Chapter 5

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His limp form hung suspended in the tank. Claire moved cautiously toward it, her eyes wide, and she gently pressed her hands against its sides. Leon joined her at her side. His expression was that of concern, and he wondered what they could do to free their friend. He looked around, and saw a small console next to the tank. Jenner's weapons lay nearby, but in his current state, they weren't going to matter too much to him. He walked over to the console, and examined it carefully. He tapped a few keys, and the fluid inside the tank slowly began to drain. Soon, Jenner lay slumped against the side of the tank, and the glass rose upward. Jenner tumbled out and landed in Claire's arms. She looked at him and ripped away the cables, then held two fingers to his neck, checking for a pulse.

"He's still alive," she said, a hint of relief in her voice. Leon knelt next to them and picked Jenner up, wrapping one arm about his shoulder. Claire did the same. Together, they managed to get their friend over to a small bench-like chair on one side of the room and laid him down. Leon began to nudge Jenner to the point that the latter began to stir. Jenner's eyes slowly opened, but when they did, he was something different from what he had been before. His eyes were cat-like; the pupils were yellow and slitted, and the irises were blood red. He opened his mouth, and slowly spoke.

"Where...am I...?"

Claire began to respond, when they heard a door open and close. She turned, and there stood Wesker, his gun trained on all of them. "'Welcome to my lair' said the Spider to the Fly...." he said, a wicked grin on his face. He looked at Jenner. "Your friend has caused me quite a bit of trouble," he added. Leon glared at the former S.T.A.R.S. Captain. "What have you done to him?!" he growled. Wesker fixed his gaze on Claire, ignoring the question completely. "Ms. Redfield, your brother has made me very upset during these past few months. I wonder what would happen should you come across an unfortunate... accident..." His lips curled into a smile. "Answer me, damn it!" Leon half-shouted.

Wesker finally looked at Leon, an annoyed expression adorning the older man's face. "If you must know," Wesker said calmly, "I have injected him with the TV-2501 virus. It seems that there were a few miscalculations in the last test subject, but they have since been reprogrammed into the virus' cell structure. He is now faster, stronger, and...." He held up a small device that looked like a collar. "He will soon belong to me."

"You bastard!" Claire shouted. She raised her shotgun, and in the same instant, Wesker raised his own weapon. Time seemed to stand still, and for a few tense moments, neither person moved. "Go ahead," Wesker said smiling. "Shoot."

Claire didn't respond. Instead, she simply lowered her shotgun and sighed in defeat. She couldn't risk one of Wesker's shots hitting Jenner. She let her gun drop to the steel floor with a clatter.

Jenner lay on the table, his eyes closed, his chest slowly rising and falling with each breath. He could hear bits of the conversation that was taking place, but could not piece it together. His heart nearly stopped in disbelief at what Wesker had said. I've...been infected..? His eyes opened again, and he began to get his bearings. He ran his mind through the layout of the room as best he could. His tank-prison was in the center, and various instrument panels were scattered about. Next to the tank's main control terminal were--

--My weapons...Well, I'd rather die than become that nut-job's lackey. I might as well try to do something worthwhile. He suddenly bolted upright and dashed across the room in a blur of motion. Wesker saw this movement and fired his machine-gun at Jenner, but the younger man dove and rolled, grabbing one of his MP5s as he went. He ended up in a crouch behind the tank console. He turned and fired his weapon at Wesker, who in turn sought cover. Leon and Claire were dumbfounded. What is going on...? they asked themselves. One minute Jenner was lying almost comatose on the table; the next minute, he was across the room in the blink of an eye. Leon took Claire's arm and dragged her behind an instrument panel. He drew his VP70 and fired at Wesker, who ducked even further behind the cover of an overturned table. Jenner jumped up, grabbed his weapons, and rushed over to Claire and Leon, the bullets from Wesker's gun nearly hitting him. "What the hell happened to you?" Leon asked.

"Can't say for sure, mate," Jenner admitted. "I think it may be a side-effect of the virus, if what that bloke said was true." He stood up and fired two shots with his SOCOM at the table that shielded Wesker, and was rewarded with a grunt of pain. "Let's go!" he yelled. He made a break for the door, Leon and Claire followed closely behind. Jenner went through the door last. Bullets ricocheted off the wall right next to his head. He returned fire, and he felt a sharp stab of pain in his side. He clutched the afflicted area, and a warm fluid greeted his hand. He looked, and blood stained his fingers. His vision suddenly became slightly hazy, so he shrank back through the doorway and closed it. He stumbled, and Leon caught him by the arm and draped it over his shoulder. "Come on," the officer said.

They managed to get to an elevator that led up to the ground level. Leon hit the button that would take them up, and they heard the blood-curdling shriek of Hunters echoing down the corridor. Jenner shook free from Leon and drew his MP5s. "No!" Claire shouted. "Jenner, come on!!" The young man turned around to look at them. "It was a blast," he said. "Really." He limped back down the corridor and raised his MP5s. "Jenner! " Claire shouted again. Leon put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. Let's go!" he said, half-pulling her into the elevator. The doors closed, and the two of them heard the steady rhythm of automatic fire coupled with the screams of dying Hunters. Then the elevator started to rise.

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Jenner's hands bucked as the MP5s sang their deadly duet. The Hunters fell one after another. Jenner soon heard the click-click of empty magazines, so he ejected them and quickly slammed in his last ones. He continued firing until every last Hunter was lying in a pool of blood. He then hurried down the hall as fast as he could, despite his injuries, trying to find the master control room. He came to a small side-passage and went down it without thinking. He came to a large, steel door with a keycard slot next to it. He held the barrel of one of his MP5s against the slot and squeezed the trigger. There was a soft hum, and the door slid open. He entered, and smiled. He set his guns down and began tapping away at keys. Soon a simple word came up in the screen, followed by two others:

EXECUTE? YES/NO

He typed "yes," and activated the failsafe. Soon, red lights bagan flashing, and a calm, feminine voice began talking. "The Triggering System has been activated. This sequence may not be aborted. Please evacuate immediately. Repeat..."

Jenner grabbed his guns and headed back toward the elevator. An unearthly howl filled his ears. There, in the front of the elevator doors, stood not one, but two Reapers. They looked at him hungrily and slowly began to advance on him. Thoughts bagan racing through his head.

This is not good...there's no way in Hell I'll be able to get past them like this…

Suddenly, the same voice began talking over the loudspeakers. "There are approximately two minutes until detonation. All personnel should evacuate immediately. Be advised: all doors and elevators have been unlocked to aid in the evacuation. Repeat..."

It's now or never! he said to himself. He aimed his MP5s and opened fire, spraying the Reapers with a hail of bullets. The twin monsters screamed, and Jenner aimed for their heads. He squeezed the triggers, and heard two clicks.

He was out of ammo, and the Reapers seemed extremely agitated by the fact that their dinner had fought back.