by S. D. Perry
My God, what were those people thinking? How could they live with themselves, deliberately infecting anything with something like that?
On the tail of that thought, another occurred to him: how would he live with himself if one of his team contracted the virus? He'd led missions before in which people under his command had been hurt and twice, before he made captain, he'd been on operations in which S.T.A.R.S. had been killed. But taking a team into an area on his own initiative, where a silent, terrible disease could infect them, where they could die at the claws of some inhuman monster…
… it would be on my head. This isn't an authorized mission, the responsibility stops with me. Can I truly ask them to do this? "Well, it pretty much sounds like a shit job," John said finally. "And if we wanna get there on time, we better head out soon." He smiled at David, an un– characteristically subdued one but a smile all the same. "You know me, I love a good fight. And somebody's gotta stop these assholes from spreading this stuff around, right?"
Steve and Karen were both nodding, their faces as set and determined as John's, and even knowing what they would encounter, Rebecca had made her deci– sion back in Raccoon. David felt a sudden rush of emotion for all of them, a strange, uncomfortable mix of pride and fear and warmth that he wasn't sure what to do with. After a few seconds of uncertain silence, he nodded briskly, glancing at his watch. It would take them a few hours to get to the launch site. "Right," he said. "We'd best get to storage and load up. We can go through the rest of it on our way."
As they stood to leave, David reminded himself that they were doing this because it was necessary, that each of them had made up their own mind to participate in the dangerous operation. They knew the risks. And he also knew that if anything went wrong, that knowledge would be cold comfort indeed. Karen sat in the back of the van and loaded clips, the words of the mysterious message repeating through her thoughts as she thumbed the nine– millimeter rounds into each magazine.
… Ammon's message received/blue series/enter answer for key/letters and numbers reverse/time rainbow/don't count/blue to access.
She finished another clip and set it aside with the others, absently wiping her oily fingers on the leg of her pants before picking up the next. A welcome breeze whispered through the muggy van, smelling of salt and summer-warmed sea. They'd pulled off the road south of the cove, finding a clear patch to set up not a quarter mile from the water's edge. Outside, the sun was setting, casting long shadows across the dusty ground. The not-so-distant sound of soft waves against the shore was soothing, a white noise back-ground to the low voices of the others as they worked. Steve and David were propping the raft, while John checked out the motor. Rebecca was assembling a medical kit from the supplies they'd "borrowed" out of the S.T.A.R.S. equipment warehouse.
… the letters and numbers… a code? Does it relate to time? Does counting relate to the sum of the lines, or to something else?
Her mind worked the riddle relentlessly, gnawing at the words the way a dog worries a bone. What did it mean? Were the lines connected to a single concept, or did each represent a separate aspect of a bigger puzzle? Had Ammon sent the message, and if he worked for Umbrella, why?
She finished the last clip and reached for a water-proof carryall, refocusing herself to the task at hand. She knew that her thoughts would return to the strange little poem as soon as she'd completed her assigned detail. It was the way her mind worked; she just couldn't relax when presented with an ambiguity. There was always an answer, always, and finding it was just a matter of concentration, of taking the right steps in the right order. The semi-automatics were cleaned and ready, lay– ing in a neat line next to the checked radio gear on the floor of the van. They weren't taking any weapons besides the S.T.A.R.S.-issued Berettas, David insist– ing that they needed to travel light. Although Karen agreed, she was sorry they wouldn't be bringing in the assault rifles, which were equipped with night scopes. After hearing more of the details about the zombie– like creatures on their ride, she didn't know how comfortable she felt with just a handgun and a halogen flashlight.
Admit it. You're worried about this one, and have been since David broke the news. The facts are all out of order, the pieces don't fit the way they're supposed to.
It was ironic that the reasons compelling her to crack this mystery were the same ones that made her so uneasy: Trent, the S.T.A.R.S.'s apparent collusion with Umbrella, the possibility of a biohazardous incident in her home state. Who had been bribed? What had happened at Caliban Cove? What would they uncover? What did the poem mean? Not enough data. Not yet.
She'd always prided herself on her lack of imagina– tion, on her ability to find the truth based on empiri– cal evidence rather than wild, unsubstantiated intu-ition. It was the key to success in her field, and though she was aware that she sometimes came across as overly clinica – even cold – she accepted who she was, embracing the kind of peace that was found in knowing all of the facts. Whether it was examining blood spray patterns or measuring angles on an entry wound, there was a deep satisfaction for her in solving puzzles, in finding out not only why, but how. The unanswered questions about Caliban Cove were an affront to her careful thought processes. They went against her grain, smudging her very ordered sense of reality – and she knew that she wouldn't find relief until those questions were put to rest. She was finished with the weapons. She should check the utility belts again, make sure everything was locked down and ready, and then see if David had anything else for her to do… Karen hesitated, feeling a trickle of warm sweat slide down her back. No one was within sight of the open back door, and she'd already double-checked every flap and pocket on every belt. With a sudden rush of something like guilt, she reached into her vest pocket and pulled out her secret, comforted by the familiar weight of it in her hand.
God, if the guys knew, I'd never hear the end of it.
It had been given to her by her father, a remnant from his service in WWII and one of the few items she had to remember him by-an ancient anti-personnel shrapnel grenade, called a pineapple because of its crosshatched exterior. Carrying it was one of her few unpractical idiosyncrasies, one that made her feel a little silly. She'd worked hard to present herself as a thoroughly rational, intelligent woman, not prone to emotional sentimentality and in most respects, that was true. But the grenade was her rabbit's foot, and she never went on a mission without it. Besides, she had half convinced herself that it might come in handy one day…
Yeah, keep telling yourself that. The S.T.A.R.S. have digitized anti-personnel grenades with timers, even flash-bangs with computer chips. The pin on this relic probably couldn't be wrenched out with pliers… "Karen, do you need any help?"
Startled, Karen looked up and into Rebecca's ear– nest young features, the girl leaning into the back of the van. Her quick gaze fell to the grenade, her eyes lighting up with sudden curiosity.
"I thought we weren't taking any explosives… hey, is that a pineapple grenade? I've never actually seen one. Is it live?"
Karen quickly looked around, afraid that one of the team had overheard, then grinned sheepishly at the young biochemist, embarrassed by her own embar– rassment.
It's not like I got caught masturbating, for chrissake; she doesn 't know me, why the hell would she care if I'm superstitious? "Shh! They'll hear us. Come here a sec," she said, and Rebecca obediently crawled into the van, a con– spiratorial half-smile blooming on her face. In spite of herself, Karen was absurdly pleased by the young biochemist's discovery. In the seven years she'd been with the S.T.A.R.S., no one had ever found out. And she'd taken an instant liking to the girl.
"It is a pineapple, and we're not taking explosives in. You can't tell anyone, okay? I carry it for good luck." Rebecca raised her eyebrows. "You carry a live grenade around for luck?" Karen nodded, looking at her seriously. "Yes, and if John or Steve found out, they'd ride me ragged. I know it's dumb, but it's kind of a secret." "I don't think it's dumb. My friend Jill has a lucky hat…"
Rebecca reached up and touched her head-band, a tied red bandana beneath mousy bangs.
"… and I've been wearing this for a couple of weeks practically. I was wearing it when we went into the Spencer facility."
Her young face clouded slightly, and then she was smiling again, her light brown gaze direct and sincere.
"I won't say a word."
Karen decided that she definitely liked her. She tucked the grenade back in her vest, nodding at the girl. "I appreciate that. So, are we ready out there?" Tiny lines of nervous strain appeared on Rebecca's face. "Yeah, pretty much. John wants to run another check with the headsets, but other than that, every-
thing's done."
Karen nodded again, wishing she could say some– thing to ease the girl's fear. There wasn't anything to say. Rebecca had dealt with Umbrella before, and any words that Karen might mouth would be hollow ones, might even seem patronizing. She felt some anxiety herself, she'd be a fool not to, but fear wasn't a state that she wore often or well. As with most missions, the overriding feeling she experienced was anticipa-tion, a kind of cerebral hunger for the truth.
"Go ahead and hand out the weapons, I'll get the rest," Karen said finally. She could at least give her something to do. Rebecca helped her unload the equipment as the sun dipped lower in the heavy summer sky. The winds off the water grew cooler and the first pale stars shimmered into view over the Atlantic. As twilight crept in, they moved down to the water in an uneasy silence, loading their weapons, stretch– ing, staring out at the black waters that eddied and swirled with secrets of their own. When the last of the daylight melted off the hori– zon, they were as ready as they were going to get. As John and David slipped the raft into the lapping darkness, Karen slipped on a black watchcap and patted the heavy lump inside her vest for luck, telling herself that she wouldn't need it. The truth was waiting. It was time to find out what was really going on.
SEVEN
Steve and david climbed in, edging to the front of the six-man raft as Karen and Rebecca followed. John hopped in last, and at David's signal, started the motor with the push of a button; it was as silent as David had promised, only a faint hum that was almost lost in the sound of gently moving water. "Let's move," David said quietly. Rebecca took a deep breath and let it out slowly as they started north, heading for the cove. Nobody spoke as the shore slid by to their left, shadowy, jagged shapes in the pallid light of the rising moon, an immense and whispering void to their right. Port and starboard, her mind noted randomly. Bow and stern. She searched the blackness for a sign that marked the beginning of the private territory, but couldn't make out much. It was a lot darker than she'd expected, and colder. The chill she felt was com– pounded by the knowledge that beneath them lay an infinite and alien world, teeming with cold-blooded life. Rebecca saw a flash of soft light as David raised a pair of NV binoculars to watch for movement on the shore. The infrared illuminator's glow spilled across his face for an instant before he adjusted their posi– tion, making his features strange and craggy. Now that they were actually doing it, actually on their way, she felt better than she had all day. Not relaxed, by any means-the dread was still there, the fear of the unknown and for what they might encount– er-but the feelings of helplessness, the mind– numbing anxiety she'd lived with since the incident in Raccoon, had eased, giving way to hope.
We're doing something, taking the offensive instead of waiting for them to get to us… "I see the fence," David said softly, his face a pale smudge in the bobbing dark. We'll pass the dock next, maybe see the buildings as the land slopes up to the lighthouse, to the caves… Water slopped at the raft, the sound of muted waves growing as the small craft rocked and shuddered. Rebecca felt her heart speed up. While she liked looking at the ocean, she wasn't all that thrilled to be out in it; as a kid, she'd seen Jaws one time too many. She kept her focus on the shore, trying to judge how close they were, and felt as much as saw the land open up as the tiny raft slipped through the lapping waves. Maybe twenty meters away, the towering shadows of trees gave way to a clearing. She could hear water dashing lightly against the rocky shore, sense flat, open space on both sides of them now. They had reached the compound. "There's the dock," David said. "John, veer star-board, two o'clock."
Rebecca could just make out the faint, man-made shape of the pier ahead of them, a dark line shifting on the water. There was the hollow, lonely squeak of metal rubbing wood, the small dock raised and strain– ing at its pilings. There were no boats that she could see. As the pier slipped past, Rebecca squinted into the darkness beyond. She could just make out the blocky outline of a structure behind the floating wood, what had to be the boathouse or marina for the facility. She couldn't see any of the other buildings from Trent's map. There were six more besides the lighthouse, five of them spaced evenly along the cove, set into two lines that paralleled the shore – three in front, two behind. The sixth structure was directly in back of the lighthouse, and they were all hoping that it was the lab; they'd be able to get what they needed without going through the whole compound…
"Boathouse is wood, the others look like con-crete. I don't… wait," David's whisper became ur– gent. "Somebody – two, three people, they just went behind one of the buildings."
Rebecca felt a strange relief flood through her, relief and disappointment and a sudden confusion. If there were people, maybe the T-Virus hadn't been un– leashed. But that meant that the buildings would be occupied, the grounds patrolled, making a covert operation impossible.
Then why is it so dark? And why does it feel so dead here, so empty? "Do we abort?" Karen whispered, and before Da-vid could respond, Steve gasped, a sharp intake of air that froze Rebecca's blood, her thoughts fluttering wildly in a spasm of primal fear.
"Three o'clock, big, oh Jesus it's huge…"
BAM! The raft was hit, heaved up and over in a fountain of churning blackness. Rebecca saw a flash of sky,smelled cold and rotting slime-and was plunged, splashing, into the turbulent dark waters of the sea. Water enveloped him, the icy, stinging salt burning David's eyes and nose as he flailed desperately, lost and breathless.
–where is it–
He'd seen it, an immense and pebbled plain of flesh surging up from the black at the second of impact. The surface pulled at him and he kicked against the dragging depths, terrified. His head broke through to air and an ominous quiet.
– where's the team–
David whirled around, gasping, heard a spluttering cough to his left. "Get to shore," he panted, turning in a circle, trying to find their position, to find the creature's, cursing himself for a fool. Missing fishermen, haunted waters, stupid, stupid. The raft was ten meters behind him, upside down, disturbed water splashing at its sides. The force of the attack had thrown them clear, actually knocking them closer to land. He saw two bobbing shapes, faces between him and the shore, heard more splashing as another joined them. He couldn't see the unnatural thing that had hit the raft but expected to feel the bite any second, the cold puncture of dagger teeth tearing him to pieces. "Get to shore," he called again, his heart thunder-ing, his legs heavy and vulnerable, kicking, obvious.
Can't go in, three, where's four? "David…"
John's terrified shout, from beyond the floating raft.
"Here! John, this way, come this way, follow my voice!"
John started toward him as David tread water, propelling himself backward toward the rocky beach and shouting all the while. He saw the top of John's head appear, saw his arms pumping frantically through the murky water. "… follow me, I'm over here, we have to get…" A giant, pale shadow rose up smoothly behind the soldier, at least three meters across, rounded and dripping and impossible. Time jerked to a crawl, the events unfolding in front of him in a slow motion dream. David saw thick, tapering tentacles on either side near the top of the rising shadow, saw a rounded slash in the corpse-colored slickness – not tentacles, feelers -
– and realized that he was seeing the underbelly of a monstrous animal tha
t couldn't possibly exist, a bottom feeder as big as a house. The black slash of its mouth hissed open, revealing clusters of peg-like, grinding teeth, each the size of a man's fist. When it came down, John would be swallowed up by the massive jaws. Or crushed. Or plowed into the icy deep, a drowning meal for the creature. In the instant it took him to absorb the facts, he was already screaming.
"Dive! Dive!"
Time skipped forward and the beast was falling forward, arching over, its long, thick serpent's body dwarfing the raft, its shadow enveloping the frantic swimmer. David caught a glimpse of bulbous, rolling eyes the size of beach balls -
– and it crashed down, sending explosive plumes of water high into the air, blotting out the stars in sheets of foaming spray. Before David could draw breath, a tremendous wave knocked into him, driving him violently backward through the bubbling dark– ness. There was rushing movement, a sense of helpless speed as he struggled against the force that tore at his limbs, struggled to find air in the sweeping torrent. Kicking wildly, he surged upward through the liquid veil, felt cold air slap at his skin and warm, human hands yanking at his shoulders. He inhaled convul– sively as his boots scraped against rock and Karen's ragged voice spoke behind him.
"Got him…"
Staggering against the slimy rocks, David let him
self be dragged backward until he found his balance
and could turn around. Wet figures were reaching out,
Steve and Rebecca…
Oh my God, John… "I'm okay," David gasped, stumbling forward, his knees cracking numbly against larger rocks that his blurred gaze denied him from seeing. "John, does anyone see him?"
Nobody answered. He blinked away salt, reeling around to face the splashing darkness, the settling waves slapping at their feet. "John…" he called, as loud as he dared, searching, seeing nothing at all. His heart was as cold as his body, as heavy as the sodden weight of his Kevlar vest.
