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zombie_festTitle: BioHazard
'Verse: Just Another Reason to Hate the Government (No Real Time Set, Stand Alone)
Rating: R (some really disturbing imagery)
Characters: Sam, Dean, Alec (X5-494), Keegan.
Pairing: Alec/Keegan
Spoilers: Supernatural, All; Dark Angel, Working Knowledge; Resident Evil 2 (Game and Movie)
Warning: Crossover, Dark Angel, Resident Evil (Biohazard for you overseas)
Word Count:8758
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Dark Angel, both belong to their respective owners. (And Capcom owns Resident Evil/Biohazard).
Summary: “But! Dude! Zombies!”*
*Not your typical Zombie fic. Then again, its Zombies in a Dark Angel/Supernatural Universe… See author’s notes at the end.
Confused?:Here
Comments are love. Seriously.
did i do it right?
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE
“I got a case.” Dean glanced up from the remains of his breakfast to give his clone a doubtful look. “Oh, come on. You haven’t even heard it yet.”
“Give it a chance, Dean.” Sam called from the couch. Dean seriously considered sacrificing some hash brown to the ‘Annoy Sammy’ cause…but, upon further thought, hunger won out.
“Ok, Alec, let’s hear it.”
Alec took a moment to roll his eyes before handing over a manila folder. Dean raised his eyebrows. Alec gave another little impatient shove with the folder. Dean repeated the eyebrow thing—just in case he missed it the first time.
“Damnit, Dad, take the fucking folder.” After Sam called another resigned ‘Dean…’, Dean lazily reached for the folder, flipping it open, and scoffing.
“You are officially disowned as my clone. This is meticulous.”
“Blame Manticore.” The tone was his usual, joking, if a little tense. However, when Dean glanced up at Alec’s yellow-green eyes, there was a surprising lack of humor there.
“Nah,” he said, shifting his eyes back to the first page of notes, “I blame Sam. He’s a good influence.” Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Alec’s lips quirk in a small smile, and counted it a win. His youngest brother had been in a weird and twitchy mood—answers were not forthcoming from either said clone or (as Dean privately thought, but loved to make public knowledge) his better half, Keegan. To be honest, Dean thought he was handling the whole my-younger-and-altered-clone-is-mated-to-the-chick-that-I-consider-my-blood-sister thing very well. Sam thought he was being an overly obnoxious older brother, but Sam was a prissy bitch half the time, so it didn’t really matter what he thought.
“I think this might be something, though, Dean. I mean, these people…all of them—and we’re talking a fair number over the years—just vanish. Gone.”
Dean nodded, mostly to make Alec think he was listening while he was actually focusing on the papers in front of him. Starting pre-Pulse (he was going to have to have a talk with Alec about where the fuck he was finding this shit), it had only been two over a period of fifteen years. The police never had any reason to link these particular instances (and Dean wasn’t quite sure Alec had any either) Then, in the early ‘00s, it was quiet. ’09 and the Pulse hit, and there was a upsurge of twenty disappearances (again, with so many people getting lost…) but then it immediately dropped back to the two until this year…
“Ok… a lot of unrelated disappearances…so what?” Alec gave him a look of long suffering.
“If you looked past the first page…All of those people that went missing? They all worked in one city—strange since they were from all parts of Pennsylvania…one of them even had a home address in New York.” Ok, so he was starting to see some pattern.
“And cities make a lot of people disappear, Alec.”
“Local authorities lost contact with Raccoon City three hours ago. The last communication screamed something about being attacked by creatures that wouldn’t die.” A smile spread across his face as he realized he had scored major points.
Dean wasn’t happy the kid realized this, but, hey, there was in all likelihood an actual case in this Raccoon City. “You might be on to something, Pretty Boy. Sam, what do you think?”
The annoyed expression slid from his face as he actually looked at Sam’s expression, which was worried. “Sam?”
“Alec, do you know why Raccoon City would be flagged in Manticore’s files?” Dean’s eyes flew back to his clone, who was wearing an expression of shock and surprise.
“Seriously? And they don’t have a reason for it?” Sam shook his head. “I don’t know, man. Remember, I was on a Need To Know basis. Even now, if they don’t tell you right there, we’re gonna have to figure it out on our own.”
Sam made an aggravated noise. “I knew you were going to say that.” He looked up at Dean. “That gives us two solid reasons to go check it out. Possible case, and possible Manticore intel. Do something for the Freak Nation, for once.” He said, glancing in Alec’s direction.
It was hard for Dean, looking at his clone to see anything but an annoyingly prettier (and blonde) version of himself. But Alec had been Second in Command at Terminal City, now officially Freak Nation, the one free place for transgenics and transhumans. He had helped with negotiations, even had planned on running for office…and then he had met his Original... his brothers…his Family.
Yeah, he could bend a little for the guy. Especially when he was already being torn in two. He nodded to Sam, who stood, and went to go get Keegan. Dean stood, handing the file back to Alec.
“Ok, then lets saddle up.”
***
“You would think they’d have road blocks or something…” Sam muttered, leaning a little out of the window, peering at the abandoned looking city looming in front of them.
Dean cast him one more nervous glance before reaching out and yanking him back down by his jacket. “Sit down.”
“Wow, Dean. Jumpy much?” Dean glared at Keegan in the rearview mirror. “Do we need to switch you back to decaf?”
“Oh gods, no!” Well, from Dean’s thoughts to apparently Alec’s vocal chords. “Cause, you know he switches our coffees when you do that, and I’m the only one who gets hurt.”
The added pout was enough to earn amused chuckles from everyone…but Dean still couldn’t quite shake the feeling that something…something was very wrong.
Alec and Keegan were continuing their decaf debates, with Sam refereeing as usual, and Dean took the time to look around, get a good bead on—
There was a flash of movement from the left hand side of the road, down an alley.
Dean slammed on the brakes, momentum throwing everyone forward. “What the fuck?” Sam yelled, cradling his head—he had hit the dashboard. Dean gave him a cursory glance—it really was just a bump—and went back to checking his gun.
“Saw something go down that alley.” He eyed the clip before slamming it into the gun. “This place is a fucking ghost town…if there’s something moving, I’m following it.” He gave them a long look before unbuckling his seat belt and shoving open the door.
“Dean, wait!” He paused, and smiled to himself. A moment later, Sam brushed his shoulder on his right, Alec just behind him. Keegan brought up the rear, walking backwards, gun held in a two handed grip, ready for action. “This thing took out communications to an entire city.”
“So did Croatoan.”
“Does anyone else think the air smells kinda funny?” Alec asked, nose angled up. He made a face. “I coulda sworn I smelt it before…can’t put my finger on it though…”
Predictably, Sam tilted his head back, sniffing with his mouth slightly open. “I get…death…lots of death…and this…sick smell…like rotting meat…”
Of course, now that Sam mentioned it, Dean had to smell it now, and it made him a little nauseous. He looked over at Alec. “So where would you have possibly picked up this lovely aroma?”
Alec shrugged, but the movement was nearly as carefree as it usually was.
Alec was nervous. And Dean kinda had to admit, he was too. But he took point anyway, with Alec to his left, and Sam to his right. Keegan kept her back against Alec’s, still watching their six. Walking down the alley, eyes sweeping back and forth, the smallest sound drawing a weapon.
The most disturbing thing to Dean was the lack of small sounds…he hadn’t even seen any rats…
A bottle rolled out in front of him, and he raised up on hand. Silently, all four came to a complete stop. The bottle clinked to a halt against Dean’s booted foot. Dean could feel Alec, Sam and Keegan press closer to him, he could feel their breathing…
A groan, and the sound of someone falling over. Dean hesitated….and then there was a high pitched scream. They all moved forward as one, still silently, and the scream sounded again.
Rounding the corner, Dean nearly choked. There was a person—or what used to be a person—and it was a boiling, rolling mass of fur and these strange tentacles… tails…they were tails. The person was covered with rats, being eaten alive and they were still screaming.
“Oh god.” Sam looked vaguely nauseous. “Oh god.”
Alec suddenly stepped in front of Dean, leveled his gun at the vague shape of the figure’s head, and fired. The body jerked once, then slumped over, causing some of the rats to squeak in alarm. “Alec! What the fuck!”
The man (boy) who looked back at Dean wasn’t Alec Winchester…and Dean was once again chilled by the soldier X5R-494. “Mercy. Would you rather have him suffer?”
“Alec.” It was all Keegan needed to say, and then there he was again, looking far too young, and much paler then before.
“Hey, guess we know where the rats went.” Dean muttered, glancing back at the still writhing pile of rats, wrinkling his nose a bit.
“It doesn’t answer any of our questions, though.” Sam said, obviously trying to block out the entire event. “And raises more questions…like why we’re suddenly dealing with carnivorous rats...unless you think they could be what's been taking people?”
“No. There were too few taken to start…and far too consistently to be this many rats.” Keegan jerked her head “Not our case…but perhaps…related?”
Dean shrugged, and kicked out at a rat that had ventured too near his foot, sniffing a little too hopefully. And the fucker dodged and hissed at him. “Lets keep moving, but keep it tight. I wanna scout this bitch out before we end up in any more shit.”
They made it to the far end of the alley.
“What the fuck happened here?” Alec whispered, looking slightly taken aback. Dean was wholly with him; there were cars everywhere, some crashed, some seemingly in blockades… news vans, civilian vehicles, cop cars…and there were bullet holes in everything from the windows to doors, to streetlamps and cars.
Most disturbing—aside from the copious amounts of blood smeared everywhere—was there was not a body to be found.
Then again, with those rats back there, there might be a reason for that…
“Dean…I think we may be in over our heads.” Sam said, staring out, gun lowering. Dean was just about to agree with him when he saw her.
She stumbled out of a doorway in the building forming one wall of the alley, sunlight catching her pale blonde hair and skin that was nearly white with fear. And she was wounded. “Hey!” She didn’t respond at first, just froze. Dean gentled his tone, sighing a bit at Alec, Sam and Keegan’s raised guns. “Hey, hun, you need help?”
“Dean, she doesn’t smell right.” Sam hissed, going pale.
“Guys, I’m not hearing your thoughts so I think we’re ok.” Dean hissed back, keeping his eyes on the woman. She was finally turning, making this horrible gasping wheeze that made Dean suspect broken ribs—
“Please tell me I’m not seeing what I think I’m seeing.” Keegan said in a voice very unlike her own.
The woman was missing half of her face. Her remaining eye was bloody and discolored. Her teeth were red, her gums black.
“We can’t be…it has to be a spirit.” Sam said, stepping back anyway. Dean figured the best way to figure out was just to shoot the damned thing. He was shocked as hell when the bullet made a twunk with impact into her sternum, and she staggered back, dark, jelly like blood oozing from the wound.
And then she just looked up at him. And snarled.
“Corporeal.” Dean reloaded his gun, eyes still on the woman, who was now staggering towards them. “Sammy? I thought you couldn’t resurrect a body that wasn’t mostly whole…and half of her face…”
“I think it was more of a preference for some of the rituals.”
Alec’s face lit up. “Wait. You’re not telling me I actually got—“
Dean held up a hand, ignoring Alec. “But, dude, if someone raised that many…it would be no wonder they got out of control.”
This time, both Keegan and Sam shook their heads. “Still doesn’t feel right.”
“But it’s the best we got.” Sam finished, looking grim. “And there’s no fucking way I am nailing all these fuckers to their grave beds.”
“Then maybe we should bail.” Dean fired another shot at the dead girl, sending her staggering back a few steps. “Though, these don’t quite seem as superior as Angela.”
“It’s possible its because we’re superior now too.”
Alec, however, was gaping at them, looking shocked. “Guys!” He was whining.
Dean really hated it when Alec whined. “Dude, good case, seriously. But this might be a bit big—“
“I can sense her fucking emotions.”
It took a moment for the statement to actually sink in, and then Dean just didn’t want to believe it. “That’s…weird.”
Alec’s eyes were back on the woman, who had staggered to her feet again. “You told me Angela was complex…human except for a rage that was deadly. That’s still emotionally complex. She only feels one thing.”
It was Keegan who took the bait, “What?”
“Hunger.”
Well that changed things. A rugaru. However, apparently Sam knew exactly what he was thinking, because he was shaking his head—and frustratingly not in agreement—and saying, “Can’t be, Dean. They’re territorial. And one just can’t take out an entire city.” Dean was ever so slightly cheered as he caught Sam flinch at the suddenness of his gun’s rapport, as he chose that-precise-moment to give the bitch a warning shot.
However, there was no smack of her body hitting the sidewalk. Dean glanced back, and really wished he wasn’t so easily distracted. The bitch had managed to get herself a buddy, who was literally crawling behind her.
And there was noise coming from behind them now, too.
All around them, staggering in, first just a few, but by the ever-growing noise—more were inevitably coming. One glance back down the alley proved that there were at least three crowding the farthest end.
Dean counted twenty easily. That put the body count way above the victims Alec had found…which pretty much killed his theory that they were all resurrected by necromancy.
“Guys…We’re cut off from the car.” Keegan said, her voice tinged with the barest hint of stress. Sam’s eyes had already gone black, and he was trembling slightly with a mix of anticipation and fear. Alec slipped into his Manticore Soldier face, calm, eyes hard, calculating…
Dean, however, was already scanning the buildings for possible escape routes, because, based on the speed La Rapida the Dead Bitch was coming for them, there was a very good chance they could out-run them… providing they weren’t running into a nest of whatever these things were.
He caught sight of a fire truck, the ladder forming a bridge from the middle of the street to the rooftops—and by passing a good twelve of the things too—and was just about to inform them when he caught sight of one of the things.
It was wearing a Raccoon City Police uniform. He telescoped his vision in. The name on the badge on his jacket matched one on a police car barely ten feet from them.
The guy was missing an arm, and looked like he had been through a blender; all flayed skin. And he was staggering towards them.
“Eyes on me, follow!” And he booked it towards the fire truck. He knew he was too fast for them, but still, he got within a foot of some of the fuckers--the smell, damn that fucking wrong smell--and their reaction time was a little worrisome. Way too slow. Even an Ordinary would have been more cognoscente and flinched.
The ladder itself was not supported at all (which was going to be a small issue), but Keegan seemed to catch on to what he was planning, and grabbed Sam (the slowest of the three when it came to their blurring speed) and vanished, reappearing directly in the line of sight that Dean had followed for the ladder. He glanced behind him… their movement had attracted more of them, and they were moving quicker, in almost a frenzy…
“Alec, get your ass up that ladder now.” Alec paused, obviously about to protest when Dean grabbed him by his barcode, eliciting a yelp of pain as his fingers dug into the soft flesh of the nape of Alec’s neck. “I said now.” And he threw Alec in the general direction of the ladder, turning back to fire a few shots at the things leading the pack. They fell, but the ones behind them just crawled over. He didn’t stay to watch; he booked it up the ladder after Alec.
Half way across the ladder started to groan. Dean gave Alec a hard look, and the younger Winchester gave a slight eye roll before the muscles in his legs coiled, and he sprung up and out towards the roof, clearing the edge and landing on his feet.
However, his leap had forced the ladder in the opposite direction—and Dean was now clinging to it as it groaned and swayed…and below him, they were there, making these moaning noises, arms raised, mouths open, hungry.
He was gonna have fucking nightmares for a week.
And then he felt the metal drop an inch. “Shit.”
Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of him, and he felt himself get shoved into the ladder harder—heard the metal start to give way at added weight—
And he was on the rooftop, staring at Sam’s shoes, with someone sitting on him. “Never. Do. That. Again.” Keegan hissed at him before standing up—or trying to. She made it to a crouch before her legs started to give out. Alec was there immediately, catching her and saving her (and Dean) from more pain.
“What’s wrong?” Sam asked, looking at Alec and Keegan, but reaching a hand out to help Dean up.
“I’m fine, thank you.” Dean muttered sarcastically. He was worried about Keegan too, and, to be frank, the whole silent communication thing that her and Alec had developed was making him a tad jealous.
“She’s ok.” Alec announced after a moment, finally breaking his gaze with Keegan.
“That’s great. Why wasn’t she two seconds ago.”
Keegan didn’t meet his gaze. “…I have a limit to how soon after I teleport I can do it again. Its seconds, not usually that big of a deal…” She sighed. “I may have freaked a little bit at having to ‘port an inch above you, knowing the added weight would break that ladder…and went faster then I should have to make sure I got us both out of there.”
Sometimes, Dean just wanted to really have a chick flick moment. Prime example: little sister pushing her limits to save her big brother, out of fear and concern. Horrible timing with the corpses and people who should be dead walking the streets.
He settled for grabbing her into a one armed hug, before heading towards the edge of the roof top.
Below them, the entire fucking street was full of shambling, stumbling bodies in various degrees of degeneration. The falling of the fire truck ladder had done nothing but pin a few of the helpless creatures…Dean was certainly not going to go help the bastards.
“Alec,” he said, as soon as the others joined him at the ledge, “You sure can pick a hunt.” He didn’t need to look at Alec to know his clone was scowling at him. “I’d officially say we’re cut off from the car.”
“Sometimes, I think we should start carrying rope in our backpacks. Worked for Samwise.” Sam muttered, eyeing the distance to the next roof with some trepidation. “I don’t think even Alec could make it.”
“You know, I could always ‘port—“
“No.” Dean glanced over at her, expression mild. “We don’t know what’s going on here, and if those things are attracted to movement, who knows their reaction to magic.” He knew he had a valid point, especially when she just nodded, accepting his logic.
“We can’t just sit on the roof and wait to see if they mosey on outta here.” Alec said, sounding annoyed. “I mean, first of all, we don’t have any food, and I’m hungry. Second, I highly doubt we’re going to end up solving this bitch sitting on our asses.”
“He has a point.” Dean really hated how smug Alec got with Sam’s approval. But, yes, Alec did have two valid points.
“True. We’re cut off from the car…but I know if we plan this right, we can make it back to there…preferably along with taking down whoever summoned these fuckers.”
He knew they agreed with him—none of them really had any other choice—but it was nerve-wracking…
His pack, his family was depending on him to get them out of this alive. And while he’d never admit it to any of them…
He didn’t think the odds were too good.
***
“…I don’t know why I continue to try to do this whole ‘Hunter’ thing. I mean, look at my luck. First hunt, I get kidnapped by the homicidal ghost whose been wracking up hundreds of victims and fucking tortured by the fuck…and my first scouted Hunt ends up with people who may or may not be dead, but we’re pretty sure they are because their blood looks like cherry syrup. Chunky cherry syrup. Which oddly reminds me I’m hungry, but in no way for cherry syrup. Why couldn’t this have been some nifty monster…or a dragon? A dragon would have been so much more fun then these smelly freaks.” Alec paused in his litany to take out the leg of the nearest ambling body, causing it to fall back into the office it had been trying to leave. “Will you stay the fuck down, please? God, some people.”
“Keegan, please tell me you found his off switch.” Dean hissed. “Because Pretty Boy still doesn’t know when to shut the fuck up.” Alec just gave him a ‘who me?’ look and continued forward, taking point down the hall of the office building whose roof they had taken refuge on.
Dean held his position in the hall way, gun trained on the really dedicated office worker as Sam and then Keegan passed him. “He doesn’t have one. Unless you count the five minutes after he—“ Dean reached out to swat at her, and she ducked away, grinning.
“There’s a phrase I would like to introduce you to, Keegan, its called ‘T.M.I.’. The whole you and Alec and the mate thing? Under that heading. Avoid it.” She stuck her tongue out, and Sam gave him a reproachful look but seriously, that intel was of no use in this current situation.
A sudden thought hit him the moment Alec got to the end of the hall: She was trying to get his mind off the current situation. Keegan was scared. And deflecting.
Alec had found the door to the stairwell, and was motioning them forward. They took up points, covering the door and themselves as Sam pulled open the door, and Alec stepped into the window it created, gun drawn. After a moment, he gave the all clear, and they all filed in, Dean making sure he was last, and locking the stairwell door behind them. Best not to test how intelligent these things were.
It was echoing in the stairwell, but there were none of the loud groans that seemed to accompany the creatures…only a muffled crying, as if someone was hiding and hurt, and trying desperately not to be heard.
He didn’t need to ask if the others heard it too, Keegan was already trying to track down the direction of the sound, and Sam had moved towards the stairs leading down. Alec just walked to the railing and peered over the edge.
Dean really wanted to smack him.
“Hey, hey, its ok, it’s ok, we’re not those things. We’re here to help.” But apparently, Alec’s way had produced the results, as Dean heard a startled gasp, and the sound of a woman trying to stand. He walked over to the rail, peering down. They were only three stories up, and she could see them from her spot on the ground floor. And she waswounded. The smell of fresh blood (and more of that strange sick-smell) was strong.
She either believed Alec, or she was too injured to move, because she only managed to crawl a couple feet towards the cave the stairs made against the wall by the time they made it down. The woman was a survivor, though, she actually looked at them, and, in a shaky voice, said, “Stay back!”
Dean watched as Alec raised his hands, and gave her a nod, backing off a little. “You’re ok, we’re here to get you out of here.”
She gave a miserable little laugh, and tugged her leg—Dean thought it was broken—closer to herself. “You are just gonna die too.” She coughed, and Dean was alarmed to see red bubble at the corner of her mouth. He started towards her, but stopped at the sound of a safety being clicked off. She was armed. “Once you’re bitten, its all over.”
“What do you mean?” Alec asked, kneeling. She coughed again, and Dean tried very hard not to wince.
“Those things…” She waved her hand, “The first ones escaped from here. Once they started infecting others…” She coughed…and then continued coughing, her body jerking in response to the heaves.
Alec looked like he wanted to move towards her, but she still held the gun aimed vaguely at Dean, and one could understand his reluctance.
And as quickly as she started coughing, she just…stopped. Everything.
“Miss?” Alec took a hesitant step forward. “Miss?” Her entire body had gone slack. He dropped to his knees, and reached for her pulse. She didn’t move to stop him. She didn’t move at all. “She’s dead.”
“And I don’t think we know exactly what we’re dealing with…” Sam said, and Dean could just tell his geek brother was thinking up a storm.
Alec, however, was still crouching by the woman, peering at her. “If I didn’t know better…I’d almost say she died of Ebola.”
Dean froze. “What?” He didn’t like how high his voice sounded.
Alec just looked at him, frowning. “It’s not like we can catch it, Dad. Manticore made us immune. It’s just…I’ve seen people die of Ebola, and this is close…but not quite. Not quite right smell, either.”
“Where the fuck did you see people die of Ebola?”
“Our unit was sent out into the Congo in ’17. Took out the splinter cell of Al-Qaida..”
There were times when Dean felt inferior to his clone. He hated them…but here was another.
That is, until he realized that their survivor—who had just died—was moving. “Alec…” Alec rolled his eyes, still crouched way too close. Dean stepped forward, “Alec…she’s…one of them.”
“What?” And Alec glanced back just in time to see the woman lunge at him. Dean was horrified when Alec fell backwards, hands fighting to keep her away from biting him—and she was really trying to bite him. Keegan was already moving, firing a shot into the woman’s leg, but she ignored it, intent on eating Alec’s face. Literally.
Sam closed his eyes, but Dean knew by the time he got the concentration up—and he didn’t have a clear shot—
“Just put the bitch down! Fuck warning shots! Get her in the head!” Alec snarled, managing to get a leg up and between the woman and himself, throwing her over his head (Keegan dodging out of the way). Dean spun, and took a bead on her approximate height. As she drew up—her broken leg didn’t seem to be bothering her too much now—she snarled at him and lunged.
He put a bullet between her eyes.
The bitch went down…and she didn’t get back up.
Sam was already looking like he was going to verbally tear down Alec (out of guilt, Dean knew, for not being able to rip the thing off of him) but Alec, for some reason, was smiling.
“What the fuck are you on?” Keegan blurted, eyeing her mate with a distinct ‘what the fuck’ expression.
Alec made a great show of looking from them each in turn, to the corpse on the floor—still not moving, longest yet—and then back. “We can kill them.”
Dean nodded, mirroring the grin. “And she said they came from here…that’s a big lead.”
***
Dean didn’t have them split up: their lives were worse then every scifi and horror movie he had ever seen, and in every one of those, the minute you split off from the pack, you better kiss your ass good bye. Besides, Alec and Keegan were used to operating as a unit in Manticore, and in all the years that had passed between Sam and Dean, it wasn’t very likely they’d be going to separate again. He’d never admit it, but he needed Sam at his back just like he needed air to breathe.
That, or Alec’s over dramatic-ness was rubbing off on him. Or maybe even the combined girly-ness of Sam and Keegan…
Which was why they had only covered a small part of the offices…and found nothing but a bunch of memos, and regular office paper work for a company called Umbrella, which seemed to have its hand in everything from consumer products to pharmaceuticals…but, the numbers didn’t add up.
“Sam…tell me, how do you spend over ten million on research and development for a child’s toy? And then make back triple when as far as I can tell, the toy never actually hit markets?” Dean asked, handing over one memo.
“Or why this place mentions seven floors when clearly there are only three.” Keegan suddenly stood up, head turning towards the hall way. “Guys…we didn’t check the elevators. There could be more floors below…like at Manticore.”
Dean cursed under his breath, she was right. They had ignored the elevators simply because, in an emergency, one didn’t use them.
“You two find anything useful?”
“Nothing.” Alec said, throwing down a file with a look of disgust.
Sam took his time answering. “Just a bunch of shoddy numbers…whatever was generating Umbrella’s profits, it wasn’t these ‘consumer products’.” Sam looked up at Dean. “I’m starting to think this isn’t our type of case.”
“Well, we’re stuck in the middle of it, so we make the best of it. Lets head down stairs.”
It took them barely a minute to gather up the few documents Sam had thought important, and move to the elevators.
Sam took the time to open up the panel once inside, and sure enough, if you had a key card, four more floors were suddenly available. Granted, Sam’s keycard was a credit card and a magnet (Dean always wondered why the hell he still had credit cards when the entire system was demolished in 2010) but it worked.
The slow, quiet ride down was awkward and tense, Alec the only one managing to stand completely still.
The elevator slowed at sublevel one, and Dean felt his gut clench in nerves. Something was outside that door.
“Hearin’ our thoughts yet, bro?” Sam asked, obviously thinking the same thing. The disturbing part was the answer was ‘no’, but his instincts were saying yes.
“No…but something tells me that doesn’t exclude the danger factor.”
The elevator doors dinged, and started to slide open, and Dean heard Alec yell ‘Down’ before Sam was yanking him to the floor, and there was a burst of gun fire above their heads. Dean glanced to his left just in time to see a rotten face drop not inches from his own, stinking breath escaping in its death, a bullet hole neatly between its eyes.
Only then he was able to take in the groaning, and moaning, and the sound of people trampling themselves to get to the elevator. Glancing up, Alec and Keegan had their pistols out, and were alternating fire, four guns going, each shot taking down one of the freaks. Their faces were blank, expressionless…Manticore.
Barely a minute passed before Sam was yanking him back up, drawing his own gun as both Alec and Keegan reloaded, and took up the cause. Dean was a fraction of a second behind him. Another thirty seconds, and they had a path clear enough to get through.
“Move it, move now!” Dean wasn’t sure when Alec had decided he was in charge, but this wasn’t the time to argue, especially when his pause to asses that had sent a bullet whizzing by his ear, and he spun to see one of those things—it probably used to be a rather pretty lab tech—head snap back, bullet lodged in its brain. “I said, move!”
“Damnit, Pretty Boy, I’m moving!”
It was a haze of sterilized halls, walking corpses and gun flashes, and then Sam was yanking him into an office, Keegan slamming into his back at his unexpected stop. Alec was slamming into her a moment later, but he angled the hit to knock both of them into the room, so that Sam could slam the door.
“Ok, I don’t think coming down here was the best idea we’ve ever had.” Sam announced, leaning against the door as those things threw themselves against it.
Dean ignored him, instead choosing to look around the office they had stumbled into. It was obviously a researcher’s—and someone high up due to the sheer size of the damn place—but best of all, it was pristine. It looked like no one had been in here since whatever had transpired out side.
He heard Alec and Keegan talking to themselves, probably making sure each other was alright, and so, he felt reasonably safe exploring. The computer—which looked like it had survived the Pulse—was in standby mode. Dean may not be as computer savvy as Sam, or a trained hacker like Alec or Keegan, but a computer with open access…that was something he could do no problem. Obviously, the company hadn’t thought anyone could access it that wasn’t supposed to which was their own mistake.
Five files later, he knew this wasn’t the only mistake they made. “Holy shit…guys, I know why this place was ground zero…” Almost instantaneously, he was being crowded by three other bodies, and no longer could see the screen. “Damnit, guys! I was reading that!”
“Genetic experimentation? In viral weaponry?” Sam was looking pale, but Alec was looking green.
In a moment, he had shoved everyone else out of the way and was actually blurring over the keyboard, the computer a few seconds behind him. All the while, he was muttering “No…no…no” continuously.
Dean only got passing glimpses at the screen as Alec became more and more agitated, before finally stepping back, revealing all the screen.
There was the Umbrella logo on one side of the page, and the Manticore logo on the other. The worst part, in black and white, barely a quarter of the page down, were the words X5R-494 and Test Subject, as well as the designations of several others.
“Oh god, Alec…” Keegan whispered. She looked between the page and him, reaching out, but Alec pulled away, giving a sardonic laugh.
“I fucking knew I smelt this before.”
Sam didn’t tear his eyes from the page, his mouth moving slightly as he read the words. “Wait, wait, guys!” Dean turned back to Sam eyes questioning. “It says we’re Immune. X5’s—transgenics in general—are immune to whatever virus this is.”
“Guess they figured this out after they used us as fucking lab rats!” Alec snarled. “You know, I never complained about having my bones broken, being subjected to all my allergies, having every reaction tested…but I don’t even fucking remember this.”
“I personally think we got a bigger problem.” Dean said, now that he had the computer back. “What does it mean, the virus is protean?”
“It means it changes based on its environment…oh fuck.” Keegan made a weak noise. “They probably lost containment…it became airborne…infected all these people…and then they started infecting people…”
“It’s still in the air?”
“No. Couldn’t have survived that long.” Keegan looked back at Dean. “We’re going to need back up. To contain this…”
“We call anyone…they’re just going to sanitize the facility, and Raccoon City along with it.” Alec had slipped back on the Manticore mask, and was breathing slowly, through his mouth. “We need to get out, and then call for help.”
“We should call Max. See if she can talk to Lydecker about pulling some strings—“ Keegan actually leapt backwards at Alec’s snarl.
“He signed the paper work. He knows.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, there. Easy, boy.” Dean said, standing slowly. “Lets just worry about getting the fuck—“
There was a roar from below them that shook the glass walls of the interior of the office.
“Twenty bucks says that’s not good.” Sam muttered. A moment later, the sound came again, but much closer.
“I think we should move.” Dean said, pulling his gun.
“Um, to where? We’re in an office… there are undead outside here, and whatever the fuck that is down there…and not like this place has a rear exit.” Sam pointed out, peering towards the back of the office.
“How are we on ammo?” Dean reached into his own pocket, counting the clips. “I’ve got four for my Winchester 1911, and a couple for a shotgun…which we don’t have.”
“Three clips here.”
“Eight.” Keegan said, checking her small back pack. Alec patted down his fatigues.
“Ditto.”
“And we have no idea how many are out there.” Dean kicked the edge of the desk. “Damnit.”
The roar came again.
“But…lets take our chances, I don’t wanna know what—Alec, what the fuck are you doing?”
Alec glared at him from back by the computer. “Backing up the hard drive. If they sanitize it, you wanna bet everything they did will get covered up? I’m sick of being covered up.”
Dean nodded, it was a fair point. After Alec was done, he pocketed the disk, and joined the others by the door way, locking the clips in both of his guns. Dean nodded once at Sam, and then it was a repeat performance of getting into the fucking office, only this time it was running for the elevator.
Sam just cleared the door when Dean caught a glimpse of something crawling along the ceiling, moving impossibly fast, tongue shooting out—
And the doors slid shut.
“Holy fucking shit! What the fuck was that?” Dean was glad he wasn’t the only one who saw it, but it certainly didn’t make him feel better.
“I have no fucking clue. Alec?” Alec just shook his head. “Sam?”
“Didn’t see it.” Sam panted. “Too busy trying to not get bit.”
The elevator suddenly rocked, and they were all thrown to the floor. Metal screamed, and groaned in protest, and the ceiling buckled and bent—something landed on the roof of the lift…
“Oh, this is not happening…” Dean watched with something akin to terror as claws—fucking claws—ripped through the metal of the industrial elevator. He didn’t blame Keegan for the slight scream she let slip when the claws tore through a second time, as if the metal was nothing more yielding then paper.
“We need to get the doors open!” Sam said, staying low, and crawling towards the front. He got his fingers in between the crease, but they were still moving. “Someone hit the emergency stop!”
Alec launched himself from his stomach just long enough to do that, but the sudden movement somehow caught the thing’s attention. Renewed clawing ensued, and Alec was hit with falling shrapnel.
Sam used his superior strength and wrenched the doors open, but the gap…”Damnit! We’re not completely up!” Dean peered past Sam, gauging the two foot gap.
“We can squeeze through. Keegan first.” Dean then pulled himself into a corner, keeping himself low but bringing his gun to aim at the red claws coming through the ceiling. Keegan pulled herself through easily, Alec right behind her, and while he helped pull Sam through, Dean watched as the ceiling was peeling back.
It had no eyes. Its brain was directly exposed…and it just didn’t have any skin. Dean just wasn’t sure what the Hell he was looking at…because he had seen things in Hell, and this was worse.
And then it opened its mouth.
Dean found himself watching in some kind of slow motion as a tongue…impossibly long, unfurled towards him, reaching…
He registered someone grabbing his jacket just as the tongue reached his arm, and quite suddenly, he was yanked out of the thing’s reach, and slammed into the elevator doors. “Fuck!”
“Get out here!” Dean glanced up at the tongue, only to see it pull back, and the creature pull itself into the elevator car. Dean pushed his legs out, keeping his gun trained on the nasty thing before he felt presumably Sam and Alec yank him through, his shoulders catching just barely, and then he used his agility to pull himself from cracking his head on the ground, crushing a finger under his gun, but landing on his hands.
Not two seconds later, that thing’s face snarled out at them, and Dean vaulted himself to his feet. Alec let out a snarl that was more animal then human, and if he had fur, Dean just knew it would be standing on end. As it was, the short hairs on the back of Alec’s neck were standing up as he backed in front of Keegan, lowering his shoulders in a defensive posture. Dean knew his was too, he could feel the prickling sensation.
The thing was fighting it’s way out of the elevator, but it’s larger mass was proving difficult.
Dean didn’t have a comeback, or a joke, or anything. Especially not when the thing got tired of fighting and waiting to eat them, and sent that tongue flying towards them. Dean knew the distance between himself and the elevator was ten feet three inches exactly, and the tongue was wagging at him easily less then six inches away. It pulled back, again, then shot out, probing.
It couldn’t see them.
“Guys!” And almost instantly, the tongue was back, eerily on target. He signaled for silence, while Sam gave the universal ‘well duh’ gesture. Apparently it’s hearing was incredible.
And with them falling silent (and it still not wrapping that slimy looking thing around any of them), it pulled back the tongue (which still hung out of its mouth by at least three feet) and clawed at the doors and walls, trying to make the hole big enough to get out of.
Dean really didn’t want that thing getting out. He gestured for the others to follow his instructions (twice for Alec, who seemed more focused on the Licker, as Dean now thought of it) and then repeated it just to make sure.
::On three, open fire and do not stop till it is DEAD::
Predictably, Sam had an objection. It was really amazing to Dean how Sam managed to argue while they couldn’t talk, but there he was, signing ::We don’t have unlimited ammo. And we still need to get out.::
Dean effectively ended the argument when he turned and opened fire on the Licker. Immediately, it lashed out with it’s tongue, but the bullets cut right through the appendage and it screamed in pain. Caught half in the elevator shaft, getting shot near point blank by a trained marksman…the licker didn’t last nearly as long as Dean had thought.
It’s dying keel was a series of clicking noises, which Dean found very odd.
“Thanks ever so much for the help, guys.”
“You totally had it covered!” Keegan yelped, indignantly. “Besides, Alec kept getting over protective and blocked every. Freaking. Shot.” The last three words were punctuated with slaps to the shoulder that didn’t even phase the obviously spooked X5.
Dean was just about to comment when Sam elbowed him. He followed Sam’s gaze…
And there was a clicking noise…and the most bizarre sound of flesh and claws scraping against…ceiling tile…
And then something leaped across the hallway, hissing. Alec spun, managing to get Keegan behind him again and had his teeth bared, gun drawn at some local that Dean couldn’t pinpoint. Obviously, Alec was tracking the emotions of whatever it was.
A tongue shot out and ripped the gun from Alec’s hand, taking a good amount of skin with it. Alec let out a strangled yell, already going for his other gun, even as his body was trying to fall to it’s knees, reeling from the pain.
“It’s another Licker!”
“A wh—“ Sam cut himself off, realizing that now wasn’t the best time, and instead grabbed Alec’s other arm (Keegan had his injured one in a gentle but secure grip) and helping her haul him backwards. Dean kept his gun trained on where he had seen the tongue lash from—
And then he was flat on the floor, gun going off and ricocheting a bullet into the ceiling as his feet were pulled out from under him. He tried to look over his shoulder—
The other one wasn’t dead.
“We are fucked!” He had maintained his hold on his gun, and started firing the best he could back at the creature that had his feet. Three shots later, and the tongue went limp, spasming once before just…still.
He kicked it off, and spun—Alec was back on his feet, eyes searching the ceiling. Sam was too, but he was alternating between that and checking on Keegan, who had somehow been knocked—
The tongue came flying out again, hitting Sam in the shoulder and sending him flying into the far wall. Well, that explained Keegan. Alec had leveled with where the tongue was, but the creature already was moving and it nearly put them to…
He had an idea. Sam would kill him, but he might save his family.
And, holstering his gun for the moment, he crouched down—he caught a flash of it—and he was off, using every ounce of his X5 speed and agility, bounding after the thing, which was now kind of like chasing down one of their many neighbors dogs when Dean or Sam accidentally let them loose while trying to play. Except, those dogs had never really minded being chased, and never turned around and shot a tongue at him. Dean surprised himself when he actually caught the damn thing, only to be yanked towards the licker as it pulled it’s tongue back.
However, Dean wanted to be closer. Just as it’s teeth came into clear view, he let go, using his continued momentum to crash into the thing—trying to avoid the damned claws—and got a hand on either side of it’s head—
Snap.
The sound echoed loudly in the hall, and it had taken way too much force, but Dean was now just trying to land on his feet, as the now-dead licker’s claws lost their hold on the ceiling. It’s corpse landed with a heavy thud behind him.
Alec, Keegan and Sam were staring at him like he had lost his mind. That, or he was the next coming of Christ. But, considering how the latter had worked out, he was going to go with ‘they thought he was insane’. “And that’s why I’m the Alpha, bitch.”
***
After the licker--lickers, I took out two of those creepy bastards-- the rest of the creatures they faced seemed…well…just annoying. In particular, Sam had gotten a stalker…and Dean just loved the fact that this particular person had managed to get infected and die while naked and choosing to keep coming after his brother, who seemed reluctant to look at the poor man.
The best part was, technically, Sam now had two younger siblings, who seemed to find it just as amusing as Dean, and thus refused to shot him for Sam.
Things were going great till they got to the edge of the city.
Military check points had been set up, there were helicopters buzzing overhead—everything screamed big cover-up in progress. Worse, they had sighted the Winchesters on security feeds (because, for some strange reason those were still working), and Dean found himself wondering if they were going to have to fight an entire regiment to get out of here (which would be tough, and probably piss Max off to high hell that her wayward transgenics were getting bad press) or let them take them into custody.
Unsurprisingly, Dean chose the peaceful route. He also had Sam and Keegan nagging him. Which was why, four hours later, they were still sitting in a white medical tent, being poked and prodded with various needles all to be sure that they had survived their sojourn in Raccoon City uninfected.
After all, they had been in there nearly a full twenty four hours. After the city went critical, no one survived that long, unless they had been in Umbrella.
Dean really, really wanted to point out that they were genetically engineered bioweapons themselves, and they could handle themselves. But, for the sake of Freak Nation, he kept silent. They’d find out as soon as they ran the tests anyway.
There were footsteps outside his door, and Dean didn’t even bother to glance up. Probably another blood test.
“Well, you look a hell of a lot better then I would have thought.” Dean snapped his head up, eyes wide.
“Lydecker?”
The silver-haired man smiled, and walked into the room, leaning against the door. “I’d say how’s it been…but I think I know.”
“Alec thought it was one of ours.” Lydecker nodded, and looked back at Dean.
“He told me. I just wanted to come in, make sure you got released, and make sure this mess gets cleaned up.” He looked away. “We sealed the Raccoon City facility in September—Umbrella assured us operations had been completely shut down.”
Dean smirked. “yeah, well, now they are.” Lydecker nodded.
“Sir?” Dean and Don both looked up towards the door, where a scientist was looking between the two—Dean as if he was something the man was itching to take a closer look at, scientifically speaking, and Don because that’s who he was supposed to talk to. “You wanted to be notified when the test results came—“
Don just took the folder from the scientist, and flipped through the pages. “Yep. Clear. Immune. See? I told you they were part of the test. Now let them go, you can’t keep them here since they were only on loan.” Dean smirked a little, Lydecker was one shrewd man.
The minute the man had passed out of hearing range, Dean leaned closer to Lydecker and whispered, “You lied? Tsk, Tsk, Donnie boy.”
“You’re my kids.” Don said, standing again. “And besides, your blood test does confirm your immune, you took out two Lickers and a large amount of Infected. Clearly, our science wins.” And he smiled.
Dean was just happy to be out of that damned place.
NEW JERSEY
TWO DAYS LATER
“But, Dean, come on! This is nothing like Raccoon City!” Dean just looked up at Alec, and shook his head.
“No. I’m not trusting any more hunts from you, Pretty Boy.” Alec looked absolutely flabbergasted.
“But! Dude! Zombies!”
“Oh, he said the ‘Z’ word.” Sam called, not looking up from his newspaper. Dean shook his head.
“Damnit. We never say the ‘Z’ word, man. Ruins our image. Besides, they were ‘Infected’.” He used the quote-y fingers. “ And you don’t get points for the awesomeness of the monster. Those bonus points went to the fact we nearly died the entire time we were there. And the fact it was a city full of undead.”
And thus, Dean figured the Jersey Devil could continue to haunt the Pine Barrens for all he cared. Alec had the worst luck when he picked the hunts.
Originally Posted Here
Author’s Note: I'd like to point out that, until Alec's line at the very end (coincidentally the first line written), This story follows what every video game and movie has: the Infected are never called 'Zombies'. This is why I should never have a Resident Evil marathon in my house. Ever.
'Verse: Just Another Reason to Hate the Government (No Real Time Set, Stand Alone)
Rating: R (some really disturbing imagery)
Characters: Sam, Dean, Alec (X5-494), Keegan.
Pairing: Alec/Keegan
Spoilers: Supernatural, All; Dark Angel, Working Knowledge; Resident Evil 2 (Game and Movie)
Warning: Crossover, Dark Angel, Resident Evil (Biohazard for you overseas)
Word Count:8758
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Dark Angel, both belong to their respective owners. (And Capcom owns Resident Evil/Biohazard).
Summary: “But! Dude! Zombies!”*
*Not your typical Zombie fic. Then again, its Zombies in a Dark Angel/Supernatural Universe… See author’s notes at the end.
Confused?:Here
Comments are love. Seriously.
did i do it right?
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE
“I got a case.” Dean glanced up from the remains of his breakfast to give his clone a doubtful look. “Oh, come on. You haven’t even heard it yet.”
“Give it a chance, Dean.” Sam called from the couch. Dean seriously considered sacrificing some hash brown to the ‘Annoy Sammy’ cause…but, upon further thought, hunger won out.
“Ok, Alec, let’s hear it.”
Alec took a moment to roll his eyes before handing over a manila folder. Dean raised his eyebrows. Alec gave another little impatient shove with the folder. Dean repeated the eyebrow thing—just in case he missed it the first time.
“Damnit, Dad, take the fucking folder.” After Sam called another resigned ‘Dean…’, Dean lazily reached for the folder, flipping it open, and scoffing.
“You are officially disowned as my clone. This is meticulous.”
“Blame Manticore.” The tone was his usual, joking, if a little tense. However, when Dean glanced up at Alec’s yellow-green eyes, there was a surprising lack of humor there.
“Nah,” he said, shifting his eyes back to the first page of notes, “I blame Sam. He’s a good influence.” Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Alec’s lips quirk in a small smile, and counted it a win. His youngest brother had been in a weird and twitchy mood—answers were not forthcoming from either said clone or (as Dean privately thought, but loved to make public knowledge) his better half, Keegan. To be honest, Dean thought he was handling the whole my-younger-and-altered-clone-is-mated-to-the-chick-that-I-consider-my-blood-sister thing very well. Sam thought he was being an overly obnoxious older brother, but Sam was a prissy bitch half the time, so it didn’t really matter what he thought.
“I think this might be something, though, Dean. I mean, these people…all of them—and we’re talking a fair number over the years—just vanish. Gone.”
Dean nodded, mostly to make Alec think he was listening while he was actually focusing on the papers in front of him. Starting pre-Pulse (he was going to have to have a talk with Alec about where the fuck he was finding this shit), it had only been two over a period of fifteen years. The police never had any reason to link these particular instances (and Dean wasn’t quite sure Alec had any either) Then, in the early ‘00s, it was quiet. ’09 and the Pulse hit, and there was a upsurge of twenty disappearances (again, with so many people getting lost…) but then it immediately dropped back to the two until this year…
“Ok… a lot of unrelated disappearances…so what?” Alec gave him a look of long suffering.
“If you looked past the first page…All of those people that went missing? They all worked in one city—strange since they were from all parts of Pennsylvania…one of them even had a home address in New York.” Ok, so he was starting to see some pattern.
“And cities make a lot of people disappear, Alec.”
“Local authorities lost contact with Raccoon City three hours ago. The last communication screamed something about being attacked by creatures that wouldn’t die.” A smile spread across his face as he realized he had scored major points.
Dean wasn’t happy the kid realized this, but, hey, there was in all likelihood an actual case in this Raccoon City. “You might be on to something, Pretty Boy. Sam, what do you think?”
The annoyed expression slid from his face as he actually looked at Sam’s expression, which was worried. “Sam?”
“Alec, do you know why Raccoon City would be flagged in Manticore’s files?” Dean’s eyes flew back to his clone, who was wearing an expression of shock and surprise.
“Seriously? And they don’t have a reason for it?” Sam shook his head. “I don’t know, man. Remember, I was on a Need To Know basis. Even now, if they don’t tell you right there, we’re gonna have to figure it out on our own.”
Sam made an aggravated noise. “I knew you were going to say that.” He looked up at Dean. “That gives us two solid reasons to go check it out. Possible case, and possible Manticore intel. Do something for the Freak Nation, for once.” He said, glancing in Alec’s direction.
It was hard for Dean, looking at his clone to see anything but an annoyingly prettier (and blonde) version of himself. But Alec had been Second in Command at Terminal City, now officially Freak Nation, the one free place for transgenics and transhumans. He had helped with negotiations, even had planned on running for office…and then he had met his Original... his brothers…his Family.
Yeah, he could bend a little for the guy. Especially when he was already being torn in two. He nodded to Sam, who stood, and went to go get Keegan. Dean stood, handing the file back to Alec.
“Ok, then lets saddle up.”
“You would think they’d have road blocks or something…” Sam muttered, leaning a little out of the window, peering at the abandoned looking city looming in front of them.
Dean cast him one more nervous glance before reaching out and yanking him back down by his jacket. “Sit down.”
“Wow, Dean. Jumpy much?” Dean glared at Keegan in the rearview mirror. “Do we need to switch you back to decaf?”
“Oh gods, no!” Well, from Dean’s thoughts to apparently Alec’s vocal chords. “Cause, you know he switches our coffees when you do that, and I’m the only one who gets hurt.”
The added pout was enough to earn amused chuckles from everyone…but Dean still couldn’t quite shake the feeling that something…something was very wrong.
Alec and Keegan were continuing their decaf debates, with Sam refereeing as usual, and Dean took the time to look around, get a good bead on—
There was a flash of movement from the left hand side of the road, down an alley.
Dean slammed on the brakes, momentum throwing everyone forward. “What the fuck?” Sam yelled, cradling his head—he had hit the dashboard. Dean gave him a cursory glance—it really was just a bump—and went back to checking his gun.
“Saw something go down that alley.” He eyed the clip before slamming it into the gun. “This place is a fucking ghost town…if there’s something moving, I’m following it.” He gave them a long look before unbuckling his seat belt and shoving open the door.
“Dean, wait!” He paused, and smiled to himself. A moment later, Sam brushed his shoulder on his right, Alec just behind him. Keegan brought up the rear, walking backwards, gun held in a two handed grip, ready for action. “This thing took out communications to an entire city.”
“So did Croatoan.”
“Does anyone else think the air smells kinda funny?” Alec asked, nose angled up. He made a face. “I coulda sworn I smelt it before…can’t put my finger on it though…”
Predictably, Sam tilted his head back, sniffing with his mouth slightly open. “I get…death…lots of death…and this…sick smell…like rotting meat…”
Of course, now that Sam mentioned it, Dean had to smell it now, and it made him a little nauseous. He looked over at Alec. “So where would you have possibly picked up this lovely aroma?”
Alec shrugged, but the movement was nearly as carefree as it usually was.
Alec was nervous. And Dean kinda had to admit, he was too. But he took point anyway, with Alec to his left, and Sam to his right. Keegan kept her back against Alec’s, still watching their six. Walking down the alley, eyes sweeping back and forth, the smallest sound drawing a weapon.
The most disturbing thing to Dean was the lack of small sounds…he hadn’t even seen any rats…
A bottle rolled out in front of him, and he raised up on hand. Silently, all four came to a complete stop. The bottle clinked to a halt against Dean’s booted foot. Dean could feel Alec, Sam and Keegan press closer to him, he could feel their breathing…
A groan, and the sound of someone falling over. Dean hesitated….and then there was a high pitched scream. They all moved forward as one, still silently, and the scream sounded again.
Rounding the corner, Dean nearly choked. There was a person—or what used to be a person—and it was a boiling, rolling mass of fur and these strange tentacles… tails…they were tails. The person was covered with rats, being eaten alive and they were still screaming.
“Oh god.” Sam looked vaguely nauseous. “Oh god.”
Alec suddenly stepped in front of Dean, leveled his gun at the vague shape of the figure’s head, and fired. The body jerked once, then slumped over, causing some of the rats to squeak in alarm. “Alec! What the fuck!”
The man (boy) who looked back at Dean wasn’t Alec Winchester…and Dean was once again chilled by the soldier X5R-494. “Mercy. Would you rather have him suffer?”
“Alec.” It was all Keegan needed to say, and then there he was again, looking far too young, and much paler then before.
“Hey, guess we know where the rats went.” Dean muttered, glancing back at the still writhing pile of rats, wrinkling his nose a bit.
“It doesn’t answer any of our questions, though.” Sam said, obviously trying to block out the entire event. “And raises more questions…like why we’re suddenly dealing with carnivorous rats...unless you think they could be what's been taking people?”
“No. There were too few taken to start…and far too consistently to be this many rats.” Keegan jerked her head “Not our case…but perhaps…related?”
Dean shrugged, and kicked out at a rat that had ventured too near his foot, sniffing a little too hopefully. And the fucker dodged and hissed at him. “Lets keep moving, but keep it tight. I wanna scout this bitch out before we end up in any more shit.”
They made it to the far end of the alley.
“What the fuck happened here?” Alec whispered, looking slightly taken aback. Dean was wholly with him; there were cars everywhere, some crashed, some seemingly in blockades… news vans, civilian vehicles, cop cars…and there were bullet holes in everything from the windows to doors, to streetlamps and cars.
Most disturbing—aside from the copious amounts of blood smeared everywhere—was there was not a body to be found.
Then again, with those rats back there, there might be a reason for that…
“Dean…I think we may be in over our heads.” Sam said, staring out, gun lowering. Dean was just about to agree with him when he saw her.
She stumbled out of a doorway in the building forming one wall of the alley, sunlight catching her pale blonde hair and skin that was nearly white with fear. And she was wounded. “Hey!” She didn’t respond at first, just froze. Dean gentled his tone, sighing a bit at Alec, Sam and Keegan’s raised guns. “Hey, hun, you need help?”
“Dean, she doesn’t smell right.” Sam hissed, going pale.
“Guys, I’m not hearing your thoughts so I think we’re ok.” Dean hissed back, keeping his eyes on the woman. She was finally turning, making this horrible gasping wheeze that made Dean suspect broken ribs—
“Please tell me I’m not seeing what I think I’m seeing.” Keegan said in a voice very unlike her own.
The woman was missing half of her face. Her remaining eye was bloody and discolored. Her teeth were red, her gums black.
“We can’t be…it has to be a spirit.” Sam said, stepping back anyway. Dean figured the best way to figure out was just to shoot the damned thing. He was shocked as hell when the bullet made a twunk with impact into her sternum, and she staggered back, dark, jelly like blood oozing from the wound.
And then she just looked up at him. And snarled.
“Corporeal.” Dean reloaded his gun, eyes still on the woman, who was now staggering towards them. “Sammy? I thought you couldn’t resurrect a body that wasn’t mostly whole…and half of her face…”
“I think it was more of a preference for some of the rituals.”
Alec’s face lit up. “Wait. You’re not telling me I actually got—“
Dean held up a hand, ignoring Alec. “But, dude, if someone raised that many…it would be no wonder they got out of control.”
This time, both Keegan and Sam shook their heads. “Still doesn’t feel right.”
“But it’s the best we got.” Sam finished, looking grim. “And there’s no fucking way I am nailing all these fuckers to their grave beds.”
“Then maybe we should bail.” Dean fired another shot at the dead girl, sending her staggering back a few steps. “Though, these don’t quite seem as superior as Angela.”
“It’s possible its because we’re superior now too.”
Alec, however, was gaping at them, looking shocked. “Guys!” He was whining.
Dean really hated it when Alec whined. “Dude, good case, seriously. But this might be a bit big—“
“I can sense her fucking emotions.”
It took a moment for the statement to actually sink in, and then Dean just didn’t want to believe it. “That’s…weird.”
Alec’s eyes were back on the woman, who had staggered to her feet again. “You told me Angela was complex…human except for a rage that was deadly. That’s still emotionally complex. She only feels one thing.”
It was Keegan who took the bait, “What?”
“Hunger.”
Well that changed things. A rugaru. However, apparently Sam knew exactly what he was thinking, because he was shaking his head—and frustratingly not in agreement—and saying, “Can’t be, Dean. They’re territorial. And one just can’t take out an entire city.” Dean was ever so slightly cheered as he caught Sam flinch at the suddenness of his gun’s rapport, as he chose that-precise-moment to give the bitch a warning shot.
However, there was no smack of her body hitting the sidewalk. Dean glanced back, and really wished he wasn’t so easily distracted. The bitch had managed to get herself a buddy, who was literally crawling behind her.
And there was noise coming from behind them now, too.
All around them, staggering in, first just a few, but by the ever-growing noise—more were inevitably coming. One glance back down the alley proved that there were at least three crowding the farthest end.
Dean counted twenty easily. That put the body count way above the victims Alec had found…which pretty much killed his theory that they were all resurrected by necromancy.
“Guys…We’re cut off from the car.” Keegan said, her voice tinged with the barest hint of stress. Sam’s eyes had already gone black, and he was trembling slightly with a mix of anticipation and fear. Alec slipped into his Manticore Soldier face, calm, eyes hard, calculating…
Dean, however, was already scanning the buildings for possible escape routes, because, based on the speed La Rapida the Dead Bitch was coming for them, there was a very good chance they could out-run them… providing they weren’t running into a nest of whatever these things were.
He caught sight of a fire truck, the ladder forming a bridge from the middle of the street to the rooftops—and by passing a good twelve of the things too—and was just about to inform them when he caught sight of one of the things.
It was wearing a Raccoon City Police uniform. He telescoped his vision in. The name on the badge on his jacket matched one on a police car barely ten feet from them.
The guy was missing an arm, and looked like he had been through a blender; all flayed skin. And he was staggering towards them.
“Eyes on me, follow!” And he booked it towards the fire truck. He knew he was too fast for them, but still, he got within a foot of some of the fuckers--the smell, damn that fucking wrong smell--and their reaction time was a little worrisome. Way too slow. Even an Ordinary would have been more cognoscente and flinched.
The ladder itself was not supported at all (which was going to be a small issue), but Keegan seemed to catch on to what he was planning, and grabbed Sam (the slowest of the three when it came to their blurring speed) and vanished, reappearing directly in the line of sight that Dean had followed for the ladder. He glanced behind him… their movement had attracted more of them, and they were moving quicker, in almost a frenzy…
“Alec, get your ass up that ladder now.” Alec paused, obviously about to protest when Dean grabbed him by his barcode, eliciting a yelp of pain as his fingers dug into the soft flesh of the nape of Alec’s neck. “I said now.” And he threw Alec in the general direction of the ladder, turning back to fire a few shots at the things leading the pack. They fell, but the ones behind them just crawled over. He didn’t stay to watch; he booked it up the ladder after Alec.
Half way across the ladder started to groan. Dean gave Alec a hard look, and the younger Winchester gave a slight eye roll before the muscles in his legs coiled, and he sprung up and out towards the roof, clearing the edge and landing on his feet.
However, his leap had forced the ladder in the opposite direction—and Dean was now clinging to it as it groaned and swayed…and below him, they were there, making these moaning noises, arms raised, mouths open, hungry.
He was gonna have fucking nightmares for a week.
And then he felt the metal drop an inch. “Shit.”
Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of him, and he felt himself get shoved into the ladder harder—heard the metal start to give way at added weight—
And he was on the rooftop, staring at Sam’s shoes, with someone sitting on him. “Never. Do. That. Again.” Keegan hissed at him before standing up—or trying to. She made it to a crouch before her legs started to give out. Alec was there immediately, catching her and saving her (and Dean) from more pain.
“What’s wrong?” Sam asked, looking at Alec and Keegan, but reaching a hand out to help Dean up.
“I’m fine, thank you.” Dean muttered sarcastically. He was worried about Keegan too, and, to be frank, the whole silent communication thing that her and Alec had developed was making him a tad jealous.
“She’s ok.” Alec announced after a moment, finally breaking his gaze with Keegan.
“That’s great. Why wasn’t she two seconds ago.”
Keegan didn’t meet his gaze. “…I have a limit to how soon after I teleport I can do it again. Its seconds, not usually that big of a deal…” She sighed. “I may have freaked a little bit at having to ‘port an inch above you, knowing the added weight would break that ladder…and went faster then I should have to make sure I got us both out of there.”
Sometimes, Dean just wanted to really have a chick flick moment. Prime example: little sister pushing her limits to save her big brother, out of fear and concern. Horrible timing with the corpses and people who should be dead walking the streets.
He settled for grabbing her into a one armed hug, before heading towards the edge of the roof top.
Below them, the entire fucking street was full of shambling, stumbling bodies in various degrees of degeneration. The falling of the fire truck ladder had done nothing but pin a few of the helpless creatures…Dean was certainly not going to go help the bastards.
“Alec,” he said, as soon as the others joined him at the ledge, “You sure can pick a hunt.” He didn’t need to look at Alec to know his clone was scowling at him. “I’d officially say we’re cut off from the car.”
“Sometimes, I think we should start carrying rope in our backpacks. Worked for Samwise.” Sam muttered, eyeing the distance to the next roof with some trepidation. “I don’t think even Alec could make it.”
“You know, I could always ‘port—“
“No.” Dean glanced over at her, expression mild. “We don’t know what’s going on here, and if those things are attracted to movement, who knows their reaction to magic.” He knew he had a valid point, especially when she just nodded, accepting his logic.
“We can’t just sit on the roof and wait to see if they mosey on outta here.” Alec said, sounding annoyed. “I mean, first of all, we don’t have any food, and I’m hungry. Second, I highly doubt we’re going to end up solving this bitch sitting on our asses.”
“He has a point.” Dean really hated how smug Alec got with Sam’s approval. But, yes, Alec did have two valid points.
“True. We’re cut off from the car…but I know if we plan this right, we can make it back to there…preferably along with taking down whoever summoned these fuckers.”
He knew they agreed with him—none of them really had any other choice—but it was nerve-wracking…
His pack, his family was depending on him to get them out of this alive. And while he’d never admit it to any of them…
He didn’t think the odds were too good.
“…I don’t know why I continue to try to do this whole ‘Hunter’ thing. I mean, look at my luck. First hunt, I get kidnapped by the homicidal ghost whose been wracking up hundreds of victims and fucking tortured by the fuck…and my first scouted Hunt ends up with people who may or may not be dead, but we’re pretty sure they are because their blood looks like cherry syrup. Chunky cherry syrup. Which oddly reminds me I’m hungry, but in no way for cherry syrup. Why couldn’t this have been some nifty monster…or a dragon? A dragon would have been so much more fun then these smelly freaks.” Alec paused in his litany to take out the leg of the nearest ambling body, causing it to fall back into the office it had been trying to leave. “Will you stay the fuck down, please? God, some people.”
“Keegan, please tell me you found his off switch.” Dean hissed. “Because Pretty Boy still doesn’t know when to shut the fuck up.” Alec just gave him a ‘who me?’ look and continued forward, taking point down the hall of the office building whose roof they had taken refuge on.
Dean held his position in the hall way, gun trained on the really dedicated office worker as Sam and then Keegan passed him. “He doesn’t have one. Unless you count the five minutes after he—“ Dean reached out to swat at her, and she ducked away, grinning.
“There’s a phrase I would like to introduce you to, Keegan, its called ‘T.M.I.’. The whole you and Alec and the mate thing? Under that heading. Avoid it.” She stuck her tongue out, and Sam gave him a reproachful look but seriously, that intel was of no use in this current situation.
A sudden thought hit him the moment Alec got to the end of the hall: She was trying to get his mind off the current situation. Keegan was scared. And deflecting.
Alec had found the door to the stairwell, and was motioning them forward. They took up points, covering the door and themselves as Sam pulled open the door, and Alec stepped into the window it created, gun drawn. After a moment, he gave the all clear, and they all filed in, Dean making sure he was last, and locking the stairwell door behind them. Best not to test how intelligent these things were.
It was echoing in the stairwell, but there were none of the loud groans that seemed to accompany the creatures…only a muffled crying, as if someone was hiding and hurt, and trying desperately not to be heard.
He didn’t need to ask if the others heard it too, Keegan was already trying to track down the direction of the sound, and Sam had moved towards the stairs leading down. Alec just walked to the railing and peered over the edge.
Dean really wanted to smack him.
“Hey, hey, its ok, it’s ok, we’re not those things. We’re here to help.” But apparently, Alec’s way had produced the results, as Dean heard a startled gasp, and the sound of a woman trying to stand. He walked over to the rail, peering down. They were only three stories up, and she could see them from her spot on the ground floor. And she waswounded. The smell of fresh blood (and more of that strange sick-smell) was strong.
She either believed Alec, or she was too injured to move, because she only managed to crawl a couple feet towards the cave the stairs made against the wall by the time they made it down. The woman was a survivor, though, she actually looked at them, and, in a shaky voice, said, “Stay back!”
Dean watched as Alec raised his hands, and gave her a nod, backing off a little. “You’re ok, we’re here to get you out of here.”
She gave a miserable little laugh, and tugged her leg—Dean thought it was broken—closer to herself. “You are just gonna die too.” She coughed, and Dean was alarmed to see red bubble at the corner of her mouth. He started towards her, but stopped at the sound of a safety being clicked off. She was armed. “Once you’re bitten, its all over.”
“What do you mean?” Alec asked, kneeling. She coughed again, and Dean tried very hard not to wince.
“Those things…” She waved her hand, “The first ones escaped from here. Once they started infecting others…” She coughed…and then continued coughing, her body jerking in response to the heaves.
Alec looked like he wanted to move towards her, but she still held the gun aimed vaguely at Dean, and one could understand his reluctance.
And as quickly as she started coughing, she just…stopped. Everything.
“Miss?” Alec took a hesitant step forward. “Miss?” Her entire body had gone slack. He dropped to his knees, and reached for her pulse. She didn’t move to stop him. She didn’t move at all. “She’s dead.”
“And I don’t think we know exactly what we’re dealing with…” Sam said, and Dean could just tell his geek brother was thinking up a storm.
Alec, however, was still crouching by the woman, peering at her. “If I didn’t know better…I’d almost say she died of Ebola.”
Dean froze. “What?” He didn’t like how high his voice sounded.
Alec just looked at him, frowning. “It’s not like we can catch it, Dad. Manticore made us immune. It’s just…I’ve seen people die of Ebola, and this is close…but not quite. Not quite right smell, either.”
“Where the fuck did you see people die of Ebola?”
“Our unit was sent out into the Congo in ’17. Took out the splinter cell of Al-Qaida..”
There were times when Dean felt inferior to his clone. He hated them…but here was another.
That is, until he realized that their survivor—who had just died—was moving. “Alec…” Alec rolled his eyes, still crouched way too close. Dean stepped forward, “Alec…she’s…one of them.”
“What?” And Alec glanced back just in time to see the woman lunge at him. Dean was horrified when Alec fell backwards, hands fighting to keep her away from biting him—and she was really trying to bite him. Keegan was already moving, firing a shot into the woman’s leg, but she ignored it, intent on eating Alec’s face. Literally.
Sam closed his eyes, but Dean knew by the time he got the concentration up—and he didn’t have a clear shot—
“Just put the bitch down! Fuck warning shots! Get her in the head!” Alec snarled, managing to get a leg up and between the woman and himself, throwing her over his head (Keegan dodging out of the way). Dean spun, and took a bead on her approximate height. As she drew up—her broken leg didn’t seem to be bothering her too much now—she snarled at him and lunged.
He put a bullet between her eyes.
The bitch went down…and she didn’t get back up.
Sam was already looking like he was going to verbally tear down Alec (out of guilt, Dean knew, for not being able to rip the thing off of him) but Alec, for some reason, was smiling.
“What the fuck are you on?” Keegan blurted, eyeing her mate with a distinct ‘what the fuck’ expression.
Alec made a great show of looking from them each in turn, to the corpse on the floor—still not moving, longest yet—and then back. “We can kill them.”
Dean nodded, mirroring the grin. “And she said they came from here…that’s a big lead.”
Dean didn’t have them split up: their lives were worse then every scifi and horror movie he had ever seen, and in every one of those, the minute you split off from the pack, you better kiss your ass good bye. Besides, Alec and Keegan were used to operating as a unit in Manticore, and in all the years that had passed between Sam and Dean, it wasn’t very likely they’d be going to separate again. He’d never admit it, but he needed Sam at his back just like he needed air to breathe.
That, or Alec’s over dramatic-ness was rubbing off on him. Or maybe even the combined girly-ness of Sam and Keegan…
Which was why they had only covered a small part of the offices…and found nothing but a bunch of memos, and regular office paper work for a company called Umbrella, which seemed to have its hand in everything from consumer products to pharmaceuticals…but, the numbers didn’t add up.
“Sam…tell me, how do you spend over ten million on research and development for a child’s toy? And then make back triple when as far as I can tell, the toy never actually hit markets?” Dean asked, handing over one memo.
“Or why this place mentions seven floors when clearly there are only three.” Keegan suddenly stood up, head turning towards the hall way. “Guys…we didn’t check the elevators. There could be more floors below…like at Manticore.”
Dean cursed under his breath, she was right. They had ignored the elevators simply because, in an emergency, one didn’t use them.
“You two find anything useful?”
“Nothing.” Alec said, throwing down a file with a look of disgust.
Sam took his time answering. “Just a bunch of shoddy numbers…whatever was generating Umbrella’s profits, it wasn’t these ‘consumer products’.” Sam looked up at Dean. “I’m starting to think this isn’t our type of case.”
“Well, we’re stuck in the middle of it, so we make the best of it. Lets head down stairs.”
It took them barely a minute to gather up the few documents Sam had thought important, and move to the elevators.
Sam took the time to open up the panel once inside, and sure enough, if you had a key card, four more floors were suddenly available. Granted, Sam’s keycard was a credit card and a magnet (Dean always wondered why the hell he still had credit cards when the entire system was demolished in 2010) but it worked.
The slow, quiet ride down was awkward and tense, Alec the only one managing to stand completely still.
The elevator slowed at sublevel one, and Dean felt his gut clench in nerves. Something was outside that door.
“Hearin’ our thoughts yet, bro?” Sam asked, obviously thinking the same thing. The disturbing part was the answer was ‘no’, but his instincts were saying yes.
“No…but something tells me that doesn’t exclude the danger factor.”
The elevator doors dinged, and started to slide open, and Dean heard Alec yell ‘Down’ before Sam was yanking him to the floor, and there was a burst of gun fire above their heads. Dean glanced to his left just in time to see a rotten face drop not inches from his own, stinking breath escaping in its death, a bullet hole neatly between its eyes.
Only then he was able to take in the groaning, and moaning, and the sound of people trampling themselves to get to the elevator. Glancing up, Alec and Keegan had their pistols out, and were alternating fire, four guns going, each shot taking down one of the freaks. Their faces were blank, expressionless…Manticore.
Barely a minute passed before Sam was yanking him back up, drawing his own gun as both Alec and Keegan reloaded, and took up the cause. Dean was a fraction of a second behind him. Another thirty seconds, and they had a path clear enough to get through.
“Move it, move now!” Dean wasn’t sure when Alec had decided he was in charge, but this wasn’t the time to argue, especially when his pause to asses that had sent a bullet whizzing by his ear, and he spun to see one of those things—it probably used to be a rather pretty lab tech—head snap back, bullet lodged in its brain. “I said, move!”
“Damnit, Pretty Boy, I’m moving!”
It was a haze of sterilized halls, walking corpses and gun flashes, and then Sam was yanking him into an office, Keegan slamming into his back at his unexpected stop. Alec was slamming into her a moment later, but he angled the hit to knock both of them into the room, so that Sam could slam the door.
“Ok, I don’t think coming down here was the best idea we’ve ever had.” Sam announced, leaning against the door as those things threw themselves against it.
Dean ignored him, instead choosing to look around the office they had stumbled into. It was obviously a researcher’s—and someone high up due to the sheer size of the damn place—but best of all, it was pristine. It looked like no one had been in here since whatever had transpired out side.
He heard Alec and Keegan talking to themselves, probably making sure each other was alright, and so, he felt reasonably safe exploring. The computer—which looked like it had survived the Pulse—was in standby mode. Dean may not be as computer savvy as Sam, or a trained hacker like Alec or Keegan, but a computer with open access…that was something he could do no problem. Obviously, the company hadn’t thought anyone could access it that wasn’t supposed to which was their own mistake.
Five files later, he knew this wasn’t the only mistake they made. “Holy shit…guys, I know why this place was ground zero…” Almost instantaneously, he was being crowded by three other bodies, and no longer could see the screen. “Damnit, guys! I was reading that!”
“Genetic experimentation? In viral weaponry?” Sam was looking pale, but Alec was looking green.
In a moment, he had shoved everyone else out of the way and was actually blurring over the keyboard, the computer a few seconds behind him. All the while, he was muttering “No…no…no” continuously.
Dean only got passing glimpses at the screen as Alec became more and more agitated, before finally stepping back, revealing all the screen.
There was the Umbrella logo on one side of the page, and the Manticore logo on the other. The worst part, in black and white, barely a quarter of the page down, were the words X5R-494 and Test Subject, as well as the designations of several others.
“Oh god, Alec…” Keegan whispered. She looked between the page and him, reaching out, but Alec pulled away, giving a sardonic laugh.
“I fucking knew I smelt this before.”
Sam didn’t tear his eyes from the page, his mouth moving slightly as he read the words. “Wait, wait, guys!” Dean turned back to Sam eyes questioning. “It says we’re Immune. X5’s—transgenics in general—are immune to whatever virus this is.”
“Guess they figured this out after they used us as fucking lab rats!” Alec snarled. “You know, I never complained about having my bones broken, being subjected to all my allergies, having every reaction tested…but I don’t even fucking remember this.”
“I personally think we got a bigger problem.” Dean said, now that he had the computer back. “What does it mean, the virus is protean?”
“It means it changes based on its environment…oh fuck.” Keegan made a weak noise. “They probably lost containment…it became airborne…infected all these people…and then they started infecting people…”
“It’s still in the air?”
“No. Couldn’t have survived that long.” Keegan looked back at Dean. “We’re going to need back up. To contain this…”
“We call anyone…they’re just going to sanitize the facility, and Raccoon City along with it.” Alec had slipped back on the Manticore mask, and was breathing slowly, through his mouth. “We need to get out, and then call for help.”
“We should call Max. See if she can talk to Lydecker about pulling some strings—“ Keegan actually leapt backwards at Alec’s snarl.
“He signed the paper work. He knows.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, there. Easy, boy.” Dean said, standing slowly. “Lets just worry about getting the fuck—“
There was a roar from below them that shook the glass walls of the interior of the office.
“Twenty bucks says that’s not good.” Sam muttered. A moment later, the sound came again, but much closer.
“I think we should move.” Dean said, pulling his gun.
“Um, to where? We’re in an office… there are undead outside here, and whatever the fuck that is down there…and not like this place has a rear exit.” Sam pointed out, peering towards the back of the office.
“How are we on ammo?” Dean reached into his own pocket, counting the clips. “I’ve got four for my Winchester 1911, and a couple for a shotgun…which we don’t have.”
“Three clips here.”
“Eight.” Keegan said, checking her small back pack. Alec patted down his fatigues.
“Ditto.”
“And we have no idea how many are out there.” Dean kicked the edge of the desk. “Damnit.”
The roar came again.
“But…lets take our chances, I don’t wanna know what—Alec, what the fuck are you doing?”
Alec glared at him from back by the computer. “Backing up the hard drive. If they sanitize it, you wanna bet everything they did will get covered up? I’m sick of being covered up.”
Dean nodded, it was a fair point. After Alec was done, he pocketed the disk, and joined the others by the door way, locking the clips in both of his guns. Dean nodded once at Sam, and then it was a repeat performance of getting into the fucking office, only this time it was running for the elevator.
Sam just cleared the door when Dean caught a glimpse of something crawling along the ceiling, moving impossibly fast, tongue shooting out—
And the doors slid shut.
“Holy fucking shit! What the fuck was that?” Dean was glad he wasn’t the only one who saw it, but it certainly didn’t make him feel better.
“I have no fucking clue. Alec?” Alec just shook his head. “Sam?”
“Didn’t see it.” Sam panted. “Too busy trying to not get bit.”
The elevator suddenly rocked, and they were all thrown to the floor. Metal screamed, and groaned in protest, and the ceiling buckled and bent—something landed on the roof of the lift…
“Oh, this is not happening…” Dean watched with something akin to terror as claws—fucking claws—ripped through the metal of the industrial elevator. He didn’t blame Keegan for the slight scream she let slip when the claws tore through a second time, as if the metal was nothing more yielding then paper.
“We need to get the doors open!” Sam said, staying low, and crawling towards the front. He got his fingers in between the crease, but they were still moving. “Someone hit the emergency stop!”
Alec launched himself from his stomach just long enough to do that, but the sudden movement somehow caught the thing’s attention. Renewed clawing ensued, and Alec was hit with falling shrapnel.
Sam used his superior strength and wrenched the doors open, but the gap…”Damnit! We’re not completely up!” Dean peered past Sam, gauging the two foot gap.
“We can squeeze through. Keegan first.” Dean then pulled himself into a corner, keeping himself low but bringing his gun to aim at the red claws coming through the ceiling. Keegan pulled herself through easily, Alec right behind her, and while he helped pull Sam through, Dean watched as the ceiling was peeling back.
It had no eyes. Its brain was directly exposed…and it just didn’t have any skin. Dean just wasn’t sure what the Hell he was looking at…because he had seen things in Hell, and this was worse.
And then it opened its mouth.
Dean found himself watching in some kind of slow motion as a tongue…impossibly long, unfurled towards him, reaching…
He registered someone grabbing his jacket just as the tongue reached his arm, and quite suddenly, he was yanked out of the thing’s reach, and slammed into the elevator doors. “Fuck!”
“Get out here!” Dean glanced up at the tongue, only to see it pull back, and the creature pull itself into the elevator car. Dean pushed his legs out, keeping his gun trained on the nasty thing before he felt presumably Sam and Alec yank him through, his shoulders catching just barely, and then he used his agility to pull himself from cracking his head on the ground, crushing a finger under his gun, but landing on his hands.
Not two seconds later, that thing’s face snarled out at them, and Dean vaulted himself to his feet. Alec let out a snarl that was more animal then human, and if he had fur, Dean just knew it would be standing on end. As it was, the short hairs on the back of Alec’s neck were standing up as he backed in front of Keegan, lowering his shoulders in a defensive posture. Dean knew his was too, he could feel the prickling sensation.
The thing was fighting it’s way out of the elevator, but it’s larger mass was proving difficult.
Dean didn’t have a comeback, or a joke, or anything. Especially not when the thing got tired of fighting and waiting to eat them, and sent that tongue flying towards them. Dean knew the distance between himself and the elevator was ten feet three inches exactly, and the tongue was wagging at him easily less then six inches away. It pulled back, again, then shot out, probing.
It couldn’t see them.
“Guys!” And almost instantly, the tongue was back, eerily on target. He signaled for silence, while Sam gave the universal ‘well duh’ gesture. Apparently it’s hearing was incredible.
And with them falling silent (and it still not wrapping that slimy looking thing around any of them), it pulled back the tongue (which still hung out of its mouth by at least three feet) and clawed at the doors and walls, trying to make the hole big enough to get out of.
Dean really didn’t want that thing getting out. He gestured for the others to follow his instructions (twice for Alec, who seemed more focused on the Licker, as Dean now thought of it) and then repeated it just to make sure.
::On three, open fire and do not stop till it is DEAD::
Predictably, Sam had an objection. It was really amazing to Dean how Sam managed to argue while they couldn’t talk, but there he was, signing ::We don’t have unlimited ammo. And we still need to get out.::
Dean effectively ended the argument when he turned and opened fire on the Licker. Immediately, it lashed out with it’s tongue, but the bullets cut right through the appendage and it screamed in pain. Caught half in the elevator shaft, getting shot near point blank by a trained marksman…the licker didn’t last nearly as long as Dean had thought.
It’s dying keel was a series of clicking noises, which Dean found very odd.
“Thanks ever so much for the help, guys.”
“You totally had it covered!” Keegan yelped, indignantly. “Besides, Alec kept getting over protective and blocked every. Freaking. Shot.” The last three words were punctuated with slaps to the shoulder that didn’t even phase the obviously spooked X5.
Dean was just about to comment when Sam elbowed him. He followed Sam’s gaze…
And there was a clicking noise…and the most bizarre sound of flesh and claws scraping against…ceiling tile…
And then something leaped across the hallway, hissing. Alec spun, managing to get Keegan behind him again and had his teeth bared, gun drawn at some local that Dean couldn’t pinpoint. Obviously, Alec was tracking the emotions of whatever it was.
A tongue shot out and ripped the gun from Alec’s hand, taking a good amount of skin with it. Alec let out a strangled yell, already going for his other gun, even as his body was trying to fall to it’s knees, reeling from the pain.
“It’s another Licker!”
“A wh—“ Sam cut himself off, realizing that now wasn’t the best time, and instead grabbed Alec’s other arm (Keegan had his injured one in a gentle but secure grip) and helping her haul him backwards. Dean kept his gun trained on where he had seen the tongue lash from—
And then he was flat on the floor, gun going off and ricocheting a bullet into the ceiling as his feet were pulled out from under him. He tried to look over his shoulder—
The other one wasn’t dead.
“We are fucked!” He had maintained his hold on his gun, and started firing the best he could back at the creature that had his feet. Three shots later, and the tongue went limp, spasming once before just…still.
He kicked it off, and spun—Alec was back on his feet, eyes searching the ceiling. Sam was too, but he was alternating between that and checking on Keegan, who had somehow been knocked—
The tongue came flying out again, hitting Sam in the shoulder and sending him flying into the far wall. Well, that explained Keegan. Alec had leveled with where the tongue was, but the creature already was moving and it nearly put them to…
He had an idea. Sam would kill him, but he might save his family.
And, holstering his gun for the moment, he crouched down—he caught a flash of it—and he was off, using every ounce of his X5 speed and agility, bounding after the thing, which was now kind of like chasing down one of their many neighbors dogs when Dean or Sam accidentally let them loose while trying to play. Except, those dogs had never really minded being chased, and never turned around and shot a tongue at him. Dean surprised himself when he actually caught the damn thing, only to be yanked towards the licker as it pulled it’s tongue back.
However, Dean wanted to be closer. Just as it’s teeth came into clear view, he let go, using his continued momentum to crash into the thing—trying to avoid the damned claws—and got a hand on either side of it’s head—
Snap.
The sound echoed loudly in the hall, and it had taken way too much force, but Dean was now just trying to land on his feet, as the now-dead licker’s claws lost their hold on the ceiling. It’s corpse landed with a heavy thud behind him.
Alec, Keegan and Sam were staring at him like he had lost his mind. That, or he was the next coming of Christ. But, considering how the latter had worked out, he was going to go with ‘they thought he was insane’. “And that’s why I’m the Alpha, bitch.”
After the licker--lickers, I took out two of those creepy bastards-- the rest of the creatures they faced seemed…well…just annoying. In particular, Sam had gotten a stalker…and Dean just loved the fact that this particular person had managed to get infected and die while naked and choosing to keep coming after his brother, who seemed reluctant to look at the poor man.
The best part was, technically, Sam now had two younger siblings, who seemed to find it just as amusing as Dean, and thus refused to shot him for Sam.
Things were going great till they got to the edge of the city.
Military check points had been set up, there were helicopters buzzing overhead—everything screamed big cover-up in progress. Worse, they had sighted the Winchesters on security feeds (because, for some strange reason those were still working), and Dean found himself wondering if they were going to have to fight an entire regiment to get out of here (which would be tough, and probably piss Max off to high hell that her wayward transgenics were getting bad press) or let them take them into custody.
Unsurprisingly, Dean chose the peaceful route. He also had Sam and Keegan nagging him. Which was why, four hours later, they were still sitting in a white medical tent, being poked and prodded with various needles all to be sure that they had survived their sojourn in Raccoon City uninfected.
After all, they had been in there nearly a full twenty four hours. After the city went critical, no one survived that long, unless they had been in Umbrella.
Dean really, really wanted to point out that they were genetically engineered bioweapons themselves, and they could handle themselves. But, for the sake of Freak Nation, he kept silent. They’d find out as soon as they ran the tests anyway.
There were footsteps outside his door, and Dean didn’t even bother to glance up. Probably another blood test.
“Well, you look a hell of a lot better then I would have thought.” Dean snapped his head up, eyes wide.
“Lydecker?”
The silver-haired man smiled, and walked into the room, leaning against the door. “I’d say how’s it been…but I think I know.”
“Alec thought it was one of ours.” Lydecker nodded, and looked back at Dean.
“He told me. I just wanted to come in, make sure you got released, and make sure this mess gets cleaned up.” He looked away. “We sealed the Raccoon City facility in September—Umbrella assured us operations had been completely shut down.”
Dean smirked. “yeah, well, now they are.” Lydecker nodded.
“Sir?” Dean and Don both looked up towards the door, where a scientist was looking between the two—Dean as if he was something the man was itching to take a closer look at, scientifically speaking, and Don because that’s who he was supposed to talk to. “You wanted to be notified when the test results came—“
Don just took the folder from the scientist, and flipped through the pages. “Yep. Clear. Immune. See? I told you they were part of the test. Now let them go, you can’t keep them here since they were only on loan.” Dean smirked a little, Lydecker was one shrewd man.
The minute the man had passed out of hearing range, Dean leaned closer to Lydecker and whispered, “You lied? Tsk, Tsk, Donnie boy.”
“You’re my kids.” Don said, standing again. “And besides, your blood test does confirm your immune, you took out two Lickers and a large amount of Infected. Clearly, our science wins.” And he smiled.
Dean was just happy to be out of that damned place.
NEW JERSEY
TWO DAYS LATER
“But, Dean, come on! This is nothing like Raccoon City!” Dean just looked up at Alec, and shook his head.
“No. I’m not trusting any more hunts from you, Pretty Boy.” Alec looked absolutely flabbergasted.
“But! Dude! Zombies!”
“Oh, he said the ‘Z’ word.” Sam called, not looking up from his newspaper. Dean shook his head.
“Damnit. We never say the ‘Z’ word, man. Ruins our image. Besides, they were ‘Infected’.” He used the quote-y fingers. “ And you don’t get points for the awesomeness of the monster. Those bonus points went to the fact we nearly died the entire time we were there. And the fact it was a city full of undead.”
And thus, Dean figured the Jersey Devil could continue to haunt the Pine Barrens for all he cared. Alec had the worst luck when he picked the hunts.
Originally Posted Here
Author’s Note: I'd like to point out that, until Alec's line at the very end (coincidentally the first line written), This story follows what every video game and movie has: the Infected are never called 'Zombies'. This is why I should never have a Resident Evil marathon in my house. Ever.
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