Chapter One:

Arynn had reached the peak of the main building. From atop, she could make out small business centers in the distance and communities off towards the horizon. So this was Great Britain, a modern wonder full of history spanning from the Saxon tribes, beyond the dark ages, to the present time of the euro. Film, literature, and art had deep roots within the British culture. Arynn always wanted to visit the mainland but not like this. She looked down at the palms of her hands and looked away disgusted. She didn't even know who she was anymore.

Ever since that day at "ground zero" when everyone she ever cared for died at the hands of Umbrella's experiments and the government's bomb, she was never the same. Surviving a bite from one of the newly turned victims was to mean certain death. But instead, she carried the burden of Umbrella's success; their perfect man-made soldier, a person who could withstand the T/G Virus and maintain permanent full consciousness. This was what Alexia Ashford achieved in her deluded perception of world dominance. It worked but it did not last, within moments she was to mutate many times into a raging insect hybrid. Peter Ashford, Alexia's cousin claimed that he had achieved what his cousin miserably failed in. By combining the Progenitor virus with ancient DNA from the Saber tooth species as well as reptiles, Peter Ashford was able to create a sustainable virus; all he needed was a viable host. That host would come in the form of a man named Nathaniel Residvius. Arynn wasn't sure how but, this man was related to her. They shared the same bloodline. All Umbrella needed was to administer the virus into a "willing" host who at the time was pregnant. Knowing that the virus would have profound effects on the unborn fetus, Umbrella personally authorized the inception. Months later a female would be born, unknowingly she would carry a dormant prize within her that Umbrella had to protect…until the day Raccoon City would fall…

The United Kingdom sector of the Umbrella Corporation was the pinnacle location of all activity throughout Britain and all of Europe. Before the outbreak of Raccoon city, Umbrella's European branch was reaching its peak in biological break-through. In five years time, however, parts of the facility had been closed down and most operations had ceased. All affairs globally were filtered through this facility alone, such as important projects and procedures ranging from elite special opt forces, undercover trafficking of illegal chemicals and samples, and harboring potential weapons of various types of destruction. Key players like Ozwell E. Spencer, James Marcus, and Edward Ashford were said to have held meetings at this very site. So in essence, this was the heart of Umbrella, the continuing beat of the infectious plague-spreader. This was where Arynn would draw the line. Umbrella the business may have died but Umbrella the entity continued on.

Arynn knew the end would come soon…Yet, as the young woman took in the slight chill from the outside, there were past events from "ground zero" that made her wonder. Dr. Darvis said that his team removed the abnormal growth from her stomach. He mentioned that his team had secluded the growth somewhere on site for further research. Arynn wondered, what exactly did he mean by further research, and was the growth still alive or dead? She needed to find out not just for the sake of every human being on earth, but for her, to terminate the Residvius project once and for all. As she came back to the roof top door, she peered inside with her gun drawn. The break was over. The recuperation was on hold. It was time to go back into the nightmare.

***

Arynn hated the loud noise from the alert siren buzzing overhead. They knew she was running loose through the compound. It would only be a matter of time before all of the surrounding guards would come to detain her. Just one more interrogation and she would know all that she needed to continue on. For minutes now, in a small surveillance room, she grilled one of the company's lockdown guardsmen.

"Where is Lieutenant Hernandez?" questioned the young dark-skinned female as she held the camouflaged-colored collar of the soldier up against a cold concrete wall.

The soldier struggled in the woman's grasp. He had to have been at least 6'3" yet Arynn, who stood 5'7", was overpowering him immensely.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" He sternly replied.

"Yes you do…" the woman suggested as she tightened her grip and proceeded to lift him higher against the wall.

The man could only widen his eyes nervously as he could feel the woman's force. She was so strong, but how was this possible?

"Now listen," Arynn said, "You have a choice here to either live or die. Just tell me where I can find the Lieutenant and I won't kill you."

The man paused. The woman could see in his eyes that he was thinking.

"I have orders…" the man stated.

He started to reach for something in his side pocket. The woman saw this and instantly pulled out a slick silver desert eagle with her other hand and nudged it into the man's cranium.

"Now, I asked you politely and I expected a reasonable answer. " She said as she cocked the weapon and put her finger on the trigger.

Beads of sweat started to roll down the side of his head. There was a sense of fear that the soldier could not comprehend. The pressure on his neck from the woman was becoming unbearable.

"I can't help you!" he nearly yelled.

In frustration Arynn dropped the man to the ground. He hit the wall hard and let out a painful groan. The soldier struggled for air as the woman knelt down close to him. She pointed the gun in his face.

"I'll ask you again," Arynn continued to probe. "This time do not hesitate! What floor is Hernandez on?"

"I don't know! I've told you everything—"he cried aloud.

"1…" began the woman as she pressed the gun into the man's forehead. His eyes widened in terror.

"Ma'am, I cannot tell you the location of Lt. Hernandez!"

"2…"

"I have strict orders!"

"3…"

"Okay okay!" he yelled. Arynn stopped and waited. He struggled to catch his breath. "Sub-level 2…"

She knelt up, holstered her gun and then grabbed the man by the neck.

"The next time someone asks you a question…you'd better have a good answer."

She whipped out her gun and pulled the trigger. The man trembled as he heard the reverberation of a bullet shooting through the shaft, hitting something. He opened his eyes and looked around, the woman was gone.

***

The rate of cellular growth is phenomenonal… How she is able to retain normal function is a miracle. Ashford was right, she is special. She always has been.

Those were the words that seemed to echo in her head as she silently fled through the halls of the compound.

Special, yea sure, she thought to herself. How special could she be to the world's top pharmaceutical company; a company that single handedly destroyed a whole town and was on the verge of destroying a country. Did they not know that somehow their experiments and years of research would escape onto the streets causing havoc and anarchy? She witnessed this back in Raccoon and once again she was seeing it appear here. There had to be a stop to this before the inevitable; the last resort; the nuke. But how could she put an end to something that had already begun? Arynn had an idea and it would take getting rid of all the armed personal on site to carry it out. She cocked her weapon and descended a flight of stairs.

Down a corridor, the young female rushed through the eerie ambience. She needed to get to Hernandez before they took him away. There was no telling what kinds of tests they had performed or what type of injections they put into his body. Once she met up with the Lieutenant then she could try to find Tripper.

In the time that she had first came to the medical facility, to the time of breaking out, she had seen so many poor patients at the mercy of Umbrella, awaiting an unknown fate. They looked like they were in pain. She knew that in minutes, they would be dead and reanimated. It was not fair. Those poor children, whose lives would be cut short and not live to see another week, were victims of a conspiracy. And the parents who thought this hospital could save their young, poor fools. Arynn knew all about what was going on and Umbrella's use of young hosts. The company got away with it in Raccoon and now it seemed that they would get away with it here.

With the blast of her weapon, Arynn took out two guards at the end of the next hallway. She could see another elevator coming up. Only a few more yards and she would be safe, for now. But it was just her luck to run into an obstacle. From out of a doorway to the right side of the hall, a man appeared. He looked hurt and was grabbing at his chest as he leaned his body against the wall.

"Help me…" the man whispered in a hoarse tone.

Arynn took a step back as the man drew near. He reached out for her and grabbed her by the sleeve. His complexion was already showing an eerie pale tone and small obtruding purple veins were appearing from under his skin. He was infected, Arynn knew this much. She aimed her gun at the man and he stood still.

"Please help us," he said.

"I can't. I'm sorry," she replied.

"You have to…" the man muttered as he sat down, "She's pregnant."

"Who's pregnant?" Arynn questioned.

The man pointed to the doorway that he came out of. Arynn stepped past him and into the room. The light overhead was flickering. She readjusted her eyes as she slowly walked past what appeared to be a laboratory. In the following room, she saw a body propped up against a bed. By the looks of it, the female was a patient. Her legs were straddled and relaxed and her head was tilted down. Arynn stood still for a few seconds intimidated by the eerie scene. She didn't know whether to see if the female was alright or if she should keep her distance. Arynn decided to inch closer. She holstered her weapon and made sure her knife was easily accessible. She lifted up the female's wrist and felt for a pulse. There was nothing yet as Arynn stepped back, she saw movement coming from the female's stomach. Without hesitation, she took out her weapon and aimed it at the female. Before she could pull the trigger, she heard murmuring coming from the other room. From the corner of her eye, she saw something moving fast towards her. She dodged the individual and ran out of the room. Arynn looked back and saw that the man had turned and now he was accompanied by the pregnant patient. The virus didn't waste time in converting the victims up to a new cellular level. Arynn immediately rushed for the elevator. Within minutes, the infected were howling at the door just as it closed. Taking a deep breath, Arynn pressed the sub-level 2 button.

***

The lower levels of the Umbrella compound were dark and wet. The ambient sound of water dripping and the screeching of rats, made Arynn more cautious. She didn't know what to expect as her boots surveyed the muggy concrete floor. She was a bit relieved to have decent clothes on. No longer did she have to put up with cold drafts and wet skin while running around in extreme climates back at "ground zero".

The rifle that she had been carrying was nearly out of ammunition and she needed to find other means of weaponry before she got to the rest of the sub-level floors. Arynn wasn't sure of the stability of her new found strength; it wasn't as reliable as carrying a gun was. On the second floor, she was able to take out two taller and over powering Security guards. While on the first floor, she could only muster enough strength to kick a man in the shin. If her strength was unstable, then Arynn wondered what else within her could suddenly change at any given moment. Was it possible that Tripper or even Hernandez was facing this same ordeal too?

She thought back to Hernandez and how his reanimated corpse retained normal function even memories before his untimely death. Was it possible for the virus to be that sophisticated? Since Hernandez contracted the virus from Dorus and had this much cell evolution, was it possible that Arynn's virus, handed down from Sabriel, be more evolved? Arynn stopped running and quickly let her mind backtrack through the events of "ground zero". Peter was talking. She had the gun cocked and loaded. She was going to kill herself. And she succeeded. But she didn't die… Arynn instantly opened her eyes. The virus brought her back to life just like Hernandez but she wasn't just reanimated. She was resurrected, except that she didn't itch and she didn't acquire the thirst that Raccoon's victims wanted; the thirst for flesh. She was something else. She was indeed special and Peter knew this. Arynn wondered what else the late Ashford had known about her.

A sudden scream came from up ahead. Arynn jolted out of her thoughts and back to reality. She ran towards the commotion, preparing herself for what was to come. The end of the corridor brought her to a wide-opened room with fluorescent lights and numerous research laboratory countertops. This area must've been where they conducted testing on DNA samples taken from human hosts. Arynn could see drops of blood leading straight down the centered aisle. She cautiously followed wondering whose blood it belonged to. As she walked, she saw vials filled with green liquid and red on various parts of the countertops. Scattered documents were on the next table and Arynn went over to investigate.

What she found was even more riveting than Project Residvius. The words: Sabriel and Redorus were mentioned but nothing about the two soldiers admitted. Arynn thought back to her confrontation with Sabriel and how the creature showed his human side the moment she mentioned her name. Why didn't he kill her? Why didn't he kill himself? It was almost like he knew her and was trying to protect her. She wondered a lot of things about Sabriel. But mostly, she wondered why Ashford kept his father's glorious super soldier down there all this time claiming it was a disaster and a waste. It didn't make sense. There had to be more to Project Sabriel and Project Residvius. What was the link and why did Peter speak of her as his pride and joy while the former was a mere mistake?

Rushing past the tables and towards two double doors, Arynn found corpses covering the tiled floor. They were fresh kills of ripped flesh and mangled organs. Puddles of blood had seeped into the grout of the tile bleaching the white to crimson red. The room reeked of human fatality and Arynn held her arm to her nose while surveying the room. A keen sense of danger made the hairs on the back of her neck stand. Someone was still here, close and waiting.

"Residvius…" whispered an eerie voice from somewhere in the room.

Arynn flinched. Her knife was drawn and ready for slaughtering. She had no desire to hesitate. Whoever was here knew her and probably wanted her dead.

"Show yourself…" she replied.

There was a pause in the atmosphere and Arynn stood firm and ready.

"Arynn…"

She tried to pin point the noise and took a few steps further into the room, careful not to disturb the bodies.

"How do you know me?" She asked loudly.

"Don't you remember?" the voice hissed sending an eerie echo through the room.

Something swooped down and over Arynn stirring the wind around her hair. The slight breeze brought the smell of musk and spice yet also of innards and human remains. She knew that smell of musk; a scent that she last remembered back at "ground zero". Was it possible that he survived his run-in with Sabriel? Arynn changed the position of her knife and gripped it upwards.

A Tall lengthy figure jumped down from the ceiling and landed meters from her beside a stretcher. The lighting above produced an unnatural pallor to the individual's skin. Where his eyes should've been there were dark ominous circles. Liquid the color of tar was oozing down from his sockets. He was still dressed in the same clothing that Arynn last seen him in that day. Besides his peculiar appearance and appetite for dead flesh, he was still the man that she hated more than anything.

"Peter Ashford…" Arynn spoke as she watched the being walk towards to her.

"You were always one of my more intelligent creations…" the man sarcastically replied.

"I see you've still retained your ridiculous humor and love of belittling people," Arynn said crossing her arms.

He stopped some inches from her and stood watching her. Though she couldn't see his eyes, she knew he was taking the time to really look at her like he did before he died. She looked away as to not give him that satisfaction.

"Let me guess, you're looking for your friends?" he asked as he began to circle slowly around her.

Arynn watched him closely and not once let go of her knife.

"What led you to think that?" she asked.

He crept close to her then leaned down to her ear and whispered, "I can smell it."

Her eyes narrowed at his illustrious choice of words. She instantly stabbed him with her blade, plunging the knife deep into his abdomen and slowly carving line up his flesh. Ashford hissed at the pain and Arynn looked him dead in the eye.

"How does it feel?" she whispered back as a smirk formed on her face.

He let out a groan then fixed his bent over posture. He took her hand and pressed the blade in further. Not once did he take his eyes off of her. Arynn's smirk disappeared and she could feel the blade being pushed back by some unknown force. She looked down and saw black liquid crawling onto her hand and the sensation felt like fire. She immediately jolted the blade out of the man's body and backed away. Arynn wiped away the substance on her pant leg and saw that Ashford's blood had altered the appearance of her stainless steel titanium weapon. It wasn't that the knife was missing some of its sharper edge and had become dull; it was that the blade itself had been bent. Arynn's eyes widened slightly. Ashford's blood was almost similar to Dorus. The virus within both infected individuals had made their blood become an entity of its own; becoming stronger, thicker, and tougher, not to mention acidic in some cases. Some of the material that she had wiped the blood on had lost its color and fiber structure too.

"Do you really want to know how it feels, Arynn!" he yelled as the wound in his stomach finished healing.

Arynn put away the knife and reached for her gun. When she drew it out, she saw that Ashford had disappeared! A sudden panic came over her and she looked around for him, backing herself up into a nearby wall.

"I can smell the fear in you, Arynn!" he yelled.

She inched her way towards the exit careful of the corpses below and cautious of Ashford's wrath. There was no telling what he was capable of given his new found "abilities". She needed to get out there and now.

"Seems to me that you're not the only special one here!" he yelled from an unknown location.

"What do you know about being 'special'?" Arynn yelled out, "You don't know anything!"

"Really…" he replied leaping down right in front of the young woman making her fall to the floor from his sudden impact. Ashford leaned down to her, picking her up by the jaw and forcing her up to the ceiling. "You see, Arynn, there is a difference between being born 'special' and being made 'special'."

He flung her half way across the room into a sink and cabinet structure. Arynn yelled in pain as the faucet jabbed into her stomach forcing her to cough up blood. She had lost her gun somewhere in the room and was now vulnerable. Could she face Ashford alone? It would be hard to tell.

"What is the difference…" she whispered hoarsely as she tried to catch her breath.

Suddenly she could see that some of the bodies from Ashford's feast were beginning to move. Arynn knew that within minutes just like Hernandez, they would arise probably with the same abilities as their creator; maybe even just as lethal. She had to get out of there!

Ashford leaped over to her hissing at her. He tried to punch her but was amazed to see that Arynn was holding his fist back. With what ounce of strength she could muster, Arynn forced back the infected man to a point where she was standing and facing him.

"I'm surprised you don't know the difference," she said as she threw back his arm and punched his ear. Ashford kneeled back in pain grabbing at the side of his head. He rose making Arynn step back. He readjusted the alignment of his neck then cracked his shoulders.

"Being made means to control your destiny. Arynn, you will always remain the same no matter how much your strength increases. But I will continue to change..." the undead man replied.

"And how do you know this?" she questioned him as she started to backup nearly stepping on an awakening corpses. She gasped and kicked his head away from biting her leg.

"Because I know what you are capable of." he replied as he leaned in closer to her and whispered, "And I know that you cannot kill me."He stood quiet and gave her a silent smile.

Arynn turned immediately and ran for the door. She didn't know how much longer her strength was going to hold out, she didn't want to wait around and find out. She could hear the inhuman groans of the newly reanimated individuals stirring from behind. Outside she went for the papers on the desk, balled them up and stuffed them in her back pocket. She would need these for evidence. Reading the rest would have to come later.

"As much as I would love to continue our reunion," she started, "I have to go!" she yelled as she ran further down the corridor.

"Arynn, you cannot run from me!!!" Ashford yelled as he entered the larger room, "I will find you!"

She could hear his voice echoing off of the silent hall. Bringing Peter's body back here was a mistake. Umbrella did not know what they would be in for now that they had a raving mutated lunatic on their hands. She wasn't going to let Ashford deviate her from her mission. Besides it probably would've proved better to have both Eddie and Joseph on her side in the event that she should meet up with Ashford at a later time.