Chapter 9
"Alexia's Death, Burkin's Joy"
December 31st 1983
Brian glanced at the female subject when she shifted in her bed causing her chains to rattle quietly. After a second, Brian placed his hand over hers and gently ran his thumb over the dirty skin of her hand. As soon as he did this, she settled down and went back to sleep. He kept his hand over hers until he was sure she was asleep once again, then moved her hand so it rested just under the swell of her breasts.
He sighed and lit the candle on the desk. It was the only form of light Umbrella would spend any money on for her. The visiting occupant of the room preferred the candle. It allowed him to rest his eyes while still being able to see.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Brian turned from the female subject and opened his journal, which rested on the same desk on which the candle was placed. He placed his pencil on the paper and took a drink from a glass of water as he watched the shadows dance and jump across the paper as he wrote.
December 31st 1983,
Winter is upon us. While the people of Raccoon City celebrated the birth of Christ, according to his or her own beliefs, we were down here in this man made cave working on ways to turn every one of them into biological weapons. Zombies, if you will. Merry Christmas.
Of course we had our own little crude holiday celebration. And a tree. I still don't know how they got it down here. Burkin had disappeared, and I wasn't sorry to see him go. Jay tried to give the place some cheer by stringing tinsel and popcorn everywhere. I think the funniest thing I saw was when Albert Wesker fell out of one of the larger heating vents dressed as Santa Clause, complete with a sack of presents and he still had on his shades in addition to the red hat and coat. It must have been the funniest thing I ever saw in my whole life. I wonder who put the gun to his head to get him to do that one. Probably Jay.
We got word back here that Alexia Ashford is dead. They ruled it as an accident. But I know she isn't dead. Not really. If it goes down on paper, I know about it. But, Burkin believes she's dead, and that is fine with me. Now I can at least stomach him.
Two years ago, I started work on XCL-2, and it is better, but it'll still take a long time to fully cure her. I'm still looking for that little booster. I heard that the Umbrella branch in Europe had started work on what they call the Nemeses Project. It's a project designed to raise the intelligence of a zombie enough to make it into what they call a Tyrant. I believe I can make use of this, but that is still some years off.
When Tessa Maat saw the female subject for the first time, I thought she was going to blow a vessel. I'm glad she didn't, I've taken a liking to her. That and I don't want to be the one to clean her blood off of the wall.
It took some time, but Jay finally forgave me for what I did. I'm glad, too. I don't want to lose him as a friend. All I can do now is keep working and hope for the best.
Brian closed his journal and looked over at the female subject.
"Happy Birthday," Brian whispered to her, got up, snuffed the candle between his thumb and index finger, and quietly left the room as thin wisps of smoke arose from the still hot wick of the candle behind him. Thin ghosts in the room of a woman who was dead to all but one man.