RESIDENT EVIL : REVELATIONS CHAPTER III
THE AFTERMATH OF THE ASHFORD FAMILY
Disclaimer : I do not own Resident Evil, the characters(A part of them.) nor the locations in this story. I added some new modifications into my story, including adding new characters in my story as well as new characteristics. Quite frankly, this is a pure fragment of my imagination. Enjoy.
Locations : Antarctica Transportation Facility
Year : 1999
Characters :
Alfred Ashford : Male, 36 years old, owner of Rockfort Island and associate of Umbrella, blonde short hair, 6 feet 2 inches, 133 pounds, has a British background
Alexia Ashford : Female, 36 years old, owner of the Rockfort Island private mansion and in mutation from the T-Veronica Virus, Blonde long hair, 5 feet 9 inches, 100 pounds, has a British background
Albert Wesker : Male, 38 years old, former leader of the S.T.A.R.S Alpha Team of the Raccoon Police Department and former Umbrella researcher, Blonde short hair, 6 feet 0 inches, 186 pounds, has a British background
Nosferatu A.K.A. Alexander Ashford : Male, Age unknown, creator of the Umbrella transportation base in Antarctica, Former co-owner of Umbrella and in mutation from the T-virus, Bald, 7 feet 2 inches, 156 pounds, has a British background
Steve Burnside : Male, 17 years old, Rockfort Island prisoner, brown short hair, 6 feet 3 inches, 145 pounds, has a Caucasian background
John London : Male, 37 years old, Umbrella researcher, Black short hair, 6 feet 3 inches, 135 pounds, has a Caucasian background
Lloyd Liechman : Male, 33 years old, Umbrella researcher, Red short hair, 6 feet 2 inches, 133 pounds, has a German background
Simon Maddix : Male, 32 years old, manager of the Umbrella Headquarters Administration in New York, Shaved hair, 5 feet 7 inches, 131 pounds, has an African background
Jeffrey Sand : Male, 44 years old, leader of the Umbrella Special Forces Service and ex-convict, Black short hair, 5 feet 6 inches, 133 pounds, has a Caucasian background
Robert Travis : Male, 38 years old, scientist, Brown/black short hair, 5 feet 6 inches, 133 pounds, has a British background
Antarctica Transportation Facility
January 15th, 1999
It was a dark day for Umbrella. The entire transportation base was annihilated into dust. There was nothing left except for the underground levels, remains of them. John London and Lloyd Liechman were called in to investigate the incident. They were kind of new into Umbrella. It was not long ago since they wired. And now, three weeks later, they need to find out any survivors at the remains of the Antarctica transportation base. This was a little bit nerve-racking for them. They have never done anything like this. When they arrived, they needed help to get underground. They went in the helicopter to get an electric cord to descend into the heliport. John detected traces of plane wheels. It could be one of the Ashford family's old-fashioned planes. These planes dated from World War II. Alfred Ashford was obsessed with wars, especially war technology like submarines, planes, jets, tanks, weapons, etc. Lloyd detected an elevator one level above them. Lloyd started speaking :
"This place is nothing more than a pile of rubble. There could not be any survivors. I know it."
"Do not give up hope. Alfred Ashford must still be alive."
"What about his father, Alexander and his sibling, Alexia?"
"I do not know. There is a small chance that Alfred could be alive in some way. Remember, the T-Veronica virus is spread all around this base. Anything could be possible."
"It seems plausible. Let us begin our search right away. I found an elevator above us. According to this map, it should lead us to the prison cells and the ancient armoury room."
They went on the floor above them and took the elevator. Miraculously, it worked. They descended into the prison and it shocked them to see that the prison took so much damage and was still intact after the explosion. They looked in the cells for any unnatural phenomenon or survivors. Nothing. No life, it was total emptiness. They found a couple of corpses in the cells though. Then, they found a staircase right beside the first prison cell. They walked their way upstairs and found blood on the metal floor. There was also a disused linear launcher besides them. It was out of ammunition. John started speaking again and said :
"Lloyd, come and take a look at this."
"What is it?"
"I think I have found Ms. Ashford."
Lloyd was walking his way towards him and could not believe his eyes. Everywhere were the remains of Alexia Ashford. They took a sample of her blood and examined it in a sort of DNA recognition device. It was indeed Alexia's blood. They put the sample in a small tube and put it delicately in their bag. Then, Lloyd thought of something :
"Why did they send us here to recover the remains of Ms. Ashford?"
"I do not know, Lloyd. Quite frankly, I do not want to know."
After this, they descended one level below and found a horrific site. The remains of a giant anthill were scattered all over. They figured that this anthill was purposively the research of Alexia Ashford about a new virus that she experimented : the T-Veronica virus. Then, they made their way to the left and entered a sort of computer room with an empty, enormous capsule at the center of the room. The entire room was filled in total darkness. They opened their flashlights and to all surprise, they saw Alfred Ashford inside the capsule. Was he still alive? How! He was killed by Steve Burnside. How could he have survived after this?
Alfred was speechless. Of course, it was about five months ago that the facility was completely destroyed. He was still in his elegant attire. All those months, he imprisoned himself inside the capsule to survive. He was in a terrible state. His entire body was numb. He could not move nor speak. However, the only thing he could have done was open his eyes and look at the reality that he saw in front of him. A disastrous reality. John gave a him a shot of an unknown substance. Alfred reacted oddly to the substance and started speaking :
"A.. A.. A… Alex… Alexia…"
"Dear Lord. He is alive! Quick, Lloyd, give me a sheet of some sort."
John covered him with a sheet and held him tight in case that he might fall or something similar. John asked him several questions :
"Mr. Ashford, how many fingers do I show at this moment?"
"Th.. Thr… Three…"
"What is your first name?"
"Alfred…"
"How old are you?"
"Why all these questions? I remember everything, you idiot."
"All right, then. What happened to you? How have you survived?"
"I was shot by one of my island's prisoners, Steve Burnside. I fell down a precipice and found my way here. I opened the capsule and release Alexia from her slumber. Then, I was completely unconscious. The only thing I remembered was that I awoke again and went on the capsule platform. I pushed the switch and locked myself in it. After this, I fainted again. I do not remember anything else."
"Sir, we are from Umbrella. We are here to save you."
"Thank you… Where is Alexia?"
"I have terrible news for you, Mr. Ashford. She is…"
"No… NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…."
Alfred started crying. He was filled with tears. He could not believe that his sister, his adored one was destined to suffer a terrible fate. He wished he could have done something. It was too late.
"Sir, we have good news though. We recovered a sample of her blood earlier and we might get a chance to make something out of this."
For a moment, Alfred was relieved. He had a plan in his mind. He did not want to reveal it in front of the two researchers though. Lloyd thought that it was time to move on in the investigation of the Antarctica base :
"John, we have to continue our investigation."
"What about Mr. Ashford?"
"I will call the Umbrella Special Forces Service to pick him up. Take him to the abandoned heliport. I will put a several number of flares for the U.S.F.S. helicopter to pick him up. I hope that they will see them."
"I hope so as well. Mr. Ashford, hold yourself on my arms. We have to take you to the heliport."
They got back at the heliport and slowly put Mr. Ashford on the floor. Lloyd made the call and all Alfred had to do was to wait for the helicopter to pick him up. Alfred was completely numb from head to toe. He could not move any more. Before John and Lloyd went back to their previous location, Alfred said :
"Umbrella will not go down easily. I promise you, Alexia. I promise you…"
As they could see, Alfred Ashford did not change one single bit. He was still a psychotic human being. He talked to himself. This man was indeed crazed.
In the meantime…
Simon Maddix was in his office at New York. He was supposed to meet a mysterious bargain hunter for the sale of some of his numerous virus samples. He did not know who he was. However, he was interested to meet him none-the-less. When they talked on the phone last week, the hunter said that he would trade something for the virus samples. Something out of the ordinary. He did not want to reveal this offer yet. Suddenly, Simon heard a knock on the main door. He said :
"Who is it?"
"It is I."
The voice sounded very familiar. He knew who it was. Therefore, he let the person in. They both started a conversation :
"So, you have something that might sting my curiosity? Is this correct?"
"Yes. Like I have mentioned in our last conversation, this "offer" is something that could change the future of Umbrella."
"How so? How do I know that this is not an idiotic scheme of you?"
Then, the bargain hunter gave a check of a hundred thousand American dollars. Then, he gave Simon a picture of a young man with his family.
"Who is this?"
"This young man's name is Steve Burnside. He was a prisoner at the Rockfort Island prison complex, captured last year with his father."
"What became of him?"
"You remember the offer I was referring to earlier?"
"Are you saying that this "offer" is this young man?"
"Exactly. You are more coherent than I thought you would be."
"Why would this be any interest of mine?"
"This young man is infected with a special type of virus. He is supposed to be deceased. However, a miracle happened. When I found his body, there were still signs of life in him. The virus reproduced his cells and created small, but recognizable heart beats. I captured him and took him to a faraway region. This I cannot reveal."
"Continue. You have my attention."
"Like I was trying to say, this young man survived the infection. This virus is unlike any other viruses. It is very different from the T-Virus, even though it has been cloned from this virus, it has special abilities. Alexander Ashford, the creator of this virus, took a gene from an ant and altered the T-Virus with it. Its results were stunning."
"What is this virus called?"
"It is called the T-Veronica virus."
"Well, then, I might have something to offer you after all."
"You were mentioning the fact that you could give me numerous virus samples?"
"You are correct. So, do we have an arrangement or not?"
"Yes. We do."
"Well then, we agree. You give me the specimen and I give you the virus samples."
"All right, then."
Simon shook the hand of the hunter. Before he left his office, Simon asked him a last question :
"One last question, my friend, who are you?"
"I am a former researcher of Umbrella. You might know me as Albert Wesker."
This treacherous being was still alive after all. Why would he want virus samples? For what purpose? And, for whom? He promised Simon to give Steve as soon as possible. He promised him that it could change the future of this corporation as well. He might have had a point.
Back at the Antarctica transportation facility…
John and Lloyd continued their exploration of the remains of the Antarctica base. Now, they were located in the Spencer mansion look-a-like room that the Ashfords created. The purpose was still unknown. They did not believe their eyes. Every detail was identical to the old estate. The painting however was a portrait of the Ashford family. Then, they made their way in the Biohazard room. It was also identical to one of the mansion's rooms. The statue of the woman drawing water, the gallery, the tiger head, everything was all related. They made their way a level above them. More precisely, they made their way in the Cargo room. It was completely frozen by the icy weather. They opened their flashlights again. They investigated the room. Everything was frozen. They could see the cargo conveyor belt below them. There were objects frozen in the ice block, which was water flooded before. Unexpectedly, they saw a dead body hung on some sort of crane. They examined it and concluded that this would be Alexander Ashford, better known as Nosferatu, the name of Alexia's research experiment. The chest was wide open. They could see the heart. However, no sings of life. The eyes were blind-folded. How could a brilliant scientist turn out to be a demonic creature! John started speaking :
"It looks like we have found another member of the Ashford family."
"It is indeed Alexander Ashford."
"How could he have turned like this?"
"You do not know? Alexia used him as a test subject for her research on the T-Veronica Virus."
"This explains everything then. Untie him. We have to bring him back to America for research."
"All right. Would you mind giving me a hand though?"
"I am on it."
At the heliport…
Alfred saw the helicopter in the sky. He was completely relieved. The helicopter descended and a man exited it. It was Jeffrey Sand, the leader of the Umbrella Special Forces Service. This organization of Umbrella is specialized not only in rescue, it is also focused on capturing everyone that might prove to be a perfect test subject for the corporation's needs. It is also well-known to be one of the most brutal and deadly Umbrella organisations up to date. Jeffrey Sand is indeed the definition of brutal. He was serving as an ex-convict in Mexico. He was arrested for the murder of 10 military commanders. This man was also known to be a mercenary. He was a cold-hearted man and he did not care who he would kill as long as he got the work done. When he was hired by Umbrella, he did not want to participate in their schemes at first. However, someone convinced him otherwise. That someone was Alfred Ashford. He knew he could trust Jeffrey with every intention. He was sort of a "bounty hunter" of Umbrella. Alfred would pay him a lot of money to make him to his orders perfectly. He accepted. And now, he is the leader of a strong organisation. Jeffrey spotted Alfred and started talking :
"Alfred, are you all right?"
"For the moment, yes."
"Let us get you back "home"."
"I cannot wait."
Sarcastic laughter
Alfred wanted revenge. He could not wait to put his hands on the ones who destroyed this base. He would avenge his sister. He had a plan figured out. All it needed was time.
Back at the cargo conveyor belt room…
John and Lloyd were done untying the body of Alexander Ashford. They knew that the T-Veronica research of Alexia Ashford was somehow involved in Alexander's transformation into a horrible, monstrous being. They examined the body attentively, looking for signs of life. Nothing yet again. They examined the opening on Alexander's chest. It was horrendous. How could Alexia have done this to her father? What motivated her to use her own father as a mere test subject? The reasons were unknown. John started speaking again :
"Do you really think we should bring Alexander Ashford's body back at New York?"
"We have orders, John. Remember?"
"You are right. Let us carry him back at the heliport for now. We have to continue our investigation."
John devised a plan for covering more grounds for their exploration of the facility. They decided to search separately :
"Lloyd, I think it might be a good idea to split up and cover more ground separately."
"You are right."
"I will go in the machine room and you search in Alexander's room."
"All right then."
Lloyd went to take a ladder and climbed up a stage until he reached the entrance of the employee lodgings. Then, he reached the stair case to the right of him. He descended the stairs and reached the door to Alexander's room. Oddly, the ceiling lamp was still functional. He opened the desk's drawers for clues. Nothing. He opened the computer and it was still functional after all this time. It showed medical records of Alexander's health condition. They were mentioning the fact that Alexander was victim of a lung cancer. Nobody was warned about this. Why would Alexander hide this? What about his children? Did they know about his condition? The answers were still mysterious and unanswered. Lloyd closed the computer and went back to his investigation. He found a secret passage, leading to the armour room, one level below him. There was a chair, with metal cuffs. Was this Alexander's fate? Is this where Alexia and Alfred would imprison their own flesh and blood?
Meanwhile, John was in the machine room. There were tons of bodies lying on the floor. John opened his flashlight and surveyed the room. Nothing. No sign of life. He saw the old tool compressor. It was not functional anymore. He opened the tool closet to see if there was anyone. No one. It was total darkness. No survivor up to date.
Lloyd opened the caged floor with a couple of tools and made his way down into the armour room. He examined the chair that held Alexander's body. It was soaked with blood. He also discovered that all of the armours were destroyed somehow. By what? He made his way at the end of the room. A huge axe was on the floor. What was it doing here? He decided to give John a call. :
"Lloyd to John, over."
"This is John, over."
"I have found no signs of life. Have you?"
"None. Although I have found out that Alexander Ashford was suffering from a lung cancer. This might help us to determine why he was transformed into this horrible creature."
"Understood. I think I have seen enough for today."
"I agree. Let us get back at our heliport and call for an helicopter to pick us up."
They both met again at the heliport and called for an helicopter right away. When Lloyd was about to grab Alexander's body, it was gone from the body bag. How? He was eliminated by an assailant at the heliport ground about five months ago. The assailant's identity was unknown. Then, Lloyd and John decided to take a look around to search for his corpse. John decided to go first. Lloyd stayed behind him. They both equipped themselves with a .45 Colt Magnum and slowly made their way out of the heliport. All of a sudden, they heard a groaning sort of suffering noise. Almost as if it was crying for help. They loaded their magnums and decided to look for this voice. John slowly made his way on the iced floor and step by step, he was extremely vigilant. Then, the horror began to occur. John saw Nosferatu, the code name of Alexia and Alfred's experiment on their father. He was still alive. Then, he pulled out his long tentacle and pointed it towards John. He swang it wide open and made John flew on the wall in a hard, pounding way. John needed help. Lloyd ran to help him. Luckily, Nosferatu still had his eyes blindfolded and could not see anything. Lloyd pulled out his magnum and shot him. Nothing happened. Then, Nosferatu pulled out another tentacle. It was different. It was a razor-sharp, almost metallic-like tentacle. It pierced through Lloyd's heart and sent him on the wall as well. John screamed :
"LLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYYDDDDD!"
John pulled out his magnum as well and tried to shoot the creature. Nothing happened unfortunately. It was time for him to know death, in a painful and tragic way. Nosferatu pierced him with his second tentacle and sent him deep under the iced floor, which made the ice break into pieces, revealing nothing but water. Everyone sank into the water. This was the end for all of them… Nosferatu tried to make his way on the surface. It was effortless. He drowned to the bottom of the floor and died in a silent way.
At the heliport...
The helicopter arrived and Jeffrey was made his way on the heliport ground. He saw the equipment of John and Lloyd. He tried to search for his companions. No signs of them. He spoke and asked to one of his men :
"Destroy this place. Immediately. This is an order."
"Yes, sir."
His motives were unknown. He knew it was the right thing to do, to silence this incident once and for all. He went in the helicopter before the remains of the underground facility exploded. It annihilated itself completely, leaving nothing more than rubble. He searched the bags of Lloyd and John. He found a blood sample with the name tag "Alexia". Jeffrey knew that this would cheer Alfred up. He would be proud of his reward when he would show this to the Ashford legacy successor.
In Mexico…
A tall, black-haired Mexican made his way into a bar. He seemed in a complete state of agony. He talked to a blonde-haired man and said :
"Vosotros! Vosotros! Americano, yo tengo quiero de vosotras!
"You want my help? Fine, I will be on my way."
The blonde-haired man followed the Mexican to his Hummer and embarked with him. Then, he started speaking :
"Americano, we need you in the laboratory."
"What happened?"
"Something occurred with the young man's body. It regained full health."
"Excellent. Take me to the laboratory now."
"As you wish, Mr. Wesker."
Albert was in Mexico. The Mexican spoke about a laboratory hidden in Mexico. More importantly, the young man's identity was still unknown and Albert's appearance in Mexico is unexplainable as well. It took about thirty miles to get to the laboratory. Their destination was right in front of them. However, the laboratory was not on the deserted ground. It was about sixty feet underground. Albert and the Mexican walked on the abandoned heliport platform. Albert took a remote control and pushed on the blue button of the control. The platform started descending. Then, they arrived on the first floor of the laboratory. A scientist named Robert Travis was heading towards them. He started speaking :
"Mr. Wesker. We have been waiting for you."
"What seems to be the problem with Project Sigma?"
"Nothing. In fact, the operation is heading under way. It is progressing each and every hour. I have never seen anything the like. His cells are reproducing one by one. You have found him in time. He had not long to live though."
"Take me to the regeneration chamber. I need to see this myself."
"As you wish, Mr. Wesker. Follow me."
Robert was working for Albert by choice. He adored studying viruses worldwide. The T-Veronica Virus was intriguing to his eyes. Albert was intrigued by it as well. This could have been the most powerful and most mysterious virus up to date. Robert had a background has a biohazard agent specialist. He worked as an Umbrella researcher before. However, he was getting annoyed by Spencer's orders. Therefore, he quit and this is when Albert proposed him to be his "second-in-command" of his operations. He agreed to the offer and both of them made a great team, almost better than him and William Birkin when they were simple teenagers back then. These times were buried in the ancient times of their lives. Albert and Robert were on their way to the regenerating chamber. They opened the door with the main keycard and gained access to the chamber. They both saw the floating body of Steve Burnside inside an examination capsule. His lifesigns were more than perfect. His heartbeats were normal. However, he was in a state of a deep coma. Albert started speaking :
"This will be our greatest achievement up to date. I cannot wait to see the full results of what Steve's new powers can produce. He will be a great tool for our future in viral research."
Albert started laughing. It was a diabolical laugh. Who knew what would happen next…