Zero Hour, Książki, Resident Evil - Zero Hour
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]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
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