Disclaimer: Capcom is the rightful owner of Resident Evil. This is my story. Heed its warnings, for this terrible future may come to pass.
Written by: Striker
The helicopters landed and immediately were swarmed by medical personal. Rebecca, Jill, Claire, Ada, and Jeff were immediately put into ambulances. Rick tried to convince Janet to get into an ambulance.
"Come on Janet." Rick said. "Your shoulder's screwed up. At least get some ice on it."
"I'm fine." Janet said. "It's probably dislocated. It'll be fine in a few hours."
"Get in the ambulance Janet." James said. "That's an order. You go with her Rick. Get your cut taken care of."
"You heard the man." Rick helped Janet get into an ambulance.
"Leon, Carlos, go with them. Call me later with their conditions." Chris ordered. "Max, take Kelly to your house and watch her. Ark, take Eliza and meet Kathy. Tell her what happened. James, Jess, Barry, you come with me. We have to talk to Peterson."
Max noticed that Chris was holding his chest and had a hard time breathing. "I think you should go to the hospital too. From what I see, you may have a bruised sternum."
"I'll be fine. It's the others I'm worried about." Chris watched the ambulances race off. He turned to see Carl and Peterson ran towards those who remained.
"What happened to you?" Peterson said. "We got a call saying that you had some injured people. How did this happen?"
"First I have a question." Chris said. "Where's my team being taken?"
"The Navy Medical Center." Carl said. "It's the best place around here. They should be as good as new in no time. Now what happened?"
"Can we talk inside?" James asked. "We need to sit down."
"Are all of you joining us?" Peterson asked.
"No." Chris replied. "Max, Kelly, Ark, and Eliza are heading back to the houses. I feel that someone should be there to tell Kathy and the kids what happened."
"Very well." Peterson said. "Follow me." Peterson led Chris' little group to a waiting jeep. They got in a drove away.
"Hey," Stan said to Max, "I can give you four a lift to your cars." Max nodded and with Ark's help got Kelly into the copter. Eliza jumped in and Stan lifted off.
"Now what exactly happened in that factory?" Peterson leaned back in his chair. The group was in another briefing room. This one had soft chairs and seemed more like a briefing room for high-ranking officials. "From what we read, there wasn't supposed to be anyone or anything there."
"It was a setup." Chris said. "Wesker had planted that information as a lure to reel us in. He had that place full of B.O.W.s."
"He also had the place wired with security cameras to track our movements." James added. "We found this out a little too late."
"What's worse was that Nicholai was watching the cameras." Barry said.
Carl looked at Barry. "How are you sure Nicholai was there with Wesker?"
"Because I heard Nicholai's voice on Wesker's walkie-talkie." Barry replied. "If it wasn't for Nicholai distracting Wesker, Chris would be dead."
"I stabbed him in the kidney with my knife." Chris explained. "He had me by the throat and when he was distracted I got him. My knife should still be with Rebecca's stuff. It has some of Wesker's blood. After that Umbrella's new Tyrant attacked us. Wesker called it the Nemesis II."
"What does this thing look like?" Carl asked.
"It has a claw for a left arm and its right hand has a tentacle." Jess said. "It has all the best, or in our case worse, qualities of all the Tyrants. We thought we killed it, but it disappeared."
"Did this Nemesis II do all this damage?" Peterson asked. "From the looks of things it must have torn your team up."
James shook his head. "It wasn't the Nemesis II that did the damage. The only one it hurt was Kelly. It gave her a concussion. We beat that thing a little too easily. I think that encounter was just a test."
Chris continued. "After we dropped that Tyrant we tried to leave. Wesker had blocked off the entrance and forced us to head for the rear of the building. He also set the self-destruct device off. We ran into the new B.O.W.s Umbrella had made. The first two were nothing. It was the other two that were tough."
"You're telling me that just two creatures injured all of you." Carl said. "I can't believe it."
"Believe it." Chris said. "These two were really bad."
"One was called a Stalker." Barry said. "Legs and claws of a Hunter, the tongue of a Licker, and the arms of a Bandersnatch. Fast as hell and can attack at a distance. That thing took a blast of a double-barrel shotgun at point-blank range and survived."
"The other was called a Reaper." James said. "Shell and legs of a Drain Demon with the hook-arms of a Chimera. Add a canine head and you got a nasty-looking thing. Its back is practically bulletproof and can run around like a turtle. It took two .50 cal. rounds and lived. It took two LAWs to put it down."
"Shit." Carl said.
Peterson looked at Chris. "How many got injured?"
"Ada and Rebecca look to be hurt the worse. Jill, Jeff, and Claire got cut bad. Eliza, Rick, and Barry got scratched. Janet's shoulder doesn't look good. My chest is killing me from where I got nailed. That Stalker hits like a Mack truck. Carlos got hurt from another monster that was called a Spiker. In all 75% of my team got taken out in less than fifteen minutes."
"Damn. Eleven people in less than fifteen minutes." Peterson rubbed his forehead. "And these were just suppose to be regular monsters. God knows what else Umbrella may have created. And who knows how much damage that Tyrant could do. This is serious, very serious."
"It gets better." Barry said. "Wesker has complete control over the Tyrant."
"How?" Carl was shocked. "How can he control it? The information we have tells us that these B.O.W.s have brains the size of peas. Hell, they run on primal instinct. There's no way Umbrella could teach something that stupid how to follow orders."
"Not necessarily." Everyone turned their attention to Peterson. "As you may have read in conspiracy books or supermarket tabloids, the military has conducted several experiments. The Air Force developed stealth technology at Groom Lake, Nevada, or as many people have come to call it, Area 51. The Navy tried the Philadelphia Experiment in an attempt to make a cloaking device. That failed miserably. The CIA tried an experiment with people with psychic abilities. It was during the Cold War and the experiment was called "remote viewing". The idea was that the person could project himself or herself psychically to any place on Earth and describe what they saw. There were mixed results and the project was terminated."
"What does this have to do with the subject?" Jess asked.
"The Army wasn't exempted from these "black" projects. Back in the 50's and 60's we started an experiment involving snipers. We showed the soldier a picture of his or her target. We would then flash words like "Kill" or "Target" or even "Eliminate". The idea was that the sniper would have a strong urge to kill the target shown. The sniper would think about nothing except killing the target."
"You mean subliminal messages." Chris said.
"Exactly." Peterson replied. "However, we learned that some people were not affected as much as others. It wouldn't work on a few. On other's it was too effective. They ended up dying because they rushed their target. We stopped the program, but records still exist. With the way Umbrella has people in the government bought off, they could have gotten this information and improved it."
"And as Carl so elegantly put it," James said, "Something that so stupid could be easily manipulated."
"So now Umbrella has an army of lethal creatures that they can control like puppets." Carl leaned against the wall. "No wonder Spencer was so sure that this Project X would work. Right now I don't think we should tell you what we found out."
"It can't be any worse than what we went through." Chris said.
Carl hung his head. "One of our hackers found out that a few days ago Charles Spencer ordered that several special sites be activated."
"What special sites?" Barry asked.
"Missile sites." Carl put his right fist to his forehead and closed his eyes. "Mr. Umbrella had them set up after he took control. They were to be used as insurance. If Umbrella's secretes were ever discovered and the company was about to be shut down, Mr. Umbrella had a way of seeing to it that his enemies would suffer."
"And only Umbrella would be able to cure all those infected." Chris said.
James shook his head. "Talk about making a way to stay in business. What happened to them?"
"Mr. Umbrella forgot about them. Since there were no accidents and no one knew what was going on, Mr. Umbrella had the sites deactivated." Carl looked at Chris. "Now it seems that Spencer is getting a little paranoid. Because of the past several months it's apparent that the shit has hit the fan. We know what Umbrella is up to, and Spencer isn't playing with a full deck."
"Since when has anyone in the Spencer or Ashford family been playing with a full deck?" Barry said. "I'm not surprised if he pushes the button."
Chris lowered his head. "Then it looks like we aren't playing by the rules anymore. What happened today changes everything." He looked up, a grave look on his face. "The rules have changed, there are none."
Ark stood in front of Barry's house. He knew Kathy wouldn't be too pleased with the news. "Why do I have to tell her? This job can really suck."
"Especially if your face gets scratched." Eliza came out of the house she shared with Ark. She had a gauze bandage tapped to the side of her face. "That first-aid stuff stings."
Ark looked at the bandage. "It'll be fine. Could be worse, you could have lost an eye."
"If I'm lucky, this won't leave a scar." Eliza gently touched the bandage.
Ark cupped the right side of her face. "It doesn't matter cause you'll always be pretty to me." He began to move in for a kiss when he heard a honk.
"Am I interrupting something?" Kathy had pulled into the driveway and was now staring at the pair. The children were also watching eagerly.
Ark swallowed. "I hate to bring you down, but the mission was a disaster. We were set up and a lot of us were hurt. Your husband's still at Fort Belvior filling Major Peterson in now."
"Oh my God." Kathy said. She got out of the mini-van and walked over to Ark and Eliza. The children got out too. "Did Barry get hurt?"
"Scratch, upper arm, nothing serious." Eliza said. "The others weren't as fortunate. Claire, Rebecca, and Ada were hurt worse of all. Chris, Jill, Rick, Janet, Carlos, and Jeff also got hurt. Kelly's at her house with Max. She got a concussion. I got hurt too."
"Will Claire and Rebecca be alright?" Sherry asked. "And what about Leon?"
"We don't know." Ark said. "Leon or Carlos will call Chris. He'll call us and fill us in."
"Kids," Kathy said, "Let's go visit Kelly and make her feel better." Kathy led the children towards Max and Kelly's house.
Ark watched them leave. "I just hope they're all fine."
Max outside the bedroom door holding a tray. He had made Kelly a peanut butter sandwich along with some juice. Carefully balancing the tray on his knee, he opened the door. "How are you doing Kell? I made you something to eat. I figured you my be hungry after the factory."
Kelly propped herself up against the backboard. "Better. What did you make me?" Max set the tray down on her lap. She picked up the sandwich. "Peanut butter. You really shouldn't have."
"Considering your concussion I thought peanut butter was something you could keep down." He looked down at the bucket he had placed next to the bed. "Any more vomiting."
Kelly was about to take a bit of her sandwich. "Please, I'm trying to eat."
"Sorry."
"Is this smooth or chunky?" Kelly asked.
Max smiled. "Chunky, your favorite."
Kelly smiled and took a bite. There was a knock at the bedroom door. "Max, can you get that."
"You know you shouldn't talk with your mouth full." Max said. "Besides, you're still in bed." Max opened the door. "Kathy! Did Ark tell you?"
"Yes he did." Kathy said. "I brought the kids over to see Kelly. I heard she was hurt. Kids, you can go in." The children walked in and circled around the bed. They began asking her what happened and how she felt. Kelly told them the whole story about the Nemesis II and the other monsters. Kathy turned to Max. "How bad are things?"
"Not good." Max replied. "Two creatures took most of us out. Jess and I were looking after the injured. From what I saw, those things were tough. We barely touched them. They were too fast and too strong. The worse part was Wesker was watching the whole thing, or at least I think he was."
"Wesker was there." Kathy said, a note of anger in her voice.
"As was Nicholai." Max rubbed his eye. "We think they got away long before the factory exploded. If it wasn't for our backup, we would have died either in the explosion or by those monsters."
"What's Chris going to do? This has gotten out of hand. What if next time Barry gets killed? What are the girls and I going to do? And what if Claire, Leon, or Ark gets killed? What about the other children?" Kathy was on the verge of crying.
"Next time we'll be ready." Max said. "Surprise is something that only works once. We know what these things are capable of doing. And next time we'll have stronger weapons. Trust me, this won't happen again."
"I hope you're right." Kathy said. "For all our sakes."
Chris sat nervously in his mini-van, waiting for the call. Barry sat in the passenger seat watching his old friend. "Calm down Chris. You get any more high-strung and you'll have to go the hospital for a panic attack."
"I can't help it." Chris said. "I need to know what the situation is." Chris looked at the bracelet Jill had given him. "Too many of my friends are hurt. Jill and Jeff have been cut open, Claire may have had her spine cut, Rebecca's got a hole in her shoulder, Janet's shoulder may be permanently damaged, and Ada may have half her internal organs ruptured. I still can't believe only two B.O.W.s did all this."
"You forgot to mention how that Stalker fucked you up." Barry said. "I still think you should have gone with the others. You heard what Max said, you may have a bruised sternum, or worse."
"Yeah, well, it doesn't hurt as much as before." Chris nodded at Barry's arm. "And I wouldn't talk. You took a good shot to your arm."
Barry lifted the sleeve of his black shirt and looked at the dressing. The gauze was stained red with blood and still hurt when he touched it. "This is nothing. I've had worse injuries than this. One time I dislocated my left hip. Hurt like a bitch. Had to be on crutches for a week. Another time I stabbed in the gut. It was when I was with S.W.A.T. It was during a drug bust. It was after that incident that I quit. Kathy was pregnant with Natalie and she didn't need to worry about me getting killed."
Chris looked at the dusky sky. "You leave one bad situation only to get into one that's worse. Story of my life. Sometimes, just when I think I've hit rock bottom, someone throws me a shovel and tells me to start digging."
James walked up to Chris' window. "Hear anything yet?"
"No," Chris replied, "I haven't heard from Leon or Carlos. I'm hoping that they didn't call while we were being de-briefed." Just then his cell phone rang. Chris snatched it and answered. "Hello?"
Leon was standing at a reception desk. Hospital staff and patients walked by him. He had to cover his one ear so he could hear. "It's me, Leon. I'm at the hospital. I got some good news and bad news."
"You know you don't have to talk so loud." Chris said.
"I'm sorry, there's a lot of noise here." Leon replied. "Anyway, Jill, Jeff, Carlos, and Rick are fine. They got stitched up and are with the others. Claire's fine too. Doctors sewed up her back, but it's still sore. She has to lie on her stomach. I have a feeling I'll be sleeping on the couch tonight."
"What about Becky?" Chris asked.
Leon scratched his head. "Good news is she's fine. They had to immediately operate, but nothing vital was damaged. Bad news is she's out of action. Same thing with Janet. Her arm was dislocated, but so was her collarbone. Funny thing is she insists that she's fine. The doctor almost had to sedate her so he could examine her shoulder."
"Great." Chris muttered.
"What about Ada?" James asked.
"What about Ada?" Chris said into the phone.
"Her appendix was bruised." Leon replied. "The doctors took it out, not that she'd need it. It took less than an hour. She should recover quickly."
"OK." Chris turned to James. "Ada had to have her appendix removed. She's going to be fine."
James breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God."
Chris returned to his phone. "When will they be out?"
"I don't know." Leon said. "They may have to stay overnight. If so, I'll call you. What did you tell Peterson?"
"The whole story." Chris said. "He couldn't believe this either. Call me and fill me in on the situation. I'll talk to you later."
"Yeah, same here. Bye." Leon hung up and headed for Claire's room.
Chris hung up and set down his cell phone. Barry looked at him. "Why didn't you tell Leon what Peterson told us?"
"Because Barry, I don't need to make them more upset than they already are. I'll tell them all tomorrow. James, give Jess a ride home. I'm taking Barry home now."
"See you there then." James ran towards his vehicle and called to Jess. Chris started the Town and Country and drove out of the base.
Author's Comments: The situation is rapidly deteriorating before our eyes. With the revealing of the missile sites to the S.T.A.R.S. and the present condition of the team members, all hope seems lost. With the rules tossed out the window, the final battle is drawing near. Now the S.T.A.R.S. must figure out how to combat the new threats presented to them. You can just tell that things are going to pick up. And about the "black projects", I got them from either specials on TLC or from the old TV show "Sightings" which dealt with paranormal issues. I do not say that these things did happen, I'm only using them in my story. I'm not a conspiracy nut. Now let's move on with our saga.
Riddle me this, riddle me that. It's
time for a game of Q&A. Questions
have to be asked and answers given. What will the reaction be to the missiles?
What's Chris' intention with his knife, or to be more precise, Wesker's blood?
Find out the answers to these questions and more in RE Armageddon: Part V,
Chapter 5- Simple Questions, Tough Answers.