Chapter 9

July 24, 1998 The Arklay Manor

I walked for what seemed like hours in the dark forest. The sun was peeking out of the horizon and I was growing tired. I had gone a whole night without sleep on excitement and adrenaline, but now I was exhausted. The mansion was just ahead and I was determined to find my old room and crash. But I knew I couldn't, not now at least. But I was so tired. All I had was the information Dr. Marcus had lectured to Matt and I in the facility basement, and it wasn't very much to go on. He said something about finding us as young infants, but does that mean that parents we grew up with aren't really our parents at all? Or did it mean that we were somehow by chance conceived by the very people who were searching for us. I realized that my second idea seemed far-fetched and silly. What would be the odds of that happening? But if my first idea was correct, then who were my real parents? Were they important figures or average civilians? Are they still alive today? I had so many questions running through my head I felt like I was about to faint from the weight of my own brain. I just needed to rest. Truth or no truth, there was no way I could go on without stopping to rest. I saw the mansion right in front of me, looking dark and gloomy in dawn. I opened the mansion doors, a creaking noise echoing throughout the halls. I slowly climbed up the grand staircase to my old room. I opened the wooden door to my room, totally untouched since the last time I had been here. I collapsed on my own bed, really to fall asleep.

"Goodnight Matt." I said, as the world closed around me.

But Matt wasn't there.

I awoke as the sun began to set, the last light fading from my eyes. I lifted myself off my bed, my clothes wrinkly and dirty from the night before. I walked over to my computer and tried to turn it on. The screen popped on as usual and I proceeded to log onto the internet. I went to the website search engine at the top of the screen, and began researching. But what were you suppose to call a monster that you thought was dead, or a giant leech that climbs elevators? So, I went with my best answer. Nothing showed up about a Bio Organic Weapon, but I was able to find something called a "zombie". It perfectly described the monster that attacked Matt, but it gave no explanation as to what may have caused the transformation, or if there was a possible cure. Before I could research anymore, my computer screen became fuzzy, and Wesker's face appeared on it.

"Tina, so nice to see you've made it so far." Wesker said, his syrupy voice coming from the computer's speakers.

"What did you do to Matt?" I yelled into the computer's mircophone in fury.

How could he have interfered with the connection like that? Then I remembered that Wesker worked for Umbrella, and Umbrella owns the mansion. It probably has interference systems for important announcements. Or to piss someone off.

"Matthew has found himself. He's moved on from the human race to become something much better. I hope you'll soon join him." Wesker smiled crookedly.

"You turned Matt into a monster! It was that medicine you injected into us at the facility, wasn't it? It somehow made him insane!" I slammed my hands onto the keyboard.

"Matthew was only doing what was in your best interest. You see, death is the only way the virus can activate. Matthew was trying to do you a favor." Wesker sneered, like I had been ungrateful.

Death? That was why Matthew was trying to kill me. So I could be like him? Not because the virus made him crazy, or could it be both? And what about Wesker? Did he have the same virus running through his veins? And…

"How did Matt die?" I bluntly asked.

A sneaky grin appeared on Wesker's face.

"Well, Tina I'm afraid I can't give you the answer. But of course, as usual, the answer is right in front of you. Now, I'm afraid I'm a bit pressed for time, so please excuse me. I'll be seeing you soon Tina." Wesker took off his glasses to reveal deep green eyes.

"And, be careful." Wesker finished.

The computer screen went blank. I tried turning it on again, but someone seemed to have cut off its power. It seemed as if Wesker didn't know that Matt was dead now. Or he felt confident enough that the virus would help him survive being crushed by a train. Suddenly, I hear a rapping on the door. Who could that be? Could it be one of the scientists? To tell you the truth, I'd had not seen any scientists or caretakers since I'd gotten here. Maybe I'd just been too tired to notice, but I don't think anyone tried to confront me either. It was like everyone had disappeared. The rapping on the door continued, I had begun to cross the room when I heard a faint groan from the other side of the door. What if this person was like the monster that Matt and I had run into at the facility? I pulled out my handgun and carefully turned the knob of the door. The gardener stumbled in. His white shirt was stained with blood, and his flesh seemed to be rotting on all parts of his body.

"Tina? Is…that…you?" the gardener was having trouble breathing, and he was hunched over.

The gardener looked injured, for blood seemed to be seeping from his shirt.

"Yes, it's me. Are you alright?" I calmly asked.

"I…need a…herb Tina…I'm…injured. Please...help…me. There're…monsters…everywhere." The gardener just finished when he started coughing up blood.

Monsters, possibly the same monsters that Matt and I saw at the training facility. And what about the herb he was talking about? Could this herb help Matt as well?

"What does the herb look like?" I asked, curiously.

"It's green…they grow them…all over the…mansion." The gardener explained as he sat down on my bed.

I don't remember any green plants being in the mansion. But then again, I didn't really take the time to explore the mansion.

"Alright, I'll get you a herb." I nod and help him lie down on my bed.

"Be…careful." He mumbled as I closed the door.

I closed the door softly, for it seems like he'd fallen asleep. What if this herb could help Matt too? What if it could turn him back to normal? But I didn't know if it could even help the gardener. Hopefully I could find one before it was too late. Maybe they grew outside. I found my way to the front door alright, but once I was outside, a chilly wind picked up. But it wasn't a wind. It was a landing helicopter. Maybe they were here to help the people here. I ran towards the helicopter, only to be stopped by a pack of vicious dogs. They looked like the same dogs Matt and I had encountered in the forest, but they didn't seem to notice me. Maybe they were heading for the people in the helicopter. I carefully snuck around them to get to the helicopter, which had landed not too far from the mansion. The dogs soon took off at a breakneck pace in the direction of the helicopter. I follow the pack as closely as I could as they raced towards the helicopter. As they begin to slow down, I hide behind a tall tree. The pack appears to surround the helicopter, but the landed team doesn't seem to notice them. They were all shining flashlights around the forest, which were attached to their guns. So they have guns? That would be useful, but what were these people here for? I slowly turn around from the tree, to see five figures. One was a lean soldier type with a green vest. Another was larger, with a mustache and a red vest. One was tall and built, but he was too far away for me to see him clearly. There was a girl too, her hair covered with a beret and a blue outfit. Another seemed very jittery, he was constantly checking behind him and adjusting his bandana. The last one was still in the helicopter, seeming scared and nervous. The dogs came out of their hiding places and attacked. I saw that the team member with the bandana was being attacked by the dogs. His screams of pain was probably heard throughout the forest. The team was beginning to fall back, but before they all retreated, the girl, turned her face from the dogs and saw me for a split second. Our eyes met, and I swear she was about to say something. But the dogs had finished with their team member and were eyeing the girl. She took off with the rest of the team and the dogs continued to pursue them. As soon as I knew they were gone, I stood up and looked around. The ground was covered in blood, and bullets lay on the ground. I saw that the helicopter that the people had come in was still there. I approached the helicopter carefully, in case someone was in it. I saw the body of someone shaking inside the helicopter. I hid behind a tree to conceal myself. But before I could approach of nervous man, another figure jumped out from behind the shadows. The person leaped onto the helicopter and started banging on the windshield of the helicopter. The man inside the helicopter screamed in terror and began punching at the helicopter's controls. The chopper churned to life and the man started steering around the small clearing, trying to shake off the figure. The person atop the helicopter held tight to the chopper, but one last swerve by the pilot and the figure lost his balance and dived into the woods. The chopper rose higher into the sky and zoomed off. I stared up at the sky where the helicopter had disappeared to a little longer. Who were those people? And were they looking for Matt and I? Would they take me back if there found out that Matt's dead? And who was that thing that scared the man in the helicopter off? I slumped down against a tree when I saw a peculiar plant that caught my eye. It looked just like the grass around it, but it was higher than the grass and it had leaves instead of the sprigs of grass. I crawled over to the plant and rooted it out of the ground. It matched the description of the herb that the gardener was looking for. I slipped the herb into my pocket and headed off towards the mansion.

I had reached the mansion only to find the front doors strangely locked. I tugged on the doors as hard as I could, but they simply wouldn't budge. I walked around to the window in the dinning room. With Matt's knife, I cut open the glass so that I could squeeze through the window. The dining room was empty, except for the pool of blood on the floor. I bent down to examine it. Whose blood was it? I remembered the gardener, and I ran over to the dining room doors only to be stopped by a falling body. I jumped back in surprise, hitting my head against a dining room chair. The grandfather clock was clicking away every second ominously. I looked as the fallen body stood up and turned in my direction. The man was obscenely pale and his flesh was peeling off from his hands and body. His eyes were a milky pale, and all of his hair had all fallen off. He was just like the monster Matt and I had met at the facility. He must have fallen from the floor above. I reached for my gun and pulled it out. Just then, four large crows came crashing through the windows. I carefully aimed my gun and pulled the trigger. But there was one problem: I was out of ammo.