Chris had just heard Jill call Joseph's name, who he'd last seen being torn apart by zombie dogs. But seeing him standing there, completely unharmed, it was as if everything so far had all been some weird distorted dream.
"Hey buddy…" he said, still not quite believing himself, "…why you looking so down?"
So he wasn't quite expecting it when Joseph pulled a gun out and shot him.
"Chris!"
Jill reached over to where Chris fell.
"Don't move!" Joseph shouted, his gun now aimed squarely at her. She stopped, wanting to check on Chris who was curled up on the floor. He shot a pained look at her. She looked up at her STARS comrade.
"Joseph. Why did you do this?" He didn't reply. He walked over and grabbed her arm, violently pulling her up onto her feet.
"You know how to reach the laboratory, don't you?" he asked, still pointing the gun at her chest. She slowly nodded. He pushed her forward. "Show me."
Jill quickly glanced back at Chris, she couldn't leave him like this. But Joseph pushed the gun into her back and forced her on.
"No… Jill." Chris gasped, their eyes caught one more time as she turned round the corner. He tried to drag himself forward, feeling the bullet still lodged in his shoulder when he tried to move. Slowly, he started to pull himself up, propping up against the wall for support. A large groan escaped from him as the bullet made a sharp stinging sensation in his shoulder as he tried to move on.
But from behind him the groaning sound continued.
Chris swivelled round to see a zombie shuffling towards him. Joseph had left the door open and the zombie had been able to walk right in. Chris reached for his gun remembering he'd dropped it when Joe had shot him. In his current state he didn't feel fast enough to get the gun back before the zombie would be upon him. He reached for his knife pouch and slowly pulled out the long combat knife. He was suddenly aware of another sound from behind him, seeing another two zombies down the other end of the corridor.
"Oh great…" he mumbled. He cautiously approached the nearest zombie, knife ready, reaching forward and stabbing the creature in the head. He tugged back at the knife which had lodged itself in the creature's skull. It gave way and the thing's body slumped forward. He didn't have time to bring it round before one of the zombies behind him grabbed hold of him and opened its jaws aiming for his neck.
A shot rang out and the creature's head snapped away from Chris. The last zombie was dispatched with another clean shot through the head. Chris turned to see Captain Scarlet emerge from the door.
"You're still…?"
"Alive, yes," Scarlet finished for him. He reached his hand towards the back of his head. "Your shot wasn't as accurate as you thought. You hit me just below the head, in the collar bone, painful but not fatal."
Chris looked more nervous than ever, his hand tightly gripped around his knife. It seemed he still didn't trust the Captain.
"How do you keep getting up from all this stuff?"
"You've got to believe me when I said I wasn't working for Umbrella."
"I'm not quite sure what to believe at this point," Chris muttered.
"Something happened to me a long time ago, I was used against my will. That's why I've tried so hard to fight against the Mysterons. I can't let it continue like this."
Chris slowly lowered his knife. At the very least he knew the captain could have killed him by now if he'd meant to.
"Does that mean you heard what happened?"
Scarlet nodded "That Joseph was a Mysteron."
"I saw him ripped apart, but everything about him was fine, even his clothes. None of those zombies can come back like that," Chris was starting to realise, "but why'd he take Jill?"
"The secret laboratory under this mansion, Jill took the key card to access it. She's the only one who can get down there," Scarlet said, "I'll go after Joseph. We need to get out of here, but we can't radio for help."
"I know a way." The two nodded in agreement. Scarlet headed off down the corridor, but Chris placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Save Jill won't you?"
Captain Scarlet nodded.
"Of course."
Jill's card activated the hidden passage and an empty lift opened to greet them. The two stepped in, Joe reached forward and pushed the button. The doors slid shut and the lift began to descend. Jill turned to Joseph, trying to meet his gaze, but he stared forward, hardly noticing her. The lift stopped and the doors ground open.
The underground complex was completely different from the décor of the mansion. Large industrial machines lined the walls, there were hardly any lights and a thick mist hovered from where a gas pipe had burst.
Joseph gestured for Jill to go first, and she did. Her footsteps echoed on the steel grating beneath her feet. Her eyes kept darting around the lab, trying to find something that could help her escape. As they carried on she saw something scuttle out of view. Ahead of them there were strange twisted cries. She could see several creatures lurking in the shadows. Some of them crawled around on the ceiling, clinging with hooked hands and feet onto the gratings. They circled round the new visitors, aroused by the smell of fresh meat but they didn't want to approach Joseph. So the things stuck to the shadows where they were most comfortable and snarled as they went past.
They reached a bulkhead at the end of the corridor, a card reader idly waiting for them. Jill saw the look in Joseph's eyes and pulled the card out again and swiped it.
The door slid open, slowly the floor lights blinked on one by one beginning to illuminate the room. Jill cautiously stepped inside.
The
room was deserted but a long row of computers and apparatus covered the wall at
the end of the room. All of it seemed to centre around one giant containment
capsule placed at the end of the room. Jill looked inside, the creature was
twice as tall as her, grey skin which occasional bubbled and blistered. On its
chest its organs seemed to be breaking out: she could see its heart pumping on
the outside of its body. Its left hand was a long extended claw. Jill had the
sudden urge to step away from it.
Joseph didn't seem bothered by the creature. He was typing away on the control panel, and several screens popped up about viral research. One of them was about the creature in the tank, the word 'Tyrant' was spread across the screen.
"You may leave if you wish," Joseph said, he continued typing. Jill thought of the creatures outside, she could just hear them beyond the door scraping to get in. She turned back to Joseph, eyeing his handgun; he kept it ready as he typed.
She edged closer, her hand hovered as she looked for an opportunity. Joseph had finished and a small panel opened up, revealing a vial of green liquid held inside. Joseph grabbed a silver suitcase and put the vial inside, secure between the foam padding.
"What's that?" Jill asked. Joe turned to her almost with a look of nostalgia for his teammate, then it was gone again.
"The destruction of Raccoon City has failed, for the Mysterons' plan to succeed I have to take the virus back and finish the outbreak."
"You're going to re-infect everyone!" Jill shouted. Joseph continued, and Jill's hand curled into a fist. "No! I won't let you!"
She leapt at him, he swung the gun round on her face and she fell back. She glared at him clutching her face where blood was starting to dribble from her lip. He aimed his gun at her head.
A bullet drove into his shoulder and he staggered back onto the control panel. He turned, enraged. Scarlet was silhouetted against the doorway. Joseph slammed his fist down on the control panel and the fluid in the containment pod started to filter through.
Joseph fired at Scarlet, who ducked for cover behind one of the large columns. Joseph grabbed the virus case and ran off. Jill jumped forward tripping Joseph over, he fell head first onto the floor dropping the grenade launcher. But he kicked back at Jill's stomach and she let go. He clambered to his feet and ran towards the exit. Scarlet fired a few shots as Joseph ran off, but he disappeared through the door as it sealed shut behind him.
Scarlet got up and headed over to Jill.
"Are you ok?" he said as he helped her to her feet.
"Fine," she replied, "shouldn't you be dead?"
The containment capsule hissed open and the monster inside stepped out. It saw them ahead and walked over to them.
"Quick! Get the door open!"
Chris opened the door to find the zombie dogs trying to get the last scraps off Joseph's body. He fired at one of them and the others suddenly became alert, one sprinted at Chris, he turned the rifle round and bashed it in the head as it approached. He pulled out his handgun again and fired at the remaining dogs.
He dropped the rifle and walked over to Joseph's body, digging around in the bulletproof vest and pulling out a hand-held radio. He wiped it clear of the blood that had seeped through and tuned it in.
"This is Chris Redfield to Spectrum, come in please." He grimaced at the wound in his shoulder; the medical equipment hadn't completely gotten rid of the pain he still felt.
On the radio static chirped back to him before a voice picked up.
"This is Spectrum Helicopter B27 receiving you."
"We need immediate evac, are you in any position to help?"
"Yes we can pick you up in a matter of minutes." Brad placed the microphone back on the receiver.
He turned back to look at Claire in the back seat. Her head hung as she lay still on the seat. Brad turned back to the controls.
"I know you are awake Earth-woman."
Her head lifted up.
"What are you going to do to Chris?"
"Nothing." His eyes stared impassively ahead, Claire noticed how all his nervous mannerisms had completely disappeared since she'd regained consciousness. She struggled in her seat, feeling her hands tied behind her back. She gave up and turned to Brad, a nervous tremor entered her voice.
"What about me?"
Brad didn't reply, his concentration fixed purely on the controls.
Joseph stood silently in the lift, the case still held firmly in his hand. It seemed an interminable wait before the lift reached the ground floor, the loud, constant whirring of the lift's mechanism the only sound he could hear. The lift stopped and the doors slid open. Wesker was waiting outside. He lifted up his gun and fired a shot at Joseph.
The first bullet from Wesker's magnum had gone clean through his head and the body immediately slumped to the floor. But Wesker fired five more shots into his chest just to be sure. The body jerked and writhed with each subsequent bullet. A silence hung in the air as Wesker examined the dead body. Satisfied that it wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, he walked over to the body and grabbed the case. Joseph's fingers were still tightly clamped around the handle. Wesker wrenched it from his grip, and calmly headed to the mansion's exit.
Underneath the mansion shots rang out in the dark corridors of the secret lab facility. Captain Scarlet fired off shots at the creatures that seemed to be springing out of the dark. Jill followed behind, reluctant to fire the grenade launcher for fear of hitting something liable to explode; that, and it seemed best to save the rounds for the Tyrant, which she was certain was still following behind them.
Scarlet fired at another creature that was about to leap at Jill but he didn't notice the one crawling on the ceiling above him.
"Get down!" Jill shouted. She fired a grenade at the creature. It burst into myriad flames and dropped from the ceiling. Captain Scarlet ran on and Jill leaped over the burning carcass.
"Call the elevator back!" Jill shouted, Scarlet was just a few steps ahead of her. She levelled the grenade launcher, getting ready to fire in case the Tyrant came back into range.
"It probably won't work!" Scarlet shouted. He had nearly reached the lift. "He'll probably have sabotaged it so we can't use it."
His finger jabbed furiously on the lift call button. His face filled up with surprise when it actually worked.
"Oh, maybe not…"
"It's coming!" Jill shouted. Both of them turned round and stared down the dark corridor. They couldn't see anything but they both knew it was coming.
Chris had heard the first shot hang in the air. He listened out when five more shots came through. He ran over to the mansion's main hall, trying to figure out where the shots had come from. As he entered the hall he saw someone enter from the second floor. He could see it wasn't Scarlet or Jill so he ducked behind the large stairway, and waited for the figure to descend the steps.
He aimed expecting to see Joseph at the floor, but was surprised to see another person he thought dead instead.
"Wesker?" he whispered, then he realised he must be the same as Joseph. A Mysteron. He aimed the gun at his head. And fired.
The creatures had started to move off. It seemed to Scarlet that some of them were just as scared of the Tyrant as they were. Others seemed to have gone on the defensive, worried that something else was coming to take their prey, and the two could hear odd screams of the creatures dying and gurgling. The Tyrant's heavy footsteps were now echoing through the corridor. Jill had the grenade launcher ready, Scarlet aimed his handgun, knowing it wouldn't do much. He briefly stared back at the lift controls and wondered if it would ever make it in time.
Then it finally appeared. The Tyrant stepped out of the shadows, the lab lights slowly illuminating its grotesque muscular body. Jill fired the grenade launcher. Too soon. The round missed the creature's body and it continued to walk through where the round had lit up the surrounding wall. Scarlet leaned forward, trying to get off at least one shot that could slow it down. He aimed for the creature's heart pumping on the outside of its body. He fired and the bullets hit their target. The round was too insignificant to kill it but it paused for just a brief second. Long enough for Jill to finish reloading the grenade launcher and fire again. This time she followed Scarlet's lead and shot it right in the heart.
The round exploded in the centre of its chest and the creature let out a giant moan. Finally the lift arrived and the doors slid open.
"Quick! Get in!" Scarlet shouted. The two poured into the lift and Scarlet quickly jabbed the up button. The lift slowly began its ascent, managing to carry them away from the lab. It was over. Scarlet let out a sigh of relief.
"Umm… Captain?" He heard Jill say and he turned round to find what had disturbed her. Lying on the floor of the lift with several bullet wounds riddling his body was Joseph Frost.
"What?" He was baffled. "Who could have…"
Suddenly a giant claw tore through the floor of the lift, tearing straight through the Mysteron Joseph. The claw retreated and tore through again. The lift suddenly halted, shaking and throwing the two off their balance.
"Oh God! It's coming through! What do we do?" Jill shouted trying to gain her balance in the lift and avoid the claw as it came through the floor again.
Scarlet pointed to the service hatch above them. "Get onto the roof of the lift! It's our only hope!"
Wesker turned just in time to see Chris fire at him and barrelled out of the way. He ducked for cover behind one of the pillars in the hallway. Chris got up, keeping his gun trained on where Wesker was hiding. He slowly approached the pillar coming up round the side to find… nothing. There was no one there. Wesker had disappeared.
"What?" Chris's gaze hadn't moved from that spot. There was no way Wesker could have just vanished. "How?"
Suddenly something slammed into Chris, the force sending him flying into the wall. He looked up see it was Wesker. In a blur Wesker ran towards him and clamped his hands around Chris's throat and dragged him up the wall.
"You…" Chris tried to gasp and Wesker stared impassively up at him, "…You're a Mysteron."
"A Mysteron?" He nearly laughed, but instead he threw Chris across the length of the hall. Chris landed on his back, before he could get up Wesker was right at his side. He stamped his foot down on Chris's neck, slowly pushing down.
"I'm not one of those mind-controlled slaves." He took off his sunglasses. His eyes were a deep fiery red with slit pupils, they almost seemed to glow in the dim light. "I'm something so much better."
Chris made a noise, not sure if it was a gasp of surprise or whether he was just running out of air.
"Working for Umbrella does have some advantages. You know, if I try hard enough I can probably crush your neck." Wesker pushed down harder still, Chris desperately tried to struggle against Wesker's grasp on his neck. But the pressure just increased.
He couldn't breathe; everything around him started to go black.
Jill grabbed onto Scarlet's hand and was pulled up onto the roof of the lift. The lift was starting to shake violently under the Tyrant's repeated attacks. Jill quickly clambered up the service ladder and Captain Scarlet followed suit.
"What do we do if this thing realises how to climb ladders?" Jill asked.
"Panic."
He didn't want to think about that possibility. Underneath he could hear the Tyrant still tearing the lift apart. Scarlet looked over to the lift cable.
"Wait! Jill! Shoot out the lift cable!" he shouted.
"Right!" She looped her arm around the rung of the ladder and pulled the grenade launcher round to aim at the lift cable. She fired one round and the cable burst into flames. Scarlet covered his eyes feeling the heat of the round. The cable gave way and snapped, causing the lift to fall. The force kicked up a cloud of dust and Jill fired the remaining load of grenades down into the lift. The lift exploded bringing a mass of metal sheets flying in the crowded shaft. Flames were beginning to rise, and the two continued their ascent.
"Do you think I got it?" she asked.
"I think you just might have…" Scarlet replied.
Suddenly the building shook and Wesker was thrown off his balance. Chris reached forward taking a giant gulp of air. He reached his gun and brought it to bear on Wesker, who had grabbed the case and was rushing towards the exit. Chris fired off a shot, but Wesker had already disappeared. Now he was gone Chris just collapsed on the floor, violently coughing as he tried to get his breath back.
The helicopter… he had to get to the helicopter…
Chris forced himself up, massaging his neck. Then he remembered the gunshots. Maybe Wesker had gotten to Jill and Scarlet before him. He rushed up the stairs trying to remember where the shots had come from.
Jill pulled the emergency release and the doors slowly ground open. She clambered onto the floor and breathed in the fresh air from the corridor. Scarlet followed seconds afterward and collapsed on the floor. The two lay there for a while, taking a brief moment of respite. They exchanged glances and Jill put her hand on her head and laughed.
"We finally made it!" she cried.
"Jill! Scarlet! Are you alright?" They both heard a voice calling to them.
"Chris!" Scarlet shouted as he recognised the figure rushing down the corridor. Scarlet sat up. Jill looked up delighted to see him again.
Chris rushed towards Jill and lifted her to her feet, holding her in a tight embrace.
"I'm so glad you're ok…" he whispered. Jill pulled back so she could see his face.
"Me too," she said simply and leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.
"So, what do we do now?" Scarlet interrupted. Chris and Jill pulled themselves apart. Chris paused, trying to go over events in his head.
"Something happened…"
"What?"
"Well…"
Wesker was already half way down the mountain path, the long grass brushing past his feet. His body was raging; he was going so fast that his movements were almost a complete blur, but even so he kept his pace, there was still the virus sample to consider, it wouldn't be much help if it was broken.
The experimental virus inside his body was raging. He examined the spot where the Hunter had driven its claws through his chest; already the wound had completely disappeared. There was no evidence of the original attack save for the large tear in his uniform, though he could still feel a few ribs trying to slide back in place.
Wesker skidded to a halt. It was pitch black but he could see perfectly. A lone figure, pale, gaunt and wearing a long black coat stood in amongst the maze of trees. Standing as if he'd been waiting for him this whole time.
"Are you from Umbrella?" Wesker asked, "You can tell them I decided to 'relieve' them of the remaining virus sample and all its research. I'm sure that once the city incident is revealed to the public they'll be getting a lot of negative press. So you can tell them I've taken the opportunity to remove as much evidence of their works as I could."
"You are mistaken. My name is Captain Black, I am only interested in the virus, it must be released in Raccoon City."
Wesker laughed.
"You seem to underestimate the potential this virus has. The most powerful biological weapon in the world, such information can make someone very powerful indeed."
"I am not interested in such things, it is you will be the one to release the virus."
"Yes, well. As much as I would love to do that I think I might decline."
Wesker raised his gun and fired at the figure, but by this point he'd already seemed to disappear. An eyebrow raised itself from the veil of his sunglasses.
The man slammed into Wesker, knocking the gun out of his hand. Wesker kicked back at the man but he'd already disappeared again. He took off his sunglasses and scanned the forest, keeping an eye out for any movement.
Wesker's arms jerked up to block Black's punch, he kicked back but the captain moved just out of his reach, Wesker lunged forward and punched him but Black ducked and the blow missed. This man managed to block all of Wesker's punches, even though he was moving at superspeed. Wesker rushed forward and punched Captain Black in the stomach, a blow that should have shattered his ribs, but he didn't seem at all affected.
Wesker stumbled back and saw his gun on the ground. He reached out his hand and leapt for it.
Throughout the mountainside of Raccoon City a gunshot rang out. It echoed through the whole valley. Just coming down the mountain path, Scarlet stopped, Jill was supporting Chris up as he limped from the bullet wound. They all halted.
"That was Wesker's gun." Chris recognised the sound.
"Who was he firing at?" Jill asked.
"We won't know by standing here," Scarlet said, brushing the long grass past his feet as he continued, Jill followed his lead.
Scarlet ran ahead. He reached a circle of trees in the forest and came to a halt. Jill and Chris emerged seconds later. They saw Scarlet examining something on the ground.
"What is it?" Jill asked. Scarlet stepped back so they could see.
Wesker's body was sprawled lifelessly across the ground, the suitcase containing the T-virus had gone.
Scarlet turned the body over, a bullet had entered through the top of his spine and exited through his head.
"What the hell?" Chris exclaimed. Scarlet had a look of complete dread on his face.
"What is it Scarlet?" Jill feared the answer.
"Wesker is in the hands of the Mysterons."
A
Spectrum helicopter touched down on an opening further down the mountain path.
Claire looked out the windscreen, she could see a figure waiting in the field,
wearing a black uniform and dark sunglasses despite the fact it was the middle
of the night. His hands were firmly gripped around a suitcase. As soon as the
helicopter had touched down he calmly walked over and got into the seat next to
the pilot. She saw his eyes glow a vibrant green under the lenses of his glasses
as he turned to examine her in the backseat.
"A little insurance," Brad noted.
Wesker sat down and Brad pulled the helicopter up once more.
Scarlet, Chris and Jill rushed down the hill, losing their footing in the steep steps. In the distance they heard the whirr of an engine.
"What's that?" Chris asked.
"It's the helicopter," Scarlet realised.
"Why is it so far away?"
It appeared rising just above the trees, Chris waved his arms as it took off.
"We're over here!"
It didn't pick them up, but turned tail and headed back to Raccoon City.
"Wesker must be on that helicopter," Jill realised.
"How are we gonna catch him now?" Chris exclaimed.
Scarlet examined the surroundings, in the distance further down the mountain Scarlet could see the ranch house they'd passed earlier.
"You two wait here," he said and rushed off down the hill, "I'll be back soon."
"Wait! Where are you going?" Jill shouted but Scarlet didn't reply and disappeared down the hillside.
At the ranch house came a very loud knocking at the door. Rake, the owner, got up and trudged towards the door; the knocking just got louder and more infuriating. Two dogs were anxiously barking and scraping at the door, and their owner shooed them away.
"Alright, I'm comin'," he shouted as he undid the lock and opened the door. A red uniformed officer was panting heavily from the rush. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an identification card.
"Captain Scarlet, Spectrum…"
"Where is Scarlet?" Jill shouted, continuing to support Chris as his wound was getting worse.
Suddenly a large blue tank rolled out of the trees and skidded to a halt. Spectrum logos covered the exterior of the SPV. The door slid open and Scarlet was seated inside.
"Get in!" he shouted, the two obeyed, clambering into the giant vehicle. Scarlet pointed to some boxes at the back. "You should be able to find some medical equipment in the back."
Chris looked around the interior of the craft as Scarlet brought the engines roaring back to life.
"Why can't we get one of these?" Chris asked.
"You don't quite have the budget."
"We have the budget for a helicopter."
Scarlet considered.
"Maybe…"
As the helicopter continued on its way towards Raccoon City, Wesker kept the suitcase on his lap. A call came through on the Spectrum waveband.
"Wesker, this is Captain Scarlet." Wesker calmly reached forward and picked up the microphone.
"Good to hear from you Captain."
"If you don't stop and put down right now, we will open fire and shoot you down."
"You wouldn't do that Captain." A mocking smile spread across Wesker's face. "You wouldn't want to cause any harm to our young Miss Redfield would you? Say hello to your brother, won't you?"
He grabbed Claire's hair and wrenched her forward, she grimaced but didn't say anything. Wesker pulled tighter and she let out a cry.
"…Chris!"
Chris reached forward in the SPV's seat.
"…no."
Scarlet turned back, not sure what to do. The SPV was placed half way up the mountain slope; Scarlet had a clear shot of the helicopter.
"You can't shoot them down!" Chris cried.
"What can we do? We can't let them get away," Scarlet shouted. A silence followed before Scarlet came up with an idea. "I'll fire a dummy round."
It was a risky suggestion but he couldn't just let the Mysterons get away. He pushed the button and the missile fired.
Brad saw the missile alert light up on the helicopter's scanner. He manipulated the helicopter's controls to avoid the shot.
Wesker lowered his head, brow creased in frustration. He suddenly grimaced, then reached out his hand and clamped it round Brad's arm.
"Wesker?" Brad queried.
"You…" Wesker looked up at him, a look of hatred in his eyes. "You make me feel sick."
He suddenly jerked Brad's arm and the helicopter was sent spinning out of control, right into the path of the missile. It suddenly exploded and Brad furiously tried to pull the helicopter back on course, but it was too late and the helicopter crashed into the ground.
Scarlet, Chris and Jill stared at the screen in the SPV, unable to believe the sight before their eyes.
"I don't understand, I missed!" Scarlet tried to justify himself.
"You…" Chris gasped, "you killed my sister!"
He turned around reaching for Scarlet but Jill pulled him back.
"We don't know that!" Chris turned to face her. "If we go to the crash site she might still be alive."
Scarlet roared the SPV's engine back to life. "Right! Let's go!"
Claire choked and coughed as the thick smoke swirled around her. Someone tore open the helicopter doors and reached down for her, she tried to move away from them but once they managed to grasp her arm she couldn't break out of the steel grip.
"Get out," the voice commanded. She was pulled up out of the helicopter, and thrown to the ground landing in amongst the grass. She coughed as the cold night air whipped past her. She tried to regain her senses and forced herself up, seeing the person who'd thrown her descend from the helicopter. She pulled herself up and tried to run, it wasn't a second before the man caught her and slammed her back down onto the ground. He loomed over her and kneeled down on top of her; she could feel the gaze of his eyes burning into her through his glasses.
"Do exactly as I say, I won't hesitate to kill you and be assured I do not need any weapons to do this." Claire clamped her eyes shut, then he pulled her up onto her feet and pushed her forward. Claire tried to look into his eyes. She could have sworn, just before he had caused the helicopter crash that his eyes had been red.
The SPV reached the wreckage site in a matter of seconds. Once it skidded to a halt Chris jumped out and rushed to the crash site.
"Claire!" His voice echoed around the place, but nobody answered. Jill and Scarlet followed behind as he reached the site and threw the helicopter door open.
"Is there anybody in there?" Scarlet called to him.
"No." He got down and stared back at them, "Wesker and Claire… they're gone."
He collapsed onto his knees, Jill went over and crouched by him. Scarlet looked into the cockpit, seeing one body which had been sent through the window, a large spike of glass sticking out of his body.
"Chris, it'll be ok," Jill kept reassuring him, "it means she's alive and that means we can still save her."
"We need to figure out where they went," Scarlet announced. "If they can't get back by helicopter what other route can they take?"
Jill looked out across the mountainside before she came up with an answer. "The train. There's a train line that leads straight into Raccoon City, that would be the fastest way to get back."
"Right, let's get there as fast as we can," Scarlet said. Jill got up to follow him and Chris trudged along behind. Jill turned to him and took his hand, they both got into the SPV together.
Wesker had led the way down the mountain path, keeping a firm grip on Claire's arm so she couldn't escape. He hadn't said anything since they'd left the helicopter and just kept pushing her forward. They were heading towards an old run-down shack, to the left of it Claire could see a railway tunnel leading out of the mountainside.
Wesker opened the door to the shack, shoving Claire inside. It was bare and it seemed nobody had been there for years. A wooden chair was pulled up next to an old table, another door was on the other side of the room. The only item to decorate the place was an old typewriter, an ink ribbon still fitted inside.
Wesker reached over to the typewriter and tapped down on the keys, jabbing several letters onto the sheet of paper.
Wesker/ 02/ ENTRANCE
-NC0394-
From behind the door a lock clicked; Wesker led Claire over to the door and opened it. It led to a set of stone stairs that didn't fit the rundown appearance of the shack. A couple of lights lined the walls but Claire couldn't see what was at the bottom. She hovered at the entrance, trying to see down when Wesker pushed her forward.
"Move."
And she continued down the steps.
As they descended down the steps, the lights slowly faded. Claire tried not to lose her footing in the pitch-black passageway but Wesker seemed to traverse his way just fine.
As they went further down Claire started to hear the distant sound of machinery. Industrial clunks of automated machines started coming into focus as they got closer and closer.
They reached the end of the stairs and Claire could see the shape of a door illuminated by the lights of a keypad. Wesker punched in another code and the door opened.
Behind the door two soldiers wearing black armour displaying the Umbrella corporate logo suddenly came to attention. They lowered their guns when they saw who was standing there.
"Commander Wesker…" the first one said, the helmet visor covering his eyes, "we weren't expecting you."
"I need to speak to Dr. Marcus," he said. The guards nodded, one of them examining Claire. "I caught an intruder, she was trying to infiltrate the laboratory. I've taken her into my custody for now; take her to the platform. I'll be down in a minute."
"Yes sir," they both replied as Wesker continued on his way.
The SPV stopped at the bottom of the mountainside, the entrance to the tunnel in plain sight. The three officers descended from the SPV, guns at the ready. Scarlet surveyed the surroundings.
"There isn't a station near here?" he asked.
"No, the line is supposed to go straight to the next city," Jill replied.
"That means they couldn't have got onto the train already," Scarlet noted, "They were on foot so that means they can't have beaten us here. They must be somewhere in the vicinity. We'll go ahead and check the tunnel."
Scarlet led the way and the two followed behind him.
Dr. Marcus was in his study going over various reports when someone entered. After everything that had happened over the last few hours he wasn't in the mood for visitors but he calmed down when he saw who it was.
"Commander Wesker, I'm glad you're here," he addressed the new arrival.
"I need the train ready to leave for Raccoon City," Wesker said simply, noticing a long black coat hung up on a peg. He walked over and put it on, a perfect fit.
Marcus continued. "Well, so far we've only managed to load a third of the specimens Birkin ordered, we weren't expecting…"
"You don't need to worry about Birkin's orders anymore," Wesker said, then he suddenly paused, his brow creased in agitation and it occurred to Marcus that he looked ill.
"Erm, Commander Wesker, we heard there was an incident in Raccoon City. Do you know what…"
"I need the train to set off for Raccoon City immediately." Wesker hovered by the door.
"But we're still…" He caught the look in Wesker's eyes even through the sunglasses; he tried to leave. Wesker's hand shot out in front of him, blocking off his exit.
"I simply need the train to leave and me to be on it. Understood?"
"Yes sir," the scientist stammered, "I'll have it done right away."
Wesker descended the stairs into the train station hidden under the mountain. Usually all the Umbrella shipments would pass through this post before being shipped off to the outside world. The operations had ground to a halt following the sudden loss of communications from Raccoon City.
The sentries had been trying to do their best to get the train ready for departure. Having heard vague reports from the City most of the staff had been sent off to assist the UBCS forces, so now a skeleton crew was working furiously to get it working again. Wesker had ordered all the sentries to get the train ready, offering no explanation for his sudden orders. A sentry came to meet him as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Commander Wesker, we're just about done. We still haven't managed to load all the specimens but…"
"I thought I made it clear to Dr. Marcus I don't care about the specimens, just as long as the train leaves."
"Yes, sir…" The sentry headed back. The train was a huge supply train, no one had managed to get their heads round the idea of one person using it for the sake of a short journey into the city, but they followed orders regardless.
Wesker headed into the front cabin. A driver was making last minute checks on the systems, and two sentries were standing guard.
"Commander Wesker," the driver addressed him, "the engines are started and we can leave when you wish."
"Thank you, now get out."
"Sir?"
"It doesn't take much brains to drive this thing, I don't need any help to make a simple trip to the city." He turned round, meaning the sentries as well. They all vacated the train and Wesker went over to the controls. The doors hissed closed and he started the activation sequence.
Scarlet and the others advanced along the tunnel line. Every step they took echoed down the hollowed-out mountainside. They hadn't found anything. Chris held a torch illuminating the tunnel ahead.
"There must be something here," he whispered. They hadn't found anything so far, but they kept going none the less.
Jill's foot hit something on the floor. She checked what had disturbed her.
"Hey, there's a piece of track that leads off right into the wall." Jill shone the torch so that the others could see. The track seemed to separate from the main trail but there wasn't anywhere for it to go and it seemed to disappear straight into the wall of the tunnel.
"Why's this here? It doesn't make any sense."
Their thoughts were interrupted by a low rumbling sound that spread throughout the tunnel. Ahead of them the entire tunnel wall opened up revealing the way to a large facility complex. A set of trains stood stationary at their posts though lots of people seemed to be crowded around one.
The STARS members and Spectrum captain pushed their backs to the wall hoping they hadn't been noticed. They kept silent, trying to figure out what all the activity was about. But everyone seemed too busy to worry about any intruders.
It seemed the men had finished in their duties and one of them signalled that the vehicle was ready to leave. It slowly wheezed into life and started to glide out of its holding place.
Chris spied the logo on the side of the train. "Umbrella…"
Scarlet faltered, a wave of sickness suddenly overcame him.
"Are you ok?" Jill asked. Scarlet regained his composure.
"Wesker is on that train," he said.
"How can you be sure?" Chris asked.
"I just am." He headed forward. "We need to get on."
The head of the train headed past the opening and Scarlet jumped on, reaching for a handrail on the side. Chris followed suit and then reached out his hand to Jill. A sentry spotted them and gave the order to open fire; the shots just missed and Jill let go of Chris's hand, falling behind.
"Jill!" he cried as he saw her try to outrun the shots, she grabbed onto another rung a few carriages down. Chris got ready to jump off and follow her but a hand pulled him back.
"What about Jill?" he shouted.
"Don't worry, she'll be fine," Scarlet said, "After all, she's the one with the grenade launcher."
Chris conceded and the two of them both got to work on opening the side door.
Jill's lock pick had made short work of the security device and she entered the carriage. There weren't any guards but she still kept her gun ready. There weren't many lights but she could see the place was filled with storage boxes. She examined them wondering what was inside. They didn't seem to be biological containers, they were much more conventional weapon containers. She tore the lid off one of the supply boxes. Inside were rows of grenade rounds. She picked up one up and examined the inscription on the side. It listed several volatile chemicals, most of which she didn't recognise the names for. She pocketed several capsules and loaded one into the empty grenade launcher. Then she continued her search down the train.
"Commander Wesker." A call came through from the base, and Wesker picked up the microphone.
"Yes?"
"We saw a number of hostiles who boarded the train just as it was leaving. We were unable to stop them sir…"
"Don't worry, I'll deal with them myself," he replied.
"By yourself sir?"
"Yes, that is what I said." Wesker put the microphone down and headed back into the train.
He entered the next carriage and the other person inside flinched at his appearance. Claire struggled to get up with her hands still incapacitated; there was a look of complete fear in her eyes now. She tried to move as far away from Wesker as she could, he didn't seem to care.
"Come with me," Wesker ordered.
"No."
He halted and craned his head round to face her. He rushed at her and slammed her into the wall. A pain shot through her back as Wesker pinned her into the wall. A whimper escaped which she tried to hide. Wesker lifted her head up to face his.
"You will do everything I tell you. Understand?" She nodded slowly. Wesker released his grip and gestured for her to go first.
He led her down the carriage. They reached a compartment where a set of cylindrical capsules lined the walls. Inside were odd black swirling shapes. Claire realised each of these was an individual object, creatures, slugs of some sort, or possibly leeches.
Wesker stopped and grimaced again, this time needing to lean against the wall for support. He seemed to be hiding how much he was affected by these attacks. She paused, not sure whether to approach him.
"I feel ill. Sick." He turned to her, a possessed look in his eyes. "Is it you?"
He reached forward and grabbed her, clamping his fist round her neck.
"Are you the one doing this to me?"
"I…" she gasped, "I don't know!"
He gripped tighter still, she struggled to get the words out.
"Please… I'm not…"
He let go and pushed her into the carriage. That feeling washed over him again, but he knew it wasn't coming from her. He walked out the carriage and typed the number on the panel so the door glided shut and the locks bolted closed.
"No!" Claire rammed herself against the door, it failed to budge.
She slumped to the floor, resting her forehead on her knees.
Chris and Scarlet headed down the train, there was no sign of Wesker. This just seemed to make Chris even more tense. Scarlet went first, readying his bowgun.
"He's around here somewhere," he said. His nausea was getting worse but over the years he'd slowly grown used to it.
They headed down the train. There still wasn't anything, but Scarlet was sure they were getting closer.
Jill continued down the carriage, she'd gone past the supply carriages and had entered the more normal sections of the train. All of it seemed surprisingly bare, some of the carriages looked like they were designed to hold more creatures but all of them were empty.
She approached the door at the end of the carriage; she could see into the next one through a small circle of glass in the door. In it were the same containment capsules she'd gone past, except that these seemed to have something in them. But apart from those creatures there didn't seem to be much else, but when she looked again she noticed another figure sitting in the room.
Jill opened the door to find Claire. She rushed over to her, taking the knife from Claire's pouch and started to cut into her bindings.
"Who are you?" Claire asked.
"I'm Jill," she replied, "I'm with your brother. I'll have you free in a …"
"LOOK OUT!"
Wesker appeared, punching Jill in the stomach. The force of the blow sent her flying across the carriage. Wesker ran towards her but she still had the knife in her hands, she lunged at Wesker but he dodged and grabbed her arm. He twisted her arm back and pushed down on her back with his foot, slowly wrenching her arm off.
"Too bad," he replied, he pulled her arm back further, Jill screamed as she felt the muscles pull in her body.
Wesker's head snapped forward as something blunt and heavy struck him. He simply craned his head to see what had hit him. Claire stood there holding a pipe, she hesitated seeing that he didn't seem affected by the blow at all. She panicked and rushed to hit him again.
Instead he threw Jill at Claire. The two barrelled into the wall. Wesker got up and slowly approached them, then he seemed distracted as another attack overcame him. He turned away opening the train door, tapping some buttons on the control panel.
"A little something to keep you two busy…"
Jill got up and ran towards him. The door closed behind Wesker as the locks activated. Jill slammed her fists on the door as it shut.
"Damn you Wesker!" she shouted; she could still see him through the glass. He looked at her triumphantly. "I'm going to kill you!"
He laughed at the remark and disappeared down the train. Behind her, she could hear several of the capsules opening up.
Scarlet and Chris approached just in time to see Wesker leave, he was heading up the ladder leading to the train roof. Scarlet climbed up first and Chris followed. They got up only to find Wesker waiting for them.
"So good of you to join me," he greeted them.
"This doesn't have to go any further," Scarlet said levelling his gun "The Mysterons' plans have already failed, you don't need to try to re-infect the city."
"I have no interest in carrying out the Mysterons' plan."
"What?" Scarlet exclaimed. Wesker lowered his glasses and the tinge of green in his eyes disappeared. Scarlet gasped in surprise, then tried again. "If you can get yourself free of the Mysterons' control then you don't have to do this."
"I don't care what fate befalls Raccoon City, I'll just have to keep the virus for myself."
"And you think the Mysterons will let you?" Scarlet asked.
Wesker didn't reply, he just continued.
"Once this disaster comes to the public's attention Umbrella will surely be shut down and all their research will disappear. Apart from anyone who managed to grab hold of it before that happened."
"You can't be serious!" Scarlet shouted. A grin spread over Wesker's face in reply.
"What did you do to Claire?" Chris shouted.
"Your sister? I don't think Jill or her will be joining us anytime soon."
Chris yelled out and charged at Wesker with his fists raised.
Wesker swivelled round and tripped Chris up then he brought his fist down on Chris's wounded shoulder. He screamed in agony, then Wesker kicked him in the stomach sending him rolling down the train.
Wesker rushed at Scarlet. Scarlet wasn't prepared for Wesker's speed and his punch hit him right in the stomach. Scarlet doubled up but raised his arm to block Wesker's next blow, the force of the punch nearly shattered his bones. He grabbed Wesker's next punch and the two were locked together, Scarlet trying to push him back with all his might. Wesker flipped Scarlet over and slammed him onto his back. He yelled out then Wesker's hand grasped his neck to cut the sound off.
"You! You're the one!" Wesker said, a look of revulsion crossing his face. Scarlet started to fade into unconsciousness as he felt his windpipe being crushed. "You're the one making me feel like this! I don't know what you've done to me but I will make you suffer!"
Jill and Claire struggled to open the door. The seal slowly unbolted and gave way just enough for them to open it, while around them the leeches were slowly slithering forwards. They ran towards the ladder.
"You go first!" Jill shouted. Claire ascended the rungs to the roof.
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine."
Claire opened the hatchway to the train roof, hurried up the ladder and crawled up on the roof.
Wesker turned round to see her reach the rooftop. He forgot Scarlet and immediately ran towards her. Claire went to grab her knife but Wesker was already there, he hit her sending her hurtling down the train.
He looked down to see Jill ascending the ladder. She shouted Claire's name, Wesker spun round and slammed the hatch cover back down.
"Wesker!" He heard his name being shouted. Chris threw a punch at Wesker, then he clamped his hands together and brought them down on Wesker's face. They hardly seemed to throw him off his balance. He hit Chris back, and the soldier was knocked to the floor. Claire ran to check on Chris, and Wesker turned his attention back to Scarlet.
Those leeches were still coming swarming around the bottom of the ladder. Jill loaded the special rounds into her grenade launcher and aimed into the horde. The explosion took out the whole floor of the train as well as the leeches, leaving it as scrap metal behind on the tracks.
The train suddenly tilted and everyone was thrown off their balance. It started to shake violently. Scarlet slid across the roof and nearly fell off. Wesker dragged him back up and slammed him to the floor, he started punching him with every word he said: "HOW – ARE – YOU – DOING – THIS – TO – ME?"
Claire drove her knife into his back; Wesker reeled round and hit her. He got up and grabbed her neck lifting her off her feet.
She struggled in his grip but couldn't break free. His eyes scanned her up and down.
"Such a shame…" he sighed and then threw her off the train.
"NO!" Scarlet leaped forward, grabbing Claire's arms. The sudden new weight caused him to slide towards the edge of the train but he caught his footing on the side.
Below them the scenery blurred past, he started to pull Claire up and she reached her foot over the side.
Wesker loomed over them, he stamped his foot down on Scarlet's hand. Scarlet yelled out and released his grip on Claire. Wesker slammed his foot on Scarlet's other arm but he refused to let go. Wesker pushed harder; something started to crack.
Claire pulled herself up and grabbed onto Scarlet, reaching for his gun holster; she aimed at Wesker's face and fired.
His head snapped back, he grasped his eye and stumbled backwards. His glasses fell to the floor, broken.
Scarlet pulled Claire up. "You and your brother need to get off the train, now!"
She nodded and ran over to Chris, Scarlet turned his attention back to Wesker.
He saw Wesker stumbling back and quickly grabbed him, forcing him into an arm lock. Wesker struggled, blinded but losing none of his fury. Suddenly he froze, he couldn't move in Scarlet's grip.
He panicked as he tried to realise what had happened, at the head of the train he saw Jill, she held the grenade launcher in her hands.
Then he realised, the sickness had overwhelmed him completely and in his head a terrible voice echoed through.
Albert Wesker…
No! …
You have failed and defied the Mysterons. For this you shall die…
"No…" he whispered.
"Oh, take it like a man," Scarlet said.
Jill fired the grenade launcher at Wesker's chest. The figures of Wesker and Scarlet disappeared under a fireball as the rounds exploded. Their bodies clung together in a charred heap, then separated when they rolled down the train and were flung apart by the force.
Jill jumped from the train as it started to sway alarmingly. It came off the rails and crashed; the ammunition in the back compartment detonated exploding in a large flame that engulfed the whole train.
From all the way down the track Jill could see the pillar of smoke obscure the morning sky. She watched before she dropped the grenade launcher which now felt too heavy to hold in her hands.
A friendly voice called to her and she turned to see Chris and Claire approaching her. They asked what had happened and where Scarlet was. She told as much as she could make sense of, but was glad to be interrupted by the sound of a Spectrum helicopter flying overhead.
"Colonel?" White picked up at the mention of his name; Lieutenant Green was diligently tending to the computer as messages continued to come in. "I've just received a report from Raccoon City, they tell me that a Spectrum helicopter has just picked up the remains of Alpha Team and the girl who was reported missing. Another one is just picking up Captain Scarlet right now."
"He isn't with them?"
"It seems he had an accident involving a grenade launcher."
A smile briefly spread across the Colonel's face and then vanished as he got up from the seat he'd been glued to and walked over to the window.
"Are you alright Colonel?" Green asked. Colonel White continued to look over the azure horizon before he answered.
"The Mysterons didn't destroy the population of the City but I fear they've still succeeded in some way. The Umbrella laboratory has been completely destroyed and that means the medicinal supplies for America will be at a halt until more can be shipped in from Europe. And an inquiry will have to be made into the state of the company itself, we still don't know the full extent of the experiments they were running. It wasn't the Mysterons that created those creatures…"
Captain Blue headed to the roof of the RPD building. Ochre was radioing in most of the RPD officers still on patrol as they had set about clearing the streets and checking for survivors. Grey was still commanding the UBCS as they were clearing away any remaining zombies. He'd been a bit redundant since Dr. Fawn had started to get the recovery situation under control.
The sun glared into his eyes as he stared up to watch the helicopter touch down. Blue came over to greet the survivors as they limply descended from the helicopter.
"It's
good to see you're all ok," he said. Chris came over to greet him.
"Same here," They headed down into the corridors of the RPD building; Chris and Jill seemed relieved to be in the familiar building once more.
A set of paramedics pushed the trolley down the corridor and they all looked to see who was on it. Captain Blue recognised the features of his old friend, though he still hadn't recovered and lay still on the stretcher. Jill went over to the body and brushed her fingers through Scarlet's singed hair.
"Thank you Captain." She reached forward and kissed his cheek. Claire came over and did the same thing.
From down the corridor Leon and Carlos watched as the two girls crowded around the captain.
"Do you get the feeling that should have been us?" Leon asked, but Carlos just shrugged.
Chris shot them a glance and they both shuffled off trying not to be noticed.
The paramedics continued to wheel Scarlet off to Dr. Fawn's office. Jill clung to Chris's arm as Captain Blue addressed them again.
"You'll have to go with Captain Magenta to give a full briefing on what happened," Blue said to the STARS members. "I think Colonel White will be interested to know what happened. I think your remaining team mates will be happy to know you're back as well."
Chris and Jill nodded, Claire hovered by them and Chris turned to his sister.
"You'll be alright won't you?" he asked, she nodded back and Chris and Jill headed down the corridor. Claire headed back to the roof. Captain Blue watched as Chris and Jill met up with Barry and Rebecca and got into an enthusiastic talk. Then he followed in the direction Claire had gone.
Claire stood by the edge of the roof overlooking the city. Captain Blue headed over to her.
"You ok?" Blue asked. Claire turned round and smiled half-heartedly.
"Yeah," she said and went back to admiring the view. Blue walked over and watched with her. Up here it was oddly quiet, you could almost mistake it for being a peaceful normal day, but if you looked closely at the city you could make out the crowds of people trying still trying to sort out the problem, either clean-up crews checking for any remaining stragglers or people trying to clean the streets, attempting to get back to their old homes.
"How's Sherry?" she asked.
"She's fine, she's downstairs in one of the rooms. She fell asleep waiting for you to come back."
Claire smiled, looking out across the streets.
"It's strange thinking how we could have died today," she said; she was shivering slightly and Blue put his arm round her shoulders.
"We've gone through quite a lot today, but we survived, and that's the important thing."
She smiled at him, it was turning into late afternoon and a warm breeze swept across the city. A Spectrum helicopter was taking off and Captain Blue was sure that Scarlet was on it. The helicopter headed off to the shape of Cloudbase that could be made out in the distant skyline. They both turned to each other and looked out onto the horizon.
The wind whipped through the valley outside the city. Out here the wildlife was undisturbed, all the activity had focused round the city and no one paid any attention to a single body which lay forgotten in amongst the fields. Twisted and tangled the remains of a STARS uniform peeked out from under a singed black coat. It lay there peacefully, unmoved as no one noticed it.
Suddenly the body's eyes flared open, a glowing mix of green and red.
Author’s thanks:
Thank you to Hazel for checking through this continuity crazy story.
Thanks to Chris for making this site.
Thanks to my brother and Shane for listening to my mad ideas as I tried to work this whole mess.
Site’s disclaimer:
This story is based on characters created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson for the TV series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, and on characters created for the game Resident Evil.
CAPTAIN SCARLET AND THE MYSTERONS copyright © of trademarks materials, owned by ITC/Polygram/Carlton. Information of the series are all been taken from copyright © materials (books, magazines, videos, T.V. media, comics, etc) owned by ITC/Polygram/Carlton.
RESIDENT EVIL is a trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. CAPCOM ®
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