I do not own Resident evil, people, or plots. I only thing I own is Charlie. This is based off the novel(RE: The Umbrella Conspiracy) and some/most lines are from the book. Enjoy~

Chapter 2

Charlie stood up and began to gather her things, knowing that they're going to have to leave to search for Bravo. She gulped as she tired her long black hair up in a high pony-tail and put on her lucky cap on which held a star pin, her mother gave her, on the front, just above the bill.

" Joseph, take over the board and keep trying to raise them. Vickers, warm up the 'copter and get clearance, I want us ready to fly in five." Wesker commanded and unlocked the safe and turned to the rest of the team.. " Barry, Chris I want you to get the weapons in the 'copter, loaded and secured. Jill and Charlie, get the vests and packs and meet us on the roof." He clipped a key off his ring and tosses it to Jill.

" I'm going to put a call in to Irons, make sure he gets us back up and EMTs down at the barricade. " Wesker blew out a sharp breath. " We leave in five. Let's move!"

Charlie looked to Jill who nodded. They both ran out of the room and to the locker room.

Charlie ran to the door with a duffel bag in her arms. She waited for Jill to unlock the door and headed in. She began packing everyone's equipment as quickly as possible.

They were done packing within a minutes. She had noticed that everyone's lockers gave off their personality. Chris was with his air-force buddies in a few pictures that hung in his locker with crumbled t-shirts, papers, and broken yo-yo. Brad, had a lot of self-help books, which she would have thought was funny considering the circumstance, and Joseph had the Three-Stooges calendar. She didn't see Wesker's or Barry's or Jill's locker since Jill covered that.

She looked over her locker to see there were a lot of mystery books, that she got bored because she figured them out quickly, virology and biochemistry books, a picture of Luke and her family and extra clothes. She thought to maybe redecorate, she didn't want the others to think she was a nerd with all the books.

She jumped when she heard a cough from behind her. She dropped everything, pulled out her QSZ-92 from her holster, and scanned the room.

The door was locked and nobody came in from the other door since we were here. Jill would have surely noticed if they did. Someone was hiding in here.

" Jill, we need to get moving." She spoke grabbing the duffel bag she dropped. " The team is waiting."

" Right." She nodded and both headed towards the door as she re-holstered .

" Ms. Valentine, Ms. Foxx, isn't it?"

She saw a man depart from the shadows. He was tall and his voice was filled with amusement. He was about in his forties and was thin, had dark hair, and wore a trench coat.

" That's right." Jill pushed Charlie back behind her a little, and was in a ready position. Neither recognized the man.

A smile flashed on his face. " I have something for the two of you." He softly spoke, which caused chills to go down her spine.

" Hold it asshole- I don't know who the hell you think you are or what you think I want, but you're in a police station..." Her voice trailed off as the man shook his head slowly, keeping his grin and his eyes twinkled.

" You mistake my intentions, Miss Valentine. Excuse my manners, please. My name is Trent, and I'm... a friend of S.T.A.R.S." Jill eased her stance.

" What is it that you have?" Charlie finally spoke up, clearly irritated. " And how do you know our names?"

" Straight to the point I see." He nodded, grinning wider.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like two, cell phone like, devices. " Everything will be explained over time."

" What is it?"

" These devices hold a few documents that you two will find to be interesting, especially you Ms. Foxx." He held out the devices.

" Who do you work for?" Jill broke in after both took the micro-computer devices.

" So many questions, so little time." He chuckled softly. " Read the files. And if I was you, I wouldn't mention this conversation to anyone; it could have rather serious consequences."

He walked to the back room's door and paused briefly.

" One more thing, and this is critical, make no mistake: not everyone can be trusted, and not everyone is who they appear to be- even the people you think you know. If you want to stay alive, you'll do well to remember it."

With that Trent left, leaving the two girls to look at each other, equally confused. They looked down at the expensive device and then looked at each other again.

" So can we trust each other?" Charlie smiled a little and walked towards the door. " Come on. The rest of the team is probably waiting."

" Sorry about being late." Charlie panted as she emerged from the door, she stopped holding the bag. Warm humid air from the 'copter's blades pushing her hair in her face, but revealed a small cut on her forehead. She looked at her shoulder and saw her shoulder was starting to bruise.

"Problems?" Wesker asked, no anger in his voice, but there was an sharp edge to it saying he wasn't happy. " There's blood on your forehead, Charlie." Wesker took her chin in his hand and tilted her head so his black sunglasses could examine the cut.

Jill panted beside her. " Charlie fell down, hitting her head on the stairs. She was stunned for a moment, but sprinted here."

" Are you going to be okay?" Wesker asked, little concerned showed.

" I'll be fine Captain." She stood straight, ignoring the pain in her shoulder and pulled her head away. " This is nothing, sir. No concussion and just a little bruised. Nothing serious."

" Captain, you seriously not going to let a girl who may have a head injury and probably have a concussion, go on a mission like this, are you?" Chris butted in, looking deeply worried. " She's still young and-"

" And perfectly capable of handling herself." She finishing his sentence, irritation in her voice and eyes. " I maybe less experienced in a search and rescue missions, unlike you, but I'm no novice. I can manage myself."

With that she pushed past Chris, not looking at him, and threw the duffel bag into the 'copter. She pulled herself in and began looking through the bag and sorted the equipment.

I can't believe Chris tried to sit me out on this mission. I'm perfectly capable of doing this. This isn't the first time I've done something like this,but... but why do I feel so bad about yelling at him.

She sighed.

She saw, from the corner of her eyes, that someone crouched next to her. She turned her head to see Chris helping her sort through the gear. She stared at him for a moment. She nodded and continued her business. She eyes soon began to drift after the helicopter had left the ground and sped over the wide urban streets and quiet houses.

Elizabeth... I hope you're safe at home with Heather.

An evening haze began to creep through the air, over the safety of the city.

Please, I hope the crash wasn't that bad. Please let Forest be working on the helicopter and Rebecca cleaning a few scraps and bruises.

Her thoughts wondered to a memory she tried to forget. Back when she was on a trip with her training comrades, there was a malfunction in the engine in the helicopter. She remembered the spiraling plane and her being thrown out of the 'copter. She had fallen out and landed in a bunch of trees. She remember hitting every branch before landing in a bush. She blacked out and when she came to, she found herself alone, in pain, cut up, and a broken leg. She was stumbling around for three days until she found some of the others camping out. Ten of the fourteen men and woman were killed. The few remained was Luke, with a slight sprain in his wrist, a woman medic who had a broken arm and man with a missing leg. She had pulled herself to the crash sight and was shocked.

She shook her head wildly, remembering the cooking chemical meat from the helicopter. Flames still burning the metal and the smokey air had filled her lungs. The sickening bone that cut her leg and the blood that ran down her leg to the burnt ground.

They had survived the crash.

She nodded and clenched her hands nervously. She was afraid of what they would find and what they wouldn't find. And what about Trent. The files and information and-

What if he's right?What if what he says is true and what Chris-

"Damn, I need to stop freaking myself out." She breathed out leaned back, trying not to shake.

" You okay, rookie?"

She looked over at Chris and smiled softly. " Yeah, everything is fine. Just cold." She teased about the last part.

" Maybe you should have brought your jacket, smart ass." He gave a thoughtful smile back, trying to lighten the mood. " Hey did something happen in the locker room? Jill seems...paranoid and you seemed a little nervous too."

Jill must have warned him also. I can see why since Chris and Trent's words are similar to some comparison.

" No, unless the hit to the head was more serious than I thought." She lied keeping her voice humorous. " But whatever she says, she must have some reason for it."

" All right kids, look lively! We're coming up on sector twenty-two, they could be anywhere." Wesker spoke and stopped Chris from asking any further on the topic, which she was heavily grateful for.

Chris, Jill, and herself moved to the window closest to her as Barry and Joseph looked out the other side. The small window gave view of twilight creeping to the sky. The helicopter kept near the endless trees below. That was when she saw it.

" Chris, look." Her muscles tighten as Jill confirmed the dreading thought.

A pile of smoke entered through the sky as they saw the downed 'copter.

" Oh, no." She whispered, trying to stop tears.

" Captain, two o'clock sharp!" Chris shouted to Wesker and the copter turned towards the smoke.

"Let's not assume the worst. There's a possibility that a fire broke out after they landed or they started the fire on purpose, as a signal." Wesker entered the cabin, adjusting his shade.

Yeah right!

She ignored the rest of what he was saying as she kept her focus on the smoke. She thought for a split second, just for that moment, she saw skull with cross bones form in the oily smoke. Though it was probably a trick of the eye, it gave a eerie atmosphere that made her shiver.

" Charlie, come on." Joseph grabbed her arm and drug her away.

She didn't turn her attention away from the window until Barry handed her a Beretta 9mm handgun, one of the many on the metal racks. Each gun, she knew, held fifteen rounds and was a semi-jacketed hollow points. She preferred and kept her QSZ-92 with her at all times, and kept extra ammunition with her, 9x19mm Parabellum ammo and the proprietary 5.8x21mm armor-piercing ammunition with bottle-necked case and pointed bullets. She like the feel of the QSZ-92 better than the 9mm. It was her good luck charm in a way, she guessed.

" Hope we don't need these." Joseph muttered and Barry nodded in agreement.

" I hope we don't either." She muttered and gently pulled her arm away from Joseph. She loaded up the gun and placed it in her holster and checked her own gun, making sure it was loaded. She quickly switched back to the Beretta.

She looked out to see they were landing in a field of tall grass. She saw Barry hand on the latch before they were even on the ground. Chris spoke calmly to Barry, though she couldn't make up the words in her scrambled mind and over the whipping blades.

Each one of the members jumped out of the cabin and into the grassy field. She insistently smelled the burning fuel and the smoke. She coughed lightly, trying to keep the smell out of her nostrils.

They started to head north, Wesker and Chris behind and to Barry's left, Jill, Joseph, and herself to the right. They quickly went through the trees. When they broke to the clearing, she saw the downed 'copter which were in the shadows of grass and trees.

" It's dead ahead." Barry shouted.

Charlies' mind began to speed up and her heart rate began to becoming overly fast. They all began to run towards the smoking mess. She kept right behind Chris and Wesker as Barry was already there. Jill and Joseph soon followed behind.

The 'copter was undamaged from what she could see. The most damage was to the railing, which was slightly bent from a force landing but that was it. It was also empty, but their equipment was still there.

" This doesn't make since." She placed a finger to her chin as she bit her lip. " Why would they just leave, and especially without their equipment?"

" I don't know, but we're going to find out." Wesker nodded towards everyone. "Joseph check out the helicopter. The rest of you, I want you to spread out. See if there's any clues, shell casings, signs of struggle-you find anything, report back to me. Stay alert."

She glanced down and noticed something. Grass was torn and bent around her. Kneeling down, she pulled out her own light pen, and examined her findings. She was surprised to see dog prints in the dirt and a few feet away was a boot print.

" Circle out, people, three meters apart, widen as we go!"

" Captain. I want to speak to you real quick." She motioned her hand for him to come over.

" What is it Ms. Foxx?" He crouched next to her. " Did you find something?"

" If I didn't then I wouldn't have called you over." She pointed the light at the spot and traced her left index finger, in the air, around the paw print. " It's a paw print. A medium to a large size dog from the looks of it. I suggest a rottweiler."

" You think this does with the missing Bravos?"

" The paw marks are smeared here, indicating that it was chasing something or one." She explained.

" Couldn't it been a rabbit?" He questioned, she could tell he was thinking what she at first thought.

" Doesn't seem like it Captain." She then pointed to a boot-print. " It was chasing after one of our guys." She stood as did he. " If we don't find them within the hour, I say we check out the Spencer estate. They might have headed there for protection."

" Let's get the perimeter up."

She nodded and got into place. She stood between Chris and Jill as she slowly moved out, searching.

Crunching of dead leaves were heard as they moved out more and more. She glanced at every piece of grass and every inch of the ground as she searched for some clue to where Bravo could be. Her eyes were making it hard to adjust to the very little light they had. It was getting dark soon and they wouldn't be able to continue the search properly.

" Hey! Over here!" Joseph's shout, his voice high and cracking, fear clearly in it.

She turned and jogged quickly back with the others. Joseph was in a crouch as his shadowy form began to stand, holding what looked like a S.T.A.R.S. handgun and a curl hand around it. He screamed and dropped it.

She sprinted over and pulled out her 9mm and readied it, she clicked off the safety.

She heard a low snarl from behind him. She drew out the weapon and aimed as a shadowy figure came hurtling towards him.

" Joseph! Get out of there!" She pulled the trigger three times, hitting its target as the blasts of bullets hit its skull.

Two more came at him as he tried to turn to shoot. She tried to shoot again, when she felt the gun jam. He screamed as he was tackled down and the beasts began to tear at him. She trembled, her heart slamming into her chest as blood and flesh was torn from her comrade. Her mind went blank, unable to process the event that was happening before her.

" Joseph!" She screamed, tears in her eyes.

" Charlie! To the 'Copter now!"

She turned to see Chris waving her over as Jill already sprinted to the running group. She took two steps, but was stopped by a shadowy figure, only ten feet away. It was blood covered dog, or what was left of a dog.

The face was half torn off, the skull glistening in the moonlight as the clouds drifted. The rib cage showed from the left side and pieces of glistening red muscles showed from the hind-legs. It snarled as blood dripped from its fanged mouth.

Her eyes widen in horror as she saw a mirror reflection in Chris' face. She looked to her right and remembered the mansion. She looked back at the dog as it crept towards her. She quickly switched guns and turned to run.

" Get out of here Chris!" She yelled and sprinted towards the mansion, thinking through her mental map. " Get back-up! I'll be at the mansion!"

" Charlie wait!"

She pushed past the bushes and twigs as branches slashed at her body. She felt her skin beginning to bruise and some blood trickling down from small cuts. She saw the estate as she grew closer when she tripped over a large rock that was hidden in the tall grass.

She fell on her face, deserving a bloody nose. She noticed that the dog had leaped over her at the same time. She aimed her gun and fired four times at the right hind-leg. The dog fell to its side as the bullets slammed into the showing muscle tissue.

She pushed herself up as the dog scrambled to its feet. She held her breath and aimed for the head. One shot and it yelped. Dead.

She ran, her right ankle screaming and causing her to limp slightly. She finally made it to the entrance and pushed through. She slammed the door behind her and looked around, gasping for air as sweat dripped down her face from the humid heat out the night.

The main entrance of the building was huge and expensive looking. The floor was covered in gray speckled marble and there was a couple of vases by the doors, either side of the door, and by a large set of stair.

She took deep breathes as she seen that she was safe. She shut her eyes for a moment to think.

" My ass that they boarded this place up. It looks well kept and the lights are on for God sake!" She muttered.

She unclasped her radio from her holster and switched it on, looking around carefully. Static erupted the room as she turned the volume up, her eyes studied for any movement, She held down the button on the side, cutting off the static.

" This is Charlotte Foxx from S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team. Alpha has been attacked by dog like creatures and I'm taking refuge in the Spencer Estate in sector twenty-two." She spoke quickly. " Does anyone copy?"

There was a hiss of static and she waited a little longer for a response...nothing.

" Shit! Please someone respond!" She started to shake badly as she closed her eyes. " This place doesn't seem normal and we need he-"

Thump!

Her eyes shot open and her body tensed to the sudden sound of the quiet building. She limped carefully towards the door to her left where the sound came from, clasping the radio back on her belt as she went. She raised her gun up and opened the door. She shut the door behind her and found herself in a dinning area. A fire at the far end of the rich looking dinning hall. A grandfather clock ticked to the right against the wall, halfway between the overly long table. Two swords hung over the fire place and a closed door to the right. Above was a second floor, but she had no clue of how to get up there.

She lowered her gun and jogged to the other side of the room towards the door. She pressed her side against the door, the knob in her right and the gun in her left. She pressed her ear against the door to try to hear anything.

She sniffed the air and gagged. A foul odor was coming from the other side. She remembered when she was walking from school and found a rotting animal on the side of the road. It was there for days and the stench was similar to the one she smelled now.

Dead rats?

She tried to reason with the thought and hoped it was.

She slowly opened the door and a well-lit room slowly came into her view. She saw a man leaning over something. His skin look deathly pale and patches of hair was gone. His shirt ripped and stained red. He looked ill.

Maybe he was an Umbrella maintenance man and was attacked by the dogs. Could be rabies.

" Sir?" She aimed the gun at the torso. " Sir, are you ok?"

The man turned around. It wasn't human. Tears of flesh hung, clenched in its mouth. His eyes were filmed and the stench grew strong from him. His face was smeared in blood and-

She gagged, her stomach suddenly feeling sick. " Don't move!"

The creature began to come towards her.

" Don't move!" It reached out for her.

She tried to open the door, but it was locked. Her body trembled at the man, unsure what to do.

She pulled the trigger hitting him in the lung. He kept moving. She aimed for the heart and shot. It didn't even flinch.

" What the-" She aimed for the heart again and pulled. Crimson blood splattered as the bullet made contact and its body crumpled to the ground. " What are these things?"

Zombies. A virus of some sort cause this-

The door burst open from behind her, causing her to spin and aim the gun at the moving object. To her relief, it was Chris.

" Charlie, are you OK?" He lowered his gun from her head. " I heard gun shots."

" Oh god, Chris." She breathed lowering her own gun. " There's something really wrong with this place. We seriously need to get out of here. Now!"

" Let's report back to the others. You can-" His eyes went wide, cutting his sentence short.

She felt a hand grip her ankle and she looked back to the crawling creature she shot. She pulled back and stumbled into Chris, him catching her with one arm. The other held the gun and fired, a clear head shot, blood sprayed her boots along with a piece of flesh. A red pool of blood flooded around her boot.

" Shit!" She breathed not moving, terrified of what she was seeing. " I shot him three times in fatal spots."

" What are they?"

She gave a small scoff, frowning. " Cannibals like in my theory?"

" I guess you're right about that theory." He muttered, helping her straight.

" Wish I wasn't." She muttered.

She crouched down and pulled out a small plastic bag, a cotton swab, a glass tube, and tweezers. She swabbed the blood and placed it in the container. She then used the tweezers and took part of the flaking tissues from its bare scalp. She placed this in the plastic baggy.

" What are you doing?" Chris asked looking over her shoulder.

" I'm gathering samples so when we get out of here I can see if this is a virus." She muttered. " I didn't tell anyone this because it was unauthorized, but I took some samples on the murder victims and found something in the blood and their tissue. The activity in it didn't go well, due to the specimen was dead, but I have a theory that these things are the cause of those deaths." She stood up and placed the samples in her pouch. " That was the reason I was studying virology recently. I wanted to see if there was a viral similarity."

" That explains a lot." He nodded and tried to open the door. " Damn, it's locked."

" Yeah, that's why I'm still in here." She sighed and started to walk down the hallways. " Let's see if we can find a door that actually opens."

She readjusted her cap and headed down the hallway.