At the Heart of the Matter, by L. Loire
Author's Note: I am writing this novel in hopes that I can reach 50,000 words, for I am participating in the NaNoWriMo contest, the objective being to write a 50,000-word novel by midnight, November 30th. If you are interested in joining, go to www.nanowrimo.com.
Disclaimer: All characters used here are from the Resident Evil series, and are owned by Capcom. I have no ownership of these characters. The two characters of John and David are from S.D. Perry's book "City of the Dead," the 3rd book in her Resident Evil series. Once again, I have no ownership of these characters—they belong to her. The time frame for this story is in the three-month period from the end of Resident Evil 2 to the beginning of Resident Evil: Code Veronica.
For this novel, I am taking a different spin from S.D. Perry's Underworld, writing in this scenario: what if the group hadn't gone to "The Planet?" Instead of following the enigmatic Trent, what if they proceeded as planned and went to Europe? What about Jill and Carlos?
Hope you enjoy!
Prologue: A Veil of Death
The three of them ran for the break of day at the end of the tunnel, sprinting away from certain death. Claire Redfield's heart was pounding ferociously in her chest, as if ready to burst out of her any second. The death trap behind her was alive, writhing as the abomination formerly known as William Birkin covered the last several cars of the escape train with huge slimy tentacles. Grasping her hand tightly, the daughter and only surviving Birkin left, Sherry, ran as fast as her short stubby legs would allow. A few feet ahead, the tattered blue-uniformed RPD officer Leon S. Kennedy ran headlong, frantically looking behind him to make sure the other two were in close proximity.
Almost there…just a little closer…
Suddenly the walls of the tunnel filled with the sounds of what could have been a roar from William, a high-pitched shriek mixed with possible guttural sounds. With one hand, Sherry in a futile attempt raised it to her ear, and was inadvertently jerked by Claire. Sherry let out a cry of fear, fear for herself, fear for what her father had become; fear that she was going to be burned beyond recognition in a matter of seconds. Their free escape from the self-destructing Umbrella Laboratories was suddenly marred when Umbrella's next fail-safe kicked in. According to a report Leon had found, protocol dictates that in the event of a bioorganic contamination leak, a five-minute self-destruct system would activate, and all employees would escape to the underground escape train at the bottom platform. Once on board, the train is faced with two possible scenarios: one; if the biohazard contamination is on the train, then a two-minute self-destruct timer would activate, and all employees would move to a safe car. The contaminated car would thus be detached from the train, and would explode when the time expired. Two; the employees escape to safety. However, if the entire train were contaminated, then it would detonate with everyone on board.
In this scenario, this was not an option. As soon as William was found to be on the speeding train, a calm female voice blared over the system PA: "Warning. Bio-contamination onboard. Repeat: bio-contamination onboard. Two minutes until detonation. Repeat: two minutes to detonation." At a moment's notice, Sherry activated the emergency brake, slowly bringing the train to a stop as Claire began plugging round after round into the gelatinous mass, the final product of the yet untested G-Virus; the cause of everything—the inevitable ruin of Raccoon City, the corruption of the Raccoon City Police Department, the loss of countless innocent lives, all pointing back to Umbrella. At the first possible moment, the three survivors high-tailed it out of the railed coffin, not stopping to look back.
The light…so close…
A deafening sound filled the tunnel, shaking the walls violently as the explosives detonated. In the midst of the processing explosion, a final cry, a possible wail of defeat emanated from the caroming blob of an exploding William. The explosion went from car to car, and for the first time, Sherry looked back, having one last fleeting glimpse of her father that was.
"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddy!" Sherry screamed before a bright fireball of yellow, orange, and red overcame her vision. She felt herself flying through the air, and as she looked, she had one final split second glimpse of her dying father. Time seemed to pass in an eternal slowness, the law of gravity itself seeming to have been repealed as the young Sherry felt as if flying on air, the sounds of Leon screaming all but faded, louder than the explosion that rocked the tunnel. Her fragile child body suddenly felt a wave of chill air, a sharp contrast to the incinerator that was the tunnel. The young Birkin hit the damp earth with a thud, her grip on Claire's hand becoming lost at impact. Shaken, she sat up and looked once again at the exploding wreckage, seeing the last of the detonation fade into obscurity as thick black smoke rose up from out of the tunnel.
Daddy…
"Daddy," she said softly, a salty tear rolling down her cheek. She was an orphan now, both her parents falling victim to the conglomerate known as Umbrella. Her own husband, William, killed her mother, Annette. Annette, wanting to see her love (as transformed as he was) is found by William, and disembowels her. Whether he had human mental clarity or not is questionable. She only had Claire now, the person who she grew attached to during their trials. Sniffling and brushing tears aside, she felt a warm comforting arm embrace her. She snuggled into Claire's arms, Claire stroking through the softness of the young girl's hair. There was an unnatural silence that hung in the air—perhaps the realization that they may have been one of maybe just a handful of survivors hadn't sunk in yet. The trio had not said anything, for there was nothing to say. Sherry felt the warm feeling of the sun on her face, and Claire looked toward the horizon, looking at a scene that looked very much like a sunrise. Morning has broken.
They certainly could have passed for the living dead. Walking along a lonely road, Leon spotted an approaching car. With what little energy they had left, they began waving their arms in a desperate attempt at recognition. Their gestures had worked, for the car pulled over. Leon took charge, and began to exchange words with the man. Claire was too drained to listen in, but noted that the man Leon was talking to had a clear British accent. In a matter of minutes, two other figures emerged from the car, one a young girl, perhaps in her late teens at best, carrying a medical kit; the other a man, well built, pulling out several blankets for use by the tattered three. Quickly, the three took to the vehicle, and Sherry quickly fell asleep on Claire. The driver turned the car around, and headed in the direction they had come, leaving the ruined city behind forever.
Like it thus far? Let me know! Soon I will have posted Chapter One: Wanted, Dead or Alive.