It had been a long night for Rebecca Chambers, to say the least. As she trudged through the Arklay Forest, she tried to shake off the events that had transpired. She uncovered a conspiracy full of monsters, and saved an innocent man from death row.

All things considered, pretty damn good.

The night was calm, the trees swaying with a tranquil summer breeze. Crickets chirped amidst the scuttling of woodland fauna. Rebecca felt a weight lift from her shoulders as it dawned on her that there were no eyes watching her. She overcame the evil.

The nightmare was over.

The Spencer Mansion towered over the surrounding flora. It served as the rendezvous point for Bravo Team. Yet the boisterous chatter she expected from her teammates never came. The closer she got, the more the silence brought her doubts to the forefront.

She needed to calm down. She had been through a lot; she had fatigue, and her thoughts were getting irrational.

The best place to go would be the helicopter. Sure, it was out of commission, having crash-landed upon their arrival in the Arklay Forest. But, Dooley offered to stay with it.

As Rebecca got closer, she wondered if she’d have to tell Dooley about the death of his co-pilot. She put a fatal bullet in him when he re-animated as a zombie and tried to take a bite out of her.

She could make out Dooley’s silhouette in the cockpit of the downed vehicle.

“Dooley!” She called out into the night air.

He didn’t respond. He must have fallen asleep. Rebecca could relate. As a yawn emerged from her mouth, she yearned to sit inside that helicopter and rest her eyes next to him.

But she still needed him awake. So, as she got closer, she raised a hand to her mouth.

”Hey, Dooley! I know you’re tired, but I need you up right now!”

She finally reached him, placing a hand on his shoulder, only to recoil.

His eyes were wide open.

Well, one of them was. The other ripped from his head, along with half of his face. Something swiped at Dooley in an attempt to drag him from the helicopter with its powerful claws.

Rebecca leaped back from the helicopter, her hand fastening around her pistol. Dooley’s killer made their presence known with a series of harsh, throaty barks. She had encountered this creature before. It was a rabid Doberman with daggers lining its decayed snout.

It happened in a matter of seconds. Her canine opponent lunged at her, and her instincts took over, firing several shots. The moonlight reflected off its exposed ribs as its chest rose and fell. It was twitching on the ground, raring to get back up as soon as it recovered.

Rebecca tore herself away, breaking into a sprint. As the door to the mansion got closer, her now confirmed fears drowned her thoughts in a swirling mass.

The nightmare wasn’t over.

It was only beginning.

As soon as the Spencer Mansion’s front door closed, all outside sounds ceased. She spotted a familiar sight as she took her first steps across the main hall. Her teammate, Kenneth Sullivan, was sitting on the grand staircase in front of her. He rose to meet her as she holstered her weapon.

“Kenneth! Boy, am I glad to see you!” She announced.

“Likewise, Chambers. This is one one creepy place.”

“Have you been here all night?”

“Haven’t moved an inch. Dooley got it worse, though. At least it’s warm in here.”

Rebecca froze. What was the best way to break it to him?

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He uttered.

She cleared her throat.

“Dooley’s dead.”

“What? How?”

“There’s no time,” She answered. “Where are the others?”

“I… I don’t know,” he hesitated. “Once we were inside, Captain Marini wanted to do a quick sweep. I offered to stay here, in case you showed up-”

“Which way did they go?”

“They split up. Richard stayed downstairs while Forest and the Captain went up.”

“Right. I’ll start downstairs, then.”

She marched toward a pair of double doors on the west side of the hall, opening them and stepping inside.

“What’s going on, Rebecca?” Kenneth called out behind her, “How did Dooley die?”

Rebecca didn’t answer, trying to focus on what was before her.

”Was it that Coen nutcase?” Kenneth continued.

He was referring to Billy Coen, an escaped convict. Rebecca wanted to explain that Coen was innocent, and partly why she was still alive. But, that would go against what they agreed upon as they went their separate ways.

“Billy Coen died long before we even touched down,” she replied, “he was never a threat to us.”

“Well; if not Coen, who killed Dooley?”

Rebecca kept the story simple. No killer mutant leeches and the walking corpses. The only danger was a disease that turned everyone rabid.

”Shit, Rebecca. You make it sound like we’re stepping into a real horror show.”

They entered a darkened corridor. There was movement in the shadows, like ripples in water.

They were not alone.

A chorus of moans filled the room as the zombies realized that food was within reach. They advanced on the duo, climbing over each other and gnashing their teeth.

Rebecca raised her pistol and fired into them. The shots weren’t perfect, but she’d managed to drop two of them. The third enclosed its fetid hands around her shoulders, trying to lean in for a bite.

Another shot rang out, spraying blood onto her white vest as the corpse sank to the floor. A bloodcurdling scream rang out. Rebecca turned as another zombie disappeared behind the corner, dragging Kenneth with it. She prepared to lunge after them. It was too late to save her teammate, but she could put him out of his misery.

Then a hand wrapped itself around her mouth and pulled her into the darkness.

“Hold your fire,” a voice hissed in Rebecca’s ear. She turned to see fellow Bravo Team member Richard Aiken. He had one finger to his lips, another to the door.

The second they were back in the dining room, Richard pulled Rebecca into a hug, resting his chin on her head. She buried her face in his vest.

“Sorry for the rough treatment,” Richard sighed, “I couldn’t risk you attracting more of those things.”

Rebecca nodded, “Believe me, I know.”

“You do?”

Rebecca unveiled her night’s events to Richard. She left more details in this time. There was the giant scorpion, the medieval torture room, the infected apes…

To his credit, Richard was taking it well.

“… which is how I ended up here with you,” She finished.

Richard approached the door to the main hall.

“Hey, wait a second,” Rebecca prompted him, “Aren’t you gonna tell me what happened to you?”

Richard began his story with Bravo Team’s helicopter. How did a top-of-the-range vehicle maintained by the country’s best mechanic stop working?

It was a tad suspicious.

Richard felt like they were being watched. Did the crazed cannibals know they were coming? They heard echoed barks and scampering paws. ”It’s a dog,” Marini grumbled. “It can keep Dooley company till we get back.”

Once inside the Mansion, the team dispersed.

Richard entered the dining room. As he traversed the checkerboard tiles, his mind raced. Did these cannibals serve you with fava beans and chianti, or would they chew through you on sight? Did other cops ever have these thoughts?

The dining room was clear. He was about to move on to the next room when a low-pitched whine descended from above. Richard pointed his gun upwards. He was staring at a raised platform where somebody was shuffling back and forth in a daze.

“Freeze!” Richard yelled.

The figure stopped, swiveling toward him.

“I want you to identify yourself! Gimme your name, and tell me what you’re doing here!”

They settled their hands on the wooden railing that overlooked the lower floor.

Then, it toppled over, landing in front of Richard with a crunch as its legs shattered on impact. It dragged itself along the tile floor, its serious injuries a mere inconvenience.

It reached for his leg, only to get a slug between the eyes.

Richard heard the door fling open behind him. Then, he felt a wall of hands — grabbing, pulling, swiping. He threw punches and kicks in all directions, but they still managed to drag him inside.

He wrestled himself away, charging into a nearby room and barricading himself in. He could feel them clawing at the wood, grumbling in frustration.

They weren’t cannibals. They were zombies!

“And I was pretty much stuck until you showed up.”

Then, Richard froze.

“What’s wrong?” Rebecca asked.

”Where’s Kenneth?”

Her silence told Richard everything.

“We gotta find Forest and regroup with Captain Marini,” He announced. “It’s the only way we’re gonna make it out of here.”

“I’m ready when you are.”

As Rebecca weaved her way through the mansion’s upper floor, she felt lucky that Richard had her back. She’d been through so much. She could feel herself tiring. As she encountered zombies around every corner, she caught glimpses at who they used to be. Torn lab coats, bloody uniforms, and scratched I.D. badges clung to lesion-covered skin.

She wondered how her teammates saw these creatures. As a medic first-and-foremost, she saw diseased people that she couldn’t save. That fact drove her to survive. When she escaped this nightmare, she would throw herself into her biochemistry studies. It was the only way toensure that nothing like this would ever happen again.

“This is a mess,” Richard muttered. “How the hell could something like this happen?”

Rebecca sighed, “Corporate greed, human indifference, hubris from playing God — take your pick.”

They heard a scream, muffled behind a nearby door. Richard took charge with a kick that burst it open, sending a chill their way. Rebecca was squinting from the rain, but she could still make out someone up ahead. Zombies didn’t scream, but this person didn’t exactly appear to be human, either.

Richard approached them, prompting parts of their body flare up in response. Dark shapes formed and then detached.

Rebecca blinked, her eyes focusing. Those dark shapes were crows.

They were feeding on someone.

She could tell from his dark blue S.T.A.R.S. vest. It was Forest. He pressed his palms against his face as he stumbled back and forth.

“Forest!” Richard called out.

Forest wrenched his hands from his face, revealing empty eye sockets. Blood dribbled from them to the tear in his cheek, exposing his jaws. 

Richard turned to Rebecca, grief weighing his face into an anguished frown.

The crows dive-bombed the S.T.A.R.S., razor sharp beaks poised to slice into their skin.

But they weren’t pushovers. Rebecca and Richard fired their weapons, bullets tearing through feathers and flesh. Some of the birds had their skulls smashed. Others had their wings clipped, hitting the cold, wet ground with a splatt.

“Rebecca! I can take it from here. You check on Forest!”

She whipped her head to find Forest swatting at the murder of crows tearing into his body. One of the creatures settled on his shoulder, slotted its head into the hole in his cheek, and chewed on his tongue.

There were too many to shoot, let alone kill. The choice was already made for her.

She allowed her mind to blank, and she ended Forest Speyer’s torment.

She came to as Richard slammed the door shut and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, I’m proud of you. You did what you had to.”

“Dewey, Dooley, Sullivan and now Forest-“

“Let’s make sure it’s not in vain. Okay?”

Rebecca nodded, willing the fatigue out of her body as best as she could. She was going to make it out of here and avenge her fallen teammates.

Enrico was the Captain. His job was to be on top of everything.

Yet, here he was, the proverbial rug pulled out from underneath him.

At first, Enrico blamed himself for his sheer hubris. He sent the team to the mansion, only to split them up because he thought they’d be able to clear it in no time. And, under any other circumstance, he’d have been right.

But, this was not a regular mission.

It didn’t hit Enrico at first. Not when he encountered the infected and indisposed roaming the mansion’s halls. Not when he stepped through a secret passageway leading to an underground laboratory. Not even when he saw the Umbrella Corporation logo everywhere.

It hit when he dug through the files on one of the laboratory computers.

There was a traitor in their midst.

Someone in Alpha Team was leaking intel to Umbrella’s board of directors. They even sabotaged Bravo Team’s helicopter. This whole mission was a set up.

Enrico approached the entrance to a cavern that appeared to be right under the mansion. He didn’t know that he was being watched.

Rebecca yawned, in spite of herself.

“Are you sure you don’t want to rest your eyes for a few minutes?” Richard enquired.

She shook her head.

“I’ll be fine. I only need a minute.”

There was no way she would get the rest she needed on an uncomfortable office chair inside a security booth. C.R.T. monitors lined the walls, filling the otherwise dark room with cold, blue light. Rows of surveillance equipment gave off an electrical hum.

Richard pointed to one of the monitors.

“Look!”

Rebecca followed the tip of his finger to one of the screens.

“It’s the Captain!”

“He’s still alive!”

“We’ve gotta find a way to get to him!”

Then, she spotted movement. The shadows that clung to the ceiling were now reaching out toward the Captain, but he was oblivious. If only there were a way to get his attention and warn him.

An appendage extended from above — a segmented limb with a sharp protrusion at its tip. Rebecca knew exactly what would happen next.

Enrico was never arachnophobic. He was more the glass and piece of paper relocation type. Now, the first spider he ever killed laid before him, bright green fluid oozing from its burst eyes. The creature was on its back, eight legs curled upwards. 

In a way, he pitied it. It was an ordinary spider when Umbrella got their hands on it and turned it into a killing machine.

He grunted from the pain that was radiating from his shoulder, where the spider’s leg had pierced it. It had injected him with something, causing his legs to give out. It intended to keep him paralyzed as it sucked out his insides. Instead, it was dead, and Enrico could only wait.

Who would find him first? Bravo Team, or the spider’s hungry family?

“Hey, Rebecca, you still with me?”

It was a fair question. She had been on autopilot for the last few minutes.

“Sure thing, Richard!” She said with conviction. She wanted to believe it. She didn’t want Richard to think she’d be a burden.

But she knew how the human body worked. She knew she needed sleep.

“That — uh… giant spider… That’s the only one, right? It’s not like this hellhole’s crawling with them?”

Rebecca didn’t have the heart to respond.

“Great,” Richard gulped.

“If I can make it, you can too,” Rebecca threw out, hoping it would be enough.

Richard gave a sullen nod.

They stumbled upon a large, pulsating obstruction.

“Richard, we should turn around.”

“What?”

“It’s not safe.”

“The map says we gotta go this way.”

“There’s gotta be another way.”

”Captain Marini doesn’t have much time,” Richard retorted. He prodded the barrier with his exposed finger.

“Are those scales?”

Oh shit!

The mound stirred with a loud hiss. Rebecca raised her gun, anticipating a fight. But, it slid away, clearing the path.

Richard turned to Rebecca, the slightest of smirks on his face.

“That solves that, I guess.”

But Rebecca wasn’t convinced. B.O.W.s were aggressive. They didn’t retreat when an enemy presented itself.

She threw herself at Richard, knocking him to the cold tiles. The mound rocketed through a nearby doorway and into the wall, missing Rebecca as it left a crater in its wake.

She scrambled to her feet, helping Richard up. Their assailant was an adder the size of a train. Its engorged reptilian body coiled through the hallway. It stretched into nearby doorways and beyond.

“This… this is…”

“I tried to warn you!”

The creature’s head lowered as its forked tongue darted out between stalactite fangs.

Richard took a deep breath.

“Run!”

Rebecca’s breaths dragged through her ragged lungs. If they didn’t lose this thing soon, she would pass out.

Richard turned, growling as he fired bullets into the creature’s thick hide. The damage was minimal. But, as the snake twisted its gargantuan body, it fell off course, crashing into a wall.

Rebecca followed Richard through a nearby door. They threw their weight on the closed entrance as the snake attempted to barrel through.

It was a shoving match. Rebecca and Richard cried out in pain with every blow the creature landed against the doors. But Rebecca refused to budge. Her eyes met Richard’s, and she gave him a determined nod. They were going to get through this.

Thick wood splinters flew out in all directions as two large snake fangs punched through.

“Richard!”

The fangs retreated. Richard sank to his knees, clutching his torso as blood poured between his fingers.

WHAM! The doors burst to reveal the snake’s open maw, dripping with viscous venom. Rebecca screamed as she emptied a mag into it.

Irritated, the creature turned and slithered away, leaving a trail of infected blood.

Once the coast was clear, Rebecca knelt beside Richard. She unzipped his orange combat vest to reveal his white S.T.A.R.S. t-shirt, now saturated with deep red blood. She then reached for her medic kit. Richard responded by shaking his head.

“No point.”

Rebecca ignored him as she got a bottle of antiseptic and a roll of bandages.

“Rebecca, stop!”

She unscrewed the cap, dabbing the brown disinfectant onto Richard’s wounds.

“Don’t waste your first aid stuff!“

“Damn it, Richard. I’m not giving up on you!”

Rebecca couldn’t believe she snapped at him like that. She never would’ve done that to a member of S.T.A.R.S. before tonight. She started to wrap the wound in bandages.

“We don’t know how this works,” She added. “There’s a chance you aren’t infected, only poisoned. If I can find some antivenom-”

“Don’t let me hold you back.”

“I’m the medic, remember?”

With the wound dressed, Rebecca repacked her kit and got to her feet.

“Make sure you rest, Richard. I won’t be long.”

Rebecca was feeling energized by her goal to save Richard. Any signs of hesitation or fatigue, and thoughts of him kept her going.

She read the map, spotting ‘safe rooms’ at various points. They had to have medical supplies, right? The nearest one wasn’t that far away, either. Without much resistance, she could get back to Richard in a matter of minutes.

Then, footsteps thundered toward her. Rebecca lowered the map, spotting someone bounding toward her on all fours. It was a ghastly sight — a zombie on steroids. Flesh draped in flaring crimson rashes and bloodied hives. It exhaled flecks of blood and pus between hyperextended, sharpened teeth.

Rebecca panicked as the crimson menace tackled her to the floor, knocking the map from her hands. She could feel her firearm slide under the nearby furniture. The jacked-up super zombie raised its claws to the ceiling, itching to bring them down into her body.

She grabbed her last weapon, her standard-issue S.T.A.R.S. combat knife.

Her enemy moved like a piano virtuoso about to slam the concluding chords in a concerto. She stuck her arms out, allowing the monster’s momentum to throw its neck onto her blade.

The monster stumbled back, screeching as it pulled the knife from its throat. Rebecca had her opening, dashing in the direction of the safe room. The red zombie continued the chase, undeterred. She could feel its thick, mucus-laden breath down her neck as she turned the corner.

There were many identical doors. Of course, without the map, Rebecca had to guess which to take. And, with the enemy not too far behind, she couldn’t afford to be wrong.

Here goes nothing.

She could hear the scrape of fingernails against wood. It was trying to claw its way in. She could tell the door was sturdy and reinforced. All she had to do was wait.

This was a safe room, alright. Rebecca could feel her guard lowering as she bathed in the warm, inviting glow of its lighting. The rest of the mansion felt like a foreboding haunted house. This room reminded Rebecca of her late Grandma’s farmhouse. The walls were a sandy beige, and the furniture was cobweb free.

There was a well stocked bookcase and an ordered desk. Rebecca would have loved to study the kind of literature on those shelves. Umbrella would stock the most advanced medical journals in the world.

Then, there was the bed. It coupled a large, delicate pillow with cotton sheets laid under a thick blanket. It was begging to be slept in.

This wasn’t good. She was getting distracted when Richard needed her.

She approached a large white cabinet. Opening its sleek, metal door unleashed a cold burst that sent goosebumps down her arms. It was a refrigerator stacked with medicine. There was even an entire section dedicated to antidotes.

There were gaps in the shelf with labels underneath. They read ‘Lambrodectus Antivenom’ and ‘Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab Antivenin.’

So, no antivenom. They must have used it up when the giant snake first broke out.

She closed the door with disappointment. No gun, no map, and no antivenom. The odds weren’t great. Undetered, she rummaged through the desk. Someone left their own detailed maps with more safe rooms. Any one of them could have the antivenom that Richard needed.

With a deep breath, Rebecca slid the door open, peering into the hallway.

Empty.

Leaving felt like waking up from a pleasant dream. The inviting warmth dissipated, and cold dread wrapped around her like a vengeful boa.

The twisted fingers of the enhanced zombie clasped her shoulders. The tips of its claws dug into her vest.

She tensed and turned, stabbing the monster in the eye. Its brain squelched at the blade’s piercing, and Rebecca tossed the creature aside.

More footsteps. Zombies were coming. Her only option was to run.

The second she found the next safe room, Rebecca paced in circles. Her tired brain flipped through burned afterimages. The zombies clawed at the door. Richard and Enrico waited for help. The monsters roamed the halls.

She could feel a weight press down on her body, trying to force her to get the sleep she needed.

No, Richard needs me. Who knows how long he has left?

Rebecca sat at the desk, laying out the map. Her eyes darted from one side of the paper to the other, looking for the next closest safe room.

But what will I do when I find it? I have no weapons.

There had to be a solution. All problems had a solution.

She blinked, her head drooping for a split second. She wasn’t going to pass out. She couldn’t. Not now. She needed to stay awake.

Then, she blinked again. Her head lowered further.

Have to fight it. Have to make sure I don’t blink again…