13. Chris
The aftermath of the attacks in Caraçari left a somber scene of destruction and devastation. Buildings were reduced to rubble, streets were torn apart, and the remains of once-thriving businesses were scattered throughout the town.
As for the animals, Chris's team worked tirelessly to eliminate the hostile creatures that showed signs of disease and mutations. The team's efforts were not in vain, as they managed to successfully neutralize a significant number of the infected animals. However, some of the animals died on their own, their bodies left to rot in the streets alongside the wreckage of the town.
The sight was grim, a stark reminder of the dangers that bioterrorism and the mishandling of viruses could pose to innocent communities. It was a butter thought, one that Chris couldn't help but reflect on as he gazed upon the ruined town.
Chris observed Claire's demeanor, her eyes filled with a mix of sadness and survivor's guilt. He knew all too well the weight she carried on her shoulders, always feeling responsible for the well-being of others, even in the face of danger. It was a burden she had shouldered for years, and Chris couldn't help but empathize with her inner struggle. Wanting to offer comfort and support, Chris took a step forward, but before he could find the right words, Leon beat him to it. His brother-in-law's arm wrapped around Claire, pulling her closer, and he whispered something softly into her ear. Chris couldn't catch the exact words, but the effect was clear – Claire's tense posture eased, and a momentary flicker of relief crossed her face. He wasn't going to say it outloud, but he was grateful for Leon's presence and the strength he provided his sister in times like were limitations to what he could offer as her brother, and to be fair, he felt like he'd failed her so many times before.
As the immediate danger subsided, Chris took charge of the situation, ensuring that Claire and company were safely escorted to the nearest airport. Leon's connections and a favor from his friend secured a plane to take them back home, away from the haunting events they had just experienced. Chris felt a sense of relief knowing that Claire would have some distance from the turmoil they had endured, at least for now.
"Well, it's good that things are in order over there," Jill said from the other side of the line. "So Claire and Leon were alright?"
Chris sat inside the chopper, the rhythmic whirring of the rotors filling the cabin as they soared through the stormy skies towards Luziâçari. The storm had somewhat subsided, but rain still lashed against the windows, creating a blurry view of the outside world.
The sound of raindrops hitting the metal exterior of the chopper echoed inside, creating a somber ambiance. Chris glanced out the window, observing the torrential downpour that continued to drench the landscape below. The relentless rain seemed to mirror the intensity of the recent events they had faced.
"Everyone is fine, thankfully," Chris answered. "But I can't believe BSAA would ignore this case. The place was crawling with BOWs."
"I am sure there must be a reasonable explanation," Jill tried to ease him.
"Reasonable? Like how reasonably they dealt with Dulvey?"
Jill sighed but said no comment.
"Are you coming back soon?"
"No, I don't think so," Chris replied. "Leon came across a lead to possible Mobius activity. I'm going to check it out."
"Leon?"Jill said, puzzled. "I don't see anything wrong with that, but wouldn't he want to check it himself? Why did he push the task on you?"
"That's..." Chris started, his voice trailing off as he remembered Leon's cautionary words about potential eavesdropping on their communication lines. He glanced around the chopper, ensuring their conversation remained private amidst the hum of the engines. "It's a long and complicated story," Chris continued, his tone tinged with a mixture of concern and determination. "I'll fill you in on the details once we regroup. But for now, Leon's priority is to ensure Claire's safety. He's taking her back to the USA."
"It doesn't surprise me that Leon would abandon a mission for Claire, but I find it odd that he would quit something related to Mobius. He is as determined to destroy that organization as you are."
"He has his reasons," Chris sighed.
"I guess. Leon isn't someone to do things without them. Will you be alright with so few men?"
"We'll be fine. How about you? Are things going smoothly over there?"
"We found the laboratories," Jill replied. "We'll be infiltrating soon, but don't worry. We can handle that."
Chris fell into a contemplative silence, his eyes locked on the window as the chopper soared through the skies. The verdant expanse of the woodland stretched out below, a vast sea of trees that served as shroud for whatever horrors Moboius had done. His thoughts wandered to the mission ahead, the destination that Leon had spoken rose in front of him. The mountain peak loomed in the distance with an imposing presence. The coordinates provided by Leon were vague, the precise location of the testing ground shrouded by uncertainty. They would need to rely on their instincts and expertise to navigate the rugged terrain and find their way.
Chris sighed.
"I have to go, Jill. We'll talk later."
Chris ended the call, his hand slowly lowering the phone as he took in his surroundings. The chopper had landed in a small clearing, nestled amidst the dense foliage of the forest. The ground beneath his feet was soft, moist from the recent rain. With a purposeful stride, Chris stepped off the chopper and glanced at his team. Their faces were etched with determination, their eyes reflecting a steely resolve. There was no time for hesitation or doubt. They had a mission to accomplish, and every second counted.
As if guided by an unspoken understanding, the group sprang into action. Each member knew their role, their specialized skills honed through years of training and experience. They moved with a synchronicity that only came from countless missions undertaken together, their movements fluid and deliberate.
"Captain," one of his men, Graham, called out, capturing Chris's attention. The seasoned soldier had been diligently working on a laptop, immersed in his task as Chris gave orders to survey the surrounding area. Chris strode over to Graham's side, his eyes narrowing in anticipation as he peered at the screen.
"What did you find, Graham?"
"I sent the drone a while ago. It wasn't easy with all this wind, but I think I might have found the place from that footage, sir."
Graham clicked a window on his screen and opened a set of photographs the man had taken using the drone. He was right. The overall look of the place matched the images from Leon's footage.
"It looks like some kind of village."
"It's a little empty for a village," another of Chris's men, Wilson, said. "Where are the people? These rural towns are always thriving with life. I don't even see chickens roaming the place."
Chris could see that Wilson was right. Rural towns generally had a lot of movement. It was strange and suspicious that the place was so quiet at this hour.
"That's what we will find out," Chris replied. "If Leon's info is correct, this place could be a laboratory or a testing ground for BOWs."
"Here?" Wilson asked. "This is the middle of nowhere."
"Precisely why it is the perfect place for that," Chris replied. "No one would see them. Do you see any suspicious structure, Graham?"
"No, the sonar doesn't show any structures underground or overground," Graham said. "It's all wilderness."
"Great, because I'm getting tired of underground facilities," Wilson grunted.
"Get used to it," Chris said. "We'll be seeing a lot of them. Ok, let's prepare for landing."
The Hound Wolf Squad (or HWS for short) was a BSAA elite task force, commanded primarily by Chris under the codename "Alpha." The code name was ironic since it was the same identification tag they used for improved LyMorphs forms like Claire, which technically made both Redfield siblings known as alphas. The group had come to replace the original Elite Alpha Team following Barry's retirement. Currently, it consisted of eight special OPs, including Jill, who acted as second in command. When Chris had come to the Northern Amazon area, he'd taken three of his men: Dion Wilson, Charlie Graham, and Dorian Callaghan with him and left the rest of the group with Jill.
As the group cautiously advanced towards the village, they were met with a horrifying sight. The once-peaceful settlement had turned into a scene of utter carnage. Lifeless bodies lay strewn across the ground, their presence a grim reminder of the brutal massacre that had taken place. The remains were in various states of mutilation and decay, suggesting that these villagers had met their gruesome fate several days prior. The air hung heavy with the stench of death, intensifying the eerie atmosphere that enveloped the desolate village.
"God, this is worse than I imagined," Callaghan said. " Caraçari and now this? What was BSAA thinking ignoring this call?"
"I think we all want to know what the BSAA is thinking these days," Graham said with an ironic scoff.
Chris didn't reply. His eyes scanned the surroundings with a deep frown.
"Stay sharp," Chris said. "It is daytime, so LyMorphs might not be an issue, but there might still be hostiles or survivors."
The latter was wishful thinking. But, like Claire liked to say, hope was the last thing standing.
"It's just me, or all of the victims seem to be women?" Wilson commented.
Chris looked around, and he realized that Wilson was right. All of the corpses seemed to be females, and all of them were young or relatively young.
"Not only that," Callaghan said. "Where are the elderly and the children? I can understand if the young males weren't here, but isn't it strange that all of them are relatively young women?"
"Yeah," Chris grunted. "What the fuck happened here?"
"Carnage," Callaghan said, shaking his head.
"Wilson, Callaghan, take some blood samples. Graham, come with me."
While Wilson and Callaghan diligently collected blood samples from the lifeless bodies, Chris and Graham pressed on with their exploration of the village. The settlement, typical of a native community, consisted of modest, unassuming houses. The absence of electricity and modern technology suggested a simple way of life. At a glance, it appeared far from a location for research purposes, but then again, Mobius knew well how to hide their tracks.
"Sir, look at that."
Chris looked at the spot that Graham seemed to be pointing at. It was the entrance to a cave, and at first sight, it looked like it led somewhere underground.
"I thought you said there was nothing underground," Chris said with a frown.
"The sonar didn't detect structural architecture, sir. These are natural cave systems. I doubt anyone could settle a research facility within them without electricity to function."
Graham had a point. It was unlikely that someone could do a modern Research facility without electricity, and there was no evidence of any energy plant in the location.
"Let's take a look inside," Chris said.
The first thing that struck the two men when they entered the cave was the smell. The pungent metallic stench and rotting flesh made even Chris's stomach churn. The cave seemed to advance in a straight line, and judging by the structures that hung on the walls, more than a research center, this must have been a religious cult site in the village. Chris could make out the form of shrines and other ritual artifacts.
"Captain, check this out."
Graham stood motionless, his flashlight illuminating the intricate markings etched upon the rocky surface of the wall. Chris joined him, his eyes narrowing as he studied the mysterious symbols and drawings before him. The wall carvings showed what seemed to be a goddess or something alike, surrounded by women seemingly dancing. Though their meaning eluded him, a sense of foreboding washed over him, intensifying with each stroke and line.
"I think this is the local language," Graham said, pointing at some carvings on the bottom of the wall. "We might be able to find someone that translates it. I'll take some pictures."
While Graham was busy taking pictures of the wall, Chris scouted the rest of the cave. Something was bothering him, but he wasn't sure of what it was. Suddenly, Chris's ears caught the sound of a crack resonating behind them. Reacting on pure instinct, he spun around, his gun poised and ready. With a guttural roar that sent chills down their spines, a monstrous creature lunged towards them from the shadows. The lack of light made it difficult for them to fully appreciate the horrifying details of the creature, even with their night vision gear engaged. Yet, the sheer size and primal ferocity of the monster sent a shiver down their spines. Chris's heart pounded in his chest, his focus honed on the imminent threat before him and recognizing it immediately.
Without hesitation, Chris unleashed a barrage of gunfireThe deafening echoes of his weapon reverberated through the cave, accompanied by the chilling growls and roars of the monstrous foe. As expected, his regular ammo was useless.
"Shit," Chris cursed. "Graham, we need a flash grenade."
"Incoming!"
The man swiftly grabbed a grenade and pulled the pin. Taking cover behind a boulder, they watched as the grenade exploded, unleashing a blinding light. The monster howled in pain, and the air filled with the sickening stench of burnt flesh, but almost immediately, more howls echoed through the cave.
"I think there are more, sir."
"Those bastards were hiding everything downhere," Chris grunted. "They are probably betas, too. We need to destroy the alpha form."
"How do we know which is the alpha form, sir?"
Chris cautiously peered out from their cover, scanning the cave. His eyes locked onto a group of six BOWs, but it was the towering figure that stood out. Its unnaturally pale skin and disproportionate features immediately drew his attention. The creature's head appeared small in comparison to its massive, double-toothed mouth that dominated most of its face, almost splitting it in two. The sight of its misshapen, meat-like claw only confirmed his suspicion—it was undoubtedly the alpha.
Chris swiftly gestured to his companion, silently conveying their plan. With a synchronized countdown, three fingers rose in the air before Chris's hand released another flash grenade. Simultaneously, Graham hurled several flares into the air, casting a brilliant cascade of light. Though the flares wouldn't inflict significant harm on the BOWs, their dazzling radiance caused the creatures to stagger, creating a crucial window of opportunity to focus their efforts on eliminating the formidable alpha.
The two BSAA ops shot at the BOWs with impeccable accuracy. The monsters fell one by one, and Chris heard, with satisfaction, the painful howl from the alpha. The battle lasted a little less than ten minutes, but Chris and his companion managed to subdue and eliminate all the BOWs in the cave. It had been easy, perhaps, too easy.
"A Primal," Chris said, examining the corpse and looking for the typical branding that Mobius put on his test subjects. Primals was the tag that they had assigned to alphas that, unlike Claire and her friends, had not assimilated the LyMorph mutation in a good way. In other words, they were alphas that had failed, as Mobius would probably say.. "Phase 3. That explains why it was so easy to handle."
"You call that easy, sir?" Graham gasped.
"You haven't faced a phase 6 or 7, Graham. We would have been screwed if this hadn't been phase 3."
"Shit, are they really that strong?"
"You have no idea," Chris sighed.
Chris and Graham continued their exploration of the cave, venturing deeper into its depths. As they moved cautiously, they breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that there were no more LysMorphs lurking within. However, their relief was short-lived as they stumbled upon a startling discovery—a small, makeshift laboratory tucked away in a hidden section of the cave. The lab was in disarray, with broken cages strewn about, indicating that whatever experiments had been conducted here had gone awry or been abandoned hastily.
"Damn," Graham said, examining the cages. "Whatever was in here must have been savage. Look at how these cages were broken. I wouldn't be surprised if whatever escaped here was responsible for the carnage outside."
"Yeah, same story as always," Chris grimaced. "It wouldn't be surprising if they ended up in Caraçari, as well."
"That far away, sir?"
Chris's face contorted into a grimace as a troubling thought crossed his mind. It wouldn't have been unusual for the LysMorphs to have made their way to the city from the village. The dense canopy of the surrounding forest would have provided them with cover from sunlight, and the presence of Claire and Julie, both Perfect alphas, would have undoubtedly attracted their attention. The added factor of Claire's pregnancy could have intensified their interest even further. However, Chris knew better than to voice his hypothesis. It would only burden Claire with unnecessary guilt for something that was absolutely not her fault. He was determined to shield her from such distress and focus on finding a solution to the current crisis.
" I think this place is cleared. Let's get out of here."
Callaghan and Wilson met them when they stepped outside the cavern. The two had their guns ready to shoot, but they lowered them as soon as they recognized their teammates.
"Well, what the hell happened?" Wilson asked. "We heard shooting."
"BOWs," Chris replied. "Primal Alpha form."
"Shit," Wilson said. "You should have waited for us."
"Never mind," Chris replied, shaking his head. "It was a Phase 3, hostile, but easy to handle."
The other two men nodded.
"Did you find anything in the cave, or should we prepare for further exploration?"
"No need, we got what we needed. What about you?"
"Ah, you'll love what we found, captain," Callaghan said ironically. "You were right. This place was definitely some kind of testing and experimentation base. We found several cells around, and this box in one of the huts. By what we found inside, I believe it was a medical center or something similar."
Chris took the small wooden box that his soldier was handing him and opened it. The box contained several letters, and all of them had Mobius's seal stamped on them. It wasn't like they needed further confirmation, but those letters were enough proof to mobilize BSAA. Leon had hit the nail on the head. The village was indeed a Mobius research field.
Chris flipped through the papers quickly. They were medical records with indications of vaccines, medication, among other things.
"Did you find anything else?" Chris asked, looking up from the papers.
"The medical notes," Wilson answered. "Whoever lived in that hut, kept a diary. We took everything we could find in that hut. Even these..."
The soldier showed Chris the boxes with vials that he was carrying. There was no information in the tags, only a code.
"There were several of these."
"Well done," Chris nodded. If those vials contained the virus, they couldn't allow it to remain there. "Nothing more?"
"Nothing more than a slaughterhouse," Wilson sighed. "There are more bodies scattered around. By the looks of it, it seems that something attacked this place and annihilated everything that moved."
"Perhaps the same thing that attacked Caraçari," Graham suggested.
"Well, whatever it was. It is gone now."
"Should we take back a body for an autopsy?" Wilson asked.
Chris meditated.
"Not this time. The bodies are already too decomposed," Chris replied. "It wouldn't help much to our cause since we won't be able to tell if the damage is due to the weather, animal predation, or the virus. Blood samples will have to be enough. Let's burn down everything, and let's head back. "
"Yes, sir!" the three men answered.
The group gathered all the bodies they found in the village and piled them up in a pile for cremation. It wasn't an honorable funeral act, but at the risk that they could be the source of infection, Chris had no choice but to burn them.
The flames consumed the bodies in a matter of minutes. The four soldiers watched the fire with mourning silence for those innocent victims.