In the weeks that followed, Carlos killed Alice a hundred times.
Dr. Kents made Carlos his own life-size toy soldier. He crafted laser mazes, minefields, knife-edged obstacle courses to test his latest experiment.
He killed her in combat, in cold blood, shooting distance, and as close as lovers. At first, Dr. Kents had to force Carlos to do it, but eventually, Carlos found he didn't need his prompts.
He was angry at Alice. Angry at her for putting him in the middle of this. Had it not been for her, he would have been dead, but free. Just another one of Umbrella Corp's creatures.
And the more he killed her, the more deadened his emotions became. All he felt was resentment, anger, and occasionally, fear. Every time Dr. Kents invaded his mind, he felt a little more of the Carlos of before leave. His feelings dragged him to the past and future, but if he focused on the now, he could almost block out his prison.
He had grown accustomed to his new body, too. His legs moved too quickly, his ears heard conversations that he should have been deaf to, but nothing was as unsettling as Dr. Kents' voice in his head.
"Kill her," He whispered in childlike glee.
Carlos bit back a retort. Dr. Kents' intrusion had occurred during the middle of a bout with another Alice. This one was an almost-perfect copy of Alice. The only difference is that this Alice's eyes were a dead brown, not the vivid electric blue of the real thing.
She fought almost as well, though. Carlos jumped out of the way of one of her blades—copied to the one that the original Alice favored—and he dodged around her foot as it launched towards it head. He had lost his weapon on one of the earlier obstacles, which left him at a distinct disadvantage.
Carlos knew that Dr. Kents would watch him die with only a small pang of remorse for a failed experiment. The thought added liquid fire in his veins.
With an extra spurt of speed he darted around her next attack—a flying kick. He grabbed her leg midair and threw her into one of the walls. Her grip slackened on the her short sword and he used her disorientation to twist the weapon from her grip.
She sliced at him with her second sword, but he parried her easily. The fake Alice's eyes widened as she realized that she might lose this fight. When first started to kill Alices, he had been surprised at the human emotions in even the most flawed of the clones.
Now he used her fear against her. He pressed his attack, brutally knocking the weapon from her hand. He stepped in closer.
"Please," She breathed, her face white with fear. The dull brown of her eyes finally shone with unshed tears.
Carlos drove the blade into her staring into those eyes.
A spurt of blood bubbled out of her move and onto his black armor. Her dead gaze bored into him as she slipped to the concrete floor, landing with a dull thud.
Carlos wiped the blood from his uniform.
Dr. Kents' slow clapping filled the room, resounding through Carlos' brain. The doctor leered at him through the protective safety glass of the observation room.
"Congratulations, Mr. Oliveria. It seems that you have passed the test."
Carlos stepped out into the sunshine for the first time since he'd activated the bomb in front of the compound.
It was funny, he thought to himself. He had often cursed the virus for the many things it had taken from him: the civilizations, the people, even the forests. He had come to despise the desolate landscape that provided no shelter and fewer resources to his comrades.
But as he blinked in the harsh daylight, he felt the oddest sensation of comfort to be out of the dim fluorescent lights and dead gray walls of the complex. He had never noticed before, just how blue the sky was, untouched by the plight of the men living beneath it.
A single hawk flew through the sky. Carlos was still somewhat disturbed by his enhanced senses, but his superior eyes picked up the details of the bird. Somehow, it was still uninfected.
Perhaps if the skies were still untouched, mankind still had a chance. There were some things the T-9 virus could not destroy.
The falsely polite cough of Dr. Kents dragged him back to the present. He felt his face close off into the expression of a soldier in enemy territory.
"The last trace we had of Alice, she had abducted a helicopter," Dr. Kents grimaced "And was headed southeast of her. The copter only had enough gas for four hours or so. Given your current condition," Carlos held back a grimace of his own—the doctor was far to self-congratulating on the success of his latest experiment "You should be able to meet up with her within 72 hours. You are to bring her back if possible. If she does not cooperate, you have Umbrella Corps permission to eliminate Alice Abernathy. Do you understand?"
As though Dr. Kents hadn't gleefully recited his mission to Carlos daily. Not trusting his voice to remain calm, Carlos merely nodded.
Dr. Kents peered at him a moment longer. "I've spent a lot of time building that body. Do try to keep it in one piece." With that, he turned and walked back into the shelter of the compound.
Carlos hitched his gear further up his back and took a step beyond the gates. One step farther from Umbrella Corp. One step closer towards killing Alice.