Prologue
Mary had been working in the lab, having a normal workday. All the men ogled her, so she hated going every day. But, she admitted to herself, they had good reason. She was pure beauty, plain and simple. She was the only half-civilized girl in Nevada, anyway. Her auburn hair was tied in a ponytail, and fell down to her upper back. Her eyes were a piercing blue, icy, even. Her face was perfectly formed, dimples slight, but existent. She had two earrings, both pure gold, but a very simple design. Her nose was perfect size, too, with no irregularities.
All of these features were shot to hell as fast as she got to work. A spill had occurred, and all of the employees had been turned to mindless zombies. But, that's not what worried her. One of the Tyrants had gotten out of stasis, and was rampaging throughout the facility. She didn't know exactly where she was going, but she ran as soon as she heard the alarms. The rumbles of random flame-induced explosions shook the foundation of the building, making Mary very nervous.
It was one of these explosions that blocked her way out. She was running through the halls, plaster falling from the ceiling, and saw the door. A huge explosion occurred, and the walls collapsed, blocking the doorway completely. She banged against the rubble for a minute, but then heard that inhuman screech, and ran as fast as she could, knowing that she couldn't outrun a Hunter, but that she might be able to hide from it.
She had run into a safehouse on the other side of the facility, which was half-destroyed. There was the name of the company on the side, but it was rubbed off, some even burned off by the fires that raged throughout the area. It was surprising that nobody within twenty miles hadn't heard explosions.until she remembered about the mine, about two miles uphill. They all probably thought it was that stupid mine!
Idiots, don't know anything about anything. She was bitter at the moment, and had good reason to be. She saw a Tyrant right outside the safehouse window, and gasped. There was a .357 on the table, so she picked it up, heavy in her hands, and aimed at the mindless, once controllable creature. The creature she had created.the one that was better than all of the other Tyrants. Nothing would stop it, but she had to distract it somehow. The hammer edged back when she put pressure on the trigger, and slowly, it came the whole way back, before snapping forward again.
The shot was deafening, so loud that Mary couldn't hear a thing. She stood for a second, until her hearing returned somewhat, only to hear the high-pitched wail of a Hunter on the other side of the facility. The Tyrant turned toward her, and broke through the bulletproof glass as easy as it were thin ice. It was beautiful; in it's own way. The head had been converted to look like a shield, made of metal, even though it was still organic flesh. The arms had been reinforced, the blades on it's right arm spreadable. The mace on it's left had been enlarged, and the arm made stronger to support it. The body's muscles had been deteriorating when they found it in the ocean, so Mary had come up with a new virus, one she kept to herself, the U-Virus. The U-Virus took the effects of the T-Virus, and made the decomposition of the flesh stop, and added more muscle tone to the dying body.
The Tyrant became angered, and lurched forward. She shot again, the pistol bucking wildly in her inexperienced hands. The bullet ripped through the air, and made a whizzing sound as it did so. When bullet met flesh, the bullet lost, just bouncing off of the monster's chest. It roared, not in pain, but in pure fury. Even though she was about to die, Mary had to admire the beauty in the work, the work she had done. It raised its right arm, and slashed down, engulfing Mary in a world of pain.
Chapter One
"No! Steve!"
He flew quickly across the ice, grabbing at the icy platform, trying to gain a grip, until there was no platform left.
Claire jacked a round into the gun, and appraised the situation with a clear eye. She took aim, first at the mass on its chest, then the head. She didn't know about the mass at its heart, but she knew nothing could survive a round to the head from a 30.06. Killing this thing would be a mercy, but that wasn't on her mind right now. This thing had been human once, but that didn't figure into her calculations, either. All she knew was, it killed Steve, and so she was going to kill it.
"Claire?"
Claire Redfield bolted up in her seat, sweating, nervous, and unsure of where she was. She looked around, and remembered that she was on a plane, finally heading off in a vehicle, not to escape Umbrella, but on a vacation. She deserved it, at least. After what happened at Rockfort and the Antarctic, she had needed something to calm her nerves, to restore her emotions. And meeting up with Chris, her brother, and Leon, her best friend, had been a lifesaver. After Chris had flown out of the facility at the South Pole, he sped them straight to Paris, where they met up with Leon.
"Hey, Leon, where's everyone else?"
"They all left as soon as they regrouped. Heard something about another facility in the U.S., and they thought they should just check it."
"Oh," Chris blurted nonchalantly. Smooth. He knew that he should have said something like, 'get them back here right now!' but he wasn't that good at that kind of stuff.
Claire looked around the plane, searching for the familiar voice that had just woken her up. She looked to her left, and saw him. Leon Kennedy. He had been the boy she met up with in Raccoon, the one that had near saved her life, and the greatest and most understanding person she had met, besides Chris. She didn't have as much of a bond between them as she and Steve had, but, still, best friends nonetheless. When buying the tickets, Claire had made absolutely sure that Chris, Leon, and she would be together, so as not to lose a single one of them.
The touch of the young man had comforted her, and he looked worried. Probably because I'm sweating or whatever. Leon took out a cloth, and wiped it across her forehead. "Are you alright, Claire? You seem scared."
"No, Leon, I'm fine, I promise. Just bad dreams, that's all." She had been dreaming of Steve for a week now, ever since Rockfort/Antarctica. He had risked his life for her, and had been rewarded by being turned into a monster by that bitch Alexia Ashford. He, it was going to kill her, the Steve-monster, until . . . it was like he remembered something he told her . . . like . . .
You'll get the next one, okay?
I will.
But, she thought, he couldn't have been that conscious. He was a monster, after all . . . but . . . she saw a glint of something . . . human in that monster's eyes. When he stopped the blade, she knew he had regained control-
-but she was too shocked to realize it, and when he cut the tentacle, she couldn't breathe for a second. When it snapped into his chest, the final blow, the final, killing blow, her heart broke into pieces. She watched him fly into the air, heard his ribs break, saw him transform back into the Steve Burnside she knew . . .
"Good. I don't want you being sick on your vacation." He smiled, a real one. No forced smiles anymore . . . she knew when he faked it. Her hand went up and touched his cheek, and a smile also broke on her face.
"Hey, hey, hey! No lovey-dovey stuff on the plane!"
Claire looked back to the person talking to her, Chris. She had been searching for him, since way before Raccoon. He was caring, loyal, self- sacrificing . . . and an all-around great brother. She knew he knew about Leon and her. She also knew that he knew about Steve. But, he never approved of any guy she met. Leon was different from any other chain- smoking, weak-ass guys she had met before. He was wonderful . . . his looks, his personality . . . Ack! What am I thinking?! Leon's not my boyfriend! He's just a good pal I met in a very bad situation! No harm there, right? She looked nervously at him, but did her very best to hide it. "Hey, Leon . . . how'd you hold up when I got captured and taken to Rockfort?"
His smile faded a bit, but he was still very happy, and his smile was still large enough for the both of them. "Oh, not much. I sooo wanted to go get you with Chris, but he told us not to. You know, 'Lone Ranger' shit. He's so stubborn sometimes!"
"Hey, Leon, hello! I'm right behind you!" Chris broke out laughing, and shook his head. "Maybe I am stubborn, but who cares? Stubborn is good sometimes. Like . . . uhm . . . when . . . ah, shit. Wait, Claire's stubborn too! Can't blame me for bein' the only one around here like that!" He smiled wide, and waved his arms. "I'm not taking this! I'm going back to sleep!"
Claire and Leon burst out laughing, looking at him like he just went crazy. "Hoo boy, Chris, you're completely right. We're sorry!" Claire raised and lowered her eyebrows, and Leon knew she was playing a trick. "We didn't mean any harm."
"Really?" Chris's ears perked, and he looked at her.
"Yeah, Chris . . . you ARE the most stubborn person in the world!"
Leon laughed at this, and Claire joined again. Chris stared at her like she was crazy, but didn't take her seriously. He started to laugh too, and was patting Claire's back. "Nice, Claire. Nice."
"Yo! Chris! Lighten up! I'm your sister, remember? I'm supposed to be messing with your head!" She crossed her eyes, and stuck out her tongue. "And there's nothing you can do about it!"
Chris burst out laughing, and stuck his tongue out, too. They were acting like they were five year olds, for Christ's sake! Who cares? I'm finally reunited with my sister. I have the right. And he did. After all Umbrella had put them through, all that time they were apart, they definitely had the right to be happy and immature.
For some reason, Leon wasn't laughing and having fun anymore. Chris looked to him, and he wore a concerned expression as he stared out the window. His head shook, and looked back to Chris, his eyes full of fear. Chris became alert, and looked to Claire, who was looking back. "What's up, Leon?"
"I . . . I . . . just saw something out the window . . ." His voice was wavering, very weak. "It . . . it was a building. I read what was on it . . . and, we're landing on the runway down there."
Chris was fully alert, waiting for him to say what it was. Leon just stared, his face frozen with fear. "C'mon, Leon, what was it?!"
"It . . . said . . . Umbrella Corp. on the top . . ."
Claire and Chris gasped at the same time, and both were completely frightened. They thought he was kidding for a second, but . . . the look on his face told otherwise. Leon . . . he was full of pure, unadulterated fear . . .
"Leon . . . are you serious?" Claire was shaking a bit, too.but was keeping herself together fairly well. When he didn't answer, she looked out the window herself. Chris watches as her eyes widened, and filled with the same fear that Leon seemed to have. She slowly nudged herself back to her seat, and started to sweat.
Goddamn! This can't be happening . . . not again! No, no, no! This is all wrong! How'd they . . . ? The plane bucking wildly interrupted Chris's thoughts. His seat flew up and down, and his seatbelt was worthless, tearing after the first two jolts. Grabbing on to the armrests, Chris flew with the plane, hopping up and down, just like Claire and Leon were.
The plane plummeted, falling faster and faster, nobody on board. It was like they all just disappeared. Faster now, the clouds screaming by the window. Chris dared a look behind, and saw nothing . . . except one figure. He couldn't tell who it was . . . the flight attendant? Pilot? Then, a smell reached his nose. A familiar smell . . . a horrid smell. A smell of . . . decaying flesh. No, it couldn't be! A virus carrier? Then, he heard it. The sound . . . the horrible moan, the lifeless, droning moan. Then came the clacking and scraping of bone against bone, most of the cartilage worn away by the virus. The eyes . . . the glowing, horrible eyes were staring, right at them.
Chris knew what he had to do. Protect Claire at all cost. But, just then, he heard a scream behind him, knowing that Claire had already spotted the rotting corpse. He had to protect the two, Leon and Claire; they just had to live . . . even if it meant his life. He got up from the seat, drawing the switchblade from his back pocket. But, on the next bob, the knife flew from his hand, over to the zombie, clattering hopelessly against the ground.
Mary had been working in the lab, having a normal workday. All the men ogled her, so she hated going every day. But, she admitted to herself, they had good reason. She was pure beauty, plain and simple. She was the only half-civilized girl in Nevada, anyway. Her auburn hair was tied in a ponytail, and fell down to her upper back. Her eyes were a piercing blue, icy, even. Her face was perfectly formed, dimples slight, but existent. She had two earrings, both pure gold, but a very simple design. Her nose was perfect size, too, with no irregularities.
All of these features were shot to hell as fast as she got to work. A spill had occurred, and all of the employees had been turned to mindless zombies. But, that's not what worried her. One of the Tyrants had gotten out of stasis, and was rampaging throughout the facility. She didn't know exactly where she was going, but she ran as soon as she heard the alarms. The rumbles of random flame-induced explosions shook the foundation of the building, making Mary very nervous.
It was one of these explosions that blocked her way out. She was running through the halls, plaster falling from the ceiling, and saw the door. A huge explosion occurred, and the walls collapsed, blocking the doorway completely. She banged against the rubble for a minute, but then heard that inhuman screech, and ran as fast as she could, knowing that she couldn't outrun a Hunter, but that she might be able to hide from it.
She had run into a safehouse on the other side of the facility, which was half-destroyed. There was the name of the company on the side, but it was rubbed off, some even burned off by the fires that raged throughout the area. It was surprising that nobody within twenty miles hadn't heard explosions.until she remembered about the mine, about two miles uphill. They all probably thought it was that stupid mine!
Idiots, don't know anything about anything. She was bitter at the moment, and had good reason to be. She saw a Tyrant right outside the safehouse window, and gasped. There was a .357 on the table, so she picked it up, heavy in her hands, and aimed at the mindless, once controllable creature. The creature she had created.the one that was better than all of the other Tyrants. Nothing would stop it, but she had to distract it somehow. The hammer edged back when she put pressure on the trigger, and slowly, it came the whole way back, before snapping forward again.
The shot was deafening, so loud that Mary couldn't hear a thing. She stood for a second, until her hearing returned somewhat, only to hear the high-pitched wail of a Hunter on the other side of the facility. The Tyrant turned toward her, and broke through the bulletproof glass as easy as it were thin ice. It was beautiful; in it's own way. The head had been converted to look like a shield, made of metal, even though it was still organic flesh. The arms had been reinforced, the blades on it's right arm spreadable. The mace on it's left had been enlarged, and the arm made stronger to support it. The body's muscles had been deteriorating when they found it in the ocean, so Mary had come up with a new virus, one she kept to herself, the U-Virus. The U-Virus took the effects of the T-Virus, and made the decomposition of the flesh stop, and added more muscle tone to the dying body.
The Tyrant became angered, and lurched forward. She shot again, the pistol bucking wildly in her inexperienced hands. The bullet ripped through the air, and made a whizzing sound as it did so. When bullet met flesh, the bullet lost, just bouncing off of the monster's chest. It roared, not in pain, but in pure fury. Even though she was about to die, Mary had to admire the beauty in the work, the work she had done. It raised its right arm, and slashed down, engulfing Mary in a world of pain.
Chapter One
"No! Steve!"
He flew quickly across the ice, grabbing at the icy platform, trying to gain a grip, until there was no platform left.
Claire jacked a round into the gun, and appraised the situation with a clear eye. She took aim, first at the mass on its chest, then the head. She didn't know about the mass at its heart, but she knew nothing could survive a round to the head from a 30.06. Killing this thing would be a mercy, but that wasn't on her mind right now. This thing had been human once, but that didn't figure into her calculations, either. All she knew was, it killed Steve, and so she was going to kill it.
"Claire?"
Claire Redfield bolted up in her seat, sweating, nervous, and unsure of where she was. She looked around, and remembered that she was on a plane, finally heading off in a vehicle, not to escape Umbrella, but on a vacation. She deserved it, at least. After what happened at Rockfort and the Antarctic, she had needed something to calm her nerves, to restore her emotions. And meeting up with Chris, her brother, and Leon, her best friend, had been a lifesaver. After Chris had flown out of the facility at the South Pole, he sped them straight to Paris, where they met up with Leon.
"Hey, Leon, where's everyone else?"
"They all left as soon as they regrouped. Heard something about another facility in the U.S., and they thought they should just check it."
"Oh," Chris blurted nonchalantly. Smooth. He knew that he should have said something like, 'get them back here right now!' but he wasn't that good at that kind of stuff.
Claire looked around the plane, searching for the familiar voice that had just woken her up. She looked to her left, and saw him. Leon Kennedy. He had been the boy she met up with in Raccoon, the one that had near saved her life, and the greatest and most understanding person she had met, besides Chris. She didn't have as much of a bond between them as she and Steve had, but, still, best friends nonetheless. When buying the tickets, Claire had made absolutely sure that Chris, Leon, and she would be together, so as not to lose a single one of them.
The touch of the young man had comforted her, and he looked worried. Probably because I'm sweating or whatever. Leon took out a cloth, and wiped it across her forehead. "Are you alright, Claire? You seem scared."
"No, Leon, I'm fine, I promise. Just bad dreams, that's all." She had been dreaming of Steve for a week now, ever since Rockfort/Antarctica. He had risked his life for her, and had been rewarded by being turned into a monster by that bitch Alexia Ashford. He, it was going to kill her, the Steve-monster, until . . . it was like he remembered something he told her . . . like . . .
You'll get the next one, okay?
I will.
But, she thought, he couldn't have been that conscious. He was a monster, after all . . . but . . . she saw a glint of something . . . human in that monster's eyes. When he stopped the blade, she knew he had regained control-
-but she was too shocked to realize it, and when he cut the tentacle, she couldn't breathe for a second. When it snapped into his chest, the final blow, the final, killing blow, her heart broke into pieces. She watched him fly into the air, heard his ribs break, saw him transform back into the Steve Burnside she knew . . .
"Good. I don't want you being sick on your vacation." He smiled, a real one. No forced smiles anymore . . . she knew when he faked it. Her hand went up and touched his cheek, and a smile also broke on her face.
"Hey, hey, hey! No lovey-dovey stuff on the plane!"
Claire looked back to the person talking to her, Chris. She had been searching for him, since way before Raccoon. He was caring, loyal, self- sacrificing . . . and an all-around great brother. She knew he knew about Leon and her. She also knew that he knew about Steve. But, he never approved of any guy she met. Leon was different from any other chain- smoking, weak-ass guys she had met before. He was wonderful . . . his looks, his personality . . . Ack! What am I thinking?! Leon's not my boyfriend! He's just a good pal I met in a very bad situation! No harm there, right? She looked nervously at him, but did her very best to hide it. "Hey, Leon . . . how'd you hold up when I got captured and taken to Rockfort?"
His smile faded a bit, but he was still very happy, and his smile was still large enough for the both of them. "Oh, not much. I sooo wanted to go get you with Chris, but he told us not to. You know, 'Lone Ranger' shit. He's so stubborn sometimes!"
"Hey, Leon, hello! I'm right behind you!" Chris broke out laughing, and shook his head. "Maybe I am stubborn, but who cares? Stubborn is good sometimes. Like . . . uhm . . . when . . . ah, shit. Wait, Claire's stubborn too! Can't blame me for bein' the only one around here like that!" He smiled wide, and waved his arms. "I'm not taking this! I'm going back to sleep!"
Claire and Leon burst out laughing, looking at him like he just went crazy. "Hoo boy, Chris, you're completely right. We're sorry!" Claire raised and lowered her eyebrows, and Leon knew she was playing a trick. "We didn't mean any harm."
"Really?" Chris's ears perked, and he looked at her.
"Yeah, Chris . . . you ARE the most stubborn person in the world!"
Leon laughed at this, and Claire joined again. Chris stared at her like she was crazy, but didn't take her seriously. He started to laugh too, and was patting Claire's back. "Nice, Claire. Nice."
"Yo! Chris! Lighten up! I'm your sister, remember? I'm supposed to be messing with your head!" She crossed her eyes, and stuck out her tongue. "And there's nothing you can do about it!"
Chris burst out laughing, and stuck his tongue out, too. They were acting like they were five year olds, for Christ's sake! Who cares? I'm finally reunited with my sister. I have the right. And he did. After all Umbrella had put them through, all that time they were apart, they definitely had the right to be happy and immature.
For some reason, Leon wasn't laughing and having fun anymore. Chris looked to him, and he wore a concerned expression as he stared out the window. His head shook, and looked back to Chris, his eyes full of fear. Chris became alert, and looked to Claire, who was looking back. "What's up, Leon?"
"I . . . I . . . just saw something out the window . . ." His voice was wavering, very weak. "It . . . it was a building. I read what was on it . . . and, we're landing on the runway down there."
Chris was fully alert, waiting for him to say what it was. Leon just stared, his face frozen with fear. "C'mon, Leon, what was it?!"
"It . . . said . . . Umbrella Corp. on the top . . ."
Claire and Chris gasped at the same time, and both were completely frightened. They thought he was kidding for a second, but . . . the look on his face told otherwise. Leon . . . he was full of pure, unadulterated fear . . .
"Leon . . . are you serious?" Claire was shaking a bit, too.but was keeping herself together fairly well. When he didn't answer, she looked out the window herself. Chris watches as her eyes widened, and filled with the same fear that Leon seemed to have. She slowly nudged herself back to her seat, and started to sweat.
Goddamn! This can't be happening . . . not again! No, no, no! This is all wrong! How'd they . . . ? The plane bucking wildly interrupted Chris's thoughts. His seat flew up and down, and his seatbelt was worthless, tearing after the first two jolts. Grabbing on to the armrests, Chris flew with the plane, hopping up and down, just like Claire and Leon were.
The plane plummeted, falling faster and faster, nobody on board. It was like they all just disappeared. Faster now, the clouds screaming by the window. Chris dared a look behind, and saw nothing . . . except one figure. He couldn't tell who it was . . . the flight attendant? Pilot? Then, a smell reached his nose. A familiar smell . . . a horrid smell. A smell of . . . decaying flesh. No, it couldn't be! A virus carrier? Then, he heard it. The sound . . . the horrible moan, the lifeless, droning moan. Then came the clacking and scraping of bone against bone, most of the cartilage worn away by the virus. The eyes . . . the glowing, horrible eyes were staring, right at them.
Chris knew what he had to do. Protect Claire at all cost. But, just then, he heard a scream behind him, knowing that Claire had already spotted the rotting corpse. He had to protect the two, Leon and Claire; they just had to live . . . even if it meant his life. He got up from the seat, drawing the switchblade from his back pocket. But, on the next bob, the knife flew from his hand, over to the zombie, clattering hopelessly against the ground.