Please everyone, forgive the horribly long delay. Very impossible computer trouble...anyways, I hope you find this next entry to be horrific. Oh, and please ignore the massive gap in the timeline when you stumble upon the Master Chief. That was simply a joke between my friend and I, on who was better Leon Kennedy or Master Chief from Halo. Who do you think is better?
Chapter Nine
Jill had not been able to venture greatly into the deepening realm of the elusive basement. She was fatigued and dehydrated to the point that she could taste the salt upon her dry lips. Her sweaty palms clutched the steel of the magnum as she moved through the firelight of burning torches. She knew not where she was going, but only followed what noises she had heard. Screams and crying. She thought at one point she had heard Leon, but she couldn't have been for sure. Oh no, Leon. He had told her to wait when she had first fallen, said he would be right back. It wasn't like there was anything she could have done, but the thought of him struggling to find her only to discover she was gone was just wrenching at the heart. Perhaps she would be able to find him, though no one really knows in this place.
The sticking heat trifled her to the point that she removed her beret and heavy shoulder pads, discarding them along the corridor she followed. She had come to many passages that met up with the particular hall she traversed through, however she ordained that she stay along the path she was on. She wasn't sure, but it felt as though she was gradually ascending. The walls were no longer of dirt or wood planks, but solid stone. Her footsteps sounded out in distant echoes, yet at the same time they gave off a secluded feeling of cramped lonesomeness. And then Jill stopped walking, she stopped moving, stopped breathing, and felt her heart stop. Thumping, continual, heavy, thumping that came in a muffled echo. Closer, closer and closer it came. Coming towards her from the darkness, coming like a nightmare. Then she saw it, the golden orange silhouette become illuminated in the torchlight, before disappearing into blackness. Then again, the barrage of jingling chains, and it disappeared in the darkness. Then again, mouth gaping and yellow eyes glinting, then disappearing again. Closer and closer. And then it wailed, a horrible awful scraping, gnawing cry that curled Jill's flesh.
Jill rose the magnum and fired round after round at the beast as it flashed in and out of the flames, it's wet, black hair lashing about as it thrashed from each slug. The head, shoot it in the head. She pulled the trigger again and again, until the cacophony of gunshots was silenced by panicky clicks. She had nailed it twice, right in the skull, but it kept coming. It could not be killed. It wouldn't die. Jill ran.
She could hear it breathing, her it snorting and grunting and crying meaningless words as it charged behind her, jingling chains and thumping feet in a rhythmic beat that orchestrated Jill's approaching death. Suddenly the hall was emitted into a large, circular room, and a wide pit lay etched in shadow suddenly stood between Jill and the room. Was it too wide to jump? She couldn't answer before he feet left the solid floor, and feeling completely enveloped by nothing but space. And then her ribs slammed into the opposite edge. She turned to see the nightmare jump and land easily upon the other side. It turned, and she saw the stitches upon its face, the rotting teeth, the blood that blanketed its rags and skin. Anyway way of escape, and so Jill let go. But suddenly she felt a horrible, screaming agony in her left hand. The pain yanked her short, and she wasn't falling, she was hanging. She felt the bones in her hand crackle and snap as she looked up to see the monster had her hand by a hook jutted through her palm. Jill screamed in horror as she was slowly pulled back up, back towards the nightmare.
"No…no no please…no," Jill cried, she was defenseless.
The searing twinge pulsated through her entire hand and temples, and she could do nothing but grit her teeth as the monster took a firm grip upon her hair and pulled her upon the ledge. Jill again screamed as the hook was slowly twisted and turned, ripping free of her bone and flesh. She looked at the gaping hole in her palm, and felt her hand go completely useless in its misery. She looked up at her killer, who slowly rose the hook yet again, looking into her face. And as the demon stared her back down, she could only mutter a single word, "…why?…"
And to her greater fear, the demon spoke in a gritty croak, "My…turn…"
Jill shut her eyes and prayed she would go into shock soon. Suddenly she heard the creature scream, wailing in fury before it was silenced by another roar. The blast of a shotgun, and Jill felt the monster release her. Jill opened her eyes to see Leon leap over the gap and tackle the monster full on. The two rolled away into the middle of the large room, lit by hundreds of brilliant candle lights and lanterns. The monster rolled to her feet and snarled at Leon who tried to defend himself with another blast from the shotgun. But the demon was too fast as hooked the shotgun and tore it from Leon's grasp. The shotgun clattered to the stone floor and the monster was free to pin Leon to the ground. Leon screamed and drove his survival knife into her throat. Gurgling and choking upon steel and her own blood, the monster rose and stumbled away. Jill rose to see Leon crawl rise to his feet to oppose the hunched drooping figure.
"Lisa…" Leon suddenly said, "You don't want to hurt anymore people. We came here to help you."
Jill was shocked, was he talking to it?
"NO!" was the croak that came from Lisa as she ripped the knife free from her throat, "You killed mother! My Turn!"
Leon suddenly spun around and thrust his foot into Lisa but she stopped it with her hands, stopped it cold. Leon winced in pain as she squeezed it before suddenly flipping him sideways into the air. He landed sharply against the stone and rolled away just before she slashed at him with the hook. Leon stood and threw his fist into the monster's face but she caught it with the curve of the hook and twisted his arm around, flipping him over her head and onto his back behind her. Again she turned and slashed but he was quick to stumble away.
Leon rolled to his feet and again pleaded, "Lisa! Stop this! Why do you want this?"
She screamed and charged again, bringing the hook to his sternum before he halted it with his hands. Quivering under bent frustration of survival and bloodlust, the hook drove steadily closer to Leon's ribs.
"Leon!" Jill cried.
"Lisa! Listen to me…" Leon growled through gritted teeth, "Let it go, Lisa…Let it go!"
"Never!"
"Fine…" Leon choked before grabbing at her face and ripping a mask free.
Jill gaped in horror as she realized it was someone's skin, sewn together in pieces and shredded. Lisa's withered and torn face was like the bark of a rotted tree, wrinkled and twisted in itself with black eyes. She screamed in horror as Leon threw the mask over the ledge into blackness. Lisa ran past Leon and dove over the ledge, screaming "Mother" over and over again as she fell into oblivion.
"Rest in peace, Lisa," Leon whispered.
Jill, horrified and amazed, turned her gaze towards Leon. The nice, easy guy, smeared in blood and the impurity of rage. He breathed heavily, his shoulders rising and falling in a panted exhaustion. She had mistaken him greatly. He was neither some macho man or a coward. He was a hero. Then everything broke out of the slow silence it had sunk into, and Leon turned and ran to Jill's side.
"Jill, Jill are you all right?" he said immediately helping her sit up.
Jill could hardly even look at him, she felt so weak. And yet, she whispered through her pain and tears in a short, quivering voice, "Thank you."
And quietly she let her head rest upon Leon's shoulder, letting a moment of rest break through. He held her, breathing for a moment in partial relief. And then Jill heard Joseph's voice, "Holy fucking shit man! You were insane! No no no no, you were beyond insane man! You were like some kinda hero!"
Joseph lay in the corner along the wall on the other side of the pit, applauding. Leon could only smile and shake his head, "Well whatever, I'm just glad you're all safe."
"Safe nothin' man, you kicked that bitch's ass! You put freakin' Superman to shame! Hell, you make that Master Chief loser look like a fuckin' pansy!"
Leon turned back to Jill and smiled, and she could only shiver in the prolonging pain and barely raise her lips in return. She was astonished, but everything just felt better now.
000
The man watched the monitors silently, saying nothing with his fingers gently tapping his lips in thought. The silvery green of the screens illuminated his gripped, muscular body, his brilliant red eyes glinting against the radiant, buzzing glow. Barry's eyes stung from the sharp contrast between the room's blackness and the bright glow from the monitor screens. Yet despite his horrid suffering, Barry remained in a state of reprieve. His friends were yet again safe.
"Well," the man's cool, collected voice pierced the air like a needle, "Leon Scott Kennedy has surpassed this house and all its glory with reprimanding skill. Jill's failure was most embarrassing, as it appears women cannot do all that men can. Then again, Joseph and Chris fell behind, surprisingly enough, near the beginning of our little experiment-"
"What's the matter with you. Those are people's lives, people are dying. You're killing them!"
"Really? Hmm…Now I may be blunt when I propose the question: what is your point? What makes a human any different from any other animal that god, or man, put on this earth? Is it our mind? More complex is it? No, the mind's simply our only defense, of course it has to be complex. Our only way of survival, is all in our brain. You cannot possibly understand what I am trying to do. I am trying to help the human race. I am trying to bring our strength to the maximum power of our minds, make us equal so we no longer need mechanical weapons. That is what these tests serve! Can you not see my perspective? This is all for the sake of science and our survival!"
"Fuck your perspective. What have you done with Rebecca?"
"Why do you even ask, you old fool. As you could probably have guessed Rebecca evened out the odds against you all by being the medical genius that she is. So I simply isolated her from the rest of you and decided to put her through a little test as well."
"You sick bastard…"
"Yes well," and the man leaned in close, his hot, putrid breath upon Barry's nostrils, "You're going to be forced to put up with my bastard-like traits for some time. Unless of course you wish to come home to the ravaged remains of your family…"
Barry was silent, looking away from the monstrosity.
"I have tested every single member of the two S.T.A.R.S. teams except one, now haven't I? And which one would that be…hmm…oh! Why it's you, Barry, darling. I have only one little specific test for you, simply because I have previously seen your physical, mental, and all around prowess in other situations. Yes, only one simple examination. Your obedience, your obedience to me as your commander, your controller. Your god. In this obedience test, you will be taught a very important lesson, Barry. You will be taught that your loyalties lie with no one but the man who holds the key to your family's…security. And I am that man."
000
Rebecca's eyes fluttered, her brain thumping and pulsing inside her skull. She felt the nausea and remaining slur of the shot she had been given. Her sluggish movements left her with only a vague perception as she gradually awoke in the hot dark. Immediately she heard the crackling roar of fire, and felt the dense sticky sweat of hell. She looked about her at the large chamber she lay in, surrounded by four massing fires kept from her by only simple stone chimneys and black, wraught iron bars. The room was dark, medieval, and satanic. Everything moved, or seemed to move, swayed by the firelight. A multitude of chains dangled from the shadows of the ceiling. Then in the corner she saw four ghostly white figures, illuminated by the fiery glow. They were busts of four, nearly identical, bald men.
Her knees quivering and her skin tight with an aching pain, she rose and began to walk to them. She looked at the first to see it had no eyes, as though they had been chiseled out. The next had no mouth, the third had no nose, and the fourth had no nose, mouth, nor any eyes. She looked down at the foot of each pedestal to find four stone masks, each similar to the four faces above them. They lay in the dirt, each mask below the bust they matched with.. In the middle of the small marble pieces lay a large and very old book. Rebecca's curiosity was overpowering, and she knelt down and scooped up the heavy thing. In the dim firelight she read the title which stated simply: "The book of Curse."
Hesitantly, she opened it's black bindings, and came to the first and only page with writing on it. It read:
The Four Masks,
A Mask that Sees no evil…
A Mask that Speaks no evil…
A Mask that Smells no evil…
A Mask that cannot See, Speak, nor Smell evil…
When all four have fallen into place, evil will awaken.
Rebecca dropped the book. All she need do was place the pieces correctly into the masks. But what would be the result? Evil will awaken…
She turned her gaze to the room behind her and was suddenly shaken by something she had not seen before. A coffin, suspended from the ceiling by four long chains, loomed over her. Upon its black face was the carving of a screaming women, her fingers twisting and gnarled about a star. A silver inscription was placed along the women's chest. It read simply: "Here hangs the body of Jessica Trevor. Loving mother of Lisa Trevor."
Rebecca turned back to the masks. This was a setup, some kind of trap or game or something. Rebecca remembered the man who had kidnapped her. Was he just toying with her? She noticed a crowbar that laid beside the pieces of marble and the book, and she picked it up. The crowbar, the marble pieces laid right there, the Book of Curse, and the coffin. A weapon, a puzzle, a clue, and a threat. It was a test. Rebecca looked around the room once more. Well it wasn't as though she had an alternative choice, she simply had to pass the test. Quickly moving to the masks, she began to piece them together. The eyes for the first, the mouth for the second, the nose for the third, and all three again for the fourth. As she pushed in the last piece, the mouth, she heard a massive clunk, and levers and gears begin to crank above. She watched as slowly the coffin was lowered down, down towards the floor. With a loud metallic slam dust was thrown up, and the gears and cranks again went silent. Nothing now, nothing except a gentle…quick…breathing. Panting, from within the coffin. Rebecca clutched the crowbar tightly, her hazel eyes fixed upon the metal. And then suddenly, a screech was heard from within coffin. It was flung open as two hands were thrust from its black insides. The gnarling fingers, groping at air, the arms, all were glistening red. They were skinned, and only shreds of flesh still hung from the bones and bloody muscle. The scream croaked and screeched, as slowly a head rose, long black hair that lay in tangled dreads hung from a meaty, bloody scalp.
Rebecca watched in horror as the head darted this way and that, sniffing the air for what it new was its prey. It's head cocked and twisted round like a bird, and then suddenly it leapt to its feet and turned towards Rebecca. No eyes, only black sockets of a skull, and a lipless skeleton grin that sneered at her. Its bones seemed to be on the outside of the meaty muscle and bloody fat that hung from its maggoty body. Long, spider like legs protruded from its back, edged with blood-stained claws. Its horrid muscles could be seen pumping through its furry skin and bone as it slowly crawled towards Rebecca in a scuttling motion, sniffing and snarling in a ravenous curiosity. And suddenly it leapt at her. Rebecca screamed and barely fell away, crawling backwards and staring at the creature that now clung to the wall. It opened its horrid, salivating mouth that lay littered with multiple tongues and rows of jagged teeth and-
and suddenly a door in the far corner of the room began to open. Rebecca didn't hesitate as she stood, striking the beast once across the face and running for escape.
000
"Barry you fool! Get away from the controls!" the man staggered upon his hands and knees, suffering the massive blow he had received to the jaw.
Barry stood, opening the door for Rebecca and hoping to god she could run fast enough.
"Barry!-"
"I've had it up to here with your bull shit," Barry roared, "You murdered my friends, you murdered Chris! You threatened my family!"
Barry turned once more and grabbed the man by his black collar shirt. He opened the door to the room and hurled out into the large laboratory. The man's limp body collapsed and crumpled into a row of computers.
"I've listened to your insane bitching for the last time. Now it's my turn to torment you."
"Barry," the man choked and pleaded, "Don't do this…leave me be. You don't want to hurt your family, do you?"
"I don't believe you, you sniveling son of a bitch! If you really have your men waiting at my house, where's your damn phone?"
Barry picked the man up and flung him against a wall. Drawing back his massive fist, he suddenly thrust it forth, aiming for the man's jaw. And suddenly a searing, gripping pain went up his forearm. The man had stopped his fist cold, and now slowly crushed it in his own grasp.
"I warned you, Barry…I told you not to defy me. But you leave me no choice but to punish you."
Suddenly he twisted Barry's fist round. The man grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air, his red eyes glaring furiously. He wasn't human, and Barry felt it as he began to choke and gasp for air. The man began to beat his head against the metal wall. Barry struggled for air as he was suddenly thrown up and kicked into the far wall. He collapsed against the cold floor, feeling those strange zig zag diamond shapes that metal always has along floors. And then he heard the man's heavy boots clunking along towards him before he was again picked up and brought face to face with those red eyes.
"You don't believe me? then I suppose proof is necessary."
And Barry watched in horror as the man removed a phone from his pocket and said simply, "Kill one of them. We have a point to prove."
"Yes sir," came a static reply.
Barry shook his head as tears swelled into his eyes, listened as the phone was put up to his ear and he could hear the sound of footsteps. And suddenly screaming, and then everything went silent as a distant gun shot echoed through the small speaker.
"No…no no no no…no…" the man let Barry drop to his knees.
"I told you," said the man.
Barry let out a scream as he gripped his head in his hands.
"Listen to me, Barry. Listen," said the man, becoming strangely docile, "Now is the time when your life is going to change. You're going to obey me now, and you're going to do everything I say, and your family won't be hurt anymore. Understood?"
Barry slowly rose his head, staring into those vermilion eyes. And he nodded.
"Good, it is now time to rectify this situation."
000
Rebecca scrambled through the door just to hear the horrible thing leap behind her. She sprinted up twisting stairs, pushing dangling chains out of her way as she climbed the old steps. Over her shoulder she looked to see the thing clinging to chains and walls, leaping after her in great bounds. It howled and scorned her like a ravenous animal, it's croaking snarling grunts like nothing she had ever heard. She reached the top of the stairs and turned to see the monster. Only it was not there, it was gone. Rebecca then felt the cold of the night, and she realized she was outside. In the midst of a wrought iron fence, tombstones surrounded her in tall, gently wavering grass. The monster had disappeared. She turned hesitantly away from the cellar that glowed orange from the firelight, turning towards the mansion which stood with its back towards her. A back door lay in the distance of the fog, and quickly she ran towards it. Climbing the steps, she took one last look. Nothing, and so she ran safely into the back door of the mansion and shut it behind her.
Leon, carrying Joseph and guiding Jill, emerged from the basement depths the way he and Jill had first entered hours ago. He closed and locked the doors behind him, and the three made their way back into the main hall. They were weaponless now. Nothing remained save Leon's Desert Eagle, and that was empty however Jill had been thoughtful enough to return it to him. Once in the middle of the hall, Leon set Joseph down and let Jill rest beside him before finally plopping down himself. All three were weary, stained with dirt and blood, their minds scarred.
"Leon," Joseph spoke randomly, "If we ever get out…I walked that whole way up."
"Yea, sure," said Leon panting.
Jill spoke next, "What do we do now?"
"We get out," Leon said, "We find anyone we can and we get out of here."
"How? What do you want to do? Walk back?" Joseph put in.
"No, certainly this place has vehicles or something."
Suddenly the door, looming in the back slammed shut and all three jumped. Leon was at his feet in a second, only to see the teary eyed figure of Rebecca stumble down the stairs. Her white vest was covered in blood.
"Oh Jesus," Leon whispered as he ran to help her to the others, "Rebecca are you all right?"
Her eyes were torn, her expression of shock and fear as she replied simply, "Chris is dead…Chris and the others are dead…monsters…"
"Hush, sit down. I want you get a hold of yourself and calm down. You're safe now, we're here. You're safe, nothing else is going to happen to you. We're not splitting up anymore, we're sticking together."
Jill watched in amazement at how caring Leon was. He and Rebecca had known each other well enough at the academy, but not all that long. They simply stuck together because they were both rookies. And in an istant he had pulled her out of her state of paranoia, Jill could see it as she looked at him now.
"We-we're…we're staying together?"
"Yes, that's right, we're not leaving you alone again."
"Do-do you promise?"
"Of course."
"So it's it then. We're getting out of here," said Joseph, "Let's go."
"But what about the others?" asked Jill.
"Didn't you hear her?" Joseph snapped, "They're all dead."
Jill went silent, the thought finally sinking in. She felt gutted. Then suddenly the doors from the west opened, and they all looked. Barry.
"Barry!" Leon stood, "Jesus your arm! Come here sit down we'll look at it."
But immediately Leon knew something was wrong, the determination in Barry's steps, the look of fear in his eyes.
"Barry…?" asked Leon, "You okay?"
"Listen Leon, I want you to know how sorry I am. But there's no other way."
And suddenly Barry swung the handle of his Colt Python around towards Leon's face. Leon blocked and was ready to spin around with a kick but he was grabbed and felt Barry's brick-fist explode into his side. He howled in pain and turned to feel the gun hit his temple, and he fell to the floor. As his vision blurred and he went black he could hear Barry shouting, "Get back Joseph! I'm sorry but there's no other way, just get out of here while you still can!"
And Leon blacked out.
000
When slowly he surfaced from the oblivion he had sunk in, Leon smelled the bitter fumes of chemicals and the stench of dead fetal pigs soaked in formaldehyde for high school dissection. He felt fluorescent lights, he heard their dim buzz, and he heard breathing. And bubbles, he heard bubbling, but that was faint. His vision cleared, and the first thing he saw was Albert Wesker, dead. The man's long, lean body sat against a wall, his sunglasses still over his eyes. A bullet hole was in his temple, and dried splotches and trails of blood stained his cheek, neck, and shirt. It was then that Leon noticed Barry's shuffling boots beside him.
"Barry…you're a traitor, you asshole," was all that Leon could muster.
Barry remained silent, tears in his eyes as he clenched them shut. Something still wasn't clear in this situation, and as Leon looked out of the corner of his eye he saw roughly where they were. It was a large laboratory, or so it seemed. Computers, lab equipment, test tubes, chemical tubs, trays, mainframes, wires running this way and that, cabinets, chryo-freezing chambers, all of this cluttered the large dimly lit room. Everything was covered in dust; this place had been abandoned for some time. And all over the dark room, their seemed to be a strange glow. A mint green, vague illumination that shown upon every surface. It was coming from behind Leon, and hesitantly he turned and-
"Jesus Christ," he could barely whisper as he stared at the monstrosity.
A glass tank in the shape of a cylinder, nearly twice the size of Leon, stood against the wall. A mint green colored fluid filled it completely, and it was sealed off by a lid clamped tightly down with massive bolts. On either side of the tank were what looked to be large control panels of some sort, hundreds of black and red wires running from them to the top and bottom of the tube. Into the tube, through holes on the lid, the wires wound around the tank and were all connected to the thing. Upon a computer screen for the controls was a picture of an hour glass with the words "98 completion for revival of Tyrant Project" above it. The digitalized hour glass was nearly empty. What was the thing? Was it dead? No it was alive, but what was it? It wasn't human, it wasn't animal, it wasn't anything. No no no, he had seen enough scary shit to last him a lifetime of bad horror movies, this was too much. He wasn't seeing this, no way.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" came the cool, crisp voice of Albert Wesker.
Leon turned in abrupt shock to see Wesker slunk out of the shadows of the room as though he was one of them.
"Wesker…?"
"Yes, I know. Shocking, but to the surprise of most humans, a man's body and brain can endure a great many things, even a gunshot such as this one. Of course Barry didn't know that when he first shot me…but he realizes my strength now."
Wesker shot a glance back at Barry, the man's large figure huddled in the shadows. Leon watched, too baffled to say anything, as Wesker stepped past him and stood before the glowing tank. He rose his arms, and gently touched his finger tips to the glass.
"Marvelous…" he whispered.
Suddenly Leon felt aware of something strange in his gut. A new feeling of terror grew as he felt the rope of trust between him and Wesker snap. He slowly stepped back, grasping at a table behind him for the nearest weapon. He found nothing.
"Going somewhere, Leon Scott Kennedy?"
"Wesker…" Leon had to avoid that topic, "What is going on?"
At last Wesker turned away from the black figure of the monster in the tank, and brought his gaze upon Leon, "Oh what? You haven't figured it out yet? I see. Well of course not, this estate has a secret that goes much deeper then your police work could possibly fathom. Nevertheless, I shall explain a few things to you. To begin with, I am not a member of S.T.A.R.S. and I am not a police officer."
"You-…what?"
"To further your obvious disbelief, I am a man of science. In fact, I am the leading scientist, or rather I was the leading scientist at this research facility, here in the depths of the Spencer Estate mansion."
Leon at this point was completely flipped around, he thought it best to stay quiet and listen.
"As you can see, this mansion is no ordinary mansion. It is a mask, a mask that hides the true purpose of this estate: discovery. Imagine, if you will, a chemical weapon that is so powerful, it can turn give a man not only the gift of long lasting life, but ultimate strength and prowess. A drug with no side effects, no dangers, simply the wine of gods given to grace mankind. Mankind would no longer need our great technological weapons, no more nuclear power, no more guns, no more mass destruction. We'd have true strength, we'd be the true hunters ourselves, no more need to hide behind mechanisms and steel. We could have the perfect soldiers, infected with this virus. They could, in turn, infect the entire world, so that we were all perfect. This is what we were trying to create. This is what we were trying to discover. And after decades of research and stained history, we had produced what it was we had been searching for. Right here, in this very laboratory, we created the T-virus. That is when we began to test what it could do. The knowledge we gained was precious, yet we had no comprehension of just what its true powers were. Even less, did we know, of how little control we had over it.
"The massive organization that now funds and covers up our research was extremely interested in this idea, so we found our source of expenses. However the virus was never perfected, and it would turn those who it infected into mindless, hunger-crazed zombies. Then one day, a month ago or so, an accident occurred. The Lisa Trevor subject, I see you've met her already, broke free. In the midst of the chaos the virus was spilled and became air born, and within a matter of hours those who had been infected became the undead. They sought nothing but to feed upon the warm flesh of those still living. They roamed the mansion, eating and infecting the depleting survivors, turning them into zombies as well. But there is more. The Cerberus, the dogs outside, were a test subject used in which small increments of the virus was placed in their food. They became the ravenous, wild dogs that currently roam the grounds of the estate, set free when the accident occurred. There were also other animals we would experiment with, the mutations were magnificent. And then, of course, there was the Tyrant Project."
Wesker ceased talking and turned towards the glowing tank again.
"Yes," he continued, touching the glass, "The Tyrant Project was my idea. I wanted something more. I wanted a soldier, the perfect soldier who would rampage about a city, unstoppable as it spread the infection by force. I wanted something more then perfect I wanted a nightmare to walk the earth, infecting and horrifying its prey. So I had sought out to inject the T-virus directly into a man's body, creating the Tyrant. However the man himself was not obedient, and so we were forced to keep him quarantined because of his behavior. And when the accident occurred…all my research was lost…"
Leon felt no pity for Wesker as he said, "Wesker. Why are we here? Why would you let us come down here? Why impersonate a S.T.A.R.S. member?"
Wesker turned back towards Leon and grinned, "After the accident, I found ways by myself to continue my research. The only problem was, I had no specimens with which I could test my theories about the T-virus. I even, in certain cases, used myself as a guinea pig. The results…were quite exquisite…"
Suddenly he removed his glasses, and Leon saw his eyes. His brilliant, red eyes.
"But this wasn't enough. And still I was not able to find the perfect soldier that I wanted. And so, I devised a plan. Sneaking my way in, with the help of the organization I now work for, I would become a S.T.A.R.S. team leader, and recruit the best of the best out of select categories of force. Chris Redfield, the U.S. marines. Barry Burton, the U.S. army. Jill Valentine, a renowned thief and escape artist until she was caught. You, Leon Kennedy, highest ranking officer out of the academy in the past fifteen years. On and on, I sought out the best, and then I timed it all perfectly. After I had recruited the two teams, I ordered that the gates of the mansion be opened, to let the infected spread and begin attacking innocent locals. That would attract the attention of the S.T.A.R.S. and lure you into the estate.
"Once here I would begin my test: who was the best specimen for my next experiment. Out of all of you, who would best suit the identity of the perfect soldier? One by one I watched as your team members died off or were severely injured and forced to rely on others to survive. Your teams dwindled down until only one remained standing. One who was the perfect soldier to be. That perfect soldier is you, Leon. And now that you have succeeded, I congratulate you. You have surpassed your teammates in the worst of situations."
"Where are the others, Wesker? Where are they!"
"Oh, they are either dead or walking as the lifeless corpses bent on feeding upon warm flesh. Those who were left alive are set free, for there's really nothing they can do to stop me."
"They'll warn the government, you didn't stop to think about that?"
"Please! Haha, the company I work for owns the government. We own everything, here, you can't escape us. You haven't even realized the company I work for? Fool! The leading in biological and medical studies, building Racccoon City into what it is! How do you think I found my status as the ranking S.T.A.R.S. officer? Umbrella Corporation. They own me and they own you, Leon."
Leon was stupefied. Umbrella Corporation was funding this maniac? Nothing seemed real, the false reality that Leon had stood on before was suddenly stripped beneath him and now he was falling into bewilderment. Stumbling on his words, trying to make maintain a calm frame of mind, he asked, "So how does Barry tie into all this?"
"Oh, Leon, he's just a pawn. I needed his strength to lure you in, and with a simple threat he gave in. You fools should learn, love for another can never do you good. You should love only yourself and your work. A simple threat to his family and he broke to my will."
"Wesker…" Leon's paranoia slowly grasping the better of him, "You're insane…"
