God he hated these creatures. Barry Burton had nicknamed them 'Lickers' back at the Spencer Estate, and Chris could not think of a better name for them. The hind legs of the animal resembled that of an oversized frog, the torso of a bald lion, and the rest no one could fully identify. Redfield tightened his grip upon his handgun, searching for more of the beasts as he and Alomar moved past an observation tank full of the mysterious flowers they had encountered beforehand. The Lickers had been contained within a glassed in confinement area, but driven with hunger, the animals had burst through and attacked the partners. Now further down the hall, the BSAA operatives had left a morbid trail of dead corpses within their path. Jogging faster, Alomar sped through an open doorway that lay before them, Chris following quickly behind.
Redfield narrowed his eyes at an observation deck that was at a far off distance. He could barely make out a woman's figure watching them.. But that's not what his partner was turning her attention towards. In the very center of the room was a man, sitting in what looked like a mental asylum chair.
Hunched over, the man's skin had an unnatural gray pallor shining sickly in the dim lighting. Chris and Sheva began to back up as the male stood up unsteadily, the pair keeping their weapons trained on him. The familiar squeal of an intercom resounded in both the wary partner's ears.
"Ah, glad to see you could join us."
Excella's velvety voice filtered down through the speakers, revealing the identity of the woman in the observation platform. An undertone of condescension lined the female's voice, causing Chris to bristle almost instantly. Sidestepping , he kept a solid aim upon the possible hostile in front, brown eyes flickering around the room in search of possible escape exits. Gruffly, Redfield retorted to the woman's coy statement.
"What have you done with Jill?"
An irritated voice clipped back, the Italian slurring her English in anger.
"Jill, Jill, Jill. You sound like a broken record , you know? So blind you can't even see what's right before your eyes. But soon enough the world will see.."
Sheva and Redfield continued to circle the man before them, a sinking feeling drawing both to take a closer look at the stranger. Tendrils of the Uroborus strain danced along the man's spine, seconds later disappearing into his insides.
Jerking up his head, the dead eyes lit up with an orange hue of life as the test subject took one, halting step forward. Excella drawled on, nostalgia for the moment evidently prompting the overly talkative woman to do what she did best..be a showman.
"It will choose only the worthy.."
As her words fell upon the horrified pair, the nameless individual before them lurched forward in pain. The crunching sounds of bones splintering, sinews popping, and flesh tearing filled the room. The protrusions upon his back reemerged, extending out of every possible orifice available. Gionne's mock sympathy filtered into the fray, the morbid scene unfolding as the Alomar and Redfield began to back away desperately.
"Oh..too bad. The virus has rejected him. Welcome, my friends, to be witness of the rebirth of humanity."
Evil laughter faded into the blackness as the intercom wailed its power down. Seconds later, the room was sealed off, trapping the two BSAA operatives inside. The transformed man jerked forwards, screaming in blind madness. The poor human's body was completely engulfed into the raging mass of slithering, virus induced tentacles.
Setting his jaw tightly, Redfield recognized the structure of the creature.. It was nothing but a larger version of what he and Alomar had faced back in the furnace room several days ago. Unloading his handgun at the bulbous forms that had appeared within the heart of the monster, praying that God would let them survive the hell spawn before them..
The woman's haunting pallor gave her an inward shock, then again, she was supposed to be dead? Jill kept a stiff hold upon Angelica Burrows, a tranq gun pressed firmly to the back of her neck. Cringing inwardly, Valentine's initial shock of how Angelica had been tied in with Umbrella had started to shift into suppressed rage. She had seen many things over the last couple of years that would turn the stomach of a grown man..
"You know, I never thought I'd see you again."
Angelica's voice was far more gentle than Jill had expected, it suddenly breaking the stale silence.
"I'm proud that you survived..Even after all these years I do miss Raccoon. Just know that I had nothing to do with ..what happened there."
Jill jolted at the name, halting their progress down the hall. Raccoon.. Her city. The controlled woman felt the unauthorized hold upon her slip for one mere moment. She was going to kill the woman in front of her.. kill the thing that had made their greatest enemy even stronger.. kill the woman who had betrayed them just as Wesker had.. Blinking, the order within her mind stood, the control over her mind and body not fully given back yet.. Her hands shook only for a moment. . Pushing the muzzle threateningly to the back of Angelica's head, Valentine marched on once more.
Angelica stayed calm, it was all she could do for now... That was, until the opportune time. She needed aboard that ship in the long run.. Wesker's order unknowingly helped her mission. The sudden halt and resume in pace.. Angelica also now knew whether or not the little neural jolt she had given Valentine earlier had been enough. The serum was doing its job.
Jill Valentine was a fighter, and she was fighting her way back through...