71. Chris

Chris knew something was wrong from the moment they found those corpses on the road. The damage was compatible with the damage caused by ammunition Claire had developed with the DSO.

Nobody had access to that ammunition except for the people who accompanied him, and Chris knew well that none of them had been responsible for those BOWs. There was only one option left, and that was Ada Wong.

But how had that elusive spy gotten that ammunition?

Those thoughts only put Chris on his toes. The soldier led his team through the decrepit tunnels until they reached a tunnel that went in a straight line. It was a very different structure from the rest of the labyrinth, and his military instinct exploded on alert.

The metallic snap, the rumbling, and Claire's scream were enough to make the soldier forget stealth.

The monster Chris saw moving towards them was something he had never seen before. The BOW was the size of an ogroman, but its body was elongated. It almost seemed as if it had been taken by its limbs and forcibly stretched.

Its limbs were disproportionately large, and part of its skeleton was visible under the grayish skin. Its face was so degenerate that the only appreciable thing on its features was its grotesque jaws. Calcified formations came out of the skull, forming something similar to horns.

The creature paced the walls like a hideous spider, sniffing the air as saliva dripped from its jaws filled with sharp fangs.

"Holy shit," Barry cursed.

"Forget about stealth, shoo!" Chris ordered.

The shooting sound filled the air, but the creature dodged them without much difficulty. The BOW jumped on them, and the group had to disperse to avoid the hit.

Chris rolled and jumped to his feet, shooting the creature as he eyed his companions.

Jill and Barry were on his side, firing as well. Connor, Harris, and Duke had segregated, and it took a while for them to recover. Leon and Claire were on the other side, behind the creature. Helena and Rebecca, who had been helped by Julie and Liam, were a few steps from them.

"I can't believe this bastard is still alive!" Claire groaned.

"Mate of yours, Coch?" Liam said, raising his crossbow and shooting. "Or is it more like a bad sweetheart?"

"Don't even mention it," Claire groaned. "That's the thing I was fighting when I escaped."

"Great," Julie said. "Then maybe you can pass some tips on how we can get rid of it..."

"I thought I had gotten rid of it!"

"Well, ye know what folks say," Liam complained. "Bloody bastards are hard to kill."

Chris couldn't have agreed more. This BOW was not like the monsters they had fought before. It was fast and intelligent. It wasn't attacking randomly. They needed a plan, but as Chris was trying to think of something, a second howl echoed behind them. A second BOW crawled its way into sight. This one looked more like giant mass meat that crept like a giant slug. Several tentacles protruded from the body, sensing everything in its surroundings.

"Great, just what we needed," Chris groaned. "Two of these fuckers."

"Think twice," Jill groaned, "We've got more company."

More BOWs were appearing around them. Chris had no idea where they were coming from, but they kept appearing from all sides.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Harris cried.

"We can't handle them all," Jill said.

That was true, but they were in a tight spot. They needed a quick plan.

"Chris!" Claire shouted. "The gate to Sector zero is at the end of this tunnel. We can use a flash grenade to make an opening and run for it."

Yes. Claire was a genius. Chris three one of the flash grenades. The explosion of light did the trick, disorienting and hurting the attacking BOWs, and the group took the chance to run out of there.

The distraction wouldn't last long, but it would buy them some time.

"Bloody arsehole!" Liam shouted, "You might have an admirer, Coch."

"Yeah, the bastard hasn't gotten me?"

The first BOW was chasing after them, jumping from wall to wall and roaring.

"That one is stubborn," Barry groaned.

"We've got pending matters," Claire gasped. "There! The door. There should be a disinfection station. They won't go through the UV, but the door is probably blocked."

"Leave that to me," Jill said. "I'll open it in a wink."

"Well, that's good for us," Leon said.

Suddenly, something big hit them, swiping Claire and Rebecca and throwing them against a wall. The horned BOW was on the roof, and it had used its enlarged limb to hit the two women. Chris saw Rebecca push herself up, coughing. Claire took a bit longer to recover.

"Fuck," Chris shouted furiously.

"Sir, more BOWs incoming!" Connor shouted.

"FUCK," Chris roared. "Leon, you and Helena go for Rebecca and Claire. We'll cover you."

"Roger to that!"

Chris set another round of flash grenades. It managed to push back some of the BOWs, but the horned one didn't flinch. Chris and Barry loaded everything they had on the monster, trying to give Leon and Helena enough time to rescue Claire and Rebecca.

"Captain, we can't hold them back for long," Harris said.

"I know that!" Chris growled. "Hurry up, Leon!"

The Horned BOW howled, and to Chris's horror, the monster turned to Claire and Leon, who were making their way to them. The BOW out-stretched its limbs, ready to grab the pair when...

The lights suddenly turned on. The BOW let out a roar of pain as the light burned its flesh. On one last attempt, it roared furiously, releasing what seemed like black spikes into the air.

"DUCK!" Chris yelled, and everyone took cover from the incoming spikes.

Chris looked at the monster one last time as it retired into the safety of the dark. They had made it out alive. The soldier turned to look at his companions. Everyone was a little shaken but more or less unhurt.

"UV-light," Rebecca sighed. "Here?"

"Safety precaution," Julie said. "In case they got too close."

"Bloody arseholes."

"At least they are gone," Rebecca sighed. "That was horrible!"

"Phase 9," Liam gasped. "Bloody demons."

"Is everyone ok?" Jill asked.

"Yeah, we are fine," Chris replied, panting. "How's that door?"

"I just unlocked," Jill smirked. "Ready to go in?"

"Like hell, I am..."

Chris snorted. Suddenly he heard something that froze his blood.

"CLAIRE!"

Leon's outcry instantly made everyone turn their heads. Everyone had been so relieved that Chris forgot to check on his sister. His heart dropped with what he saw. Leon was holding a Claire that was quickly fading away. The agent was pulling something out of the woman's shoulder, and Chris's stomach churned when he saw what it was: one of the black spikes that the BOW had thrown as its last attack.

Rebecca made her way to Claire in a blink, followed by Helena, Julie, and Liam. Chris had wanted to go, too, but he was currently too shocked to move a muscle. It felt like Deja vú. He couldn't lose his sister again. It was Barry who shook him out of the shock.

"Ok, it didn't hit an artery," Rebecca said, "that's good news?"

"Is it poison?" Leon asked.

"I..." Rebecca said, "I don't know. I've never seen these spikes before!"

"They're not toxic," Julie said. Her eyes widened in realization. "These are infectious."

"Shite, that's why it threw all out even though it was getting hurt!" Liam groaned. "Shite, shite...how many has it been?"

"This might be the third one," Julie said. "We don't know..."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Leon snapped.

"She got infected with a new virus," Julie answered. "That's how phasing works. They test different virus combinations to see how the body adapts to them. If Claire was here when she escaped, she received one inoculation before entering the maze. We can assume that the monster might have infected her when they fought the first time, so this would be the third time."

"And why is that fucking relevant? Chris snapped.

"After three," Liam said. "That's when changes happen. There are two paths: the body resists and adapts, or the body rejects and mutates."

"So you're telling me she's going to mutate?" Chris roared. "And then what? She'll turn into something like that?"

Chris pointed into the dark tunnel, where the BOW had disappeared.

"We don't know," Julie said. "She might overcome it. Then she would be, what? Phase 8?"

"Aye," Liam replied. "More or less."

Chirs couldn't understand half of what they were saying. All he wanted to know was what they could do to help Claire.

"Fuck," he said. "There has to be something we can do?!"

Chris said, punching the wall.

"Chris, I know you're upset," Rebecca said with a no-nonsense look. "We are in the research facility. There has to be data about it here. So, my suggestion is that we take Claire in. We find somewhere I can stabilize her, and you guys move your butts and find the info we need."

That was a reasonable idea. Chris watched Leon lift Claire into his arms and head for the door with an expression of urgency that Chirs had never seen in the agent.

The group made their way to a medical bay where Rebecca could tend to Claire's injuries, using a map they found at the lobby. Apparently, fighting a foreign virus inhibited Claire's regeneration skills, and her injury was an issue. The spike had punctured the woman's shoulder, and it was bleeding profusely. The loss of blood was a problem for Claire since she already had trouble clotting, and she relied on her regeneration to avoid hemorrhages.

Leon walked over to Chris, who stood watching as Rebecca worked on Claire with Helena's help. The two men exchanged serious glances for a moment before finally breaking the silence.

"Chris..."

"It's not your fault," Chris said, cuttingly. He was angry, yes, and in the mood to blame anyone. But even in anger, Chris wasn't unreasonable enough to blame Leon for what had happened. The spikes were everywhere. It was a miracle that no one else had ended up stung by them aside from Claire.

The incident had been a case of bad luck.

"It is my fault," Leon sighed. "I should have covered her."

"And then you would be the one lying in bed," Chris said. "Look, I don't like it, but I know Claire is going to fight that virus, and she will kick its ass as she has done up until now. She has survived this far under Mobius fucking experiments, and Claire will make it through now. "

Leon nodded. Chris had sounded confident, but in truth, he'd said that, trying to reassure himself. Claire was in a tight spot, and whether she would make it through or not, they didn't know.

"My team and I will go to the labs to retrieve that data," Chris said. "You stay here with her. In case something attacks you."

"Sounds good to me."

Chris nodded. He looked at Claire, lying in bed and looking pale.

"You have to take care of her, Leon."

It wasn't advice; it was a demand. Chris couldn't stay to protect her, even if he wanted to. They had to find the data to make this trip worth it, and then, they had to figure a way out of there. Leon would have to care for his sister as much as the idea tormented Chris.

"You already know you don't have to tell me that," Leon said.

"There's no harm in reminding you," Chris sighed. The soldier dug into his pocket and retrieved a radio. "We'll be heading to the labs soon. My radio will be online. I don't think we'll meet any of those BOWs here, so we don't have to be so stealthy. Call if anything happens."

Leon took the device and nodded.

"You should take Julie or Liam," Leon said. "That's what Claire would have suggested if she were awake."

"Now you know what my sister would say? Two months together, and you know her that well," Chris said, trying not to sound annoyed.

"We knew each other well even before that," Leon said, shaking his head. "If any, the two past months only strengthen our relationship."

Chris noted that Leon had clearly said relationship and not friendship. The soldier tried to tell himself that it was a slip of the tongue with no other meaning, but deep inside, he already suspected otherwise.

"Well, look at the bright side. Maybe after today, you can go back to your bachelor life," Chris said.

That was a testing comment, but Chris eyed Leon, wanting to see his reaction.

"Maybe not," Leon snorted. "Want to talk about it?"

That answer gave it away. Leon had not said straight out, but it was enough to confirm Chris's suspicions about Claire and Leon being together in something more than a faked marriage.

Chris already knew it, part of him had already known for a while, but as Jill liked to tease him, he'd been in denial. Not because he didn't like Leon, but because he worried about his sister.

"Not now," Chris replied. "I've got other things in mind."

Leon scoffed, looking back at Claire. His face frowned with concern, and his expression seemed sincere.

"Don't break her heart," Chris said out of sudden, thinking of Ada Wong. "Or I'll make sure I break something else of yours."

Leon scoffed.

"Good thing that I am not planning to do it."

The structure of the facility was more elaborate than Chris had initially considered. Sector zero had the form of a tower. Each level had specialized salons and departments, some of which had quirky equipment Chris had never seen in his life.

Compared to other labs Chris had raided before, the place was spotless. There was no trace of violence, nor that some massacre had taken place within its walls. It was as if everyone who was there had simply disappeared.

"I don't know if I like how this looks," Jill whispered. "It doesn't even seem like they left in a hurry."

"Or that something forced them out either," Barry said. "Everything looks...fine."

"Makes you wonder," Jill sighed. "Where did everyone go?"

Chris frowned. If the scientists had deliberately left the facilities, there was a chance they would have taken all the data with them, leaving nothing behind.

"Captain," Duke said, "We've reached the first laboratory."

"Great, let's move in."

The first lab didn't give them much, just some documents, which would probably interest Claire and Rebecca. The rest of the labs were similar, but the last lab turned out to be what they were looking for; the lab's computer had information that seemed promising.

"I think these are the patients' full records," Jill said, scrolling through the files.

"Full records?" Barry asked. "I thought you had found those in the main building."

"Those were partial files. They omitted a lot of information in them," Jill replied. "At least these tell the meaning of the codes. See, there are codes for each of the strains they had. "

"Some old friends, huh?"

"Let me see..."

Chris looked over Jill's shoulder, trying to read what was on the screen.

"Is this...Claire's?"

"Yeah," Jill said. "I figured it was easier if I had a full name than randomly opening one."

Chris's eyes ran over the words on the screen. It started with general information as any other medical record would. Then there was a link to a subfolder with more folders. Each one had a date as identification, and the first one instantly caught Chris's attention: 03-20-2016.

"That folder..." Chris said, pointing at the screen. "That's the day that Claire went missing."

Chris had stopped using the word "died" ever since Claire had returned.

"You're right," Jill said, clicking the folder open. Several files appeared on screen, and Jill opened the first one.

Day 0

01:15-The subject arrived at the facility in poor conditions, as expected. The subject, a female in her 30's, O-, showed high degree burns, severe hypovolemia, and traumatic injuries of many types compatible with the ones caused by impact.

The genetic fingerprinting shows that the subject has several mutations of interest. As a general decision, the subject has been assigned to project: CH40S.

03:45-A second dose of αT-Lyssa was administered immediately upon arrival due to physiological instability.

07:30-Early multi-organic failure symptoms have developed in the last 4 hours. An increase in viral particles is necessary for regenerative reasons. Subject conditions do not improve.

07:50- First case of cardiac arrest. The subject was subdued to cardiopulmonary resuscitation several times in the last 2 hours. The patient was declared dead at 09:10.

It was decided to apply the first dose of αT-Morpheus.

10:01- Patient's heart started beating again. Monitoring for brain activity.

14:00- Patient's evolution is positive. The reception of the virus is satisfactory, and there are clear signs of healing and brain activity.

The patient is suffering from fever due to a normal immune response.

Chris clenched his fist as he read the rest of the file. The rest of the documents only got worse. They all had a good guess of how horrible Claire's stay must have been, but the experiments and things that were described in the documents were all beyond their imagination.

Claire had been exposed several times to different viruses, both bioengineered and natural. The results were all "satisfactory," but the process had been terrible.

"God...so her Dissociative Identity was caused by the virus after all," Jill said, covering her mouth with horror.

"Dissociative Identity?" Chris asked.

"You mean multiple personalities?" Barry asked. "What?"

Jill sighed.

"I don't know. We read in the files earlier," Jill said, looking at the screen. "We thought it was made-up to excuse her stay in the asylum, but..."

"You are trying to tell me that my sister has an alternate personality? What kind of ridiculous story is that?"

"Chris, but you saw what they wrote..."

"So what? Have you seen anything like that in the last months she's been with us?"

"Well.."

"Are you talking about her?" Liam asked.

Chris, Jill, and Barry turned the man with quizzical looks. Liam wasn't a talkative boy. In fact, he only spoke to Chris when necessary, so hearing him comment automatically got their attention. The man had been looking around the lab, and his expression was almost as angry as Chris's.

"What do you mean by her?" Chris asked.

"Have you met her alter?" Jill asked.

"Is that what ye call it? Aye, she comes out when things go south," Liam answered.

"What?" Chris asked. "

"There was a time when ye just didn't know who ye were talking to," Liam said. "I think it started some weeks after Coch arrived, and it got worse when they started taking her to the maze. Old Henry said they were breakin' er."

"So you've talked to her alter?" Jill asked.

"Aye, not that different to her normal self, if ye ask me," Liam shrugged. "Has odd humor and isn't that sweet and gentle, but pretty similar."

Chris, Jill, and Barry exchanged looks. Suddenly, the computer screen flickered with a slight static noise, causing the group to turn at the screen again.

A dark cloaked figure appeared on the screen. Chris automatically recognized the white, half greek mask that only showed the person's lips, curved in a grin.

"YOU!" Chris snapped.

"Good evening, Mr. Redfield," Ananke smiled. "It's been a while."