24. Jill

BSAA Cardigan Bay, Wales

15:45 hours

Chris had come into their temporary office, looking tired and upset. His grumpy demeanor didn't go overlooked by Jill and Barry, who were sitting at their desks, looking at him silently.

Jill had only seen the expression on Chris's face a couple of times since she met the man. The first time had been when he had lost his men in Edonia, and the second one was eight months ago when he had lost his sister. What could have caused the man to look like that?

"Chris…?" Jill said softly, "Is everything okay?"

"What?" Chris replied absently, sitting down in front of his desk.

"You don't look that good, Chris. Bad news?"

Chris let out an exhalation, and it took him a few minutes to answer.

"I just got a call from Dr. Hiwamura…"

Jill exchanged looks with Barry with concern. That didn't sound like a good start, but they didn't press Chris, and instead, the two waited for Chris to proceed.

"It seems Claire isn't immune to the new virus, as we hoped…"

"Oh my god. Is she alright? What happened?"

Chris waved his hand in front of him.

"She is not turning into a monster…" Chris quickly said, "but she's not healthy either. It seems that Claire's immunological system has started attacking her. Hiwamura thinks it might be due to the virus."

"Attacking her? What?"

"She called it an autoimmune disorder. They don't have enough data to conclude at the moment, but they'll start studying it soon. The point is, she really is infected."

"Claire will come out from it…" Barry said comfortingly, "She made it out with the T-Phobos, right?"

"Yeah, and that left her with consequences…" Chris said, shaking his head, "What will it be now?"

"Chris, whatever it is...I'm sure we can figure out something…"

Chris punched the table and then pinched the bridge of his nose and resigned.

"I know...that's..that's all we can do, but… Claire shouldn't be going through all this crap. She wasn't even supposed to get involved from the beginning. It was my fault she went to Racoon city..."

Jill now saw where the man was heading. She knew that Chris had always had guilt issues; it was because of the man's good heart that he'd often feel responsible when things didn't go well.

"Chris...it wasn't your fault. Claire did what she did because she chose to do it."

"She did it for me, Jill…"

Jill didn't know what to say. Whatever she said wouldn't ease Chris's remorse, so she looked pleadingly at Barry, begging for the man's wise intervention. However, Barry seemed to be in the same boat as her; the man looked gravely and shook his head.

Jill bit her lip thoughtfully; The woman was about to say something when the monitors on their computers went on. The three soldiers looked at each other, surprised as the screen went black and white letters began to crawl all over it.

"What the hell?" Barry groaned.

Jill started pushing buttons, trying to make the computer work, but as much as she tried, she did not make the screen change. The letters kept moving throughout the screen, and the woman tried to see what they said: Μεταβολή δε πάντων γλυκύ (1).

"It's...greek?"

"What's going on…?"

Suddenly and as quickly as it had started, the screens began to show static and went out and, as simple as that, the computers were dead. Jill tried to turn the machine on, but nothing happened. Their office door flew open, and an agitated soldier came in with a horrified look.

"Captain Redfield, is everyone all right in here?"

"We are fine. What did just happen?"

"A cyber attack, Sir, our main server just got hacked, and all the systems collapsed."

"What? How…? Who?" Jill asked, shocked.

Almost as if it meant to answer Jill's question, everyone's phone rang with a new message:

"Man selects only for his own good: Nature only for that of the being which she tends."

It was signed with the word Mobius; the group had finally made a presence after the attack four days ago.

"Those bastards…" Chris growled, "What's the status?"

"All systems in Wales's branch had shut down. We haven't been able to contact any of our operatives outside of the base, sir."

"What do you mean shut down…"

"All systems are fried, sir. The main computer is busted."

"What? How?"

"Our technicians are trying to figure out what's the wrong sir, but all the equipment simply went off, and the Major asked me to check on you, sir..."

Jill saw Chris frown. The man rushed outside and headed to the main command center, and the rest followed him. The Major was full of soldiers moving from one side to the other frantically. All the computers were turned off, and a group of people was trying to repair it. They quickly located McGrey, the branch commander who was pacing around restlessly.

"Major!" Jill quickly called. The man looked at them and greeted them with a nod.

"Valentine, Redfield, Burton…"

"What's going on, McGrey? We heard the computers shut down…" Chris asked.

"My boys say it was a computer virus…"

Jill groaned. Not only did they have to deal with biological viruses, now they had to handle digital ones, too.

"A virus? Isn't the system supposed to be protected? How did it get in?" Chris asked.

"The system was protected, but according to our technicians, it probably infiltrated our server after the hacking from 4 days ago…"

"Sir?" a young boy walked to the group. He seemed quite concerned.

"Ah, yes. Redfield, Valentine, Burton, this is James Thomas, our computer expert. What's wrong, Thomas?"

"I think I've located the problem. I had to use an external server to do it, but…"

"Right. So what is it? Can you fix it?"

"Sir, the main server is infected with a FAT virus. FAT viruses ruin the file allocation system, which is where information about files and where to find them exists, basically...our complete mainframe. I am doing the best I can to save as much information as I can, but whoever made this virus knows his deal…"

"Do whatever it takes; just get the computers going. I am concerned about the recon group out of base…"

"Yes, sir. Those bloody terrorists not only hacked the system, but they also left us a virus that destroyed the entire database. My honor as a programmer is in a tightrope now..." Thomas groaned as he typed into the laptop, "This is gonna take some time…"

"Fucking technology...I knew it wasn't reliable…" Barry said, shaking his head.

"You said there was a recon group?" Chris asked with a frown, " What are they scouting?"

"We received a rogue transmission this morning. It was from a position close to where we found …"

Jill didn't need to hear him finish the sentence. Major McGrey knew Claire's real identity, but he was informed of her plan as well, so he wouldn't reveal her real name carelessly.

"... so we sent Sierra Team to do some scouting. It wasn't supposed to be a dangerous mission, but we lost contact with the team a few miles before they reached the point, and then this mess happened."

"So the system went into chaos after you lost contact?" Chris asked.

"Yes, a couple of hours after…" McGrey sighed, "Their last check-in wasn't reassuring. They had found an unidentified ship…"

"Could both things be related?" Jill asked, "Their disappearance and the computer virus...I mean…"

"We thought that, too. I am concerned about the members of the Sierra Team, but I can't throw out a search team when the systems are in this condition…"

Jill looked at her companions with an expression of concern. The Sierra Team could be in serious trouble.

The woman looked at Chris, and he did not need to say the words to let Jill know what was going through the soldier's mind. The three members of the elite team exchanged glances and nodded.

"Major, we will search Sierra Team," Chris said.

McGrey shook his head though.

"I am concerned about my men, but I can't send you out just like that."

"We'll be fine, sir. You can trust us…" Jill replied, "Those men may be in great problems, and we can't just leave them behind because we lost the computer assistance…"

"I would never doubt you or your team, Valentine...but with the computers out service, we'll be out of touch...what if you need reinforcements? You are too valuable for the organization. I can't risk you like that."

"With all due respect, sir. Every man is valuable for the BSAA. I won't stay behind doing nothing when we know they are in trouble…" Chris said firmly.

"But…"

"We can handle this, kid."Barry snorted, "We are veterans…"

McGrey seemed unsure. Like all other members of the BSAA, the man was no stranger to the elite team's reputation.

If someone could handle a critical situation like this, it was them.

"I understand. These are the coordinates of their last transmission. Be careful. We won't be able to provide any remote assistance since the comms have been cut off…"

"We can handle ourselves…" Barry said, laughing, "Just give me the big weapons…"

"Of course...Feel free to stock up on weapons. that's pretty much all I can do at this moment…"

Jill smiled at the man in a gesture of thanks and consolation. She could understand how powerless a man should feel at that moment.

The woman turned to her companions. It was time to prepare for departure.

The helicopter flight was charged by the tension of not knowing what they would be facing when they reached the point indicated by the coordinates. For Jill, the feeling was strangely nostalgic.

"Just like the old times, huh?" Barry snorted as he checked his gear, "Feels like that fucking day we went Arklay Mountains searching for Bravo Team…"

"Uncomfortably similar...I'd say…" Jill sighed, "What do you think we'll find there?"

"Hopefully, a safe and confused Sierra Team…" Chris replied, shaking his head, "Let's hope the only thing similar to that incident will be the chopper ride…"

Chris had entered his soldier mode. The only positive thing Jill could find in their current situation was that the soldier's mind was so focused on the mission that he had forgotten the guilt that had been torturing him before the base computer failed.

" Captain...there's Sierra Team's ship, sir…" the pilot of the chopper told them.

One of the BSAA ships was floating attached to a larger ship. At first glance, it did not look like someone was on board either of the ships, and that gave Chris a very bad feeling.

"Get closer,

we are getting in…" Chris said to the pilot.

The trio boarded the BSAA boat first. At first sight, it wasn't too hard to see that the ship was empty. There were no signs of Sierra Team's whereabouts except for the ladder that had been attached to the larger ship's side.

"Guess the kids went that way…" Barry said pointing up, "Why do I get a very bad feeling about this?"

"An unknown ship and missing team in the middle of the sea...yeah, that's not ominous at all…" Chris growled.

"I checked the engine…" Jill said, coming out from the control cabin, "Besides, from the navigation and communication systems, the rest of the ship is perfectly functional."

"Good. Guess this will be our thicket home when we find the missing soldiers." Chris nodded, "alright. We don't know what we will find up there, so we gotta stay on our toes."

"Don't worry, I might be old, but I still know how to use this baby…" Barry snorted, showing his magnum.

"I have no doubts about that, Barry, but there's a chance we will find B.O.W's in that ship and most likely the new kind." Chris said, "Those will sure be a hell of a pain to handle…"

"Should we keep it quiet then? Like Claire and Leon did?" Jill asked.

"Might be the best for recon…." Chris nodded, "If it happens to be a new one, well…"

"We blow its ass, " Barry shrugged.

Chris checked his wristwatch.

"In the worst-case scenario, we follow Claire's strategy. Forget everything and run as crazy outside. Sun should be out in a few hours…"

"Sounds like a plan…" Jill nodded.

The three soldiers climbed the ladder and reached the deck of the ship. The first thing they noticed was the blood marks that covered the ground, drawing a trail that led into the barracks.

"Well...that doesn't look inviting…" Barry growled.

"It's still fresh…" Jill said, looking at it, "I think you were right, Chris, and I'm afraid that Sierra Team might be gone...for good."

Chris bit his lip in anger. If there was something he hated was the feeling of helplessness that came with knowing he was too late to save someone. He was pondering what actions to take next when a high pitched scream followed by gunfire broke through the silent night.

"I think that sounded pretty much alive…" Barry groaned, "and in need of help…"

"Let's go…"

The trio entered the inside of the ship with their weapons ready and on alert. The interior of the ship was partially illuminated, and the dim light of the lamps revealed a grotesque image.

The walls of the narrow corridor were covered in blood, and Chris felt his stomach twitch. Never in all his years of service had he seen so much blood in one place.

"Well, that brings back some nasty memories…" Jill said bitterly, "Last time I was in a ship wasn't so nice either."

Chris and company walked along the corridor with their arms raised and the view in all the periphery. The soldier did not know what to expect, when, or where, but he was sure that an attack was more than assured. The trio walked until they reached a space that seemed to be some kind of inner storage hall.

"Chris...over there," Jill whispered.

Chris turned to the direction that Jill was pointing and saw a small lump in the center of the space. The dark green uniform and the distinctive patch on the shoulder were unmistakable. That was one of the members of the Sierra Team.

The trio rushed to the man without neglecting the surroundings. The area was large, and the only lit zone was the center, where they'd found the soldier. The rest of the place was covered by shadows, and it was large enough to hide a dangerous B.O.W ready to attack them. The soldier laid unconscious on the ground, but after a quick check-up, Chris was relieved to find a pulse and weak breathing. Except for some evident bruises and gashes, the man seemed, more or less, in good shape. Chris patted his face trying to wake him up, but a couple of minutes passed before the man finally stirred awake.

"Hey... a soldier. It's Redfield. Can you hear me?"

The man looked at him with clouded eyes and visibly confused. Chris supposed that the soldier must have a concussion.

"Soldier...respond...can you hear me?

"Captain Redfield?" the man replied in a trembling voice, "Is it...really you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Soldier...can you tell what happened?"

"The rest...of the team….dead..." he mumbled "...barely escaped...it came so fast…."

Chris had hoped to find the team safe and sound, but the soldier had corroborated his fears. The Sierra team had most likely been annihilated. The question was, by who or what?

"Soldier...get a grip. I need you to tell me what the hell happened? What attacked you?"

The answer to Chris's question came before the soldier could even answer. A moan that Chris had never heard in his life put the trio on tiptoes. It was like listening to an asthmatic person suffering an attack: the moan was dry, painful, and loud.

"What the hell was that?" Jill said, glowing her flashlight all over the place.

The moans sounded closer and closer, but despite that, none of them saw anything. The darkness that surrounded them was too much to see, even with the light of the lanterns. It had to be one of the creatures that Claire had talked about when the Med Center had been attacked.

"Guess we are not alone…" Chris growled.

Suddenly, Chris could see a shadow moving in the shadows, and when he managed to illuminate it, his stomach twisted again.

The creature was not the same one that had attacked the medical center. It was a humanoid with an open torso and outstretched neck that ended up in a reared-back head; the tissue inside its rib cage was swollen, black, and covered in red tumors; the same tumors that were sprouting on its body.

"Well, that doesn't look friendly," Barry said in a growl.

"It's different from the ones we saw in Med Center…"

"DIfferent or not, we gotta get rid of that thing…" Chris said, helping the fallen soldier on his feet, "Or getaway, at least…."

But it was too late. The creature had noticed the presence of the group and had approached the edge of the illuminated area, growling. To the horror of the three soldiers of the BSAA; It was not a monster, but at least a dozen of them that were starting to surround their position; the only thing that kept them away from them was the line where the light and shadow met.

"Shit…"

"The light keeps them away…" Jill said, "Just like Claire said."

"If Claire is right, they won't be easy to kill either…" Chris said.

"Won't know till we try…" Barry said, readying his gun.

"Won't be of...of use…" the soldier coughed "waste of ammo...we...tried…"

The soldier arched in a coughing fit, and Chris began to suspect that the man was possibly more hurt than he had thought at first. The wounds were possibly internal, and he wouldn't be surprised if his lungs had been punctured.

"Easy there," Chris said, helping him stand, " What's your name, soldier?"

"Colin...Colin Fishburn, sir….uh..uh…" he answered between coughs.

"Easy, soldier…." Chris patted him "We're going to take you out of here, okay?"

Colin coughed and nodded.

"So what should we do? We are surrounded" Jill said, looking around them. "Any ideas?

Chris frowned, trying to think of an escape plan. The creatures were stalking them like hungry animals. Their movements were slow and random, but the soldier suspected that as soon as they left the safety of the light, the creatures would not be slow anymore.

This type of enemy was definitely not the same type that Leon and Claire had faced, and Chris couldn't help but wonder if Claire would have known how to deal with them. Perhaps these creatures, too, were blind and moved purely by listening.

I won't lose anything by trying, I guess.

Chris looked around for a small object he could use and found an empty handgun magazine; he guessed it was either Colin's or any of the fallen members of Sierra Team. The man took the object and threw it to the other side of the room. The empty magazine disappeared into the shadows and made a loud, dry thud as it crashed against something.

The effect was automatic. As soon as the noise echoed in the room, all the creatures began to move away from them. These were blind, too. If they used Claire's strategy, maybe they could get out without fighting them.

"That's our cue…" he whispered "hurry…"

The group started to move while the creatures were busy trying to find the cause of the noise. Barry and Chris supported Colin while Jill was ready to shoot at anything that decided to show up to stop them.

Claire's strategy was working so far. The creatures weren't chasing after them, and Chris was somehow glad that, for the first time in his entire career, they had managed to avoid a direct fight with the B. Chris wasn't intending to leave the monsters to lurk around freely for long, but right now, his entire objective was to get the survivor of Sierra Team back to safety.

Colin was caught by another coughing fit. This time it sounded almost as if the man was drowning, and suddenly, the man bent down, and a puddle of blood formed at their feet.

"Oh, shit…" Chris said, shocked. The man was worse than he thought; they were in a race against time.

Things only got worse when they heard the moans behind them. The creatures had lost interest in the empty magazine and were now tailing them, and judging by the sound. They weren't too far behind.

"They're coming…" Jill said in alarm.

"Time to get our asses out of here…" Barry groaned. He picked up Colin and looked at Chris.

"Right, time to run. If you see anything, we shoot…"

The soldiers ran through the hall. It was a difficult task considering the darkness, but the path to the exit was a straight one. All they had to do was keep running ahead; as long as they could keep the distance from the monsters, they would make it out unscathed.

"Nasties on our tail!" Barry shouted. His voice was soon followed by the loud banging of his gunshots and hungry roars "Shit, didn't expect those asses to be so fast…"

"Appearances are deceiving, Barry…" Jill replied, shooting with him.

The creatures were catching up with them. The bullets didn't seem to do much harm, and Chris saw how, despite the bullets going through the creature's flesh, they continued to move forward as if nothing had happened to them. When the group finally reached the outside of the ship, Barry threw one of his grenades at the creatures.

The group took cover as the explosion sounded loudly behind them, sending debris, smoke, and a disgusting smell of burnt flesh all over the place.

"Well, guess nothing can survive a good incendiary grenade…" Barry said between pants.

"Are we sure they are dead?" Jill asked, checking her ammo.

"Smells like spoiled dinner to me, so yeah, they need to be dead…" Barry snorted.

Chris stood up and looked at the burning entrance with his gun raised. The soldier walked, slowly, to take a look.

"Guess it worked, Barry…" Chris said, " Those things are toasted…"

"Told ya…"

Jill lowered her gun and sighed. She then turned to Colin. He was sitting with his back pressed against the large box they had used to cover themselves from the explosion; his head bowed down with his chin pressed against his chest and uneven breathing.

"Hey...are you okay?" Jill asked, kneeling beside him, "Fishburn? Colin…?"

Jill grabbed the man's shoulder, and the soldier slid on his side and laid on the ground. Suddenly, he began to convulse.

The man let out a moan, and the three BSAA soldiers watched in horror as the man's body began to writhe and contort. His skin began to stretch and form something resembling tumors.j

"Oh...that's not good...definitely not good!" Barry said, raising his gun and pointing at the newly changed Colin.

"Shit...he was infected?" Chris groaned, joining him in the task.

The soldier Colin Fishburn was no more. He had turned into a large creature that looked quite similar to the ones Barry had just blown up. The difference was that it was larger, and it had no arms since his arms seemed to have fused into its back. The new creature let out a savage roar and charged at them. Jill barely managed to evade him in the last second before shooting him a round of bullets.

"Ya okay, Jill?" Barry said, running to her.

"Not really sure…" Jill replied, "he was infected?"

"That's how it looks…" Chris replied over the roar of his machine gun, "and he's as annoying as the others…"

"Grenade again?"

"I don't think the same trick will work twice…"

Colin roared. The monster charged at Chris, and the man began to shoot. The bullets made no scratch on the creature's skin, and Chris barely managed to evade it at the last minute. Out of sudden, the monster made a twist and bent back so that the thrown back was facing Chris. The eldest Redfield saw it open its mouth and throw its tongue at him. The thing was stronger than Chris had thought, and the impact sent him flying a few meters away.

"Chris!" Jill roared, running to him, but the creature was whipping its tongue at her now. The long muscular organ wrapped itself around her ankle and pulled her against the wall. Barry automatically began to shoot the monster until it finally released the woman.

"Well, fuck you ass!" Barry shouted, "Just die already!"

The monster didn't seem to flinch at Barry's fire, and it was now heading to him. Colin walked to him, dragging its feet, but suddenly, his steps came to a halt. Chris saw the creature begin to expand its chest and cry out in agony. The creature fell to the ground and began to shake in a seizure.

"What the hell…?" Chris growled.

"Uhmm...too bad, he was unfitted as well…" an unknown voice said. The sound was warped as it was being made through an electronic device that made it impossible to discern if it was male or female.

Chris, Jill, and Barry turned to the unknown voice's origin with their guns raised. A person wearing half greek masks stood at the edge of the ship. The person's features were hidden by the white mask and it wore a black hooded cloak.

"Who the hell are you?" Chris demanded to know.

The person seemed to ignore Chris completely as she or he walked past them and leaned on Colin's mutated and convulsing body.

"This one won't do either. Too bad...too bad…"

"I won't ask again...who are you?" Chris shouted.

"I…?" the person replied, "You may call me… Ananke…"

"What kind of crappy name is that?" Barry growled.

The person did not reply. Colin's body made another wild shudder, and the three BSAA soldiers pointed at it.

"Don't bother. This one couldn't even stand the metamorphosis…" the person laughed, kicking at Colin, "Such a disappointing creature he was, but then again, not everyone can be like your sister and the others like her."

"My sis…." Chris began, and he suddenly realized it, "You're Mobius!"

"I'm just but a part of it…" Ananke replied, " I was surprised you came after that little present we left for the BSAA…"

"You are the ones who hurt my sister….I'm going to kill you…"

"What did you do to Colin?" Jill asked, trying to restrain Chris from charging at Ananke.

"What I did? More like what he did to himself…" Ananke replied, "He wasn't strong enough, and so he failed. Either way, my work here is over. We will meet again, Mr. Redfield, soon enough."

The roar of an engine and a propel made them jump. Before any of the BSAA members could react, Ananke had jumped off the ship and landed in a helicopter. Chris had wanted to chase after it, but both Jill and Barry restrained him.

The trio watched how the helicopter vanished on the horizon as the first sun rays began to light their surroundings. The mutated Colin let out an agonizing cry as the light began to burn its flesh until all that was left was a blackened carcass.

(1) In all things, change is sweet.— Aristotle