For advance 40+ chapters patreon.com/TranslationGod?
"Sir, the mansion's defense system activated. She's probably still experiencing side effects."
The mercenary interrogating Alice stepped back, frustration evident in his body language. These people clearly knew more than they were letting on.
He turned his attention to Marcus and Matt. "What about these two? Get anything?"
Another mercenary checked his handheld scanner. "Nothing, sir. Matt Addison and Marcus Reed—neither one matches our database."
Click.
The mercenary standing over Matt chambered a round in his rifle.
"Just shoot them here. Loose ends."
Matt went pale. "Wait—you can't! I just transferred to this precinct. They haven't processed my paperwork yet!"
The mercenary near Alice—the bald one who'd been questioning her—considered this. "Local PD is understaffed. It's possible."
He raised a hand before his subordinate could pull the trigger. "Don't waste them yet. Bring them along. We'll sort it out later."
As he spoke, the mercenaries began removing their gas masks. The bald man was first—dark skin, strong jaw, the bearing of someone who'd been in command for a long time.
Marcus recognized him from the films. James Shade, team leader. Competent, professional, doomed.
The others followed suit, revealing faces that ranged from tense to bored. This was just another job for them.
James surveyed the group. "Prep for Hive entry. Move."
One of the mercs approached the wall panel Alice had been examining earlier. He input a code, and the decorative mirror slid aside with a pneumatic hiss, revealing the security door behind it. After another moment of interface work, that door opened too.
Stairs led down into darkness.
James gestured. "Single file. Stay tight."
They descended in silence—Marcus and Matt still zip-tied, Alice walking freely but under close watch. The stairs spiraled down for what felt like several stories before opening onto a platform.
A small tram sat waiting on tracks that disappeared into a tunnel. The vehicle looked utilitarian, designed for transporting personnel and equipment, not comfort.
A mercenary checked the controls. "Power's out."
"Fix it," James ordered.
Two techs went to work. Marcus watched them rewire the tram's power coupling, his telekinetic awareness tracking every movement. Through the walls, deeper into the complex, he could sense something else—
A person. Unconscious. Behind a door, slumped on the floor.
And next to that person: a briefcase. Inside it, vials of something important. The T-virus samples, if Marcus was remembering the plot correctly. And the antidote.
"Got it," one of the techs announced. The tram hummed to life, interior lights flickering on.
"Load up," James said.
The team boarded efficiently, hauling their equipment and checking their weapons. Marcus and Matt were shoved into seats near the middle. Alice sat across from them, staring at her hands like they held answers.
The tram lurched forward, accelerating smoothly into the tunnel. The walls blurred past, lit by periodic strip lights. The track angled downward, descending deeper beneath Raccoon City.
Marcus extended his awareness ahead. The unconscious man was getting closer—
"Hold up." One of the mercs was peering through a window in the tram's side door. "There's another compartment here."
James nodded. "Check it."
They brought the tram to a halt. Two mercenaries forced open a door that had been hidden in shadow. Something heavy tumbled out—
A man. Unconscious, dressed in casual clothes, sprawled across the floor.
Every weapon in the tram swung toward him.
"Clear!" someone shouted after a tense moment. "He's out cold."
A female medic—Rain, Marcus thought her name was—knelt beside the man and checked his vitals. "Pulse is steady. Breathing's normal. Looks like the same gas exposure as the others."
Alice leaned forward in her seat, staring at the unconscious man. Her expression shifted—confusion, then recognition, then more confusion.
She's remembering something, Marcus realized.
Alice's hand moved to her finger, touching a ring there. She pulled it off slowly, examining the inscription. Then she looked at the man's hand. Same ring.
Her face went blank. "Who...?"
"Ma'am?" Rain looked up.
Alice shook her head, not answering.
The man stirred, groaning. His eyes fluttered open, unfocused and disoriented. Rain helped him sit up.
"Name," she said firmly.
"I... I don't know." His voice was hoarse, confused. He looked around at the armed soldiers surrounding him. "What's happening? Where am I?"
Rain checked his pupils with a penlight. "He's fine. Amnesia, same as the others."
James gestured. "Get him secured. We're moving."
They hauled the man—Spence, Marcus knew, though no one had said it yet—into a seat. He sat there looking lost, occasionally glancing at Alice like he might recognize her.
The tram started again, picking up speed. A few minutes later, the tunnel widened and they emerged into a larger station. Harsh fluorescent lights illuminated a platform and a set of heavy blast doors.
"Final stop," the driver announced.
They disembarked, weapons up, scanning for threats. The platform was empty—no bodies, no signs of struggle. Just eerie silence.
James pointed at the blast doors. "Open it."
Two techs moved forward with their equipment, connecting to the door's access panel. Marcus watched the security camera in the corner rotate slightly, its lens focusing on the group.
She's watching, he thought. The Red Queen. Already aware of their presence.
While they waited, Alice approached James. "Listen," she said, voice tight. "Who are you people? What the hell happened here?"
James glanced at her, then at the others. "You really don't remember?"
"No. I don't remember anything."
"Tell me now!" Alice's patience was clearly wearing thin.
James sighed, clearly weighing how much to reveal. "My name is James Shade. You and I work for the same employer—the Umbrella Corporation. That mansion up top? Emergency entrance to this facility. You were security. Guarded the door."
Alice held up the ring. "And this?"
James barely looked at it. "Your marriage was a cover. Fake. Part of your assignment to maintain operational security for the Hive."
Alice's face went through several emotions at once. Confusion. Anger. Disbelief.
Across the platform, Spence was listening too, his expression troubled. Like pieces were trying to fit together in his mind but wouldn't quite connect.
"What's the Hive?" Matt asked, speaking up for the first time since they'd been captured.
James nodded at one of his team. A mercenary pulled out a ruggedized laptop, tapped a few keys, and turned the screen so everyone could see. A 3D wireframe diagram rotated on the display—the mansion, the train tunnel, and below it, a massive underground structure.
"This," James said, pointing, "is where we are. The mansion connects to this tram line, which brings us down here. The Hive."
He traced his finger along the diagram. "The Hive sits five hundred feet beneath Raccoon City. It's a research facility—highly classified, owned and operated by Umbrella. Five hundred personnel work here. Scientists, technicians, support staff. They live underground for weeks at a time."
"Researching what?" Alice asked.
"That's classified. But it's important enough to require this level of security."
Spence frowned. "Why can't I remember anything?"
"The Hive's defense system," James explained. "It's automated, controlled by an AI called the Red Queen. When there's a containment breach—or any major security event—the system can flood certain areas with aerosolized sedatives. Knocks everyone out for four hours, maybe more. Side effect is memory loss. Could be an hour, could be a week. Varies by person."
"Why would the system activate?" Matt pressed.
James's jaw tightened. "That's what we're here to find out."
"Captain!" The tech at the door waved. "We're in. Door's opening."
The blast doors groaned, hydraulics straining. Slowly, they parted, revealing a dark corridor beyond.
James checked his rifle. "Lights on. Standard formation. Stay alert."
One of the mercs entered first, night vision goggles glowing green in the darkness. After a moment, he called back, "Clear so far. Found the breaker."
Chunk.
The lights flickered on, revealing a large chamber—some kind of elevator lobby. Four elevator shafts surrounded them, all with their doors hanging open.
James peered into one of the shafts, then dropped a chem light. It fell and fell and fell before hitting bottom with a distant tink.
"Elevators are trashed," he said. "We're taking the stairs."
He pointed to a service stairwell in the corner, its door already hanging ajar.
Marcus felt his pulse quicken—not from fear, but anticipation. Down those stairs, the Hive awaited. And with it, hundreds of zombies, a psychotic AI, and the secrets of Umbrella Corporation.
But also: the technology he needed. The biotech research. The Red Queen's programming.
He stepped forward with the others, zip ties still on his wrists, and began descending into the dark.
(End of Chapter)