Disclaimer: I do not own the Resident Evil series or the characters, I am just a fan who likes to write the kind of stories I like to read. I know it's a bit derivative, but any constructive comments appreciated!!!

Chapter 7 Wait and bleed

Carlos sighed heavily as Chris, Claire, Leon and Elisabeth hastily dismounted the helicopter ramp and disappeared into the darkness of the forest. He felt slighted that Chris didn't want him to take a more active role in the mission. In Carlos's mind, sitting in a helicopter nearly a mile away from all the action was not his job. In some ways, it was humiliating. Carlos was a man of action, not a communications officer. He rubbed his ankle and winced. Despite the treatment he had received from Rebecca, he was still in a little pain from his ordeal a couple of nights ago and he couldn't run. Still, this was an important mission. This mission wasn't about collecting evidence, getting the bad guys or playing the hero, this mission was about retrieving one of their own. All of the S.T.A.R.S had received specialist training in one form or other - be it medical, munitions, espionage, reconnaissance or even wetworks, but they all placed the safety and well-being of their own first. They had all seen too much death in their short lives - every life was precious now.

Carlos was sitting at a communications console situated to the rear of the helicopter passenger compartment. On one of the four screens on the panel in front of him was a three dimensional map of the facility and the surrounding area. On the map, the current positions of Chris, Claire, Leon and Elisabeth were marked by small red dots. It was standard S.T.A.R.S procedure for operatives to be implanted with personal tracking devices. If it wasn't for his own tracking device, Claire probably wouldn't have found him the other day on the road. At best, he might still have still been running from the soldiers who had killed James McGarver, the S.T.A.R.S undercover operative who had sacrificed himself in order to infiltrate the facility. At worst, he could have been dead. He shuddered at the thought. The tracking devices were linked to the S.T.A.R.S' own satellite. Carlos always thought it was ironic that they used an ex-Umbrella satellite that Jill had sabotaged on a mission to an Umbrella facility in Siberia nearly five years previous.

Carlos switched through the facility security camera images. He had only been able to gain access to the facility's security server with Elisabeth's help as a lot of the data on the disc retrieved by James McGarver was corrupted. For a research scientist, Elisabeth seemed to have inappropriate knowledge of the computer and security system. Carlos began to wonder exactly what she couldn't do. He scanned the main entrance. Empty. There was a security guard post with two metal detectors that led into the first maze of corridors and offices. Apart from the black-clad figures of his S.T.A.R.S team mates that he had just seen climb up and disappear into an air duct, there was no one. He then scanned the images of what appeared to be the laboratories. A number of well-equipped, glass-walled labs were arranged along a central corridor that led to another office complex. These offices were slightly larger and grander than the ones near the main entrance, thus he deduced they would have been for more senior members of staff. These offices and labs were empty too. Elisabeth had led them to believe that getting into this facility would be like getting into Fort Knox. Either she was lying, or there was something else going on.

He continually flicked through the security camera images, looking for evidence of life. Empty. The whole facility was empty. Maybe they were too late. Again. He saw four black-clad figures drop from an air duct that ran the length of a long white corridor. They were making good progress. Chris was leading from the front as always. Chris the pointman, Chris the hero. He and Chris got on well - in the field and personally, but Carlos always sensed a little resentment from him with regards to his relationship with Jill Valentine. Their relationship had never been anything more than friendship, but it was a special kind of friendship. They had faced the Nemesis bioweapon in Raccoon City all those years ago, and he knew he owed her his life. He considered Jill to be a dear friend, and just like Chris, he was heartbroken over her disappearance six months ago. But unlike Chris, he had reconciled himself with the loss. Despite the pain, he had convinced himself that she was dead, and he had grieved. Numerous dark elements had used Jill's disappearance to their advantage, setting traps to eliminate key S.T.A.R.S members through the pretence of sightings and negotiations. Chris pursued every lead religiously, often at great risk to himself and others. Now it seemed Jill was alive and Chris's faith was going to be rewarded. Would he be punished for his lack of faith?

''Carlos, do you still have our position?'' It was Chris.

''Bright and clear.'' Carlos replied as he glanced at the four red dots on the map. ''The main laboratory complex is just behind you. According to Elisabeth, the elevator to the sub-basements should be at the far end of the corridor.''

Carlos watched as Leon and Elisabeth moved in the direction of the laboratories, progressing through a set of sliding doors. Chris and Claire then moved to the other end of the corridor and disappeared into an elevator where there were no security cameras.

''God speed, Chris.'' Carlos murmured to himself.

On the screen, Carlos watched Leon and Elisabeth proceed straight through the laboratories and into an office. Elisabeth sat down at the desk and began to type on the computer. He deduced this must have been her office, although it wasn't as decadent as he expected. It was simple, slightly unkempt, but it didn't seem to contain anything that had no purpose - there were papers and folders piled against the sides of the room but apart from a small framed picture on the wall, he couldn't see any ornaments or keepsakes. There were no personal items. She must have been a person consumed by her work - the kind of person valued by Umbrella and probably the organisation that ran this facility. But what, or more importantly who, was this organisation? The fact that they saw fit to have cameras within the office of their head scientist demonstrated their paranoia, which, in Elisabeth's case, was well-founded. Was this how they found out about her impending betrayal? For someone so intelligent, how could she have been so naïve and got caught?

''Carlos, we're in the server. You should be receiving the data now. Confirm.'' Leon said over the radio.

''I got it Leon.'' Carlos responded as numbers, letters and images flashed before his eyes on one of the screens.

''Can you see anything on the internal security cameras? It's just too quiet here for my liking.''

Carlos paused. ''There's nothing. No lab workers, no security, nobody...wait a minute…''

A flicker of movement on one of the laboratory security cameras caught his eye.

''Leon, there's something moving in the labs.''

There was no response. He tapped his radio.

''Leon, Elisabeth, come in. There's something, someone moving in the labs. Can you hear me? Please respond.'' There was a crackling noise and hushed voices - he couldn't make out what they were saying as there seemed to be some kind of interference blocking the radio signal. ''Talk to me God dammit!'' He slapped the screen in frustration.

Whatever it was in the lab had also caught Leon's attention. Suddenly the bright fluorescent lights of the labs and offices were replaced by the dull glow of emergency lights. Carlos watched as Leon said something to Elisabeth and left the office, moving slowly along the corridor towards the labs, his weapon drawn. Carlos typed on the keyboard, changing the images on the screen in front of him from the office area to the labs. He saw a fist push its way through a large glass pane of what appeared to be a holding cell. The fist was followed by a second fist, two arms, a head, shoulders and finally a body. The body - apparently of a man - pulled itself through the hole in the glass and fell to the floor, cut and bleeding profusely. It then began to pull itself forwards along the ground towards a lab bench.

Leon then came into view. Using the bench for support, the figure on the floor had dragged itself to its feet. Carlos increased the magnification and focussed on its face, which was just discernible on the low resolution black and white image.

''Jimmy!'' he said in disbelief.

Leon approached Jimmy, obviously trying to talk to him…it…..but he sprung, grabbing Leon by the throat and pinning him to the ground.

''Mierde!'' Carlos said, watching the screen helplessly as Jimmy's gnarled, bloodied hands tightened around Leon's neck. Even through the low resolution image, Carlos could see the life draining from his face. Suddenly, Leon head-butted his attacker and then kicked him away. He retrieved his gun, and within the blink of an eye, Jimmy was dead.

Carlos knew that this thing may have looked liked Jimmy, and to Leon it may have sounded like Jimmy, but it wasn't him. It couldn't be him. James McGarver was dead. He had seen him die, up in the mountains. He was stood next to him when he was shot by the soldier with red eyes. He remembered the terrible thud of his body as it hit the ground and exhaled for the last time. He remembered the red-eyed soldier firing more bullets into his unresponsive torso to ensure he was dead. A wave of anger passed over Carlos. How could they do this to him? Wasn't killing him enough? Now he was a shell, an abomination, a man with no soul.

Leon had returned to the office where Elisabeth was still sitting in front of her computer. Carlos couldn't be sure, but she seemed to have taken something from the wall - maybe it was a photograph - removed it from a frame, and put it in her pocket. Leon banged on the door - she must have locked it. She walked across to the door and opened it. Carlos's attention was then diverted by more movement back in the labs. Four figures, each dressed in black and carrying submachine guns, had entered the lab complex through a sliding door at the far end. They looked strangely familiar.

Suddenly the screens on the console in front of Carlos flickered and went blank. He had lost his connection to the server and security cameras.

''Mierde! Leon, come in!''

''We've got….we……Carlos - we're…….home…………rendezvous.'' Leon's words were quiet and largely obscured by cackling static. Carlos presumed they were heading for the rendezvous point.

''I'm on my way. Don't be too long Leon.'' he said, certain that Leon couldn't hear him.

Carlos then heard gunshots.

''Leon? Elisabeth?'' There was only silence.

Carlos exhaled loudly. So far, this mission had been unnervingly easy. It almost seemed like they were allowed to get this far. His thoughts were soon interrupted by Chris's voice.

''Carlos! Emergency evac - we need you at the rendezvous point in three minutes.''

''Got you Chris. See you in three.''

Carlos stood up and made his way to the front of the helicopter where a young S.T.A.R.S operative was sitting in the co-pilot's seat.

''Justin, it's time to pick up the kids.'' He said as he pressed buttons, flicked switches and closed the clasp on his safety belt. The helicopter's propellers began to revolve faster.

Justin nodded. He was a young looking man - perhaps early to mid twenties, with very short blonde hair and green eyes. He had been recruited into the S.T.A.R.S just under a year ago. Up until that point, he had been a member of the police department in the small mid-western county of Gainsborough. There had been an outbreak there and he was the only survivor from a town of five hundred people. He had lost his young wife and child. Like countless others, he had tried to expose the incident, but his story was discredited. The town was supposedly destroyed by an explosion at a fertiliser factory and all that was left was charred earth. Akin to many members of the S.T.A.R.S, Justin's youth belied a painful past and an uncertain future.

''It looks like they've found her Carlos.'' Justin said, staring straight ahead at the instrument panel.

''Yeah.'' He replied curtly. Until he saw her with his own eyes, he still couldn't let himself believe she was still alive.

The helicopter lifted up from the ground and they made their way towards the rendezvous point.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

''We need to get master samples of the virus and the anti-virus in order to help Jill - they're back in the lab.'' Elisabeth said hurriedly.

Leon and Elisabeth were stood at the threshold of her office. With some concern, she noted a fine splattering of blood across his vest.

''It's not mine.'' he said, noting her eyes staring at his chest. ''Let's go.'' He patted her on the shoulder.

They jogged back through the offices towards the labs. As the sliding door to the labs opened, there was a wave of machine gun fire. They both dived for cover behind some steel cabinets as the glass walls shattered all around them.

''Leon, I have to get in there.'' she shouted, pointing to one of the labs. ''Cover me.''

Leon nodded as he removed a flash grenade from his utility belt. He pulled out the pin and looked across at Elisabeth.

''Cover your eyes!'' he shouted as he threw the grenade in the general direction of the gunfire. There was a blinding flash followed by mumbled curses. The gunfire ceased. Leon got up to his knees and scanned the area for their assailants. He spotted four black figures in the distance, their arms outstretched and their hands awkwardly reaching out and feeling the remnants of glass wall and steel benches. They were temporarily blinded. Elisabeth stood up and ran forward, the glass crunching below her feet. She disappeared into the gloom.

Leon focussed on the nearest of the black figures and fired his weapon. The figure cursed and staggered, but he didn't fall. Leon fired again. The same response. He progressed into the next lab, slowly and deliberately, ensuring he kept in cover. There was more machine gun fire - the effects of the flash grenade had worn off and the onslaught resumed. One of the soldiers had been separated from the others. He fired shot after shot into the soldier's head and upper body, eventually emptying his weapon. Click. Click. Click. Although bleeding profusely, the solider barely flinched - he simply stood there, turned, and walked slowly towards Leon. He was grinning insanely, his bizarre red eyes flashing.

Leon reached into his utility belt for more ammunition as the soldier aimed his weapon at him. Elisabeth suddenly appeared behind the soldier. She wrapped her delicate hands around his neck and twisted sharply. There was a horrifying crunch as the soldier fell to the floor, his neck broken. Leon stared at her, temporarily dumbfounded.

''I've got them.'' she said, gesturing towards two metallic vials attached to her belt.

''I don't understand it.'' he said to Elisabeth as he re-loaded his weapon. ''The bullets are barely touching them! What are they?''

She looked down at the soldier whose neck she had just broken. He was beginning to stir. He wasn't dead. ''It's no good Leon - they're healing themselves. We have to run!''

Leon nodded. He could ask questions later. Getting the master samples out and helping Jill was their priority right now, and they couldn't do that if they didn't get out of this facility alive. He took another flash grenade from his belt.

''Last one.'' he said as he pulled the pin and threw it towards the other three soldiers.

There was another blinding flash followed by curses of frustration in the near distance. Leon and Elisabeth ran for the exit from the laboratory complex. As they neared the sliding door, Leon looked closely at one of soldiers who was blindly groping the stainless steel benches and cupboards. His body was riddled with what appeared to be gunshot wounds, each one oozing semi-congealed blood. There was also a small, perfect red circle on his forehead - this one had also survived a gunshot wound to the head. How was this possible?

Elisabeth ran ahead through the maze of white corridors. Leon could barely keep up with her. His initial opinion of her was right - she was in good condition for someone who supposedly spent their time looking down a microscope. And the way she broke that soldier's neck - her technique was flawless. Leon slowed and glanced behind. He couldn't see or hear anything, but he knew they were being followed.

They reached a locked door. Elisabeth's fingers shook as she pressed the code into the keypad set in the wall to the right of the door. There was a high pitched buzzing noise. She had typed in the wrong code.

Leon pressed his back to the wall and looked behind them. He still couldn't see anyone, but he could hear footsteps and heavy breathing. ''Hurry!'' he said.

She made a fist with her hand, trying to steady herself. She took a deep breath and re-typed the code. The door clicked open and they entered the room.

It was a large, windowless dining room filled with characterless metal tables and chairs, all neatly arranged in blocks of four.

Leon surveyed the room. He looked confused. ''Why is there a keypad for a dining room?''

''I never asked.'' Elisabeth responded.

They closed the door behind them and pushed a number of tables against it, creating a make-shift barricade. They knew it wasn't going to hold for very long, but it would give them a little time. Elisabeth prised open a small metallic box to the left of the door and tore at the exposed wires.

''Now they'll have to tear the door off its hinges.'' she said, almost smiling.

They ran through the dining area into the kitchen. There was no exit, not even a window. They were at a dead end.

''Dammit. There's supposed to be an exit here.'' She said angrily. ''I don't understand.''

Suddenly there was a loud thumping noise in the dining room behind them. The door began to vibrate.

''They're going to get through.'' she said, shaking her head.

Leon scanned the kitchen. His eyes rested upon a series of large, stainless steel gas ovens that were aligned along the wall.

''I've got an idea…'' he moved across to the ovens and, one by one, yanked them from their place against the walls, exposing the pipes. He unsheathed his knife and cut them, spewing explosive gas into the air.

''Get to the freezer. It's solid steel, it should protect us from the blast.'' He motioned to a heavy steel door that marked the entrance to a closet freezer at the back of the kitchen. He coughed as the gas filled his lungs.

Elisabeth turned to face the freezer. She immediately sensed something was wrong. The heavy steel door was slightly ajar, propped open by a shoe. Slowly she walked towards it, her heart rate increasing with every step, the fine hairs on the back of her neck and arms standing on end. She kept moving, almost involuntarily. She became aware of her heavy breathing, her chest pushing against the hard kevlar vest as it expanded with every inhalation of air. She could feel her hands shaking from the adrenaline that coursed through her body.

''Hurry!'' Leon shouted.

She stood in front of the freezer. She finally saw what was propping open the door - it wasn't just a shoe. It was a foot - a dismembered foot. Instead of a leg, there was a torn and tattered trouser leg, covered with bloody tissue. She pushed open the heavy door. Her eyes widened as she gagged.

''Oh God! Who would do this? Who would do this?'' she cried as she turned to look for Leon. ''They're in here!''

''Who?''

''Everyone!'' she shook her head. ''Everyone's in here.''

Leon turned to look inside the freezer. Stacked inside were numerous bodies - mostly headless - some wearing the tattered remnants of white lab coats, others wearing suits or black uniforms. The floor was covered with a frozen mixture of congealed blood and viscera.

''Jesus Christ…..'' Leon held his hand up to his mouth as he retched. There must have been the remains of at least twenty people in there.

The barricaded door finally buckled and fell from its hinges. Four figures - hideous, twisted grinning - poured into the dining room.

''Just get in there!'' Leon shouted. He was holding a cigarette lighter; his thumb was poised, ready to ignite it as four twisted faces came closer. Next, Leon felt weightlessness and heat on his back as he was propelled through the air and all of the oxygen was sucked from his lungs. Then there was darkness.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chris and Claire had made it to the rendezvous point without further incident. As soon as they reached the clearing in the forest, Claire set off a flare that punctured the darkness with an incandescent emerald green. Claire could sense a million eyes - eyes of insects, birds and mammals, which were staring at them from outside the safety of the green glow.

Chris gently lay Jill down on the ground. She was still silent and unresponsive. The drip and its long blue coil was still attached to her arm. Every instinct Chris had told him to tear it out, it was poison, it was killing her. Or, even worse, it was changing her.

''I'm not going to lose her Claire.'' he said in a monotone voice, not taking his eyes off Jill. ''We've been through so much, we have to finish this fight together.'' He paused, looking at Claire. ''I'm not going to let anyone else go.''

''Everything is going to be alright.'' Claire soothed, as she squeezed his shoulder while simultaneously scanning the air for Carlos and the helicopter.

She tapped her radio.

''Carlos, come in.''

There was a brief pause.

''Claire, we'll be one minute.'' Carlos' voice was difficult to hear over the noise of the helicopter blades. They were obviously airborne.

''That's good Carlos, but Leon and Elisabeth…..'' Claire was interrupted by the sound of an explosion that originated from the laboratory complex a few hundred metres behind them. A ball of fire tore into the night sky.

''Leon'' Claire whispered.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elisabeth's eyelids flickered and then opened slowly. She couldn't see anything at first as her vision was blighted by the thick, acrid smoke that had consumed the kitchen and dining area. The smoke made her throat and lungs burn. She suddenly felt heat on her leg, and with considerable effort, she leaned upwards to investigate. To her horror, her left trouser leg was burning. This seemed to bring her to her senses as she jumped up and began to smack her leg furiously, patting out the flames. She rolled up her trouser leg to inspect the damage. It was red and sore and large blisters were starting to form.

Leon. Where was Leon? She began to scan the debris of what used to be the staff kitchen and dining area. The floor was covered with splintered cutlery, shattered glass and overturned furniture that acted as fuel for a few small fires that lingered.

''Leon? Leon? Where are you?'' she shouted. There was no response. She progressed into what remained of the dining room. She recoiled as she saw them - the charred bodies of the four soldiers who had pursued them through the labs, entangled within the wreckage. She inspected one of them closely. Instead of a face was an indistinguishable mesh of blackened, peeling skin and exposed bloody muscle. The hands and fingers, held up in front of the face in a desperate attempt to shield it from the fire ball, were twisted and knotted. Elisabeth reached forward to touch one of the hands and it disintegrated, leaving a small mound of black dust on the floor.

She resumed her search for Leon, and began to overturn the wrecked tables and chairs.

''Leon! Answer me God damn you!'' she shouted, throwing the furniture across the room in frustration.

''Arggh!'' she looked down at her hand - she had cut it on something sharp. She reached into her utility belt for a small bandage, and tied it around the cut. The white bandage was instantly stained scarlet by her blood. She stood still and scanned the room. Then she noticed a slight indentation in the wall. It was a regular square shape thus couldn't have been made by the explosion. She went to investigate, gently tracing the shape on the wall with her hands. She pushed gently and the smoked-stained plaster fell away revealing a door. The door was very different to others in the facility in that it was old and composed of wood with a brass handle and lock. It must be part of the old hospital building. She reached out and turned the knob. Locked. She felt the wood - it was damp, old. She took a step back, lifted her right leg and kicked it open. The door lock held firm, but the old rotten wood fell apart to reveal a dark room.

Elisabeth entered the room. She coughed as the damp, musty spore-ridden air hit her lungs. She felt for a light switch on the wall behind the door. The wall was also damp. Eventually she found a switch and flicked it, bathing the room in a feint yellow glow.

The room was small - probably only measuring about ten metres across, although it was filled with wooden shelving units upon which was crammed boxes of paper files, all arranged alphabetically. She looked suddenly at the floor. She noted her footprints in the thick layer of dust that had enveloped the carefully laid wooden tiles. It was probable that no one had been in this room for years. She walked along one of the shelves and read the labels on the boxes. They were names. She felt herself drawn to the boxes crammed in the section for the letter B. She scanned the names on the boxes - she read her name. It could just be a coincidence she reasoned; she had a fairly common name. She reached for the file, blowing away the dust. The file was stamped with 'Confidential' in bold red letters. Written on the front of the file were a name, date and place of birth - Elisabeth Badley, 4th March 1978, Raccoon City. She suddenly felt sick - this was too much of a coincidence. Her fingers played with the corners of the file that were dog-eared and worn.

She was just about to open the file when her attention was diverted suddenly by the sound of coughing in the dining room behind her. She crammed the folder underneath her kevlar vest. Backing out of the room, she switched off the light. She scanned the room again - she could hear breathing. It was difficult to see as the explosion had taken out the emergency electricity and the only light was an eerie, yellow-orange glow emitted by the flames. She froze as she saw a black boot in the corner of the room under a pile of rubble and broken furniture. She ran across to the boot and began tearing at the debris, exposing the body beneath.

''Leon!!'' she cried, as she cleared the area around him. His fatigues, originally black, were grey with dust and torn in a number of places. She quickly examined his body. There were no obvious signs of injury except for a small patch of his blonde hair that was now stained red and matted with blood.

He groaned, but then pushed himself upright to his knees. Gently, Elisabeth guided him to the wall. He leant against the wall and he slunk down on the floor, looking at her.

''Are you okay?'' he asked, noticing the burn on her leg.

''Never mind me, what about you?'' she asked, concerned.

His blue eyes were glassy and his face was drained of all colour. ''I've felt better. We've got to keep moving….''

Leon then tried to push himself up but he suddenly became dizzy, and he collapsed back down onto the floor.

''I think I need a minute….'' he said

She placed both of her hands behind his head and looked into his eyes. ''Focus on me.'' she said firmly. Leon did as requested.

''I want you to follow my finger.'' She said as she moved one hand away from his head, extended her index finger and moved her hand left and right. Again, Leon did as asked.

''You're concussed.'' She then examined the wound on his head. ''It looks like this wound is only superficial though, you'll be fine.''

Before Elisabeth had time to object, Leon had pushed himself to his feet. His eyes focussed on the charred bodies entangled in the wreckage around him. He looked quizzically at Elisabeth.

''They're dead.'' She said, answering the question she knew Leon was about to ask. ''I think fire is the only way to kill them. It destroys the cells.''

Leon nodded. ''We've got to get to the rendezvous point.'' He said, about to walk back towards the kitchen.

''No.'' she said hurriedly, turning Leon away from the old room that had revealed itself in the explosion. ''There's no way out that way. We have to go back the way we came in.''

''Okay.'' He said softly as he followed her back out of the dining room, still a little dazed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

''Cover your face!'' Chris shouted to Claire over the roar of the helicopter blades as it slowly descended into the forest clearing.

Claire shielded her face with her arms from the wind-blown debris that filled the air. Chris shielded Jill with his body. He winced as dirt, small pebbles and pieces of torn vegetation collided with his exposed face, making his eyes water. As it landed, the helicopter blades began to rotate progressively slower until they stopped. The ear-splitting roar of the rotating blades was replaced by a gentle, rhythmic hum of the engines as they were put on standby. The helicopter rear doors slid open and a metallic ramp descended to the ground, accompanied by the drone of a motor.

Carlos appeared at the open doors. He stood there for a moment, almost paralysed as he stared straight at Jill, his eyes widened in a mixture of shock and relief. He ran down the ramp towards Chris and moved to scoop up Jill from the ground. Chris grabbed his wrist.

''I've got her.'' he said brusquely.

''Okay.'' Carlos relented, holding up his hands. Claire looked at Carlos almost apologetically.

Chris stood up with Jill in his arms. He walked up the ramp and disappeared into the dark interior of the helicopter.

''Have you heard from Leon?'' Claire asked Carlos.

''Leon and Elisabeth were attacked in the labs and I lost contact - there was some kind of interference. I saw the explosion…..''

Claire's face fell, her bottom lip trembled.

''I'm sure they made it out of there…..'' Carlos said, almost trying to convince himself. ''Leon's got himself out of much worse situations than this.''

''I know Carlos, but that doesn't stop me….'' She was interrupted by a rustling sound in the bushes behind her. They both drew their handguns and pointed it towards the source of the noise.

Two figures leapt out of the undergrowth.

''Don't shoot!'' one of them screamed, holding up his arms.

''Leon!'' Claire looked at Leon with concern. She noticed his bloodied head and pale skin.

''Hey, it looks worse than it is, honest.'' he said, smiling, trying to put her mind at ease.

Leon moved to give Claire a hug when the air was filled with the sound of gunshots.

''Quick, let's go!'' Carlos shouted, walking backwards up the ramp into the helicopter, gesturing for the others to follow him. He fired his weapon into the darkness - other than the sporadic sparks released by their weapons when they fired, he was unable to see the location of their attackers.

Claire, Leon and Elisabeth ran up the ramp behind Carlos into the passenger compartment of the helicopter. No sooner had they entered, the ramp withdrew and the helicopter blades began to rotate faster. However, the din of the rotating blades was unable to drown out the sound of bullets ricocheting off the armoured shell of the helicopter. Carlos made his way into the cockpit.

''We've got to go, right now.'' he said to Justin as he fastened his safety belt. ''If they get the rotors…''

Justin nodded. He gripped the control stick and the helicopter slowly ascended.

''Let's go home.'' Carlos said, sinking into his chair.