Recommended BGM:

1. Resident Evil (Remake) - Safe Haven

2. Resident Evil (Remake) - Unclean Kitchen

3. Resident Evil Zero - The Echo of Darkness

Chapter 11

"Rebecca? It's Chris. Let me in!"

There was a sudden sound of something heavy sliding against the wall and the door to the storage room quickly creaked open. Rebecca stepped away from the entrance as he hurried inside and closed the door behind him, the wandering zombies still trying to get ahold of their meal with difficulty as they slowly approached the door in vain. Richard was still asleep inside the room.

Rebecca shuddered. "Alex… is he—?"

"He sent me to give this diary to you and see what you make of it," said Chris as he took out the journal and gave it to her. "I wanted to go with him to continue the investigation, but he seemed more worried about leaving you and Richard here alone with those zombies still out there so I agreed to meet you here again."

"Oh," she said, seemingly relaxing as she opened up the journal. "So … this is…?

"Based on what we read, there was some kind of research going on here. I don't know what, but—"

"Virology," she intervened, walking across the room and grabbing a pair of documents lying on top of the drawer as she handed them to Chris. "Apparently, they've been studying virology here for reasons I still have yet to find out."

"What's all this?" Chris asked, perplexed as he skimmed through the first page. As far as he could tell, it was all a bunch of gibberish to him with numbers involved beside them. "DH5a-MCR … DH10."

"You're looking at a strain chart," she answered vividly. "To put it simply, there's quite a lot of, uh... stuff in there about viral infections and the different types of strains certain cells in the human body react to."

Chris nodded. "All I got was that a virus is definitely responsible for what's going on around here."

Rebecca nodded back and proceeded to pay close attention to the journal in her hand, opening it up and skimming through the text.

Chris began to summarize what he remembered reading about.

"So at some point around May eleventh, there was some kind of spill or outbreak in a lab somewhere in this mansion. Within a little over a week, eight or nine days, the person that wrote in the journal turned into one of those things out there."

Rebecca's expression turned grim and a sudden shock in her eyes started to show up, her face quickly becoming pale.

"Itchy skin… swelling … blisters…— all in as little as …under forty-eight hours? This is … wow."

Chris nodded. "My thoughts exactly. Is there any possibility or a way to tell if we could already be infected?"

She shook her head as she finished skimming through the diary.

"We don't even know exactly what kind of virus this is or if it's even treatable. Without much information, I can't say for sure…" Rebecca motioned at the papers Chris still had in his hands, "...as all of that is over a decade old. Plus, there's nothing specific about any infection rates or the application method at that. But if you're worried about it being airborne, at that kind of speed and toxicity rate … if it could survive for this long, all of Raccoon City would most likely be infected by now and we'd be in the middle of an apocalypse. All I'm saying is that, while I'm not a hundred percent positive, I highly doubt it's still contagious if said virus was airborne."

Chris was immediately relieved for himself and the rest of his STARS teammates, now wanting to take all this information to Alex himself. However, he still felt bad about the zombies being victims of this viral infection. It was a depressing thought, regardless of whether or not this whole incident was a result of their own making.

"I have to go report this to Alex and help him find the others as well," he said, somewhat worriedly. Even though he knew Alex's background as a highly experienced soldier, he still felt the need to go look for him and make sure he was doing okay as this whole mansion can drive anyone insane, regardless of their mental or physical state. It still felt weird to him that even though he was technically his superior, Alex was much older than even Barry, yet his extensive decades-worth of field experience made him a more viable option to follow his lead rather than Alex following his. "If any of them somehow stumbles upon the lab without knowing the potential dangers it could be housing…"

"Then they could be…" Rebecca looked paler than before, stricken at the thought, but nodded back at him. "Just… be careful out there. Alright?"

Chris gave a slight smile as he returned the papers given to him.

"I will," he responded and looked back at a sleeping Richard. "By the way, how's he doing?"

Rebecca gave a smile back at him, turning her head halfway as she rolled her eyes to the side in order to take a quick look at her Bravo teammate. "He's recovering pretty fast. I'm just glad he's still alive after what he's been through, poor thing…"

"Hey with someone like you …" Chris stepped forward to give her a pat on the shoulder, "...he's in great hands."

Rebecca nodded happily, almost shedding a tear in front of him. "Thanks, Chris. Really, it means a lot."

Chris smirked before he immediately went back into the darkness of the hall once more, dodging the few zombies that were left near the staircase and dashing his way back to the corridor he once was before going inside the sword key-locked door.

Crash!

Just as he immediately closed the door to the other hall behind him, the two zombies that were seemingly banging on the windows in vain had somehow managed to put enough force to break them apart. They slowly threw their decaying bodies inside the hall, quickly making Chris move to the right, past the door to the keeper's bedroom, and opened the door at the end to find himself in another corridor once again.

Great, another corridor with a series of doors to choose from. Wait… I can hear something ticking.

The door across just to his right was the same room he heard the ticking of an old grandfather clock from before; inside of the dining room. However, the door was almost in total disrepair, as if someone had shot at it multiple times and finished off the job by smashing it open with enough force. Holding his breath from the terrible stench of decomposing matter as he skipped through a couple of dead bodies, possibly as a result of the work done by Alex or any of his other STARS teammates, he turned to the corner and saw another dead body, but looked almost half-eaten and decapitated as well.

Maybe they knew how to prevent further zombie mutations by now?

The "dead" zombies he had just passed by weren't burnt or decapitated so it was still up for debate if they knew about the precautions. Although chunks of brain matter from one of the corpses were missing, he hoped it was enough to prevent their reanimation.

Chris began studying the lifeless features of the face that laid at least a foot away from the main body, immediately recognizing it as Kenneth Sullivan, suddenly feeling a wave of anger, sadness, and frustration all at once, with a now renewed determination to look into the connections between this place and the lab itself.

This is not right. Not right at all. Kevin, Joseph, Kenneth, Edward, —how many more have died? How many more have to suffer because of a dumb accident?

He finally turned away, striding purposefully toward the door that led back to the dining room. He'd start back at the main hall, check every possible route that the STARS could've taken, and, if necessary, kill every creature that may get in his way, feeling more vengeful than before.

His teammates weren't going to have their deaths be in vain; Chris would make sure to see it through, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

Barry trained his colt toward the crawling hungry ghoul and fired, the heavy round of the magnum splattering its skull into small chunks of mush and dark liquid, the creature almost having caught him off guard as it barely managed to get a hold of his boot.

Several tiny droplets of whatever liquid it had, had splashed over his face as the zombie gave a quick spasm and died. Glowering, Barry wiped his face with the back of his fingerless glove, his expression filled with complete disgust. The kitchen wall around it got it the worst as the dark splattered liquid was washing over the small, polished tiles of the kitchen wall, coursing down like dark drops of red tears as it pooled down to the cracked floor.

Barry lowered his magnum, feeling the pulsating ache in his left shoulder. The door upstairs had been tightly locked. He had to fire a few rounds directly at it, smash it several times with his left shoulder and his right boot, until it finally gave in, the door immediately crashing down to its side. He was lucky enough to have that route secured, thanks to his powerful .44 colt. Without it, he would most likely have to find another way around, possibly the same thing that might've happened to Frank, who is still missing.

But it was obvious enough that he was never here. If he did go through, the crawling creature would've been long dead by now, just like the decomposing corpse he and Jill had stumbled upon the first time they went looking for him.

So where are you now, Frank?

He could've gone through the door in which Ken's body was, which was the most likely case scenario as that was one door he hadn't tried yet, other than the ones around the other side of the corridor. Through the winding corner on that side of the hall, there was what seemed to be an empty elevator shaft, but either the buttons were unresponsive or the elevator itself was completely shut down elsewhere. Past it was a set of stairs through a narrow path that led down to the basement where he currently is now.

The kitchen he'd stumbled upon was a complete and utter mess. Some of the tiles on the wall were corroded and stained with some sort of thick, oily substance. Small roaches had made their home in the dark corners of the messy place. Dirty dishes laying on the dusty kitchen table and counters were crawling with maggots. Most of the kitchen utensils were all, but seemingly unused for a long while; not even a single sign of Frank at all, and the single door in the center across from the sink had been locked.

He began to think about leaving the place until he noticed a trail of disturbed dust on the concrete floor that led to a small area that he hadn't gone through yet.

Sighing heavily, Barry passed over the smelly mushed-headed creature and proceeded to follow the trail, turning to a quick left through the corner and saw nothing, but the same old-fashioned elevator shaft, which was also empty. He didn't bother pressing the call button since the one upstairs hadn't worked. Plus, the gate was becoming rusted; a sign that no one has used it in quite a while.

The trail ended just before the entrance, which was most likely where the rotting creature was lying for a while, long enough for the entire place to be struck down by thin layers of dust.

With nothing to go for, he decided to go back the way he came, wondering what Jill had discovered herself by now. The sooner they find a way out, the better. There was no place he had ever disliked as much as he did with this mansion. It was cold, disturbing, and dangerous, and it smelled like a meat locker that had been shut off for a whole week. He was never the superstitious type or the type of person to let his imagination run wild with potential frights, but ever since he first saw his fair share of rotting freaks, he half-expected to see some white-sheeted figure with rattling chains every time he turned around behind his own back.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

There were distant sounds coming from somewhere above behind the door he'd first come from, growing ever closer as a knot of dread struck him in the gut.

Who else could it be? Frank and Wesker are missing. Jill is in the other wing. Chris may still be searching the second floor…. Can the monsters…?

Someone or something has already reached the basement floor as the echoing thumping stopped, the doorknob slowly giving a small twist in response to whatever was making it turn as the door slowly creaked open.

His body tensed and froze in place near the path leading directly to the unused elevator, slowly raising his colt to the other corner of the kitchen, not being sure whether or not the ghouls could be smart enough to open doors and stalk their prey through different rooms.

It felt like an eternity as the few seconds flew by, before someone familiar stepped into view, their uniform being that of STARS. The guy was fairly tall, though maybe an inch shorter than Barry.

It was definitely one of the rookies from Bravo and had just remembered his name as soon as he recalled Frank talking a lot about him through his own experience in the field.

Barry lowered his gun, smiling as all kinds of excitement and relief swept inside of him. The man stopped mid-way, startled to see him.

"You…," he said with a surprised tone behind his voice. "Bran…, uh, Barry… Burton, right? Alpha?"

"Mason?" Barry replied as he stepped forward to take a closer look at him. His face seemed like it had seen all kinds of horrors inside the mansion, complete with mental exhaustion. "Alex freaking Mason?"

"The one and only," Alex responded, growing a slight smile at him. "Thank God to see someone else left alive. Was about to start losing some hope, man!"

Barry nodded in agreement. "My words exactly! Is anyone else from Bravo still alive? Or have you maybe seen anyone else from Alpha?"

Mason frowned, his expression suddenly changing to a bleak stare in space. "Edward, Kevin, Kenneth… they're all gone. Enrico and Forest are still missing and we don't even know if they..."

Barry raised an eyebrow. "We? You mean the other rookie and Richard are still alive?"

Alex nodded back, trying his best to sound more reassuring than his own grim expression let on.

"They are, but Richard got hurt by a 'giant' snake, got poisoned, but thank God for Chris having found us, or else I wouldn't have been able to drag his ass across the mansion for his treatment without getting chomped by those things out there, especially when they turn into those crimson shitheads."

Barry shook and froze in place, struck by a lightning bolt of information inside of his mind all at once. He was at least happy to hear about Rebecca and Richard still being alive and those other pair of gunshots they initially heard on the east wing of the mansion must've been any of them dealing with the ghouls, but what did he mean about a "giant" snake? And what the hell did he mean about those things turning into "crimson shitheads"?

He had a million questions to ask him but didn't know where to start. However, he knew Alex had gone through so much more than anyone from Alpha as the Bravos had been here much earlier than the Alphas did and so he wanted to simply ask the most basic questions he could come up with.

"This is… quite a lot to take in," said Barry, still rubbing his thick beard, thinking about what Alex had just told him. "But what did you mean by—"

There was a distant echoing clatter behind him.

Alex took a sharp look at Barry's back. Barry spun, confused as to what was making that sound.

"You hear that?" Mason asked, slowly raising his weapon.

Barry felt chills coursing behind his back as the metallic clatter continued, followed by a low, throbbing hum of machinery around the opposite corner from where they stood.

"I hope it's not what I think it is…" Barry said softly, slowly training his colt in the same direction Mason drew and aimed his weapon at.

Someone is definitely using the elevator. Doubt is a ghoul, but if what Alex said is true about zombies turning into crimson variants, could they even be smart enough to operate an elevator?

Having no reassurance of any kind, his mouth dried as he nervously swallowed in worry. Both he and Mason did not move from their positions and stood their ground, readying for anything that may pop out of view. They were at least a good twenty feet away from where the main elevator gate would open, assuming it'd stop on the kitchen floor and both would have a clear shot at whoever stepped out of the corner.

A glimmer of hope sparked through Barry's confusion; it could be either Forest or Enrico finding their way down and could update them on anything that may have happened around here.

With a dull elevator sound alarm, the elevator stopped in the kitchen. There was a squeal of dry, rusted metal hinges, footsteps being heard across the concrete ground and Captain Wesker appeared into view, his sunglasses as intact as ever across his tanned skin.

Barry and Alex lowered their weapons, both giving out a grin to see the STARS captain as they definitely needed another set of opinions and explanations about what's been happening recently.

"Barry! Alex! Good to see you both alive and well," he said as calmly as ever, grinning back at them.

"You gave us quite a scare, Captain," Barry emphasized.

Alex's grin slowly drew to a sudden fade. "Chris said you sent in Alpha to investigate both sides of the mansion. Is Frank alright?"

Wesker's grin didn't falter and instead, gave a rather calm, but quite ominous explanation.

"Oh, I'm sure he's doing just fine. In fact, I just happened to come from the second floor and almost bumped into him without him ever knowing I was there to begin with."

Barry and Alex looked at him, perplexed.

Somehow manages to find Frank, but doesn't interact with him at all? Something's amiss…

"Captain," Barry said stoically, "where have you been? When me and Jill came back to report our findings, you were already long gone."

Wesker's grin continued to widen. "Sorry, but I had my reasons. There was some … business I had to attend to."

Wesker caught up with them and lowered his dark shades, breaking their eye contact, something the captain rarely, if ever, done at all. Barry suddenly felt his anxiety rise. Wesker's grin, if anything, grew even wider to the point where almost every single one of his pearly teeth was showing.

"Barry. Alex. I need both of your help. How much do you know about Umbrella Inc.?"

Both of them shook their heads, Barry feeling more uncomfortable by the second. He was starting to feel his hands sweat as he thought about an answer to him.

"Well… aren't they responsible for funding many projects across Rac—"

"You have something to do with all this, don't you?" Alex interrupted, already quick to judge for something that Barry did not know what he was talking about. Barry could tell in his eyes that Alex was seeing something through Wesker that he might've suspected for quite a while.

"The helo wreck, both STARS teams kept apart from the search investigation, …Umbrella? What does Umbrella have to do with any of it anyway?"

"Right to the point. …I like that."

Wesker casually walked across from them, brushing off a small island of dust on the table, and leaned against it as if he was about to have a normal, casual conversation almost no one has seen from Wesker's personality.

"Umbrella Inc. isn't your typical pharmaceutical company its public image has spoken for itself. You see, the corporation was made as a mere facade for, let's say … biological research. The Spencer Mansion is one of many places where Umbrella houses one of its main research facilities and recently, this said facility had an accident. STARS has mainly been Umbrella's puppet since its foundation and I happen to be pulling the strings for them and to … 'assist' in their handling of this situation.

After all, this is an extremely private and delicate situation that the Umbrella higher-ups don't want to reveal to the public.

And now, what I'm supposed to do is to get to the underground lab from here and shred any rather incriminating evidence that may even remotely link to Umbrella's involvement that has been causing trouble in Raccoon since May. The problem is that I don't have access to the underground lab without first searching for some proper 'keys' to it. And that's where you two come in. I need you both to help me find those keys."

Barry and Alex stared at him for a long moment, confused, speechless …and angry.

An accident, a secret lab from Umbrella doing most likely illegal biological research…

… and those rabid canines and zombies on the loose in the woods, causing all kinds of chaos around Raccoon. Meanwhile, Umbrella is doing absolutely nothing to at least try to stop any of it…

Barry gave eye contact with Alex for a brief moment and silently agreed to raise their weapons directly at a smiling Wesker.

"You think we're just going to let you go after the shit you put us through!?" Mason said angrily, his expression giving a heatwave of rage and fury.

"And help you destroy evidence?" Barry added, his tone piqued and firm. "You're insane!"

Wesker remained unfazed, slowly shaking his head as if the two people in front of him were mere children.

"Oh, Barry and Alex… you don't seem to understand something here; you don't have a choice in the matter. You see, a few of my pals from Umbrella are already monitoring your families in their own respective places and if you don't cooperate, they will all perish."

Wesker's smile grew wider the more he continued to explain the terrible situation they were both now in, first putting his attention on Barry.

"Your wife and daughters, Kathy, Moira, and Polly Burton, are currently sleeping, waiting for their hubby and daddy to come home in the morning. At least that's what I had been told..."

He then turned his attention in the most menacing manner to Mason.

"Your son, David Mason … resting for an important day tomorrow morning, wishing his own father would have loved him more, am I right?"

Alex wasted no time as he abruptly grabbed Wesker by the right shoulder of his uniform and pointed his gun directly at his chest, his eyes glowing in a blind state of rage and anger, barely able to control himself.

"How the FUCK do you know anything about my son!?"

Wesker's lips had almost widened across his whole face, chuckling as he did.

"Umbrella has deeper connections with the outside world than you can ever imagine. Oh, if only poor little Dave knew..."

Mason tightened his grip on Wesker with enough force to cause him a flowing sting of pain on his shoulder as he continued to press the gun's barrel even further down his chest.

"Listen here you crazy son of a bitch! You do anything and I mean ANYTHING to my son—!"

"You'll do what?" Wesker spat back, yet his expression etched a hunger of curiosity at how these upcoming events would fold, still smiling. "Shoot me? Go ahead… but before you pull the trigger, I should mention that if I don't report back to the Umbrella boys fairly soon, their orders are to execute your boy and Barry's family regardless."

Alex's deadly gaze on Wesker was cut short. His expression changed from full of fury to shock and defeat.

Barry could barely manage his own rising rage right now. Every fiber of his being was now infused with a deep hatred for Wesker, but his last statement has cut through the growing red haze that flooded inside his mind and his anger now became fear and terror for his family.

Kathy, darling… my babies— I…

"You're bluffing…" he said in a low, growling voice, still aiming his revolver at Wesker while Mason was still firmly grasping Wesker's uniform.

Wesker's smile had finally faded away, but his expression remained the same as before turning his attention to Barry for a brief moment.

"Try me," he said coldly. He then switched his gaze back to Mason's subdued expression. "You can apologize at their own burials later."

For a long moment, no one moved a muscle, the silence flowing around them like the chilling air inside the kitchen.

Mason, in an act of extreme defeat and frustration, threw Wesker against the counters of the kitchen and stared at him coldly as Barry lowered his gun, his shoulders slumped. None of them couldn't, wouldn't risk it; their families mattered too much for them to lose.

Wesker nodded briskly and proceeded into one of his pockets, taking out a ring full of keys, his manner suddenly now more formal and business-like.

"There are two missing octagonal-shaped emblems, about the size of a teacup. One had become lost treasure, while the other requires four masks made out of stone, which had been stored away in … certain places of the estate. Each mask is based on the see, speak, and smell no evil sayings, and they are used to gain access to a certain 'coffin' in the graveyard at the back of the main foyer, which houses said emblem that can be used to unlock the back door on the east wing. That is the main route to the lab as the one under the main hall would require two emblems. However, as long as you manage to get ahold of one, preferably the one underneath the graveyard, it'd be enough."

He began unhooking two keys from the ring and set them on the table in front of him, sliding them across to both STARS members. One was of a white color, while the other was of a silver-like color.

"These should allow you to unlock most doors in the mansion, or at least the ones of most importance, specifically on both first and second floors. Find those masks and the main emblem for me and your families will be spared."

Feeling numb and mentally weak, Barry reached out for the white key, while Mason reluctantly took the silver one. Barry had never been more afraid in his whole life since—

"What about Chris and Jill? And Frank?"

"They will undoubtedly want to help in your search, which will serve as a bigger advantage for you both. If either of you stumbles upon them, it'll be in your best interest to let them know you found a backdoor that could lead a way out." Wesker began grinning once again, but this time, in a friendlier manner rather than his menacing look from before. "I'm sure they'll be more than happy to work with their trusted friend, good ol' Barry, and their own trusted little ol' brother, Mason. In fact, keeping all doors unlocked would definitely promote a more thorough job."

Wesker put on his shades once more, giving a lopsided, friendly smile at both of the defeated Alpha and Bravo members.

"Oh and of course; if either of you tells them you've seen me, there will be some …unforeseen consequences for everyone here involved. If I happen to run into trouble, say, get shot in the back, stabbed, or strangled… well, —all has been said. It'd be best to keep this to ourselves and nothing bad will ever happen to any of us, like a good ol' happy STARS team that we've always been."

Mason, with a look of rage and defeat behind his expression, took a quick glance at the key he grabbed, which had a carving of a helmet on one side of it. With slight fear behind his tone of voice, he gave one last question to the only man responsible for their current predicament, still looking at the carving itself.

"How the hell will we know where to find you?"

Wesker slightly chuckled. "Oh don't worry. I'll be around, even where you least expect me to. When the time is right, I will contact you both."

Barry, still holding on to the other key himself, looked directly at Wesker, silently pleading with him not to do any of this, but he knew even if he tried, it'd be all in vain. "You won't forget to report, right? You'll tell them we are helping you, yes?"

Wesker ignored him for a short moment as he turned around and walked toward the elevator, calling out over his shoulder before leaving for good.

"Trust me when I say, do what I tell you, and you won't have to worry. Their fate is in your hands."

"You mother FU—!" Mason began rushing at him before Barry managed to stop him in his tracks as he pulled him back. In response, he shoved his arms away from him before staring out into space, Barry feeling all kinds of emotions emanating from Mason's presence itself.

Barry simply stood there with him after that, silently trying to find a way out of this blackmail. There wasn't a way out. There couldn't be an any better option other than to simply tag along for now. If it was about living without honor, he could live with that, but without his own family… he couldn't for even the slightest moment.

Barry motioned at Alex to get going and head upstairs to begin their search, both of them now determined to do what they had to do in order to save their families from certain death.

"We'll make him pay," said Barry, trying to be as reassuring as possible, even though he wasn't even sure himself. "After this is all over and your son and my wife and children are safe for sure, we'll hit him the hardest."

Mason, not saying a single word to him, briskly nodded in response and was the first to open the door to the upstairs, slamming it open with his fists clenched and crackling as he ascended the stairway.

Barry didn't know much about his son as he never remembered Alex mentioning him to anyone, but one thing is for sure; he is also a father, and having your only son at gunpoint by the orders of some maniac… it's…

You will pay for this, Captain… a lot more than you think.

Author's Note: And... that's it! The end of the whole story!

Nah... not at all, silly! XP Not even halfway yet!

There are still a lot more chapters to upload, but most of them are undergoing a lot of changes as so many more ideas keep popping inside my mind. It's difficult to keep up with all of them. Even writing down those ideas can be frustrating to go through all at once and choose what would be best for the overall story arc. Because of this, I'm calling for a temporary hiatus until further notice, possibly for 1-3 months, depending on whether or not I'm done with the rest of the chapters by then.

Also, I took away the poll as it wasn't able to be seen by almost anyone who wasn't on a PC browser :/

But until then, I will think about whether or not to upload the rest of the chapters either individually like I have been doing for the first eleven chapters, or slam them all in your face at once in one full package! Who knows... ;)

Also, if you can, please let me know how good or bad the story is going from here. Just a wee bit curious as to what people think of it so far! Every review during the hiatus period will be answered by the next chapter upload so feel free to drop one whenever you can!

Anyhow, thank you so much for reading this far! If you just finished reading this at some point after my past uploading schedule, don't worry! I can guarantee you that this won't be abandoned like my last crossover, so definitely give it a favorite and/or follow if you haven't already! That way, you can keep track of when I will start updating this again in the future.

See you all soon enough! :D