Ok here it is the final story for Set One any feedback on this or the other stories would be great as it would give me an idea if the story lines in all or some are acceptable or need to be improved
The lights in the darkened room slowly flickered to life bathing the room in an unnatural bright glare.
The flow of sedatives and muscle relaxants slowly ground to a halt as the machines issuing them powered down.
At first the enormous covered bulk on the table didn't move but suddenly one of the large gloved hands started to twitch and it opened its silvery eyes.
Slowly the giant rose from the table it had been lying on taking in its surroundings. It knew it was in a room and the bright lights were mildly irritating to its sight but there were also two other beings in the same vicinity.
The creature turned to face the unknown individuals that were behind it. It saw two people, an older looking man dressed in a lab coat and a woman wearing a black outfit.
It knew that they were not enemies and as it took several steps towards the smiling man in the lab coat the woman seeming very nervous took a few steps back.
The man in the lab coat still kept his grin as he slowly put away a small black remote, he then looked straight at the creature and spoke, "Welcome to the land of the living"
The creature only stood still, it's large muscled arms by its side while lightly clenching its gloved fists, its master had spoken and it awaited further instructions.
When both of the vehicles had returned back to the cabin the morning had already started its daily cycle.
Getting out of the van Jill walked around the back to open it.
No sooner had she unlocked the doors did Deception jump out, take a few steps before stretching his scaled arms out in front of him.
Turning towards Jill, the Hunter first looked at her with his yellow eyes before snarling and running across the dewy field and into the bushland.
Watching Deception go Jill shook her head, "You're welcome" she muttered.
Jill suddenly noticed that neither Alyssa or Nemesis had exited the van, glancing inside she saw Nemesis sitting down in the left corner of the van while Alyssa was curled up beside the monster in a deep sleep.
Nemesis was wide-awake but didn't move when Jill got inside the van and approached him.
Kneeling down beside Alyssa, Jill lightly tapped the girl on her forehead causing her to open her eyes while yawning.
"We're back home Alyssa but you can go and lie down if you're still tired" Jill said. "I don't think anything action wise is going to happen during the day"
Alyssa suddenly seemed more alert and stood up, "What about Claire is she ok?"
As Jill slowly got up so did Nemesis he stiffly rose from the floor, the whole sitting experience was too foreign for him.
"Claire's fine it was only a scratch" Jill replied. "Come on let's go outside, it's a beautiful day today"
Alyssa nodded and followed Jill outside the van, when all three got out they noticed that Carlos and Leon were waiting for them.
"That was some fancy riding you did on that motorbike last night" Leon said towards Alyssa. "Couldn't have done a better job myself"
"But Claire did all the steering" Alyssa pointed out. "I just sat on the back"
"That's true but you kept control of the bike when Claire was hurt, that took guts and quick thinking"
Alyssa frowned, "You're funny you know that?" she then walked past Leon and went into the cabin.
Jill watched Alyssa walk off and sighed, "Why do I get the feeling that bullet wasn't meant for Claire? Something happened in those labs and it affected Alyssa I can tell, she either saw something or…so what are you two doing out here? I doubt it was to say good morning even though it is one for us"
"Actually we were waiting for the big guy to wake up" Leon replied. "Carlos says he trains with him and I wanted to see it for myself"
Carlos grinned, "You'll do more then watch Leon" he then walked past Jill and looked Nemesis in the eyes. "Hey amigo you ready to go? Not too tired from last night?"
Nemesis shook his head and replied in a wavering growl that sounded like 'no'
Hearing this surprised Leon, "I didn't know that Nemesis could talk"
"He says only one word at a time some have more of an impact then others, but yes Nemesis is quite capable of speech just not the kind to have a long conversation with" Jill replied.
"Well I'm starting to believe that both of these monsters are different to the ones we've encountered in the past" Leon said. He then turned towards Carlos, "So where to from here?"
Carlos gestured for Leon to follow, "I'll show you but those clothes you have on at the moment are they easy to clean?"
Leon seemed confused by the remark, "Why do you ask that?"
"You'll see" Carlos said as he and Nemesis walked around the side of the cabin.
Before Leon followed he turned towards Jill, "I think Claire wants to talk to you, she seemed really worried about something last night"
When Jill entered the cabin she heard the blare of the television and saw that Chris, Rebecca and Claire were seated at the rickety table. Claire was now wearing a brown tank top, a blood stained bandage wrapped around her arm.
All three became silent and looked up at Jill when she entered.
"Ok I get it you're all keeping secrets from me now" Jill remarked smiling. "I can take a hint"
As she went to leave Claire stood up and approached Jill, "Can I talk to you about something outside?"
Jill's smile began to fade as she nodded, "Ok but what's it about?"
Claire remained silent until the two of them walked out the front and sat on the wooden veranda.
"Why so mysterious Claire?" Jill asked as she sat down beside her. "Is there something wrong?"
"Alyssa's a sweet kid, you wouldn't even know she was carrying something so deadly inside of her like a virus"
"Well Alyssa wouldn't have been alive if Carlos and I hadn't have been shoved aside by Nemesis" Jill said as she stared across the field. "When Alyssa first came to us she was almost dying and we didn't know it, we thought that Nemesis was trying to kill her when in reality he was trying to save her, she was so close to death that night up in the cave. It's kind of hard to imagine that when you see Alyssa today though"
Claire turned towards Jill, "So you'd know everything about Alyssa and what she's capable of doing right?"
Jill nodded, "Well I wouldn't call myself an expert but I do know that thanks to Umbrella's interference Alyssa has abilities that can only be called super human"
"Are there any other abilities that you aren't aware of?" Claire asked. "Abilities that have the potential of making Alyssa a danger to the group?"
Hearing this surprised Jill and she frowned, "What are you getting at Claire? That she's some kind of sleeper cell agent sent here to kill us all?"
"So even you don't know about what Alyssa can do"
"Ok that's it, enough dancing around the issue what did you see Alyssa do? Did it have something to do with blue flames?"
Claire hesitated before continuing; "I didn't see how it was done I only heard it from Alyssa. The kid was really upset at the fact that she bit this soldier and he…"
Jill suddenly felt very cold and breathed deeply, "It could have been a coincidence"
"At first that's what I thought but Alyssa described it in such detail, I guess she's like anything that has been infected with the virus, a bite or a scratch and you turn into a mindless flesh eater"
Jill quietly swore under her breath before speaking, "Does anyone else in the group know?"
"I haven't told anyone yet but we will have to eventually, this is dangerous Jill, I know Alyssa is only a kid but all it takes is for one drop of blood or saliva to get on you, maybe we should just let her go I don't think Umbrella is wasting all their resources looking for one girl" Claire suggested. "If Alyssa went somewhere remote where she couldn't do any damage…then maybe I guess it'd be ok"
Jill got up from the veranda, she'd heard enough and wouldn't stand for anymore, "Don't say those things Claire, Alyssa has nowhere to left to go if we let her run loose eventually she would be found by Umbrella and you don't want to know what would happen if she was brainwashed by Griffin, she'd become an unstoppable killer. Now Carlos and I have been looking after Alyssa just fine and have saved her quite a few times when we had the option of leaving her so I don't need any ideas thrust upon me to abandon the poor kid when she needs us more then ever!"
Claire shrugged, "It was just a piece of advice Jill but I'd be careful all the same"
Walking across the veranda Jill turned the doorknob, "Well you can keep it, I wouldn't care if Alyssa had the ability to freeze things solid she's staying with us"
Going inside the television room Jill realized that the TV was no longer on and Alyssa was simply laying on the sofa staring at the blank screen.
Sitting down in one of the battered leather recliners Jill pointed at the TV, "Did it over heat and turn off again?"
Alyssa shook her head; "No I didn't want to watch it anymore"
Jill then leaned forward and looked directly at Alyssa, "Do you remember when the bad things made you create those blue electric flames?"
"You mean the virus? The virus gave me that ability but I wasn't ready"
Jill was taken aback by Alyssa's mature remark, she'd always referred to the dual strain as the 'bad things' but it seemed that once again the girl was growing up and baby talk wasn't an option. "Ok then the virus gave you that ability, do you remember anything about that time when the flames appeared?"
Alyssa frowned, "Not really, all I remember is getting really angry and then waking up and seeing you and Carlos"
"You don't remember what you did to Alice on the rooftop?"
Again Alyssa seemed confused by what was said, "I thought she went away?"
"No Alice didn't go away in fact when Carlos and I came up onto that roof she was badly burnt and lying on the ground, you were too powerful for her Alyssa, you beat her" Jill explained.
Alyssa suddenly shivered and curled into a foetal position, "I don't remember doing anything like that, I do remember using the flames but that was only for a second or so. Why are you asking me about a battle I don't remember?"
"I wasn't really asking about that what I wanted to know is that are there any abilities that you haven't mentioned yet? Something that could put the group at risk? Perhaps an ability that you recently discovered?" Jill asked.
Hearing this Alyssa's eyes widened and the colour drained from her face, she seemed as though she was about to cry when she suddenly rolled over and turned away from Jill.
Her body began to shake as soft sobbing sounds issued from the back of the sofa.
After a few minutes Alyssa turned back towards Jill, her eyes red and puffy and her nose was runny, "I didn't mean to, I'm not a monster, don't let them take me away, I'm not like a zombie," she said in between sobs. "I'll never do it again I promise!"
As Jill got out her pocket-handkerchief she hesitated and thought about what Claire had said about the spread of the virus. Screw it; I've cheated death enough already! She thought as she began to wipe the tears from Alyssa's face. "Hey it's ok Alyssa, besides it could have been a fluke"
Alyssa then blew her nose on the hankie and looked up at Jill, "A fluke?"
"It means something that only happened once," Jill explained as turned Alyssa's face towards hers. "Now you listen to me, no one not even grumpy Chris is going to let them take you away understand? You deserve your freedom the same way we all do, this whole thing is just a tiny insignificant bump in the road and in a few days time we'll be far away from here living up in the Atherton Tablelands"
Alyssa nodded and sniffed, "I like that place, it's where I sometimes dream, but would you want to take a monster like me up there?"
Jill gripped Alyssa's shoulders, "Alyssa you listen to me, you are not a monster ok? You are a human being and a very kind and caring one for that matter. If you were a monster then you would look very different which you don't so stop referring to yourself as one all right? We'll get through this together I promise"
Alyssa didn't say anything after that; she only gripped the hankie so tight her knuckles turned white. She then reached into her jeans pocket and took out the key with the swallowtail butterfly emblem on it, sighing Alyssa pressed it into Jill's hand, "Can you keep it safe for a while? I'm frightened I might lose it"
Alyssa's actions confused Jill but she nevertheless took the key, "Where would you lose the key?"
Shrugging her shoulders Alyssa blinked her eyes while slightly turning, "I don't know but I know for a fact that key is safer with you then with me even if it was my father's"
Knowing she wouldn't get a proper explanation Jill got up and began to leave, as she left Alyssa said something, which caused Jill to turn around and ask the girl, to repeat it.
"I said do you think that when I, Nemesis and Deception die we'll go to heaven?"
"Of course you will, all of you are alive and breathe but that won't be for a long time so you don't have to think about that ok?" Jill replied as she left.
Once Jill had gone Alyssa picked up the remote and switched the TV back on and began to submerge herself in the information on screen.
Leon had fought some strong opponents in his life but they were mostly human, the creatures that he had been forced to fight in the past weren't even close to what now stood before him.
Listening to what Carlos had to say was one thing but keeping an eye on the towering Nemesis was another, both it seemed had it in for Leon as he barely missed a low punch from the giant's right fist.
"You do this often Carlos?" Leon asked as he dodged for the third time another kick.
Carlos grinned, "As often as we can"
Nemesis suddenly caught Leon off guard and threw him to the ground in one fluid motion.
Letting out a cry of surprise as his world turned upside down Leon lay on his back for a few moments as his mind caught up with the rest of his body. Slowly getting up Leon felt a sharp burst of pain but it was nothing he couldn't handle, he carefully eyed Nemesis who was standing still waiting for Leon to rise, "That's some throw you have there"
Nemesis growled back appearing proud of the remark and raised his fists.
Carlos gestured for Nemesis to turn towards him so he could speak, "Go easy on him huh padre? Start off with something simple" he whispered to the monster.
As Nemesis turned back towards Leon and took a few steps forward Leon felt slightly nervous.
"What'd you say to him Carlos? I hope you didn't order him to go easy on me, I'd like a bit of a challenge" Leon remarked.
"If I didn't say that you wouldn't be standing, remember Nemesis is built to be strong he'd easily knock you flying without breaking a sweat" Carlos said crossing his arms. "I'll join you in a few moments to give you an advantage though"
Leon seemed confused, "An advantage? Against what?"
Without as much as a single growl Nemesis unleashed a lethal barrage of kicks and punches fully directed at Leon.
At first Leon could only move around them though it seemed that when Nemesis did try to hit him the monster purposely made it so that the blows could be avoided. Carlos did order Nemesis to go easy on me he thought jumping to the left to avoid a low kick. I guess I'm to blame, it's not like I signed up for this.
Rolling to the ground as Nemesis attempted a high sweep with his left arm Leon quickly recovered and reversed his direction. He knew for a fact that getting one hit in would be impossible but it didn't stop Leon from confusing the monster.
The sudden change in direction did confuse Nemesis and as the monster turned to face his opponent Leon had already struck.
Diving forward Leon delivered a few jabs with his right fist into the upper torso of Nemesis, this caused the giant to take a few steps backward while uttering a wavering growl from deep within his throat, but Leon wasn't finished yet.
"You had me going for a second big guy" Leon remarked. "I have to admit you're pretty strong but I have more experience"
As Leon closed in with his fists raised he realized something had stopped him, glancing down he saw what appeared to be a thick purple tentacle curled around his right leg. On further examination Leon realized the tentacle was connected to Nemesis having come from his wrist.
Briefly looking up into the green eyes of the monster Leon could've sworn he saw a glint in his eyes as though Nemesis had seen the charge coming. "Oh great" Leon muttered as once again his world spun upside down when Nemesis pulled his leg out from underneath him.
Carlos casually glanced down at the grounded Leon and shook his head; "Those years of experience should've taught you never to repeat the same move twice when fighting an opponent"
Getting into a sitting position Leon winched at the pain in his back, "When I was at the academy they didn't have eight foot tall mutants as combat opponents"
"Hey that's nothing, you should see Nemesis once he gets really fired up" Carlos remarked. "It always hurts getting thrown to the ground the first time but after a while you get used to it"
Slowing getting to his feet Leon could only nod, "I guess I'll have to take your word for it, so what was this advantage you were going to give me before?"
Carlos turned towards Nemesis, "You ready for the two of us?"
Nemesis nodded and growled out 'yes'
"Ok you get the right and I get the left," Carlos said.
"I think the biggest advantage is from Umbrella's tampering" Leon replied. "You go up against something like that you're bound to lose"
"Not likely, I've never tried a dual combat with Nemesis, this is the first time he'll face two opponents simultaneously"
Leon glanced towards Nemesis who was watching the pair slowly advance while not moving a muscle, "A learning experience for all, how fun" he muttered.
When Jill had gone into the TV room to talk to Alyssa, Chris and Rebecca had gone out the back entrance of the cabin and had been busy watching the bizarre training session slowly unfold.
Chris watched the trio out in the field exchanging blows with disgust, "Look at those two out there encouraging that monster to fight, I wouldn't be half surprised if that creature suddenly lost it and broke their necks"
"I suppose its good in a way for us as a group, this Nemesis creature is one monster we haven't encountered before at least we all know how these things attack if we're ever unfortunate to run into another one"
As Leon was thrown to the ground for the second time Chris shook his head, "I can't believe that Leon was so enthusiastic about it, Carlos has always been a loose cannon so his actions are plausible to a certain point but Leon? I'd find it very embarrassing if one of Umbrella's freaks tripped me up with such an obvious manoeuvre, he seems to get a kick out being a punching bag for a monster"
"Is it all that terrible Chris? I mean the only bad thing that either monster has done is snarl at us occasionally and they can't help that if it's in their nature"
"Don't tell me you've gone soft too Rebecca" Chris remarked. "Am I the only one who sees these monsters as what they truly are?"
But Rebecca wasn't listening she was staring out across the bushland, past the fighting Carlos, Leon and Nemesis and towards a green figure standing completely still watching the trio.
Chris had also noticed the figure and nodded towards it, "That Hunter, somehow I think it's the worst out of the pair, we don't even know what it does when separating from the group"
"You mean other then wipe out an entire squad of armed soldiers in the blink of an eye?" Rebecca remarked. "Jill said the Hunter always runs away from them, it's like he's never accepted the whole team thing and is only looking out for himself"
"Let's not get too carried away Rebecca, that Nemesis monster may be one thing but I highly doubt that Hunter is capable of retaining any intelligence, it's a mindless brute that only knows how to kill" Chris replied. Though even he couldn't deny how Deception had looked at him when he raised the Colt in the Hunter's direction. Those eyes, they seemed so full of intelligence as though that monster was planning a mode of attack against me.
Rebecca crossed her arms, "I don't know Chris both seem very intelligent to me but that's just from all the years of fighting creatures that only blindly rush towards you screaming, neither Nemesis or Deception did that when we first met them"
"Deception" Chris muttered as he watched the Hunter slowly prowl the scrub's edge. "They named that creature well"
Jill suddenly materialized beside Rebecca; her presence was so silent that it even surprised Chris who turned to face her.
"And here's the ringmaster to this circus" he remarked. "Come to see your handiwork I presume?"
Jill only ignored the snide remark before speaking in a soft voice, "We need to have a group meeting to discuss our next target and other matters that have recently arisen"
"I thought we already talked about Alyssa and the monsters?" Rebecca asked looking confused. "What else is there to explain?"
"Last night" Jill replied smiling thinly. "Something happened and I think everyone should know"
Chris shrugged, "I'm guessing you're not talking about the complex we levelled?"
As both Rebecca and Jill walked inside Jill turned towards Chris, "Carlos and Leon need to know about this too as I'm not going to repeat it"
Grumbling under his breath Chris slowly walked towards the trio, Carlos and Leon were attempting to teach Nemesis how to turn quickly in the opposite direction but because of the monster's size he could only preform a half turn before almost losing balance.
Standing a few feet away from them Chris told both Carlos and Leon they were wanted inside but as the pair stepped forward Chris walked straight up to Nemesis and pressed his Colt pistol into the throat of the creature.
"You might think that everyone here trusts you but I don't, if you ever get the urge to hurt anyone of us I'll cut you down understand? I've taken down much bigger and uglier things so you're not a challenge!"
Nemesis only glared back at Chris and growled causing the gun and Chris's arm to vibrate, he knew that hurting this certain individual wasn't right but if it was necessary…
Leon suddenly grabbed a hold of Chris's arm and lowered it causing him to turn around.
"Take it easy Chris we're all a little tense right now" Leon said.
Chris had only half turned so that he still had Nemesis in his sights, "Both of you are idiots, egging that thing on is like making a pit bull bite you, it doesn't realize you're playing and one day it just might tear your throat out or in this case break every bone in your body" he then stalked past Leon and Carlos and went inside.
Leon glanced over at Nemesis, "You ok big guy?"
Nemesis only snorted and took a few steps backwards.
Carlos had already started walking towards the cabin when Leon caught up with him.
"How did you do it Carlos?" Leon asked. "Be so casual with a creature that could easily end your life with very little effort"
Turning the doorknob Carlos shrugged, "Just pretend you're with a person who is very tall and very strong" he said. "You know just between Jill and I we gave Nemesis a nickname"
"Oh? And what was that?"
"We called him the Humble Giant" Carlos said as he stepped inside.
After Carlos and Leon had gone inside the cabin Deception approached Nemesis, he'd watched the monster fight the non-virus scented creatures from a distance.
When Nemesis glanced down towards Deception, the Hunter nodded towards the surrounding bushland while silently snarling.
Nemesis growled back and Deception began to walk slowly towards the scrub. Quickly turning back towards the cabin Nemesis briefly thought of checking on Alyssa's status but dismissed it, Alyssa was in a safe area with people who wouldn't hurt her and although Chris always seemed angry Nemesis knew that he wasn't a threat to Alyssa's safety.
Turning back towards Deception, Nemesis slowly followed the Hunter into the dense undergrowth.
Claire was already sitting at the table when the group entered, glancing at the various scratches on Leon's arm she gave a half smile, "Gee Leon I didn't know you were the wrestling type?"
Leon didn't say anything but attempted to cover the scratches with his shirtsleeves.
"What's going on?" Carlos asked Jill. "Are we getting ready to move out?"
Jill quickly walked over to the TV room, which still had to drone of the television emulating from it. When Jill reappeared her face was still blank and expressionless, "Alyssa's asleep, last night really took a lot out of her"
"You think we should leave Alyssa there on the sofa before we start?" Claire asked.
"Why can't we? It's not like as though we're all going to say things that could offend her," Rebecca said looking confused.
Sensing there was more to the meeting Carlos got up from the table, "You know that sofa isn't really the best place to take a nap, I tried it once and got a really sore neck, Alyssa would be much happier if she was in her own bed" walking into the TV room Carlos first turned the television off then gently picking the sleeping Alyssa up went past the group and down the small hallway.
A few moments later Carlos came back out and sat back down in his seat, "For someone her age Alyssa doesn't feel really heavy" when he realized everyone was staring at him Carlos glanced away. "Ok my bad for even mentioning it, but what is this all about?"
"It'd make sense for Alyssa not to be in ear shot because she's the main reason why this meeting was called" Claire replied.
"Why? Is she sick?" Rebecca asked looking worried.
"Alyssa is already sick, she has the dual strain virus in her veins" Chris pointed out. "She can't get any worse"
"I'm afraid she can" Jill suddenly spoke up. "In all the confusion and explosions something else happened last night at the Innisfail labs something that we're all unfortunately very familiar with"
"Are you talking about that woman who tried to strangle you Jill? I believe her name was Alice?" Chris asked. "I had a feeling you wouldn't tell the others about that"
"Hang on I thought you said that some mad scientist character called Griffin was the only threat who's this Alice?" Leon said seeming more confused by the second.
"We'd be here all night if we started to talk about Alice" Carlos remarked shaking his head. "If you look up evil in the dictionary her face would be right next to it"
"Try sadist as well, from what I heard Alice seemed to know a lot about you Jill want to start explaining that?" Chris replied looking in Jill's direction.
Claire suddenly slammed her hand down on the rickety table causing it to rock back and forth, "Stop it! We've gone right off topic! Don't you all get it? Alyssa is a virus carrier!" she shouted.
"Thanks for the remark Captain Obvious but we already know that" Carlos said.
"No you don't" Jill replied her face dead pan. "There's more to the story"
Once the group had settled Claire began to speak, "When we all split up Alyssa and I got separated, I wandered through what seemed like a giant rabbit warren of offices and labs. When I finally found Alyssa she was being cornered by a zombie, there was only one so I quickly shot it but that wasn't the worst part." She stopped and took a deep breath before continuing "The poor kid was so upset at first I couldn't understand what she was saying but it was when Alyssa mentioned bitting a man did it all fall into place"
Rebecca's cheerful demeanour had long since disappeared now it was filled with worry and sympathy, "Oh geeze Claire…poor Alyssa"
"But how do you know what Alyssa said was the truth?" Leon pointed out. "Kids at Alyssa's age have very creative minds and she was upset when you found her so how do you know it wasn't a figment of Alyssa's imagination and the zombie was some poor son of a bitch who was infected with the virus some other way?"
"I thought that Alyssa was just scared at first too but when she told me how she was grabbed by two soldiers and when they refused to let her go she bit the closet one on the neck I realized that Alyssa wasn't making up stories"
Carlos, who had remained silent for the entire time found his voice again, "So are you trying to say Alyssa is like a zombie? If she bites anything living they become an un dead creature?"
Chris glared at Carlos, "Isn't it obvious? Nice work Jill now we're all screwed because of your ability to help others, I hope you're proud"
Rebecca had a different reaction to what was said, "That poor kid, no wonder she always looks scared, Alyssa is what Umbrella was aiming to do all this time. It's no longer monsters we have to worry about…if they get their hands on Alyssa who knows what might happen"
"Exactly, which is the reason why Alyssa should stay with us" Jill said. "She's protected here and we all know what we're dealing with"
"You've had your turn at doing things your way Jill" Chris spoke up. "Why don't you just sit back and let the rest of the group decide"
"Really? And what is your big plan Chris? March up to that creep Griffin and give Alyssa back wrapped in a pretty bow tie?" Carlos remarked. "I say she stays with us"
"Of course you'd agree with what Jill says, both of you were in on this from the beginning"
"Maybe there's somewhere secluded where we can take Alyssa" Rebecca suggested. "Away from people that might try and hurt her"
"I said that before" Claire replied as she glanced towards Jill. "But it wasn't an openly accepted idea"
"But where could you take Alyssa that's out of harms way? Not to mention those two monsters, everyone hasn't forgotten about them," Leon said.
Chris leaned back in his chair, "Call me heartless and cruel but wouldn't we be doing all three a big favour if we put them down here and now? Umbrella wouldn't be getting their prize pupils back and we would've struck a hard blow towards them"
The room suddenly went silent as everyone stared back at Chris in shock.
"That's low even for you Chris" Leon muttered. "How could you just point a gun at a kid and pull the trigger? You'd have to have a heart of ice to do that"
"Well what's everyone else's opinion then? You want to be infected with a deadly virus then be my guest! I on the other hand won't rest until all of Umbrella's creations are destroyed and that includes the two pet monsters out the back"
"Maybe if I took a blood sample from Alyssa we could find out more about this dual strain she carries" Rebecca suggested. "Perhaps there is a way to stop it from spreading onto anything that comes into contact with Alyssa"
Chris turned towards Rebecca with a look of disgust, "You want to carry some of the girl's blood around? That's just as dangerous as letting her live"
"I don't think the dual strain is spread by touch" Jill spoke up. "It can only be passed on by bodily fluids like saliva or blood"
"And Rebecca wants to take some of it out, great" Chris muttered as he crossed his arms.
Carlos suddenly got up from the table, "I can see that is going no where"
"We really haven't decided on what to do in this situation," Leon said. "Shouldn't we be agreeing towards a solution?"
"Ok then I agree that Alyssa stays with us and neither her, Nemesis or Deception will be shot like rabid dogs" Carlos answered. "That's my opinion anyway" he then walked past the table and went outside the front door.
Watching Carlos leave Jill only shook her head, "I think we should leave that matter for the moment, especially when there are other issues to address"
Although the entire group was still shaken over what had been said between them everyone including Chris agreed that for the moment Alyssa and the dual strain she carried would be temporarily ignored, as the next target for the group would be decided.
As Griffin walked around the Bluewater complex busy making preparations for the night's events he noticed that Alice had been absent from his sight for the entire day. The heavy footsteps behind him however indicated that Phase Two was properly up and running.
The only disappointment to Griffin was that he would have to wait until next week to properly test out the abilities of the subject in a combat situation. Tonight could prove beneficial though Griffin thought perhaps the early activation might not be a complete loss.
It had been against the board's orders that Phase Two be activated so early due to not having suitable specimens to be tested against it. Griffin however had easily convinced the members of the board's outer circle that the newest experiment in neural implants would be of great assistance in bringing back the Winterstone girl aka human specimen 8940 and the Nemesis creature that had been on the loose for almost three months now.
The board had no doubt agreed due to all the evidence that Griffin had shown them depicting the girl and monster helping the group of rebels destroy several valuable research facilities. Times were tough for the company and if word got out that the genetic experiments had continued then there would be no lawyer powerful enough to get Umbrella's board of directors out of the hole they dug.
Griffin was under orders to capture both specimens alive seeming as they were important assets to the company but what really pissed him off was the fact that the orders also said not to involve either Alyssa or the creature in any neural implant procedures.
It would've been safe to assume that the board didn't want another repeat of an event that happened in a certain Dr Isaacs's lab almost five years ago involving another such chimera that had been one of the first human programming trials.
Fortunately for that imbecile Isaacs he knew about the activation code! My activation code, necessary for controlling the subject! Griffin thought angrily as he continued down the hallway and towards a metal door.Despite Isaacs knowing how to press the 'on switch' for the implant Griffin was the only one who knew the full set of commands, which was bad news on Isaacs's account.
Thinking about his rival's demise made Griffin hesitate before opening the door.
Just only a few hours after Alice had returned and had both bullets removed from her wounds Griffin had given the activation order that would allow Alice to unleash her abilities to their full extent.
That very same regeneration chamber that Alice had slumbered in for all those months became Isaacs's tomb.
Although Griffin was disappointed that he never got to witness first hand Isaacs's death by a prize specimen when seeing the mangled corpse floating in the blue clear liquid with its arms twisted at horrible angles and the head pulled back so that it was touching the spine Griffin felt proud. In his head he could see the initial meeting between Isaacs and Alice, she probably smiled and approached him not saying much as was her way of sensing an enemy's actions. Isaacs most likely spoke bullshit to Alice, praising her for returning and the promise of great things in the future.
No doubt it would have further pissed Alice off to a point where she grabbed the babbling Isaacs by the throat, her piercing blue eyes staring down into his own frightened ones.
What happened next was blank in Griffin's head, in fact he really didn't give a rats ass what Alice did to the prick Isaacs the only good thing was that he was dead and now the entire neural research project was under new management.
Griffin had immediately gone to the committee, weaving a tragic story of how the pressure of the experiments had finally gotten to Isaacs and he'd committed suicide.
There was no inquest, Griffin saw to that, he had after all control of what was supposed to be Umbrella's pride, a human being that successfully merged with the T-virus and carried no defects.
That was until Alyssa Winterstone began to show promise of surpassing the abilities that Alice possessed. But Griffin had known from the start the young Winterstone girl had potential and it wasn't because of the dual strain she carried.
Stepping outside into the bright sunlight Griffin was immediately approached by two people, one being a heavily muscled man in army fatigues and the other was Alice.
Both exchanged glares before turning towards Griffin as though he was the only one who could command them to speak.
Griffin only made shooing motions towards Alice; "I'll call you if you're needed, for now just get familiar with tonight's course of actions"
For a few moments Alice stood glaring back at Griffin, if her eyes had the ability to shoot lasers then they would be doing so. After a few minutes Alice only stiffly nodded and walked past Griffin, her gloved hands forming fists.
As Griffin watched the brooding Alice walk off it crossed his mind to limit the amount of free will the implant allowed her. He could just as easily create a duplicate copy of Phase Two, which allowed no such thing as emotions and independent thought to be expressed by the subject, but Griffin dismissed it.
Perhaps that is a matter to be discussed with the committee further down the track once Alyssa has been retrieved he thought.
For the moment Alice was the only subject that could withstand the constant updating of programs and various experimental serums that had been injected one after the other into her system. It would be a total waste of resources if the second best human specimen were suddenly turned into a vegetable all because a few wires had been accidentally crossed.
Shaking the thought off Griffin turned towards the heavyset man, "I trust that you have only bought the best Lieutenant Reid?"
Reid nodded and turned so that Griffin could see several covered personnel carriers, which a dozen armed men were loading up supplies. "They'll be sufficient enough in taking down those criminals, what I don't understand is that they had the pick of the land to hide in and yet they set up camp a few kilometres away from here"
"Yes fascinating isn't it" Griffin replied in a bored tone. "Have you briefed all your teams about the two targets?"
"They know what to do but regarding the Jack Knife…"
"Are they aware that one of the targets is not human? I don't want any of this getting out" Griffin cut in. "That was something I made absolutely clear when we spoke before Lt Reid some of your men may not come back alive due to heavy resistance from the target"
Lt Reid shook his head, "There aren't any squealers in my squads, I made sure of that you have the full co operation of my men and areal units, they're prepared to give their lives up if it'll help with the capture of a very dangerous group"
At that moment a large semi trailer slowly backed what appeared to be a large-scale version of a harpoon gun beside the black troop carriers.
Griffin only eyed it casually, never would he have thought that a high level weapon like the Jack Knife would have to be taken out of storage. The weapon had been designed to take down stronger creatures such as Tyrant class creations without severely injuring the subject.
The actual 'harpoon' itself was made with the intentions of going in clean but making it impossible to remove without the sharp edges being retracted first. The weapon had never been properly tested and although Griffin knew that the Nemesis creature wouldn't die if the harpoon were fired it would do tremendous damage if the monster attempted to pull it out. Griffin was hoping that the Jack Knife wouldn't need to be used and that if Alyssa had been subdued the creature would follow without too much trouble.
Lt Reid had a different reaction to the Jack Knife, "Are you sure that thing is safe? What if it goes off while my men are in range?"
Griffin sighed and rolled his eyes, "It won't, as long as your men know not to step in range when the target is sighted, besides I'll have one of my people manning it, you just make sure you do your job understand?"
"All this trouble for a group of eight people? A bit exaggerated on your account?" Lt Reid remarked shrugging. "Not that I don't mind taking down a bunch of low lives but are all these weapons really needed?"
"You need to speak their language Lieutenant and the only language that such filth speaks is via the use of deadly force," Griffin said coldly as he walked off. "Make sure you and your men are ready to move out as soon as it gets dark, catching those renegades by surprise is our biggest advantage"
Reid could only watch as the Jack Knife was slowly loaded onto an uncovered carrier, the sun reflected off its black surface making it look like a crouching giant black rhino beetle.
After the initial meeting was over Jill stepped outside onto the front veranda and found Carlos sitting on the edge near the stairs.
Without saying anything Jill sat down beside Carlos and then turned to him, "Hey" she said softly.
Carlos first didn't even acknowledge Jill's presence and only sighed while staring across the field. He then turned towards Jill, "Remember when we both decided to come here? It was three years after Racoon"
Hearing this Jill smiled, she could remember the group all going their separate ways but after losing two good friends to a monster both Jill and Carlos had remained together.
"Yes I remember, it was at some run down café near California, but the funny thing was it took a further two years to travel over here what with the media circus and all"
"Those were the days, everything was so simple it was just the two of us and now…" he trailed off. "Alyssa's different we both know that but she isn't a killer"
Jill sighed, "That seems to be a recurring theme here"
Carlos then turned away from Jill, "I'm guessing I was voted out four to one?"
"Actually after you left the group switched to discussing the new target, it's going to be the complex not far from here"
But Carlos didn't seem to hear a word Jill said, "I started thinking the other day, if it got too much we could always move the Tasmania, there's plenty of places to hide there ever since it's been turned into a large nature preserve. We could all pose as a family it would be easy to fool the authorities"
"I don't think I'd be a great mother figure for Alyssa" Jill replied smiling. "What about Nemesis and Deception? I highly doubt they'd pass as family pets, then again I guess I could see you Carlos in a tweed jacket smoking a pipe sitting in an armchair watching TV"
"It was just an idea I didn't mean we should actually do it" Carlos said sounding hurt.
Turning back towards Jill his face was serious, "Listen there's something I've been meaning to ask you for a few weeks now but it's kind of hard to say because I feel like a chump for even thinking it"
Jill seemed confused at Carlos's sudden change of moods, normally he was a joker hardly ever totally serious, she nodded, "Go on then I'll listen"
Carlos swallowed nervously and moved slightly closer to Jill, "It's just that we've been together ever since Racoon, that's almost five years now…well what I really am trying to say is have you ever felt…"
A large black form suddenly walked past the pair and sat in the wooden chair not far from where they were.
Jill didn't even need to look up to see it was Nemesis; the monster appeared to let out a silent sigh before leaning back in the chair. When glancing back towards Carlos, Jill noticed that he had once again taken a profound interest in the surrounding bushland.
"You were saying something before?" Jill asked.
Carlos only shook his head, "Don't worry it's nothing just some stupid thought that I was thinking"
Seeing Carlos like he was all nervous and jittery made Jill realize he was trying to tell her something and in the back of her mind she knew what that something was. Just say it Carlos I won't laugh why be so secretive about it?
Ever since teaming up with Carlos after Racoon, Jill had been close, both had been through so much together they'd faced monsters that defied explanation, uncovered the sinister experiments Umbrella still carried out in secret and yet despite all the horrors both had seen speaking three little words out loud was somehow impossible to say.
Jill really couldn't blame Carlos for not finishing what he was trying to say; there had been plenty of times when he thought that Jill was already in a relationship with Chris.
That was never meant to be she thought. Even though she did have feelings for Chris Jill knew that it would never come to the point where both could be a couple. Chris was too security conscience, he'd left his apartment in Racoon in a great hurry not even pausing to say goodbye to Jill.
Then a few weeks later after the 'sanitation of Racoon' he appeared like a spectre at Jill's bedside in a darkened hotel room.
At that time Jill wasn't with Carlos preferring to find evidence on her own so it had given her a big shock when Chris materialized in the room talking softly and in a cryptic tone.
Chris had explained to Jill that he was going to investigate the European branch of Umbrella labs and hopefully meet up with his sister Claire who had disappeared a few weeks ago. He then refused to say anything else believing that the room could be bugged and didn't even look at Jill when saying that it could be a while before they met up again.
Before leaving Chris bent forward and gave Jill a quick kiss, but to Jill it seemed longer yet at the same time so short. His warm lips briefly touched her own and for a moment both seemed connected, Jill had a sudden urge to touch the hair on his head and wrap her arms around his body but she knew that Chris wasn't that type.
Then just like that Chris was gone, Jill never even heard the door close but she knew that he'd left. She was alone once again in a darkened room, huddled on an old hotel mattress, her lips still felt tingly from where Chris had touched them but the feeling was slowly disappearing.
It was a further two weeks before Jill had heard back from Chris, he told her that Claire had been found at an Umbrella base in the Artic and that the two of them were travelling back to Europe. But like Chris, the email he'd sent to Jill was cold and lifeless, the words carried no emotion or meaning, it was more of a typed clerical report then anything else.
Now five years onwards sitting on a veranda in Australia with Carlos and an eight-foot tall leather clad monster for company Jill's world had come full circle.
Getting up off the floor and stretching Jill lightly touched Carlos's shoulder, he looked up towards her, expectation flashing briefly across his eyes, "If you ever want to say something to me just tell me ok? I'd never think it was meaningless unless you said it was"
Appearing disappointed Carlos only nodded and sighed, "Yeah uh ok I'll do that"
"You coming back inside?"
"Actually I think I'll stay out here a bit longer if that's ok"
Jill only stepped away from Carlos and as she began to walk away she half turned, "Carlos?"
"What is it?"
Sighing and shaking her head Jill then took a few steps backwards, "Nothing, see you inside"
Walking off Jill was slightly frustrated, all this time she thought it was Carlos who was having trouble admitting to it when all along she was also to blame. Well no more dancing around it, tonight I'll tell him and if it has to be within earshot of Chris and the others then so be it!
The night that followed however would perhaps be the excuse needed to continue being apart and not as one.
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