Disclaimer: This story is based on the characters, storyline, and settings of Resident Evil owned by Capcom. Soon to be a true story in a small mid-western town near you.
Written by: Striker
"Let's stop here." Chris brought the S.T.A.R.S. to a halt. "How's Kelly doing?"
"My head still hurts." Kelly replied. "My visions getting better though. Everything's not so blurry." She tried to stand, but collapsed into Max. "Sorry."
"What are we going to do with Kelly?" James asked. "She sure as hell can't stay here. She's in no condition to fight."
Chris loaded some shells into his shotgun. "I know. That's on reason I want to get out of here. When we get outside I'll have Stan take Kelly back to the base. Max and Rebecca will go with her. I don't want her here as much as you do. I hope we don't…"
Chris stopped when he heard a familiar sound. The sound of something slithering across the floor. Several large snakes emerged from the shadows. They were the size of boa constrictors and were five feet long. They stopped and bared their fangs.
"What do we do Chris? Chris?" Leon looked over at Chris. He was paralyzed with fear, his eyes wide and his breathing fast. "Damn, he is scared of snakes."
"Then we better think up something fast." Jess said. He pointed to the snakes that were preparing to strike.
"I'll take care of them." Janet said. She fired a round from her M203. The round traveled through the air before splitting open. Small spheres the size of golf balls spewed from the round. They fell on the snakes like rain, exploding in a symphony of small explosions. The snakes were ripped apart. Janet shot those that survived down. A head landed at Chris' feet. He jumped back and aimed his rifle at it.
Claire came up and slapped him on the shoulder. "It's dead bro, it can't bite you."
Chris closed his eyes. "Sorry. Ever since the mansion I freeze whenever I see snakes. Guess it's like your fear of sharks."
"Well I wouldn't be scared of them if a certain someone didn't have me watch Jaws when I was six." Claire said.
"Enough with your phobias." Barry said. "We should move before something else finds us."
Chris nodded. "Move out. The sooner we get outside, the sooner we can get some help." The team moved on, stepping over the carcasses.
Claire shook her head. She then noticed something different about Jill. "Hey Jill, where's your beret?"
Jill felt her head. "I must have lost it when we jumped into those boxes. I'll just have to get a new one."
Nicholai watched the monitor. "So Mr. Redfield hates snakes. That explains why he hates Wesker so much."
"You should watch what you say Nicholai. Sometimes the person you're talking about could be right behind you."
Nicholai turned to see Wesker standing in the doorway. "How long have you been watching me?"
"Long enough." Wesker replied. "I'm here to relieve you. Go down to the train and start it up. I'll be down soon. And take the Nemesis II with you, it's had a long day."
Nicholai got up and left the room. Wesker took the seat and searched a small consol for a button. He found what he was looking for and pushed it. He turned to the monitor for the camera that covered the main entrance. He smiled as he saw a heavy metal plate slowly dropped from the ceiling, blocking off the front door.
Stan fiddled with some switches in boredom. "Why can't they put a radio in these things? I knew I should have brought my CD player." This was taking longer than it should have. He could have sworn he heard gunfire several minutes after the S.T.A.R.S. entered the building. Over one hour had passed since the mission began. He figured that the S.T.A.R.S. had encountered some hostile guards. But that didn't make any sense. The place was supposed to be empty. "Guess they were wrong. Oh well, nobody's perfect." Then he heard it. A slow grinding sound, like metal scraping against metal, coming from the main entrance. He watched as a sheet of metal slid down the door forming a barrier from the outside. "Shit." He grabbed his headset and spoke into the microphone. "Base, this is S.T.A.R.S. One. We have a situation. This is a trap. The S.T.A.R.S. are stuck in the building. The main entrance has been shut off. Request backup immediately."
The response was quick and brief. "Copy S.T.A.R.S. One. Backup squad is nearby and will be there in twenty minutes. Move to the rear of the building and wait for them to arrive."
"Copy base. S.T.A.R.S. One out." He switched frequencies to the other copter. "S.T.A.R.S. Two, follow me to the rear of the building. We have a slight change of plans."
"Copy S.T.A.R.S. One. I will follow."
"Then let's go." Stan ripped off his headset. "Chris, you were right about this one." Stan lifted off, the second copter following suite. Both aircraft headed for the rear of the factory.
"I don't believe this." James stood in shock at what he saw. "First the B.O.W.s and now this."
Chris looked over the metal plate. "We'll have to blast a hole in it. Jess, Ark, blow it."
Jess and Ark ran up to the metal barrier. They planted four remote charges on the plate. Everyone took cover as Jess set the bombs off. The explosion echoed through the halls. When the smoke cleared there were gasps, as the metal remained intact.
"Half that plate should be gone." Jess said. "We placed enough explosives to vaporize concrete."
Barry examined the metal. "This must be several feet thick. Looks like the stuff they use on armored cars. We can't go through it."
"Indeed." Wesker's mocking voice filled the air. "In case you want to know, the only exit is through the warehouse on the other side of the building. Your job is to make to the warehouse and out of the factory before it explodes. And to make it interesting I've sent some parting gifts for you to play with. I'd hurry, you only have thirty minutes starting now."
Suddenly alarms went off and a familiar message resounded throughout the halls. "THIRTY MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION. PLEASE EVACUATE THE FACILITY."
"This can never be easy." Carlos complained.
"We are fucked." Rick said.
Chris thought fast. "We have to get to the Assembly Room. It leads right into the warehouse. Jess; carry Kelly over your shoulder. We don't have time to fuck around. Move."
Jess hoisted Kelly over his left shoulder. Max took her guns. The team ran back the way they came, not knowing what lay in store for them.
Stan landed the helicopter just as the warning was given. "Now what? This is not good." He looked at his watch. "Those guys better be here soon. We have less than thirty minutes till this place goes boom."
"S.T.A.R.S. One, are you there?"
Stan picked up his headset. "I'm here."
"What is the situation?"
"Not good. The self-destruct system just got activated, and I don't think it was our guys that did it. We have less than a half hour. Backup better be on their way."
"Backup is currently en-route to your location. ETA in eighteen minutes."
"Good." Stan said. "S.T.A.R.S. One over and out." He looked towards the factory. "Chris, get your ass out of there now."
The S.T.A.R.S. rounded a corner. "So far so good." Rick said. "No monsters."
Suddenly two pig-like creatures appeared. They were short, squat creatures that were gray in color and had black hairs covering their bodies. Their heads were like pigs, with two tusks like that of a boar.
"You had to talk." Janet sneered.
"What are they?" Rebecca asked.
Wesker's voice was heard again. "These beauties are called Regurgitors. You'll have fun with them."
"Why'd he give them that name?" Jill asked. Her question was answered as the creatures went into convulsions. They spewed out a foul-smelling substance. Several people jumped out of the way as the stuff hit the floor. The goop began to dissolve the floor. "The smells like hydrochloric acid." Jill said.
"It pukes up its stomach acid." Ada exclaimed. "Damn."
"We don't have time for this." Barry pulled out his Desert Eagle and fired off a round. It penetrated the left Regurgitor. It squealed as the round ripped through its body. It collapsed to the floor. Its stomach acid began to eat away at the body, forming a bubbling puddle.
The second Regurgitor charged forward at Eliza and Ark. They sidestepped the beast and fired. Bullets ripped through the flesh. The creature fell dead. It too began to be dissolved by its stomach acid.
"Come on." Chris led his group down the hall, avoiding the puddle of acid left by the one creature. "That must be one of the new bio-weapons." He said to James.
"That Nemesis II must have been another." James replied. "If Umbrella could make something like that, then who knows what they could produce."
Chris shook his head. "That was too easy. I just know Wesker has something more powerful here."
"We're almost there." Leon said.
"Watch your backs." Chris said. The team turned the corner and ran for the door to the Assembly Room Just as they approached it, a creature dropped from the ceiling. It resembled a lizard. The only difference was that it was covered in spikes. A long spike jutted out from the knuckle of its two front feet. Its tail also contained a spike. It hissed at the S.T.A.R.S.
"This one is called a Spiker." Wesker's voice said. "I'll don't have to explain how it got its name."
The Spiker swiped with its right claw, catching Carlos off-guard. Carlos stumbled back and held his left leg. Max and Claire opened fire with their M100Ps. The Spiker jumped back, avoiding the bullets.
"We have to keep our distance." Chris said. "It can only attack at close range." Just then the Spiker flicked its tale. The spike on its tail detached and flew at Chris. He ducked as the spike imbedded itself in the wall behind him. "Or maybe not."
"TWENTY MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION. PLEASE EVACUATE THE FACILITY."
"We're running out of time." Leon said. "We have to kill this thing, but its too fast."
Eliza had an idea. "Blind it. If we use a Flash round, it won't be able to see us."
The Spiker hissed again. Its tail spike regenerated and it flicked its tail again. This time the spike almost his Jeff.
"This is starting to piss me off." He loaded a Flash round into his grenade launcher and fired. "CLOSE YOUR EYES!" He yelled. Everyone covered his or her eyes as the round went off, filling the coriander with an intense light. The Spiker let out a high-pitched scream. It thrashed around, its eyes damaged from the bright flash. Jeff and Ark ran up to the creature, avoiding its thrashing claws. "Take this." Jeff said as he and Ark aimed their Custom Westerns. They fired at the Spiker's head, blowing it off.
"So much for that." Ark said.
"Wait a minute," Jess said, "Where's the Nemesis II. Its body's gone."
Chris looked at the spot where the monster had been. "We have no time to think about that now. Let's move." The team entered the Assembly Room.
Wesker watched as the monitor went to static. The last thing he saw was a grenade round being fired. He knew the Spiker was dead, since he heard the shotgun blasts over the intercom system. He had wired it so he could listen in on the S.T.A.R.S. "If you think those creatures were bad, wait until you see what's waiting in the warehouse." He reached for a switch. He pushed it.
The team made their way down the right aisle of the Assembly Room. The evidence of the previous carnage lay strewn around. As the group approached the rear of the room, they could see a large door like that on a garage. Suddenly it began to rise.
"Looks like Wesker just opened the door." Chris said.
"Wait." Carlos clutched his leg. "It's bleeding bad." Rebecca took off her bandana and wrapped it around the wound. "Thanks Becky." He said.
"No problem." She replied. "I have plenty of them."
"We should move." Chris said. We have to get out of here."
"Wait a minute." Jill said. She had spotted her beret lying on the ground. She quickly picked it up and stuffed it in her pocket. "OK."
The S.T.A.R.S. ran through the door and down a ramp. The warehouse was huge. Several jeeps were parked against the left-hand wall. Various crates were stacked against the right-hand wall. Four large garage doors were on the opposite side of the room. A catwalk ran the length of the walls. Everything that a warehouse should have was in here. However, there were two things that didn't belong. They stood in the middle of the room.
"What the hell." Chris murmured.
Two creatures stood staring at the S.T.A.R.S. One looked like a Hunter. It had the build and the long, sharp claws. Only things were its arms, which seemed to stretch and contract like a Bandersnatch's, and its tongue, which snaked out of its mouth like a Licker's. The other monster looked like a cross between a Drain Demon and a Chimera. It had a Chimera's legs and four hooked arms. Its body, however, was that of a Drain Demon, complete with four legs. Its head was the most horrible feature. It was that of a Cerberus. It let out a blood-curling howl.
"You should consider yourselves fortunate to have the honor of facing Umbrella's prize creations." Wesker's voice said. "The one that resembles a Hunter is what is known as a Stalker. The other B.O.W. is known as a Reaper. Now have fun, I have a train to catch."
Jill narrowed her eyes. "So this is what that asshole meant by gifts."
"Why do I have the funny feeling that fate just gave us the finger." Rick said.
"We have less than twenty minutes." Chris said. "Spread out. Someone cover Kelly, she's still not able to fight."
"We got her." Max said. Jess set Kelly down against a crate and got between her and the creatures. Max stood next to Jess. "Don't worry Kell, they'll have to go through us to get to you."
The team members slowly spread around the monsters. Alpha team took the Stalker. Bravo got the Reaper. Everyone readied their weapons and prepared to attack. The Stalker, however, drew first blood. It shot its tongue out and caught Barry in his left bicep.
"Dammit." Barry growled. "It's fucking fast."
"Then we'll be faster." Chris fired at the Stalker. It dodged the shots and shot out its left claw. The arm extended like it was a rubber band. Chris dodged the claw, but couldn't dodge the backhand. He was sent crashing to the ground, his M16A2 flying out of his hands. "That sucked."
"Hey, play nice." Leon said. He unloaded a shotgun blast at the Stalker. Pieces of buckshot pierced its skin. It whipped its tongue out and wrapped it around Leon ankle. "Huh?" Leon's foot was pulled from under him. He landed hard on his back. He looked up to see the Stalker raise its left arm to strike.
"LEAVE MY BOYFRIEND ALONE!" Claire ran at the Stalker with both M100Ps blazing. One bullet severed the creature's tongue. It hissed at Claire and then made a mighty leap. It landed behind Claire and spun around quickly. She screamed as the beast made a quick swipe, its claws cutting through her clothing and slicing the flesh of her back. She fell forward and landed on her stomach.
James' group wasn't having much luck either. The Reaper charged forward, catching Janet in the left shoulder with one of its foot and getting Jeff in his right side with one of its hooks. Jeff grabbed his wound and dropped to his knees. Janet was knocked flat on her ass.
"FUCK!" Rick started shooting at the Reaper. The monster turned its back, its shell stopping the bullets. "Time to crack your shell." Rick launched a grenade at the creature. The round exploded, sending the monster to the ground. "This is not good." He backed up next to Janet, who just got up.
"I think it fucked up my shoulder." Janet held her left shoulder, trying to stop any blood some seeping out. "I better not get infected."
James pulled Jeff back. "You OK Jeff?"
"I'm fine Jim, just a little scratch." Jeff looked down at his side and gritted his teeth. "I'll feel this for a week."
"Hang in there." James looked at the Reaper. He watched in horror as the thing lifted itself up on its four claws. It turned around to face its prey. Its canine head lifted up so it looked like a turtle.
Ada's hands were shaking. "At this rate I don't know what will kill us first, the explosion or these things."
James unhooked a grenade from his belt. "Maybe if we flip it on its back, it'll be stuck." He pulled the pin and rolled the grenade. The explosive rolled under the Reaper. The following explosion did what James planned; it flipped the Reaper on its back. "Got it." His hope was shattered as the Reaper used its hook hands to flip itself back over. The creature then rose to its feet.
"No you didn't." Ada said. "Maybe this will help." She fired an acid round at the Reaper. The acid started to eat through the monster's shell. In a rage it rushed Ada. It brought its lower right-hand foot into her midsection. Her legs buckled and she dropped to her knees, gasping for air. The Reaper raised a hook hand to bring down onto her skull.
"Hey asshole." The Reaper looked up to see James and Rick aiming Desert Eagles at it. "ADA, DOWN!" James called. Ada rolled her left as both men fired off a shot. One round caught the Reaper in the right shoulder. The other round hit where the acid had dissolved the protective undershell. It punctured the creature's stomach and drove in back a few feet. The monster howled in pain.
James ran to Ada. "How bad?"
Ada winched. "I don't know. I don't think anything's ruptured."
James called to Janet. "Take Ada and Jeff over to Jess."
"Fine, but I only have one arm." Janet replied.
"I can walk." Jeff said. He got up and plodded over to Jess. Janet helped Ada up with her good arm and took her to the other injured soldiers. Max immediately got to work on Jeff.
"Great," Rick said, "Now we're down to me and you. This can't get worse,"
"It just got worse." James said. "Look." The Reaper stood, breathing heavily. Yellowish blood oozed from its stomach wound. Unfazed, it howled and slowly advanced.
Chris got to his feet and pulled out his shotgun. He had seen his sister go down. Now the Stalker was standing over her, almost mocking her. "That son-of-a-bitch." He seethed. He began to approach the creature when Jill stopped him.
"Chris, don't." She said. "Your mouth is bleeding."
Chris checked his mouth. He pulled back his fingers to find them red with blood. "I got to get Claire away from that thing. Get Barry; tell him to help you cover me. All I need is a few seconds."
"Understood." Jill ran to Barry, who was glaring at his arm. "Chris needs us to cover him. He's getting his sister out of harms way."
"I'll get its attention." Barry grew his Python and fired the remaining five bullets at the Stalker. Its body absorbed the rounds and turned. It hissed and began to walk towards Jill and Barry.
Chris saw his opening. He ran to Claire. "How bad are they?"
"Enough that I'm in pain." Claire snapped.
Leon staggered over. "Let me help. You look like you're hurt too Chris."
Chris grabbed his sister's left arm while Leon grabbed her right. "Believe me, I'm used to being smacked around. I'm beginning to feel like a rag doll." Both men drug Claire over to where Max and Jess were helping the other wounded teammates. "Oh man, don't tell me these people are hurt."
"This is getting bad." Max said. "If just one of these Reapers can take out four people, imagine what an army of these things had do." He looked over at James and Rick. The Reaper charged them. The men ducked out of the way. The Reaper plowed into a crate. It ripped the wood apart and turned back to its targets.
Leon looked at Chris. "I'll stay with Claire. You better have a plan."
"Right now I'm opened to options." Chris replied.
Jill fired a blast from her Custom Western. The shell knocked the Stalker back, but it quickly recovered and continued to advance. Barry pulled out his Berretta and fired as fast as he could. The 9mm bullets had no effect. Jill fired her shotgun again. The Stalker shot out its left arm. Jill froze as the claw raced towards her. Barry grabbed her a pulled her out of the way. Unfortunately two nails caught Jill in the left side. She gritted her teeth from the pain.
"Damn, didn't move fast enough." Barry said.
Jill looked at her side. "Just, just a flesh wound." She stammered.
The Stalker retracted its arm and moved in for the kill. Rebecca and Carlos rushed the beast. The Stalker turned to Rebecca, who was closer. It whipped out its tongue and tripped her like it did with Leon. "Hey, that's not fair." She groaned. She raised her right hand to fire her M100P, but the Stalker shot out its left claw. A nail stabbed through Becky's right shoulder. She screamed as the creature brought its other claw up to finish her off.
"GET OFF HER!" Ark ran at the Stalker. He fired at it with his Berretta and .45. The monster pulled back its claw, freeing Rebecca. Carlos rushed over and pulled Rebecca over to Max. Meanwhile, the Stalker took a swipe at Ark. He ducked and rolled, popping up in front of the creature and continued to fire. Suddenly both pistols ran dry. "Fuck me." Ark said. He looked the Stalker dead in the eyes.
"Over here." Eliza fired her M16A2, aiming for the Stalker's chest. It responded whipping out its right claw. Eliza tried to dodge, but got scratched on her left cheek, the claw barely missing her eye.
"ARK, CATCH!" Barry threw Ark his .45. Ark aimed and cocked the gun. The beast looked down and Ark fired. The bullet hit the monster in the left eye.
"Eye for an eye." Ark growled.
"ARK!" Chris threw his shotgun. Ark caught it and pressed it to the Stalker's chest.
"See you in hell." Ark pulled the trigger. The Stalker was sent flying backwards, slamming to the ground. Ark ran to Eliza. He looked at her face. "It's not that bad."
"It sure doesn't feel that way." She replied.
Meanwhile, Rick and James continued to dodge the Reaper. Rick dodged a hook swipe when the Reaper dropped to the ground. "What the hell is it doing?" Rick asked. He got his question answered when it rushed him at an alarming speed. It cut his left thigh with one of its hooks. Rick staggered back, clutching his leg. "Can this get any worse?" Just as he said that, the Stalker rose up and hissed. The Reaper got back on two feet and turned to him. Rick limped to James. "This is getting really bad."
"TEN MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION. PLEASE EVACUATE THE FACILITY."
"Now it's really bad." James replied.
Suddenly the loading dock doors exploded inward. Soldiers poured into the warehouse and opened fire on the monsters. Stan ran over to Chris. "Backup is here."
"Just in time." Chris said. "We have wounded and only ten minutes to get out."
"OK." Stan called to one of the soldiers. A squad ran to the down S.T.A.R.S. members and helped them leave.
Meanwhile, a large group of soldiers pinned the Stalker against the wall. Its body was continuously hammered with bullets. Finally, it could take no more and let out a hiss before falling dead. Several soldiers were hammering on the Reaper. Two soldiers equipped with LAWs fired at the creature. The anti-tank rockets blew the monster into pieces. With the B.O.W.s dead, the soldiers evacuated the building. It took a few minutes to load the injured into the copters. Chris climbed into the cockpit with Stan.
"We got five minutes until this place blows." Chris said. "Lift off now."
Stan pulled back on the stick. "Already ahead of ya." The helicopter lifted off the ground. The other five soon followed. Minutes later the factory went up in a huge fireball. "What happened Chris?"
"It was a fucking setup." Chris said. His chest was killing him. "We were introduced to some of Umbrella's new bio-weapons. Most of us are hurt bad."
Stan nodded and spoke into his headset. "Base, this is S.T.A.R.S. One. Prepare to receive injured on arrival. Repeat, we have injured. Do you copy?"
"We copy S.T.A.R.S. One. Medical personal will be standing by." Came the reply. "Base over and out."
Stan turned to his friend. "You look like shit Chris."
"Believe me, if you went through what we did, you'd feel like shit too." Chris looked out the window. "This changes everything."
Author's Comments: Ta Da! Now that was intense. We got to see some of the new bio-weapons Umbrella made, but others may follow. We also see that the monsters keep getting weirder and more dangerous. What about the Stalker and Reaper? They sure kicked the S.T.A.R.S. ass, didn't they? Oh, and for those of you who have a problem with the before mentioned ass kicking, I just thought it would be more thrilling. I also did that to show the power of the new creatures. These surely aren't pushovers. And what about the ending? Saved by the Army again. Don't worry; this won't be a reoccurring trend. I also added a little humor to the chapter concerning Chris and Claire. What do you think?
The S.T.A.R.S. may have escaped by the
skin of their teeth, but they're not the only ones who got out. In the next
chapter, see what Wesker and Nicholai were doing while the S.T.A.R.S. were
fighting. Also, Wesker's true intentions are revealed. See what they are in RE
Armageddon: Part V, Chapter 3- Insidious Plan.