Resident Evil: Phoenix by Red Hope

Chapter 23

The ice was thick but so clear too as she stared fearfully through it. On the other side she saw freedom and humanity instead of the cold darkness that lapped at the back of her neck. She pressed her lips against the frozen surface and pushed with all her will. She was given a thin ounce of air before she submerged again and fought to be free, to be human. All the coldness swimming around her body could not kill her. She remembered her family, her friends, and what it meant to be human. A defiant scream erupted from her, and she broke through the smothering ice. So much warmth instantly embraced her and welcomed her back home.

"That's it," a familiar voice called to her. "Come on, K-Mart."

K-Mart's brown eyes flew open. She gasped as if surfacing from a deep lake. She couldn't move though despite she tried getting up.

"Get these damn restraints off her," Claire Redfield barked at the group. She knew her sister was back and wasn't scared of the T-virus. She looked back at K-Mart and held K-Mart's face between her hands. "K-Mart, it's alright."

K-Mart wildly looked about then finally focused on Claire's beautiful features.

"You're alright," Claire whispered. She suddenly found herself pulled into a strong embrace after Casey and Alice released the bonds on K-Mart's wrists.

K-Mart hid her face in her sister's warm neck. The aftershocks from her virus induced nightmare wore off, and she remembered what happened last. "You're okay too," she hoarsely managed.

"Yes," Claire murmured. She felt calmer now that K-Mart was back with her. She carefully withdrew from K-Mart and blinked away a few relieved tears. She cleared her throat and straightened up beside Alice.

K-Mart sighed in relief but took in all the company around her. She instantly knew Alice then saw Casey on her left. But what confused her were the three other women, and one looked a lot like Casey. K-Mart registered all their smiles. She shook her head and touched her damp brow. "Why are you all looking at me like I just threw up in the toilet at a party?"

Casey laughed first and a few others echoed her chuckles. She gingerly touched K-Mart's lower arm. "You were bitten, K-Mart."

K-Mart pushed a few blond strands out of the way then curiously studied Casey. "By that lake... right?"

"That's right," Casey softly agreed.

K-Mart was charged by the memory and hastily checked her injured arm. She was amazed to find the gaping hole was covered with mangled yet clean flesh. She was confused and peered up at Casey for help.

"Doctor Green extracted the virus out of your system," Casey explained.

"How?" K-Mart whispered.

Casey looked over at Doctor Green, who spoke up this time.

"It's a long explanation and a bit boring," Doctor Green responded in a teasing voice. She tucked her hands into her lab coat pockets. "Maybe in the morning when you have more energy I can tell you."

Claire lightly touched her sister's shoulder. "Doctor Green is right." She found her hesitant brown eyes on her. "You need a bit more rest before you start moving around." From a longer study, Claire discovered a blue ring around K-Mart's eyes that'd hadn't been there before. She knew exactly what it was from, but she didn't tremble in fear.

"And probably something to eat too," Alice spoke up for the first time.

K-Mart liked the sounds of food, but she didn't want anything big. She focused on Claire and Alice after a distant thought surfaced in her. "You survived the mission. What happened?"

Claire grinned and replied, "Long story made short... we blew the facility to Hell."

"Nice," K-Mart murmured and nodded. She saw the agreement in Claire's features. "So what's next?"

Claire gently patted her sister's shoulder. "You getting better then we're going home."

"Arcadia," K-Mart softly recalled. "That sounds like a good start."

"It does." Claire let out a low exhale then looked over at Casey. "Do you mind staying with K-Mart tonight?"

Casey folded her arms and peered down at the teenager. "As long as she listens to me."

K-Mart gave a mock annoyed look at the pair. "I listen."

"Sometimes I think you have selective hearing," Claire taunted.

K-Mart's glower was broken by a grin.

"I can give her a sedative," Doctor Green kindly offered.

"Elisa," Doctor Addison warned.

Doctor Green chuckled now and shrugged. She looked over at Casey and seriously told, "Be sure she drinks plenty of fluids." She gazed down at K-Mart. "You may be weak for awhile. But I'll be doing some tests and checking on you regularly."

K-Mart nodded and knew not to argue. She was tempted to ask who the lanky blond was beside Doctor Green. And she still wasn't sure about Casey's copy behind her. She knew Casey had told her the other clone's name, but it just wasn't coming to her.

"We'll see you in the morning," Claire promised. She stole a quick hug, kissed her sister's temple, and said goodnight.

Alice hugged K-Mart too and whispered a soft welcome back into K-Mart's ear. She straightened up and briefly held Casey's eyes. She nodded once then slipped away with Claire. She was quite relieved that K-Mart seemed okay so far.

Doctor Green promised to perform a check in an hour. But she planned to sleep afterwards and would instruct Casey what to do if there was a problem. She left with Heather and Janus after they felt K-Mart was in good hands with Casey.

K-Mart had sat up and felt good to be upright.

Casey wandered off and collected a white, metal chair. She dropped it a few feet away from her friend's bed and flopped into it.

"Did you miss me?" K-Mart teased.

Casey crossed her legs and smirked. "Somethin' like that." She rested her arms in her lap. "But I think you missed me since you came back to the living."

K-Mart couldn't hold down a laugh. "Yeah... something like that too." She enjoyed the charming smile on Casey. She curiously studied the bite mark on her left shoulder. "I think that entire experience aged me by five years." She sadly sighed.

Casey lost her amusement and completely sympathized with her friend.

K-Mart looked at the clone again. "What's... the other..." She was unsure how to ask it. She could tell from Casey's raised eyebrow that she had to ask her question right. "What's your sister's name?" she attempted.

Casey had a thin smile and reminded, "Janus."

K-Mart nodded after the name came back to her. "Some stuff is still fuzzy," she sadly admitted. "I can't even think of the tall blond's name... you know that was with Umbrella."

"Jill Valentine," Casey supplied. She then smirked and tested, "What's my name?"

K-Mart puckered her lips then grinned at her friend. "Alice, right?"

"Funny, funny." Casey shook her head several times at the teen. "What's your name?"

K-Mart rolled her eyes and stated, "K-Mart." She then had a teasing grin. "I look like a K-Mart, don't I?"

Casey laughed and leaned forward slightly. She cleared her throat and grinned widely. "You look like a chain discount store."

K-Mart chuckled but studied the white blanket covering her body. She could feel every part of her body without flaw, including her left arm that had gone numb after the bite. "I don't look like a flower."

"Dahlia is a pretty name," Casey argued. "It's Swedish for dweller in the valley."

K-Mart softly hummed after she realized that Casey knew her real name. She vaguely recalled telling Casey her name, but she thought it'd been in a dream. She bite her bottom lip then mentioned, "My family was Swedish." She looked over at Casey finally. "I was named after my great grandmother, who immigrated to the United States."

Casey softly smiled at hearing the family history about her friend. She decided to trade some and shared her own, despite it was really Alice's background. "Alice's full name is Alice Casey Abernathy."

"Ah," K-Mart murmured. "That makes sense now."

"The name Casey is Alice's mother's middle name."

K-Mart had a curious look then asked, "What was her first name? Alice?"

Casey shook her head and replied, "Janus."

K-Mart felt a light bulb go off in her head. She smiled in realization.

"Alice was named after her maternal grandmother." Casey leaned back in the chair again. "Alice's mother's maiden name was Janus Casey Prospero."

"Prospero?" K-Mart shook her head. "Is that Italian?"

Casey nodded.

K-Mart found it quite interesting and summarized, "So you took Alice's middle name and your sister took Alice's mother's name." She smiled at this and stated, "That's pretty neat."

"Alice actually named us," Casey clarified. "We were honored to take the names."

"Did she name any of the others?" K-Mart knew there were other clones that'd gone to Japan, like Casey.

"No... just Janus and I." Casey could tell that K-Mart wanted to ask why, but she felt there were more important things to do right now. She stood up and stated, "I'm going to get you something to eat." She approached K-Mart. "You feel like anything?"

"Nothing raw," K-Mart joked.

Casey squeezed her friend's shoulder in silent promise. She read the concern ghost through K-Mart's eyes. "I'll find you something. I won't be long." She strolled over to the table that had a few things on it like new clothes for K-Mart, the sword, and shoes. But Casey took the hidden remote and brought it over to K-Mart. "There's movies and television shows that run on the TVs here."

K-Mart accepted the remote and was dumbfounded. She now noticed the flat screen plasma television up in the right corner. "Wow," she murmured.

Casey grinned but headed out.

K-Mart studied her friend's receding backside. She spotted the handgun tucked in Casey's waist band. "Casey?" She found a curious glance on her. "Thanks."

Casey smiled in return then slipped out of the room. She sighed in relief after leaving and was thankful that K-Mart seemed to be okay. She hoped K-Mart's prognosis didn't change in the coming days. She continued thinking about K-Mart's condition as she traveled the halls to the dining room. She pulled up short when she heard two distant voices. She was drawn to them despite one was Heather Addison's. Casey couldn't pick out the second voice.

In the central control room, Casey found Doctor Addison talking to middle-aged woman that had wavy, dark brown hair and barely stacked up to five feet and five inches. But Casey was amazed by the woman's striking green eyes.

"Casey," Heather warmly greeted. She immediately sensed the clone's apprehension about the newcomer. "I'd like you to meet Sarah."

Sarah faced the clone and held out her hand. She had a thin smile, rosy cheeks, and bright eyes.

Casey took the stranger's hand and prepared to ask where Sarah had come from all of a sudden. But she lost her chance because Sarah spoke first.

"It's good to see you again, Casey." Her thick British accent was quite noticeably.

Heather leaned closer to Casey and murmured, "She is the White Queen."

Casey's eyes grew wide, and she glanced down at their locked hands before Sarah's hands slipped free. She clenched her hand after the warmth dissolved. She hastily peered up and asked, "You're the White Queen?"

Sarah shrugged and replied, "Formally." She nodded at Heather. "I've had some help though." She'd lost her smile and added, "My hardware and software have been greatly improved thanks to Heather."

Heather slightly blushed at the AI's compliment. "I'm surprised it went so smoothly."

Sarah flashed a smile at the programmer. "We make a good team."

"Wait," Casey cut in. She sighed after the pair looked at her. "You were a hologram," she stated.

"I still am," Sarah vaguely explained. "I'm just more advanced than before."

Casey was confused how this was possible.

"I can get into the detailed science, if you'd like," Sarah offered. Her accent was rather polite.

"That's... alright." Casey didn't feel like a headache right now. Plus she had to get back to K-Mart.

"It's new technology I designed," Heather explained to Casey. "I call it solid hologram." She indicated Sarah. "She can feel and touch just like us."

Casey was dazzled by it and shook her head. She wasn't quite sure how to grasp it.

"But Sarah is limited to the facility," Heather murmured. She didn't like that part, but she was grateful that the White Queen could achieve more development through the solid hologram. She could only imagine what doors it would open for the White Queen. It would also be quite beneficial to Elisa now that the White Queen could physically work alongside Elisa.

"It's amazing," Casey softly agreed. She then mentioned, "I have to get to the mess hall."

Heather assumed it was because of K-Mart. "How she seem to be doing?"

"Good," Casey replied.

"The human survived the bite?" Sarah was vaguely aware of the human's predicament. But she'd faded in and out of facility's feeds because she and Heather had been so busy with updating her systems.

"Yes." Heather realized the AI had much to catch up on and probably would through the daily reports.

"I have to get back to her," Casey insisted. She took a step away. "Welcome back too." She caught Sarah's appreciative smile so she turned on her heels and hurried off. Quickly Casey gathered a plate of food, which she covered then took a container of water that'd last K-Mart through the night. She entered the room with full hands and gently kicked the door shut.

K-Mart warmly smiled at her friend's care. She grew excited at seeing the prospect of a warm dinner in her lap. She ate while Casey sat next to her. Together they watched an old television show that'd ended just before the world ended too.

"Who is that actress?" Casey inquired.

K-Mart pointed her fork at the dark haired actress. "The one that plays Xena?"

Casey nodded.

"Lucy Lawless," K-Mart supplied. "Renee O'Connor plays Gabrielle."

Casey didn't recall ever seeing the show. "It's so inaccurate too."

K-Mart laughed and lowered her fork to the empty plate. She assumed that Casey had all of Alice's education from college, which included ancient history. "It's really not suppose to be."

"I can tell." Casey grinned though. "I like the sidekick... Gabrielle."

"Most people don't like her in the first season or so," K-Mart mentioned.

"She's pretty funny." Casey liked the character's perky attitude and clever wit. She shifted her attention to K-Mart and was glad the plate was empty. It hadn't been a big meal, but it was important that K-Mart was eating at all. "You should get some rest."

K-Mart was worn out and hadn't done much of anything. She nodded and handed over the plate. "Where are you staying?"

Casey was making her way out of the room so she could return the dirty dishes. "Right here with you." She left without giving K-Mart a chance to argue. She didn't need any sleep despite for the last few days she'd hardly slept. She figured she could sleep once everything was back to normal. Or as normal as it could be for a screwed up world. After returning to the room, Casey wasn't surprised to see K-Mart fast asleep. She switched off the lights and allowed the quiet television to give off a glow.

K-Mart slept through the rest of the night. She barely stirred when Doctor Green came in for a last check. She didn't wake up until her first morning check from Doctor Green. She blinked a few times and focused on the clipboard seemingly floating near her.

"Good morning," Elisa greeted. She lowered her clipboard and smiled at the teen. "How are you feeling?"

K-Mart did a mental inventory of her body then nodded. "A lot better."

"You seem to be healing well." Doctor Green then mentioned she wanted to take a sample of K-Mart's blood. She suggested that K-Mart take a shower with Casey's help. She suspected K-Mart was well enough to move around and wanted to see how she did with a simple, daily task.

Casey arrived in the room just before Doctor Green left. She had breakfast in one hand and orange juice in the other. She announced that it was nine o'clock and promised Elisa that she'd help K-Mart today.

Doctor Green left after feeling K-Mart was in good hands. She went back to her labs with the vial in one hand. She was pleased by the normal coloring in the plastic tube. She strolled in and was greeted by the newly modified AI.

"How was she?" Sarah inquired.

"She's improving rapidly," Elisa replied.

Sarah canted her head at Elisa's features and processed them quickly. "You are concerned."

Elisa lifted the vial and stared hard at it. "I think the T-virus has some affects on her."

"It's to be expected," Sarah stated. She stood up from the desk chair and mentioned, "I have the results from Alice's and Claire's blood."

Elisa was intrigued and came over to the laptop on the desk. She flopped into the chair, removed her glasses, and put them on while Sarah wirelessly prepared the data on the laptop. "How's it look?"

"Not as bad as you expected," Sarah replied.

Elisa was carefully reading over the results that the AI had so far. She knew there were more tests to carry out, but this was a good start. "Amazing." She tapped at something on the screen. "This was impossible when we were performing tests in the Hive."

"Yes, I recall from the data that I retrieved from my sister." Sarah stood with a straight back, and her hands behind her.

Elisa kept reading and scrolled down. "I need to talk to them," she uttered.

"She does have the potential to continue mutating," Sarah declared.

Elisa removed her glasses and spun in the chair. "But it looks like it's in hibernation."

Sarah slightly dipped her head in agreement. "It seems to be triggered by death."

Elisa frowned and tapped her glasses' arm against her bottom lip. "There's only two ways to test that theory."

Sarah canted her head and guessed, "I do not believe Claire Redfield would take kindly to us shooting Alice."

Elisa smirked and lowered the glasses to her lap. "I think you're right there." She stood up and put her glasses into her breast pocket. "Our other option is cloning."

Sarah shook her head and reminded, "I recall Alice's opinion on cloning for scientific gain."

"I know," Elisa muttered. She debated what to do and decided first to explain their findings to Alice and Claire.

"Alice is coming," Sarah softly alerted the scientist.

Elisa retrieved K-Mart's vial and mentioned, "Clear the laptop screen for me." She moved away from the desk.

Sarah closed out the report on the screen then turned in place as the doors slid open. She wasn't surprised by Alice's hesitation when Sarah was seen for the first time.

"Good morning, Alice," Elisa warmly greeted.

Alice was staring at the stranger behind Doctor Green. She was uneasy and energy built up around her. "Who is this?" She didn't smell anything from the stranger, which put her on edge further.

"It's the White Queen," Doctor Green explained. She was glad when most of the tension receded from Alice.

Alice approached the AI and realized the hologram was more human-like than before. She inhaled deeper when she was a few feet away from the AI. Again no scent filled Alice. "Still a hologram." She started slowly walking around the hologram.

"A solid hologram," Sarah clarified.

Alice appreciated the hologram's realistic body. All that was recognizable to Alice was the British accent that was distinct to the Red and White Queens. But that once childlike voice was now replaced with a grown woman.

Sarah had her head turned sidelong and watched the hybrid finish her inspection. "I can operate anywhere within the facility." She held out her hand at Alice after they were facing each other again. "My name is Sarah."

Alice grunted at the human name given to the AI. She looked at the offered hand and humored the AI. She was taken aback when her hand didn't pass through the hologram, and they actually shook for the first time. She lifted her eyes to AI, who had a distinct smirk that rattled Alice.

"I'm glad you made it back from Japan," Sarah politely commented.

Alice released hands and took a step back. She wasn't sure what to say so she looked at Doctor Green.

"Sarah and I have the initial report on your blood," Elisa mentioned.

Alice was curious, but she shook her head. "I rather have Claire here."

"I agree." Elisa indicated the vial in her hand. "I have to perform some tests on K-Mart's blood."

"We'll catch up with you later then," Alice decided. She glanced briefly at the AI then back to Elisa. "I saw K-Mart... she looks good."

Elisa nodded and promised, "She'll recover just fine."

Alice as glad to hear it. She said goodbye then went in pursuit of her partner, who was awake now and moving about in the facility. Alice followed her bond to track down her partner and frowned once she realized where Claire had wandered off to in the facility.

Claire Redfield entered the bizarre room that was some kind of replica. Her heart quickened after she felt like she stepped into the Twilight Zone. She knew it was once a hallway of sorts but the wood floor was absolutely destroyed from a battle. Claire brushed past a turned over sofa chair then carefully made her way through the wreckage.

Most likely her partner had fought Doctor Isaacs here over a year ago. Behind Claire there was a gaping hole in the wall at the other end but straight ahead a statue was covered by plastic. Beside the statue was another gaping hole that led into an odd room that was lighted and full of glass. Claire was curious until her attention was drawn to a ruined chess table on her left. She carefully went over to it but knelt down. She retrieved a framed picture forgotten under broken floorboards.

The picture's glass was badly cracked and the shards fell away as it was lifted up from the floor. Once the dim light exposed the black and white photo, the young faces in the photo smiled up at Claire. For a few seconds, Claire stared in shock at who she presumed to be her partner with a nameless man. Alice appeared happy in her wedding gown while her groom was more reserved. Claire stood up slowly and continued absorbing the wedding photo. But she was comforted by the warmth from her bond and peered up at her partner at her side.

Alice had silently entered the room and noted the photo that Claire had in her hands. "That was Spence," she softly told.

"The guy that stole the virus," Claire murmured. She bit her lip and studied the picture more. "You were legally married?"

"Yes." Alice remembered fragments from the wedding day. "It was our cover so we could live in the mansion." She knew she'd explained it to Claire before.

Claire wasn't concerned about the legitimate marriage because it certainly didn't matter now. "Did you feel anything for him?"

Alice huffed and honestly replied, "Once upon a time... in a previous life." She felt like Casey and Janus were closer to her past than she was anymore.

Claire accepted it and wasn't bothered by it in the least. She'd once had feelings for Jill Valentine, who was by all accounts still possibly alive. She then tossed the photo like a frisbee onto the chess table and faced her partner. "Well this place looks like a warzone."

Alice turned on her heels and admired her handy work from a year ago. "I did a nice job remodeling, don't you think?"

Claire chuckled and bumped her partner with her shoulder. "So what's the news from Doctor Green?"

Alice studied the destroyed floor under them. "She wanted to speak to us both."

"But she has results then?" the leader checked.

"Yes."

Claire nodded then decided to go. "I guess we better meet up with her." She'd already seen K-Mart earlier this morning, but K-Mart had been asleep. She planned to check in on her sister after their meeting with Doctor Green.

Alice followed her partner out of the former testing area for the clones. She felt better after getting away from the area of bad memories, not just for her but the dead clones. Her skin still crawled even today.

Doctor Green withdrew from her work with K-Mart's blood after Sarah told her that Alice and Claire were coming to the labs.

Sarah decided to introduce herself to Claire Redfield then leave Doctor Green to talk to them. She was well received by the human leader and traded a warm handshake. She then excused herself and promised Doctor Green she'd finish the tests on K-Mart's blood.

Elisa watched the AI leave then she focused on the couple. "Let's sit down," she suggested. She took her laptop from the desk then joined the pair at a small round table that had a few files. Elisa moved the files aside then put the laptop off to near them.

"So what'd you find out about Alice's blood," Claire prompted first.

"You were right that the T-virus seems to have stabilized the G-virus in Alice's system." Elisa pushed the notebook's lid down because it was bright. She figured she could show them the data later.

"That's good," Claire concluded.

Elisa nodded then glanced at Alice, who stayed silent but quite alert. "From some comparable data left from Doctor Isaacs' research, it appears that Alice's blood has gone further than just bonding with the T-virus." She leaned back in the chair but studied Alice. "Your blood and body have more or less merged with the T-virus. From the looks of it, the G-virus induced it."

"How did the G-virus induce it?" Claire posed.

Elisa looked at the leader. "My guess is that the T-virus and Alice's body couldn't fight off the G-virus and instead joined so that the G-virus could be controlled."

Claire folded her arms in her lap then switched gears. "Are the mutations over?"

Elisa brushed her hair out of the way and noted the worry coming off both of them. "I wouldn't say they're... over." She watched Claire shut her eyes and Alice looked away in frustration. "But they're dormant." Elisa found Claire's worried gaze back on her. "The G-virus is under control, but it exerts itself most likely through death."

Claire furrowed her eyebrows and looked at her partner. "Maybe that explains your new power." She didn't want to think back on Alice drowning in the swampy pool.

Alice nodded. "My telekinesis has strengthened," she revealed to Elisa. "To the point that I can fly for a length of time."

Elisa was surprised and somewhat excited. "That is extraordinary." She sat up in the chair. "To be able to have the mental capacity to lift and move your weight through the air is exceptional." She brightened at the prospect of being able to test Alice of her new powers. She knew a few others of Alice's powers thanks to Casey telling her.

"Are the mutations always going to be more powers?" Claire asked.

"It's hard to say," Elisa seriously replied. She thought back on her testing with the G-virus in the Hive. "Most likely not. Carriers of the G-virus showed continuous physical mutations after death while their powers seemed to reach a pinnacle."

Alice frowned at this news. "Can I die? Or age?"

"You will age," Elisa promised. "Most likely very slowly, I suspect." She then sighed and promised, "You can die... it's just a lot more difficult." Her eyes flickered to Claire. "You may age slower too, but I'm not certain yet."

"Then the virus is affecting Claire," Alice guessed.

"To a very minimal degree," Elisa responded. "On a cellular level, the G-virus isn't attacking Claire's blood cells."

"Why is that?"

Elisa considered Claire's question then answered, "I think it knows it's outnumbered."

"It's not going to start a fight." Alice was relieved to hear that part at least. "Can it be cured?"

"There was never a cure produced in the Hive for the G-virus." Elisa bowed her head and recalled the research that she'd done in a prior life. "It is possible that whoever is reviving the G-virus may have a cure." She looked at the pair again. "But I don't recommend that course of action for Claire." She shifted in the seat. "From what Sarah's reports are showing, the G-virus in you is specifically coded to Alice."

"Meaning what exactly?" Claire wasn't understanding why Elisa thought the G-virus was a plus for her.

"Meaning the G-virus in Alice's system has her DNA in it." Elisa wasn't sure she could explained it. "Now you carry it too." She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "I suspect you both have gained a few benefits from it."

Claire couldn't help her flush, but she looked at her partner. "Yes... a few." She rubbed her neck once then dropped her hand to her lap.

"There are some things to stay aware of," Elisa mentioned. She didn't want the human leader to get embarrassed further. "The G-virus carrier tends to... rely on their most basic instincts." She remembered what'd happened to a few test subjects in the Hive.

"More animalistic," Claire tried. She caught Elisa's nod so she raised an eyebrow at her partner.

Alice sighed and ignored Claire now.

"A carrier also has quite interesting mating habits," Elisa offhandedly mentioned. She cleared her throat because Claire flushed hotly this time. She decided to cut that part short by simply mentioning, "Once a carrier selects a mate then it's for life." She knowingly smirked at Claire and joked, "Consider yourself married."

"Thanks," Claire poked back.

Elisa chuckled, but she saw how Alice remained stoic. She grabbed her notebook but faltered from opening it yet. Sarah's running steps made her go still.

"There is a problem," Sarah warned the group.

Elisa thought it was from K-Mart's blood.

Claire stood up as her heart jumped into her throat. Her racing mind settled on a looming danger that she'd foreseen awhile back. "It's Wesker."

Sarah sharply looked at the human leader. She blinked and processed how Claire already knew the alarm. Could humans read AI's minds too? "Yes."

"What?" Alice popped out of her chair.

Elisa jerked her screen open and started pulling the alarm from Sarah. "Oh my god," she breathed.

"I am alerting Janus and Casey," Sarah coolly stated. She blinked and looked at Elisa. "The facility is completely surrounded."

Elisa switched over to the external cameras that were above ground. She forced the cameras to pan around, and she took in the hundreds of undead outside the fencing.

Claire looked at her partner. "I knew that bastard survived that explosion."

Alice clenched her teeth, but she looked to her right when Janus came running into the lab.

Janus had a sheathed sword in her left hand. "How many undead?"

"Hundreds," Elisa whispered in fear. "There's no way..."

"I thought you killed Wesker." Janus looked at Alice.

Alice growled, "I thought so too." A soft yet distinct blue glow started in her eyes. She wanted Wesker's head in her hands. "I will deal with this." She shifted away from the group.

"I'm going with you," Claire sharply stated. She planned to get loaded up on weapons.

Alice halted and wanted to order Claire to stay behind. But she looked at the stern features on her partner's face. She knew that she couldn't stop Claire.

"I will join you." Janus put on her sheathed sword across her back and slipped past the scientist and AI. She looked at Sarah. "Be sure to seal off the elevator after we get above ground. Activate all defense systems."

Sarah nodded and had already activated most of the defense systems.

"Janus, you could be..." Elisa was standing up and stared worriedly at the clone.

Janus sensed the scientist's fears, but she reminded, "This is my job." Her eye contact with Elisa was broken by Casey entering the lab next with K-Mart in tow.

Claire clenched her jaw at seeing K-Mart out of bed. But she couldn't do anything about it right now.

"I heard," Casey calmly brought up. She looked at Claire and offered, "I'll get the armory open."

"I'll join you." Janus came over to her twin.

Casey hastily followed Janus out of the labs.

Claire approached her sister and opened her mouth, but K-Mart beat her to it.

"I'm staying," K-Mart promised. She sadly smiled at Claire's relieved sigh then she pleaded, "Be careful." She looked at Alice. "Both of you."

"Stay down here until we return," Alice ordered.

K-Mart nodded and hoped that they would return. She swallowed hard. She didn't like this at all. She knew what Wesker was capable of and would have been on his dinner list if it hadn't been for Claire, Alice, and Chris.

Alice patted her friend's shoulder then she and Claire left the labs.

Elisa and Sarah approached the recovering teen. Elisa had a slight frown and mentioned, "You should still be resting."

K-Mart grinned and mentioned, "I'm stubborn and don't listen."

"Thankfully," Elisa whispered. She wasn't sure if K-Mart would have pulled through otherwise. She watched the doors slide shut behind K-Mart.

K-Mart looked at Sarah and didn't recall meeting her before. "Are you that fancy computer?"

Sarah cracked a smile and held out her hand. "Yes. I'm Sarah."

K-Mart slightly pursed her lips, but she took the hand without a second thought. "The name's K-Mart."

Sarah canted her head and dryly commented, "I should have picked Wal-Mart for my name."

"Sarah," Elisa warned.

K-Mart rolled her eyes and dropped hands. "An AI with a sense of humor." She crinkled up her nose. "Pretty cool." She looked at the scientist. "So is there any way we can see what's happening outside?"

"Come here." Elisa guided K-Mart over to the table that had her laptop. "This is the live feed from the cameras outside."

K-Mart bent forward after putting her hands in her jean pockets. "Oh my god." She stared in horror. "There weren't any undead out there when Casey brought me here."

"No." Elisa was pulling up the control of the camera feeds.

"The undead left after the clones buried the dead ones in the ditch," Sarah casually informed the human.

K-Mart was confused and looked at the AI. "You mean the dead clones from Doctor Isaac's experiments?"

"Yes." Sarah turned to K-Mart. "Alice, Janus, and Casey buried them together in the desert about half a mile from here."

K-Mart frowned at this and imagined how hard it must have been for them to bury the tortured clones. She shook her head and brushed her still damp strands from her face.

"Sarah, can you hack into Umbrella's satellites?" Doctor Green took the chair in front of her and adjusted the laptop so they could all look at it. "I want satellite imagery of the facility from overhead." She needed to know how big the undead swarm was above ground.

"Yes." Sarah features went still. "Stand by, please."

K-Mart glanced at the AI, who was focused on her task. But the notebook's flashing screen drew her attention down. She watched as the large satellite image of a desert formed on the screen.

"Zoom in as close as you can," Elisa ordered. She watched the image start to drill down until it was centered on a mile wide radius of the facility.

"Holy shit," K-mart whispered. "There's thousands out there." She was baffled and asked, "Where did they come from?"

"They most likely traveled here while I was offline," Sarah explained.

Elisa shook her head and pointed at an odd spot on the screen. "Sarah, can you zoom in that spot." Something in red caught her eye.

Sarah glanced at the screen where Doctor Green was pointing so she started gathering more detailed images for that location.

K-Mart leaned over the scientist, and her jaw slackened instantly. She stared in awe as her heart sunk into her stomach.

"Oh my... god." Elisa hastily climbed out of the chair. "Oh my god." Her mind was racing what to do until she realized she had to get to Alice. She nearly tripped around the chair then bolted out of the lab.

K-Mart covered her mouth and continued staring at what'd formed the red pool on the screen. She looked over her shoulder when Doctor Green raced through the opening doors.

Elisa was sprinting as fast as she could go. She saw Heather just ahead.

"What the Hell is going on?" Heather yelled at her friend.

Elisa blew past the programmer but hollered, "Get to the lab." She increased her speed and took the steps up to the upper levels after slamming through the metal door. She was sweating by the time she made it to the level that had the main elevator to the ground. She rounded the corner but cursed at seeing the main elevator was already going up to the top.

"Sarah, why didn't you tell me... they were gone?!" Elisa was distraught and slapped the sealed elevator. She sucked in a few heavy breaths.

"You did not state your intentions." Sarah formed next to the scientist and solidified. "I would have locked the elevator." She placed her hands behind her back.

Elisa smacked the metal doors again and took a deep breath. She shook her head once she realized it was too late to warn them. "It's a goddamn trap." She turned on the AI.

Sarah nodded then informed, "They are aware of that, Elisa."

Elisa stepped into the AI's space and hotly snapped, "But they're not aware of what they're up against." She looked back at the elevator's digital readout, which flashed a bright red 'G' for the ground floor. She worriedly murmured, "God help them."

Continued.