Chapter 2: Melancholy Phantom

And how are we feeling today, Ms. Birkin? The figure asked. It was always a different person, but she knew none of them really cared about her welfare. It was hard to concentrate on them, their voices were always so dead. But it's better than hearing a real zombie cry. She thought. Although I think being kept in this prison is more cruel than being eaten alive. At least sometimes... she thought. Her gaze wandered around the small room. The gray walls were metal, the floor was bare concrete. There was only a desk with some stationary and books to decorate the room besides the bed. There was also a small shower and toilet room, but it was too small to be considered anything but spartan. This had been her prison for the last couple of years. There had been other places before, some nicer, some worse, but all had served to keep her trapped. Only once had she found her, but then it had all been taken away in the blink of an eye. Although she told herself that she had been forgotten, there was still an undeniable part of her, a part of her she wanted to dismiss as being childish and insecure that longed for a single name. Claire....

Ms. Birkin, are you listening to me? The voice sounded cross.

She came back to reality. Fine, doctor...., she said absently. They were all the same to her, she never bothered remembering their names.

The middle aged man nodded and wrote something on his clip-board. That's good. However, this report indicates that you haven't been sleeping very much recently; is anything wrong? Sherry?

The young woman cringed inside as he said her first name. You have no right to even use my name! She put on another fake smile. Nothing's wrong, I'm just feeling a little restless lately.

Her facade worked. Well, I'll see if we can increase your outdoor time then. The doctor said, as if he was proud that he had gotten an answer. She knew that all the reports they kept on her all said that she was highly difficult and uncooperative. They should be happy that I'm not violent, although the option of causing an outburst was beginning to be sorely tempting to the eighteen year old. Yet recently, she realized that if she acted docile they might loosen their watch over her, even for a second. I wonder if I'm maturing..., she thought to herself smugly. For a second she thought of Raccoon City, a memory she usually tried to bury. I'm almost as old as you were, Claire.

The doctors irritating voice brought her back. She pretended to yawn, Oh, what was it you were asking?

We're finished for today, I'll see you next week. He slowly got up and walked to the thick metal door. He looked up at the video camera in the corner and nodded. A mechanical beep emitted from the door and a light flashed green. The doctor ran a key card through and the knob-less door opened. Sherry caught a glimpse of the gray metal hallway, as always, there were many armed guards at attention. Glad that the weekly ordeal was over, she shuffled back to the plain bed and lay back. She didn't care that the camera was always watching her. For all she knew, the camera was the only visible instrument that kept a constant vigil over her. Am I ever going to get out of here? For the first time in many years, the young woman known as Sherry Birkin wanted to cry.
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The former S.T.A.R.S. group watched as a dark colored car came to a halt in front of the make shift cemetery. It had a blank license plate.
Exactly on time. Carlos said to no one in particular. Everyone's eyes were trained on the car, hands ready to pull out hidden weapons at the slightest disturbance. The sun was almost halfway below the horizon, the orange now beginning to bleed into the dark blue that preceded the night. The door opened slowly, revealing a shapely bare leg that was wearing a long leather boot. All the males couldn't help but notice. The individual decided to finally exit the car, as if deciding the environment was secure. None of them knew what to expect, not even Carlos who had been contacted by this so-called Alice. They were all shocked to see a stunning woman exit the vehicle, she was alone. Despite her external beauty, they all saw an almost cold severity in her features, as if she had been through a lot more than her age would suggest. Her icy gray eyes locked onto the group, piercing each of them like daggers, analyzing and calculating. There was no doubt about it, she was a trained soldier. She was wearing a leather jacket over a casual looking blouse and jean-skirt, yet these utterly normal clothes seemed to accentuate the fact that she didn't belong in them; they tried to make her look ordinary, but it was clear that there was something else to this woman. She calmly walked towards the group. I have the information you need to take down Umbrella completely., she said plainly. There was an unplacable European accent to her speech, subtle, yet unmistakably adding to her mystery.

Caught off guard by her forwardness, Chris quickly tired to establish that he was in charge. Slow down! Who the hell are you?! he said, not wanting to give her the impression that they were desperate for her information. She gazed back at him with her cold eyes. My name is Alice, I survived the Umbrella's experiments. What else do you want to know?, her voice was unyielding, almost mocking Chris's will.

You expect us to believe you with just that? Chris asked frankly.

Yes, all of you have the same story. She said, her voice forceful yet somehow detached. I've read all of Umbrella's files on you. She paused and bit her lip, as if what she said next was slightly embarrassing and damaging to her ego. Which is why I contacted you... I thought you were the only people who could do what needed to be done.

So you need our help. Chris said smugly. The woman glared back at him. I can leave. She said vehemently.

Explain why you have access to Umbrella, and then we'll talk. Chris said.

The woman looked thoughtful. She nodded. I was a covert operative at the Spencer Mansion, my job was to to protect the true nature of Umbrella's research at the Mansion by pretending to be a newly-wed who lived there with her husband. At the pronunciation of the word husband, she made a slight look of disdain. Besides the underground lab at the Spencer estate, my job was to protect an emergency entrance to the underground lab complex known as the Hive under Raccoon City. She knew that they would all react strongly to the reference of the Mansion. She seemed surprised at the blank stares that returned her gaze.

What the hell is a Hive?, Chris asked. He looked to the other S.T.A.R.S. survivors. Jill and Barry shook their heads, while Rebecca also looked clueless. She was actually trying to remember if she and Billy had ever heard of anything called the Hive, it sounded familiar, but she still drew a blank. The woman named Alice seemed confused.

None of you have heard about a complex called the Hive? It was located underneath Raccoon City. She looked at Claire. You went underneath the city, didn't you? Did anything mention an underground lab complex?

Claire gave the woman an odd look. There was an underground lab complex, but nothing about it was called the Hive... this lab was part of a chemical processing plant. It was pretty deep , I don't think that there was anything underneath it.

Alice's eyes darted back and forth as if she was visually trying to draw a map of the younger Redfield's description. Her eyes lit up when she finished her mental picture. I know what you are talking about.. the labs you explored were used for B.O.W. development, such as Dr. Birkin's research . The Hive was a much deeper complex, it's focus was on developing the T-Virus itself. Many eyebrows raised in response.

How–how do you know the name , Claire asked, barely managing to suppress the emotional burst she felt at the mention of the name.

A lot of red flags went up at Umbrella after they found out about the G-Virus incident. Alice replied. Over the past six years, I've been trying to gather data on Umbrella, Birkin was one of the more hush-hush topics. Umbrella was scared that more of their employees might share Birkin's sense of loyalty to the company, so they went into lock-down and increased security. She looked at Claire and Chris in particular, The downfall of the Ashfords only made them more paranoid, it's the reason why they've become even more hard to track over the past couple of years.

Why do you want to take down Umbrella? Jill suddenly asked. Everyone's attention seemed to renew as all eyes focused on Alice.

The woman was caught slightly off guard by the change of subject. I knew what was going on at the Mansion and at the Hive. I wanted to end it... I had a contact in the Hive, she was going to smuggle out some of the T-Virus and expose it to the media. Unfortunately, my less than admirable husband knew of my betrayal and intended to use it to his advantage by stealing the Virus and selling it on the black market. He made a mistake... he went into the Hive and stole some samples, but he also released some of the Virus as a distraction. The others had an idea of what happened.

Alice's eyes seemed to show a glimmer of emotion as she continued her story. The Hive is... or at least was controlled by an Artificial Intelligence called the Red Queen. The computer reacted to the T-Virus infection among the employees and went into an emergency security protocol, sealing the Hive completely. All those workers were killed.... Her voice sank as her mind flashed back to hordes of undead she and the commando team had faced. The Mansion was also controlled by the Red Queen's systems. Upon the quarantine of the Hive, she activated the Mansion's own defense systems, releasing nerve gas that caused unconsciousness and memory loss. I happened to be in the shower.... She actually smiled wryly. I woke up with no memory. The next thing I knew, I was being dragged into the Hive by a group of Umbrella's security force to find out what went wrong. We had no idea what we were getting into–

Rebecca interrupted the tale. When did this happen? Alice glanced at the younger woman. It was around May, 1998... I think....

Rebecca's large brown eyes seemed to get even wider with excitement. That was two-months before we were sent to investigate the murders in the forest! That's where we found the Mansion! Jill searched her memory, trying to remember the infamous incident that had started it all. Although it was a bit murky, she remembered that she had read the diary of one of the Mansion's keepers. It had been dated around May and the unfortunate man had written about being woken up one night by someone in a containment suit. She then remembered with a slight chill that as the diary continued, the words had slowly begun to focus on hunger....

Jill suddenly spoke up, surprising Alice and Rebecca. That's it! That's when the first T-Virus outbreak happened! It probably spilled in the Hive and then infected the Mansion, the time frame matches. Then two months later after the zombies were wandering around, we were sent to the Mansion... on purpose.... Her voice faded out. All of the former S.T.A.R.S. felt pure loathing as a picture of Wesker's face flashed before them.

Hold on for a minute! I think we're all trying to draw too many lines here! Barry suddenly spoke up. First of all, we were all at the Mansion, we explored all over, and there was no sign of you lady, or you're so called husband. There was no mention of a Hive anywhere, no mention of a Red Queen, and no mention of any of the stuff you're talking about. The way I remember it, there was an outbreak at the Mansion a couple of months before we got there. Then Wesker and Umbrella decide that they want combat data and send us up there. After the Mansion went boom and nobody believed us, Chris and I went underground and Jill stayed in the city. Then the whole G-Virus thing happened and then Raccoon City was nuked. He looked suspiciously at Alice. If the first outbreak happened underneath the city, how come Raccoon City wasn't infected first, then the Mansion? Why was it the other way around?

Alice thought for a second. My last day at the Mansion was almost three months before any of you knew it existed. She paused. They probably wiped any trace I was there after I came back. She said the last word with a strange expression but didn't elaborate. And from what you tell me, I think that the section of the Mansion I was stationed was different from the area you were in. You were at the main entrance to the Mansion, I think that led to the Residence Halls and the underground lab and the heli-port. The others nodded. Spence and I... She paused. Spence was the name of the man who acted as my husband.

The guy who betrayed you? Jill asked. Alice nodded.

We were the only two employees stationed at the North-West Wing of the Mansion which was, in the unlikely event that a person was wandering in the forest, the most accessible to the public. Our responsibilities included pretending to be the owners of the mansion, rich eccentrics who wanted lavish privacy, and send them away. We were to make sure no one made it past us and went to the main area of the Mansion. She bit her lip. Although I think that it was only more bull on Umbrella's part. They entrance to the Hive was one of the most top-secret things besides the Mansion Lab, they wanted to make sure that only a minimal amount of people knew about it. We were actually prohibited from talking to the other employees about what was going... come to think of it, I don't think we were ever allowed into the main mansion.... She shook her head. It doesn't matter really.

Well, continue. Barry said. If anything, you tell a pretty good story. Alice didn't appreciate the remark, but she continued anyway.

The day the accident happened was the same day I went down into the Hive with the commando team. Umbrella obviously knew about the T-Virus's effects, but sent us down anyway. They were more interested in what exactly had happened that would cause the Red Queen to respond in the way she did. In a way, the Red Queen was trying to protect the public in an extreme way by keeping all the infected people locked in the Hive. We didn't know that and shut her down to release all of the locks she had in place. On our way out we encountered the zombies. A lot of the team had died as a result of a defensive trap in the Red Queens main chamber, almost all of the rest died after the zombies. Only two of us made it out, myself and a man named Matt.

Who's Matt? Carlos asked, already confused by the talk of the time table of the Mansion incident. All he knew was what had happened during the Nemesis ordeal and escaping with Jill. Although he knew the general facts about what the others had gone through, there was a lot of detail that the ex-S.T.A.R.S. shared he couldn't get from being told.

I forgot to mention Matt.... Alice's face looked truly saddened. He... he was the first person I met when I woke with amnesia. He was inside of the Mansion when I woke up. I was walking towards the court-yard outside when I heard the chopper of the commando team. I didn't know it at the point though. Anyway, he grabbed inside and dragged me towards cover as the commando team made a not so quiet entrance. He claimed he was a cop looking for his sister. . .it turned out that he was actually part of an anti-Umbrella organization. It turned out that his sister was my contact in the Hive, she was part of the same anti-Umbrella organization as he was – it may even be the same one you all belong to now, which is another reason I contacted you.

I could try and check to see if he was one of us. Barry said, there was actually a sense of concern in his voice. What was his full name?

Matt Addison. She said quietly. That's what he said his name was, it could have been an alias. Barry nodded.

Alice sighed. It turned out that he was there to find out why she had failed to smuggle the Virus out, not knowing anything about Spence's betrayal. He later found her, but she had been infected.... Claire remembered how Steve had destroyed his own father, even though he had been a virus carrier, in order to save her. She resumed listening to Alice's story.

–we escaped with several others back to the emergency train, but at the last minute the Red Queen's trump card, some type of prototype B.O.W. that was nicknamed the Licker attacked us. The creature was unstable, and mutated with each consumption of new DNA. We managed to kill it, but during the fight it cut Matt. She shook her head as if trying to shake the image of something out of her head.

Claire couldn't help but think of the biological atrocities known as the Lickers, her encounters with them during Raccoon City still gave her nightmares. At least the one's she'd encountered hadn't spontaneously mutated, there had been the cleave-handed ones variants in the lab compared to the claw-handed ones in the RPD, but that was all she had noticed.

Alice regained her thoughts. During the fight, we lost two... one was a commando named Kaplan. It wasn't fair, he had survived through so much, he even got the anti-Virus, but the Licker took him. The other was Rain, she was infected... I gave her the vaccine but it was too late. Matt and I managed to get back to the Mansion, but he... he began to mutate as soon as we got out of the station. By that time Umbrella knew what had happened and a biohazard team was waiting for us. I tried injecting Matt with the anti-Virus but they took him... and then they took me. Alice shuddered.

What's wrong? Rebecca asks gently. Alice seemed touched by her care. I woke up in the hospital... hooked up to tubes and monitors. When I broke out of my room... I walked out of the hospital and saw the broken city. . .

You mean the Outbreak?! Rebecca asked, almost not believing what she heard. You were in a coma for four months?!

Alice slowly nodded. I'm not exactly sure what happened... the last clear memory I had before waking up was Matt being taken.

Claire and Jill both stared at Alice. So you managed to escape from Raccoon too?!, Jill stared.
Alice nodded again. It's amazing that none of us ever crossed paths. Claire said softly.

Carlos remembered the sense of irony he had felt when he had met Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy, learning they too had been running around the city while he had been trying to find the T-Virus vaccine for Jill. Hey, chica? He said, letting some of his naitive tounge slip in. What happened to Matt?

It's one of the reason's I came here, to find out. All I know is that one of the scientists said that they wanted to put him into something called the Nemesis program because of his mutations....

They were interupted by a slight cry from Jill. Her face looked pale, a look of total shock, horror, and anger seemed to be freezing her in place. She looked as if she was about to have a heart attack. Chris immediatly rushed to her side, trying to help her breathe in relax.

It's alright, Chris.... She gasped. Rebecca stood by with a sedative, but realized that Jill had calmed down. Chris's face was marked with serious concern as he still held Jill by the shoulders protectively. Chris, it's okay, I'm not freezing to death. Chris immediatly let her go, his face flushing a bright scarlet. I... um....
Jill just gave him a slight smile. She gave him a reassuring grip on the shoulder and turned back to Alice. I don't know if I can tell you this but....
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Alice had sunk to the ground in dumb shock. Jill stood by her side, her face ashen. She had told Alice all about her encounters with the B.O.W. called the Nemesis. I'm sorry.... was all she could say.
After about a minute of silence Alice finally spoke. No... at least now I know what happened to him, or at least what probably happened to him. He would never have wanted to be a weapon... it's Umbrella's fault! She angrily punched the ground. Tears burned down her cheeks as her saddness and anger torrented inside of her. Everyone respectively allowed her to mourn her fallen commrade, they knew what she was going through all too well.

Night had just fallen, Barry had said they would probably have to camp out and set about building a campife. Everyone sat in the warm bath of the fire, but the emotional chill couldn't be shaken. Yet there was an odd sense of companionship as they all sat together: the ex- S.T.A.R.S. beginning to accept the idea of trusting this mysterious woman, Alice feeling slightly confused, but glad that she had told her story to these people It was now 7:30PM, yet they all felt exhausted from the day's emotions. It was Alice who broke the silence.

I was so caught up in my story that I didn't even tell you why I called you here. She said, as if horrified by the possibily of a lapse in memory. The others all looked at her, but the distrust in their eyes had turned to understanding and empathy. Alice felt secure for some reason.

Why did you call us here? Chris asked slowly. He was sitting with Jill, both comfortable in their mutal silence. Jill unconsciously slid a bit closer to Chris, her face a bit worried yet curious as to what the newcommer had to say.

Alice took a deep breath. I want to go back to where Raccoon City used to be.

Why? It's nothing but a crater. Claire said.

Alice nodded. I know, but the Hive was built deep enough to have withstood a surface explosion, even if it was nuclear.

I don't understand. Rebecca said. Why go back to the Hive?

Alice's face looked confident and serious. Her voice dropped to slightly above a whisper, as if afraid someone was eavesdropping. The Hive was permanently closed after the initial outbreak and the Spencer Mansion detonation. Even afterwards, I doubt Umbrella had the time or the need to go back and repair it before the G-Virus incident; I'm sure of it. All vital research was transfered to other facilities, and normally the abandoned facitliy would be demolished. However, being that it was so deep underground, and the outbreaks at the time, I think that they left Hive is still intact.

I still don't get it. Claire said. If all the research is gone, why go?

Alice glanced at each of them. Because the Red Queen, although disabled and broken, is still there. Her data banks would have access to all of Umbrella's top secret files! The others all looked thoughtfull. Are you sure that there would even be anyting to salvage? Barry asked. It's been how many years.

It's a gamble. Alice said. If we can get the Red Queen partially operational, we may be able to get data without worrying about securtiy. Too operational, and she may try and betray us. It's worth the attempt. Umbrella is about to do something major, why else would they be almost impossible to track for the past couple of years?

It's a valid guess, why? Chris asked.

Accessing their top priority files, even if they are outdated, could give us a better idea of their agenda. I'm not talking about run-of-the-mill B.O.W. and viral reports, I'm talking about major things such as facility locations and their weaknesses! It would give us a chance to deal a major strike, if not totally finish them. Alice said excitedly.

Chris pondered the idea a little while, glancing at his comrades every so often. As leader, he had to make sure that he made decisions for everyone. Finally, Chris said slowly, I won't guarantee anything... but you've got yourself a deal... for now., he said, stickng out his hand to Alice.

She grasped it firmly. When do we go?