Resident Evil: Underworld by S. D. Perry Read Free Book Online

at the others, saw thoughtful and uneasy expressions, saw Claire looking as though she half wanted to change her mind.
    Leon walked to where she was leaning against a seat, her arms folded tightly, and touched her shoulder.
    “Thinking about Chris?” He asked gently.
    To his surprise, she shook her head, smiling at him nervously. “No. Actually, I was thinking about the Spencer estate, and the raid on Caliban Cove, and what happened in Raccoon. I was thinking that no matter what Trent says about how simple this will be, nothing is ever simple with Umbrella. Things have a way of getting complicated when they’re involved. You’d think we would know that by now…”
    She trailed off, then shook her head as if trying to clear it, giving him another, brighter smile. “Listen to me talk. I’m going to get a sandwich, you want anything?”
    “No, thanks,” he said absently, still thinking about what she’d said as she walked away—and wondering suddenly if their little trek to Utah was going to be the last mistake that any of them ever made.
    * * *
    Steve Lopez, good ol’ Steve, his face as blank and white as a sheet of paper, standing in the middle of the strange, vast laboratory, standing and aiming his semi at them and telling them to drop their weapons —
    —and the rage, the pain and red fury that hit John like a hurricane as he realized what had happened, that Karen was dead, that Steve had been turned into one of those crazy asshole’s zombie soldiers —
    —and John screamed, what did you do to him, not thinking, spinning instead, firing at the blank-faced drone behind them, the round punching neatly through its left temple and the cold air stinking like death as the creature fell —
    —and pain! Pain, tearing through him as Steve, Stevie, his friend and comrade, shot him in the back. John felt blood dribble from his lips, felt himself turning, felt more pain than he thought he could feel. Steve had shot him, the mad doctor had used the virus on him and Steve wasn’t Steve anymore and the world was spinning, screaming —
    John, John wake up you’re having
    “—a bad dream. Hey, big guy—”
    John sat up, his eyes wide and his heart thumping, feeling disoriented and afraid. The cool hand on his arm was Rebecca’s, the touch gentle and soothing, and he realized that he was awake, that he’d been dreaming and was now awake.
    “Shit,” he mumbled, and sagged back against his seat, closing his eyes. They were still on the plane, the soft drone of the engine and the hiss of canned air putting to rest the last of his confusion.
    “You okay?” Rebecca asked, and John nodded, taking a few deep breaths before he opened his eyes again.
    “Did I—did I yell or anything?”
    Rebecca smiled at him, watching him closely. “Nope. Just so happens I was on my way back from the bathroom and saw you twitching like a rabbit. It didn’t look like you were having much fun… hope I didn’t interrupt anything good.”
    The last was almost a question. John forced a grin and avoided the subject entirely, glancing out at the passing darkness instead. “Three tuna sandwiches before bed was a bad idea, I guess. We almost there?”
    Rebecca nodded. “We’re just starting the descent. Fifteen, twenty minutes, David says.”
    She was still scrutinizing him, still wearing an expression of warmth and concern, and John realized he was being an idiot. Keeping that shit to oneself was a sure ticket to losing one’s mind.
    “I was in the lab,” he said, and Rebecca nodded, it was all he needed to say. She’d been there.
    “I had one just a couple of days ago, right after we decided to leave Exeter,” she said softly. “A real nasty one. It was kind of a combination, stuff from the Spencer lab and from the cove.”
    John nodded, thinking about what a remarkable young woman she was. She’d faced down a houseful of Umbrella monsters on her first S.T.A.R.S. mission, and had still decided to come with them to check out