Resident Evil - 00 - Zero Hour - S. D. Perry.pdf - Resident Evil - jezkiller

PROLOGUE

THE train swayed and rocked as it traveled through the

Raccoon woods, the thunder of its wheels echoed by a

thundering twilight sky.

Bill Nyberg rifled through the Hardy file, his briefcase on the

floor at his feet. It had been a long day, and the gentle rocking

of the train soothed him. It was late, after eight, but the Ecliptic

Express was mostly full, as it often was for the dinner hour. It

was a company train, and since the renovation—Umbrella had

gone to great expense to make it classically retro, everything

from velvet seats to chandeliers in the dining car—a lot of

employees brought family or friends along to experience the

atmosphere. There were usually a number of out-of-towners on

board as well, having caught the connection out of Latham, but

Nyberg would have bet that nine out of ten of them worked for

Umbrella, too. Without the pharmaceutical giant's support,

Raccoon City wouldn't even be a wide spot in the road.

One of the car attendants walked past, nodding at Nyberg

when he saw the Umbrella pin on his lapel. The small pin

marked him as a regular commuter. Nyberg nodded back. A

flicker of lightning outside was quickly followed by another

rumble of thunder; it seemed there was a summer storm

brewing. Even in the cool comfort of the train, the air seemed

charged, thick with the tension of impending rain.

And my coat is ... in the trunk?

Wonderful. His car was at the far end of the station lot, too.

He'd be drenched before he got halfway across.

Sighing, he returned his attention to the file, settling back into

his seat. He'd already reviewed the material a number of times,

but he wanted to be on top of every detail. A ten-year-old girl

named Teresa Hardy had been involved in a clinical trial for a

new pediatric heart medication, Valifin. As it turned out, the

drug did exactly what it was supposed to do—but it also caused

renal failure, and in Teresa Hardy's case, the damage had been

severe. She'd survive, but would likely spend the rest of her life

on dialysis, and the family's lawyer was seeking hefty damages.

The case had to be settled quickly, the Hardy family kept quiet

before they could drag their ailing, cherub-cheeked moppet in

front of a media-packed courtroom ... which was where Nyberg

and his team came in. The trick was to offer just enough to make

the family happy, but not so much as to encourage their

lawyer—one of those strip-mall, "we don't get paid unless you

get paid" outfits—to get greedy. Nyberg had a knack for

handling ambulance chasers; he'd have it settled before little

Teresa got back from her first treatment. It was what Umbrella

paid him for.

Rain splattered loudly against the window, as though someone

had thrown a bucket of water against the pane. Startled, Nyberg

turned to look out, just as several dull thumps sounded on the

train's roof. Terrific. Had to be a hailstorm or something...

A crackle of lightning flickered across the thickening darkness,

illuminating the small but steep hill that marked the deepest part

of the forest. Nyberg looked up, and saw a tall figure silhouetted

against the trees at the crest of the hill, someone in a long coat

or robe, the dark fabric rippling in the wind. The figure raised

long arms to the raging sky—

—and the stutter of lightning was gone, plunging the strange,

dramatic scene back into darkness.

"What the—" Nyberg began, and more water splashed across

the glass—except it wasn't water, because water didn't stick in

great, dark clumps; water didn't ooze and break apart, revealing

dozens of shining needle teeth. Nyberg blinked, not sure what

he was seeing as someone started to scream at the other end of

the car, a long, rising wail, as more of the dark, slug like

creatures, each the size of a man's fist, smashed against the

window. The sound of hail on the roof went from a patter to a

storm, the thunder of it drowning out the screamer, the screams

of many now.

Not hail, that's not hail!

Hot panic shot through Nyberg's body, sending him to his feet.

He made it to the aisle before the glass behind him shattered,

before glass all through the train was shattering, the high, jagged

sound of it melding with the screams of terror, all of it nearly

lost beneath the ongoing thunder of attack. As the lights went

out, something cold and wet and very much alive landed on the

back of his neck and began to feed.

ONE

THE helicopter spun through the darkness over Raccoon

Forest.

Rebecca Chambers sat up straight, willing herself to look as

calm as the men around her. The mood was solemn, as dark and

clouded as the skies whipping past, all jokes and jabs left behind

at the briefing. This wasn't a training exercise. Three more

people, hikers, had gone missing—in a forest as large as the one

surrounding Raccoon, not that unusual—but with the rash of

savage murders that had terrorized the small city over the past

several weeks, "missing" had taken on new meaning. Only a few

days earlier there'd been a ninth victim found, this one as ripped

up and savaged as if it had been run through a meat grinder.

People were being killed, savagely attacked by someone or

some thing around the outskirts of the city, and the Raccoon

police weren't getting anywhere. The city's chapter of

S.T.A.R.S. had finally been called in to investigate.

Rebecca raised her chin slightly, a pulse of pride edging

through her nervousness. Although her degree was in

biochemistry, she'd been tapped as Bravo team's field medic,

joining the team less than a month earlier.

My first mission. Which means I'd better not cock it up.

She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, working to keep

her expression casual. Edward shot her an encouraging smile,

and Sully leaned across the crowded cabin to reassuringly pat

her leg. So much for looking cool. As smart as she was, as ready

as she was to begin her career, she couldn't help her age, or the

fact that she looked even younger. At eighteen, she was the

youngest person to be accepted into the S.T.A.R.S. since its

creation in 1967 ... and as the only female on Raccoon's B team,

everyone treated her like their kid sister.

She sighed, smiling back at Edward, nodding at Sully. It wasn't

so bad, having a handful of hardass big brothers watching out

Resident Evil - 00 - Zero Hour - S. D. Perry.pdf

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