Hello my wonderful fans. I know it's been awhile but I have finally returned. The road to my recovery wasn't expected to me this long and for that I apologize and hope you are all still with me. I thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement as I recover, I'm happy to write for such wonderful readers.
--VixenVampireChick
Chapter 9
An Intruder
Arklay Forest. Eastern woods.
Tuesday evening.
9:15 p.m.
The only noise in the forest was the constant traipsing of bare feet, caked in drying mud, twigs and blood.
The quiet should have kept her on her toes, kept her eyes sharp and her ears alert, but for whatever reason she couldn't bring herself to worry about impending danger.
Even the fog curling through the pines and skeletal birches like some ghostly serpent did nothing to curl her toes, nor raise the hairs on the back of her neck. She was still getting used the changes coursing through her, especially this calm confidence she had first suspected to be the lingering effects of a tranquilizer.
This was all so strange. So very strange.
Even without these strange new "improvements" everything slightly familiar still felt very new, especially her memories.
She needed answers.
Who besides Umbrella had them?
At least a day prior she had left the ruins of the lab with nothing but questions and a single blue file she had managed to snatch up from the doctor's forgotten clipboard with the words: Project Eve, scrawled across the front. She itched to know what information it contained but right now stopping to read was a stupid idea.
She had left the rocky mountain trail and was staring straight ahead at a dense thicket of tall pines and wide bushy undergrowth that seemed to go on forever, the fog looked even thicker ahead and the air felt even colder.
The wind whistled and cut sharply into her skin and for a moment Rain felt as though someone had punched her in the nose. She shook her head, her nostrils flaming at the scent that assaulted her.
The smell of rotting flesh and the sharp musky tang of the chemical she knew so well. The t-virus.
Virus carriers. All around, thriving here, in the deepest bowels of the forest.
Ignoring the pounding of her head she brushed aside a tree limb continuing on.
There it was again, that feeling, like-- like being ripped inside out rising in her.
A rasping snarl caught Rain's attention and the young woman looked up slightly, her eyes hooded by a wisp of hair that had caught her face.
In the silvery moonlight just at the crest of a hill and perched atop a large uprooted tree trunk, stood a large doglike animal. His yellow eyes glowing fiercely in a stark contrast with his coal-black coat with something like a warning.
Just a wolf, she realized. A regular old wolf.
By the look and scent of the animal an alpha-male, perhaps the last surviving member of his pack as he alone was standing there wearily guarding a recent kill.
A heavy breeze came once more and the creature yelped and snorted as though trying to clear his nose the way Rain had, then bounded away into the night leaving behind a deer carcass.
An odd flicker of something stirred in Rain's gut, perhaps it was pity for the poor creature that had little to no hope of escaping the widespread infection of the t-virus. Perhaps it was jealousy that it would face only death.
Her legs slowly buckled from under her and a dull burning sensation let her know the bark of the pine she sank against was biting into her bare shoulder so hard she was beginning to bleed.
It didn't matter.
Rain quietly endured the t-virus's sudden surge through her veins, almost mute but for the fierce inhales and exhales coming from flared nostrils and a muffled groan and whimper that even clenched teeth and closed mouth couldn't hold inside.
She simply watched as the skin pulsed and the diseased blood slithered within. She could feel it, dancing everywhere, face, hands, feet, lungs, head, legs, brain…
It would eat her alive and there was nothing to be done for it, nothing at all.
Crack.
Rain nearly jumped to her feet wheeling round, she felt a peculiar sense of déjà vu in seeing another wolf snarling down at her from the uphill trail in the same spot the other had been just minutes before.
She then noticed in the moonlight the empty right eye socket and a tangle of bleeding entrails hanging from between the creature's ribs. Even before the howls sounded she knew she was surrounded by not one, two, three or even four others.
At least thirteen.
An ivory-colored member of the pack growled, a rasping almost whispered sound perhaps affected by the fact that there was a large gaping hole where it's throat should have been. A silver-colored pack member paced restlessly at the edge of the trees, not at all hindered or seeming to notice it's own back leg gnawed away bleeding profusely.
They were even more horrible to look at in the light of the moon, an intensely macabre sight bathed in the moon's glow.
Rain's fist curled tightly at her sides as she mentally readied herself for some sort of physical attack. But they didn't move.
They seemed to be assessing her with something akin to intellect. The one with a severed throat sniffed her direction suspiciously, before inching back a bit still wearing a malicious snarl, the foam coming from his mouth pink with blood.
Her stomach quivered and Rain felt the beginnings of another bout of pain.
No. Not now, damn it not now!
But her mental prayer did nothing to stabilize her legs and they bowed under her causing Rain to swoon and fall. This seemed to snap the creatures into action and they all sprang for her.
Within a fraction of a second Rain was up, her hands fiercely locking around one of the predator's throats twisting its neck completely from its body, never minding the thick spray of cold coagulated blood hitting her square in the face. Another snapped for her unguarded ankle, causing Rain to pivot and kick the creature into nearby spruce tree, it's spine cracking loudly against the tree trunk.
The rest of the wolves looked surprisingly daunted but nevertheless attacked once more but within a matter of seconds lay permanently disabled.
Wet, cold, and sticky with blood Rain Ocampo had definitely seen better days, and worse ones. At least this time things were looking up, not a single bite or scratch yet.
She smirked to herself continuing to move along through the woods, with all of Umbrella's virus coursing through her blood she wasn't even sure what effect a bite would have, and she didn't want to find out.
What's this--?
She had come upon a roughened dirt road and noticed in the distance what looked like a very large house.
Maybe things were looking up.
Prospero Mansion
Wednesday morning
9:24 a.m.
All the air conditioning within the mansion was running full blast, but several units were offline and most of the units online were located in the main hall where the air was coolest anyway, leaving the hall uncomfortably frigid and the rest of the house blazing.
The pool had been deemed off limits by Alice since she hadn't the time to inspect the chlorinated water tanks that regularly drained, cleaned and filled the pool with new water. The tanks, she suspected, were connected to a ground water pipe from a nearby mountain spring that was probably contaminated with Umbrella's poison. She wasn't taking any chances in allowing the group to swim even if chlorine could kill the virus she wouldn't risk it.
She did allow the group however to settle onto the balcony of the third floor. Flying predators were scarce during the day, she'd see a threat before it made it within two hundred yards of anyone.
The air was outside was a bit muggy and only the shade made it any better, still it was good to breathe in the fresh air after so many days cooped inside.
Angie stayed inside, her reason being fear of Belladonna's safety. Into the first hour of the group's relaxation on the roof the curious cat had wandered to the edge of balcony, squeezing a paw through the railing to paw at a resting ladybug, before long the feline had squeezed her whole husky midsection through, unaware of her likely tumble of a full fifty feet to the ground.
It was L.J. who saved the feline from an ugly end and after an ecstatic thank you, the cat was promptly taken by Angie inside where it was safer to play.
Jill followed her inside but returned a few minutes later, continuing this every couple of hours to check on Angie. She'd then linger on thebalcony with the others, leaning against the spiral railing. The day was darkening and knowing Alice, she would recommend retiring inside soon, as one pair of eyes with nocturnal vision was not enough. But the cooler night air was coming and it was too inviting to leave the wonderful comfort of the outdoors. In a few hours, she'd be more than willing.
When the sun became a red glow in the sky steadily sinking, Carlos peered down into the edge of the trees noticing flickers of movement that strayed to the edge of the hill the house stood on. "Well, looks like we've got dinner guests."
Sure enough about four wolf-like creatures had discovered the carcass of their 'houseguests' and were voraciously ripping them apart.
"Wolves?" Jill asked craning her neck to get a better look.
"Dogs," Alice corrected. She had forgotten how terrible human eyesight was until Jill's question. The dogs snapped their bleeding and rotting jaws amongst one another squabbling over the meat, their diseased eyes a sickening milky brown. "Security dogs."
At the mention of dogs L.J. looked disgusted. "Sent after us?"
Alice turned from the railing convinced there was little to worry about. "Don't think so, they're infected, just following the smell of food. It's going to attract virus carriers from miles around."
L.J answered Jill's question of safety before she could even ask. "Don't matter. House is on lock-down, nothin' comin' in or goin' out. Right?"
"At least for now," Alice confirmed.
No sooner had the sentence left her mouth did an excruciating pain sweep through Alice Prospero, knocking her feet right from under her and slamming her head to the balcony pavement.
Carlos was the first at her side knocking aside a lawn chair in his excitement. "Alice!"
Someone was screaming her name outside, trying to get her attention. She couldn't-- she couldn't--
"Alice…"
Their fallen comrade lay with wide-blue eyes that seemed unseeing, her mouth half-open and a long trickle of blood seeped from her nose and the side of her mouth. She shook violently, seizuring in a deep catatonic state.
Jill patted the unconscious woman's cheeks firmly looking just as frightened as Carlos, her composure slipping rapidly from her. "Alice! Alice! Can you hear me?"
A flood of images burned through Alice's brain. The flaming memories burning, scarring themselves into her vision.
…Matt tackling her in the dark night, throwing her to the hard marble floor as the windows shattered from the impact of smoke bombs propelled through them.
"Alice…"
She gave no response but a moan and her eyes squeezed shut only to snap open again looking as vacant as ever.
The putrid, dank sewers…the sounds of dripping water earsplitting.
"Are you there?"
…A gunshot ringing through the slimy tunnel…
…A wavering red image resembling a small child, hard eyes accusing but calm. "You're all going to die down here…"
"Alice…"
"Alice!"
With a wheezing inhale of air Alice snapped awake, her eyes wild and wide with fear and confusion. She was breathing in short, sharp breaths.
Carlos soothed her by gently caressing her back. "Easy there, deep breaths… Slowly…"
Alice's only response was a fearful wide-eyed look, she opened her mouth to speak but no sound came forth besides more wheezing breaths.
"What?" L.J. wondered trying his best to decipher Alice's message from her quivering mouth.
"Come on now, deep breaths," Jill reminded her.
Ignoring their concern Alice tried to stand only to stagger into the balcony's railing. Carlos gripped her hand pulling her from the edge before she plunged off the building. "Someone's--I…in my head…hear…" she rambled. "Someone's…
That voice…the strong one, it was still rattling her brain, but gradually it was clearing and with a small tug she asked Carlos to let go, he complied hesitantly.
Jill was the first to voice her confusion. "What?"
"Someone's inside my head…showing me things…memories…"
The three exchanged looks of confusion.
Carlos stepped into Alice's line of vision to get her attention as her eyes seemed to wander again. "It's just the virus, showing you memories, hallucinations, it's got to be a sided-effect of what Umbrella did to you."
Alice's coordination seemed to be returning as she released the railing. "No, this is different, this is real and it's close…When I was in Umbrella's lab I could hear Angie, speaking to me."
"Talking to you? Through your head? Angie never said--
"Angie didn't know. She wasn't calling for me intentionally, but her mind…I could hear her still, remembering me, worrying for me. It was like a whisper."
"Like this new voice?"
"No, this new one is loud, unbearably loud, powerful. It knows me, it said my name…and it's--"
There was a clear sound of glass shattering and it echoed from inside the house.
Everyone stilled, eyes wide in horror before Alice responded.
Alice visibly paled. "It's in the house."
"Valentine! Wait!"
Jill was already out of sight, gun in hand, either unhearing or ignoring Carlos's calls.
Before the others were a whole six feet inside a gunshot echoed through the house. Still the group went flying down the main stair to the grand hall.
Jill had whipped out her pistol and was striding with purpose down the hall. Angie was not within sight but Jill had immediately noticed the intruder who thankfully didn't seem undead.
"Hands on your head and come into the light slowly or I swear I'll blow your damn head off,"she warned.
When the figure in the shadow of the corridor didn't move Jill clicked off the safety of the gun loudly to give further warning. An Umbrella mercenary for hire obviously had somehow made it inside. The figure had her back turned to Jill but it was clear this was a woman before she even turned around and came from the cover of the dark.
Covered from head to toe in blood and haggardly dressed in what looked a lot like a hospital gown the dark-haired woman began stalking towards her, deep dark eyes that looked slightly mad focused on Jill.
Perhaps the woman was infected but the sureness of her steps suggested otherwise.
From somewhere behind her Jill heard L.J.'s surprised cry.
"Don't move dammit!"
Carlos had slunk down the corridor undetected and now stood aiming his own weapon behind the woman, less than four feet away. The man was already a pretty good shot, the woman surely wasn't stupid enough to assume she could avoid such a sure shot. "You heard her, do it now!"
Surprisingly the woman did halt her footsteps and slowly inclined her head to the sound of Carlos cocking his weapon.
Then faster than a blink the woman turned with a fierce roundhouse kick that sent Carlos Olivera spinning and followed through with a vicious backhand and he sank to the floor unmoving.
"WHAT THE FUCK!" L.J. mouthed.
Jill couldn't stop her jaw from dropping in surprise, it had only taken a split second for Olivera to be disarmed. It was incredible.
It was inhuman.
Only Alice moved so quickly and to be honest, this woman was probably a whole lot quicker.
Where the hell was Alice anyway!
The woman bent briefly, snatching from Olivera's belt a silver hunting knife.
Jill fired once aiming at a kneecap and still the woman approached her strangely calm and unfaltering, Jill fired again aiming for the other knee getting the same result and not a mark on her target. Time and time again, shot after shot failed and it dawned on the ex-cop catching an odd blur of movement that there was nothing at all wrong with her aim.
The woman was dodging the bullets somehow!
She hadn't even noticed L.J. too was firing shots from the staircase. The woman uttered a growl of surprise and pain as blood trickled from her shoulder where L.J. hadn't missed.
The hunting knife came sailing through the air, the heavy silver handle slamming L.J. directly into the forehead knocking him unconscious.
Jill didn't waste a moment, she squeezed the trigger of her own gun and there was a faint echo of an empty chamber.
The intruder smiled sweetly and Jill could have sworn her eyes glinted like a tiger's.
"My turn."
