Resident Evil. Retribution by John Shirley Read Free Book Online Page B

weapons—combat rifles, loaded and ready in case of need.
    They all had the metal and glass scarabs on their chests. The scarab was the comforting node of Umbrella’s control; the source of the peace Jill felt, when she was in “neutral” like this; the source of the reward of hot stimulation she felt when it was time to act.
    She felt that stimulation now, as a soft alarm bell sounded, and the room’s lights pulsed in warning. The scarab she wore over her bosom began to glow.
    Against the milky-white walls stood various types of equipment, including a bank of surveillance monitors.
    The scarab glowed, the alarm sounded, and Jill obediently stood up, marching smartly to the surveillance computer. The other troopers stood, as well, their scarabs pulsing with life. They snatched up their weapons and waited for her orders.
    Jill touched the corner of the monitor, activating the “scan for irregularities” surveillance system. The system immediately provided an image of Alice, seen from a high angle, walking quickly down the long, seemingly empty corridor. She was wearing a black Umbrella combat suit. That was wrong, Jill knew. She should not have had access to it. She wasn’t far from her interrogation cell—how had she acquired the outfit?
    The HUD style interface that projected images on the edge of Jill’s retina lit up with scrolling letters:
ESCAPED FUGITIVE APPREHEND DR DESTROY
    Jill received her orders.
    “She got out!” she snapped. “Scramble the security team!”
    Striding down that endless corridor, looking for an exit, Alice was encouraged by what appeared to be the corridor’s end, at last, not too far up ahead.
    She hadn’t seen anyone else yet. The only sound was her breathing, her steps on the floor. Until…
    Something else. A faint noise.
    The sound got louder—it was distant, but getting closer, until it sounded like a giant’s footsteps. THOOM, THOOM, THOOM, THOOM. And it was coming from behind.
    She turned and saw a laser grid, accompanying the booming sound, filling the corridor section by section.
    THOOM.
    Another section filled with the lethal beams.
    THOOM.
    Another section, and it seemed to Alice that she could hear the sizzle of the beams, coming ever closer. She turned and ran, knew instinctively that she didn’t want to be caught by even one of the beams in the grid…
    Even though she had her back to them, she could feel them, hot on her heels.
    Suddenly she reached the end of the corridor—and the door. She sprinted, jerked the door open just as the grid caught up with her, and she ran into…
    Tokyo. At night.
    Specifically, Shibuya Scramble. She was in the Times Square of Tokyo, where numerous major streets intersected, neon lights burned like hot emotions against the night, and JumboTrons flashed with endless advertisements,
    Alice had been here, shopping, before the coming of the Undead, and it was just as she remembered it… except for one thing. There were no people. No cars, no traffic. The only movements were on the gigantic JumboTron screens, digitally capturing laughing faces, happy faces, coy faces, sexy faces… giant twodimensional people beaming down on the otherwise lifeless intersection.
    But the Scramble wasn’t quite empty, because Alice was there, walking into the empty street—and marveling.
    At least the Undead should be here. The electricity probably shouldn’t be on—not now. Not most of it. The buildings should be damaged, some of them burned, wrecked by the apocalyptic coming of the Undead.
    But they weren’t—everything here was pristine, as if waiting for the crowd to come back.
    Maybe there was a drug in that drink after all.
    But she didn’t feel drugged. She touched the roof of a parked car. It was cold metal, very real indeed. Her bare feet felt the rough, cold concrete beneath them.
    Walk/Don’t Walk signs flashed for vanished pedestrians. The traffic lights changed, as if hopeful that they might attract traffic.
    Alice glanced behind her