked sullenly.
"Well," the agent began, "We could use you as a test subject or kill you right now."
A shock of fear chilled Leon to the bone. I can't die…I just can't die. But it's impossible to get out of this mess alone…His mind raced with ideas. Claire… He instantly remembered her words. "I…I'll be back. I promise…" But she didn't come back. Did something happen to her? Oh God, Claire, please come back. If not for me, at least for Sherry…
The multicolored leaves from the trees above slowly fell to the ground, only to be lifted up every so often by the wind. Even with the sun above shining down, the day was cold and miserable for Claire Redfield. She shuttered as the wind whipped at her legs. Why wasn't I smart enough to ware pants in the middle of fall? She asked her self. She looked up into the sky only to see a canopy of trees. Claire sighed. She'd been trudging through Raccoon forest for quite some time now.
The motorcyclist took out her Browning HP handgun – there was only one bullet left. God, I hope I don't run into any trouble… As if someone read her thoughts she heard a twig snap in the distance. What was that? She looked in the direction the noise came from and saw a flash of a black shadow. Someone or something was there.
She pointed her gun in the direction of the enemy. "I know where you are. Come out or I'll shoot," she threatened.
Suddenly something grabbed Claire from behind. She screamed and thrashed her arms and legs wildly to brake free of its grip.
"Let go!" she screamed. But the thing adamantly clung to her - she wasn't going to get away so easily…
Chapter 2
"Let go!" Claire screamed again. She gripped the man's arm that was around her neck and flipped him over her. The man quickly recovered and stumbled to his feet. He was dressed in black attire with a gas mask over his face. Hunk Death pulled out his handgun and took aim at Claire. She knew better than to attack someone armed, so she took off from the path in hopes to lose him in the forest.
She sprinted as fast as she could but there was no way to lose him – she had to kill him. Claire pressed her back against one of the trees and gripped her gun tight. One shot. One bullet. She had to be accurate. Claire looked around the other side of the tree. He wasn't any where to be found.
Damn it! Where could he have gone? She held her gun up close to her face. He must be hiding…
Bam. Bam.
Hunk shot at Claire. The bullet skidded the tree that she hid behind. I'm gonna have to confuse him.Claire picked up a rock and threw it on the other side of the narrow path. The bushes gently moved and it seemed as though someone brushed up against them. She prayed the guy was stupid enough to fall for her trick.
According to plan, Hunk slowly moved out of his hiding place. It would be a careless mistake that he will forever regret. Claire swiftly jumped out, extended her arm, and pulled the trigger.
Bam. The bullet pierced Hunk's skull right between the eyes. Blood splattered and poured from the gapping hole. He fell backwards and hit the ground with a thud. Mr. Death was dead.
Claire let out a sigh of relief. She searched his body for any bullets or valuables. Luckily, she found two extra clips and a key chain. She may not know where the keys go to, but she had a feeling they'd be useful. Claire reloaded her gun with the clips inside Hunk's gun – she now had forty-five bullets. Not enough to take on anything too dangerous, but it was sure better than none.
In the distance she heard a faint voice with a slight Chinese accent call, "Mr. Death. Where are you? I heard gunfire. Hunk, are you okay?"
The voice was coming closer. Claire hid behind the tree again.
The former Ada Wong came down the path and saw Hunk's body blocking the way.
"Hunk!" she stated fear filling her voice. Who could have killed him? Ada thought prying her brain with answers. She wasn't concerned who killed him to revenge Hunk, but to keep her selfish ass alive.
Ada searched the area. She had the feeling who ever did this, had stuck around. "Who are you?" she demanded.
It was useless - Claire was long gone.
Two Umbrella guards flung Leon into a prison-like cell. Leon stood up moaning with pain as he felt his shoulder and watched the guards disappear down the hall. He then clung on to the bars and took in the scenery.
The hallway was covered with cells – each cold dark and dank. The light above flickered on and off, it would probably need to be replaced soon. At the end of the hall stood a very tall dark complexioned man in a trench coat. "What's up?" Leon asked playfully and slightly waved his hand. The man didn't answer and remained expressionless.
Well at least being imprisoned is better than dead…or becoming the living dead.
He looked on the bright side. I'm probably going to die, so may as well cause some trouble. The cop thought smirking. At the police academy he was the class-clown and would always go out of his way for a laugh. But he also made sure he graduated best in his class. So much for working hard all those years. It can't even get me out of this damn prison."Hey, buddy!" Leon called at the man again, "How about we make a deal?"
The guy still stayed silent and stared off into oblivion.
"Fine," Leon mumbled. He couldn't even cause a little ruckus.
Suddenly Leon heard the faint sound of crying. He turned around and noticed Sherry huddled in the corner covered by the shadows.
"Sherry!" Leon exclaimed relived that she was okay. He knelt down beside her, and she slowly looked up at him. Her blood-shot eyes were dilated with fear and her tiny face was streaked with tears.
"Are you alright?" he asked her gently placing his hand on her head for comfort.
She simply sniffed.
"Don't worry. We'll get out of here," he assured her.
"Where-where's Claire?" she asked in a strangled voice.
Leon shook his head. "We'll get out of here," he repeated.
"How can we?" she asked in despair, "Just look what they have for our guard."
"Huh?" Leon turned and took a careful look at the tall man. Instantly his jaw dropped. It wasn't a man at all, but a Tyrant.
Nicholai sat in his office awaiting word from Mr. Umbrella. A few months ago he told his boss what happened to their mansion base in Raccoon. Mr. Umbrella wasn't very pleased at all that they let one of the leading laboratories be destroyed so easily by a group known as S.T.A.R.S. He sent him the leading project, Nemesis, in hopes they would be rid of the nosey police. But now, Nicholai had to tell him they lost the whole Raccoon City and the underground laboratory and not to mention the one copy of Nemesis.
Ring. Ring.
Nicholai quickly answered the phone, "Sir.""Before you say anything, Nicholai," Mr. Umbrella began, "I want you to know that I'm going to send you a new project."
"Really, sir?"
"Yes, I'm sending you the E-virus and an already tested animal known as the lynxerous. I want you to take full responsibility on it. Also I'm sending my niece, Eliza Walker and my leading scientist, Dr. Whitefield. Don't screw up like you did with that mansion. Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?"
"Uh…Sir, the underground lab in Raccoon had an accident-"
"Accident?" Mr. Umbrella asked annoyed.
"Yes, sir. The base had a leak and it contaminated the whole city."
"What!?" he screamed in an out rage.
"Don't worry, sir. Everything was covered up. The city was ordered to be blown up."
"What about all the research?"
"Thanks to agent #407 the G-virus was recovered, but I'm afraid the Nemesis project was destroyed because of S.T.A.R.S."
"Then I suppose you'll be coming back to Europe?"
"If that's okay with you, sir."
"Come back as soon as you finish this last task. Any survivors of Raccoon City must either be destroyed or turned into experiments. But your number one priority is to assassinate the S.T.A.R.S. members before they find out about our main base in London."
"Yes sir."
"Good, don't disappoint me." Mr. Umbrella said and hung up.
The airport was as crowded as the streets of New York during rush hour. The delays had added an extra eight hundred people to the mess. The people scurried about in a mad rush to get on their next flight or to go home from a long day's travel. There was absolutely no way to find someone in such chaos.
"How are we ever going to find Chris in all of this?" Jill asked disappointed.
"Hell if I know," Barry remarked.
Carlos put his arm around Barry and the other around Jill and said, "Hey, don't despair, comrades. I'm sure we'll find your amigo."
Barry pushed his arm off him. "Let's split up," he suggested wanting to get as far away from Carlos as he could.
"Naw, we'll just probably lose each other," Jill replied still with Carlos's arm around her.
"I dunno. Sounds good ta me," Carlos said winking and smirking at Jill. He whispered in her ear, "How about we sneak into one of dose badrooms and-"
A shocked Jill hit him in the stomach. "Stop it," she scolded.
"Hey, lookie here guys," Rebecca said pointing to the monitors with the take off and arrival schedules.
"So what about it?" Carlos asked.
"Look, the plane for London was delayed. That's the one Chris is on."
"And how the hell do you know that?" Barry inquired skeptical.
"Because he told me where he was going before he left, silly. Didn't he tell you?"
Barry and Jill glanced at each other and shook their heads.
"Nope, but who cares, lets just go to the gate," Jill suggested glad that they were getting somewhere.
At the gate most of the seats were filled with passengers from the delayed planes. Baggages of all sorts covered the walkways in between chairs. Most of the people slept, and an occasional snore could be heard.
All of a sudden, Rebecca started jumping up and down, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "CHRIS!!!" The passengers looked annoyed and a few stretched.
Rebecca excited as ever crashed into Chris with open arms. He stumbled a few paces back, trying to keep balance.
"Alright, alright, 'Becca don't make a scene," he told her chuckling a little.
Rebecca let go of him and Jill quickly gave him a hug and said, "We're glad you're safe, Chris."
"Same here," he replied.
Barry nodded and smiled.
"This is Carlos," Jill introduced.
Carlos shook his hand and said, "Your amigos have told me much about you, señor."
"Where's Brad?" Chris questioned.
Their silence answered him.
"Are we all going to London together?" Rebecca asked.
"No, not yet," Chris answered, "I have to find my sister Claire, first."
After walking for what seemed like an hour, Claire found her way to a parking lot. The place was deserted except for the two black Chevys. Claire slowly walked up to them. Her heels on her shoes clacked loudly against the pavement – the noise seemed louder than usual, for there was no other sound but birds softly chirping in the distance.
She took out the key chain that she "borrowed" and immediately found the distinctive blacktopped car key. If this works, God must really like me. She tried her luck, but the car wouldn't open. I guess I could lock-pick and hot-wire it…She glanced up and decided to see if the other car would open with it.
The door unlocked with a satisfying click. A smile curved Claire's lips. "Yes!" she exclaimed triumphantly, swung open the door, and crashed in.
She slammed the door shut and immediately thought of Leon and Sherry. I wonder if I could contact them this far away? That is if Leon stayed put. Not that he would listen… She clicked the button on the radio and said in an almost robotic tone, "This is Claire, Leon do you read?"
She released the button to listen but got nothing but static. Her impatience was already getting to her. She decided to try again, "It's Claire. Leon, damn it answer!"
After a few seconds of static an ever-excited Leon replied, "Claire is that you?"
"No, it's a zombie. Of course it's me. Did you stay where I told you?"
"No, but-"
"What did I tell you?" she interrupted a bit angry.
"Claire, I was captured by Umbrella. Right now, I'm in a cell with Sherry," he paused, "Since this got through, you're probably not too far from here."
"You're right. Do you have any idea where you are?"
Leon thought hard for a moment looking at Sherry's bright hopeful eyes. "They knocked me out when we traveled here, but Sherry might know the way."
"Well, then let me talk to her!"
Leon handed the radio to the small innocent child. "C- Claire?" she said barley audible.
"Sweetie, do you know how to get where you are?" Claire asked in a very soothing gentle tone.
Sherry described every building that she passed. She was luckily gifted with a photographic memory. In the past, her mother would ask her to memorize various formulas instead of writing them down, only to be stolen by other scientists each striving to come up with the best virus.
"Good girl," Claire praised, "I'll be there soon. Let me talk to Leon, okay?"
"Bye, Claire," she said softly and handed the radio back to him.
"Do you really think you can make it inside?" he asked her.
"Well, let's just put it this way. I'll definitely make it in, but getting us out is another matter entirely."
He laughed a bit in spite of the situation. "You have so relieved me, Claire."
It was her turn to laugh. "I can't believe we're actually joking like this. Well, I guess I'll see you there."
"Bye… just be careful."
"Whatever."
Claire turned the ignition-key and pressed on the gas-pedal causing the car to roar with excitement. She positioned the seat and mirrors to suit her, but when she glanced in the rear-view mirror she saw an angry Chinese woman from Umbrella swiftly walking towards her with a gun. Claire smiled. So much for being careful.
Claire quickly turned the car around to face her and gunned the gas. She suddenly shifted the car out of neutral and attempted to run the woman over. Ada on the other hand just stood there, calmly pointed her gun, and fired.
"You bitch!" Claire shouted with frustration as she ducked to dodge the bullets. Ada tumbled out of the way of the speeding car and sprinted towards her own.
The motorcyclist grabbed her gun and rolled down her window and shouted, "You want to play rough, whore? She took aim and shot at Ada as she scrambled into her car. I don't have time for this! Claire realized. I can't afford to lose this car to some Umbrella shit!
The agent sped at Claire trying to smash her car. Claire quickly reversed her car out of the way and out of the parking lot – she had to make it to the Umbrella base.
Luckily, the streets were deserted, so she floored the gas-pedal to escape. Claire glanced in her rear-view mirror and realized she wasn't going to lose her. She switched her gun to her left hand, stuck her hand out of the window and aimlessly shot. Ada swerved her car to avoid her tires from being busted.
You don't give up do you?
Claire slammed on her brakes. Her tires screeched with immense effort to stop. Ada quickly noticed, but it wasn't so easy for her car, and she swerved off the road colliding into a tree. Skid marks scarred the road and Ada's car engine smoked from the impact.Today must be my lucky day!
Claire thought smiling, but quickly changed expressions when Ada shot her tires. Damn, damn, damn! Claire swiftly got out after she reloaded her gun. They both pointed their weapons at one another."Who are you?" Ada demanded.
"My name's Claire, and you are?" she replied.
"Agent #407."
"What's the big idea shooting at me?" Claire asked really pissed off.
"Umbrella has ordered that all citizens of Raccoon City must die."
"I'm not a citizen."
"And all survivors."
"Why's that?" Claire questioned ready to kill her.
Ada's lips formed a perfect smirk. She pulled the trigger. Claire dove for the ground and shot her gun. Ada screamed with pain and clutched her leg. She knelt to the ground – blood slipped in-between her pale fingers.
"You fucking whore!" the wounded one screamed.
"That's what you get for messing with a Redfield," Claire stated pleased with herself. She held her Browning HP to Ada's head. "Now give me your gun."
She handed it to her with teeth clenched from pain, anger, and defeat.
Claire turned around and set eyes on Umbrella's emergency base. It was exactly as Sherry described: an old rundown building slightly hidden by the forest behind it. Ada was too weak to go after her and regretfully watched as Claire entered the base using Hunk's keys.
Inside, the place resembled a very tidy hospital; it even smelt as one. The walls were painted a heavenly white and the floors where a light gray marble. A deserted receptionist desk promptly sat next to a key carded door. Opposite of it stood another door. The air-conditioner blew ice-cold air that chilled Claire. God! Every where I go, I'm freaking freezing. Who in their right minds puts the AC on when it's fifty degrees out?
She inserted the key that was used to get in, but it wouldn't open the door. She removed her lock pick from her pocket, knelt down, and picked at the lock. Click. The door opened with a creek, it wailed and moaned as if it were an old man straining to reach something that fell on the ground.
Claire took in her next surroundings. Like the room she had just came from, the decor was white. The long hall stretched to finally reach a bared door that would normally be found in a prison. Surprisingly, there were absolutely no guards. Something's wrong…Where is everybody?
Meanwhile, Ada Wong called Nicholai to warn the intrusion.
"Sir, we have an intruder in the base," she informed him.
"A S.T.A.R.S. member?"
"No, but she is related to one of them."
"Why didn't you go after her? What happened?"
"She killed Mr. Death, so I went after her, but she shot me in the leg. I need medical attention."
"I don't care! Go after her!"
"Sir, I can't…but I was thinking we could send some guards after her."
"No, if she can kill Mr. Death she must be good. We can't afford to lose anymore guards; we only have five left."
"Well then, let's send the tyrant after her that is guarding the prisoners."
Claire Redfield fiddled with the numeric pad lock. She was just punching in any old number and was starting to get frustrated. That's it! Screw this shit! She took her gun and blew the lock to smithereens. The computer buzzed and the door swung open.
The barred door lead to a dank poorly lighted prison. This must be the place… As she proceeded down the celled hall she peered into each prison.
"Claire!" Leon shouted from the cell further down.
"Leon!" she cried spiriting towards him.
"Boy, am I glad to see you," he told her relived while smiling.
Sherry smiled just as bright.
Claire took out her lock pick, but just before she could unlock the cell, she heard a familiar sound.
Thud. Thud.
It came closer."Wh-What's that?" Sherry asked shaken.
She said nothing, starred at the entrance, and tightened her grip on her Browning HP.
"Claire, what's wrong?" Leon asked nervously as he noticed her serious expression.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Claire slowly pointed her gun at the tyrant as it drew nearer.Bam. Bam.
Claire shot at him but the bullets did nothing. "No!" she shouted in frustration.Bam. Bam. Bam.
Still nothing. She reloaded her gun. Claire was on her last clip.She aimed for its head, but it easily dodged it. Claire's jaw dropped. The tyrant suddenly started to sprint and as it did so balled his hands up into a fist. He slammed them into Claire's stomach sending her flying backwards.
Whack.
She hit the wall and fell limp. She didn't budge."CLAIRE!" Leon shouted immensely struck by concern and fear. Sherry hid behind his legs. No! He screamed in his mind. Claire please! You can't die…God no! Please, I need you. But I can't do anything to save you. I feel so useless. His thoughts were clouded from his concern for Claire. He couldn't think. All he could do was watch regretfully.
Chapter 3
Back in the underground base in London, Dr. Whitefield busily made new batches of the E-virus. He wanted everything tested from plants to humans. He held up beaker at eye level and carefully made sure he only put one drop of plutonium.
"Hey, Dr. Whitefield!" screeched his lovely blond assistant.
Dr. Whitefield jumped and dropped the beaker on the floor causing it to shatter and its contents splattered everywhere.
"Oops," she said innocently.
"Eliza Walker, will you just please go away!" he scolded, "I only put up with you because you're Mr. Umbrella's niece. Now, just please I don't need trouble. I'm very busy!"
Eliza put on a face of hurt and shame. All the scientists did that to her. She always had a crazed ambition to help. The only problem was she was terrible at it. She would break any beaker she held or would distract scientists by nagging them that she could help. Time the doctors are done yelling they don't know what they mixed and didn't mix into the concoction they're working on. She once made the T-virus scientist so irritated he started smashing all the beakers of chemicals, later it lead to the spill in the mansion base.
Whitefield bent down to clean the mess. He picked up bits and pieces of the glass and placed them into the trashcan with a biohazard symbol on it.
"Ouch!" he cried and pulled away his cut finger.
"Doctor, are you okay?" Eliza asked.
"I'm fine. It's just a scratch," he lied. He tried his hardest to cover up his fear. If he mixed the chemicals right, he would either become an E-virus monster or dead.
"Well, look at the time," she began, "I have to get to my motorcycle meet. Bye doctor and take care."
"Bye…"
Panic filled the doctor's heart. What am I going to do? Twenty-four hours and I'll be a monster…I must make an antidote before then; my life depends on it!
Meanwhile at the emergency base near what used to be Raccoon City…
Leon's fear suddenly changed to anger. He had to find a way to save Claire. The tyrant drew nearer ready to tear her apart. Leon didn't know what to do, but he had to try something. He grabbed the cell's bars and shook them causing a loud clanging noise. "Hey you bastard!" he yelled trying to get its attention.
The thing stopped and turned around. It slowly moved towards the cell, lifted its balled up fist high in the air, and let it came crashing down on the cell. The door smashed inward making an opening that the monster blocked. If Leon could remember clearly these monsters are slow and you can usually run by them with out getting hurt too badly.
The tyrant lifted its fists again ready to smash Sherry and Leon.
"Sherry run!" Leon yelled pushing her. She barely made it past him before he crashed down his arms.
Leon was now backed into the corner; he was trapped. The tyrant swung a barrage of punches at him. He dodged all but the last one, which hit him exactly where his bullet wound was. Leon hollered with pain and clutched his shoulder. Of all the God damned places… The tyrant grabbed Leon's neck and lifted him off the ground. He gasped for air and tried best he could to pry the monster's hands off of him.
"Leon!" Sherry shouted. No, she thought not him too. She sprinted towards Claire and shook her. "Claire, wake up! Please!" She still wouldn't move. Oh God, please don't let her be dead. She looked back at Leon still thrashing to get away from the monster. What can I do? The shine of the metal on the Browning HP caught Sherry's eye. Maybe I can…
Leon saw what Sherry had and held out his hand. She tossed the gun to him. He raised the gun to the monster's head; the cold barrel pressed firmly against the tyrant's forehead. Eat this!
Bam. The tyrant's head exploded. Bits and pieces of its brain, flesh and skull lay helter- skelter across the cell's floor. Speckles of blood decorated his face. Leon unclamped the tyrant's hands from his neck and took in a deep breath of air.
"Are you okay?" he asked Sherry. She nodded and pointed towards Claire.
He sprinted towards her and his throat tightened. He knelt down and supported Claire's neck and back with his arm. The blood that dripped from the back of her head stained Leon's shirt a deep red.
"Claire?" he asked in a shaky voice.
She didn't respond. "Come on," he whispered, tears welled up in his eyes.
He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. She was cold as ice. NO! Claire! Please don't be dead. You can't die…I need you.
Slowly Claire opened her eyelids, revealing her bold baby blues. Leon smiled like he just won the lottery. "Claire!" he shouted and hugged her tight.
"Leon?" she mumbled in shock and watched Sherry giggle despite the tears that poured down the little one's face.
"Get off of me!" Claire yelled and roughly pushed him away. Leon just stupidly smiled at her. Oh no, Claire thought looking at him, I know that look. All men have it when they're-
"Well, I see I have under estimated you three," Ada said to them at the entrance of the hall pointing her gun at them.
"Ada!" Leon growled. He remembered what she had done to him. She used him to get away with the G-virus and for her protection. The bullet wound that had repeatedly slowed him down was to protect that bitch. She was a no good conniving whore, and Leon constantly scolded himself for falling in love with her.
She limped towards them. "Now, I'll finally be rid of you," she said to them.
Bam.
Ada fell to her knees and stared back to see Leon with the gun that shot her. Smoke rose from the barrel. He glared at her with vengeful eyes."Why?" she asked holding her stomach. She couldn't believe Leon, the one she had wrapped around her finger, would do such a thing.
"Why?" he repeated, "because you turned me into the one thing I hate the most. You turned me into to a traitor, you made me your puppet, and you used me. After all that, you ask why I would kill you?"
"You can't kill me," she retorted.
"Wanna make a bet?" he asked and shot her in head. Blood slowly drizzled from the perfectly round hole in her forehead. Her eyes rolled back; she dropped her gun and fell forward.
Claire stared at Leon. She couldn't believe the look in his eyes, those crazed vengeful eyes. It was as if he were another person entirely. His crystal blues no longer had that playfulness or excitement; they were cold and full of hatred.
"Leon?" she asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He seemed to ease up with her touch.
"I'm okay," he replied and handed her the gun, "There's no more bullets left."
Sherry came out from hiding behind Claire.
"Let's go," Leon suggested.
"What about ammunition?" Claire questioned.
He didn't reply and made his way out of the prison. Claire and Sherry looked at one another. Who was that girl? Claire thought. She made a mental note to ask him later when things cooled down.
Claire followed Leon to the reception room. He searched through the desk, took out a keycard, and inserted it into the reader.
"Where are we going?" Claire asked him.
He grabbed her wrist. "I know where they keep the medical stuff."
"What would you want with that?" she asked.
He replied by gently touching the back of her head; she winced.
The trio stealthily went down the hall so not to alert the sleeping guard that held the lovely assault riffle. He snored and mumbled something about a virus.
They slipped into the supply room across from the guard. Inside was a plain white room with nothing more than a fairly big sized box. It creaked as Leon opened it.
Claire thought hard, remembering. Is it just me, or do I see this same exact box everywhere in Raccoon City just lying around in the weirdest places?
Leon took out his H&K VP70 Burst and checked it for bullets. None. He put the handgun in his pants leaving only the handle to stick out.
"Are you sure that's a safe place to put that?" Claire asked him, "You might accidentally blow off something you wouldn't want to."
Leon smiled and dug deeper in the box.
Claire watched him look through it for ammo and medical supplies. Jeez, why does he have to wear such tight pants?
"Here it is!" Leon stated triumphantly.
"Clips?" she asked.
"No," Leon said holding up a can of first aid spray and gauze.
"I don't need that!" she snapped.
"Shut up, you do," he told her firmly and attended to her cut on the back of her head.
"I'm not hurt. I'm fine, damn it Leon!" Claire cringed from the first aid spray. The stuff always stung just like peroxide.
She swatted at him and slapped him on the arm. "Cut it out."
Leon ignored her and wrapped the gauze around her head.
Sherry giggled. "Claire, you look like a mummy," she remarked.
Claire pushed Leon away from her, took out her mirror, and examined herself. The bandage was wrapped in such a way that it appeared to like a bandana. She was never one to be vain, but this was just plain stupid looking. "I look like Rambo," she pouted.
"You look beautiful," Leon commented staring strait in her eyes.
Uh, oh…There's that look again.
Claire thought. She felt uneasy and hurried to the box to look for bullets.She found only two clips. She reloaded her gun with one and gave the other to Leon.
"Sherry carry this," she told her handing her another can of spray.
Leon quietly opened the door and peeked out. The guard was no longer there. That's funny…He motioned for them to follow.
The hall was completely deserted.
"Something's up," Leon whispered, his cop instincts kicking in.
Click clack.
Leon looked down the hall the noise came from. Claire glanced at him and he shrugged. The cop held up his gun close to his face, pressed himself against the wall, and stealthily moved sideways down the hall. He peeked around the corner.A dead cerebus lay in the middle of the hall in a pool of blood. Flies escaped the dog's open mouth. It seemed to be dead for quit a while. Leon covered his nose from the stench. What the… He walked up to it and nudged it with his foot. Suddenly he gasped.
Claire flew down the hall to see what was happening. The dog adamantly clung to Leon's ankle. Blood trickled down his foot – the cerebus's tongue licked the floor aching for more blood. Leon repeatedly kicked the thing hoping to get away without using any ammo. Flesh ripped off of the dog after blow after blow.
Claire took out the knife her brother gave her. She swung it strait down like a lumberjack splits wood. The sharp blade decapitated the thing completely. The cerebus's body twitched and spasmed. Pints of blood poured from its neck.
Leon unclamped the mutated dog's teeth and rubbed his ankle.
"You okay?" Claire asked him.
He nodded. Sherry came down the hall and held Claire's hand.
"Where to now, genus?" she joked.
Chris Redfield opened the door to Claire's apartment. Unlike his, she kept all her junk in piles rather than everywhere. A pile of motorcycle magazines jumbled one corner and in another a pile of dirty clothes were stacked neatly. Trophy after trophy lined her shelves. Some were for motorcycle races while others were for marksmanship. Her bed was covered with a real leopard-skin bedspread along with curtains to match.
"Claire?" Chris called. No answer.
Rebecca pushed Chris and not meaning to be so loud yelled, "Let me see!"
Carlos searched the room with his eyes hoping to see what this Claire looked like.
Jill came in after him and told them, "Barry's waiting in the car."
"Well, she's not here," Chris mumbled, "I just hope she wasn't in town that night…"
Jill took his hands, which made Carlos burningly jealous. "I'm sure she's safe. She may be even looking for you," Jill assured.
"Dere's no point in staying aquí," Carlos said.
"Staying here," Rebecca corrected.
"Not you too!" he wailed.
Jill laughed. "Come on you guys," she ushered.
"Wait," Chris began.
"What's up?" Jill asked.
He held his finger up to his lips signaling them to hush.
"Ahhhh," something moaned.
All of a sudden, Jill screamed. A female zombie from under the bed clutched her leg drawing it near its mouth in hopes for a taste of flesh. Jill tried to tug away her foot. Carlos quickly aimed his gun.
Bam.
Blood speckles stained the rug. The zombie's hand was blown off and it recoiled under the bed. Carlos had a look of surprise across his face; he wasn't the one who shot it. Chris lowered his gun."Let's go," he commanded.
The two girls went out the door following him, leaving Carlos quite a ways behind. Usted pensa que es grande y mal. [You think you're so big and bad.] Carlos thought. Todas las personas siempre hablan como se usted es parecido un héroe, pero usted es mas como un bastardo. [Everyone always talks about you like you're some kind of hero, but you're more like a bastard.] Chris es ésta y Chris es ése. [Chris is this and Chris is that.] ¡Cualquiera! [Whatever!]
He caught up with the others and looked at Jill longingly. Yo espero que peudo ganar su corazón… [I just hope I can win her heart…]
Nicholai examined Ada's lifeless body. He frowned. Yet another agent falls to the hand of the Raccoon citizens. He took out a needle and pressed out the air causing a little of its contents to spill over. He injected it into her neck. It won't be long now…
Ada magically sprung to life. Her eyes were now coated with a white cloudy film. Her once yellow-tinted skin was a very pale shade of blue and shockingly cold to the touch. Her teeth were shaped like a vampire's, ready to drain a victim's blood. The bullet wounds in her head, leg, and stomach somehow healed its self.
Ada looked at her self and gasped. She was a zombie, but her mind was still intact. "My God!" she screamed from disbelief.
Nicholai smiled. "Welcome back."
"No…change me back!" she screeched panic filling her voice.
"Lovely this knew virus, eh? It's a variation of the original T-virus, but it doesn't rot away your brain."
"Lovely!" Ada repeated, "I'm a monster!"
"Yes, but alive," he pointed out.
"I'd rather be dead."
"That's not an option, 407. You're now immortal."
"Immortal?"
"Now, do me a favor. Kill off those three before they wreck anything else."
"Yes, sir." she saluted and walked off. This must be some kind of dream…Oh lord, Please let it be a dream.
Chapter 4
Ada Wong examined the images the surveillance cameras captured. She was going to kill those three for ruining her. For making her this…thing. Her beauty was completely striped away from her. She used to take pride in her looks, but now her gorgeous face was so pale, veins peeked through. She griped her gun. I'm gonna murder them…eat them alive. God, I'm so hungry. Like other zombies she craved live flesh with a vengeance. Nothing could satisfy her more than sinking her teeth into Leon's flesh – hearing him scream with pain. That would be her heaven, her escape.
Her hazy eyes caught the sight of the trio. There you are…
The three were on their way out of the base; they'd found the exit.
You think you've just escaped. Wait till we meet up in London…Your fate shall be sealed there.
She smiled as she thought of ripping them limb from limb. Ada would tolerate no mercy, not even for little Sherry.Leon took a deep breath of fresh air. It felt so good to be outside, to be free of Umbrella. He savored the moment for he knew that his job wasn't over until the world was rid of Umbrella. His job was to serve and protect and he was going to carry that out, even if that meant his death. Leon wasn't scared to die as long as he died for something he believed in. He closed his eyes, while the cold wind fiercely whipped his hair back.
Claire noticed Leon's somber expression. "What's wrong?" she inquired.
At first he said nothing. Then he replied, "What would you do if I died?"
Claire hesitated at such a topic. Why's he so serous? "You're not going to die," she told him firmly.
"You don't know tha-"
"I won't let that happen, ever."
There was an awkward moment of silence.
"Let's go," Claire commanded and gestured for them to follow.
They made it across the street and headed in the opposite direction of the "little" car crash Claire caused earlier. The open road was deserted as far as the eye could see. No stores, no cars, nothing. Sherry began to playfully skip in front of them. Leon shoved his hands in his pocket, as he walked he slightly limped from the wound on his ankle.
After a few minutes of walking and silence, Leon casually plunged his hand into Claire's back short's pocket. At first she was in total shock. How could he do such a thing?
I know he's my friend, but there is a fine line between friendly and too friendly, and I'm afraid Leon has crossed the line…
She looked at Leon and she saw nothing but a mischievous grin that played across his face. Suddenly, Claire's shock changed to pure anger. If looks could kill Leon would be dead.She was about to punch him out, when he removed his hand along with a pack of gum. As he unwrapped a stick, her jaw dropped. If he wanted gum THAT bad he could have just asked! Claire thought outraged.
She punched him in the arm, and he staggered to the side from imbalance.
"What was that for?" he asked totally oblivious.
She quickly snatched the pack from him, still with that appalled expression. "You could have just asked! You just don't go and shove your hands into some girl's back pocket! Especially my pocket!"
Leon grinned wider. "Why? You didn't like that?" he asked jokingly.
"Do you have a death wish?" she retorted.
Leon stifled a laugh.
Claire was about to give Leon a good long awaited beating when an old rundown Volkswagen Van drove up and stopped in front of them. The car had tinted windows and was impossible to identify who was inside. All that the trio could tell was that it was full with people.
"Umbrella?" Leon asked Claire.
Claire shrugged and grabbed Sherry's hand.
Leon stood in front of the two and gripped his gun tight.
The person on the passenger's side got out. He was fairly tall and muscular. The man almost had crewcut brown hair. The pair of sunglasses he wore hid his blue eyes.
Claire smiled like a miner does when he strikes gold. She dashed across the street and slammed into the man and they embraced.
Leon was in total shock. Who the hell is that?
"Chris, I've been looking everywhere for you," Claire told him happy to see that he was still amongst the living.
"Same here," he said, trying his best to cover up his excitement.
She turned around to see Sherry and Leon standing over yonder stupidly. She beckoned for them to come over.
"This is my brother," she told them, "Chris, this is Leon and Sherry."
The two men shook hands. Chris seemed to be examining him. "You're from the RPD?" he asked noticing the initials on his cop uniform. (Talk about master of the obvious.)
Leon nodded. "It was my first day, when the virus broke out."
Claire and Leon told Chris and the rest of S.T.A.R.S. what happened in Raccoon and about the Umbrella emergency base.
"Why didn't you blow it up?" Chris asked annoyed.
"What's with you and blowing places up?" Claire questioned irritated as him.
Leon smiled at their quarrel. They're just alike, impatient, stubborn, and dominant. How can they live with each other? The two went on and on about Chris's rashness and how Claire should be a lady. Leon just grinned. He was just glad that she wasn't yelling at him.
"Isn't that right Leon?" Claire asked him tugging at his shirt.
Leon totally oblivious had no clue what she was talking about, but by Claire's expression he knew he'd better say yes if he valued his life.
"Uh…sure, whatever you say."
"Leon!" she shouted, "You-are-not-helping!"
He smiled. I knew her not screaming at me wouldn't last.
"Don't drag him into this!" Chris yelled.
"Can't we all just get along?" Leon asked wishing to end the feud.
"No!" the two siblings shouted at him.
The S.T.A.R.S members along with Carlos got back in the car. Before Jill got in she told Leon, "Just get in. They'll follow. They're always like this."
Great. Leon thought. He took Sherry by the hand and got in. Like Jill said, the two followed still arguing as hard as ever.
Barry started the car and they were off to the airport despite the screaming and yelling in the back seat.
Eliza Walker knocked on the door of the animal-testing lab. She was told that Dr. Whitefield had been in there for quite some time. She hadn't seen him in twenty-four hours and wanted to see if he needed her. It was always her job to make sure the lead scientist was not too jumbled with work and if he needed assistance, it was her duty to help.
She knocked on the door again. "Dr. Whitefield?" He still wouldn't answer. Eliza opened the door and was paralyzed with fear.
The metal-barred cages, which covered the room that once were filled with animals stood bare. The cage doors had been left wide open. Not one single animal remained. They were on the loose and carried viruses of all kinds, even some that have never been tested.
Suddenly something shoved her into the room and on the floor. When she turned around the door was shut. She stood up and brushed herself off. Eliza turned the knob. Grack. It wouldn't budge.
Fear shot through her; she felt the urge to run out of there like a terrorized mouse that had just seen a cat. But there was no where to run, and no place to hide. She felt like a blindfolded criminal ready to be shot by the executioner.
I'm helpless. It's not like people come in here often; usually the specimens are left here weeks at a time. God, I hope someone comes to save me. If someone can, with those experiments loose I may not have someone alive to save me.
On the way to the airport Sherry had fallen asleep on Rebecca's lap despite Claire and Chris's arguing. It had been twenty minutes now, and Leon wasn't quite sure they'd ever stop.
"How much do ya want to make a bet dat dey'll still be arguing after de ten-hour flight to London?" Carlos asked Leon.
The two of the cracked up - the lame joke seemed hysterical for they were both tired. Claire turned to her left and glared at Leon. "What's so funny?" she asked.
Between fits of laughter he managed to daringly answer truthful, "Well, me and Carlos were making fun of you two…"
One of Claire's eyebrows lifted up. She then shoved him causing him to slam into Carlos who smashed against the side of the car.
"Rough aren't you, chiquita?" Carlos teased.
Anger filled her. She couldn't reach Carlos so she hit the next closest thing.
"Owe!" Leon cried, "What was that for? I wasn't the one who-"
"Shut up!" Claire yelled at the two of them.
"That's it!" Barry shouted from the driver's seat, "You four are acting like a bunch of out of control children! I get less grief form my three year old."
Chris turned around and faced the front; Carlos looked out the window, while Claire and Leon talked quietly if they could do such a thing quietly.
"Do you think we'll all make it?" Claire asked.
Leon thought about the question and replied, "Truthfully, this is a risky task. If we get a hold of evidence, it will be the end of Umbrella. They'll definitely try to kill us with their agents and monsters. We barely made it out of that other base. I must say we've been lucky so far…"
Claire looked down and sighed. She didn't want to lose anyone else to Umbrella she held dear. Leon noticed her distress. He put his arm around her and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, I'll protect you and Sherry with my life."
She looked up at him and smiled thankfully. "You know three days ago I didn't even know you and now…now you're like my best friend."
"I think putting your life into a stranger's hands does that sort of thing to you," he added.
Chris turned around and saw Leon's arm casually lying around Claire. Whether it'd be an act of kindness or a threat, Chris hated anyone to touch his little sister. He was about to break him in half when the car stopped. They had arrived at the airport.
The bare halls of the Umbrella base in London were filled with a cloud of silence. The scientist that scurried about room from room no where to be seen; it was as if they had vanished into thin air. Jake the guard had been working there for ten years and never had seen it so deserted. He shifted the assault rifle he held and glanced over to see the janitor sweeping the floors.
Sam gently brushed the broom back and forth along the floor. Swish swash. Swish swash. The floor was so clean you could see your reflection on it. Sam was a freak when it came to cleanliness - any type of dirt practically gave him a heart attack. He loved his job as a janitor because he could make everything spotless the way he preferred.
"Hey, Sam," Jake called hoping to spur up some conversation. The janitor stopped sweeping and looked up. "Is it just me or does it seem a little too quiet?"
The old gray-haired man scratched his head and replied, "Yer imagination is getting' ta ya. Ain't nothin' wrong." He began to sweep again hoping to vanish away all the dust particles that landed on his nice clean floor.
"You're probably right-" Jake began but stopped suddenly when he realized Sam was gone. Where'd he go?
A terrorized scream of agony echoed through the hall. Jake held the rifle tighter and ran down the hall and turned left to see the most horrible sight in his whole life.
Sam lay on the floor sprawled out, ripped apart at the stomach. His intestines had been torn out of his abdomen and sat in between the two halves. Blood oozed out of his mutated body like syrup slowly dripping out of its container. His arm that held his broom was nowhere to be seen; the trail of red hinted it had been dragged away. His bright white skull peeked through the torn flaps of skin. Sam's eyes stared up and blinked as he took short intakes of breaths. He was still alive…
It took all of Jake's will power to keep from vomiting. He managed to tare his gaze from the body. My God! He's still alive, oh God. The guard's breathing quickened. What ever did that to Sam must still be loose.
A drop of blood dripped from the ceiling landed on the guard, staining his army-green shirt deep red.
"Hhhhheeeaaauuurrrggghhh." It was the unmistakable cry of the licker.
Click. Click.
Jake slowly gazed up. The licker looked down and its extremely long tongue lashed out at him. Jake clutched his cheek with pain as blood trickled down his face.Jake narrowed his eyes in anger. "You son of a bitch!" he screamed and fired his assault rifle. The licker screeched an ear-piercing high pitch wail. The bullets blasted strait though its body causing blood to spurt out of each gaping hole. But the licker wouldn't be licked.
Clack.
It sprung down from the ceiling and slashed the guard with its huge claws. The deep cut slowly poured a fountain of red wine. Jake stopped firing and clutched his stomach in anguish as he coughed up dark red mucous.Click. Click. Click. Click.
The guard turned around to be greeted by two more lickers. Click. Click. They were closing in on him, pining him against the wall. Jake's heart beat faster as they came closer. He wanted to scream, to run…but he did nothing. Click. Click. Click. Jake panted with fear.Then it dawned on him; all he had to do was pull the emergency evacuation switch. He furiously searched the area. There, on the other side of the wall, sat the beautiful bright orange alarm. Oh if he could only get to it, but those damn lickers blocked the way.
Maybe if I can kill one I might be able to make it.
He aimed his rifle at the one he weakened earlier. He let the little fuck have it. Blood sprayed and splattered everywhere. His army green outfit became polka-dotted with red. The thing screamed so loud, the glass on the emergency switch shattered. The other too monsters lapped up the blood soaking the floor. They'd actually eat each other.The Umbrella guard smiled at victory. He quickly hurried to the alarm but something grabbed his leg. NO! I'm so close!
A green swamp monster wannabe groped his leg, digging his claws into his flesh. The guard ignored the hunter and dragged himself to the alarm. As he was about to push it, the hunter swung its claw, nearly decapitating him.
The cut in the back of his neck was so deep, if Jake turned it his head would tare off. He gagged on his blood and still relentlessly reached for the alarm. He would die but maybe others could live.
Smack.
As he passed out his hand hit the wall just below the switch. His bloody palm dragged slowly to the ground leaving behind what looked like a red finger painting.The lickers looked over at the dead body and with the hunter they feasted on the delicious live tender flesh.
On the airplane to Europe, Chris had insisted that he plan the seating arrangement. Sherry, Barry and Rebecca sat in a row with three; in front of them were Leon, Carlos, and Jill, and on the other side Chris and Claire sat next to one another in a row of two.
"Know anyway to lure a woman?" Carlos whispered to Leon.
He shrugged. "Wish I knew, man."
"Gee, I tought maybe you could show me a trick," Carlos told him, "You seem to be doin' a good job wit your chiquita, Claire."
Leon smiled. "You think Claire's my girlfriend?"
"She isn't?" Carlos asked shocked.
"No, I want her to be, though."
"Same here wit me and Jill."
"Talk with her," Leon suggested, "the more a girl knows you, the more of a chance you get her to like you."
Carlos gave Leon a thumbs up and smiled. In the short time the two knew each other they quickly found they had a lot in common and became pretty good friends.
"Jill," Carlos began trying to get her attention away from the window, "Did it hurt?"
"Huh?" she asked totally confused.
"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"
Jill rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to the window.
"All well," Carlos sighed.
Leon grinned. "Good work, Romeo," he praised sarcastically.
"Why don't you try?" he asked him.
"I can't shout across the plane."
Carlos thought for a moment and pointed to Leon's radio. He laughed, "No way."
"Come on, I embarrassed myself!"
"Yeah, but you didn't have to worry about a protective brother blowing your head off."
"Wimp," Carlos taunted.
"Fine, I'll do it," he gave in.
"Dat's the sprit, amigo!"
Leon turned on the radio on. "Hey Claire."
Claire picked up her radio and bent over Chris to give him a smile. "Hey there Leon," she greeted into the walkie-talkie
Chris gave Leon a look of death and Claire lightly hit him.
"Thank God for you. My brother was boring me to death. This flight is way too long. Maybe if I try hard enough I could get him to change seats with you."
Carlos smiled bigger than Leon.
Chris then abruptly went to the bathroom and Claire frantically beckoned for him to take his seat. Leon sat next to Claire and the two of them laughed.
When Chris came back and noticed his seat was taken he almost blew up. He took Leon's old seat and starred at the two to make sure his little sis was all right.
Claire smirked at her brother's reaction. I wonder what he would do if I kissed Leon? Her smirked widened and Leon feared whatever she was thinking.
Claire then drew her face close to her best friend's but was shoved forward from the jolt of the plane.
"What was that?" she asked Leon. He shrugged in reply.
Suddenly the plane's nose slopped down in a thirty-degree angle. It was impossible to stay in your seat with out the seat belt.
Screams could be heard everywhere and the oxygen masks popped down from the ceiling.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Leon shouted in anger.
The plane then bent even more forward, if such a thing was possible. They were going to crash…
To be continued...