Chapter 2
Terra checked her watch. Anytime now...
A scientist suddenly got to his feet. "Miss, must we keep kidnapping people?"
"Yes," said Terra. "Until Umbrella approves of the new virus, we'll keep kidnapping and killing people."
"But, should we really do that? We're making a lot of people suspicious. I don't think---"
"Are you questioning my authority?!"
The scientist took a step back. Then he ran for the door, but the guards caught him.
"I think," said Terra. "You should take a stroll through the isolation chamber."
The scientist eyes widened. "No! Please don't! I'm sorry! I'll never question you again!"
"I know," said Terra. She turned her back on him as he was dragged away. Minutes later, he was shoved into the room below.
"Let me out!!!" he cried, clawing at the door. He ran to the middle of the room and looked up at Terra. "I'm begging you! Don't do this!!!"
Terra motioned to another scientist. The scientist pushed a button.
A warehouse-type door slid open. Ten hungry zombies staggered out, arms reaching for the cowering scientist.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Elza jerked her head. Someone was screaming...
It was the most horrifying sound she'd ever heard. The guard didn't seem at all fazed by it, still flipping through a magazine.
Elza ran to the door and kicked at the handle as hard as she could. No go.
Shit! Are they gonna do the same to me as they're doing to that guy?! Oh God, I've REALLY must get out of here!!!!!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Everyone froze when they heard the scream. Hiro didn't like the sound of it.
As they left the ship, the cold hit them hard. It was indeed Antarctica.
Lines of cargo trucks were waiting for them. The soldiers pointed guns at them to keep them moving. Someone foolishly tried to run. They were shot down.
"Anyone else want to run?!?!" boomed the soldier. Everyone picked up the pace and got into the back of the trucks.
It wasn't any better on the truck. It was just as cold as it was outside.
Hiro sat amongst the people huddled together. They were silent, but their fear showed on their faces.
God, I might not get the chance to save these people! He thought. I'm sure that STARS girl is thinking the same thing...
"Erika?"
Erika looked up. She saw Tyler sitting across from her.
"Hi," she said stiffly.
Tyler sighed heavily. "Damn, I should've known this was a trap. I mean, only rich people go on cruises, right? Still, I really would've liked if it were real..."
Erika looked at the miserable faces, then at Tyler. "Umbrella's behind this..."
"I know. If I'd known Umbrella was doing this, I wouldn't have gone. I don't trust them...too many things are said about them..."
Erika fumbled for the right words. "I don't know how at this time, but I'm gonna try and help everyone. STARS sent me to check out this place..."
"You work for STARS? THE STARS?"
"Yes. I'm one of their best field scouts."
"...You'll save us, right?"
Erika leaned forward, keeping her voice low. "I'll try. But I can't guarantee that everyone is gonna live through this."
"I figured that...it's really sad..."
Erika couldn't say anything else. Damn STARS for being so chicken shit to send in ground troops...
About five minutes later, they were in a building. They were herded out of the trucks.
A woman with cold, dead eyes stood in the center. A cold smile was on her lips.
"Hello!" she said. "Welcome to this Umbrella facility. Now, if a soldier pulls you aside, go through that door." She pointed to a door.
Seven people were pull aside. They reluctantly went through the door. The woman turned back to the others. "Those people will be dead in a matter of minutes."
There was a loud commotion amongst those present. The woman was still smiling. "And as for all of you, you shall share the same fate. Whether in a few hours or a few weeks, it doesn't matter. You'll all die. Soldiers, show them to their cells."
Erika felt a foreboding feeling course through her as they were led to huge elevator lifts. She wasn't sure if SHE would make it out.
A few hours later...
The scientists worked busily as more people were loaded into the isolation chamber. As they watched the horrid scenes, they were unaware of the overload signal going off.
One scientist did. He went back to the computer and examined the security screen. "Oh shit."
"What is it?" someone asked.
"Um, you know all the zombies that we kept because Terra told us to?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, we have too many in storage. The numbers are way in the hundreds."
"Then we'll have to kill some. Send two soldiers down there to kill some of them."
"Good idea."
The two soldiers rode the lift down to the containment area. Both were hesitant to open the doors.
"You do it."
"No way. You do it!"
"Fine, fine." The soldier pressed the button to open the elevator doors.
Outside, a dozen zombies were wandering the hall. The containment room door was gaping open and more were escaping. The zombies, in their need for flesh, tore it down.
"This isn't good!" said one soldier. The zombies started towards them, bony arms raised.
"NO!!!!" screamed the other. He shoved the other soldier out and closed the door. He heard the other man's screams, but he was too busy frantically pushing the buttons to comprehend what he just did.
The elevator went up, but only up a floor. When the doors opened, there were more zombies loose. This time, he couldn't close the door in time. Five managed to get in before the doors closed. He screamed loud in agony as the elevator went up two more floors.
"Oh my God!!!"
"What is it?!"
"Zombies are loose on all three containment floors!!!!!"
"Oh no, oh no!!!!!!! What will we do?!?!"
"Send in more soldiers!!! We have to kill them all!!!!!!"
About twenty soldiers were ready and waiting on the bottom floor of the main basement area. Their guns were loaded and ready, as one of the cargo elevators opened.
Nothing was there. However, to their left, a regular elevator opened and several zombies came out, taking the soldiers by surprise.
"Oh shit!!!!"
"Don't tell me those soldiers are dead!!!!"
"They're on that track!!!! Dammit, where is Terra when we need her?!?!"
Terra was seated at her desk in her bedroom. She was surveying the situation will little panic.
Oh damn, zombies are loose, she thought. Why should I care? This is enough proof of how strong my virus is. And besides, I can easily escape this facility. I'm the only one who knows how to get out of here...
Elza woke up for the eighth time. She kept hearing screams.
God, what the hell is wrong with these people?! She thought as she got off the cot. Killing so many...you'd think-huh?
She looked through the glass. The guard was seated at his usual place, but two people were entering through the sliding doors. And their skin was hanging off them.
Zombies.
Elza ran to the glass and pounded on it. "HEY!!!!!! Behind you!!!!!!!"
The guard wasn't paying attention. Elza realized it was double-pane glass. She grabbed the cot and lifted it up. Without much effort, she threw it against the glass. She knew it wouldn't break, but the thud was loud enough to catch his attention.
He was yelling something, but Elza couldn't hear him.
"ZOMBIES!!!!!!!!" she screamed, pointing to the two creatures that had their vacant eyes on the guard.
The guard looked confused and approached the glass. Elza slammed her fist against the glass in frustration and kept pointing at the zombies. The guard still didn't understand her.
One of the zombies was on the guard. Its bony fingers grabbed at his chest, digging into his flesh. Elza saw blood spill from where the fingers were and the guard looked like he was screaming.
Then the zombie bit hard into his neck. His man was really screaming loud, and Elza could hear it. It ripped a piece of flesh away, and blood spilled everywhere. Elza jumped away as it splattered on the glass.
The zombie dragged the man to the floor and started eating him. The other zombie did so as well. Elza felt faint as she watched them tear open his stomach and start eating his intestines.
Then they saw her. They got back to their feet and started clawing at the glass, trying to get to her. Elza didn't know what to do. She was trapped.
Hiro put his ear to the door. Something was wrong...
For the past hour, he'd heard running footsteps and loud voices. Apparently, an accident happened. And accidents meant a lot of people were dead.
Suddenly, the cell door opened. It surprised him, but he stepped out. He was on the sixth floor of the prison center.
Warning: Containment levels in hazardous condition. All doors are to unlock to help escape...
"Shit!!!" he hissed. He glanced around to see others emerging from their cells. They looked as confused as he was.
Suddenly, there were screams from below. Hiro ran to the rail and looked down. Men who were staggering oddly were entering the cells. He saw one grab one of the women. He bit into her forehead and ripped off the flesh. Hiro gagged as he saw the mess of veins where her flesh used to be. He knew what those things were.
Zombies. All the rumors were true...
Hiro fished out his gun and a clip. His gun was loaded, but he had an extra clip with him just in case.
He looked up to see several people rushing for the elevators. They had seen what he'd just seen and they were panicking.
"NO!!!! Not the elevator!!!" he screamed. If his instincts were accurate...
They were. As the doors opened, at least six zombies spilled out, jumping on the closest people.
"Shit." Hiro bit back bile, as those unfortunate people were being devoured or hopelessly trying to escape.
He raised his gun and started firing. The bullets pierced the rotting flesh of the zombies, but it didn't stop them. They continued to eat, the smell of rot and blood thick in the air.
Hiro realized there was nothing he could do for those people. He turned and ran to round up the remaining people on that floor and herded them to the stairs. He prayed that everyone would get out alive.
Erika aimed her gun and fired. She was on the third floor of the prison center. It surprised her when zombies flooded into her cell when the door opened, but she took care of them. Now she was shooting zombies that had emerged from the elevator.
No good. Too many!!
Tyler kicked at one of the doors, trying to get it open. "We're sitting ducks here!! We've gotta get off this floor!!"
Erika nodded, backing towards Tyler and the group of people gathered near there. Tyler gave one more kick and it opened. It was a storage room with a huge ladder going down.
Erika peered down; making sure nothing was down there. All clear.
She shoved her gun at Tyler. "You go down first! If you hear anything, shoot at it!"
Tyler nodded, then started down. One by one, the people herded down the ladder, desperate to get away. Once everyone was down, Erika started down. Two zombies appeared in the doorway, but Erika grabbed the lid and pulled it over the hole. In the darkness, she slowly climbed down.
Elza heard the announcement, and it made her shudder. The now three zombies were clawing at the glass, moaning in hunger. And as the announcement sounded, her electronically locked cell door swung open.
The zombies noticed this and started towards the door. Elza felt like a cornered rat...
Stop it!!! She told herself. You can easily get out of this situation!! Remember your motto: fear is nothing compared to a great thrill!!
"Alright," she said aloud. She tightened on her bike gloves. There was only one way to fight these things...
As the first one entered, she swung her fist. She struck it in the jaw. Its flesh peeled off onto her gloved hand. She waved her hand until it came off. With the second, she kicked it in the stomach. And the third, the guard, she grabbed its skull and slammed it into the wall. Its head busted open and brain oozed out. Elza jumped back, but noticed a key on its belt.
"Thank you," she said softly as she took the key. She ran out of the cell, relieved to be out. She looked through the sliding doors to see more zombies. Elza knew she couldn't fight all of them with her fists. She ran to the double doors the scientists usually passed through. It was locked, but she had the key. She unlocked the door and opened it. It was a long hallway, but the coast was clear. Without hesitating, she ran through the door, slamming it shut behind her.
And that concludes part 2. Okay, I know that Antarctica is a primary setting in Code Veronica, but I didn't know that until a few days ago. This fic isn't associated with Code Veronica and I don't want anyone to think I'm stealing ideas. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please look forward to part 3. And sorry for all that graphic stuff (even I got sick to my stomach :))
Terra checked her watch. Anytime now...
A scientist suddenly got to his feet. "Miss, must we keep kidnapping people?"
"Yes," said Terra. "Until Umbrella approves of the new virus, we'll keep kidnapping and killing people."
"But, should we really do that? We're making a lot of people suspicious. I don't think---"
"Are you questioning my authority?!"
The scientist took a step back. Then he ran for the door, but the guards caught him.
"I think," said Terra. "You should take a stroll through the isolation chamber."
The scientist eyes widened. "No! Please don't! I'm sorry! I'll never question you again!"
"I know," said Terra. She turned her back on him as he was dragged away. Minutes later, he was shoved into the room below.
"Let me out!!!" he cried, clawing at the door. He ran to the middle of the room and looked up at Terra. "I'm begging you! Don't do this!!!"
Terra motioned to another scientist. The scientist pushed a button.
A warehouse-type door slid open. Ten hungry zombies staggered out, arms reaching for the cowering scientist.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Elza jerked her head. Someone was screaming...
It was the most horrifying sound she'd ever heard. The guard didn't seem at all fazed by it, still flipping through a magazine.
Elza ran to the door and kicked at the handle as hard as she could. No go.
Shit! Are they gonna do the same to me as they're doing to that guy?! Oh God, I've REALLY must get out of here!!!!!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Everyone froze when they heard the scream. Hiro didn't like the sound of it.
As they left the ship, the cold hit them hard. It was indeed Antarctica.
Lines of cargo trucks were waiting for them. The soldiers pointed guns at them to keep them moving. Someone foolishly tried to run. They were shot down.
"Anyone else want to run?!?!" boomed the soldier. Everyone picked up the pace and got into the back of the trucks.
It wasn't any better on the truck. It was just as cold as it was outside.
Hiro sat amongst the people huddled together. They were silent, but their fear showed on their faces.
God, I might not get the chance to save these people! He thought. I'm sure that STARS girl is thinking the same thing...
"Erika?"
Erika looked up. She saw Tyler sitting across from her.
"Hi," she said stiffly.
Tyler sighed heavily. "Damn, I should've known this was a trap. I mean, only rich people go on cruises, right? Still, I really would've liked if it were real..."
Erika looked at the miserable faces, then at Tyler. "Umbrella's behind this..."
"I know. If I'd known Umbrella was doing this, I wouldn't have gone. I don't trust them...too many things are said about them..."
Erika fumbled for the right words. "I don't know how at this time, but I'm gonna try and help everyone. STARS sent me to check out this place..."
"You work for STARS? THE STARS?"
"Yes. I'm one of their best field scouts."
"...You'll save us, right?"
Erika leaned forward, keeping her voice low. "I'll try. But I can't guarantee that everyone is gonna live through this."
"I figured that...it's really sad..."
Erika couldn't say anything else. Damn STARS for being so chicken shit to send in ground troops...
About five minutes later, they were in a building. They were herded out of the trucks.
A woman with cold, dead eyes stood in the center. A cold smile was on her lips.
"Hello!" she said. "Welcome to this Umbrella facility. Now, if a soldier pulls you aside, go through that door." She pointed to a door.
Seven people were pull aside. They reluctantly went through the door. The woman turned back to the others. "Those people will be dead in a matter of minutes."
There was a loud commotion amongst those present. The woman was still smiling. "And as for all of you, you shall share the same fate. Whether in a few hours or a few weeks, it doesn't matter. You'll all die. Soldiers, show them to their cells."
Erika felt a foreboding feeling course through her as they were led to huge elevator lifts. She wasn't sure if SHE would make it out.
A few hours later...
The scientists worked busily as more people were loaded into the isolation chamber. As they watched the horrid scenes, they were unaware of the overload signal going off.
One scientist did. He went back to the computer and examined the security screen. "Oh shit."
"What is it?" someone asked.
"Um, you know all the zombies that we kept because Terra told us to?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, we have too many in storage. The numbers are way in the hundreds."
"Then we'll have to kill some. Send two soldiers down there to kill some of them."
"Good idea."
The two soldiers rode the lift down to the containment area. Both were hesitant to open the doors.
"You do it."
"No way. You do it!"
"Fine, fine." The soldier pressed the button to open the elevator doors.
Outside, a dozen zombies were wandering the hall. The containment room door was gaping open and more were escaping. The zombies, in their need for flesh, tore it down.
"This isn't good!" said one soldier. The zombies started towards them, bony arms raised.
"NO!!!!" screamed the other. He shoved the other soldier out and closed the door. He heard the other man's screams, but he was too busy frantically pushing the buttons to comprehend what he just did.
The elevator went up, but only up a floor. When the doors opened, there were more zombies loose. This time, he couldn't close the door in time. Five managed to get in before the doors closed. He screamed loud in agony as the elevator went up two more floors.
"Oh my God!!!"
"What is it?!"
"Zombies are loose on all three containment floors!!!!!"
"Oh no, oh no!!!!!!! What will we do?!?!"
"Send in more soldiers!!! We have to kill them all!!!!!!"
About twenty soldiers were ready and waiting on the bottom floor of the main basement area. Their guns were loaded and ready, as one of the cargo elevators opened.
Nothing was there. However, to their left, a regular elevator opened and several zombies came out, taking the soldiers by surprise.
"Oh shit!!!!"
"Don't tell me those soldiers are dead!!!!"
"They're on that track!!!! Dammit, where is Terra when we need her?!?!"
Terra was seated at her desk in her bedroom. She was surveying the situation will little panic.
Oh damn, zombies are loose, she thought. Why should I care? This is enough proof of how strong my virus is. And besides, I can easily escape this facility. I'm the only one who knows how to get out of here...
Elza woke up for the eighth time. She kept hearing screams.
God, what the hell is wrong with these people?! She thought as she got off the cot. Killing so many...you'd think-huh?
She looked through the glass. The guard was seated at his usual place, but two people were entering through the sliding doors. And their skin was hanging off them.
Zombies.
Elza ran to the glass and pounded on it. "HEY!!!!!! Behind you!!!!!!!"
The guard wasn't paying attention. Elza realized it was double-pane glass. She grabbed the cot and lifted it up. Without much effort, she threw it against the glass. She knew it wouldn't break, but the thud was loud enough to catch his attention.
He was yelling something, but Elza couldn't hear him.
"ZOMBIES!!!!!!!!" she screamed, pointing to the two creatures that had their vacant eyes on the guard.
The guard looked confused and approached the glass. Elza slammed her fist against the glass in frustration and kept pointing at the zombies. The guard still didn't understand her.
One of the zombies was on the guard. Its bony fingers grabbed at his chest, digging into his flesh. Elza saw blood spill from where the fingers were and the guard looked like he was screaming.
Then the zombie bit hard into his neck. His man was really screaming loud, and Elza could hear it. It ripped a piece of flesh away, and blood spilled everywhere. Elza jumped away as it splattered on the glass.
The zombie dragged the man to the floor and started eating him. The other zombie did so as well. Elza felt faint as she watched them tear open his stomach and start eating his intestines.
Then they saw her. They got back to their feet and started clawing at the glass, trying to get to her. Elza didn't know what to do. She was trapped.
Hiro put his ear to the door. Something was wrong...
For the past hour, he'd heard running footsteps and loud voices. Apparently, an accident happened. And accidents meant a lot of people were dead.
Suddenly, the cell door opened. It surprised him, but he stepped out. He was on the sixth floor of the prison center.
Warning: Containment levels in hazardous condition. All doors are to unlock to help escape...
"Shit!!!" he hissed. He glanced around to see others emerging from their cells. They looked as confused as he was.
Suddenly, there were screams from below. Hiro ran to the rail and looked down. Men who were staggering oddly were entering the cells. He saw one grab one of the women. He bit into her forehead and ripped off the flesh. Hiro gagged as he saw the mess of veins where her flesh used to be. He knew what those things were.
Zombies. All the rumors were true...
Hiro fished out his gun and a clip. His gun was loaded, but he had an extra clip with him just in case.
He looked up to see several people rushing for the elevators. They had seen what he'd just seen and they were panicking.
"NO!!!! Not the elevator!!!" he screamed. If his instincts were accurate...
They were. As the doors opened, at least six zombies spilled out, jumping on the closest people.
"Shit." Hiro bit back bile, as those unfortunate people were being devoured or hopelessly trying to escape.
He raised his gun and started firing. The bullets pierced the rotting flesh of the zombies, but it didn't stop them. They continued to eat, the smell of rot and blood thick in the air.
Hiro realized there was nothing he could do for those people. He turned and ran to round up the remaining people on that floor and herded them to the stairs. He prayed that everyone would get out alive.
Erika aimed her gun and fired. She was on the third floor of the prison center. It surprised her when zombies flooded into her cell when the door opened, but she took care of them. Now she was shooting zombies that had emerged from the elevator.
No good. Too many!!
Tyler kicked at one of the doors, trying to get it open. "We're sitting ducks here!! We've gotta get off this floor!!"
Erika nodded, backing towards Tyler and the group of people gathered near there. Tyler gave one more kick and it opened. It was a storage room with a huge ladder going down.
Erika peered down; making sure nothing was down there. All clear.
She shoved her gun at Tyler. "You go down first! If you hear anything, shoot at it!"
Tyler nodded, then started down. One by one, the people herded down the ladder, desperate to get away. Once everyone was down, Erika started down. Two zombies appeared in the doorway, but Erika grabbed the lid and pulled it over the hole. In the darkness, she slowly climbed down.
Elza heard the announcement, and it made her shudder. The now three zombies were clawing at the glass, moaning in hunger. And as the announcement sounded, her electronically locked cell door swung open.
The zombies noticed this and started towards the door. Elza felt like a cornered rat...
Stop it!!! She told herself. You can easily get out of this situation!! Remember your motto: fear is nothing compared to a great thrill!!
"Alright," she said aloud. She tightened on her bike gloves. There was only one way to fight these things...
As the first one entered, she swung her fist. She struck it in the jaw. Its flesh peeled off onto her gloved hand. She waved her hand until it came off. With the second, she kicked it in the stomach. And the third, the guard, she grabbed its skull and slammed it into the wall. Its head busted open and brain oozed out. Elza jumped back, but noticed a key on its belt.
"Thank you," she said softly as she took the key. She ran out of the cell, relieved to be out. She looked through the sliding doors to see more zombies. Elza knew she couldn't fight all of them with her fists. She ran to the double doors the scientists usually passed through. It was locked, but she had the key. She unlocked the door and opened it. It was a long hallway, but the coast was clear. Without hesitating, she ran through the door, slamming it shut behind her.
And that concludes part 2. Okay, I know that Antarctica is a primary setting in Code Veronica, but I didn't know that until a few days ago. This fic isn't associated with Code Veronica and I don't want anyone to think I'm stealing ideas. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please look forward to part 3. And sorry for all that graphic stuff (even I got sick to my stomach :))