Chapter 31 - Regaining Self-Respect

Alice, Carlos, Claire, and LJ located the base a couple of hours ago but were now struggling with a different predicament.

"How do we get in?" LJ asked as he watched the base surrounded by thousands of zombies.

Not even sacrificing half their camp would be able to draw that many zombies away.

"Leave that to me," Alice said as she stood up to get a better look at the base "Just get to the helicopter when I give the signal,"

Alice hopped down the desert slope and walked towards the parked bus the group had used for mobile travel.

Claire followed Alice down the slope, suspicious about how one woman could combat all those zombies.

Alice stared at the bus and asked "Can I have it?"

"Sure, we won't need it anyway," Claire said as she shrugged.

Why would she need a bus when Alice was working towards a helicopter for their journey?

Nodding, Alice began gathering different parts of explosive materials with her telekinesis.

Witnessing Alice's unique ability, Claire felt a pang of jealousy but it was soon quelled.

"All you need to do is get infected with T-Virus and survive," Alice mentioned showing sadness in a forced smile she directed at Claire.

Claire was smart enough to understand that such abilities did not come without its fair share of suffering.

After stacking every explosive and flammable material in the bus, Alice nodded in approval as she slit her finger and dripped a couple of drops of blood on the explosives.

"What's that for?" Carlos asked.

He had been watching the entire time.

"Everything Zeel makes can go 'BOOM'," Alice explained the same way Zeel explained to her.

"You might want to hide," Alice said as she aimed her hands at the bus.

Soon, the bus darted off towards the zombie horde near the gate. The bus accelerated beyond its maximum speed.

Alice's nose bled since she used her telekinesis to get the bus as deep into the zombie horde as possible.

Then, Alice clenched her fist.

*BOOOOM*

*BOOOOM*

The bus made a straight line through the horde, and exploded, taking a huge chunk of the zombies with it.

After the explosion, there wasn't much trouble breaching the compound and reaching the helicopter.

Alice helped everyone board the helicopter, but she felt a bit embarrassed since she nearly destroyed the helicopter due to using too many explosives.

Another example of how much Zeel had influenced her personality.

Alice soon finished her goodbyes. She felt a bit sad at their leaving, especially K-Mart and Claire, who she had a favorable impression of.

Alice searched the wooden shack at the center of the base until she found the entrance. Still, she didn't enter immediately because something else drew her attention.

Alice exited the wooden shack and her head jerked left to a ridge she had not previously seen. Something told her she needed to see what was inside.

Making her way to the ridge, what she saw gave her goosebumps. For years now, she had nightmares almost every night, all ending with her death.

Now, she could finally see the reason for her nightmares. Alice was indeed dying all these years, just not her specifically, but her clones.

They all seemed connected somehow, and it broke her heart to see all the suffering their faces portrayed.

Some were cut in half, some burnt beyond recognition and some were even naked. Alice did not dare to think about what those clones had experienced.

Now, a fire was burning within her, she vowed to make them pay, not just Isaacs but the Umbrella Corporation as a whole.

It no longer became about surviving, family, or even Zeel.

Now, she only wanted one thing – to bring The Umbrella Corporation down no matter what. How could they be allowed to do this without any consequences? Who will do the punishing? Who will grant her retribution?

For a brief moment, Alice could feel herself aligning with Zeel's views. She quickly snapped out of it; if she was to fall into the same thinking pattern as Zeel, they would become enemies no doubt.

Turning her head away, Alice stepped into the wooden hut only to see the ground open up and an elevator rose from the bottom of the abyss.

Alice didn't even hesitate to enter and down below she went, with a battle-hardened will to do her worst to all of the Umbrella Corporation.

Entering what use to be Dr. Isaac's office, Alice was greeted with a familiar sight. The sight of a projected version of an AI not dissimilar to The Red Queen.

"I am the artificial intelligence..."

"I know what you are," Alice replied disinterestedly "I knew your sister. She was a homicidal bi_tch."

"My sister computer was merely following the most logical path for the preservation of human life. I bet your boyfriend would agree as well," The White Queen answered as she gestured to a nearby wall that had a massive indent in it.

"Yeah. Kill a few, save a lot. And don't talk about Zeel. So, what happened here?" Alice asked as she walked over to the wall and fished out an unconscious Zeel, obviously he couldn't keep that scientific curiosity in check and had to fight a fierce battle.

"Dr. Isaacs returned in an infected state. He was bitten by a creature that had been treated with a newly developed serum. A serum derived from your blood. The resulting infection has caused a massive mutation," The White Queen answered as Alice dusted off the now conscious but dizzy Zeel.

"My blood?" Alice asked confused, not that she wasn't aware her blood was considered special, but to which degree, she was unaware.

"Your blood has bonded with the T-virus. Dr. Isaacs correctly deduced that it could be used to destroy the biohazard for good." The White Queen replied.

"You mean my blood is the cure for all this?" Alice asked as Zeel stood up nursing his head, after which he began cursing in languages Alice had never heard before.

"Correct," The White Queen replied.

"So why are you helping me? And how did Zeel end up in a wall?" Alice asked, knowing full well the strength of Zeel.

"Your blood is pure, and this facility contains all of the equipment you will require to synthesize a cure. Also, I regret to inform you that your boyfriend's situation is entirely of his own doing," The White Queen replied.

Zeel unable to take the mocking look Alice was giving him, so he decided to say his piece, "I came in to see a mutated Dr. Isaacs killing everyone so we fought,"

Pausing Zeel, Alice asked a bit surprised "You fought to protect the remaining survivors?"

"Of course not!" Zeel replied "That idiot was also destroying the equipment! That was precious resources,"

"Figures," Alice replied with a sigh as she gestured for Zeel to continue.

"While we were fighting, he almost speared me with a disgusting tentacle, so I got angry and kicked him into a different sector.

The kick I used, in my angered state, was too strong. The counterforce sent me straight into the opposite wall, and then I passed out," Zeel said not even seeming a bit embarrassed at his lack of restraint.

"Haha." Alice laughed gingerly before stopping.

"I fail to understand how the near-death of a loved one could elicit such a reaction from you," The White Queen said slightly intrigued.

"Well, it's simple. Cockroaches are the hardest thing to kill, and my boyfriend is the god of cockroaches," Alice said as she led the conversation towards its ending "Anyways, you're saying all this could end?"

"Correct," The White Queen replied "The small problem of the mutated Dr. Isaacs should still be handled,"

Alice and Zeel simply nodded as they readied their respective equipment for the upcoming battle.

Zeel was specially prepared since this was a battle to regain his self-respect – not that he was ever aware of losing it.