Chapter 4 - 'The Hive' of Cannibals

At the beginning of the 21st century, the Umbrella Corporation...

had become the largest commercial entity in the United States.

Nine out of every ten homes contain its products. Its political and financial influence is felt everywhere.

In public, it is the world's leading supplier...

of computer technology, medical products, and health care. Unknown even to its own employees...

Its massive profits are generated by military technology... genetic experimentation and viral weaponry.

At a gate in an Umbrella Facility coined 'The Hive'; Security personnel could be seen yelling at the entering Researchers and Scientists.

"All Umbrella staff must wear their identity tags at all times. All radiation badges will be collected at 5:00 p.m. this afternoon,"

Deep below the streets of Raccoon City, employees were socializing unaware of the imminent danger they would soon face.

The topics ranged from 'What would you do when you finally got paid?' to 'What is the name of your dog?', truly random snippets of information.

Employees of the Umbrella Corporation had not seen the sun in nearly three years. The Research was extremely sensitive, so any contact with the outside world was cut off until contract renewal.

The Contract Renewal would grant employees a brief period of a couple of months where they could put in a transfer request or stop working altogether.

It was not unusual to see former Umbrella Employees start their own business with the mini-fortune they earned over the years.

Many didn't take the opportunity. After all, what would Researchers be without their Research?

What would Scientists be without their instruments to aid them?

The Umbrella Corporation designed a system with the finest of instruments. If Research or Scientific discovery was your passion, then the best place to chase your dreams were Umbrella Secret Facilities.

Either you get help before it's too late or you rot away with the others below the ground.

The conversations between employees grew in intensity, but all good things must come to an end eventually.

Alarms started blaring, exits began to shut automatically, even areas impossible for escape began to lockdown, sealing the fates of everyone inside.

"It's nothing. Fire drill." An Employee said, more to convince himself than the others nearby.

"What is that?"

"Fire drill,"

No matter how many times each employee convinced themselves it was just a fire exercise, another blaring alarm would diminish their hopes.

Constant ringing noises in an area saturated with important personnel was never a good sign.

The noises were synchronized at first, but soon the alarms became chaotic. One alarm overlapping other alarms.

Employees were following the procedure, but the constant alarms made them realize that the situation was probably not one of the many safety scenarios they trained for.

Right now things had gone completely haywire, and when things like this happen the first threat were other people!

"Hey, what the hell is going on?"

"Get the computers covered! Move it!"

"Damn it, I'm trying!"

"The experiments! Move them!"

All of a sudden, everyone began to panic, and their first thought, as all researchers do, was to protect their research results and life's work.

Though, what can research weigh compared to your life itself?

However, not all Researchers were clueless.

Some lived by an Ancient Philosophy - 'run first, ask questions later, and if you have a girlfriend, decide if you love her enough to not sacrifice her.'

Ironically, Zeel lived by a similar motto during his time training.

"Okay, calm down! Procedure dictates the doors open or something?" an employee said as he tried and failed to pry open the elevator doors.

"It's supposed to take us to the nearest floor," a woman chimed in.

The elevator lights had begun to flicker, then the lights began to fail throughout the underground facility. Only the ventilation system functioned within designated parameters.

Ironically, that was the procedure used only when a threat was meant to be neutralized via nerve agents.

"What's the problem?"

"The elevators doors are not responding,"

An employee who dealt primarily with maintenance had a dreadful premonition.

"The ventilation system is functioning within normal parameters, and this elevator became a sealed room,"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means these procedures are in place for a toxic, nerve agent,"

"You mean gas poisoning?"

The Employee was hesitant to respond but slowly nodded in response.

Everyone became hysterical, punching the elevator door and walls, some going as far as to take out the emergency ax from the fire emergency compartment.

Through the crowd, you could see some with cooler heads analyzing the situation. Sadly, for these people, sometimes panicking was the correct reaction to situations.

The most dangerous thing in a confined space was never the environment itself, but the unpredictability humans possessed during such important moments.

The eyes of many Employees glossed over as their faces grew pale, eyes becoming death-like. Their image resembling that of a madman inflicted with insomnia since his birth.

Not a second had passed, the panicking scene became one of slaughter. Humans, or rather former humans, began ripping each other apart to satiate their non-existent hunger for flesh.

The gruesome scene of man-eating-man, much more sickening than any battle in history.

Noses being bitten off, eyes gouged out, intestines flailing about, others with a desperate attempt to reattach their ears or stuff their intestines back into their ripped stomachs.

This scene was not limited to any one place in particular. It was occurring all over The Hive.

At the very least, all men were treated equally regardless of status for the first time in human history - everyone became food.

Rich, poor, boss, or employee, your intestine got ripped out regardless of position or skin color.

The AI that governed all processes within The Hive, watched all the death through the facilities' surveillance system without any indication of halting the ongoing loss of life.

Not surprising considering 'The Red Queen' was the entity responsible for the current procedures.

Her precautions were well warranted given the outbreak of a potentially apocalyptic-type virus.

Instead, The Red Queen did her due diligence by making sure that no semblance of the virus would ever breach the walls of the underground facility.

Forever to remain in isolation from the outside world, or at least that was the initial plan of the advanced A.I.