"This next battle could get nasty!"
Jill raised her grenade launcher and loaded an acid round.
"The enemies might not just be bio-organic creatures there could be humans too."
"Forget the humans for now." Mero spoke suddenly.
Jill tensed, thinking he had detected danger. She back-to-back with him, muscles coiled.
But Mero wasn't looking at her. He frowned, his gaze fixed on the passage they had just come from.
"Get ready to run." He loaded the Smith & Wesson, his tone calm as he spoke to both of them.
Rebecca and Jill blinked in confusion.
"Mr. Mero, what did you " Rebecca began cautiously.
"The footsteps are heavier than a human's, yet I can hear insect wings flapping." Mero's eyes swept past the two women, locked on the shadow-filled corridor behind them.
Footsteps heavier than a human's?
Rebecca's mind raced to imagine creatures larger than humans, perhaps a Tyrant, but before she could focus, a low, resonant sound surged through the tunnel.
Sss eee !
A high-pitched, piercing noise like a tearing bellows, mixed with insect shrieks and human-like moans. The sound was sharp, fine, and chilling.
"What is that!?"
Jill's eyes widened as she looked down the corridor. Figures began to emerge from the shadows a dense, writhing mass.
Human forms intertwined with insect-like limbs. The black shapes surged like a tide of crawling horror. They drew closer, the mass growing darker, claws scraping metal, wings buzzing, until it was almost deafening.
"It's a Chimera!"
"Bio-organic Chimera! So many… all of them… disgusting! And fast!"
Rebecca's scream acted like a signal. Jill snapped out of shock and turned to run with them, flinging her acid round before fleeing.
It was no wonder she panicked. Ordinary zombies didn't scare her anymore, but these creatures were horrifyingly grotesque, just as Rebecca had said.
They looked like grotesque hybrids of humans and flies.
The thirty or so chimeras swarming the passage might not sound like much, but appearances were deceiving.
Human-sized, with twisted torsos, exposed bones and organs, segmented insect-like limbs tipped with hooks, and small underdeveloped wings on their backs.
Mero narrowed his eyes, watching the Chimeras charge. Thanks to Rebecca's discovery of the research journal, they knew exactly what these things were.
They were a type of bioweapon, a failed experiment combining flies and humans. Using the T-virus as a vector, fly DNA was injected into human embryos. Homeless women were abducted and forced to carry the offspring to term.
Successful individuals were then cloned for mass production.
Low intelligence, uncontrollable behavior, and horrifying appearances traumatized the researchers themselves. The project was eventually abandoned.
Genius and madness are separated by a fine line. Only a madman would create something like this. Umbrella's viral researchers were true madmen!
For some reason, a surge of unnameable anger welled up inside Mero.
The fly-human Chimeras were crimson all over, moving with terrifying speed. Their strikes were too fast for the human eye to track.
Thirty of them filled the corridor, grotesque beyond measure, as if they were swallowing the flickering torchlight into the depths of hell.
Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz!
A high-pitched buzzing came from behind, piercing the eardrums, unnervingly vibrating through the soul.
"This could get messy." Mero frowned, smashing a Chimera leaping at them into pulp.
In terms of one-on-one combat, a Chimera was no match for Mero. But their numbers were overwhelming, and their mobility unmatched.
He could cut through them all, but their greatest advantage their explosive insect-like speed was no match for his.
The problem wasn't difficulty; it was disgust. Filming the attacks for research purposes offered no benefit, so he had zero desire to engage.
"Suppressing fire. Make sure to capture it clearly. Your cut will come from this transport mission," Mero said casually.
Jill fired an acid round and barely had time to reload before a camera was shoved into her hands.
Mero carried Rebecca and Jill, sprinting at a speed amplified by his enhanced physique. He had dodged bullets before. He could see the shooter's every motion, track each round's trajectory.
He didn't need to be faster than bullets just faster than the humans firing them. Fast enough to avoid every shot. His only concern was concentrated fire.
Even while running, Mero slowed his movements. What looked like rapid attacks to Jill and Rebecca appeared in slow motion to him.
They fled as soon as they saw the Chimeras. They knew their guns couldn't stop fly-human attacks. Too fast almost impossible to aim.
But no matter how fast the Chimeras ran, they were slower than Mero.
"Ahhh ugh eeh oooh~"
Rebecca and Jill, pressed against his broad shoulders, felt their stomachs churn violently but quickly gained distance.
Reaching the next section of the corridor, Mero saw a door bound with chains. He pushed, preparing to break it down, when a shadow appeared through the gap.
Rebecca peeked through the double doors and gasped.
"Captain Enrico?"
"Rebecca?"
The voice was rough, gasping for breath.
Soon, with the clang of chains, the door swung open.
Inside sat a middle-aged man with a small beard.
Enrico slumped on the ground, panting heavily. "Can you… close the door…?"
Mero looked at the Chimeras pressing from the corridor and twisted the metal handles of the double doors together, barricading them outside.
Rebecca finally noticed the blood staining Enrico's clothes.
"You're hurt? Don't worry, I'll "
"No need."
Leaning against the wall, Enrico waved them off and coughed up blood.
"I know my own state. My lungs are perforated. You arrived just in time I've got maybe two minutes left."
"A gunshot wound? How is that possible?" Rebecca's eyes widened.
"STARS has a traitor. I almost caught him, but he led us into the mountains. My aim wasn't enough he's always been that skilled."
"Was it Barry?" Jill's voice trembled.
Barry had been her senior. Rough in appearance, but always carried family photos in his pocket. He loved tinkering with guns and fishing. All STRAS firearms passed through his hands. He often complained that Joseph rushed too far ahead and bragged about his perfect family to Jill.
Chris had lost his parents young; Barry treated him like an over-involved father, taking him fishing.
Until now, Jill could never have imagined Barry would betray them.