The Umbrella Conspiracy (Resident Evil #1)

The Umbrella Conspiracy (Resident Evil #1) Page 21

Jill and barry ran from the elevator back toward the main hall of B3, the cool voice informing them that they had four and a half minutes.

They hit the open corridor at a dead run, sprinting around the corner and saw Chris Redfield halfway up the metal stairs.

Chris! Jill shouted.

He spun around, his face lighting up as he saw them dashing toward him.

Hurry! he shouted. There's a heliport on Bl!

Thank God!

Chris waited until they reached the base of the stairs and then ran ahead, rushing around the walkway and holding open the door that led to the ladder.

Jill and Barry made it to the top and sped through, the computer telling them that they had four minutes, fifteen seconds to get away.

Barry went up the ladder first and Jill followed, Chris right behind. They piled out into Bl. Jill saw that Rebecca Chambers was standing at the emergency exit, her youthful face tight with anxiety.

Chris hustled her through the door and the four of them ran through a winding concrete hall, Jill praying silently that they'd have time to clear the estate.

I hope you burn here, Wesker.

There was a large elevator at the end of the corridor and Barry slammed the gate open, holding it as they rushed inside. He jumped in after them. They had four minutes even.

The elevator seemed to crawl upward and Jill looked at her watch, heart pounding as the seconds ticked past.

Not gonna make it, we'll never make it.

The lift hummed to a stop and Chris yanked the gate open, the cool air of early morning sweeping over them and the sweet, wondrous sound of a helicopter overhead, circling.

He heard me! Rebecca shouted, and Jill grinned, feeling a sudden wave of affection for the rookie.

The helicopter port was huge, the wide, flat space surrounded by high walls, a circle of yellow paint on the asphalt showing Brad where to set down. Barry and Chris both waved their arms frantically, signaling the pilot to hurry as Jill looked at her watch again. A little over three and a half minutes remained. More than enough time...

CRASH!

Jill whirled around, saw chunks of concrete and tar fly into the air and rain down over the northwest corner of the landing pad. A giant claw stretched up from the hole, fell across the jagged lip and the pale, hulking Tyrant leaped out onto the heliport, rose smoothly from its agile crouch... and started toward them.

What the hell is that?

It had to be eight feet tall, parts of its giant body mutilated and deformed, its grinning face focusing on them even as it stood up. It moved toward them at a slow walk, the massive claw of its left arm flexing.

No time, Brad can't land.

Chris targeted the dark, tumorous thing on its chest and fired, pulling the trigger five times in rapid succession, three of the rounds finding their mark.

The other two were within an inch of the pulsing Redness... and the creature didn't even slow down.

Scatter! Barry yelled.

The S.T.A.R.S. split, Jill pulling Rebecca to the farthest corner from the towering monster, Chris sprinting toward the southern wall. Barry stood his ground, pointing his Colt at the approaching beast.

Three.357 rounds slammed into its belly, the thundering shots echoing against the high concrete walls.

The creature suddenly sped up, running toward Barry, drawing its giant claw back and as Barry dove out of the way, the thing swept past him in a running crouch, bringing its claw up as if throwing a ball underhand. Its talons gouged the asphalt, ripping through it as though it was no more solid than water.

As soon as the monster was past, it stopped running, turning almost casually back to watch Barry scramble to his feet and fire again.

The bullet took out a fleshy chunk of its right shoulder. Thick blood coursed down its wide chest and joined the dripping, open mass of its stomach.

Overhead, the Alpha 'copter still circled, unable to Land and there was still no sign that the immense creature felt the injuries. It started its run again, dropping its terrible, inhuman hand down as it went for Barry just as his revolver clicked on empty.

Barry sprinted away, but the charging monster veered with him and its sweeping claw glanced against his side, tumbling him to the ground.

Barry!

Chris raced toward the creature, firing into its back as it bent down over the fallen Alpha. Barry was scrambling backwards, his vest shredded, his eyes wide with terror and it must have felt the sting of the bullets because it turned, fixing its emotionless stare on Chris. Barry staggered to his feet and limped quickly away.

We don't have any time!

Chris emptied the clip, the last several rounds hitting it in the face. Pieces of tooth flew from the creature's lipless mouth, spattering to the asphalt in a rain of white and red. The creature didn't seem to notice as it started to run toward him at incredible speed.

Jill and Rebecca were both firing, shouting, trying to turn its attention away from Chris but it was already fixated, pounding toward him and drawing its claw back - wait for it.

He dove to the side at the last possible second and the monster went flying past, its claw mulching the asphalt where he'd just been standing.

Chris ran, the horrible awareness dawning on him that the seconds were slipping past and that they couldn't kill it in time.

Barry felt blood seeping from his thigh, the top several layers of his skin sliced neatly away by the Tyrant's brutal swipe. The pain was bearable; the knowledge that they were going to die wasn't.

We 'II blow up if we don't get chopped to pieces first.

Tyrant turned its attention to Jill and Rebecca, both of them firing again at the seemingly invulnerable monster. It started its smooth, easy walk toward them, still indifferent to the bloody holes in its body.

Shotgun blasts hit it in the legs and chest, nine millimeter bullets speckled its pasty flesh, and it didn't falter, kept on walking.

Wind whipped down over Barry as the roar of the helicopter's blades suddenly got louder. He heard a screaming shout come from above.

Incoming!

Barry stared up at the 'copter, hovering only twenty feet from the ground and saw a heavy black object fly out of the open door on the side, hitting the tar with an audible thud.

Chris was closest. He ran for it.

The Tyrant had almost reached Jill and Rebecca.

The two of them split, each headed in a different direction and the creature turned toward Jill without hesitating, tracking her with its strange, fixed gaze.

Jill, this way! Chris screamed.

Barry spun and saw that Chris had the bulky rocket launcher propped on his shoulder.

Yes!

Jill veered toward Chris, the Tyrant close behind.

Clear!

She leaped to one side and rolled as Chris fired, the whoosh of the rocket-propelled grenade almost lost to the thundering beat of the 'copter's rotors.

The explosion wasn't. The grenade hit the Tyrant square in the chest and in a burst of incendiary light and deafening sound, it blew the monster into a million smoking pieces.

Even as tattered shreds of flesh and bone hailed down over them, Brad lowered the 'copter back toward the ground and the four S.T.A.R.S. ran for it.

The rails hadn't touched yet as Jill dove into the open cabin, Chris and Rebecca and Barry all throwing themselves in after her.

Go, Brad, now! Jill screamed.

The bird lifted into the air and sped away.