The S.T.A.R.S team loaded into the big black helicopter, and the large blade began to turn.
It was a brisk evening, especially for such a humid month as July. The clouds were just turning orange as the sun began to set, and the wind made a nice rustling sound as it passed through the trees below.
This would have all been a very nice sight to see if Alpha Team had not been busy with their pre-mission prep. Everyone on their team had their own special way of doing last minute mental, and physical preparation before being sent into any type of possibly harmful situation.
Brad sat in the cockpit, incessantly repeating a calming mantra his psychologist had recommended.
Big open green field, Big open green field
Jill sat silently and centered herself by concentrating on what she could contribute to the team on the mission.
Chris, and Barry, both sat unloading and reloading their guns almost rhythmically. For every time Chris unloaded his Beretta, Barry slammed his clip back into his Colt Magnum Revolver, and vice versa.
Click-click, Click-click, Click-click
Joseph read a playboy, the same playboy he had read every time they left for a mission, the playboy with his ex-girlfriend in it.
Albert Wesker just sat. He didn't need to concentrate, he wasn't paid to concentrate, he was paid for results, and results were his only concern.
As the plan flew over the forests surrounding Raccoon City and the Arklay Mountain Range the sky slowly turned from reddish-orange to a dark black, and the moon shone high in the sky. They could occasionally hear a coyote howl, or the radar on the 'copter bleep out loud.
"ETA?" Wesker asked.
"W-W-Were looking at about 5 minutes s-sir," said a very jumpy Vickers from the cockpit.
Shortly after the team could see the billowing smoke from the wrecked 'copter coming up through the clearing where trees had once been before Bravo Team's unexpected landing. As they made their decent to investigate Wesker pointed out the Spencer Estate on their far left.
"If anything goes wrong, that is our contact point. Understand?" he asked.
"Ay-ay sir!" they replied in unison.
The helicopter landed in a clearing about 500 feet from the downed craft, and the Alpha Team, sans Brad, filed out in military fashion to do their rounds as their investigated. Chris, Jill and Wesker moved in on the Bravo 'copter, as Barry stood guard and Joseph did a preliminary sweep of the perimeter of the crash site.
As they approached the helicopter all three team members clicked on their flashlights.
"Sir," Chris said, "It looks like their rear blade-mechanism suffered some kind of electrical damage and exploded off the craft." He aimed his beam towards the back of the helicopter, where the tail was in pieces, and on fire.
"Noted." Wesker replied.
"Look!" Jill said from the front of the helicopter.
The two men turned around and moved in towards her to see that there was apparently someone in the cockpit.
Wesker knocked on the outside of the 'copter.
"Hello?" he said, "Carl? This is Capt. Wesker…are you alright in there?"
Carl Jurgens was the Bravo team flight specialist. He had decided to stay at the crash site after Bravo Team went down, as he had suffered minimal injuries and felt it best to wait for Alpha Team to come evac.
The door to the cockpit from the outside had suffered considerable damage in the crash so it too the full force of the two men and a swift kick from Jill to remove it from the helicopter. As they ripped off the door, the body of Carl Jurgens slumped out and into Chris's arms.
"Oh my god," Chris said softly.
Jill shined her light on the man's body, and noticed severe gash wounds, shaped like canine teeth all over the man's body, and face. One of his eyes had been gouged out, and his right arm, from the elbow down was missing, all that was left was a bloody stump.
"What could have happened to him sir?" Jill asked in shock.
"That's what we are here to find out. But coddling him is not going to solve anything, put the body down Chris." Wesker replied sternly.
As Chris let the body slump the damp forest floor, Joseph radioed for their attention.
Hey guys—
"What is it Frost?" Wesker replied.
You ought to come check this out—
"Move in." Wekser ordered and they turned in Joseph's direction.
When all the light was on him, Joseph bent down and picked up his discovery. It was a severed lower arm. It had been chewed up badly like some dog bones he had once seen.
"Anyone need a hand?" He said laughing.
"That must be Jurgens's" Chris shouted.
"Who?" said Frost.
Just as he was listening for Chris's response, Joseph was distracted by a noise. Now this was not the same kind of noise he usually made up to ignore his fellow officers. No, this was definitely different. He heard rustling coming from in front of him, in the darkness. He heard growling coming from behind him as well.
Immediately he took his flashlight beam and began to scan the ground around him.
"What is going on there Frost?" Wesker shouted.
Joseph continued to flail his light around looking for the noise, until all of Alpha Team's lights were shining in his direction.
Something was wrong, he could hear the growling getting louder and closer, and occasionally he thought he saw large black masses swift run past his beam of light. But as quickly as he would follow the noise would come from somewhere else.
"Guys," Joseph said slowly, "I don't think we're alon—."
Before he could finish his sentence one of the black masses jumped him and sent him to the ground.
"Frost! Frost are you alright?" Jill shouted.
"Hold your positions," Wesker said sternly.
As he screamed and tried to fight it off he felt his fingers get wet and slimy. He grabbed for his flashlight while fighting off the monster and shone it towards the beast
That is when he saw what it was.
A large, sinewy, bloody dog, whose ears, and fur had been ripped from its bones was now on top of him, its mouth frothing. Its eyes were blood red, and there was a large piece of flesh missing from its hind quarters, but it didn't seem to notice, or care. All it cared about was Joseph.
He continued to fight it off, until he heard another growl from behind him, he looked up and just as he noticed another beast, the first one took a bite out of his leg.
"Ahhhh!" he screamed.
"Joseph!" Barry shouted taking a step forward.
"I said hold your positions Burton!" Wesker yelled.
Joseph tried to keep fighting, but every time he fought one of these dog beasts, these dog zombies the other would attack, it was all too much, and they were tearing him apart. The pain was too much, but he refused to give up. He shoved the first dog off of him and sat up, grabbing his pistol, just as one dog charged at him he fired a round into its leg sending it down. The second then turned and charged and he fired another shot into his head, stopping it dead.
He sat back down on the ground to assess his wounds.
"Is everything alright Frost?" Wesker shouted.
"I think so sir," he said, 'I think I killed them both—."
Just then he felt warm sticky breath on the back of his neck.
"Both what?" Jill asked.
Joseph turned around and saw the dog he had shot in the leg standing in front of him as if nothing had happened.
"Fuck," he said as the dog lunged for his throat and ripped it to pieces.
All the Alpha Team heard in reply was a scream that slowly turned into a wet tearing noise.
Joseph Frost was dead.
And the growling suddenly became louder.
"Do you hear that?" Chris asked.
They all looked at Wesker. He couldn't afford to seem suspicious, he had to lead them as they would expect, and he knew more of those canines were beginning to surround them. Although Joseph's death was the first true test, and a successful one at that, there were still other creations, other then the dogs, which needed to be tested, so they had to keep moving.
:"Everyone back to the 'copter! Hurry!" Wesker screamed.
The whole team ran for their helicopter as fast as possible. Each member occasionally looking over their shoulder's to make sure they didn't have whatever killed Joseph on their tails.
Chris knew they were approaching the craft as he heard the blades turn on and begin to whip around in the air.
Strange—he thought
Protocol says to only start the 'copter after every member is accounted for…
Unless…
Chris picked up speed. Something had scared Brad and he was about to leave without them. He was the first one to the 'copter as it had already began to leave the ground. He jumped and tried to grab onto one of the foot-rails, but they were too high up…
"Wait! No! Come back!" Chris shouted as he fired a round in the air.
Chicken-Heart Vickers had flown the coop.
"What do we do now?" Barry asked.
"Head for the mansion!" Jill shouted.
"Do as Valentine says," Wesker said, "Redfield, you and I need to keep these things off our asses, shoot to kill."
They all ran for the mansion, the dogs hot on their trail, as Chris and Wesker shot into the darkness to scare them off.
"Ah," Wesker thought, "things couldn't be going more perfectly if I had tried."
Tonight was going to be easy.