Chapter 4

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Jenner hit the floor with a dull thud. He sat up, clutching his throat, gasping for air. He finally regained enough of his senses to see that he had caused the Man in Black enough pain to force himself free of the Man's grasp. "Who...are you?" he gasped. The Man stood up, straightened his sunglasses, and smiled. It was a calm, unnerving smile that set Jenner's heart racing. "I am Albert Wesker," the Man said. "Former S.T.A.R.S. captain, and ex-Umbrella employee."

Umbrella...?! Jenner gasped. Wesker chuckled softly. "You did a marvelous job with the Hunter, and the Gr218," he said, crossing his arms. "Gr218? You mean the Reaper?" Jenner asked. "Oh, is that what you call it? I guess it could be described as such...anyway, any normal person would have been killed rather quickly if they stood toe-to-toe with one of those. You surprised me greatly."

"Don't mention it," Jenner mumbled. "Ever."

Wesker aimed his machine-gun at Jenner's head. "Pity that you could not have given me more of a show..." His finger tightened on the trigger. Just then, a voice echoed down the hall. "Freeze!" Wesker turned, and saw Claire and Leon standing there with their weapons trained on him. The man smiled. "You must be joking..."

"Back off!" Claire said loudly. She cocked her shotgun. Leon glanced at Jenner. "You okay, Jenner?" he asked. The young man nodded. He got up and grabbed the ammo box tightly. "Here, mates!" he said, and slid the box down the corridor to them. Leon stopped it with his foot, and opened it. He pulled out the clips that were inside and stuffed them in his pockets, along with the VP70. "Jenner, get out of here," he said. "We're right behind you." Jenner nodded, and bolted down the hall in the opposite direction.

When Jenner was out of sight, Leon fixed his gaze on Wesker. "Why are you doing this?" the rookie cop asked. Wesker grinned. "If you must know, I have been asked to come here by my employers to obtain a sample of the new TV-2501-M virus. It is twice as potent as the T-Virus, yet when administered to a human, they retain their free will and can think for themselves, instead of becoming bloodthirsty zombies...."

"Well you'd better get back to the drawing board," Claire said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Your precious virus backfired. We had to drop quite a few guards on our way in here, and they were as mindless as they come."

Wesker seemed undeterred by this latest news. "Impossible," he said. "The TV-2501 has been perfected! There is no way it could initiate such symptoms!" Claire raised her aim just a bit, and said, "Believe it. Your mission flunked. Big time." Hearing this, Wesker turned down the hall and disappeared from view. Leon looked over at Claire. "Let's see if Jenner's all right," he said.

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Jenner mowed down several guards with his M-16. He reloaded and headed into a large room with a single wooden bridge hanging over a large crevasse. He carefully walked onto it. It creaked in protest, but it held. He quickly but carefully made his way across. He heard a soft whirring noise above him. He looked up, and a Watcher looked right back.

Oh, shit…

The Watcher emitted a red light from beneath its camera lens, and a loud shriek filled the chamber. Jenner turned, and saw what he assumed was a Hunter standing in the doorway he'd just come through. It howled, and ran toward him with astonishing speed. Jenner reacted quickly. He jumped and did a split just as the Hunter reached him. It passed harmlessly beneath him, and Jenner trained his M-16 on the beast. He fired, and sent a volley of shots tearing through the Hunter's scaly flesh. It howled again, and slashed at the young man, missing his legs by mere inches, but the momentum from the attack sent the claws ripping through some of the rope that held the bridge together. Jenner performed a somersault and landed on the other side of the Hunter. He made a break for the other door just as the bridge started to fall apart, then he was falling again. He grabbed at the air, and his fingers caught hold of a plank that served as part of the bridge. The Hunter screamed, and swung a claw at Jenner in a final assault as it fell. Jenner tried to return fire with an M-16, but the Hunter's muscular arm knocked the weapon from his hand. He let it go, watching it drop into the abyss with the monster. Jenner grunted, and placed his other hand on the wooden plank. Slowly, he started to climb.

He pulled himself onto the ledge, and opened the door. As he walked slowly down the hall, something struck him hard from behind. He fell, and his world went black before he even hit the floor.

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Claire and Leon found themselves backed to the wall. A Reaper slashed at them viciously. Leon took aim with his Desert Eagle and fired at one of the sickle-blades. The bullet connected, and broke the blade clean off at the wrist. It howled, and Leon shot off the other blade as well. The Reaper then turned and started to run, but Claire stepped up and raised her shotgun. "Not so fast, buddy..." She fired, and the Reaper's head became disconnected from its shoulders. The monster spasmed, and sputtered to the floor. Leon reached into his pocket and pulled out his last Desert Eagle magazine. "I've got twelve live ones left," he said. "Seven in the mag, and five in my gun." He then remembered the VP70 that Jenner had given him. He pulled it out and examined it. It was plated in what looked like gold. He took one of the clips that he had pocketed and slammed it home. He chambered a bullet and felt as if renewed energy flowed through him. Turning to Claire, he said, "What about you? How many shells you got left?"

She held up a handful of shells. "That's it, besides my 9mm," she replied. "I've got one magazine left for it." Leon reached into his pocket and handed her three clips. "There. Now we've got six between us. Make 'em last." She nodded, and the two of them continued on their search for their comrade. Soon, they encountered several Hunters, which Claire quickly took care of with her shotgun. Leon was careful to shoot any Watchers they saw, which reduced their chances of being attacked by any more Hunters. They soon came to a large, iron doorway. Leon tried the handle, and found it stuck tight. He stepped backward a bit, then hurled himself, shoulder-first, at the door, throwing it open. Claire hurried through, and Leon covered their rear. They were in a large, laboratory-like chamber, filled wall-to-wall with various instruments and control panels. Claire gasped suddenly, and Leon followed her gaze to the center of the room.

There, inside a large cultivation tank, connected to several cables and EKG-sensors, was Jenner.