RESIDENT EVIL: PYRAMIDS
Gary Stark
PROLOGUE
Chris Redfield blinked dust from his eyes as the bullets sent a fresh cloud billowing from the limestone. Crouched behind a big block he reloaded his Glock as another rain of stone chips peppered him. The shadows were long as the sun rose behind the silhouette of the great Pyramid at Giza; he could see the shadow of his agitator as he fired his AK-47 from another block.
The firing stopped and Chris could hear the click of metal against metal. Jumping to his feet he dashed out across the sandy ground towards better cover shooting blindly. The man ducked slamming a full clip into his rifle. Chris heard the explosion before he felt it as the rifle fired and the round pierced his calf. He shouted out in surprise and pain and fell to the hard stone ground.
A trail of blood followed him as he dragged himself behind a long block of stone. He quickly pulled his belt from his waist and tied it tightly around his leg above the ragged wound to staunch the bleeding.
As he lay there gasping for breath and in terrible pain he tried to remember the events leading up to his down fall. Suddenly it didn't matter anymore as he looked up and found himself staring down the barrel of an AK-47.
CHAPTER 1
It began two days ago. Chris Redfeild and Jill Valentine walked along one of the many narrow back streets of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. The two and three storey buildings were all made of mud-brick with rough walls painted white. The distant skyline was full of tower blocks and multi-storey motorways. Wooden stalls were set up along the streets selling all sorts of goods, pots and pans, fruit and carpets. Washing lines spanned the gap between the houses dripping on the heads of the people walking under.
They came out onto one of the main roads; cars and motorcycles rushed past in a cloud of exhaust fumes; donkey cars strolled along at a more leisurely pace. Chris was munching on a bag of dates, a small dark coloured fruit, as they made their way to a roadside café.
They both ordered coffee; Chris finished the dates and threw the bag into a bin nearby. Jill took off her small backpack and pulled a map out of it. It showed Egypt and the Nile snaking through the country. Jill pointed to Cairo on the map. "Here's Cairo" She said.
"There's a Dam South-East of here on the Nile called the Aswan High Dam." She ran her finger along the winding blue line to the spot where it widened. "Behind it is Lake Nasser, three hundred miles long it stretches all the way South into Sudan."
"I know the geography, Jill. Just stick to the subject, we don't have a lot of time."
"Right. Well, our source says that there's an Umbrella Laboratory hidden within a secret area that's been added to the hydroelectric plant. They get their power by siphoning electricity from the system at night when it's producing the most, then stores it to use during the day."
The waitress came to the table with their coffee. Jill folded the map and put it away. They both took a sip of the warm liquid and put their cups down.
"What's the plan to get in?" Chris said.
"We take a rental car and drive down there. Then we hide the car down the road and walk to the Dam. I've been told that the Lab takes deliveries of animals to experiment on, monkeys, birds and big cats mostlys. When the truck comes tonight we can watch were it unloads."
"Sounds good to me," he checked his watch, "We batter make tracks. Lets get a car now and set up so we're ready."
"Okay." They both finished their drinks and left some money on the table.
A cab took them to the airport where they rented a small blue Vauxhall and drove it back to their hotel. The room was tiny, with twin beds and cabinets squeezed into the tight space, as well as a bathroom that you could barely close the door of when your were standing in it. Unfortunately money was hard to come by as usual, the flights from the States and the weapons that Chris had to buy on the black market had used up most of their budget already. A better room, or even separate rooms were out of the question.
Jill held the door open for Chris as he came into the room carrying the heavy bag of weapons. He dropped them onto one of the beds with a clank and opened it. Jill helped him lay out the two AK-47s and the handguns, a Barretta and a Glock.
"Is this all you could get?" Jill said.
"These AK-47s are the cheapest rifle I could get my hands on. The ammo for them is the cheapest too. The Glock was a bargain, as well as the haul of 9mm bullets. I did quite well considering."
"Humph. I guess it'll do," she opened a drawer and pulled out two shoulder harnesses. "Here, we can hook the holsters for them to these."
"Did you pack the body armour?"
"Of course." Jill dropped her bulky, overstuffed suitcase onto the bed and took two Flak jackets from them. She held one against her chest, it was too big and she tossed it to Chris. "It's a long way to the Dam, we should head out soon."
"Right."
CHAPTER 2
The drive to the Aswan High Dam was very long. Chris and Jill made it just after sunset, travelling along the winding motorways that hugged the banks of the Nile. They passed the "Aswan Dam", a smaller version to their bigger target.
Six kilometres up stream from it they could see the Aswan High Dam looming over the horizon. Chris parked the car behind some trees at the foot of the tall cliffs and they both walked on the hard shoulder. The Dam was huge. Three hundred and sixty-four feet high and nearly a kilometre across it dominated the Nile. They soon reached the dual Carriageway that ran about fifty feet above the river. Below them the water gurgled and swirled, far above them the sheer concrete face of the dam towered over their heads. On top, the electrical hum of pylons from the hydroelectric plant added to the pleasant background noise of the water.
The roads were deserted at night. It stretched far off toward the opposite cliff; lamp posts illuminating circles of pale light on the black asphalt.
Chris and Jill strolled along the middle of the road, their AK-47s strapped across their backs. They both wore black combat trousers and dark blue t-shirts under their black vests, and pistols on shoulder holsters. Hip pouches bulging with ammo for both the rifles and handguns were strapped to their thighs.
Suddenly a loud thrum vibrated from behind them. They both spun, pulling their AK-47s over their shoulders simultaneously. A flat-bedded truck crawled slowly towards them, its headlights casting a dim white glow ahead of it.
The S.T.A.R.S. quickly vaulted over the central crash barrier and crouched against it as the truck passed. It rumbled by and stopped with a squeak of ancient brakes. Voices drifted on the breeze, two men clambered out of the truck chattering nervously.
Chris peeked over the top of the barrier and was astonished when a segment of the wall the size of a garage door slid upward. A man in a lab coat stepped out and shouted at the men in Arabic. They both ran, terrified, to the back of the truck and unfastened the tarpaulin. They took a small cage in each hand and put in onto a trolley the scientist wheeled out. Little monkeys in the wicker boxes screeched and shouted. The scientist gave them a wad of money and waved them away. The men clambered back into their truck and sped off.
The scientist walked into the Dam without looking back. Chris and Jill ran to the door, hiding at each side. A metal door in a far wall was lying open. The man pushed the trolley through it and slapped a switch on the other side of the frame. The secret door began to silently slide down. The S.T.A.R.S stepped under just before it touched the ground and sealed, seamlessly.
Both AK-47s were trained on the back of the scientist as he kicked the metal door closed with his foot. He never realised there was anyone with him. Chris and Jill relaxed when he was out of sight and looked around the room. It was the size of a two-car garage, a powerful looking green jeep was parked to the side pointing towards the door; a couple of red barrels were piled in the corner. Directly ahead of the secret door was another metal one the scientist had used. Chris looked through the window set in the door. On the other side of the reinforced glass he saw a long concrete corridor with an adjoining hall going left about half way along, and another door at the very end.
Being very quiet Jill and Chris opened the door and sneaked into the corridor. The scientist had disappeared down the hall on the left.
"We should follow him," Jill whispered. "He's probably taking those monkeys to the laboratory." Chris nodded in agreement and motioned for her to lead the way.
The trolley wheels squeaked as the scientist pushed it along whistling. He was definitely native Egyptian, with jet-black hair and brown skin. He walked quickly in long strides. The monkeys shouted noisily, rattling around in their cramped prisons.
The corridor was winding, making the S.T.A.R.S. feel as if they were doubling back on themselves.
Finally, after a final turn the scientist came to an airtight door. Chris and Jill hid right around the corner from him as he pulled a key card from his jacket pocket and swiped it though the reader on the doorframe. A buzzer sounded and a heavy bolt clacked open. He used all his might to shove the cumbersome steel door so he could fit through it with his trolley. He then tried to pull the trolley through but had great difficulty with the step up. He struggled with it for a few minutes before he managed to lug it inside.
Once he caught his breath after his monumental struggle with the step, he pressed a button on the other side of the doorframe and walked off with his trolley. The buzzer sounded again and the door began to slowly close.
Chris and Jill darted through the crack in the very last possible second. The thick door slammed, catching the sleeve of Jill's T-shirt in the seal. Chris helped her tear it loose. The scientist was easy to catch up to; they trailed him for another few moments till he battered open a set of double doors and entered a vast laboratory.
The place was huge, the size of a football field at least! The ceiling was extremely high, about twenty feet. The entire back wall was a gigantic window. Through the thick glass was lake Nasser. Shafts of light from powerful underwater spotlights illuminated a large cage made of a mesh of thick steel bars secured to the outside wall of the Dam.
Inside, there were lots of machines. Tall cryogenic chambers were lined up in rows, some contained Hunters some held Lickers within their nutrient fluid and some were too murky to see into. Lab benches lined one corner of the room scattered with papers and equipment. Microscopes and vials sat out ready to be used, mixing machines hummed and vibrated.
The area to the left of the S.T.A.R.S. held a row of barred cells. Each cell held a single creature. These animals were different to the ones they had ever encountered before. They were very small, only the size of a small child. They had flat faces with toothy snouts and little pointy ears. Their hands and feet were covered in sharp, gripping talons. Their bodies were covered in brown fur. Long pointed tails trailed behind them, wrapping around the bars as they scaled the sides of their cages screaming.
Thick cables snaked across the concrete floor connecting the stasis chambers to wall sockets and other large pieces of hardware. There were only three scientists in the entire lab, including the one Chris and Jill had been following. They watched as he pushed the trolley over to the benches on the right where another man was working. The man looked up from his microscope and motioned for the first man to put the monkeys on the metal counter top. They spoke in English, and the first man walked over to the cages and began to work a nearby computer terminal.
Chris pushed the swinging door open and lead Jill across the lab to hide behind one of the benches. They could hear that the scientist at the microscope was muttering to himself.
"This is it, this is definitely it!" he said. His head snapped upward and he waved across the room to the third scientist. "Karen! Come see this!"
A tall slim woman walked over to his side. Her long brown hair was tied up in a ponytail. She put her clipboard down on the counter and leaned over his shoulder.
"What? Has it mutated yet?" she gasped excitedly.
"See for yourself." Said the man grinning. He stood so the woman could sit on his stool. Pushing her wire-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose she peered into the microscope. She instantly jerked up smiling.
"It worked! The virus has completely changed! Where did you take this sample from?"
"Here," the man ran to a shelf and took a small vial of glowing green fluid from a group of them, "I was checking all the samples we started last month and this is the only one to show any change."
"This is incredible! We have succeeded in using Dr. Birkin's research to mutate the G-virus into a new more potent strain. We have to begin testing at once!"
"Yes, but this is the only sample we have of the new virus. It will be at least two weeks to synthesise enough to test with once its finished. I advise that we make the first trials worth the wait..."
The woman raised an eyebrow and half smiled. "What do you suggest?"
"A human guinea pig we can use to see what kind of Tyrant it will create."
"Hmm, good idea, but where will we get more humans? We have already used up our entire security force testing the earlier attempts. There are no more surplus staff members."
"Easy, in the morning we can travel to one of the little villages on the Nile. No one will miss one or two people."
"That's settles then, tomorrow we create a Tyrant."
CHAPTER 3
All three scientists left the lab talking about their new virus and the implications. When the swing doors at the far end of the room had stopped moving Jill and Chris stood up from their hiding places behind one of the benches.
The monkey creatures began to howl and rage as the S.T.A.R.S. looked around the vast space. Jill was especially interested in the window with the underwater pen.
"You know, if any virus got into the water of Lake Nasser there'd be Raccoon City but on a national scale."
"How do you mean?" Chris asked.
"The water here is used for drinking and irrigation in the farms around Cairo and Giza. It's all pumped so they have a year round supply, that's why the Dam was built. The people would drink the water, and the crops would be infected as well. It's almost harvest time. If they're harvested and shipped before the virus starts to show the entire country might be infected, plus where ever they export the stuff. It could turn into a global disaster."
"So what should we do?" Chris said. Jill walked over to the shelves where the man took the virus. She checked the labels on the little vials that were lined up on it.
"These are all virus samples. There's the T and G-Viruses as well as a bunch of variations. We should destroy them."
"We have to burn them, then. Fire is the only way. See if you can find any Petrol or oil."
They both scoured the Lab and eventually found some plastic canisters of petrol. Very carefully, they took the vials and all the other suspicious looking bottles and cultures and piled them up on the floor. They then poured the canisters over them; Chris took a lighter from his pocket, rasped the flint and tossed in the wet puddle. The flames whooshed up instantly, totally engulfing the diseased containers. The fluid sizzled and the glass smashed as everything caught light.
The three scientists entered the living quarters and sat down, the Egyptian; Dr. Ali sat on the armchair, the Americans, Dr. Karen Taylor and Dr. David Reilly sat on the sofa. They placed the vial of the new virus on the coffee table and looked at it.
"What should we call it?" Reilly said.
"Do we need to name it now?" Karen said.
"Of course, we can't submit a report to Head Office without giving it a designation."
"Wait a minute, David," Ali butted in. "We should begin the testing before we tell Head Office that it's a success. What if it bombs completely? They will want answers-"
AHWOOGA- AHWOOGA!
"What the-?"
"The fire alarm! There's a fire in the Lab!" Karen shouted. They all leaped from their seats and sprinted out of the door; Reilly stuffed the virus into his shirt pocket.
Chris and Jill were startled when the siren began screeching. The fire quickly burned itself out; the S.T.A.R.S. ran and hid behind a big piece of machinery against the wall as the swing doors the scientists had left form burst outwards. The woman was leading the way and immediately headed for the pile of charred glass and buckled metal beside the workbenches. The other men walked over, one went to a red switch on the wall and shut off the alarm.
"Someone has destroyed the research!" she shouted. Chris and Jill stood, their AK-47s raised toward the scientists. Karen and Ali instantly drew pistols from nowhere.
"Freeze! Drop it!" Chris said calmly.
"S.T.A.R.S., I should have known." Karen responded. She cocked her pistol.
"Don't bother, Doctor." Jill retorted staring down the sites at Karen's face.
"Why do you always get in the way of the work of our company?" Karen asked rhetorically.
"Because it cost a lot of people their lives!" Chris replied.
"It's worth more than human life! More than a million lives! Even our own!" Karen screamed and pulled the trigger. The confrontation turned into a massacre in an instant. The first shot smacked into Jill's vest. Her rifle went off, battering Karen's body to a bloody mess. A single shot from Chris snapped Ali's head back; his twitching corpse slumped to the ground.
Reilly cried out when the shooting started and bolted for the door. Chris helped Jill to her feet and they both gave chase.
Reilly ran as fast as he could down the corridor, past the Living Quarters and on to the hydroelectric plant. The footsteps of his pursuers floated down the draughty halls as he pressed the switch and prayed that the secret door would open faster.
Chris rounded the corner first and fired. Reilly was already through the door and flying up the stairs on the right. The S.T.A.R.S. darted into the massive plant and caught a glimpse of him disappearing up the flight of steps.
The room was even higher than the Lab. A colossal water powered electric generator rumbled in the centre. A thick pipe ran from the ceiling into the top of the cylinder shaped device, and came out of the other side of it and went into the floor. Dozens of generators lined the entire area.
"Look! Elevators! We can beat him to the top!" Chris yelled over the noise and pointed to the big freight elevator. They ran to it and sped upward.
CHAPTER 4
Reilly gripped the vial of virus tightly in his hand as he took the stairs two at a time. He had decided: the S.T.A.R.S. had destroyed all of the research and killed his friends but they weren't getting their hands on the virus! To punish them for destroying everything he was going to infect the entire lake! Cairo and Giza would pay for the crimes the S.T.A.R.S had committed against him!
Sweating and gasping for air, Reilly burst out onto top of the Dam. He could see the vast expanse of water that made up Lake Nasser. Behind and far above him the electric pylons hummed. Reilly dashed across the concrete floor to the metal walkway that over looked the water. Suddenly two shapes darted in front of him. The S.T.A.R.S.!
Chris fired at Reilly's feet; chips of stone ripped his trousers and made him freeze in place.
"You're not going to infect the lake, Doctor." Chris said. The wind lashed across them, the moon was full in the night sky. Reilly looked around desperately.
How had they beaten him here? How will he get his justice if they were blocking his path?
His eyes were manic, darting in all directions. Chris was afraid of what he was capable of. Reilly grinned at them and raised his hand above his head.
"Stop! We'll shoot you!" Jill screamed. Reilly began to laugh and whipped his hand forward in a throwing motion as hard as he could. The S.T.A.R.S. gasped, dropping their weapons they both leapt to catch the vial in mid air. Neither did. They looked at their empty hands and then at Reilly who was running for the elevators.
"If I can't do it here, then I'll infect the people from the city itself!" he cackled as the doors slid shut. He never threw it!
The S.T.A.R.S. crashed down the steps into the generator room. They could barely hear Reilly's footsteps as he sprinted down the hallway through the secret door. They followed the sound, dashing past the Living quarters the emerged back in the Lab. The Buzzer on the metal door honked from across the room. They ran to it as fast as they could as it slowly cycled closed. Chris was the last through but was jerked back. The barrel of his AK-47 was jammed in the door!
"What's wrong?" Jill said. Chris grunted as he strained against the strap.
"Get him! I'll catch up!" Jill nodded and took off. Chris pulled with all his might, bending the rifle. He swore and wriggled out of the strap. It hung there, sticking out of the seal as he ran down the hall.
Jill pumped her arms to gain speed but slipped and slid on the damp ground at every twist and turn. Eventually she made it to the entrance. The garage door was sitting open; the jeep was gone, only black skid marks swerved out into the road.
She jogged out into the motorway and could see Reilly disappearing in the distance. He was already off of the Dam road and was racing north.
Chris lunged out of the door panting. "What happened?" he blurted out between gulps of air.
"He took the jeep that was here and is heading towards Cairo!"
"To release the virus?"
"Yeah, come on! We have to get the car and beat him there!"
The S.T.A.R.S.' rental car flew along the motorway. The road twisted and turned in unison with the river Nile. Lush green plants on the bank abruptly gave way to the hard, dry ground of the Libyan Dessert.
"Where will he go to release the virus, Jill?" Chris asked.
"Probably a busy area, a bazaar or city centre."
"What if he wanted it spread internationally? He would go somewhere with lots of tourists!"
"Of course! The Pyramids attract hundreds of visitor's everyday, and they're in Giza, which is right across from Cairo. Thousands of people would contract the virus and the tourists would take it home."
Chris changed gear and swerved around some traffic. The roads were mostly empty at this time in the morning anyway. It was coming up for sunrise.
"What about the Nile?" Chris thought out loud. "Why doesn't he just toss it in there?" Jill shook her head.
"The Nile itself isn't used for drinking water in the big cities any more, just the small villages on its banks. Only those people would be affected but the city would be fine. The only way to infect the city would be to put it into the lake, but we stopped him."
They eventually entered Giza. Racing towards the Pyramids they notice the green jeep ahead of them. Reilly was on another motorway below them heading towards the great monuments. Chris screeched onto the turnoff and accelerated. Reilly was ahead of them the whole time.
Both cars pulled onto the NATNL22 motorway which runs right past the Pyramids and the sphinx. Reilly stopped in the car park next to the Tourist Information Office. He happened to look along the road as he took the AK-47 from the back seat and spotted the S.T.A.R.S. racing towards him. He gasped, pulled of his long lab coat and bolted down the path towards the Great Pyramid.
Chris slammed on the brakes, throwing a huge cloud of dust into the air. The car stopped inches from the jeep. They jumped out and ran to the start of the path. In the distance they could see Giza, it was really close to the actual Pyramid. An offshoot of the Nile snaked around the enormous limestone structure.
"Come on!" Chris yelled. Jill followed him as he tore down the slope after Reilly.
CHAPTER 5
The site is huge. The pyramid sits in the centre of the area. A small stream flows along in front of it, which separates it from rows of rectangular blocks of limestone. The city of Giza encroaches on the site, with buildings on the very outskirts of the dessert.
A shower of bullets whizzed through the air sending the S.T.A.R.S. leaping in opposite directions. Reilly laughed hysterically. "You can't stop me! It was you who drove me to this in the first place! There's nothing you can do now!" he ran on again.
Chris and Jill were crouched behind the big blocks that were as tall as a man. Jill cocked her AK-47 and Chris pulled his Glock out of its shoulder holster.
"Go around the side!" he shouted to her, "I'll go down the middle, you come up behind him!"
"Right!"
Jill ran off to the right and Chris followed Reilly down the middle of the blocks. He fired continually missing every time, but he succeeded in driving Reilly to take cover behind a block.
Ratta-ttat!
Bullets peppered the ground. Chris lunged to his right, crouching against the limestone he reloaded as more rounds sent clouds of dust raining down on him. The sun was rising over the Great Pyramid projecting Reilly's shadow along the floor.
The shooting stopped and Chris heard the click of a clip being pulled. Seizing the opportunity, he dived out shooting. Reilly ducked and slapped a fresh clip into his rifle. He fired blindly, hitting Chris in the calf by pure luck. Chris cried out and tumbled in the sand. Blood pumped out of his leg as he dragged himself to cover. Improvising a tourniquet from his belt he tried to staunch the flow.
Reilly laughed and crept toward the red stained patch of sand. Swinging around the corner he pointed his AK-47 at Chris's face, grinning.
Chris clamped his eyes tightly closed and waited for the killing blow. The gunshot sounded like an explosion, sand hit him in the face.
He slowly opened his eyes. He was alive! Jill was running towards him shouting something. He couldn't hear her; his ears were still ringing. Looking beside him he saw a big bullet hole in the ground, sand had sprayed all over him. He turned painfully to look down the row toward the Pyramid. Reilly was running, clutching his shoulder and trailing blood as he went.
Jill bent down and helped Chris to his feet. "I'll catch up. Go and get him." He told her.
"Okay." She left him leaning on the block and dashed off. Reilly dropped his gun and pulled the vial from his pocket with his free hand while griping his gushing wound with the other. He skidded to a stop when he reached the stream. It was only a foot or so deep but far to wide to cross in his condition. He slowly raised his arm, ready to smash the vial down on the ground.
Jill stopped about fifty meters from him. She saw the vial glinting in the morning sun and knew what he was doing. She quickly raised her rifle to her shoulder and centred him in her sights. Her finger curled around the trigger, tighter and tighter until the final gunshot rang out across the dessert.
Reilly gagged as the round tore through his side, demolishing his kidney. A lethal shot. He dropped to his knees, choking on his own blood. The vial fell to the ground and rolled to the edge of the water. Reilly threw himself forward with his last ounce of strength. His fingers flicked the tiny metal container within his reach.
Heh, he laughed to himself, I'll give them something to remember me by!
Ignoring the pain he brought the vial to his lips. Gripping the lid in his teeth he began to unscrew the lid to drink the virus.
BAM BAM
His head exploded in a hail of blood, gore and chips of shattered bone. Jill stood over his twitching corpse with her smoking rifle cradled in her hands. Stooping over him, she plucked the vial from the rapidly expanding pool of clotted mush and inspected it. It's funny how such a tiny thing can cause so much trouble.
EPILOGUE
Chris fussed over the bandage on his leg as the police car drove south towards the Aswan High Dam. Jill, sitting beside him, smirked as he behaved like a child with a scraped knee looking for sympathy.
The car soon arrived at the spot where they had gotten into the Dam. Jill helped Chris out of the car and they both showed the Egyptian officer exactly where they had gotten in.
"It was right here, Officer." Said Jill, waving her hands at the blank wall to indicate the rectangular shape of the door.
"How do we get inside?" the policeman said with a heavy Arabic accent. The S.T.A.R.S. didn't know what to tell him.
"Well, you see, uh... we don't know." Chris stuttered. "We didn't actually find out how to open it. We just ducked through before it closed."
"I see..." The officer wasn't convinced.
"We should blast it open!" Jill suggested. The officer was taken aback.
"Miss, I am NOT going to authorize any kind of explosive work on this Dam. I am afraid that there is no way to verify your stories if you do not know how to open this 'secret door'." He walked back to his car. "I am sorry, please, allow me to take you back to your hotel, we will finish the paper work in the tomorrow morning."
Chris and Jill got back into the car. They were angry, very angry. How in the world did Umbrella manage to keep everything under wraps? Even when they didn't take active steps to hide their facilities after something like this happens; they still kept it secret by sheer luck!
One thing's for sure, they aren't going to rest until they finally find enough proof to blow the Umbrella Corporation wide open.
1
Gary Stark
PROLOGUE
Chris Redfield blinked dust from his eyes as the bullets sent a fresh cloud billowing from the limestone. Crouched behind a big block he reloaded his Glock as another rain of stone chips peppered him. The shadows were long as the sun rose behind the silhouette of the great Pyramid at Giza; he could see the shadow of his agitator as he fired his AK-47 from another block.
The firing stopped and Chris could hear the click of metal against metal. Jumping to his feet he dashed out across the sandy ground towards better cover shooting blindly. The man ducked slamming a full clip into his rifle. Chris heard the explosion before he felt it as the rifle fired and the round pierced his calf. He shouted out in surprise and pain and fell to the hard stone ground.
A trail of blood followed him as he dragged himself behind a long block of stone. He quickly pulled his belt from his waist and tied it tightly around his leg above the ragged wound to staunch the bleeding.
As he lay there gasping for breath and in terrible pain he tried to remember the events leading up to his down fall. Suddenly it didn't matter anymore as he looked up and found himself staring down the barrel of an AK-47.
CHAPTER 1
It began two days ago. Chris Redfeild and Jill Valentine walked along one of the many narrow back streets of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. The two and three storey buildings were all made of mud-brick with rough walls painted white. The distant skyline was full of tower blocks and multi-storey motorways. Wooden stalls were set up along the streets selling all sorts of goods, pots and pans, fruit and carpets. Washing lines spanned the gap between the houses dripping on the heads of the people walking under.
They came out onto one of the main roads; cars and motorcycles rushed past in a cloud of exhaust fumes; donkey cars strolled along at a more leisurely pace. Chris was munching on a bag of dates, a small dark coloured fruit, as they made their way to a roadside café.
They both ordered coffee; Chris finished the dates and threw the bag into a bin nearby. Jill took off her small backpack and pulled a map out of it. It showed Egypt and the Nile snaking through the country. Jill pointed to Cairo on the map. "Here's Cairo" She said.
"There's a Dam South-East of here on the Nile called the Aswan High Dam." She ran her finger along the winding blue line to the spot where it widened. "Behind it is Lake Nasser, three hundred miles long it stretches all the way South into Sudan."
"I know the geography, Jill. Just stick to the subject, we don't have a lot of time."
"Right. Well, our source says that there's an Umbrella Laboratory hidden within a secret area that's been added to the hydroelectric plant. They get their power by siphoning electricity from the system at night when it's producing the most, then stores it to use during the day."
The waitress came to the table with their coffee. Jill folded the map and put it away. They both took a sip of the warm liquid and put their cups down.
"What's the plan to get in?" Chris said.
"We take a rental car and drive down there. Then we hide the car down the road and walk to the Dam. I've been told that the Lab takes deliveries of animals to experiment on, monkeys, birds and big cats mostlys. When the truck comes tonight we can watch were it unloads."
"Sounds good to me," he checked his watch, "We batter make tracks. Lets get a car now and set up so we're ready."
"Okay." They both finished their drinks and left some money on the table.
A cab took them to the airport where they rented a small blue Vauxhall and drove it back to their hotel. The room was tiny, with twin beds and cabinets squeezed into the tight space, as well as a bathroom that you could barely close the door of when your were standing in it. Unfortunately money was hard to come by as usual, the flights from the States and the weapons that Chris had to buy on the black market had used up most of their budget already. A better room, or even separate rooms were out of the question.
Jill held the door open for Chris as he came into the room carrying the heavy bag of weapons. He dropped them onto one of the beds with a clank and opened it. Jill helped him lay out the two AK-47s and the handguns, a Barretta and a Glock.
"Is this all you could get?" Jill said.
"These AK-47s are the cheapest rifle I could get my hands on. The ammo for them is the cheapest too. The Glock was a bargain, as well as the haul of 9mm bullets. I did quite well considering."
"Humph. I guess it'll do," she opened a drawer and pulled out two shoulder harnesses. "Here, we can hook the holsters for them to these."
"Did you pack the body armour?"
"Of course." Jill dropped her bulky, overstuffed suitcase onto the bed and took two Flak jackets from them. She held one against her chest, it was too big and she tossed it to Chris. "It's a long way to the Dam, we should head out soon."
"Right."
CHAPTER 2
The drive to the Aswan High Dam was very long. Chris and Jill made it just after sunset, travelling along the winding motorways that hugged the banks of the Nile. They passed the "Aswan Dam", a smaller version to their bigger target.
Six kilometres up stream from it they could see the Aswan High Dam looming over the horizon. Chris parked the car behind some trees at the foot of the tall cliffs and they both walked on the hard shoulder. The Dam was huge. Three hundred and sixty-four feet high and nearly a kilometre across it dominated the Nile. They soon reached the dual Carriageway that ran about fifty feet above the river. Below them the water gurgled and swirled, far above them the sheer concrete face of the dam towered over their heads. On top, the electrical hum of pylons from the hydroelectric plant added to the pleasant background noise of the water.
The roads were deserted at night. It stretched far off toward the opposite cliff; lamp posts illuminating circles of pale light on the black asphalt.
Chris and Jill strolled along the middle of the road, their AK-47s strapped across their backs. They both wore black combat trousers and dark blue t-shirts under their black vests, and pistols on shoulder holsters. Hip pouches bulging with ammo for both the rifles and handguns were strapped to their thighs.
Suddenly a loud thrum vibrated from behind them. They both spun, pulling their AK-47s over their shoulders simultaneously. A flat-bedded truck crawled slowly towards them, its headlights casting a dim white glow ahead of it.
The S.T.A.R.S. quickly vaulted over the central crash barrier and crouched against it as the truck passed. It rumbled by and stopped with a squeak of ancient brakes. Voices drifted on the breeze, two men clambered out of the truck chattering nervously.
Chris peeked over the top of the barrier and was astonished when a segment of the wall the size of a garage door slid upward. A man in a lab coat stepped out and shouted at the men in Arabic. They both ran, terrified, to the back of the truck and unfastened the tarpaulin. They took a small cage in each hand and put in onto a trolley the scientist wheeled out. Little monkeys in the wicker boxes screeched and shouted. The scientist gave them a wad of money and waved them away. The men clambered back into their truck and sped off.
The scientist walked into the Dam without looking back. Chris and Jill ran to the door, hiding at each side. A metal door in a far wall was lying open. The man pushed the trolley through it and slapped a switch on the other side of the frame. The secret door began to silently slide down. The S.T.A.R.S stepped under just before it touched the ground and sealed, seamlessly.
Both AK-47s were trained on the back of the scientist as he kicked the metal door closed with his foot. He never realised there was anyone with him. Chris and Jill relaxed when he was out of sight and looked around the room. It was the size of a two-car garage, a powerful looking green jeep was parked to the side pointing towards the door; a couple of red barrels were piled in the corner. Directly ahead of the secret door was another metal one the scientist had used. Chris looked through the window set in the door. On the other side of the reinforced glass he saw a long concrete corridor with an adjoining hall going left about half way along, and another door at the very end.
Being very quiet Jill and Chris opened the door and sneaked into the corridor. The scientist had disappeared down the hall on the left.
"We should follow him," Jill whispered. "He's probably taking those monkeys to the laboratory." Chris nodded in agreement and motioned for her to lead the way.
The trolley wheels squeaked as the scientist pushed it along whistling. He was definitely native Egyptian, with jet-black hair and brown skin. He walked quickly in long strides. The monkeys shouted noisily, rattling around in their cramped prisons.
The corridor was winding, making the S.T.A.R.S. feel as if they were doubling back on themselves.
Finally, after a final turn the scientist came to an airtight door. Chris and Jill hid right around the corner from him as he pulled a key card from his jacket pocket and swiped it though the reader on the doorframe. A buzzer sounded and a heavy bolt clacked open. He used all his might to shove the cumbersome steel door so he could fit through it with his trolley. He then tried to pull the trolley through but had great difficulty with the step up. He struggled with it for a few minutes before he managed to lug it inside.
Once he caught his breath after his monumental struggle with the step, he pressed a button on the other side of the doorframe and walked off with his trolley. The buzzer sounded again and the door began to slowly close.
Chris and Jill darted through the crack in the very last possible second. The thick door slammed, catching the sleeve of Jill's T-shirt in the seal. Chris helped her tear it loose. The scientist was easy to catch up to; they trailed him for another few moments till he battered open a set of double doors and entered a vast laboratory.
The place was huge, the size of a football field at least! The ceiling was extremely high, about twenty feet. The entire back wall was a gigantic window. Through the thick glass was lake Nasser. Shafts of light from powerful underwater spotlights illuminated a large cage made of a mesh of thick steel bars secured to the outside wall of the Dam.
Inside, there were lots of machines. Tall cryogenic chambers were lined up in rows, some contained Hunters some held Lickers within their nutrient fluid and some were too murky to see into. Lab benches lined one corner of the room scattered with papers and equipment. Microscopes and vials sat out ready to be used, mixing machines hummed and vibrated.
The area to the left of the S.T.A.R.S. held a row of barred cells. Each cell held a single creature. These animals were different to the ones they had ever encountered before. They were very small, only the size of a small child. They had flat faces with toothy snouts and little pointy ears. Their hands and feet were covered in sharp, gripping talons. Their bodies were covered in brown fur. Long pointed tails trailed behind them, wrapping around the bars as they scaled the sides of their cages screaming.
Thick cables snaked across the concrete floor connecting the stasis chambers to wall sockets and other large pieces of hardware. There were only three scientists in the entire lab, including the one Chris and Jill had been following. They watched as he pushed the trolley over to the benches on the right where another man was working. The man looked up from his microscope and motioned for the first man to put the monkeys on the metal counter top. They spoke in English, and the first man walked over to the cages and began to work a nearby computer terminal.
Chris pushed the swinging door open and lead Jill across the lab to hide behind one of the benches. They could hear that the scientist at the microscope was muttering to himself.
"This is it, this is definitely it!" he said. His head snapped upward and he waved across the room to the third scientist. "Karen! Come see this!"
A tall slim woman walked over to his side. Her long brown hair was tied up in a ponytail. She put her clipboard down on the counter and leaned over his shoulder.
"What? Has it mutated yet?" she gasped excitedly.
"See for yourself." Said the man grinning. He stood so the woman could sit on his stool. Pushing her wire-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose she peered into the microscope. She instantly jerked up smiling.
"It worked! The virus has completely changed! Where did you take this sample from?"
"Here," the man ran to a shelf and took a small vial of glowing green fluid from a group of them, "I was checking all the samples we started last month and this is the only one to show any change."
"This is incredible! We have succeeded in using Dr. Birkin's research to mutate the G-virus into a new more potent strain. We have to begin testing at once!"
"Yes, but this is the only sample we have of the new virus. It will be at least two weeks to synthesise enough to test with once its finished. I advise that we make the first trials worth the wait..."
The woman raised an eyebrow and half smiled. "What do you suggest?"
"A human guinea pig we can use to see what kind of Tyrant it will create."
"Hmm, good idea, but where will we get more humans? We have already used up our entire security force testing the earlier attempts. There are no more surplus staff members."
"Easy, in the morning we can travel to one of the little villages on the Nile. No one will miss one or two people."
"That's settles then, tomorrow we create a Tyrant."
CHAPTER 3
All three scientists left the lab talking about their new virus and the implications. When the swing doors at the far end of the room had stopped moving Jill and Chris stood up from their hiding places behind one of the benches.
The monkey creatures began to howl and rage as the S.T.A.R.S. looked around the vast space. Jill was especially interested in the window with the underwater pen.
"You know, if any virus got into the water of Lake Nasser there'd be Raccoon City but on a national scale."
"How do you mean?" Chris asked.
"The water here is used for drinking and irrigation in the farms around Cairo and Giza. It's all pumped so they have a year round supply, that's why the Dam was built. The people would drink the water, and the crops would be infected as well. It's almost harvest time. If they're harvested and shipped before the virus starts to show the entire country might be infected, plus where ever they export the stuff. It could turn into a global disaster."
"So what should we do?" Chris said. Jill walked over to the shelves where the man took the virus. She checked the labels on the little vials that were lined up on it.
"These are all virus samples. There's the T and G-Viruses as well as a bunch of variations. We should destroy them."
"We have to burn them, then. Fire is the only way. See if you can find any Petrol or oil."
They both scoured the Lab and eventually found some plastic canisters of petrol. Very carefully, they took the vials and all the other suspicious looking bottles and cultures and piled them up on the floor. They then poured the canisters over them; Chris took a lighter from his pocket, rasped the flint and tossed in the wet puddle. The flames whooshed up instantly, totally engulfing the diseased containers. The fluid sizzled and the glass smashed as everything caught light.
The three scientists entered the living quarters and sat down, the Egyptian; Dr. Ali sat on the armchair, the Americans, Dr. Karen Taylor and Dr. David Reilly sat on the sofa. They placed the vial of the new virus on the coffee table and looked at it.
"What should we call it?" Reilly said.
"Do we need to name it now?" Karen said.
"Of course, we can't submit a report to Head Office without giving it a designation."
"Wait a minute, David," Ali butted in. "We should begin the testing before we tell Head Office that it's a success. What if it bombs completely? They will want answers-"
AHWOOGA- AHWOOGA!
"What the-?"
"The fire alarm! There's a fire in the Lab!" Karen shouted. They all leaped from their seats and sprinted out of the door; Reilly stuffed the virus into his shirt pocket.
Chris and Jill were startled when the siren began screeching. The fire quickly burned itself out; the S.T.A.R.S. ran and hid behind a big piece of machinery against the wall as the swing doors the scientists had left form burst outwards. The woman was leading the way and immediately headed for the pile of charred glass and buckled metal beside the workbenches. The other men walked over, one went to a red switch on the wall and shut off the alarm.
"Someone has destroyed the research!" she shouted. Chris and Jill stood, their AK-47s raised toward the scientists. Karen and Ali instantly drew pistols from nowhere.
"Freeze! Drop it!" Chris said calmly.
"S.T.A.R.S., I should have known." Karen responded. She cocked her pistol.
"Don't bother, Doctor." Jill retorted staring down the sites at Karen's face.
"Why do you always get in the way of the work of our company?" Karen asked rhetorically.
"Because it cost a lot of people their lives!" Chris replied.
"It's worth more than human life! More than a million lives! Even our own!" Karen screamed and pulled the trigger. The confrontation turned into a massacre in an instant. The first shot smacked into Jill's vest. Her rifle went off, battering Karen's body to a bloody mess. A single shot from Chris snapped Ali's head back; his twitching corpse slumped to the ground.
Reilly cried out when the shooting started and bolted for the door. Chris helped Jill to her feet and they both gave chase.
Reilly ran as fast as he could down the corridor, past the Living Quarters and on to the hydroelectric plant. The footsteps of his pursuers floated down the draughty halls as he pressed the switch and prayed that the secret door would open faster.
Chris rounded the corner first and fired. Reilly was already through the door and flying up the stairs on the right. The S.T.A.R.S. darted into the massive plant and caught a glimpse of him disappearing up the flight of steps.
The room was even higher than the Lab. A colossal water powered electric generator rumbled in the centre. A thick pipe ran from the ceiling into the top of the cylinder shaped device, and came out of the other side of it and went into the floor. Dozens of generators lined the entire area.
"Look! Elevators! We can beat him to the top!" Chris yelled over the noise and pointed to the big freight elevator. They ran to it and sped upward.
CHAPTER 4
Reilly gripped the vial of virus tightly in his hand as he took the stairs two at a time. He had decided: the S.T.A.R.S. had destroyed all of the research and killed his friends but they weren't getting their hands on the virus! To punish them for destroying everything he was going to infect the entire lake! Cairo and Giza would pay for the crimes the S.T.A.R.S had committed against him!
Sweating and gasping for air, Reilly burst out onto top of the Dam. He could see the vast expanse of water that made up Lake Nasser. Behind and far above him the electric pylons hummed. Reilly dashed across the concrete floor to the metal walkway that over looked the water. Suddenly two shapes darted in front of him. The S.T.A.R.S.!
Chris fired at Reilly's feet; chips of stone ripped his trousers and made him freeze in place.
"You're not going to infect the lake, Doctor." Chris said. The wind lashed across them, the moon was full in the night sky. Reilly looked around desperately.
How had they beaten him here? How will he get his justice if they were blocking his path?
His eyes were manic, darting in all directions. Chris was afraid of what he was capable of. Reilly grinned at them and raised his hand above his head.
"Stop! We'll shoot you!" Jill screamed. Reilly began to laugh and whipped his hand forward in a throwing motion as hard as he could. The S.T.A.R.S. gasped, dropping their weapons they both leapt to catch the vial in mid air. Neither did. They looked at their empty hands and then at Reilly who was running for the elevators.
"If I can't do it here, then I'll infect the people from the city itself!" he cackled as the doors slid shut. He never threw it!
The S.T.A.R.S. crashed down the steps into the generator room. They could barely hear Reilly's footsteps as he sprinted down the hallway through the secret door. They followed the sound, dashing past the Living quarters the emerged back in the Lab. The Buzzer on the metal door honked from across the room. They ran to it as fast as they could as it slowly cycled closed. Chris was the last through but was jerked back. The barrel of his AK-47 was jammed in the door!
"What's wrong?" Jill said. Chris grunted as he strained against the strap.
"Get him! I'll catch up!" Jill nodded and took off. Chris pulled with all his might, bending the rifle. He swore and wriggled out of the strap. It hung there, sticking out of the seal as he ran down the hall.
Jill pumped her arms to gain speed but slipped and slid on the damp ground at every twist and turn. Eventually she made it to the entrance. The garage door was sitting open; the jeep was gone, only black skid marks swerved out into the road.
She jogged out into the motorway and could see Reilly disappearing in the distance. He was already off of the Dam road and was racing north.
Chris lunged out of the door panting. "What happened?" he blurted out between gulps of air.
"He took the jeep that was here and is heading towards Cairo!"
"To release the virus?"
"Yeah, come on! We have to get the car and beat him there!"
The S.T.A.R.S.' rental car flew along the motorway. The road twisted and turned in unison with the river Nile. Lush green plants on the bank abruptly gave way to the hard, dry ground of the Libyan Dessert.
"Where will he go to release the virus, Jill?" Chris asked.
"Probably a busy area, a bazaar or city centre."
"What if he wanted it spread internationally? He would go somewhere with lots of tourists!"
"Of course! The Pyramids attract hundreds of visitor's everyday, and they're in Giza, which is right across from Cairo. Thousands of people would contract the virus and the tourists would take it home."
Chris changed gear and swerved around some traffic. The roads were mostly empty at this time in the morning anyway. It was coming up for sunrise.
"What about the Nile?" Chris thought out loud. "Why doesn't he just toss it in there?" Jill shook her head.
"The Nile itself isn't used for drinking water in the big cities any more, just the small villages on its banks. Only those people would be affected but the city would be fine. The only way to infect the city would be to put it into the lake, but we stopped him."
They eventually entered Giza. Racing towards the Pyramids they notice the green jeep ahead of them. Reilly was on another motorway below them heading towards the great monuments. Chris screeched onto the turnoff and accelerated. Reilly was ahead of them the whole time.
Both cars pulled onto the NATNL22 motorway which runs right past the Pyramids and the sphinx. Reilly stopped in the car park next to the Tourist Information Office. He happened to look along the road as he took the AK-47 from the back seat and spotted the S.T.A.R.S. racing towards him. He gasped, pulled of his long lab coat and bolted down the path towards the Great Pyramid.
Chris slammed on the brakes, throwing a huge cloud of dust into the air. The car stopped inches from the jeep. They jumped out and ran to the start of the path. In the distance they could see Giza, it was really close to the actual Pyramid. An offshoot of the Nile snaked around the enormous limestone structure.
"Come on!" Chris yelled. Jill followed him as he tore down the slope after Reilly.
CHAPTER 5
The site is huge. The pyramid sits in the centre of the area. A small stream flows along in front of it, which separates it from rows of rectangular blocks of limestone. The city of Giza encroaches on the site, with buildings on the very outskirts of the dessert.
A shower of bullets whizzed through the air sending the S.T.A.R.S. leaping in opposite directions. Reilly laughed hysterically. "You can't stop me! It was you who drove me to this in the first place! There's nothing you can do now!" he ran on again.
Chris and Jill were crouched behind the big blocks that were as tall as a man. Jill cocked her AK-47 and Chris pulled his Glock out of its shoulder holster.
"Go around the side!" he shouted to her, "I'll go down the middle, you come up behind him!"
"Right!"
Jill ran off to the right and Chris followed Reilly down the middle of the blocks. He fired continually missing every time, but he succeeded in driving Reilly to take cover behind a block.
Ratta-ttat!
Bullets peppered the ground. Chris lunged to his right, crouching against the limestone he reloaded as more rounds sent clouds of dust raining down on him. The sun was rising over the Great Pyramid projecting Reilly's shadow along the floor.
The shooting stopped and Chris heard the click of a clip being pulled. Seizing the opportunity, he dived out shooting. Reilly ducked and slapped a fresh clip into his rifle. He fired blindly, hitting Chris in the calf by pure luck. Chris cried out and tumbled in the sand. Blood pumped out of his leg as he dragged himself to cover. Improvising a tourniquet from his belt he tried to staunch the flow.
Reilly laughed and crept toward the red stained patch of sand. Swinging around the corner he pointed his AK-47 at Chris's face, grinning.
Chris clamped his eyes tightly closed and waited for the killing blow. The gunshot sounded like an explosion, sand hit him in the face.
He slowly opened his eyes. He was alive! Jill was running towards him shouting something. He couldn't hear her; his ears were still ringing. Looking beside him he saw a big bullet hole in the ground, sand had sprayed all over him. He turned painfully to look down the row toward the Pyramid. Reilly was running, clutching his shoulder and trailing blood as he went.
Jill bent down and helped Chris to his feet. "I'll catch up. Go and get him." He told her.
"Okay." She left him leaning on the block and dashed off. Reilly dropped his gun and pulled the vial from his pocket with his free hand while griping his gushing wound with the other. He skidded to a stop when he reached the stream. It was only a foot or so deep but far to wide to cross in his condition. He slowly raised his arm, ready to smash the vial down on the ground.
Jill stopped about fifty meters from him. She saw the vial glinting in the morning sun and knew what he was doing. She quickly raised her rifle to her shoulder and centred him in her sights. Her finger curled around the trigger, tighter and tighter until the final gunshot rang out across the dessert.
Reilly gagged as the round tore through his side, demolishing his kidney. A lethal shot. He dropped to his knees, choking on his own blood. The vial fell to the ground and rolled to the edge of the water. Reilly threw himself forward with his last ounce of strength. His fingers flicked the tiny metal container within his reach.
Heh, he laughed to himself, I'll give them something to remember me by!
Ignoring the pain he brought the vial to his lips. Gripping the lid in his teeth he began to unscrew the lid to drink the virus.
BAM BAM
His head exploded in a hail of blood, gore and chips of shattered bone. Jill stood over his twitching corpse with her smoking rifle cradled in her hands. Stooping over him, she plucked the vial from the rapidly expanding pool of clotted mush and inspected it. It's funny how such a tiny thing can cause so much trouble.
EPILOGUE
Chris fussed over the bandage on his leg as the police car drove south towards the Aswan High Dam. Jill, sitting beside him, smirked as he behaved like a child with a scraped knee looking for sympathy.
The car soon arrived at the spot where they had gotten into the Dam. Jill helped Chris out of the car and they both showed the Egyptian officer exactly where they had gotten in.
"It was right here, Officer." Said Jill, waving her hands at the blank wall to indicate the rectangular shape of the door.
"How do we get inside?" the policeman said with a heavy Arabic accent. The S.T.A.R.S. didn't know what to tell him.
"Well, you see, uh... we don't know." Chris stuttered. "We didn't actually find out how to open it. We just ducked through before it closed."
"I see..." The officer wasn't convinced.
"We should blast it open!" Jill suggested. The officer was taken aback.
"Miss, I am NOT going to authorize any kind of explosive work on this Dam. I am afraid that there is no way to verify your stories if you do not know how to open this 'secret door'." He walked back to his car. "I am sorry, please, allow me to take you back to your hotel, we will finish the paper work in the tomorrow morning."
Chris and Jill got back into the car. They were angry, very angry. How in the world did Umbrella manage to keep everything under wraps? Even when they didn't take active steps to hide their facilities after something like this happens; they still kept it secret by sheer luck!
One thing's for sure, they aren't going to rest until they finally find enough proof to blow the Umbrella Corporation wide open.
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