Resident Evil Series Fan Fiction ❯ Resident Evil: Rebirth ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

Resident Evil: Rebirth

Prologue


AN: I do not own Resident Evil and I am not making profit from this work. This story was commissioned by Dale Hunter.


“My name is Alice.” The words sent a very cold chill down Dr. Samuel Isaacs’s spine, and he stopped barking the orders immediately. With fear rising up from the pit of his stomach, he glanced over to the security Officer standing opposite him and gave the man a curt nod before spinning round to face his experiment. “And I remember everything.”
She was smiling. Not a childlike smile, those were filled with joy and applaud. This was the smile of a predator, the same look a lion or a tiger would convey whilst stalking their prey. Only she was no lion or tiger, she was much more dangerous.
She was Alice Abernathy, AKA Project Alice, a security operative formerly employed by the Umbrella Corporation to guard the Raccoon City facility, codenamed ‘The Hive’. Her body had been infected with the T-Virus during the outbreak and Isaacs and his colleague Cain had abducted her as well as the other survivor when they emerged and put them into the Nemesis program. Shortly before his death however, Cain had released them both into the chaos of an overrun Raccoon City. Isaacs had found her burnt body lying in the bed of a waterfall the next day, under the twisted wreckage of Cain’s helicopter.
At first he had feared her dead, but by then the T-Virus had bonded with her cells and had brought her back from Death’s brink in little over a week. Now she was standing before him fully recovered, naked except for a plain white sheet that only just protected her modesty, and much to Isaacs’s displeasure, armed with the metal pen he’d given her just moments ago. Then it had been but a simple tool he’d used to judge her mental receptiveness to his questions, now it was a most lethal weapon.
The ballpoint’s ink soaked tip was poised like a scorpion’s tail, ready to pierce the eye of the foolish young scientist who had dared to linger too close to Alice. Isaacs had already forgotten the fool’s name; he was incidental, a dime a dozen, and didn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things, not like himself.
Realising the danger, the good doctor moved to run but his movement seemed to trigger a reaction in Alice as she dropped the pen, only to ram her elbow into the confused scientist’s jaw. The blow knocked him to the floor and he laid their unconscious whilst the previously amnesic test subject lashed out at the nearest target. There was no stopping her now and all chaos broke lose as the remaining scientists who were still standing ran for their lives.
It was almost a relief to Isaacs when the guard he’d previously signalled to, finally came to his senses and charged the rampaging woman. Dressed in the tactical black ballistic suit, the man should have over-powered her with ease but Alice was faster and had swung about before he could finish rounding the equipment. Her fist cracked against his windpipe with a sickening crunch and Isaacs was left to wonder if the guard was dead before or after he hit the floor. However, now there was nothing standing between him and Abernathy’s vengeance and she stepped towards him like a grim Spector of death.
“No! Please think about what you are doing…” He pleaded, desperately trying to buy himself some much needed seconds but Alice was in no mood to hear it and she lunged forward and grabbed him by the neck. Her fingers were cold and inhumanly strong as they closed around his wind pipe, shutting off oxygen to the Chief Scientist’s brain as she whirled around and tossed him head first into the recovery tank. The glass shattered on impact and Dr Isaacs fell to the floor in a bloody heap.
**************************
For throwing that twisted witch doctor into the tank he’d previously held her captive in, Alice felt better than she had in years; It was good to give back some of the pain he and Cain had bestowed upon her and her friends. She was wondering how good it would be to finish him when another one of Umbrella’s soldiers appeared. He looked older than the last and had the good sense not to try and rush her, or perhaps he was just too cowardly. The taser gun he had drawn suggested the prior but Alice never knew what to expect when it came to Umbrella.
He fired the darts without warning and a few thousand volts slammed into her system like a pair of fluffy pillows. She felt nothing but the sting of the hooks and the guard obviously didn’t know what to do next as she gave him a look that said ‘Is that all you got?’ He tried to run when she ripped the barbs out but didn’t get far as she hurled the sparking curves of metal right back at him. He fell to the ground, screaming and blubbering before finally going still.
Turning back to the deathly still body of Dr. Isaacs, Alice was about to break his neck when suddenly she heard the distant sound of sirens and realised one of the fleeing doctors must have triggered the alarm. Not wanting to be around when the dozen men with sub-machine guns burst into the lab, she decided it was time to take her leave. Grabbing a white lab coat, she let her grip on her towel covering her go slack while threading her arms through the sleeves and doing up the tie. Yet as she was leaving, she suddenly became aware that she was being watched. ‘A camera…’
Alice hated being watched. It reminded her of being back in the Hive, where every move she made had been watched diligently by the Red Queen and she had been powerless to do anything about it. Now however, things were different.
The feeling only got worse as she left the lab. It crept along her spine like a snake as she emerged out in a chamber that’s ceiling was held up by immense stone pillars, it teased her mind in every way possible until she couldn’t take it anymore. Casting her eyes up at the ceiling, she spotted a security camera looking down at her and couldn’t help smile that dangerous smile again. She could hear the guard who was watching her speaking now. He sounded scared, good; she wanted Umbrella to fear her. He was trying to call for help, mumbling over the words hastily as his fear got the better of him. It was fun to hear but like all predators, Alice quickly got tired of toying with her prey and wanted him to be quite. His call suddenly went dead, the last thing anyone heard of the guard was a scream that was half silenced by his throat filling up with blood.
She met no further resistance, either they had got the message she wasn’t someone to fuck around with or they were setting up a trap. Alice didn’t know which she’d prefer. While a fight with Umbrella’s soldiers was always fun, given that all she’d have to contest against their fire-arms and body armour was a lab coat, it may be weighted ever so slightly in their favour.
Navigating her way through the maze of corridors, she finally found herself in the facility’s lobby and without looking; Alice pushed open the glass door and stepped out into the night air. It was a cold evening; a sharp wind was blowing lightly and the feel of it against her skin sent a shiver down her spine. Or perhaps it had something to do with the dozen or so automatic rifles that were suddenly all pointing towards her.
An entire squad of Umbrella’s soldiers had set up positions around the door and looking in all directions, Alice saw that she was completely surrounded, trapped between a wall and a hard place. Ominous clicks rang through the night as the soldiers chambered their rounds, letting her know that they meant business, should the red laser sights aiming at her heart have left any doubt in her mind.
“Shit” whispered Alice, her eyes jumping from one soldier to the next as she tried to find a weakness in their formation she could exploit. It wouldn’t be easy getting out of this one; the soldiers were packed tighter than sardines and all appeared to have itchy trigger fingers at the ready. One wrong move and she’d be cut down in a hail of gun fire. To put it another way, she was fucked.
A soldier took a step closer; he was the only one not wearing a helmet so Alice guessed he was the squad leader. A sergeant probably, Umbrella always enjoyed throwing away NCOs as they were easy to replace. He probably thought capturing their run away Nemesis Program would be a good way to make that jump up the pay grade, well if he came to close; Alice would make sure that he earned it, providing he survived of course.
Distracted by the approaching officer, Alice almost missed the silently running SUV that pulled up behind the group of men. The Sergeant didn’t however and he turned around just in time to see the doors opening and a trio of Umbrella executives stepping out. Or at least who they thought were executives.
Alice wasn’t fooled however; she knew exactly who these three impostors were and was tempted to smile as Jill Valentine brushed past the NCO without a glance. She may have swapped her tube top and mini-skirt for a Kevlar bodysuit, but her attitude was just as potent. “Thank You Gentlemen but we’ll be taking it from here.”
“But…wait! On whose authority?” The Sergeant asked, scrambling to block her path but was then brushed aside by Carlos Olivera who flashed a phoney I.D his way whilst saying “Classified…Level Six authorisation. So stand down sergeant or be shot.” The NCO wisely shut up from then on and when no one was looking, Alice couldn’t resist giving Carlos a genuine smile.
The laser sights lowered as Jill came up to Alice’s level. Not wanting to give away her cover, the former S.T.A.R.S officer didn’t say a friendly word as she took her by the arm and lead her down the steps to the cruiser. Carlos was a little warmer as he put his jacket over her shoulders to help fight against the cold. LJ was holding the door of the cruiser open for her.
Not willing to risk breaking their cover, the three Raccoon City survivors kept up the guise even when the cruiser’s heavy doors and tinted windows had hidden them from the soldiers’ view. The atmosphere in the vehicle was tense as the risk of being discovered grew by the second yet much to their relief, no one tried to stop them as they pulled away. LJ kept their speed at a steady 15MPH has he drove the group through the compound, all went well until they reached the checkout station.
Stopping at the barrier as a pair of guards came out to greet them, Carlos calmly showed them the ID he’d used to silence the sergeant. Taking it off him after a brisk salute, the gateman examined it for a moment before glancing up at Alice. Something was wrong.
He looked like he was about to question her but the shrill ringing of a phone made him and his partner retreat back into their huts to answer the call.
“Be ready.” Carlos whispered, putting the ID back in his jacket pocket before reaching under the dash board. Following his hand, Alice saw that there was a& Koch USP-9 taped underneath. “Alright, get ready to floor it LJ.”
Then, from out of nowhere, the barrier lifted and LJ was saved the trouble of putting the SUV through its paces when the guards waved them through. Breathing a sigh of relief, Alice let herself relax back in the seat and watch idly as they finally pulled out of the facility, completely missing the small bundle in the back seat that suddenly came out of hiding.
“Alice!” Angie cried, throwing her arms around the woman’s neck in a tight hug. Surprised by the child’s miraculous appearance, she had to stop herself from reflexively breaking the girl’s neck before returning the uneasy embrace. “Are you all right?”
Alice smiled but before she could answer, a sudden feeling of coldness came over her. It felt something like slipping into a cold bath, only in reverse. Growing light headed as a feeling of numbness ran down her spine, she just had enough time to hear Carlos say “It’s good to have you back.” Before she fell unconscious.
**************************
A deep pot-hole jeered the cruiser violently, waking Alice with a start. Surprised by the volatile wake up call, she reached for her gun with the real intention of blowing anyone and everyone away, only the weapon was missing from its holster. The leather holster was missing too, in fact just about all of her clothes were gone.
She could feel something small snuggled next to her, a child. Blinking past the haze of confusion she cautiously looked down and saw that Angela Ashford was sleeping next to her. The sight of the peacefully sleeping child made all the nights livid events come back to her in one great rush and she couldn’t resist fondly stroking the girl’s light chestnut coloured locks, causing her to fidget ever so slightly in the cramped seating arrangements. The kid had lost everything and yet she still slept easier than she could.
“So you’re finally awake.” Said Jill, turning away from the cruiser’s rear-view window to face Alice; “You gave us quite a scare there, but then I guess escaping from Umbrella’s primary facility isn’t as easy as busting out of a city overrun by the infected.” It was a poor attempt at humour, but Alice smiled all the same; it was comforting for her to know that Jill hadn’t changed. “So what did they do to you?”
“You don’t want to know.” Alice said before turning back to look out her window. They were driving through an industrial estate, large, graffiti stained warehouses all in various stages of disrepair lined the street like broken dominos and she could just make out a sign saying ‘You are leaving Detroit’ beneath a flickering street light. “We’re in Detroit?”
“The resistance is in Detroit.” Carlos said before looking back at her. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“The resistance…” Alice asked, unable to hide her confusion as she looked from him to Jill, and then back at Carlos. “What resistance?”
“The Resistance against Umbrella.” Jill said, no longer looking at Alice as instead she kept a watchful eye on the passing surroundings; watching for any sign that they might be heading into an ambush.
‘Against Umbrella…’ The news made Alice a loss for words as she tried to piece together the picture. Back in the hive, Matt had told her that there were those working to stop Umbrella but she had thought they were more like Green-Piece activists than a resistance force. Could there really be a military force devoted to the destruction of Umbrella, or were they just a group of wronged mercenaries and delusional survivors who think they can make a difference.  
Carlos was as good as his word when he said they’d be there in just a few minutes, indeed Alice had counted four when they suddenly turned off the main road and ran across a loading bay that was littered with the broken or rusted remnants of heavy equipment before pulling up in front of one of the warehouses. It was ugly and rundown, with not one brick of its exterior untouched by either time or vandalism. The windows had all been steel-shuttered, making it clear the place had been abandoned for some time.
Not put off by its rundown state, LJ parked the Cruiser on the curb in front of the warehouse and killed the still smoothly running engine. Unbuckling their seatbelts, Carlos, Jill and LJ disembarked from the cruiser. Following suit, Alice was about to follow them out when she felt the sleeping Angie begin fidgeting against her and not wanting to leave the girl alone in the SUV, she scooped Angie up in her arms and with a little help from the T-Virus, carried her out into the night air.
Looking distinctly like a mother and daughter, Alice and the sleeping Angie followed the trio. Peering through the gloom, she could just make out a pair of painted black double doors. There was a rusty padlock and chain dangling from the handles but Jill ignored it, instead lifting up a cover that resembled the brick work to reveal a key-pad. She punched in the code without looking back, causing a rusty grinding to echo out from within the walls as the doors were suddenly lifted up to reveal the warehouse’s  interior.
“Welcome to the resistance’s headquarters.”
In a state of shock, Alice felt her eyes widening as she looked inside the dilapidated building. Despite the run down state of its exterior, the interior was teeming with life, a high-tech mecca full of state of the art technology and weapons cases. Ripped of all the usual distractions you’d expect to find in a warehouse such as this, it appeared to be an pompously large and glancing up, she saw that layers of walkways, balconies and offices rimmed the higher walls, suggesting that there might be even more levels to this chamber. On the roof, she could see that an old skylight had been left uncovered, allowing a view of the star littered night sky to any who wished to crane their heads.
Unable to keep the shock from her face, Alice looked on with a wide eyed expression on her face; it most certainly wasn’t what she was expecting. Powerful computer stations and surveillance systems had been set up all over the headquarters and sections of every wall were dominated by digital photographs and video captures of Umbrella associates.
At the group’s arrival, curious eyes suddenly turned in their direction and whispered murmurings broke out amongst the populace like wildfire as flanked by Jill, Carlos and LJ, Alice and the sleeping Angie strode into the mobile command centre. Subconsciously, she counted between thirty and forty people, all of whom she noted were carrying side arms or were well within reach of a firearm. However before she could investigate further, the wall on the warehouse’s opposing side suddenly burst open to reveal a concealed door and three figures emerged from it.
A man was in the lead, he looked to be around forty but the short cut brown hair and broad shoulder line made it hard for her to be exact. Dressed in a green shirt and red leather body warmer with black trousers and boots, he would have looked right at home in a trailer park, but the shoulder holstered 44. Magnum gave him an air of danger. This, Alice decided, was not a man to fuck around with or take lightly.
The same couldn’t be said for his companions. On his left was a girl who looked barely into her twenties, she had cropped brown hair and a kind, rounded face that made any façade of toughness her worn leather jacket and baggy tan jeans may try to bestow, totally redundant. On his right was a man who would have looked far more at home in an office and a tailored suit. His comb over brown hair was stained by streaks of grey and he had a straightened walk that testified to years in an administrative position.
“Valentine! It’s about time you showed up.” The leader said, his heavy jaw twisting in a grin that didn’t suit him as he turned toward Alice. “So is this the famous Alice Abernathy I’ve heard so much about?”
“You bet your sweet ass it is.” Jill answered, smiling a cat like smile as she gestured between Alice and the three. “Alice, these are the leaders of the resistance and chairmen of the ‘I hate Umbrella’ fan club. Barry Burton…Rebecca Chambers…and George Hamilton.”
  “Charmed, now do you have a cigarette? I could really do with a smoke.”
Grinning, Carlos pulled out a packet of cigarettes from his jacket and passed one of the sticks to Alice and then lighting it for her a moment later. The end burning a bright gold as she inhaled the toxins, enjoying the feel of its venom causing through her system and feeding her a relief she hadn’t enjoyed in weeks.
“Mmmmm…Thanks.” She said to Carlos, exhaling a puff of smoke before clasping the fag tightly in the corner of her mouth as she turned her attention back to Burton. “So why do you hate Umbrella?” She was being direct, possibly boarding on rude, but the man only grinned as if it was a refreshing change.
“We ran afoul of Umbrella in the Arkley Mountains, back when we were part of S.T.A.R.S. We’d discovered Umbrella was preforming illegal viral and biological experiments and our teams were sent in to investigate the legality of the claims.”  His voice was as gruff as his stubble ridden chin could suggest but Alice could sense  
“I, my partner, Barry and Rebecca were the only ones to make it out of that hell hole alive!” Interrupted Jill, her voice betraying the anger she felt at the memory as she lit up her own cigarette. The outburst caused Angie to squirm slightly and seeing it, Jill managed to calm down enough to lower her voice. “Of course, our findings were dismissed. Our commander claimed we had no proof and then promptly shit canned us to keep us from talking. I swear that fucker was on Umbrella’s payroll.” A dry chuckle reverberated around the small circle at the comment and even LJ and Carlos, who had seen the depths of Umbrella’s corruption first hand, could enjoy the humour.
“Ironically the bastard probably saved our lives.” Burton added in, “If we hadn’t been suspended than we’d of been in the City when the shit hit the fan.”
“Anyway, after we escaped Raccoon I brought LJ and Carlos here. When we learnt you had survived, Barry and Rebecca helped us plan a way to get you out.”
Hearing her name mentioned, Rebecca took a step forward. She looked nervous, perhaps not so use to taking the centre stage as Burton. “While on suspension, we were able to track down a number of people who had had connections to Umbrella. They gave us all we’d need to know in order to breach their security.” She was gaining confidence now and the words seemed to be coming easier to her. “Hi I’m Rebecca and if you need anything, just let me know.”
“Err-thanks.” Alice said, not entirely sure of just what to make of the proclamation. “Well I need a gun…and perhaps some new clothes.”
“I’ll take her.” Carlos cut in, causing Rebecca to look almost deflated until he added “Rebecca, can you take Angie to her bed, she’s had a long night.” It was as if the mercenary had given her some great task and she took the sleeping child from Alice with a wide smile. For a moment, Alice wanted to protest but Carlos took her aside before she had the opportunity and together they made their way command centre. However her ears were still listening to the remainder of the conversation.
“Barry, where is Chris? There is something I have to tell him.” Jill explained, her voice taking on a different tone now that she thought Alice was out of earshot. It sounded like desperation, or perhaps just urgency. She couldn’t quite tell.
“Chris left for LA hours ago Jill, he went to go and find his little sister. But we have bigger problems…” The rest of their conversation was lost in the air as Alice and Carlos passed through the concealed door’s threshold.
**************************
After the eternal coldness of Umbrella’s regeneration tank and the chilling gale that had raged through the night, the scolding hot water that pelted her body in great waves had been just what the doctor ordered. It turned her milky skin pink as the warmth seeped through her in ways shed forgotten were possible. It had been so long since she last showered; she’d forgotten how good one could feel.
Sadly the running waters couldn’t wipe away her memories like they could her pain and she was forced to suffer in silence as the faces of every one who had died passed before her mind’s eye.
‘It’s all because of Umbrella.’ She thought venomously, the shower doing nothing to sooth her temper even after it had washed the soap and dirt from her. ‘They must be made to pain for what they have done.’
Reluctantly, she turned the shower off when she felt the water temperature slowly start to drop. The cold began to return to her as she pulled the soaked curtain back, but Alice thought nothing of it as she left the last of the water trickle down her naked body. Coldness was something she was accustomed to.
Towelling herself down as she stepped from the shower stall, she walked across the dingy bathroom and came to stand before the rusty sink. The bathroom, if one could call it that, was clouded by thick layers of steam, its metal appliances rusty and littered by flecks of mould and something which looked suspiciously like dried blood.  There was a small square mirror hanging on the wall over the sink, its surface smeared by condensation and dirt. A sense of Déjà vu came over her when she wiped her hand over the reflective surface but in all the excitement of the last few weeks, she couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly when she’d lived this moment before.
Her reflection stared back at her; outwardly she looked just the same as she always had. There were the same honey golden locks and fierce blue irises, the same pouting red lips and small feminine chin, absolutely identical to the face she had seen every past day of her life. But on the inside, she knew she was as far from the norm as it was possible to get.
Unable to stop shivering as the steam that floated around the unventilated room began to settle on her skin, Alice soon abandoned the mirror and pushed open the door to her new chambers. It was small and very Spartan like in relation to the great mansion she had lived in barely a month ago. It had minimal furnishings and the apex of those was a single cot with a few blankets and a pillow for comfort. Her clothes had already been lain out for her with a Para Ordnance Nite Tac pistol and its leather holster resting beside them. The garments were simple, a dark green V-neck top with short sleeves and a pair of dark blue jeans that looked a little tight, but she was thankful for anything that might be better than that thin lab coat.
She was just slipping her feet into a pair of Cowgirl boots when suddenly a knock reverberated against the room’s door. The person on the other side didn’t wait for her response before opening and Alice turned her head just in time to see Carlos standing in the threshold.
“How are you holding up?” He asked, shutting the door behind before walking up to her and holding out another cigarette. As she accepted, Alice couldn’t help but note the way his fingers were shaking around the butt.   
“I’ve been worse.” She said as he lit the tip, being careful not to inhale too quickly as she took the first puff. “So why does everybody here seem to know my name?”
“Because…Because you’re a hero to them Alice.” He said, stammering a little as the question caught him by surprise. “You’ve done things many here could only dream of doing. You’ve quite literally given Umbrella the biggest fuck you they can imagine and live to tell about it. In their book, you’re a hero.”
‘Hero huh…’ She thought, smirking around the fag as the notion appealed to her in no small way. She’d always wanted to be a hero, it had been part of the reason she made contact with Lisa Broward, to be a hero and make a difference in peoples’ lives.  She’d thought that dream had died with Lisa in the Hive, just another corpse in that facility, only one she thought even the T-virus could never resurrect.  It had seemed so impossible back then, in all the chaos and death of those few bleak days, but now she dared to let herself hope, hope that just maybe with the help of these right-minded mercenaries she could do what no one had done before her.  
“Do you remember what they were doing to you?” Carlos suddenly asked, making Alice blink in surprise at such an out of the air question. She hadn’t thought much on what might have happened to her whilst she’d been unconscious in the Umbrella lab; it went without question that they would have run tests but evidence that they’d had a chance to experiment was lacking.
“I haven’t thought about it.” She said, suddenly feeling a hot flush coursing through her as she looked up at Carlos. Her eyes slowly feasting on his rugged looks and fierce brown eyes, he wasn’t exactly handsome in the conventional term, but he was far from hideous and Alice had been without the feel of a man’s touch for longer than she cared to remember. With one last drag, she flicked the fag away into a nearby bin before taking a tentative step towards Carlos, her hand reaching out to run lightly over his shirt covered chest. “I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”
Taken aback by her sudden forwardness, the former mercenary stood toe-to-toe with the beauty. Almost a foot taller than Alice and as he looked down, he was spoiled with a wonderful view of her pale sapphire eyes. She was enigmatic and her provocative gaze seemed to be staring into his very soul, her exquisitely crafted face leaning ever so slightly forward. He knew he should stop this and he opened his mouth to object; only her lips found his in the last instant and his words died.
Someday in the long distant future, Alice may come to regret her actions, but here and now she wanted him like she had wanted no other. She shivered with need as his hands encircled her slim waist, pulling her against his hard body as their tongues met for the first time in a hungry dance of desires. Passion burned through her veins like liquid fire and her heightened senses were flooded with his intoxicating taste as she lost herself in the moment.
Hungry for more, she growled low in her throat and suddenly pushed Carlos against the metal door, her fingers dipping beneath the silken fabric of his shirt and running wildly over the sinewy muscle of his chiselled chest.   In her mind, she was mapping the place of his every scar and battle wound while enjoying the feel of his hot skin trembling under her touch as her fingers racked down his torso. Carlos hissed as her nail scrapped over his nipple and Alice couldn’t help grinning as she broke the kiss and leant over to slowly lick the sensitive area behind his ear…
Knock-Knock! The echoing sound of someone rapping their knuckles against the door broke the two apart faster than a freezing bucket of water. Short of breath, they stepped away from each other and hurriedly tried to compose themselves in case whoever was at the door decided to come in.  “Yo Alice, Carlos, you in there?” asked A gruff, accented voice through the door and the couple breathed sigh of relief as they realised it was just LJ. “Common we gotta go.”
With a last look in the others direction; they opened the door to the former pimp. For a moment he looked like he might say something but then he discarded whatever it was as a more pressing issue seemed to be on his mind. “Something’s going on upstairs.” Confused but recognising the desperation in the man’s voice, the pair didn’t waste time asking questions and hurried out the door with LJ making up the rear.
Beyond the command central, the warehouse’s interior was a labyrinth of passages, stairways and small rooms and Alice counted more than a dozen different workshops, labs and firing ranges as she and the men worked their way back to the headquarter’s hub. Rounding corner after corner, they finally burst through the concealed doors to find a large crowd had gathered around the chamber’s centre in a large circle.
Pushing her way through the tightly pack crowd of onlookers, Alice quickly lost sight of both Carlos and LJ. They had disappeared like rain in the ocean, forcing her to navigate the treacherous depths of the mob alone. All around, people were shoving and jostling like trapped horses and she was forced to use a touch of her T-Virus strength to get through them. Up ahead she could just make out the shapes of two figures having what looked like a heated argument, but whom and why eluded her.
Lost in a sea of faces, barely able to keep her head above the suffocating swells, she desperately sought a safety line; her eyes scouring the masses until she found a profile she recognised. George Hamilton was standing nearby, somehow holding firm against the volatile mass’s tug and pull. Fixing her gaze on the man as she laboured to push and shove her way to him, Alice couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief to be momentarily out of the crowd.
“George…” Alice said, almost out breath from the exhausting ordeal. “What’s happening?”
Having not noticed the woman’s approach, he was caught off guard by her sudden appearance and his head shot round so fast it looked in risk of popping off his shoulders. He brushed it off quickly however, and after running his eyes other her once, he turned back to whatever was at the heart of this outbreak. “Jill and Barry are debating what we should do next.” He said in almost nonchalant manner, as if all this was a regular occurrence.
‘Debating?’ Alice thought before looking around at the still bustling onlookers. ‘More like brawling if these bastards are anything to go by.’  
Alice continued to watch the spectacle, unable to get to the source of the problem she decided she’d wait until the mob grew tired of the spectacle. She surmised it wouldn’t take long, amusements that weren’t violent tended to lose their appeal quickly. It was as she was standing there that suddenly she noticed something unusual, she could hear a low hissing.
The sound seemed to be coming from everywhere, echoes off the walls made it impossible to pinpoint and the crowd wasn’t helping matters with its shouting. Focusing all her energies on rooting out the noise, Alice cast her eyes around the hub in a desperate search. Her instincts told her something was wrong, that the noise didn’t belong…all she had to do was find it.
It was only be chance that she happened to glance upwards and see the shadows that streaked across the warehouse’s roof. Following the shades, her eyes widened in horror as she saw the men in ballistic suits standing over the skylight and going completely unnoticed by the crowd. Realisation sinking in, she swung around and looked at the nearest steel-shuttered window. It was warping and Alice was sure she could see a glow from beneath the brick work. A blowtorch!  
Umbrella had found them. The fact hit her like a wall of steel and she was about to shout out a warning when she saw something that made her heart stop. Little Angie was awake and in the crowd. There was an older girl holding her hand; she looked to be in her mid-teens and had dirt blond hair and was wearing a pink vest and a knee length skirt.  They were fighting their way through the crowd but when Angie saw Alice and the ten year old suddenly broke away and began running towards her.
“No Angie, stay there!” Alice cried, but she was too late as already the shutters were pealing back and the Umbrella troops behind were hurling small cylinders inside the warehouse. One rolled across the floor and stopped at her feet.
The flash bang grenades exploded with a pop that filled the room with blinding white light and unable to close her eyes fast enough, she was hit by the full force of the explosion. She might have been screaming but she couldn’t hear it over the ringing in her ears as the explosion made her stumble back. Blind and deaf, she had just enough sense remaining to drop to her knees, not wishing to present the attackers with an easy target.
She wasn’t sure how long she knelt there on the cold stone before her hearing returned, it felt like hours but was most likely only a couple of minutes as the screams of the scared and injured still scorched the night with their song. She could hear blasts of gunfire beneath the cries and made to reach for her pistol as her vision returned, first in entangled shapes, and then distorted blurs. Colour flooded back to her so that she could make out black clad figures standing outside every window, the muzzles of their automatic rifles flashing as they fired a continuous stream of hot lead into the scattering Resistance staff.
Using what little sight she had to aim her gun at the soldiers nearest her, Alice began firing relentlessly at the Umbrella Corporation’s mercenaries. Most of her bullets exploded harmlessly on brickwork but at least two hit home as a pair of the ballistic garbed guns-for-hire dropped out of sight.
The shock of suddenly hearing the ominous click of an empty chamber jolted the woman back to the world and jamming the empty gun back into its holster, she began to crawl away. Blessedly the soldiers hadn’t noticed her firing in all the confusion and her way was clear for the moment, or at least it was until she spotted the familiar corpse lying next to her. It was George Hamilton, his body riddled with the still smoking bullet holes and the look of shock plainly visible on his face from where he had been caught in the fire.
A child’s scream ripped through the night and remembering Angie, Alice immediately turned her head towards the source, her ocean blue orbs opening wide as she saw the diabolical work. Angie was lying still and deathly pale upon the ground, a shallow pool of blood slowly enveloping both her and the other screaming girl.  
With little regard for the danger, Alice scrambled to her feet and ran to the children. Bullets flyed all around her a rain of lead but the soldiers’ aim was no match for her speed and every round missed its mark. Ignoring the girl in the pink vest as she approached, all feeling suddenly left her legs and she fell to her knees before the lifeless form of Angela Ashford. Looking down through tear glazed eyes at the girl’s dead features, Alice became unable to contain her grief and threw back her head and released an agonised cry that echoed around the warehouse and drew the attention of just about every umbrella soldier within a miles radius.
Dozens of sights turned on her in an instant, but Alice no longer cared. Tears were gushing from her eyes and all her hopes and expectations began to crumble around her as the open eyed body of Angie stared past her to a place that might at last grant her the peace life had long denied. All around her, the bloody bodies of slain resistance fighters lay broken and twisted on the cold floor and it was all her fault. This massacre was all because of her, just like Matt and Rain, the Hive and Raccoon City, they had all been her fault. So why do the people she cares about always have to die?
Because she was unarmed, the Umbrella soldiers shouted a warning, but Alice couldn’t hear them. She didn’t want to hear them. With Angie’s death, her life had lost all meaning and now she just wanted it all to end. What was the point in living if everyone close to her always died? Whatever awaited her beyond the veil of death; it had to be better than living with this pain.
With tears still rolling down her checks, she looked up and watched the mercenaries prime their rifles. ’At last…’ was all she thought before closing her eyes and waiting for the final act.
Poppoppoppoppop… She heard the gun shots ring out, but never felt them rip her body to shreds. Was she already dead? Had the bullets already done their work and left her in a huddle on the floor? But then if this was death, why could she still feel the knot in her heart, was she condemned to feel like this for all eternity as punishment for some of her less noble deeds!
A hand grabbed her shoulder firmly, jeering Alice back to life. Puzzled by the fact she was still alive, she opened her eyes and saw a hail of bullets exploding into the Umbrella soldiers. Realising someone was behind her, she spun around to find Jill Valentine, still in her black Umbrella bodysuit, standing over her and emptying an AK-47 into the corporation’s mercenaries. Behind her, the girl in the pink vest was watching on wide-eyed while Carlos provided cover with the help of an UZI. In the distance, she could just make out LJ and Barry Burton rushing the fleeing survivors out another concealed exit and the knowledge that not all the resistance had died gave her some comfort.
“Alice we have to go!” Jill cried, practically dragging the lame woman to her feet as the remaining Umbrella troops ducked for cover. Without looking, she shoved a loaded MP5K into her hands before turning to the girl. “Come on Dahlia, it’s time for us to go sweetie.”
Dahlia looked once at Jill and then at Angie’s blood covered body. It was clear she didn’t want to leave her friend but she didn’t have much of a choice. Umbrella would kill everyone they could this night; even a child like her would not be spared their wrath.
Watching as the girl nodded her head; a new feeling came over Alice. She was moved by this child’s courage and couldn’t help but wonder if Angie was her first contact with death, or perhaps the hundredth. The loss of a closely held friend could never be easy for one so young to bear, yet this girl had the strength to carry on and see past her own pain. For Alice’s power and strength, this girl was stronger than her in just about every respect.
The realisation was as bitter as a lemon and left a strong feeling of loathing brewing inside her breast, but it also gave her the strength to go on. Recognising the weight of the loaded sub-machine gun, she looked to Jill but before she could convey her thanks, a deadly shower of shattered glass suddenly rained down around them. Acting fast, Alice grabbed Dahlia and dived to the side. Jill did the same, only to the opposite side of the falling glass. Thick coils of braded black ropes fell through the broken sky light, followed closely by more black clad figures who abseiled down the ropes.
Using her own body to shield the girl from the falling glass, Alice gave Dahlia a small smile to say she’d be fine. “Are you OK?”
“Yea…” she said, nodding her head frantically as she looked at Alice with wide eyes.
“Good, now…RUN” The woman yelled before rolling to the side so that she was facing the coming danger. Her MP5K already raised, she took aim and fired. The mercenaries moved like blurs as they slid down the ropes but it was nothing her eyes couldn’t pick out and she fired off the sub-machine gun in long bursts, cutting their bodies to gore dripping confetti with the armour-piercing rounds.
Obeying the mysterious woman, Dahlia got to her feet and ran for her life. Jumping over bodies and between computers, she could see Carlos firing his Uzi at some invisible target to her left so she veered to the right, not wanting to be caught in the field of fire. However, one of the surviving Umbrella soldiers at the window spotted her and trained his gun on her path, only to be shot through the head as Jill rolled over and emptied the last of her AK-47’s mag into him. Free and clear, the girl ran past Olivera to join Barry and LJ who, now with the last of the survivors away, dived inside and pulled the concealed door closed.
“Let’s Go!” Jill cried, discarding the empty riffle before drawing her 9mm Biretta from its holster. Hearing the voice, Alice stopped firing and turned to Valentine in time to watch a sniper’s round suddenly explode through the woman’s side. Surprised by the wound, Jill never screamed. In a state of shock, her hand automatically moved to cover the hole as a wash of hot blood gushed forth, carrying with it the black gore that was the remnants of her insides. Blood touched Jill’s lips and she looked up at Carlos, and then Alice before crumpling to the ground in a still heap.
The sight couldn’t have hit Alice harder if she had been the one shot, transfixed by the awful tableau she dropped the smoking MP5K. So another one of her friends was dead and cold…
“Alice!” Carlos’s shout mingled with the cold metallic click of a priming rifle and both sounds caused the woman to look up and see an Umbrella soldier dangling from one of the ropes not a 20cm from her and pointing a FAMAS right between her eyes.
“Don’t move.” He ordered, his voice distorted by the black breathing apparatus that his face from view. Alice didn’t even blink, without a trace of fear she knocked the automatic aside and then struck with a lightning fast blow to the throat, breaking his neck like a twig. Feeling in no way like a grave robber, she took the weapon from the corpse and then without a look back, she ran to Carlos.
“What kept you?” He asked before they both took off through the doors. Still trying to recover from the massacre, no Umbrella troops made to stop them as they dashed through the maze of halls. Alice never asked where they were going, instead trusting in Olivera’s skills to get them clear of this place of death.
**************************
“Fuck…” Jill gasped, blinking past the blackness as a fire crept through her veins from the gapping injury. This was far from the first time she’d been shot, hell S.T.A.R.S members collected scars like children collect stamps, but this was defiantly the first time she’d been hit by such a large calibre. The wound it left was immense and she could practically feel her life slipping away in the crimson tide which bled out of her.
In the back of her mind, she knew she only had a few minutes of life left. She’d seen battle wounds like hers before and death had almost always been the result, it would be best if she just relaxed and let it come to her in the depths of a dream. Only Jill Valentine wasn’t the type to just die in her sleep, she intended to fight until the very end; even if the fight was impossible to win.
Dimly, she was aware of more Umbrella soldiers entering the warehouse, some sliding down the cables while others climbed through the windows and set up a perimeter. They were keeping their distance however, and the fact that they were wary of her even when she was obviously dying made Jill’s blue lips turn up in a weak smile. She quickly lost count of how many of the Corporation’s mercenaries entered the former safe-house, her vision grow so weak that she couldn’t so much as tell where one began and another ended until one finally stepped forward.
Like a grim Spector, the soldier slowly walked forward until he was standing over her dying form. Absentmindedly, Jill couldn’t help but wonder how this bastard hadn’t been killed off long ago. Although dressed in the black gear, he was larger and much stockier than his counterparts, practically massive by the average man’s standards he’d have stuck out like a sore thumb in a fire fight.
“So this is Jill Valentine, at last we meet.” Said a distorted voice before the soldier reached up and pulled the breathing apprentice from his face to reveal a sight that made Jill gasp in horror. “I am Albert Wesker, chairman of the Umbrella Corporation, at your service.”
Jill felt a sickness rising in her gut that had nothing to do with the bullet hole as she looked up at the man, taking in his bone white skin and bleached blonde hair with a feeling of disgust. A pair of dark lensed sunglasses hid his eyes but she could already feel the coldness of his stare on her skin, touching her with all the warmth of a sheet of ice. “Wesker, I thought you were dead…” She gasped weakly, trying to ignore the blood on her breath as she pushed herself up.
She’d hoped that her words might encore some sort of reaction from the man, but to her disgust he only grinned at her. “The reports of my demise were greatly exaggerated.” Dr Isaacs walked through the wall of soldiers, the cuts on his face still red from where the glass had cut him just hours earlier but his smile was no less confident as he presented a large titanium carrying case to the man. “But that is something you and I shall now share, because you see Miss Valentine, I have decided that you shall be the first subject of a very special project.” With that, the Dr opened up the case and revealed something that made the dying woman’s eyes grow wide with horror.
**************************
Being as quiet as mice, Alice and Carlos hustled through the labyrinth of shipping containers and broken machinery. Moving as fast as he could manage, they were careful to keep out of sight of the sweeping patrols that were combing the estate. It wasn’t easy, their way was full of minor obstacles that they had to either cross or navigate round and the smooth walls of steel offered them little cover. If they were caught here, they’d have little chance of making it out unscathed. With that thought in mind, Alice made sure to keep a ready finger on the trigger of her stolen FAMAS rifle as she watched the winding path ahead of them with a keen eye.  
“The rendezvous point is on the other side of this junk yard.” Carlos said before slamming a fresh magazine into his Uzi. From every corner they could hear distant gunshots ringing out as some of the surviving resistance members engaged in desperate fire fights with Umbrella Troops and it was clear he wanted to go and help, but every time they got near the night suddenly fell silent and there was no need to wonder about who had won as Umbrella very kindly left the bullet ridden bodies where they fell. “If we keep heading east and try to avoid the patrols...” A chilling scream suddenly rang out from further down their path before being silenced in a hail of gunfire “Or maybe a little longer.”
Holding their breath, Carlos and Alice shouldered their weapons and cautiously Inched forwards. The way ahead was hidden by a sharp bend but Alice could smell the aroma of blood and gun powder on the air and she could hear men whispering orders. It was impossible to tell how many blocked their path from where they were however, so she signalled Carlos to stay where he was with a quick hand signal before taking a step forward. Flattening herself against the wall of containers, she took in a nerve steadying breath before quickly peering round and then retracting her head before anyone had a chance to see her. Things defiantly did not look good. Not ten steps away was a large expense of open land that was practically teaming with Umbrella soldiers.  
“Is there another way round?” She asked Carlos as he came up behind her.
“Not unless we go back to the warehouse.” He said with no trace of humour as he shook his head. “Can we fight a way through?” Alice didn’t want to answer.  There had to be at least twenty of ballistic clad soldiers before, even together there was small chance they’d be able to kill them all and even if they did, the rest of the Umbrella strike team would be alerted by the noise and then they’d be swamped by the fuckers.
Hoping to find another solution, she glanced round just in time to see an officer walk through the troops and start barking orders. When he was done, the mercenaries suddenly began to disperse.
“They’re leaving,” she said excitedly, looking back at her companion with a smile on her lips.
“That’s great, so can we get out of here please?”
Realising they weren’t out of the woods just yet; she turned back to the space and watched the soldiers leave. This would need to be timed just right… “Let’s go.”
As quiet as the not so dead, they ran from the safety of the shadowed bend, across the open space to the avenue opposite them. At any moment they expected to hear the call of alarm or the short of a rifle so the pair didn’t stop to see if they’d been spotted before taking off into the darkness. They ran flat out, not resting or speaking until they caught sight of vehicles in the distance.
“Just a bit further…” gasped Carlos, his voice now carrying an air of urgency. He was tired from trying to keep up with the seemingly inexhaustible woman and desperately wanted to stop for a moment to catch his breath but realising just how close they were to getting away from the slaughter, he pushed himself a little harder. There’d be plenty of time to rest later.
Alice suddenly stopped, her eyes growing wide as she looked up ahead to where the safety waited for them. She so badly wanted to go there, to leave this place and enjoy the comfort of other people, but in her mind she had been running over everything that had happened and she knew she just couldn’t. It was just too dangerous for them to take her.
“What is?” Carlos asked breathlessly, confused by her sudden stop now that they were so close. “Alice what’s wrong?”
“I…I can’t go with you.” She said, taking a voluntary step back as she shook her head in dismissal. “I’m like a plague, everyone who’s close to me dies, and I won’t risk losing you too.” And then before he could stop her, Alice was gone into the night like a ghost.