Chapter Nine: One thing after another

Leon stared at the body in front of him in disbelief. Claire lay in front of him. Nearly sliced all the way through, from her shoulder to her hip. Blood pooled around her. She had died recently, no more than 20 minutes ago.

Rebecca was trembling at the sight. She and Claire had been good friends. They were all quiet until Ada said "Krauser."

"Huh?" said Billy, "Krauser?"

"But he's dead," said Leon, staring at her.

"Well, I thought he was too, when you thought you'd killed him. But he wasn't dead. Who's to say he didn't survive the fight with me?" Ada replied calmly.

No one replied to her, and once again they stood there in silence. Leon could hear Rebecca sniffling, and Billy muttering to her. Once again it was Ada that spoke first, "Leon, you see if you can find the others. I have unfinished business to take care of,"

Leon stared at her, dumbfounded. He knew what she was talking about, but to leave them alone, with no one to help through the mansion? She gave him time to reply before she said, "I'll catch up to you soon,"

She spun around and disappeared into the darkness before anyone could say anything.

"Does she do this often?" Billy asked, an arm over Rebecca's shoulder.

Leon nodded, and turned around, heading out of the room.. Rebecca and Billy followed him, though Rebecca left the room rather reluctantly.

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By the time Wesker managed to get Kylie off of him, Ada and the others were long gone. The 'girl' was unconcious on the floor. Wesker looked down at his clothes. They were shredded, much like his arms and legs were. The little brat had always had it in for him. He was tempted to kill her then and there, but he stopped himself. Grudge against him or not, she was one of the better results of an experiment. And so long as he wasn't around where she could see him, he would be fine, and she would be able to tear through the intruders. She began to stir, and Wesker was quick to leave.

He wondered if having taken some of his blood into her system would do anything to her. If so, it would be an interesting change...To see what the viruses would do when mixed like that. It certainly wouldn't be good news for the STARS and the others. He heard Kylie's wails start up behind him, and winced. His hearing was incredibly good, and her high pitched cries hurt. Though it was an effective method for attracting prey...She got them to go searching for her. And when they found her, she made them pity her, then she enjoyed her dinner. Though it didn't always work. When it didn't and she got hungry enough she would randomly attack anything that moved. And once she had the taste of blood, she went into a blood frenzy. Somewhat like a shark. And she didn't give up until she was rendered unconcious or she had killed something. Had he not been there, she would have kept chasing Ada until she'd eventually caught her.

And she had been close that time. Wesker grinned as another prospect came to mind. The child was like a blood hound when it came to following a scent. She would be after anyone she'd managed to bite or claw. That was mainly the reason she was always after him. Yes...Kylie was a success. The only trouble was she was impossible to control. The Las Plagas, for some reason, had simply died. It hadn't even grown to maturity before it died. All other attempts with the plagas had failed as well, and of course she wouldn't obey a command, though Wesker knew she understood. It was in the way she would do the exact opposite of what she was told to do.

Wesker opened the door to one of the mansions three libraries. The smell of death was much stronger in here...Much stronger. It was obvious why. Three silencers were enjoying a meal on the upper area of the room. One saw him and screamed. Wesker simply smiled, set his shades on the shelf next to the door, and cracked his knuckles. This was going to be a fun fight.

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Ada was half way to her destination when she suddenly started to turn around and head back the other way. She stopped herself after a few steps. She couldn't turn back now.

"Stop," she told herself, "just stop...They'll be fine. They'll meet up with the others soon enough,"

Though she wasn't fully convinced, she still kept heading in the direction she had been. The lights flickered, and a cold wind blew through a broken window. It whistled eerily, and Ada involuntarily embraced herself, feeling chills run up her spine. The lights went out, save for one, but still, it made it near impossible to see. The one light at the end of the hall was her only guide. A curtain fluttered in the breeze, and Ada bit back a gasp. She spun around when she thought she heard someone behind her. But there was nothing there. Another gust of wind. Though this one didn't seem to whistle...It whispered. She could almost hear words in the wind. Stop! It's not real! You're frightening yourself!

And indeed she was.

The pitter-patter of bare feet made her spin around again. As before, there was nothing there. Continuing forward, she forced herself not to react to anything. She had been through worse, and yet the wind scared her. It was ridiculous...and yet, somewhat predictable. Maybe those worse things were fueling her imagination now? She couldn't take much more of this though, and she still had a ways to go before she reached that light. But she wasn't going to give in to her fear and run. She would go slowly, and calmly and-

A thud, like a body falling to the floor, sent her sprinting for the light.

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Jill watched Chris closely. She was worried about him. Of course, his attitude was to expected, but when Chris was angry or upset, he got careless. And Jill, as much as she hated herself for thinking it, didn't want him to get himself killed over someone else, who was already dead. He hadn't said a word to any one at all, but Phyllis had managed to get a slight smile out of him. Remembering this, Jill felt a sudden rush of jealousy. Seeing her expression, Amber smirked. Jill glared at her. She had decided a while ago that she did NOT like Amber. She might have liked Phyl, but being jealous had kinda ruined that. Tyler, for all that he talked less than Phyllis, was likeable.

Jill trudged along at the rear of the group, not even really noticing how far ahead everyone else was getting. She couldn't help being so slow. It was as if memories were weighing her down, making her move slowly. I'm sorry Claire...I'm sorry.

A hand touched her shoulder, making her jump slightly. It was Tyler.

"What?" she asked, not really wanting to talk.

"Everyone's leaving you behind, I thought I'd let you know," he replied, smiling at her.

Jill returned his smile and said, "Probably for the better...I'd just as soon bite every one's head off as talk to them."

It was strange to think that she could be smiling, or joking like this, but she was. I guess everyone deals with greif in different ways... she thought. She sped up slightly, but not enough to catch up with the others comepletely. Tyler walked with her, not saying anything. Though that was the way Jill preferred it at the moment. It wasn't an akward silence, though. Jill kept an eye on the group ahead of her. Chris was actually sayin something to Phyllis, and it seemed to ammuse her. Amber was following a little bit behind them, remaining alert. At first, Jill didn't hear the sound of shuffling feet behind her. Not did the others. but she heard it when she felt- (and smelled)- the zombie's breath on the back of her neck.. Tyler was the first to turn around. He shoved the zombie away, saving Jill from having a chunk of her spine ripped out. She spun around as well, in time to see the creature stumble into the wall.

"Run!" she said, knowing that shooting the zombie would do no good.

They didn't need to be told twice. But no sooner had they shut a door to keep the zombie away from them, than they would have rather faced the zombie. The room they were in was filled with the sickly sweet smell of decay, that made Jill's stomach churn. The sight in front of her made vomit try and creep up her throat. She forced it down, taking in as little of the sour air as possible. There were bodies all over, all of them had obviously been there for quite a while. The skin was bloated, what was left anyway. There were what appeared to be the people's insides on the floor as well. Jill took a step back, and felt something squish under her boot heel. When she looked to see what it was, she had to fight back another wave of nausea. She had stepped on a bit of a rotting heart.

There was a door on the other side of the room, but the closer to the middle of the room you got, the higher the pile of bodies.

Chris sighed, "I guees we have no choice...We don't have ammo to get rid of even the one zombie, and where there's one, there'll be more."

Jill nodded in agreement, though she made a face of disgust at the thought of climbing those bodies. Despite this, she was first to start climbing. She heard sighs of deafeat behind her as the others started to follow suit. The highest part of the pile was probably close to 15 feet tall. But she could easily go around that. It made Jill wonder just how long they had been dumping bodies here, and why. She was half way up when she slipped. She, and several bodies (or part of them, anyway), went tumbling to the floor. Someone caught her, before she finished falling, though she wasn't sure who. She stood, and looked at her rescuer. It was Phyllis.

"Er...Thanks," she said, looking to see how far along the others were.

She went back to climbing when Phyllis didn't answer her. She reached the top this time without falling. She hurried down to meet Chris and Tyler. Amber was coming down, as was Phyllis.

"After this," said Phyl, "I am taking a ten hour shower."

Amber nodded in agreement. As did the rest of them. As Chris headed for the door, Jill suddenly found herself wondering if the climb over the bodies have been a needless thing. What if the door was locked? She didn't let her mind dwell on this for to long. Instead she turned to Tyler.

"Why are all these here?"

"They are old test subjects..." he replied, "Some that died before a virus could take hold, others killed themselves. According to Ada, they've been dumping bodies down here since this place was built. Even when it wasn't used as the main base, it continued. "

Jill asked no more about the bodies. What he'd told her was disturbing enough. All those bodies stacked up like that...Some have been there for years. For some reason this thought made the stench seem even worse, and she choked.

"You okay?" Chris asked, looking back at her.

No I'm not, Christopher. One of my friends is dead, the others are missing, and I'm standing in a room filled with rotting bodies. But that was no what she said. Instead she replied, "Yeah...I'm okay."

"Good...'cause we need your lockpicking skills over here...door's locked," he said.

Jill sighed and dug around in her pockets for her lockpick. For a moment she was afraid she'd lost, but she found it buried in her back pocket under and old slip of paper. She went to work on the door, which appeared to be solid oak.

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Billy and Rebecca sat on one of the balconies. The cool night air was a relief from the smell of death that covered the house. Leon was still inside the room, reading though letters he'd found.

Leon was sitting at an old mahogony desk, skimming through papers. One letter caught his eye;

Neal,

I am sorry I haven't written to you in awhile. The old man had us move to another base on the drop of a dime. I don't know what he's playing at, but I wish he would stop this foolish skipping about. You'd think he was running from something. And maybe he is. Things have not been going well at all. Albert, the one I told you about, is getting worse and worse as well. Always paranoid. It makes it hard to do my job, when he's forever snapping at me. As you know, I have been reporting the actions of my current team to him. So far they don't suspect a thing. I've seen Phyllis Ryan give a few odd looks now and then, but that is just the way Ryan is. Le is the one I worry about, Not about him being suspicious, but about him figuring it out on accident. He follows me everywhere, constantly hounding me. The others of course find it amusing, but I do not. I haven't asked him why he follows me, but I will That is, if he is still alive If Ada wants to continue to go through with her orginal plan, he may very well die. I may as well. For all I know, everyone in this building could be dead by morning. But I intend only to stick around long enough to see Albert kill Ada and the people she intends on leading here. After that, I'm getting out of here. If I can get out by myself, anyway.

Things, of course, may not go as planned, so that may not work out so well.

I know as you read this, your jaw will drop in surprise at my talking of dying as thought it were nothing. But that is what comes of being a soldier. You have to learn not to look at death as something to fear, but as nothing more than something that happens to everyone. Do I hope to get out alive, yes. Do I think my chances are good? No. I hope to be able to send this before the shit hits the fan, but I may not be able to. If that is the case, than it is pointless to write this, but if I do send it, and I die, at least someone will know what happened to me.

I have no time left to write. I can hear the others calling for me. Albert wants us to find Ada. I have a good idea where she is, but I haven't told him everything about the team. I want some things to be a surprise for him. It will be quite amusing when I tell him afterwards that the STARS are in the building.

I guess this letter may very well be the last contact I ever have with you. I hope that is not the case, but the way things are going...Oh well. Goodbye, Neal.

-your sister, Amber

Leon set the letter back down. So Amber was reporting to Wesker? Somehow, that seemed typical. Ada doesn't know though...She needs to be warned. But that was easier said than done. This place was huge. And he, Billy, and Becky, had only just ventured onto the third floor. And from what Leon had seen from the outside of the place, there were five floors. And he doubted he'd seen all of the first and second floors. He shuffled through the rest of the papers on the desk, but he found nothing more than old opened letters, all adressed to Amber.

Sighing, he called for Billy and Rebecca. Though he hated too They seemed to be enjoying their moment of peace. He couldn't blame them, They had been locked up for nearly 4 months, never getting to see out side. But there would be time enough for that later, when they didn't have to worry about all kinds of creepy crawlies coming after them.

The three headed for the door. They still had alot of rooms to check.

The next room was full of filing cabinets. Well, here's an information lottery. Rebecca thought, looking around. She saw one drawer labelled; Coen, William J., Chambers, Rebecca A. , Birkin, Sherry E.

She opened it and grabbed the file with Sherry Eileen Birkin printed on it. She flipped through the many pages in the folder, and finally found the one she was looking for. The experiment records.

December 14th, 1998:

Birkin injected with T-virus. No instant results seen.

January 1st, 1999:

Still no effects from T-Virus. Maybe a stronger dose.

January 17th, 1999

No effects. Spencer is becoming impatient with us. May have to try G-virus next.

Febuary 9th 1999:

Using G-virus on Birkin today.

Later:

Nothing. She is cancelling out the viruses we inject her with. Now Wesker is becoming impatient.

May 21st, 1999

Haven't been recording these. I see no point. Nothing has resulted from the numerous tests and experiments. Using T and G on her today.

June 10th 1999

There has been no effect. Wesker and Spencer are trying to figure out what to do. Preparing another, stronger, dose of the Viruses today. Spencer is considering the progenitor.

Rebecca skipped ahead several pages. These were all old documents. Things she already knew.

August 5th 2004.

Running blood tests on Birkin. Wesker thinks her blood can be used for a new virus.

September 20th 2004

Still running blood tests, but Wesker has already started working on this new virus.

October 1st 2004

They have managed to create the virus. Working out the bugs. Still injecting Birkin with T and G virus.

October 31st 2004

The virus is comeplete. Using it on Birkin today.

Later:

She is going into convulsions. The virus is trying to mutate her. But her blood is trying to keep that from happening. I've never seen anything like this before... She is being restrained now. She has grown stronger in a way... She killed a man earlier, by just slamming a fist into his chest.

November 2nd 2004

She is still convulsing. No one can get near her. She has managed to get her arms free. She has killed 2 more men.

November 21st 2004

Birkin is no longer having seizures. I think she is dying now. You can hear her breathing from far away. She sounds as though she has water in her lungs, and she's trying to breathe through it. I almost feel sorry for her.

December 31st 2004

It is amazing that Birkin has survived this long...She is near death now. She looks like a skeleton now...You can see every bone in her body. She hasn't eaten in months, but amazingly she hasn't died of starvation yet. It's scary...

Later:

Birkin is dead... She died a few hours after my last note. Wesker was not amused. Nor Was Spencer, but there is nothing I can do about that. It was about time the girl died anyway.

Rebecca stopped reading. There were more records after. Tests done further on Sherry's body. But she had no interest in reading those. December...that was the month she and Billy had been captured. So Sherry had died shortly after their arrival.

She sifted through the file labelled Rebecca Anne Chambers and the one labelled William John Coen but found nothing more than what she already knew. That they had been rejecting all the viruses given to them, and that Wesker was planning to use the S-virus on them. Leon and Billy were going through papers across the room, muttering to eachother. Rebecca put the folders back in the drawer, and turned toward the men. She heard something from one of the narrow ailes between the cabinets. Glancing at Leon and Billy, she shut the drawer, and went to inspect the sound. Something was definately moving back there. She peered around the corner to see what was back there, and that was when a blur of red and white crossed her vision, and she felt something collide with her.