Resident Evil Rebirth Ch. 00

Prologue

AN: I do not own Resident Evil and I am not making profit from this work.

"My name is Alice." The words sent a very cold chill down Dr. Samuel Isaacs's spine, and he stopped barking the orders immediately. With fear rising up from the pit of his stomach, he glanced over to the security Officer standing opposite him and gave the man a curt nod before spinning round to face his experiment. "And I remember everything."

She was smiling. Not a childlike smile, those were filled with joy and applaud. This was the smile of a predator, the same look a lion or a tiger would convey whilst stalking their prey. Only she was no lion or tiger, she was much more dangerous.

She was Alice Abernathy, AKA Project Alice, a security operative formerly employed by the Umbrella Corporation to guard the Raccoon City facility, codenamed 'The Hive'. Her body had been infected with the T-Virus during the outbreak and Isaacs and his colleague Cain had abducted her as well as the other survivor when they emerged and put them into the Nemesis program. Shortly before his death however, Cain had released them both into the chaos of an overrun Raccoon City. Isaacs had found her burnt body lying in the bed of a waterfall the next day, under the twisted wreckage of Cain's helicopter.

At first he had feared her dead, but by then the T-Virus had bonded with her cells and had brought her back from Death's brink in little over a week. Now she was standing before him fully recovered, naked except for a plain white sheet that only just protected her modesty, and much to Isaacs's displeasure, armed with the metal pen he'd given her just moments ago. Then it had been but a simple tool he'd used to judge her mental receptiveness to his questions, now it was a most lethal weapon.

The ballpoint's ink soaked tip was poised like a scorpion's tail, ready to pierce the eye of the foolish young scientist who had dared to linger too close to Alice. Isaacs had already forgotten the fool's name; he was incidental, a dime a dozen, and didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, not like himself.

Realising the danger, the good doctor moved to run but his movement seemed to trigger a reaction in Alice as she dropped the pen, only to ram her elbow into the confused scientist's jaw. The blow knocked him to the floor and he laid their unconscious whilst the previously amnesic test subject lashed out at the nearest target. There was no stopping her now and all chaos broke lose as the remaining scientists who were still standing ran for their lives.

It was almost a relief to Isaacs when the guard he'd previously signalled to, finally came to his senses and charged the rampaging woman. Dressed in the tactical black ballistic suit, the man should have over-powered her with ease but Alice was faster and had swung about before he could finish rounding the equipment. Her fist cracked against his windpipe with a sickening crunch and Isaacs was left to wonder if the guard was dead before or after he hit the floor. However, now there was nothing standing between him and Abernathy's vengeance and she stepped towards him like a grim Spector of death.

"No! Please think about what you are doing..." He pleaded, desperately trying to buy himself some much needed seconds but Alice was in no mood to hear it and she lunged forward and grabbed him by the neck. Her fingers were cold and inhumanly strong as they closed around his wind pipe, shutting off oxygen to the Chief Scientist's brain as she whirled around and tossed him head first into the recovery tank. The glass shattered on impact and Dr Isaacs fell to the floor in a bloody heap.

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For throwing that twisted witch doctor into the tank he'd previously held her captive in, Alice felt better than she had in years; It was good to give back some of the pain he and Cain had bestowed upon her and her friends. She was wondering how good it would be to finish him when another one of Umbrella's soldiers appeared. He looked older than the last and had the good sense not to try and rush her, or perhaps he was just too cowardly. The taser gun he had drawn suggested the prior but Alice never knew what to expect when it came to Umbrella.

He fired the darts without warning and a few thousand volts slammed into her system like a pair of fluffy pillows. She felt nothing but the sting of the hooks and the guard obviously didn't know what to do next as she gave him a look that said 'Is that all you got?' He tried to run when she ripped the barbs out but didn't get far as she hurled the sparking curves of metal right back at him. He fell to the ground, screaming and blubbering before finally going still.

Turning back to the deathly still body of Dr. Isaacs, Alice was about to break his neck when suddenly she heard the distant sound of sirens and realised one of the fleeing doctors must have triggered the alarm. Not wanting to be around when the dozen men with sub-machine guns burst into the lab, she decided it was time to take her leave. Grabbing a white lab coat, she let her grip on her towel covering her go slack while threading her arms through the sleeves and doing up the tie. Yet as she was leaving, she suddenly became aware that she was being watched. 'A camera...'

Alice hated being watched. It reminded her of being back in the Hive, where every move she made had been watched diligently by the Red Queen and she had been powerless to do anything about it. Now however, things were different.

The feeling only got worse as she left the lab. It crept along her spine like a snake as she emerged out in a chamber that's ceiling was held up by immense stone pillars, it teased her mind in every way possible until she couldn't take it anymore. Casting her eyes up at the ceiling, she spotted a security camera looking down at her and couldn't help smile that dangerous smile again. She could hear the guard who was watching her speaking now. He sounded scared, good; she wanted Umbrella to fear her. He was trying to call for help, mumbling over the words hastily as his fear got the better of him. It was fun to hear but like all predators, Alice quickly got tired of toying with her prey and wanted him to be quite. His call suddenly went dead, the last thing anyone heard of the guard was a scream that was half silenced by his throat filling up with blood.

She met no further resistance, either they had got the message she wasn't someone to fuck around with or they were setting up a trap. Alice didn't know which she'd prefer. While a fight with Umbrella's soldiers was always fun, given that all she'd have to contest against their fire-arms and body armour was a lab coat, it may be weighted ever so slightly in their favour.

Navigating her way through the maze of corridors, she finally found herself in the facility's lobby and without looking; Alice pushed open the glass door and stepped out into the night air. It was a cold evening; a sharp wind was blowing lightly and the feel of it against her skin sent a shiver down her spine. Or perhaps it had something to do with the dozen or so automatic rifles that were suddenly all pointing towards her.

An entire squad of Umbrella's soldiers had set up positions around the door and looking in all directions, Alice saw that she was completely surrounded, trapped between a wall and a hard place. Ominous clicks rang through the night as the soldiers chambered their rounds, letting her know that they meant business, should the red laser sights aiming at her heart have left any doubt in her mind.

"Shit" whispered Alice, her eyes jumping from one soldier to the next as she tried to find a weakness in their formation she could exploit. It wouldn't be easy getting out of this one; the soldiers were packed tighter than sardines and all appeared to have itchy trigger fingers at the ready. One wrong move and she'd be cut down in a hail of gun fire. To put it another way, she was fucked.

A soldier took a step closer; he was the only one not wearing a helmet so Alice guessed he was the squad leader. A sergeant probably, Umbrella always enjoyed throwing away NCOs as they were easy to replace. He probably thought capturing their run away Nemesis Program would be a good way to make that jump up the pay grade, well if he came to close; Alice would make sure that he earned it, providing he survived of course.

Distracted by the approaching officer, Alice almost missed the silently running SUV that pulled up behind the group of men. The Sergeant didn't however and he turned around just in time to see the doors opening and a trio of Umbrella executives stepping out. Or at least who they thought were executives.

Alice wasn't fooled however; she knew exactly who these three impostors were and was tempted to smile as Jill Valentine brushed past the NCO without a glance. She may have swapped her tube top and mini-skirt for a Kevlar bodysuit, but her attitude was just as potent. "Thank You Gentlemen but we'll be taking it from here."

"But...wait! On whose authority?" The Sergeant asked, scrambling to block her path but was then brushed aside by Carlos Olivera who flashed a phoney I.D his way whilst saying "Classified...Level Six authorisation. So stand down sergeant or be shot." The NCO wisely shut up from then on and when no one was looking, Alice couldn't resist giving Carlos a genuine smile.

The laser sights lowered as Jill came up to Alice's level. Not wanting to give away her cover, the former S.T.A.R.S officer didn't say a friendly word as she took her by the arm and lead her down the steps to the cruiser. Carlos was a little warmer as he put his jacket over her shoulders to help fight against the cold. LJ was holding the door of the cruiser open for her.

Not willing to risk breaking their cover, the three Raccoon City survivors kept up the guise even when the cruiser's heavy doors and tinted windows had hidden them from the soldiers' view. The atmosphere in the vehicle was tense as the risk of being discovered grew by the second yet much to their relief, no one tried to stop them as they pulled away. LJ kept their speed at a steady 15MPH has he drove the group through the compound, all went well until they reached the checkout station.

Stopping at the barrier as a pair of guards came out to greet them, Carlos calmly showed them the ID he'd used to silence the sergeant. Taking it off him after a brisk salute, the gateman examined it for a moment before glancing up at Alice. Something was wrong.

He looked like he was about to question her but the shrill ringing of a phone made him and his partner retreat back into their huts to answer the call.

"Be ready." Carlos whispered, putting the ID back in his jacket pocket before reaching under the dash board. Following his hand, Alice saw that there was a Heckler & Koch USP-9 taped underneath. "Alright, get ready to floor it LJ."

Then, from out of nowhere, the barrier lifted and LJ was saved the trouble of putting the SUV through its paces when the guards waved them through. Breathing a sigh of relief, Alice let herself relax back in the seat and watch idly as they finally pulled out of the facility, completely missing the small bundle in the back seat that suddenly came out of hiding.

"Alice!" Angie cried, throwing her arms around the woman's neck in a tight hug. Surprised by the child's miraculous appearance, she had to stop herself from reflexively breaking the girl's neck before returning the uneasy embrace. "Are you all right?"

Alice smiled but before she could answer, a sudden feeling of coldness came over her. It felt something like slipping into a cold bath, only in reverse. Growing light headed as a feeling of numbness ran down her spine, she just had enough time to hear Carlos say "It's good to have you back." Before she fell unconscious.

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A deep pot-hole jeered the cruiser violently, waking Alice with a start. Surprised by the volatile wake up call, she reached for her gun with the real intention of blowing anyone and everyone away, only the weapon was missing from its holster. The leather holster was missing too, in fact just about all of her clothes were gone.

She could feel something small snuggled next to her, a child. Blinking past the haze of confusion she cautiously looked down and saw that Angela Ashford was sleeping next to her. The sight of the peacefully sleeping child made all the nights livid events come back to her in one great rush and she couldn't resist fondly stroking the girl's light chestnut coloured locks, causing her to fidget ever so slightly in the cramped seating arrangements. The kid had lost everything and yet she still slept easier than she could.

"So you're finally awake." Said Jill, turning away from the cruiser's rear-view window to face Alice; "You gave us quite a scare there, but then I guess escaping from Umbrella's primary facility isn't as easy as busting out of a city overrun by the infected." It was a poor attempt at humour, but Alice smiled all the same; it was comforting for her to know that Jill hadn't changed. "So what did they do to you?"

"You don't want to know." Alice said before turning back to look out her window. They were driving through an industrial estate, large, graffiti stained warehouses all in various stages of disrepair lined the street like broken dominos and she could just make out a sign saying 'You are leaving Detroit' beneath a flickering street light. "We're in Detroit?"

"The resistance is in Detroit." Carlos said before looking back at her. "We'll be there in a few minutes."

"The resistance..." Alice asked, unable to hide her confusion as she looked from him to Jill, and then back at Carlos. "What resistance?"

"The Resistance against Umbrella." Jill said, no longer looking at Alice as instead she kept a watchful eye on the passing surroundings; watching for any sign that they might be heading into an ambush.

'Against Umbrella...' The news made Alice a loss for words as she tried to piece together the picture. Back in the hive, Matt had told her that there were those working to stop Umbrella but she had thought they were more like Green-Piece activists than a resistance force. Could there really be a military force devoted to the destruction of Umbrella, or were they just a group of wronged mercenaries and delusional survivors who think they can make a difference.

Carlos was as good as his word when he said they'd be there in just a few minutes, indeed Alice had counted four when they suddenly turned off the main road and ran across a loading bay that was littered with the broken or rusted remnants of heavy equipment before pulling up in front of one of the warehouses. It was ugly and rundown, with not one brick of its exterior untouched by either time or vandalism. The windows had all been steel-shuttered, making it clear the place had been abandoned for some time.

Not put off by its rundown state, LJ parked the Cruiser on the curb in front of the warehouse and killed the still smoothly running engine. Unbuckling their seatbelts, Carlos, Jill and LJ disembarked from the cruiser. Following suit, Alice was about to follow them out when she felt the sleeping Angie begin fidgeting against her and not wanting to leave the girl alone in the SUV, she scooped Angie up in her arms and with a little help from the T-Virus, carried her out into the night air.

Looking distinctly like a mother and daughter, Alice and the sleeping Angie followed the trio. Peering through the gloom, she could just make out a pair of painted black double doors. There was a rusty padlock and chain dangling from the handles but Jill ignored it, instead lifting up a cover that resembled the brick work to reveal a key-pad. She punched in the code without looking back, causing a rusty grinding to echo out from within the walls as the doors were suddenly lifted up to reveal the warehouse's interior.

"Welcome to the resistance's headquarters."

In a state of shock, Alice felt her eyes widening as she looked inside the dilapidated building. Despite the run down state of its exterior, the interior was teeming with life, a high-tech mecca full of state of the art technology and weapons cases. Ripped of all the usual distractions you'd expect to find in a warehouse such as this, it appeared to be an pompously large and glancing up, she saw that layers of walkways, balconies and offices rimmed the higher walls, suggesting that there might be even more levels to this chamber. On the roof, she could see that an old skylight had been left uncovered, allowing a view of the star littered night sky to any who wished to crane their heads.

Unable to keep the shock from her face, Alice looked on with a wide eyed expression on her face; it most certainly wasn't what she was expecting. Powerful computer stations and surveillance systems had been set up all over the headquarters and sections of every wall were dominated by digital photographs and video captures of Umbrella associates.

At the group's arrival, curious eyes suddenly turned in their direction and whispered murmurings broke out amongst the populace like wildfire as flanked by Jill, Carlos and LJ, Alice and the sleeping Angie strode into the mobile command centre. Subconsciously, she counted between thirty and forty people, all of whom she noted were carrying side arms or were well within reach of a firearm. However before she could investigate further, the wall on the warehouse's opposing side suddenly burst open to reveal a concealed door and three figures emerged from it.

A man was in the lead, he looked to be around forty but the short cut brown hair and broad shoulder line made it hard for her to be exact. Dressed in a green shirt and red leather body warmer with black trousers and boots, he would have looked right at home in a trailer park, but the shoulder holstered 44. Magnum gave him an air of danger. This, Alice decided, was not a man to fuck around with or take lightly.

The same couldn't be said for his companions. On his left was a girl who looked barely into her twenties, she had cropped brown hair and a kind, rounded face that made any façade of toughness her worn leather jacket and baggy tan jeans may try to bestow, totally redundant. On his right was a man who would have looked far more at home in an office and a tailored suit. His comb over brown hair was stained by streaks of grey and he had a straightened walk that testified to years in an administrative position.

"Valentine! It's about time you showed up." The leader said, his heavy jaw twisting in a grin that didn't suit him as he turned toward Alice. "So is this the famous Alice Abernathy I've heard so much about?"

"You bet your sweet ass it is." Jill answered, smiling a cat like smile as she gestured between Alice and the three. "Alice, these are the leaders of the resistance and chairmen of the 'I hate Umbrella' fan club. Barry Burton...Rebecca Chambers...and George Hamilton."

"Charmed, now do you have a cigarette? I could really do with a smoke."

Grinning, Carlos pulled out a packet of cigarettes from his jacket and passed one of the sticks to Alice and then lighting it for her a moment later. The end burning a bright gold as she inhaled the toxins, enjoying the feel of its venom causing through her system and feeding her a relief she hadn't enjoyed in weeks.

"Mmmmm...Thanks." She said to Carlos, exhaling a puff of smoke before clasping the fag tightly in the corner of her mouth as she turned her attention back to Burton. "So why do you hate Umbrella?" She was being direct, possibly boarding on rude, but the man only grinned as if it was a refreshing change.

"We ran afoul of Umbrella in the Arkley Mountains, back when we were part of S.T.A.R.S. We'd discovered Umbrella was preforming illegal viral and biological experiments and our teams were sent in to investigate the legality of the claims." His voice was as gruff as his stubble ridden chin could suggest but Alice could sense