Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 13:06:04 -0700 (PDT) From: bob bob Subject: Resident Evil: Crimson part 12 RESIDENTevil ******************************************************************************** Disclaimer/Warning: This story is completely fictional. If you are under the age of 18, or if it is illegal to read such materials in your country, state, province or county, then please leave. If you are willing to take responsibility for your actions, then be my guest. This story contains descriptions of sexual activity between males, swearing, and graphic violence. The author retains all rights to this story. Please do not publish without authorization. Note: The following story is set in the Resident Evil universe, created by Capcom (http://www.capcom.com) (http://www.residentevil.com). Therefore, all the characters and related titles in this story are property of Capcom. The author is only borrowing characters and elements (including world), and is not making any money in doing so. No Copyright infringement is intended. Conversations in the [ ] boxes are communicated through the headsets. Conversations in the ( ) boxes are communicated in the character's mind/head/thoughts. ******************************************************************************** Twelve. -Los Angeles C.O.A News Paper, December 1st, 2005 "- nearby civilians ran is shock as one of the warehouses owned by Umbrella Inc. exploded just yesterday (30th Nov) in the Santa Monica warehouse district. The event took place at around 8:13 PM. When asked about the explosion, Umbrella Representative Karen Tores stated that 'the event was totally unexpected and was caused by an electrical malfunction in one of the warehouses power generator'. 20 minutes after the explosion, 3 firefighter trucks and an ambulance were sent to the site of destruction. So far, the police have not released a report stating any injuries or deaths, although several unidentified bodies were spotted within the burning inferno -" ******************************************************************************** One day earlier... Jill: "We leave in 20." she said firmly. Mark pulled his left sleeve and looked at his watch: - 7:01 PM Jill: "Now, the warehouse is about the size of a soccer field, so we're gonna have a lot to cover." Slowly pacing around the table, Jill stopped and waved at Russel's hand in the air. Russel: "Is it single floored?" Jill: "Yes. The place is single floored, windowless, and has 3 entrances." C.Jay: "(snort) And lemme guess, since we have three teams, and-" Jill: "Yeah, each team will take a separate entrance into the warehouse." Mark looked over at C.Jay with a calm expression. (Jeez duh, is he friggin' stupid) But Mark was caught by C.Jay. When he looked over at him, C.Jay gave Mark a small smile. Mark wasn't sure if he was playing or if he was for real. But either way, a shiver went down Mark's spine. Sure, C.Jay was somewhat hot, but Mark could never see himself with him. He returned his undivided attention to the dearest Jill... Jill: "The way we are gonna do this is like this: Team B will go in first, if the coast is clear in their designated section of the warehouse, then Team C will proceed through their entrance, and if their place is also clear, Team A will go in last." Giovanni: "How is this supposed to work as opposed to just going in at the same time?" Jill: "Well since the U.S.F will be hanging around the area, inside and outside, if one team is spotted for whatever reason, the forces in the entire warehouse will focus on them, granting the other team(s) to get the sample while the attacked team is controlling the U.S.F." Giovanni: "Oh, right" Before Jill could continue speaking, the doorbell rang and L.J walked over to open the door. And after a small handshake, L.J directed Heather to the table. A few nods flew across the table as everyone exchanged hellos. Jill: "Alright, that's all. There's a box on the coffee table in the living area containing everything you will need, so get yourselves ready for this" Mark: "But, wait, is that it?" Jill looked at Mark. Jill: "Don't worry, one of the adults in your team will know what you are doing" She said in a reassuring manner. Mark slowly nodded his head and then watched the gang noisily move to the living area to load up on gear as they had little time. And although Mark was really excited and all, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad was going to happen on their mission; it was like the same feeling he had the moment he set foot on the EverWood grounds; a mix of forebodement, mystery, and the ticking of a clock in his head that would eventually stop, and something within him would explode and the feeling would just get worse. Carlos: "You alright kiddo?" Mark jumped as he felt a warm hand place itself on his left shoulder. And looking up into Carlos' angelic eyes, Mark nodded in approval. (Lol, kiddo... gosh that's cute...) And the very thought of Carlos calling him that it made Mark blush like a tomato and smile like the sun. Carlos just chuckled and then dragged (not literarily) Mark to stock up on some goodies. ******************************************************************************** -Los Angeles C.O.A News Paper, December 2nd, 2006 "- as the L.A.P.D Umbrella Warehouse report was released this morning, it has definitely come to knowledge that a group of 9 people have been found dead within the rubble of the warehouse which blew up yesterday around 8:13 PM. The report however, did not state who the victims to the horrible incident were, most likely because the bodies are in such a burned state that the identification process is unable to commence-" ******************************************************************************** Mark sat on the leather couch as the group grabbed whatever their fancy from the 'boom stick box', as L.J had humorously referred to. And when most of the crowd had dispersed from the box to arrange themselves, Mark lifted himself off the couch and looked through the filled box. There were many types of guns which Mark eyed with a 'muahahahaha I'm gonna be so powerful' look; and many bullets and cartridges which he had no idea for which gun they was for. Aside for the weapons, there were also some other junk in the box. Mark dug his hand into the big box and searched through the mess, coming across a blue and white card with the S.T.A.R.S logo on one side. Right next to the logo stood the name: Brad Vickers. Mark eyed the card and picture somewhat before dumping it back in the box, concluding that the ID card had no use whatsoever. Mark: "What is all this stuff..." Mumbling to himself, Mark found a crumpled piece of paper. And as the curious little boy he was, he uncrumpled it and found that it was a sheet music titled 'Moonlight Sonata', by Beethoven. He dumped it back in and drew his attention to a little circular metal box. And when inspecting the little text on the compartment, he found that it was nothing but an ink ribbon. Alice: "Mark, don't take your time there" Mark nodded his head as Alice passed him by, carrying what appeared to be a submachine gun and a small gattling gun. (Fuck, everyone's got the big and good stuff) The kid sighed and cursed for waiting so long to get his stuff while everyone else had taken all the godly items. Looking again through the filled box, Mark found two gold lugers with the initials Clair.R on it, but discarded the item as it had no ammo. Instead, he found himself a sleek, black Glock 17, fixed with a laser for aim. When he was satisfied, he grabbed 3 magazine clips and stuffed them in his tight jean pockets. When he managed to get them in, he grabbed a couple of other interesting things. As he was about to leave the living room, he found a pair of leg gun holsters and looked at them for a moment. (Lol, come on Mark, you can be a tomb raider for once!) Mark giggled to himself for his silly comment, and grabbed both of the holsters and placed them around the top of his thighs; having trouble at first, but then saw how they worked. When he was done, he placed his Glock in his right holster and decided to get another Glock to place in his left. When he had done so, and stocked up on some more ammo for his left gun, he tried walking around with the weight of his guns and found that they were no problem at all. Carlos: "Hey kiddo" Mark looked up from his guns and at the approaching Carlos. Mark: "Yup?" Carlos: "Everyone needs to dress up in black, so go and get changed. And if you don't have any black clothes, come see me." He gave Mark a wink and then left to join Jill in the kitchen. ******************************************************************************** -Los Angeles C.O.A News Paper, December 2nd, 2006 "- when asked to Umbrella, spokesperson Karen Tores said that a team from their main headquarters in Vienna has been sent to retrieve any remaining resources and information about their latest product within the smoky rubble of the Santa Monica warehouse incident. As groups of people come and go to the site, nothing much were retrieved except a few commercial based stock sheets and several vials containing some blue liquid which Karen Tores said were 'early versions of an anti-aging product'. And it has been confirmed that a more detailed report from the L.A.P.D will come out by next week -" ******************************************************************************** When Mark had entered his room, he made his way to his closet, where he pulled out a black long sleeved shirt, and a black & grey baggy camouflage pants. When he got dressed, he searched through his bag, and after a moment of frustration, he found a pair of fingerless leather cut-off gloves. As he placed them on comfortably, Mark searched through his closet and found the box of black boots that he had bought with some of the (shitload) of cash that he had from his little errands for the Velvet Fox. After he analyzed his covered hands, he opened the cardboard box and took the boots out, loosening the shoe laces and buckles. And when he had them on, he took a quick look at the mirror. He loved his new boots. They were a combination of combat boots and those goth boots with buckles, or 'slayer/gravel' boots as everyone calls them by. Whatever they were, he sure felt awesome. On the back of his right boot, Mark had attached a 6 inch black sheath containing a boot blade; 6 inches in overall length, and 3 inches in blade length, which he had bought from the pawn shop 2 days ago. He thought that these would come handy as he had lost the combat knife that Jill had supplied him the first few days they had met. Mark: "(chuckles) I'm sure gonna kick someone good with these..." He returned to his bed and re-strapped his holsters on his baggy pants, and found the military vest in the closet that Carlos had given everyone when they were in the farm house. 10 minutes later. Mark slowly walked over the the mirror with hard, confident, and powerful steps and analyzed himself in the mirror. He zipped his tactical vest and checked that everything was in order. On the right side of his vest, there were 3 pockets in which he had placed 3 magazine clips in each for his guns; he had a total of 5 on him (2 in his guns). And above the magazine pockets, was a circular pocket in which a circular magnetic grappler rested. Mark had looked at the object for a little while before, as he had never used one. In the movies, they were used to swing from point A to point B, or to drag enemies into a fiery abyss. On the left side of his black vest, was a pocket covering his heart containing a Palm Tungsten E2 PDA that Carlos had given everyone (for what, Mark didnt know), along with a Bluetooth headset for communication. Underneath his PDA zone, were 5 stretchable rubber slots in which he had placed a 4 inch yellow glow stick in each slot. And finally underneath that, was a small zip containing a lock pick within. Holding his pants up, was a black military belt. And on his left hip on the belt was a fastened 4 inch multifunctional state-of-the-art binoculars, containing modes such as thermal, night vision, a laser, and 5000m line of sight. And on the front, was a small slot for a silver gas lighter that Mark had bought from Don's Pawn Shop. And finally, on his right hip, was a rubber slot with a 2 inch health spray, just in case. He re-adjusted his gun holsters, re-tightened them, and checked that both of his Glock's had clips in it. When he found them, he counted 18 shots per mag. Unknown: "Hey, we're about to leave, common down" Mark jumped in terror as the voice blasted in his right ear. He lowered the volume on his headset and replied. Mark: "Got that L.J" ******************************************************************************** Russel: "Hey, oh wow... you look like a pro Mark..." Russel and the other boys checked Mark out as he tried desperately hard not to blush. Yet he noticed that everyone else was somewhat in the same clothing range. (Cheap ass, hitting on me in public...) Mark frowned with a 'what the fuck are you talking about?' look, but felt good to hear that he looked professional (not to mention, checked out). Mark: "Yeah..." He made his way to the group standing infront of the door, and noticed that Rodriguez had slipped in from nowhere. L.J: "Okies, lets go go boogie my bruvaz and sistaz!" ******************************************************************************** As they all jammed into the lift, Jill pressed 'Basement 4', and the smooth lift began it's unfelt descent. And when the door opened, they all sighed in relief as no one seemed to appear in the parking lot; it would seem quite strange to see a gang with guns walking around down here... Alice led the group through the eerie, wet, spacious, and chilly basement to their trademark white van in a far corner, just behind one of the yellow support pillars with the sign 'B4-26' on it. Fortunately, the whole group of ten were able to fit in the white van of theirs; a few curses came from a few of the guys as they pushed each other in to grab a window seat (C.Jay: "Hey, I was gonna sit there!" Alice: "Shut the fuck up and sit!"). Carlos drove while Alice sat in the passenger seat with her PDA out, reading directions to the warehouse. They left the basement and into the night time environment of gritty L.A. Mark sat in the back by the window, and was surprised as Rodriguez jumped next to him. Rodriguez: "May I join the pleasure of your presence?" Mark directed his face away from the window and looked at Rodriguez, all clad in black and carrying big guns. (God, he's hot...) Rodriguez waited. Mark: "Knock yourself out..." Rodriguez nodded in reply and placed himself next to Mark, closer than what he had anticipated. Mark's attention fell back to the window, but his eyes soon wandered back to Rodriguez. Mark: "How old are you" Mark didnt know why he asked, but it just happened. Rodriguez: "Old enough to... play..." Mark raised his eyebrows as a sly grin popped up on Rodriguez's face. Rodriguez: "20" Mark: "...Is that all you ever think about?" And Mark shook his head in disapproval. Rodriguez: "Ofcourse not, I also think bout you..." He said with a naughty whisper. Mark bit his lower lip, and then let out a small chuckle, a slight shade of red applying itself on his cheeks. Mark: "Go fuck yourself" he toyed. Rodriguez: "Hey, I can fuck myself anytime anywhere" Mark rolled his eyes, not sure whether it was a fact or not, and then decided that he didn't want to carry on the conversation as he knew where it would inevitably end. Back to his precious window, he lazily watched the tall buildings and dark shadows, as they passed crimson traffic lights and shady alley ways. *Brrr Brrr Brrr* Mark blinked for a split second and realized that he had his phone in his pockets. And drawing it out, he found that he had received a text from a friend from when he was in 6th grade: Nathan Kiddo. At the end of 6th G, Nathan and Mark were best friends, but unfortunately, a job opportunity rose in the London and they moved during that summer. They have maintained contact ever since. 'helpp kindappd budapst vmpyr' was all the text read, and Mark read it a couple of times, not sure what it said. (...what? maybe I should call just to make sure that-) Carlos: [alright guys, were here] Mark listened through his headset and then put his phone away as he looked out the window. Infront of them, was the warehouse. A big plain grey building with no windows whatsoever, just as Jill had previously stated in their meeting. The sight of skyscrapers have disappeared, and palm trees could be seen in some areas. Santa Monica, the coast, the criminal capital of the City of Angels. The sky, to Mark's surprise, was clear, yet the strange shade of black and green could be seen further on where downtown would be. Mark marveled at the canopy of stars. Rodriguez: "I've never seen anything so... beautiful..." He whispered, and Mark looked at Rodriguez to see at which speck of stars he was gazing at, but instead, found him looking at the kid with a soft eyeful. Mark: "(Blushing) Ummm, yeah, sure" (What the hell is he doing??) Rodriguez smiled before his attention was diverted by Jill. Jill: "Alright guys, lets quietly get out" Mark lowered the volume level of his headset by a little bit and waited for everyone else to pile out before he left. Alice closed the door. Alice: "K, everyone get into your groups please" she whispered as she looked around for any sign of the living. Mark found Russel, L.J and Rodriguez already standing next to each other, so he stepped next to Russel. And within 20 seconds, the three teams stood infront of each other, awaiting the next task. Carlos: "Alright, now, each team has a designated area of the warehouse, and thus, each team has a door to enter. Team A, you are taking door 2, Team C, 3, and Team B, your taking door 1." C.Jay: "And where are these doors?" Carlos: "If you take out your PDA, and enter the 'map' header, you will see a birds-eye view of the warehouse, with everything labeled." Nearly everyone took out their PDA's, but Mark didn't as he was too lazy, and that if one of the people in his team had his out, they'd be fine. Heather: "What are all the different colored blinking dots?" Carlos: "Well, if you scroll to the bottom of the page, you will see a key stating that these different colored dots are us." Russel: "So, blue is team A, red is B, and green is C?" Carlos: "Yeah Russel: "Awesome" Russel held his PDA and moved ten meters away from the group and watched the dot on his screen move as well. Carlos: "Everyone has a tracking device in their PDA's, so if you turn your machine off, so goes the tracking signal, so keep it on at all times." With this comment, Mark sighed and took out his PDA to turn it on. Jill: "K, everyone knows what to do. Team C, at (Jill looks at her PDA)... 7:35, you will enter the warehouse and search the highlighted section in your maps. Once they are done, team B, you will do yours, then finally, A." Mark pulled his left sleeve and looked at his digital watch: 7:30. Alice: "Alright, split up" And with that, all three groups dispersed away from the white van and moved towards the warehouse hidden in the shadows of the chilly night. Mark didn't have his PDA out again, so he just followed as Rodriguez led team A. (Ooh, he's gone commando...) Mark grinned and bit his lower lip. Rodriguez: "Something wrong?" Mark jumped as he felt Rodriguez's hand on his shoulder. Mark: "No, nah" and he forced a strange smile. Rodriguez nodded and continued on, with Russel and L.J coming up, and Mark last. ******************************************************************************** They had found their door within 2 minutes as it had an outdoor lamp over it. It was a plain grey door labeled 'Staff/Crew Only', with a small flight of steps leading towards it. Mark and the rest hid in the shadows of a nearby bush and watched the little PDA screen of one of their crew to see Team C enter the warehouse. Mark looked at it for a moment and saw how huge the place actually was; they'd have alot of ground to cover as each team had a third of the entire warehouse to search through. The little dots on the screen moved quite slow, showing that team C were taking the sneaking aspect of the mission. Soon, Marks short attention span caught on. As Mark turned away from little screen, his eye caught the glint of a silver object by the foot of the stair. He analyzed it for a moment, looking at the faint object, and the team members a few times. (...should I?) He looked over at the three other team members and saw that Russel was playing with his gun (No, it's not what you think), L.J was looking at the screen and quietly singing 'Hollaback Girl', and Rodriguez was keeping watch. Mark gazed at him for a moment. Rodriguez seemed quite the professional; he kept his cool, and he seemed like he knew what he was doing... Mark would have to ask him later if he had any experience with guns and booms (And no, not that either =). Mark saw that he was staring into the opposite direction of the door, so he took this opportunity to quickly get away from the bush and land himself at the foot of the small steps. Russel: "Mark! What are you doing??" He desperately whispered. But Mark just waved the comment away as he bent down to take a look at the thing that caught his eyes from the bush. It was a silver key. Mark took it up and analyzed it for a moment, before he placed it in the pocket with his lock-pick. Unknown: "Hey you! Hold it!" Mark's mind froze as someone shouted a few meters away. Unknown: "Stand up and don't try anything!" Mark stood up and faced in the direction of the voice. And as he suspected, it turned out to be a guard, or a soldier of the U.B.C.S. The guy dressed in black, wore a black gas mask and carried an uzi. He marched towards Mark and towered over the teen. Soldier: "Identify yourself!" He barked, and Mark gained the impression that he didn't have any kids, or a wife even... Mark: "Uhhh..." Not sure what to do, he nearly dared to look over at the bush where the other team members where, but knew better as it would expose them. Mark: "Elkins, Timothy Elkins" Soldier: "Are you with the U.B.C.S or the warehouse patrol" He seemed to be buying it. Mark: "Warehouse patrol" Soldier: "I.D" Mark: "Umm... sure, hold on..." Mark suddenly lost his faith as he knew the game was about to end up, but decided that he wasn't about to give up just like that, it was still to early to fail the mission. Mark: "(Pointing to the floor in between him and the soldier) it's over there, it's jammed between a crack after it dropped off of me..." The soldier looked down and searched the floor with his covered face. Soldier: "I don't se- Oow!" Mark kicked the guy in the balls as hard as he would kick Dracula as he was about to finish the sentence. He watched him drop his gun and grab his crotch in agony. *Bam* The guy dropped and fell on top of Mark as Rodriguez had slipped behind him and knocked him out with the butt of his gun. Mark pushed the dude off of him with a shove and he fell to the floor, unconscious. Rodriguez: "You ok" The kid folded his arms. Mark: "um, yes, but I could have taken care of him myself you know" He gave him a 'im no little lamb' look. Rodriguez: "No, I don't know, but i'm sure you can" Rodriguez: "But don't drift off like that again, alright?" he said softly. Mark looked up at his face and nodded in approval. Alice: [This is Team C, we have cleared section 1 of the warehouse and found nothing worthwhile, Team B, commence to search section 2] Carlos: [This is Team B, we are about to enter] Jill: [This is Team B as well, how are things at Point A?] Rodriguez looked away from Mark and pressed a little button on his headset as he spoke. Rodriguez: [Never better] Jill replied with an 'ok' and then the conversation ended, and Mark and Rodriguez were left together in an awkward silence again; no sound except the trill of a million insects and the occasional chill from a strange wind. Rodriguez was about to say something, but held it back. Mark waited, biting his lower lip and gazing at the stars. But Rodriguez didn't say what he wanted to say. Rodriguez: "Come on" Mark diverted his attention from the diamonds in the sky and followed Rodriguez to the bush where the other two were fiddling with their PDA's. ******************************************************************************** Giovanni had followed Carlos into the warehouse, with Jill in the back. He held out his Berretta and crept behind Carlos as they quietly moved through what appeared to be a dim lit storage hall. The place was somewhat big; shelves containing small and big wrapped up boxes lined up through the entire room. A strange, and chilly ambience had silently laid itself into the room, and Giovanni's hearth thumped with an unknown feeling; a mix of fear and confidence, something he had never felt before. Jill: "It's nothing but mail for the post office. I highly doubt that Umbrella would leave anything in here just like that." She silently conversed as she analyzed a couple of the wrapped packages. Carlos nodded and motioned his head to a door at the far end of the room. Giovanni saw it and followed Jill to the grey door. Giovanni: "It's locked" He looked at Jill for a resolution, but saw that she had already pulled out her lock pick. And while she was at it, Giovanni asked. Giovanni: "Are you good with loc-" The lock *clicked* and Jill smiled at Giovanni. Jill: "Does that answer your question?" Giovanni silently clapped in amazement at her fast skills, and gave her a small bow. Jill: "Alright, you open the door, me and Carlos will back you up" Giovanni arched his brows. Giovanni: "Pshh, yeah yeah, get rid of the kid first" He smiled. Jill ignored him and motioned her head to the door while Carlos stood next to her with his gun up and ready. Giovanni sighed and touched the cold door handle of the plain grey door. A small shiver ran through the tip of his spine and back, creating an uncomfortable sensation. (I should be getting paid for this...) With a swift movement, he opened the door and dropped to the floor to await any shooting from behind him; but luckily, nothing happened out of the ordinary. When he looked up he saw an empty well lit hallway, with several doors on each side. Carlos and Jill walked past him and moved down the short hallway. Carlos: "We each take a door?" He looked at Jill and she nodded, and when he looked at Giovanni, the teen just nodded. Jill took the first door while Carlos took the second, and there were only three grey doors, so Giovanni moved to the last door. (Alrighty, lets see what's behind door #3 today, will it be another go with Mark? or a free latte at Starbucks?) He held his gun ready and opened the door. Giovanni: "Oh my god" he gasped. But what he saw nearly made him throw up as the stench of decay and hell crept up his nostrils with a fury. Thus, the shooting began. ******************************************************************************** Mark snapped out of his little nap and saw that he was resting on Rodriguez's left shoulder. He quickly got off and apologized, but Rodriguez said that it was a 'pleasure'. Mark inevitably blushed and cleared his throat. (lol, silly guy) Yet the noise that woke up Mark, came again. It sounded like gun shots, but he wasn't sure; whatever it was, it came from inside the building. Jill: [This is Team B... trouble in... outbre... help...] Mark frantically listened at the incoherent message, due to static, and came to an unfortunate conclusion that something horrible was happening within the walls of the warehouse. He felt the knot in his stomach tighten. Rodriguez and the rest stood up, somewhat panicking. L.J: [Jill, where are you?] the tone of his voice seemed uncertain, and his facial expressions only helped backing the fact up. Jill: [...d..ga.] Everyone frowned in confusement and stood there, staring at the PDA. The dots that represented team b were disappearing one by one. ******************************************************************************** C.Jay stood next to Alice and took in the message from Jill as a death note. Something happened in the warehouse, in their particular section, and gun shots could be heard from outside; it was a nightmare taken to a higher level. Heather: "We should get in there" Alice looked at the PDA and saw the dots of team b disappear. Looking at the door that they had used to get in, she spoke with a determined tone: Alice: "Let's move" Uneasily, C.Jay nodded & Heather reloaded her shotgun with a swift move. ******************************************************************************** Giovanni: "WHAT THE FUCK IS IT!?!?" Giovanni screamed in terror as whatever he was shooting with Jill & Carlos, had now jumped forward and had nearly decapitated him with its grotesque appendages. Giovanni was surprised at how he wasn't deaf yet, for the gun shots were loud as hell. Jill: "Fall back! Giova- GO!" Jill shoved Giovanni out of the door and pulled Carlos with her as the 'thing' shrieked in a nightmarish manner and nearly stabbed one of the three in the ribs. Whatever it was, the rounds of ammo that they were pumping into it's hideous, scaly, and scarred hide had little effect whatsoever. Carlos: "GET DOWN!" Carlos screamed over the war of bullets and when Giovanni turned with a sharp movement to look at what he was doing, he saw the man aiming a flamethrower. ******************************************************************************** Rodriguez broke the door handle with a round house kick, and the door opened by itself. Mark and the team looked into the warehouse to see a hallway with 4 different ways. Silence. Mark thought to himself. (Shit) Russel & Mark looked at each other with fear, and then looked at the two adults to see them nodding in unison. Russel: "Nuh-uh" Russel shook his head. Rodriguez: "Yuh-huh, everyone take a path, maintain contact, and use your PDA's. If it's a dead end, come back here and wait." Mark didn't get a chance to speak as Rodriguez immediately left, followed by L.J. He watched the two of them silently traverse the hallway. Mark looked at the floor for a moment, then at Russel. He too was watching the two adults disappear within the space of the warehouse. His features however, showed that he was not afraid, and for that, Mark admired him. He too wasn't particularily afraid, yet he would never match up the levels of confidence that Russel has. The boy had jumped into a bloodpool to save Mark, and he had walked through a frozen freezer filled with the dead; for this, Mark saw a quality in him he hadn't picked up before. Shaking his head, Mark took a step, then another one, before he finally walked down the hallway to take one of the routes the other two adults didn't. Before he turned the corner, he spoke. Mark: "Thanks Russel." The kid looked at him with a little confusion, but finally nodded in response. Mark turned to his dark hallway. ******************************************************************************** Giovanni felt Jill shove him out of the way as a roaring flame escaped from the flamethrower and met the beast with a burning rage. The heat of the flame was so hot and intoxicating, Giovanni thought that he was on fire. To his somewhat satisfaction, a terrible shriek came from within the room of the creature, and the smell of burnt flesh filled the smoky air. Jill: "Come on" Jill took Giovanni's hand and pulled him off the floor to find Carlos still firing at the thing. He stopped and Giovanni could see the sweat trickle down his wary face. When he peeked into the room, he saw the creature in ashes all over the place, covering the bodies of its previous victims. But their attention was immediately diverted to the first door, which Carlos hadn't opened yet. And there, stepping out of whatever room or hallway, stood another monstrosity. ******************************************************************************** Ada: "Well well, what do we have here..." she purred. Ada Wong got to her knees and made eye level with a locked metallic drawer in one of the desks that she had found in one of the lab rooms. It was this little drawer that would complete her mission, and she would receive her paycheck on the way out of the godforsaken town of L.A. She eyed it for a moment and concluded that the metal might be around 2 inches thick... worth the security, as one of the most 'accomplished' biological virus lay within this furniture, and she had the key for it. She smiled. Getting to this point was no easy task. She had to get rid of 50 armed guards, using sneak attacks, which she didn't particularily enjoy as she is more of a 'gun+girl=shoot shoot' person. No only were the pesky U.B.C.S squads everywhere, but some of the silly experiments from Umbrella had been released within the vicinity; How? she didn't have a clue, but she fortunately didn't encounter any, only hearing the shrieks of several of the beasts. Once she would have possession of the samples, she would walk out the warehouse using the ventilation system, and give the samples to a driver waiting by Club Vesper on the Santa Monica Pier, who would then give it to the main corporate: BIOfaction. As with Umbrella being the top, BIOfaction were the second most popular pharmaceutical company in the world, and were seen as Umbrella's only commercial and economical nemesis. The company was formed around 4 years ago, under the name of Garry Hall. It would be in the year of 2004 in which BIOfaction secretly discovered the secret of Umbrella and their T-Virus models. And with the thirst for world domination as well, BIOfaction planned for 2 years of how to retrieve a sample of the virus, to use for their own purposes and gloomy plans. And now, with their plan complete, Ada was hired through the use of her contacts to send her in for the main mission. Luckily, the company wasn't that stupid, as they had developed several back up plans if this one failed, which Ada assured wasn't the case. She reached to the back of her boot to find a small compartment in which she stored small important things. Yet the following shock made Ada fume. It was gone. (Must've fallen out...) She cursed to herself and wondered where it might have dropped. It would be difficult to find, as it is a small silver key. ******************************************************************************** Russel read one of sheets labeled: Umbrella T-Virus. "The T-Virus, or Tyrant-Virus, was the second mutagenic virus developed by the Umbrella Corporation. The T-Virus was responsible for the creation of the majority of their Bio-Organic Weapons or BOWs. However, its intended purpose was to create the perfect BOW: the Tyrant. The T in T-Virus is an acronym for Tyrant, as it was designed, for death and destruction. Research for the virus began in 1978 in Arklay Labs. Umbrella saw potential in the recently discovered Ebola virus that had just been found in Africa. The corporation saw limitless potential in the virus due to its nearly 90% death rate. Umbrella was very careful about its research. The Biological Weapons Convention prohibited the research and development of such things. So to get around this obstacle, Umbrella masqueraded their research, claiming they were trying to find a cure for it. However, their research was halted. The Ebola virus proved to be unable to survive outside a human host except for only a few days due to its extreme sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation. It also killed its host too quickly, which limited the chances for the host itself to infect others. Lastly, Ebola could only infect via direct contact with others, even further limiting the chances of infection. Umbrella researchers asked themselves: "What if a heavily-infected host could continue to still be mobile, and what if the host could continue to infect others, as well?". This idea would eventually give birth to the T-Virus. After the development of the Progenitor virus, three men would finally succeed in the creation of the T-Virus on December 4th,1978 after combining it with leech DNA. These men were James Marcus, Albert Wesker, and William Birkin. The T-Virus would serve as the basis of most of the other viruses developed by the Umbrella Corporation, such as the T-Veronica Virus and the NE-T Virus. William and Albert assassinated Marcus and took his research for Umbrella. With their experimentation with the Ebola Virus, William Birkin combined the original T-Virus with the Ebola Virus to create a more suitable and dangerous virus that was used to create the Tyrants. The Progenitor virus and original T-Virus have been used for many purposes as stated above. The T-Virus is like any other virus. It is a protein crystal with an RNA core. As the crystal makes contact with a cell's membrane, it destroys it and inserts its RNA into the cell. The cell absorbs the viral genome into its own DNA, which takes over the cell's functions. The cell begins to produce offspring of the original virus. The new viruses are then released from the host cell and infect the neighboring cells, which starts the process all over again. What the T-Virus does is kills any living mitochondria and replaces the dead ones with itself. The virus then combines with other cells to produce energy. The energy produced is just enough to power the motor neurons and the basic lower brain functions. Not only that, but this bypasses the entire circulatory system, which makes the heart and lungs redundant systems that can be disposed of. However, the T-Virus can only properly function by consuming the cell in order to produce its energy and to divide via mitosis to spread around the body. This slow breakdown of cells leads to the necrotizing effects seen on most BOWs. The virus also incorporates itself into the host's RNA, which substantially alters it. This is why creatures, such as bees and spiders, only have very minor mutation, such as increased size, when compared to the human mutation caused by the virus. This is due to their lower stance in the evolutionary chain. Should the human host be alive at the time of T-Virus infection, all higher brain functions are destroyed as the virus simply dissolves away the frontal lobes. This leaves only the telencephalon, better known as the cerebrum, to govern behavior. This leaves the infected host with a very animalistic behavior. As the virus spreads, it damages the hypothalamus. This produces a massive flood of neurotransmitters, enzymes, and hormones such as norepinephrine and dopamine. These effects, combined with the painful symptoms of the infection, induces a psychotic rage, persistent hunger, and increased aggressiveness in those infected. Should the human host be dead at the time of infection, only enough energy is produced to power the lower brain functions. These functions are responsible for the most primal instincts, such as walking and eating. In either case, their late-stage appearance and behavior are characteristics of their name-sake, that of the zombie. Should a late-stage human host be rendered unconscious, the body will lay in a dormant phase appearing to be dead. In actuality the host is rapidly mutating due to the T-Virus becoming hyperactive. Within the timeframe of an hour, the decayed skeletal and muscular system is reconstructed into a stronger and more durable form, development can be seen of sharp canine teeth and razor claws, fresh blood seeps into remaining skin giving it a reddish hue, advances in decomposition, and intact eyes become a bright white. Umbrella researchers at the Arklay Laboratory have dubbed this stage as an V-ACT, commonly referred to as a Crimson Head. The brain is then jolted back to consciousness with a slight but important increase in intelligence, and large increase in agility and aggressiveness. As a consequence of this rapid mutation, cellular breakdown hits a critical point where the host cannot regenerate properly any longer and can effectively be killed permanently, given enough damage. There are four known serums that will cure those infected by the T-Virus, but only in it's earlier stages, before it becomes completely active. The first is an unnamed vaccine developed by Douglas Rover of the Umbrella Medical Service at Raccoon Hospital as a last-minute effort to halt the rapid spread of the T-Virus. However, most of the hospital's staff had already succumbed to infection before the vaccine could be properly produced even in small amounts. This vaccine could be cultivated by using a specialized synthesizer and inserting a medium base into the system, then combining the necessary chemicals using the control panel. The exact components that were used to create this prototype are unknown; as most of the documentation regarding it's production were either stolen by Nicholai Ginovaef or destroyed after Ginovaef used C-4 explosives to demolish the hospital, taking with it any evidence of the Umbrella Corporation's involvement with the hospital in the process. The second serum is Daylight developed by Greg Muller and Peter Jenkins of the City College of Raccoon. The actual ingredients for Daylight are T-Blood (a blood sample of a T-virus infected creature, namely T-Thanatos), V-Poison (a sample of poison from an infected Wasp) and P-Base (an unknown chemical liquid that requires preparing before being mixed). Once all the ingredients have been collected, they can be mixed together in a special chemical mixer. The mixture takes about five to seven minutes to make and thirty seconds to one minute to duplicate. The third is an unknown serum developed by the research team operating from within Umbrella's official Raccoon City facility. Surviving members of the team (including Linda and Carter) return to the facility in order to retrieve the serum for full-scale production of a cure to help prevent the spread of the T-Virus. It has similar features to the Daylight serum; and it was suggested that it was a prototype or, as Carter states, a 'sample'. The exact details of the serum itself are unknown due to the short role it played in the storyline (the sample being destroyed by the rampaging Tyrant not long after it's initial appearance). The fourth and final serum is a dedicated, engineered antivirus created by Dr. Charles Ashford. This eutectic formula is similar to the T-virus itself, but works at cross-purposes. The intended effect is to keep a T-virus infection in check, delivering the benefits of the virus without the eventual degeneration into a full-scale infection. While a stockpile of this antivirus was produced and stored at the Arklay Mountain research facility, it was reportedly stolen during the outbreak in Raccoon City. Its whereabouts are unknown. He stopped reading the interesting article and stuffed it into his pockets as he heard a noise come from outside the room he was in. Holding his beretta, Russel moved and popped himself into the dark and eerie hallway to check out the noise. Yet in the dim-lit and chilly hallway, Russel kept his eye open. There was nothing but a moaning, limping figure shuffling it's way to Russel. ******************************************************************************** Umbrella Headquarters, Vienna. Assistant: "Sir, there has been an infiltration in the L.A headquarters" The assistant stood by the huge oak doors and looked at his boss standing by the huge windows, staring at the setting sun, now a crimson color. Unknown: "Release prototype 1" The command was simple. Assistant: "But sir, the prototype is still unstable, if something goes wrong i-" Unknown: "-it will be the end of L.A" ******************************************************************************** So what ya think? Drop me any comments or criticism at re_crimson@yahoo.com or visit/join my group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Umbrella_Co/ or http://geocities.com/re_crimson And thx a lot to the ppl that have voted in any of the polls (by the way, there is one critical question which determines Mark's love, so get voting! results WILL be his bf). And once again, ty to the people that have been mailing me; your comments have been really supportive and a pleasure to read. Sorry for the huge delay (like what, 2 weeks lol??), but I recently had alot (and yes, I mean alot) of stuff to do =( Hopefully I will get chapter 13 out soon... and please email me (or better yet, post a message on the websites, its so silent there =( to state what you want to see in upcoming chapters. ********************************************************************************