RESIDENT EVIL: FAMILY TIES
By Gary Stark

PROLOGUE

Sharp scratching branches scraped across Sarah¡¦s arms and face as she stumbled through the woods. The moon high above cast almost no light through the thick canopy of green leaves surrounding her in thick shadows. Twigs were stuck in her hair; her eyes were big and bulging in terror. Behind her she could hear the thump of many heavy feet chasing her through the darkness. Tears streamed down her dirty cheeks as she lurched through the gloom.
Suddenly the ground was gone and she was falling. Tumbling out of control she rolled head over heels down a steep embankment. At the bottom she hit her head on a big boulder. Sobbing she struggled to a sitting position and clutched her bleeding temple. Above her, the monsters paused at the top of the slope. Their pink skin glistened in the pale light; their exposed brains throbbed sickly. More and more appeared from the dark with their long whipping tongues slashing the air.
She screamed, but no one cared. She saw the first licking beast pounce. It was the last thing that she ever saw.

CHAPTER 1

¡§ATTEND-SHUN!!¡¨ Screamed Major Williams. Lieutenant Trevor Sully could hear every word through his window as the Major yelled commands at the cadets. He grinned, remembering his own training. He had a great laugh with the boys in his platoon all those years ago. He still longed for the old days of trooping off to exotic battlegrounds with the guys. Destroying foreign lands and killing new people! Nowadays he was imprisoned in an office because of an old wound he received in Bosnia when he was in the UN Peace Corps.
Staring out of the window of his little office he daydreamed about the Gulf War, Bosnia and all of the Black Ops he had so enjoyed. Of course he wasn¡¦t like any of those old soldiers that loved war, quite the opposite in fact. He hated the death and destruction. But he lived for the thrill of being on the battlefield. The closest he had gotten to a real fight in the last few years was filling out reports and investigating battles fought by his younger replacements.
¡§Sir, personal message for you on line one.¡¨ Said his assistant Ms Brant poking her head around the side of his door. Trevor thanked her and grabbed the receiver. He knew that none of his friends of family would call him at work if it weren¡¦t serious.
¡§Hello?¡¨ he said
¡§Trevor, it¡¦s Tony, you¡¦ve got to come home, man. Something¡¦s happened.¡¨ Came the trembling voice of his brother.
¡§What? What is it?¡¨
¡§It-it¡¦s Sarah. She¡¦s been killed.¡¨

Trevor got emergency leave immediately and raced to the family home. His mind was spinning. How could his baby sister be dead? What had happened? Who would do something like this to a kid? The only thing he was sure of was that he was going to find who ever was responsible.
When he reached the house there was a squad car waiting outside. He parked his Sedan and ran straight into the living room where his mother was crying. A female officer was comforting her on the couch. She looked up.
¡§Trevor!¡¨ she croaked, her eyes were red and puffy, and her hair was ruffled. She jumped up and hugged her eldest son. There was a detective standing nearby. He nodded to the door indicating to Trevor that he was leaving. The woman officer followed him out.
Trevor pulled away from his mum and said: ¡§Where¡¦s Tony?¡¨
¡§Here I am.¡¨ He said appearing from the kitchen. He put a cup of tea on the coffee table for his mum. Trevor stepped back from her.
¡§Can you watch mum a second?¡¨
¡§But where are you going? You just got here!¡¨ she whimpered.
¡§I just have to speak to the police before they go. I¡¦ll only be a minute.¡¨ He smiled at her and jogged out of the house.
The Detective was just getting into his car when Trevor shouted to him to wait. He closed the door and waited for him. ¡§Im so sorry about what has happened, lieutenant Sully. I know Sarah was a nice kid.¡¨ He said sympathetically.
¡§Thanks, Detective¡K¡¨
¡§Draper.¡¨
¡§¡KDraper. Listen, I was wondering if you could tell me how the investigation is coming along.¡¨
¡§Sir, I don¡¦t think I can divulge anything at this point. I know you have a background in investigations and the like but family can¡¦t be involved.¡¨
¡§Okay, I understand but can you at least tell me what happened? The how¡¦s, what¡¦s, where¡¦s, and when¡¦s? I can handle it. I need to know.¡¨ Draper sighed.
¡§Alright. We¡¦re pretty sure it was murder. We found her body in he woods, it wasn¡¦t in a pretty state.¡¨ Trevor nodded. ¡§She was in the woods camping with a big group of other kids up near Tigers Point in the woods. We found all six of them nearby in a similar condition.¡¨
¡§My God. All kids were killed?¡¨ Trevor was shocked
¡§Yeah. It was a real mess up there. The local cops did a fingertip search of the area but found nothing out of the ordinary.¡¨
¡§Any suspects yet?¡¨
¡§No. Now listen, Lieutenant, I don¡¦t want you poking around up there, you hear me? The police will find the people that did this. Don¡¦t go trying to figure it out yourself. Okay?¡¨
¡§Yeah, alright, Detective. Thanks for your help.¡¨ They shook hands and Draper drove off back to the police station. Trevor walked back into house and realized that he was still dressed in his uniform. He would have to change.

He spent a few hours at home with his mother and brother. After his mother went to bed he quietly left the house and got into his car. He wore jeans and a black sweater under his brown leather jacket. He could feel the bulge of his standard issue Barretta under his arm.
The roads were almost completely deserted as he made his way up the mountain to the woods where his sister was found. Everyone was staying indoors when there was a murderer loose. The sun would set soon; the sky was pale with the glowing orb of the sun swinging low to the horizon. The cool breeze whipped through the open window of his black Sedan rustling his short dark hair.
Eventually he reached the little car park. It was empty. Glancing around as he got out of his car he saw that a police cordon blocked off the footpath. Blue tape crisscrossed over the trees to stop people entering the crime scene. Trevor ducked under it and strolled along the trail worn into the ground by many feet. Suddenly he groaned and fell to one knee grimacing in pain. His right calf was burning. Like there was dozens of red-hot needles being jammed through his flesh. Then, as soon as it had come, it was gone.
He staggered to his feet and brushed the dust from his trousers. That was what had kept him from active duty in the Marines and had trapped him in an office. Every so often when he least expected it his old wound would jump up and bite him. But he had learned to live with it, the pain only became unbearable if he as under lots of stress or from physical exertion.
Trevor limped a little as he continued along the path, his feet crunched over the dried leaves and twigs until he came to a clearing. More tape was wrapped between the trees around the area. Ignoring it, he passed through into the glade.
Brightly coloured tents were pitched all around. In the centre was the burnt remains of a fire, now only a grey patch of ash in the brown dirt. There ware little flags stuck into the ground marking were the bodies were found. Looking closer Trevor realized that the ground and plastic fabric of the tents were stained with broad gashes of red, now dried and faded.
Trevor felt almost sick thinking that it was the blood of half a dozen children, each of them no more that 15 years old. They all died along with Sarah. Their bodies were horribly mutilated¡K
Shutting his eyes tightly he turned and walked away from the site. He focused his eyes into the woods and noticed another flag. It was jutting out of the soft earth at the base of a big stone at the bottom of a steep slope. The ground was dyed pink with blood; the stone was splashed with it. His vision was flooded with tears. He wiped them away and straightened up.
They¡¦re not getting away with this. Whoever they are!!
A faint rustling startled him. Trevor peered into the rapidly growing gloom at the bottom of the slope. The bushes crackled and snapped as if someone was hiding in them. His hand slid under his jacket and rested on the butt of his Barretta. ¡§Who¡¦s there?¡¨ He demanded. No reply. ¡§I said who¡¦s there?¡¨
HHHIIIIISSSSSSSS! Trevor stepped back and drew his gun, pointing it into the darkness. Twigs snapped and the leaves rustled as the thing swaggered out into the light. Trevor was frozen with fear and disbelief. His sights were locked on the bulging, throbbing head of the strange creature that confronted him but he couldn¡¦t fire. His brain wouldn¡¦t recognize such an alien being. It lopped up the embankment on thick gripping claws. Trevor staggered backward into the middle of the camp. It stopped at the lip of the slope and was joined by another that plopped gracefully out of a tree. Another bounded over the cordon from the thick outcropping of trees past the clearing and landed on top of one of the tents tearing the fabric and bending the poles; its impossibly long tongue whished through the air flipping thick oily saliva over the ground.
Trevor snapped out of his trance and squeezed the trigger. Two rounds struck the first monster knocking it sideways. The second and third leapt at him from both sides. Trevor tripped and fell; the two beasts collided in mid air and collapsed to earth with a smack. Shocked, Trevor jumped to his feet and sprinted for his car while the two creatures squabbled. The first monster hopped upright and lurched after him. The two ragged holes in its chest spurted blood over its pink skin. It screamed at Trevor, a terrifying screech that echoed through the trees. It skipped after him on all fours; gouging deep ruts in the mud with its long knife like claws.
Trevor felt a strong, rough cord wrap around his ankle and pull hard. The dirt suddenly reared up and smacked him in the face. He recovered quickly though; rolling over so he was on his back he fired his Barretta hitting the creature as it pounced. It fell shrieking and died in a pool of blood. The other two heard the shots and tore after him. His gun was aimed directly at them but as he squeezed the trigger his leg exploded in pain. Darkness crept at the edge of his vision as he fought to stay conscious as the agony took over him.
The gun jerked in his hands as he unloaded the rest of the clip. Unluckily every round was wide, the monsters lunged at his prone figure. All he could do was raise his arms to protect himself. It wasn¡¦t enough. The bony clusters of talons swung toward his face and he saw nothing¡K

CHAPTER 2

Trevor couldn¡¦t see anything but darkness. Bright coloured lights began to zip and burst in his vision and a distant voice seemed to be calling him. ¡§Waaakkkeee uuppppp¡K waaake up¡K wake up!¡¨ His cheeks were stinging; someone was slapping him in the face. He tried to raise his arms to fight off whoever it was but he was too tired. Slowly his eyes started to focus and the darkness receded.
A woman leaned over him. She looked angry. Trevor hauled himself up to a sitting position and rubbed his head. His face was sore and wet with blood. The woman pressed a rag to his head and put his own hand on it so he would hold it. He watched her get up and go to the sink on the wall. She had shoulder length fire-red hair that was cut into layers at the front. She looked at him with distaste as he perched on the side of a narrow cot. She was very pretty, her dark green eyes twinkled; her full lips were pulled down at the corners as she frowned; her smooth brow was furrowed. Freckles were liberally dotted over her pale cheeks giving her a girlish look.
¡§Who are you?¡¨ she asked.
¡§My names Trevor Sully, I went to the woods to look for any clues that the police missed. My sister and her friends were murdered there yesterday. Then I was attacked by these crazy monsters and passed out. Who are you?¡¨
¡§My name is Sally Long.¡¨ She sat down beside Trevor on the cot and took the rag off of his head.
¡§Where are we?¡¨ he demanded. She sighed.
¡§We¡¦re in a secret laboratory in the woods.¡¨
¡§What? ¡¨ Trevor was really confused, a thousand questions rushed through his mind; his head started to pound, as much from the strange situation he was in as from his knock on the head.
¡§It¡¦s run by a secret department of the Umbrella Corporation called ¡¥White Umbrella¡¦. White Umbrella is trying to make biological weapons with a man-made virus that mutates living tissue.¡¨
¡§Wait a minute, there was a thing in the papers last week, the S.T.A.R.S. in Raccoon City said that Umbrella made humans into zombies and the made a monster called, uh, Tyrant, I think.¡¨
¡§Yeah, that was the Spencer Lab in the Arkley Mountains. It was destroyed and they discredited the S.T.A.R.S. stories.¡¨
¡§Right,¡¨ Trevor mulled it over. ¡§What¡¦s your story, Miss Long?¡¨
¡§Well, I¡¦m ashamed to say that I was a scientist here working on the T-virus. But I decided that I wanted out and tried to escape.¡¨
¡§And?¡¨
¡§And- Dr. Tehran sent the Lickers to get me and bring me back. He can¡¦t afford anyone with knowledge of what Umbrella¡¦s really up too to escape alive.¡¨
¡§ ¡¥Lickers¡¦, you mean those monsters?¡¨
¡§Yes, usually they are vicious and uncontrollable but Tehran uses some new kind of collars that are attached around their necks and feed into their brains. They obey his every command.¡¨
¡§My God. We have to get out of here and tell someone about this. The police. He murdered my sister and a load of other kids with those things. He can¡¦t get away with this!¡¨ ¡§There¡¦s no way,¡¨ Sally groaned. She covered her face with her hands. ¡§I¡¦ve tried already. There¡¦s a small army of guards in the compound, and if we some how managed to muddle past them then we would have to figure out were the town is from here and get to safety before the Lickers catch up with us!¡¨
¡§You don¡¦t know where exactly we are?¡¨ Trevor asked.
¡§No, I was flown in by helicopter and was bind folded for the whole trip. I don¡¦t even know what state we¡¦re in!¡¨
¡§I have a pretty good idea of where we must be. The compound mustn¡¦t be far from the campsite my sister was at; otherwise the Lickers wouldn¡¦t have been patrolling there. I think I can find my way home once we get outside.¡¨ Trevor got up and walked to the thick wooden door of the cell. It was dead bolted from the other side. The lock was very strong, and the door was good quality oak.
Sally watched him examine it. She thought he must be some sort of professional from the way he scrutinized every inch, every crack, screw and joint.
¡§I just thought¡K why didn¡¦t they kill you?¡¨ asked Sally. Trevor looked up.
¡§I don¡¦t know. We¡¦ll probably find out at some point.¡¨ He went back to the door.
¡§Can you fight well?¡¨ Sally said.
¡§Yes, I¡¦m a Marine, actually. But I¡¦ve been off active duty for a while and my legs been playing up.¡¨
¡§A Marine? Heh. If you couldn¡¦t hold your own when you were armed outside, then how are you gonna get by with out a weapon?¡¨ She grinned.
¡§Don¡¦t you worry, I can still put up a tough fight.¡¨

CHAPTER 3

The door flew open, smacking the guard on the right in the face and sending him sprawling onto the floor. The second turned and half drew his pistol before a fist cracked across his jaw. The force of the impact spun him around. He felt an arm wrap around his throat till everything went black.
Trevor grabbed the guard¡¦s gun and pulled it out of the hip holster as his limp body fell to the ground. Turning gracefully he aimed the weapon at the face of the other guard as he struggled to get up. He froze, staring down the barrel. He clamber