Disclaimer: I would like to thank Capcom Inc, for the use of some of their characters, from the Resident Evil series, and S.D. Perry, for following her series. I do not own the characters, but I do own this novel. I do not tolerate unauthorised copying, editing, selling, or distribution of this novel in any way. I am not afraid to take legal action.
(c)
Rivals
Prologue:
Raccoon Times, October 23, 1998
RACCOON CITY
"It seems as though the citizens of Raccoon all spontaneously suffered a neurological breakdown and inflated paranoia. This caused them to then kill each other, and for some reason, devour their victims."
As of now, no survivors of this bizarre incident have been found.
Raccoon Weekly Editorial, November 17, 1998
RACCOON CITY-As over the past fortnight, civilians have been permitted to enter Raccoon City, we have been shocked to discover that Umbrella's Raccoon lab facility has been completely destroyed. It is their belief that because of the unusual incident in Raccoon, a fire was triggered in one of their labs, which came into contact with explosive chemicals, and caused a chain-reaction of explosions throughout the facility. We managed to get this statement from Umbrella spokesperson, Amanda Whitney,
"At Umbrella, we are all shocked about what has happened. This has taught us a valuable lesson, to be more safety conscious in the future. We will be restoring the Raccoon City facility as soon as possible."
Experts estimate that to restore the Raccoon city complex will cost in the region of $3.2 Billion. This has come as a shock, to many financial executives, but Umbrella is sure to have support from all of Raccoon City, to get the city back on its feet.
Paris Journal, November 23, 1998
PARIS
"HCF has my full support and backing over expanding its Paris facility."
HCF was founded in England in 1981. It was the world's largest pharmaceutical provider for around ten years, until Umbrella Inc. was founded, here in Paris, in 1992. Ever since then, they have been arch-rivals. HCF's controversial move will make them the fastest growing chemical Research Company on Earth. Earlier this month, one of Umbrella's main lab facilities in America was destroyed in an explosion. This will severely handicap Umbrella's research for at least the rest of this year. This is the largest opportunity HCF has ever had to regain dominance in the pharmaceutical business. Will they waste this opportunity? Only time will tell…
Chapter 1:
Barry could feel the brisk winds rushing across his face-
-The rented 4x4 he managed to get near the boarder of Italy, where their plane had landed. Tearing down the French motorway with its hood down. He made sure to fill up the tank in Bonn; after having a terrible trip through Austria, where they had got themselves lost no less than four times! They had to push the 4x4 over a mile to get to the nearest gas station.
They had been driving across Europe for days now. With revenge the only thing fuelling their strength, revenge against the evil corporation, Umbrella; the corporation which has cost all of the S.T.A.R.S' members their jobs, and countless people their lives. Barry didn't really have much idea of where he was taking them, they were only going on a lead that the Umbrella Headquarters was somewhere in France, perhaps in Paris, but in reality, Umbrella HQ could be anywhere.
Chris broke the silence, "How far are we from Paris now, Barry?"
"It shouldn't be long now. About a hundred miles."
Compared with how far they'd been, one hundred miles was nothing.
Barry took a moment to take in his surroundings, the twilight was starting to set in, and the first stars were now visible from the sky. He could still just make out the silhouettes of the surrounding countryside, unusual shapes resting on the horizon.
In around an hour, they would be able to stop and rest in Paris. As the next day would be a very big day for them all.
Rebecca sat at the back of the 4x4 with Chris. She had been very bored for hours now. There had been nothing to do, and she didn't feel like speaking, and judging by the atmosphere of the car, the others felt the same way. In Austria she had prepared for the action she may face in France, but that was a long time ago. Now she had nothing more to prepare for, and boredom had completely engulfed her. She did feel an unpleasant tightness in her stomach though, and on top of this, she felt like Hell! Now all she wanted to do was stop in a motel, take a shower, and have a descent nights sleep for once.
"Chris, what will we find there?" Rebecca quietly asked Chris. Hoping for reassurance. "I don't know, knowing Umbrella, anything could be lurking there." A chill ran down Rebecca's spine.
Great! Just what I didn't want to hear.
The car fell silent again.
***
Pain flowed through his entire body; unbearable, burning pain, as if he had been stabbed everywhere. He couldn't think clearly, his mind was a haze.
Tyrant-
Zombies-
Pain-
Chris-
Barry-
Pain-
Revenge-
S.T.A.R.S!-
"Arrrgghhhhh!!" On that word his eyes slowly opened. Everything looked different, he himself had changed, he was...stronger, somehow.
He looked down at himself, and realised he was naked, and not only that, but he was standing in a round cylinder with several pads attached to his body, the kind attached to hospital patients.
Where am I?
The cylinder was clear, probably made of glass, and was very cold. He felt completely different, it was no longer him, it was something stronger, that had taken over his body, but he was still in control.
He found himself looking over a lab; people were looking at him, people in white coats watching his every move. In a swift move, he brushed off all the cords attached to him, they released a weird liquid, which smelt funny to him; spilling to the floor. The people in the lab were now in a frenzy, all running around holding clipboards and looking up at him, noting things about him, this made him feel uneasy. He banged on the cylinder wall.
"Where am I?" The one question he wanted answered, he didn't like it here, it wasn't normal.
But then again, what's 'normal'?
A man approached the cylinder, he looked at him for a moment and then smiled.
"Greetings, Captain, it is good to have you with us." The man speaking was tall, and thin, he must have been in his forties, and had dark brown hair.
And a trench coat. Who wears a trench coat in a lab?
Captain, Captain...It came flooding back to him. He was Captain Albert Wesker of the Raccoon City S.T.A.R.S. unit. He was working with White Umbrella for a couple of years as a Consultant Researcher, until they set him up with a covert mission. He was to wipe out all of the incriminating evidence at the Spencer Estate. What happened there? God! What happened to me? I....I died!
"What happened? What's happened to me?" Panic was starting to show in his voice.
"We heard that you, Captain, were one of Umbrella's top researchers. We wanted to find you, and speak to you. But, you are a hard man to find, Captain. So when we heard that something had happened to you, at the Spencer Estate in Raccoon City, we took advantage of this great opportunity. You were...dead, when we found you, but we managed to salvage enough of your body to put our new regeneration chemical to test. We call it HCF-19. It uses the DNA of a lizard to help regenerate destroyed cells. It will also have enhanced your muscle capacity greatly, you will be much stronger, faster, and will have the ability to learn faster. Obviously, you have heard of HCF, the Hydro-Chemical-Facility, Umbrella's greatest rival, well, that's us. We have brought you back so you can join us, and help share all you have learned about White Umbrella."
What can I do, I can hardly argue with them; they gave me a second chance at life, and all these new powers they have given me. But on the other hand, I should be loyal to Umbrella, they paid me hundreds of thousands of dollars for simple tasks. What will I get out of these guys?
"What's in this for me? Am I just going to be a guinea-pig, drained of all I have to say, and then be disposed of?"
Yes, that sounds impressive.
"Unlike Umbrella, we treat our loyal staff how they deserve to be treated, we wouldn't send you in to suicide missions, like the Spencer Estate. And also, whatever you were being paid at Umbrella, we will double it. We also have a job in mind for you, when you are finished here."
This sounds great, it's not often you get an offer like this!
With that, the man pressed a button on a control panel, and the cylinder raised with a mechanic hiss.
Wesker smiled. He stretched his arms, examining them, and then he slowly walked down the three steps lowering him to the same level as the rest of the lab. Walking was now much easier; it felt to him as if he weighed as much as a feather. He looked at the man, who looked back and pointed at a man and then to him. That man ran and placed a large towel around his shoulders. Wesker started to gaze around at the lab; he saw that alongside the capsule he was being stored in were several others, each containing people. But these people looked dead, not in anywhere near as good a state as he did.
"You are the first successful specimen we've had so far, the rest have either stayed dead, or been hideously mutated." He paused, wondering how much he himself should give away, "You are very valuable to us." He finished.
Wesker didn't know how to feel about that statement. But he did know that HCF was his new company.
And with that thought, Wesker started to talk, revealing all of Umbrella's secrets.
"And, by the way, I never caught your name..." Wesker added.
The man gazed at him, "The name's Trent."