Darkness Arises: Reborn
by Metal Harbinger

Author's Note: You are not hallucinating people; this chapter is FAR shorter than the last installment!

Chapter 50: Flames of Vengeance

Cold hard steel was all he could feel, harsh and unforgiving like the touch of Death itself.

Muffled sounds rang out as his mind swam through a sea of nothingness. Black was all he saw in his state of unconsciousness, until the subdued sensations began increasing in volume and the abyss began to rattle and it was there Jake Cavanaugh found himself forcibly stirred back into consciousness.

A metallic boom resounded and a vibration traveled along the ground, one that was too large to ignore. The muscles in his face began to twitch and he could feel his eyes trying to flutter open, but he soon squeezed them shut as he was met by a blinding white light.

The crunching of feet upon a metal surface soon infiltrated his field of hearing, followed by heavy breaths amplified by a gas mask. A rifle cocked and a reactionary measure forced him to open his eyes all the way, only to be met by an overwhelming assault of blurry misshapen objects. Soon his smell would come back to him and his nose crinkled as he took in the putrid stench of decay, and then the feeling returned to his tongue, enabling him to taste the coppery bitterness.

The sensory overload caused his breathing to hasten and he could feel his muscles tighten, clenching his fists together as another loud thud caused him to spasm.

"Hey, I think our 'friend' over there is waking up," a voice called out, sounding like it was echoing from afar. It was then he tried to slow his breathing, knowing he had to find out who the other person in the room was – no 'persons.' He could hear the rapid breathing elsewhere in the room.

"We can't worry about him. We're under attack!" the other faceless individual spoke up, followed by a loud screech that almost sounded like something being scratched, another grating assault which caused the fallen hitman to spasm and nearly choke on the bitter substance in his mouth.

Slowing his breathing, the hired gun again willed himself to open his eyes, albeit slower.

The light was beginning to dissipate and he could make out cool hues around him, like a kaleidoscope of blue and silver, soon joined by white, then black, then red and so forth and shapes soon began to take solid form and he noticed a row of straight lines in front of him and as things slowly began to refocus he could notice they were what looked like the bars of a prison cell.

Another loud boom came from outside and was soon joined by a cluster of muffled pops, ending with a primordial roar sounding above all.

"Damn it, we've gotta do something!" the first voice spoke, the echoes fading and coming to let him know the person was right near him.

"No, we've gotta stay here and guard the prisoner!" the second person replied as Jake's eyes began to focus and he could make out a black figure taking shape before him, looking almost shadow-like in the ocean of colors.

"But it's right on top of us," the first man shouted as several loud clangs rang out from above, creating little earthquakes that left Jake squeezing his eyes shut as he could finally feel his head rolling to the side. He was starting to feel frustrated knowing he couldn't make out what was around him. He tried to raise a hand, but it felt like it was weighed down by a ton of bricks.

"We have our orders!" the other man snapped as Jake slowly reopened his eyes and could see another figure slowly taking shape, a distinctly human outline with two burning red dots in its head.

His eyes blinking in succession before they finally stayed open he watched as everything began taking shape before him and was finally able to make out the cages near him and the crumpled heaps inside. With everything finally beginning to focus he could see a figure standing with his back in front of him and the other being across from him, a man clad in full combat gear with a gas mask concealing his identity and an assault rifle in hand.

A quiet sigh escaped his lips as he recognized the man, more appropriately his uniform and then everything came back to him like a tidal wave: his arrival in Springvale, the face to face encounter with Albert Wesker followed by his double cross, him putting a bullet in the treacherous leech's face, the battle through the streets and lastly, the reemergence of the supposedly dead supervisor and the beat down near the stream.

"Bas…tard…" he quietly muttered, the blood dribbling from the corner of his lip and the burning of his cheek, followed by the sticky dryness of his tongue.

He looked over to the bars before him as another loud boom sounded and both men jumped with their weapons pointing towards the ceiling. It was then he could feel his fingers and toes moving, followed by some feeling returning to his arms, a tingling feeling one gets when their limb falls asleep.

"Dasher, how are things holding up in there?" a garbled voice called out over a radio.

"He's regaining consciousness, but we can't just sit in here with him the entire time!" the first commando spoke up as Jake could finally feel the feeling returning to his body and with it, the pain of the beating he received at the hands of Wesker.

His entire body quaked with pain and yet burned at the same time, stiffness lingering as he flexed his fingers and his bare toes, the cold of the steel sending shockwaves from the heels of his feet throughout his body. Someone had removed his boots while he was knocked out.

"Hold your position!" the voice barked as more gunfire and screams rang out over the transmission.

"What the hell is happening out there?" Jake asked himself, legible thoughts returning to his psyche, "Have the monsters come back?"

There was another metal crunch from above and the commandos stood anxiously with their guns aimed at the ceiling, their breathing intensifying.

The hitman felt the coldness of the steel against his torso and it was then he realized they removed both his shirt and bulletproof vest.

"Damn it, where the hell are you?" he asked himself as the strength returned to his arm and he shot his hand out, gripping one of the bars before him. It still hurt like a bitch to move, but he was regaining the power to work through it and following another labored effort he rolled over onto his side and let out another grunt of pain.

"Hey, shut up in there!" the soldier standing before him barked, turning around and smacking the butt of his rifle against the bars, sending him falling backward. There was another loud boom and the masked man returned his attention to the ceiling, several dents appearing as a very large figure ran above them, more muffled explosions and gunshots coming from outside.

Jake Cavanaugh's senses had fully returned and he bumped his head as he tried sitting up and then looked around to find himself locked in a cage like he was an animal.

"What the fuck?" he muttered pushing himself into a corner and looking over to the cage nearest to him, which held what looked like a warthog, except that its tusks had been extended outrageous proportions and had several smaller spikes protruding from them, in addition to most of the skin having peeled away from its body and a large bubbling mass covering the back of its thick neck.

The entire space he was in was lined with cages, some of which carried monsters he was familiar with like those diseased dogs, monstrous apes and ginormous frogs, but also some that were completely new to him including what almost looked like a bipedal humanoid shark with arms and webbed hands similar to those frog-like Hunters, a hairless lynx with elongated claws and fangs, an overgrown crab whose carapace was riddled with bullets, and another skinless brute that reminded him of a Licker, but with a gaping maw left open in a silent scream, longer limbs with equally longer talons and spikes sticking out of its back.

"Shit, where the fuck am I? Some kind of laboratory?" Jake asked himself as he stared at a grizzly bear missing large patches of fur and covered in red and green tumors. "Where the fuck did they get all these freaks?" he thought, knowing he had never seen any of these monsters back in Raccoon and wondered what else could be lurking out there if this outbreak was truly as widespread as thought. Whatever the case was, all of the B.O.W.'s appeared to be dead and of no direct threat, yet was still unnerving to be within their presence.

Another loud boom came from above and the commandos jumped as a small hole was drilled through the ceiling, the tip of an enormous claw having finally penetrated. A second strike followed and the rend grew wider in diameter, the gunfire and explosions much clearer followed by the cries of those outside.

"Use those fucking freeze rounds goddamn it!" a soldier screamed.

"It's too fucking fast!" another shouted back, followed by a blood curdling shriek.

"You son of a bitch!" a third voice yelled, accompanied by the rattle of a heavy machinegun.

An animalistic shriek responded to the soldiers' calls, one which was louder and deeper than anything he had ever heard, something he could describe as a cross between one of those Hunters and the one-eyed brute that stalked him and Jill. A roar followed and there were several more agonized screams from its human opponents, an intense heat wafting in through the tear.

There was another loud thump as the unseen beast again leapt on top of the space they were in, striking the surface and expanding the tear in the steel surface, a gray arm lined with four three foot-long claws cutting through like it was a tin can. Both commandos sprang into action and let loose upon the mutant appendage, raining black oily blood into the narrow space until the claw retreated from view, only for a purplish tentacle to shoot down and impale one of the commandos with the barb on the end, pulling him through the opening fast enough to tear his head off on one of the sharpened edges.

The other commando was knocked backwards and landed right in front of the cage. Seeing his opportunity, Jake shot his arms through the bars and clamped down on the man's neck, tugging violently until he was able to pull his head to the side and was rewarded with a loud crack. With his guard taken care of he reached through and felt along the man's supply belt until he grasped a pair of keys and ripped them away, making his way over to the door and sliding three of them in until he found the right one and liberated himself from the cramped quarters.

It hurt like a bitch to stand upright and Jake grunted loudly as he stretched out his tired limbs and brought his hands down to massage his aching lower back and then rub his throbbing neck, compliments of Albert Wesker.

He reached down to inspect the dead man's body as the sounds of battle raged around him, finding two cans of first-aid spray, some blue and white pills similar to the ones he had seen George Hamilton crafting, a digital compass, and some spare clips for both the man's rifle and sidearm, along with a silencer for the latter.

"Score," Jake muttered to himself as he took one of the first-aid cans and sprayed all over his exposed torso, feeling the burning that followed along with the stickiness around any cuts that had remained open. He stood in place and waited for his muscles to relax and some of the pain to ebb from his system before he popped one of the recovery pills and then reached down to grab his tattered shirt, slipping on his Kevlar vest last. His boots were lying nearby and he reached down to pull them on before taking the dead commando's belt and placing it around his waist.

The man's weapons were next and he found a combat knife that would slip into the holster around his shin before taking his H&K MK23 and then his Colt M4A1 assault rifle, both of which were equipped with laser sights.

Finally armed again, the hitman crept towards the set of double doors at the end, but not before finding his trusty katana and quickly strapping it to his back. He placed his ear to the double doors and listened for the muffled sounds of battle from outside and kept the rifle at the ready as he undid the latch, ready to shoot his way out if he had to.

"Here goes nothing," he said to himself, taking a deep breath followed by the mental countdown from three he had gone through countless times back in Raccoon. Pulling the latch out of place he kicked the double doors open and was instantly met by the sight of blood spilled everywhere.

More of those commandos littered the pavement and surrounding grass, all of them horribly dismembered by the unseen attacker. When he looked beyond what lay at his feet he noticed a few more of those black unmarked Humvees used by the commandos and the charred bodies lying around them, the one directly before him with a smoldering body occupying its turret.

"It's not going down!" another commando cried out before there was another wet slash and a black-clad body was sent flying backwards, landing on the aforementioned Humvee's hood with a large crater in its chest.

Jake was surprised a second later as another commando rounded one of the opened double doors, the man himself equally surprised and raising his rifle to fire, but the hitman was quicker and slapped the barrel away before delivering a sweep kick that knocked the masked man from his feet and finished him off with a burst of armor piercing rounds to the face.

"Use those fucking freeze rounds damn it!" a deep voice called out again.

Not wanting to be spotted by any more of those masked spooks Jake bolted forward and took cover behind a Humvee left partially on the road and crept along the side until he was able to get a better view of the battle occurring before him and finally lay his eyes upon the beast that had been causing all of this carnage.

The creature again leapt onto the semi-trailer he had emerged from (which was disguised as a generic transport truck belonging to 'Rockingham Transportation, Inc.') and shot a gust of fire from its maw, immolating two commandos equipped with Milkor MGL grenade launchers.

"Holy shit," Jake whispered to himself noticing how the B.O.W. was able to leap around with great agility for its size. This monster stood roughly seven feet tall and had the musculature of a Tyrant, yet the face, claws and stooped posture of a Hunter, its ability to breathe fire being something completely new for the creations he had seen in action. For now, he could only be thankful it this new beast hadn't taken notice of him.

"Now to get the fuck outta here," he thought as he watched the mutant's back be riddled by rounds from another Humvee turret, only for the monster to turn around and leap onto the vehicle's hood, slicing the gunner into three separate pieces.

Darkness was falling fast over the horizon and the area was lit only by the fires raging as a result of the Tyrant-Hunter hybrid's rampage.

A vast forest awaited the hitman to his right and the sight of it made him grimace.

The surrounding area took his mind back to those newspaper clippings he read about the murders in the woods precipitating the eventual demise of Raccoon City. It was the absolute last place he would have wanted to be and the thought of it left him wondering if there were still any of those beasts lurking about.

Then again, he looked back to the ongoing massacre and the commandos' futile attempt to subdue the inhuman creature.

"Guess I don't have much choice," Jake whispered as he peered into the backseat of the Humvee he hid against, only to find himself eating his words a second later.

A pair of thermal imaging goggles rested on the seat, left untouched by the ensuing skirmish. Jake was familiar with how to use them thanks to training from Buster and eagerly snatched the pair. He tried not to get too far ahead of himself, knowing of the possible dangers lurking in the darkness, but he felt more confident with the newly-acquired goggles and leapt over the nearby guard rail, sliding down the hillside and towards the woods.

"Cavanaugh's escaping!" a voice called out and he looked over his shoulder to see one of the commandos raising his rifle.

"Damn it," he hissed just as the dirt and trees around him were torn apart by high caliber rifle rounds, trying to ignore the men firing upon him and kept pressing forth until he was sure he was out of sight.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A wet splatter resounded next to Gabriel Karkian, forcing him to bring a gloved hand up to wipe off his goggles.

"How could they have been so goddamned reckless?" he asked himself as he loaded some fresh nitrogen rounds into the M203 grenade launcher attached to his M4 carbine, which should have been like kryptonite to the Tyrant Zeta, but if only the B.O.W. would stay in one place long enough.

The monstrosity he battled was a crossbreed between the T-002 Type Tyrant and the MA-121 class Hunter, combining the former's strength and durability with the latter's agility and killer instinct, adding the ability to breathe fire into the mix. The result was a superhuman killing machine unlike no other that had already managed to wipe out two-thirds of his convoy.

Upon Jake Cavanaugh's capture, Karkian and his men were charged with transporting the hitman to a secret facility in North Dakota, along with some Umbrella B.O.W. samples they managed to acquire from a laboratory hidden beneath the outskirts of Springvale. Meanwhile, Wesker would stay behind to supervise the small mountain community's destruction with a series of explosive charges rigged throughout the sewer system.

"I always wondered how they were going to explain that to the general public, especially with what's already going on in Raccoon City. You can only say there were so many radioactive leaks before people start getting suspicious and developing their own conspiracy theories," the grizzled commander thought to himself, knowing the briefings they received explained the town had been built on top of a series of old coalmines, yet he remained skeptical if they would buy it as a plausible cause.

"No time to think about that now," he told himself as he peeked around an overturned Humvee, watching as the Tyrant Zeta leapt atop another one of the generic semis they were using to blend in with the general populace, the trailers heavily reinforced on the inside to keep their cargo at bay. So far the beast had managed to rip apart two of the trailers and did considerable damage to the other two, in addition to wrecking several of the Humvees providing security detail.

The B.O.W. was being rattled from the front by a combination of machinegun and assault rifle fire and he watched as the beast drew its head back, a telltale sign it was preparing to spray another stream of fire upon its attackers. Whatever the case, the beast was finally still for once and he seized the opportunity to fire a nitrogen round into its back, the round shattering upon impact and splashing a section of its ample back upper back with liquid nitrogen and quickly freezing the patch of skin in place.

The monster was visibly affected and shrieked loudly in pain, thrashing its arms wildly as it tried to break the icy blotch. With his target finally showing some signs of pain it was a welcome sight to the Commander and he fired another round which caught the beast in its shoulder blade, inviting another cry of agony.

"Got you now freak!" another commando called out as he withdrew an experimental weapon inspired by Umbrella's mine launcher prototype, which riddled the Tyrant Zeta's scaly carapace with a series of darts, all of which would explode in rapid succession and send it falling to the ground.

"Get that net launcher ready," Commander Karkian called out to another subordinate. Wesker wanted the Tyrant Zeta taken alive, yet he wondered if it would be possible after everything he just witnessed. He didn't care what the supervisor said; if it came down to it he would kill the B.O.W.

A commando cautiously approached as his colleagues fired into the fallen Tyrant and pulled out what looked like a cannon, taking a knee and firing a net to ensnare the subject before pushing a button which channeled an electrified current into the monster's body.

"Alright, I think we've got it-" the soldier spoke up before the B.O.W. shot out a barbed tentacle which pierced his chest.

Freed from its bondage, the Tyrant Zeta leapt back to its feet and brought its claws down onto another commando before charging forth and impaling a machine gunner with its other claw.

Commander Karkian grunted in anger and fired another freeze round at his target, this one sailing over the monster's shoulder. Utilizing its hearing and sense of touch, the B.O.W. whirled around and was able to directly pinpoint the veteran soldier as the one who fired the round and turned its attention towards him, its claws digging into the pavement as it stalked towards him, ignoring the barrage of rounds being fired into its back.

The grizzled warrior pumped the grenade launcher and prepared to fire another round, but the Tyrant was somehow able to sense his motive and shot a barbed tentacle directed at his head. Karkian barely rolled out of the way and fired another barrage, which the behemoth would raise its claws to deflect.

With a roar of rage, the Tyrant Zeta leapt into the air and brought its claw down like a sledgehammer, which the Commander would again barely avoid and this time end up losing his rifle after the beast stepped on it. His only other means of defense was his H&K MK23 sidearm, which would be next to worthless against this kind of monster, and his P-Epsilon grenades – shit; he almost forgot he had those!

An explosive device filled with a special anti-B.O.W. gas, the Commander quickly reached down and grabbed one of the grenades. Rolling over onto his back he found the brute hovering over him with its maw agape and its scalding drool dripping onto him.

With no time to waste he pulled the pin and chucked it into the abyss, a loud gulp sounding as it traveled to the beast's stomach. A muffled explosion came from within and the monster belched out a cloud of green gas before it began convulsing violently.

Commander Karkian laughed at the small accomplishment as he backpedaled. Victory was in sight and all he needed to do was find some means of killing the weakened abomination. He crawled along the pavement searching for any means, eventually happening across the body of a commando whose guts hung from a large slash in his midsection, the shimmering barrel of a Desert Eagle sticking out from underneath. He scampered over to the dead man and shoved his corpse aside, scooping up the gun and was ready to take aim when there was a loud tearing of flesh.

He looked up to see none other than Albert Wesker standing on the creature's shoulders, kneeling down with his hands tearing into its head and with a might yank, ripping its brain out with the stem still attached.

"Looks like my timing was impeccable," the supervisor chuckled casually tossing the mutant's brain aside.

"I had him right where I wanted him," Karkian replied pushing himself back to his feet and dusting his vest off.

"Sure you did," Wesker replied sardonically, "If you did you wouldn't be in this situation to begin with," he said motioning to the aftermath and then looking over to the hillside to see a few commandos making their descent towards the forest.

"Where are they going?" he demanded, walking over to an exhausted trooper braced against one of the Humvees.

"Cavanaugh escaped," the man replied motioning towards the semi-trailer with its doors hanging open.

Wesker furrowed his brow towards the young man and then made his way over to the trailer, finding one man lying outside with his masked face torn apart by automatic rounds and then looking inside to find one of the guards slumped against the cage that once held the hired gun, his head left hanging at an awkward angle. The cage door was open and the man's supplies were gone.

"What the hell do you mean he got away?" he heard Karkian shouting towards the commando and turned around to find the grizzled veteran pinning his subordinate against the Humvee's hood with his knife to the man's throat.

"He must've escaped while we were fighting the Tyrant Zeta! There was so much chaos around us we couldn't tell what was going on! He must've killed Hale and made his move while we were distracted," the commando protested.

Commander Karkian grunted in disgust and shoved the man aside, approaching the guard rail and looking down to see his men filtering into the forest in search of their elusive target.

"We are commencing a full scale sweep of the perimeter," a voice called out over his radio.

"Keep up the search," Commander Karkian spoke into his radio and then switched frequencies, "Point Spartacus, come in! Repeat, Point Spartacus, come in! Over!"

"Spartacus reporting," Comm. Officer Savitch replied.

"Be advised. Cavanaugh has escaped and could be heading your way. Have your men ready at once," Karkian reported.

"Understood, recalling all patrols to base," Savitch replied.

Another question suddenly popped into the Commander's head, "Have the prisoners provided any useful intel?"

"Nothing other than what we already know Commander. Aside from that, nothing of use," the communications officer reported.

"Very well, do what you have to in order to make them talk. Whatever you do afterward is up to you," the veteran spoke.

"Very well, Savitch out!"

Commander Karkian returned his attention to the remaining soldiers, "Alright, let's get this mess cleaned up. As far as we know they're still expecting us over at the Bear Claw facility."

He then noticed a few surviving snipers standing around, "You three, post a lookout. If you see any civvies headed this way you have authorization to use lethal force. We can't have the public finding out about this shipment."

The snipers nodded and went about their way and he clapped his hands, "C'mon ladies, let's get moving. We don't have much time. We'll deal with the bodies later," he said as the survivors began scooping up their dead colleagues and loading them into the trailers.

"Well you seem to be doing a pretty good job of handling this situation here Commander, so I best be on my way," he heard Wesker speak up, but as he turned around the enigmatic supervisor was gone.

"I hate it when he does that," Karkian muttered to himself looking out to see his colleague having leapt gracefully over to the closest tree and then leaping to another like a squirrel and out of sight.

For now he would focus on the cleanup effort and when the time would come he would hunt down Jake Cavanaugh.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Author's Note: And so ends yet another installment of "Reborn," where in this chapter I took the time to introduce a few brand new B.O.W.'s I plan to further expand upon in other projects.

The "Tyrant Zeta" was to an extent inspired by the Geckos from "Fallout: New Vegas" and its ability to breathe fire was inspired by the Fire Gecko.

What happens next? Tune in for the next installment as always and don't forget to read and review for this one! This is Metal Harbinger saying SPREAD THE SICKNESS, ONE MIND AT A TIME! \m/