underground…
Like the one next to that pit, with the hexagonal hole?
She nodded slowly, deciding that she needed to go take another look at those doors she couldn't get to before. Maybe the killer had the tool it required, and the noise she'd heard had come from him operating it.
She could be wrong, but there was no harm in checking.
And at least I won't get lost.
She reached for the door that would lead her back and stopped, her head cocked to catch the strange sound coming from the tunnel behind her. It was a rusty hinge? Some kind of a bird, maybe? It was loud, whatever it was…
Thump. Thump. Thump.
That sound she knew. Footsteps, headed in her direction, and it was either Barry or someone built like him. They were heavy, plodding, but too far apart, too… deliberate.
Get out of here. Now!
Jill grabbed at the metal latch and ran into the next tunnel, no longer caring how much noise she made.
Although she sometimes misread them, her instincts were never wrong and they were telling her that whoever or whatever was making that sound, she didn't want to be there when it showed up.
She took several running steps down the stone corridor, away from the ladder that led back to the courtyard and then forced herself to slow down, taking a deep breath. She couldn't just go sprinting ahead, either; there were other dangers than the one she'd left behind.
Behind her, the door opened.
Jill turned, raising her Beretta and stared in horror at the thing standing there. It was huge, shaped like a man, but the resemblance stopped there. Naked but sexless, its entire muscular body was covered with a pebbled, amphibious skin, shaded a dark green. It was hunched over so that its impossibly long arms almost touched the floor, both its hands and feet tipped with thick, brutal claws. Tiny, light-colored eyes peered out at her from a flat reptilian skull.
It turned its strange gaze toward her, dropped its wide – hinged jaw and let out a tremendous, highpitched screech like nothing she'd ever heard before, the sound echoing around her, filling her with mortal terror.
Jill fired, three shots that smacked into the creature's chest and sent it reeling backwards. It stumbled, fell against the tunnel wall and with another terrible shriek it sprang at her, pushing off the stones with powerful legs, its claws outstretched and grasping.
She fired again and again as it flew toward her, the bullets tearing into its puckered flesh, ribbons of dark blood coiling away and it landed in a heaving crouch only a few feet in front of her, screaming, one massive arm snaking out to swipe at her legs. A musky, moldy animal smell washed over her, a smell like dark places and feral rage.
– Jesus why won't it dieJill trained the Beretta on the back of its skull and emptied the clip. Even as the green flesh splattered away and bone splintered, she continued to fire, the hot slugs ripping into the pulpy, pinkish mass of its brain.
Click. Click. Click.
No more bullets. She lowered the weapon, her entire body shaking. It was over, the creature was dead, but it had taken almost an entire clip, fifteen nine-millimeter rounds, the last seven or eight at close range…
Still staring at the fallen monster, she ejected the empty magazine and loaded a fresh clip before holstering the Beretta. She reached back and unstrapped the Remington, taking comfort in the solid, balanced weight of the shotgun.
What the hell were you people working on out here?
It seemed that the Umbrella researchers had invented more than just a virus – something just as deadly, but with claws…
And there could be more of them.
She'd never had a more horrifying thought. Holding the Remington close, Jill turned and ran.
Chris and Rebecca walked down a long, wooden hallway, warily glancing up with every other step.
There was what looked like dried, dead ivy poking out of every crack and crevice where the walls met the ceiling, a bone-colored growth that scaled across the planks like a fungus. It looked harmless, but after what Rebecca had read to him about Plant 42, Chris kept himself ready to move quickly.
After going through the rest of the papers in the trunk, Rebecca had come up with a report on some kind of an herbicide that could apparently be mixed in Point 42, called V-Jolt. She'd brought it along, though Chris doubted it would be useful. All he wanted was to find the exit, and if they could avoid the killer plant, so much the better.
The front hall had been clear of the growth, though Chris wasn't prepared to call it secured. Besides the two bedrooms by the front door, there had been a rec room that had been distinctly creepy. Chris had looked inside and immediately felt his internal alarms going off, though he hadn't known why; there'd been no danger that he could see, just a bar and a couple of tables. In spite of the seeming calm, he had closed the door quickly and they'd moved on. His gut feeling was enough of a reason to leave it alone.
They stopped in front of the only door in the long, meandering stretch of hallway, both of them still glancing nervously at the scaling ivy near the ceiling.
Chris pushed at the knob, and the door swung open.
Warm, humid air flooded out of the shadowy room, thick and tropical, but with a nasty undertone, like the taint of spoiled fruit. Chris instinctively pushed Rebecca behind him as he saw the walls of the chamber. They were completely covered in the same kind of strange, straggling growth that was in the hall, but here, the scaling ivy was lush and bloated, a bilious verdant green.
There was a faint whispering coming from inside the room, a subtle sense of movement and Chris realized that it was coming from the sickly plant matter itself, the walls quivering in a weird optical illusion as the draping tendrils crept and grew.
Rebecca started to step past him and Chris pushed her back. What, are you nuts? I thought you said this thing sucks blood!
She shook her head, staring at the whispering walls.
That's not Plant 42, at least not the part the report talked about. Plant 42 is gonna be a lot bigger, and a lot more mobile. I never did much with phytobiology, but according to that study, we'll be looking for an angiosperm with motile foliage.
She smiled a quick, nervous smile. Sorry. Think of a great big plant bulb with ten to twenty foot vines waving around it.
Chris grimaced. Great. Thanks for putting my mind at rest.
They edged into the large room, careful not to walk too closely to the hissing walls. There were three doors besides the one they came through: one directly across from the entrance and the other two facing each other to their left, where the room opened up.
Chris led them toward the door opposite the entrance, figuring it as the most likely to lead out of the bunkhouse.
The door was unlocked, and Chris started to push it open…
BAM!
The door slammed shut, causing them both to jump back, weapons raised. A series of heavy, sliding thumps followed, like someone on the other side was kicking at the walls – except the sounds were everywhere, above and below the door's sturdy frame, beating against every corner of the sealed room.
Lots of vines, you said? Chris asked.
Rebecca nodded. I think we just found Plant 42.
They listened for a moment, Chris thinking about the kind of strength and weight it would take to slam the door so solidly.
No kidding, bigger and more mobile… and maybe blocking the only exit to this place. Terrific.
They backed away, turning into the open area and looking at the other two doors. The one on their right had the number 002 above it. Chris fished out the keys he'd found and flipped through them, finding one with a matching number.
He unlocked the door and stepped inside, Rebecca behind him. There was a smaller door to the left that opened to a bathroom, quiet and dusty. The room itself was another bedroom, a bunk, a desk, a couple of shelves.
