RESIDENT EVIL: CODE VERONICA EXTENDED
A/N:
This is an older story I wrote years ago, and came across on my drive recently. I figured maybe I should put it out there, and see what you think. As always, I don't own anything, and I'm not making any money off of it.
Who am I? Where am I? What is with all this SNOW?!
She sat up, and a layer of ice crumbled away. Underneath, she was nude.
What the hell?!
She looked around. There was snow EVERYWHERE. Off in the distance was some kind of structure,but she couldn't make out what kind. It looked like smoke was coming out of a portion of it. Maybe they know what's going on, and more importantly, who and where I am.
She stood up, and for the first time took a good look at herself.
Ummmm, okay...?
Her skin seemed to be a pale, pale green in color. Almost white. And why don't I feel cold? I should be going into hypothermia by now. This thought spurred her into action. She began to run to the installation. It took her very little time to cover the distance, and upon arriving, it dawned on her.
Why am I not tired? I'm not tired after running at least a mile, and I should be freezing to death. What is up here?
As she took a good long look at her new surroundings, she saw the Umbrella corporation symbol everywhere. It filled her with a strange sense of loathing. Whoever I am, I must have really detested this company.
She opened the door before her, a large metal thing that looked like it must weigh at least a couple hundred kilos easy. It swung easy, though. Huh. Must be hollow, or a composite or something. She immediately saw the cause of the smoke. A plane had plowed into the side of the building, punching a hole through the wall. There were a couple of small fires. There was blood and other fluids all over the walls. Some kind of plant tendrils had broken through the wall in a couple of spots, but they were decomposing as she watched. Weird. Must be some kind of reaction to the cold. Speaking of which, I really need to find some clothes. I can't keep walking around naked. She climbed down a ladder to the right of where she saw the plane, and went into the first door she saw. More blood, and this time there were bodies. The bodies were torn up pretty badly.
What in the name of God happened here?
She went a locker and started rummaging through it. After going through several lockers this way, she found enough clothes that fit her to make a half decent outfit. She even acquired some boots and a coat, although she still didn't feel cold at all. She had just put on her clothes and was about to start looking around again when she found a mirror hanging from one of the locker doors. It gave her the first chance she'd had to look at herself.
Her hair was a very dark green, as were her lips. Her eyes were luminous yellow, and almost seemed to be glowing that color. "What in the world?" she gasped. Her voice was also strange to her. Not just because she'd not heard it before, but the very sound of it was strange. Almost like it came from more than one set of vocal cords.
Before she could wonder what else might be different about her body, she heard a sound behind her. She whirled around, hands out, fingers stiff and straight. What she saw in front of her now was something out of a nightmare. One of the bodies had picked itself up off of the floor where it lay, and was walking towards her.
What the HELL?!
It stopped about three feet away from her and sniffed the air. It looked at her with it's single good eye, and moaned piteously.
Oh god! That poor bastard's still alive!
She reached out a hand to steady the man, and he leaned his head out like he was going to take a bite out of her. He stopped when she touched his arm, and shuddered.
"Just take it easy. I'm gonna try to help you. Okay?"
The shuddering continued, and seemed to grow worse. The man lifted his head, and she could see that the damage to his eye was more extensive than she had originally thought.
Then she saw.
The man's wounds were regenerating. His eye was regrowing itself, and all the damaged and rotting skin was reconstituting itself. In a matter of a minute and a half, his face was completely healed. He shook his head to clear it.
"Who are you," he asked.
"Dunno yet. I woke up outside about a mile to the east. Who the hell are you? I just watched you change from a torn-up, rotting corpse into a normal looking person again."
"Rotting corpse? Oh god! The T-virus! I'm infected-... Hey. Wait a minute. You said I changed BACK?"
"Yeah. Happened when I touched you."
She took her hand away from his shoulder and recieved a shock. There were strange little tentacles with barbs on the ends that had seemingly grown out of the palm of her hand. They receded without a trace before the man could turn to see. She started to smile. "Maybe you got lucky and have an immunity to it, or something."
He eyed her suspiciously. "Yeah. Maybe. Anyway, who are you?"
"I told you. I don't know. I woke up covered in ice about a mile to the east. I don't remember anything before that."
He reached out and gripped her arm roughly. "I don't buy it, lady. Tell me who you are. Now!"
She started to protest again, but before she could, images began to slam into her mind like a freight train. Images from the man's mind. Images from his memory. John Banker was his name. Rape was his game. This tour at the facility was almost up, and he meant to take up where he left off when he got back to the real world. He BURNED for a woman to use like the whores they all were.
She stood up from where she had crouched on the floor. She didn't remember doing that, but it didn't matter.
You burn for a woman, Johnny boy? I'll make you burn, you bastard!
She felt a rage well up inside her, and it was hot. It seemed to sear her insides, screeching let me out.
So she did.
The man, John Banker, was looking that weird bitch right in the eyes when he felt it happen. Heat. He could feel it well up in every cell in his body, burning him from the inside out. And then he didn't feel anything.
She wasn't sure what had happened, but she knew he'd gotten what he deserved. She watched as his body crumbled into ash. I don't know how I did that, but it might come in handy.
Over the course of the next hour, she wandered around the complex. She saw many strange things. Giant moths that would fly at her, and suddenly change direction to avoid her. The zombies kept away from her as well, as if they could sense that she could destroy them, and wanted none of it. There were a few giant spiders, but they just scuttled away and cowered in a dark corner. She saw a small mouse that seemed to follow her for a while, but it apparently lost interest.
Or maybe it knew something she didn't.
She found an office near where the big moths were, and rifled through it. The files she found in a big trunk were unsettling to say the least. Umbrella was a big company, and it was involved in some very ugly things. One of which was viral research, from which they had produced the zoo's worth of creatures that she had come across, and a large number of things she hadn't.
What in the name of God were you people thinking? Bio-weapons with the potential to infect and convert others into similar weapons? Not a great idea.
She found the files about the T-Veronica virus, the original test subject, his children or whatever the hell they were, the incident in Racoon city, and several small islands. She learned even more when she got on the computer. The moment she touched the keyboard, the screen went blank, and then formed the words "Good evening, Lady Alexia."
Alexia? Is that my name? Hmmmm.
As she accessed file after file, she learned enough about the company to know why she hated it, and she wasn't alone. A group called S.T.A.R.S. which had originally been formed by Umbrella had turned against the company. A young woman named Claire Redfield, the younger sister of the S. .S. member Chris Redfield, was also considered to be a most vicious enemy. When the picture of the young woman came up, she grunted in surprise.
Holy shit! That's my face! Am I Claire Redfield? Who the hell am I?!
The room shook with the force of a large explosion.
Uh-oh. Looks like it's time to go. Let's see if I can at find out where the hell I am.
Her queries were answered immediately.
Antarctica?! Damn! I am a long way away from every-freakin'-thing. I need a map.
She called one up, and printed it out. She turned back to the monitor just in time to see it go black. An alarm klaxon sounded, and stated a time to self destruct.
Oh, great. Just fucking great.
She ran as fast as she could to where the plane had gone through the wall, plowing through the office door and several zombies in the process. Splinters and body parts went flying as she tore her way through. She leapt out of the hole just as a hot wind picked her up and flung her seventy feet away. She plowed into the snow, and finally dragged to a stop. She dug her way out of the trench, and looked back towards the complex. There wasn't much left of it. A harrier jet passed overhead, and she screamed at it.
"HEY, DAMMIT! WAIT! I'M STILL HERE!"
The plane flew on, leaving her unheard.
I wonder who was on that thing, anyway.
She turned back to the complex.
Well, maybe I can salvage a vehicle, or something. If not, well, it's not like the cold bothers me anyway.
She looked at the map she still held in her hand, or rather what was left of it. It had been burned and torn in the blast. It was now completely unreadable.
Swearing vehemently, she threw the remains on the ground. Turning in the direction the plane had gone, she began to run. She refused to stop, pushing herself as hard as she could go. Within a few hours, she reached the coast. Acting on instinct, she dove into the water, and started swimming. She felt her body change, and then the water rushed by so fast, she couldn't keep track of all the lifeforms she passed. She traveled for what felt like hours, and at speeds she could only guess at. Eventually she came to a place where the water was not so deep, and she tried to stand up. Her body rippled strangely, and suddenly she was standing again.
Sort of.
She looked down at her legs, and thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head. Where her legs should have been was what appeared to be a long, sinuous snake tail.
Okay. This is a new one.
She made for shore, where there many children and adults playing in the surf and laying out in the sun. It looked to be very early afternoon. Suddenly, several children noticed her. They all started pointing and calling her a monster, screaming for their parents. She ducked down until only her head showed above water. With her hair coloration, maybe they would mistake her for a clump of seaweed.
She swam along the coast until she found a beach that was relatively deserted, and slithered ashore. She lay on her back, feeling the sunshine on her skin. As she relaxed, she felt the ripple that signified that her body was metamophosing once again. Her snake tail shrank down and split apart to become two shapely human looking legs.
"Cool." she said to herself.
She relaxed back onto the sand once more, luxuriating on the feel of the sun on her skin. It had a revitalizing effect, almost like having eaten a good meal. I could almost go to sleep like this. The sun was warm and wonderful, and the sand was soft. She had actually begun to doze off when she heard the sound of an engine coming towards her. She sat up and looked to the sound. It was a cop on a four wheeler. He pulled to a stop, and openly gawked at her. You're not so bad lookin' yourself, beach boy.
He got off the bike, and walked over. "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to put some clothes on. This is not a nude beach, and we have laws about indecent exposure."
She thought for a moment, and decided to tell the truth.
"Officer, I need your help."
At the sound of her voice, the cop's eyes went wide. "What the hell?"
"Officer, it's a REALLY long story, but I don't have any clothes and I could really use your help."