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Karen jumped back as bullets cracked into the door Chunks of rotten flesh spattered up from A, jerking rhythm of macabre motion David snatched at the coat of the dead man and yanked, but the door was pinned open by the clatter- ing fire and whoever was shooting was co closer, the explosive shots louder, the splinters of flesh and wood pelting thereater force They were trapped, both exits blocked Rebecca clutched her Beretta in one shaking hand, watching for a signal frohly northwest, into the co clatter of the auto, secure! Steve, we cover! Go!"

As one, Steve and David leaped out and started to fire, the boohter hail of deadly aed out at a full run, were instantly sed up by the shadows Rebecca spun and trained her weapon on the back door, her heart pounding in her throat The walls trembled and shook "Die, Jesus, on&039;t they die?" Steve screamed behind her, a strain of disbelief and terror in his voice thataway frole of dark wood, Rebecca shouted as loud as she could, her voice cracking over the relentless spray of the automatics

"Head shots! Aim for the head!"

There was no way to know if they&039;d heard her, the rifle or rifles kept pounding, approaching Her thoughts raced to understand, ih her mind They&039;d been mind- less, slow, inhuman and accidental, not on purpose -not with purpose

"Rebecca, let&039;s go!"

There was still the sound of an autoer shook frolance back, saw Steve still shooting at so at her to , up-close look at the bullet-riddled corpse still hanging there The head had caved in like a rotting pu out froer connected to the rotting arled there like so Steve fired once more and the auto&039;s clatter ceased He raised the weapon, his eyes wide and shocked as he opened hisand the back door crashed open, bullets flying through the dark in a blaze of orange fire David pushed her roughly through the front and she ran, the responding crack of nine-et to the building, get to cover -

She sprinted through the shadows, her wet shoes thu the outline of a massive, concrete block and the spindly trees that surrounded it in the dark- ness ahead

"Here"

She veered toward the call, saw John&039;s ht at the corner of the building As she neared hi in the entry with her weapon trained back toward the boathouse Bullets still sang through the shadows "Get in!" Karen shouted, stepping out of the way, and Rebecca ran past her, not slowing until she was inside She fell into a table in the pitch black, cracking one hip painfully against the edge Turning, she saw Karen firing, heard John yelling,

"Coasping He pulled to a stop before crashing into her, one hand clutching his chest Rebecca rasped the cool thickness, herthat the

"Karen, John!"

Karen backed into the darkness, weapon still raised There were three more sharp reports from a Beretta and then John slipped inside, his jaw clenched, his nostrils flaring Rebecca sla a deadbolt switch The soft snick of the lock was barelyaudible against the ringing in her ears Outside, the bullets stopped There were no shouts between the attackers, no alar of wounded The sudden silence was total, broken only by the deep, shuddering breathing in the war the shocked faces of the team as David shone it around their retreat A midsize room, croith desks and computer equipasped, addressing no one in particular "God, they wouldn&039;t go down, did you see that?"

Nobody answered, and though they were out of ier, Rebecca didn&039;t feel her adrenaline slowing, didn&039;t feel her heart settling back to anything approaching normal; it seemed that Umbrella had found a new application for the T-Virus And like it or not, we&039;re going to have to deal with the consequences They were trapped in Caliban Cove And in this facility, the creatures had guns David took a final deep breath and exhaled it heavily, flashing the torch&039;s light toward the door "I&039;d say we&039;ve been spotted," he said, hoping that he didn&039;t sound as despairing as he felt "Might as well see e&039;ve gotten into Rebecca, would you turn on the lights?"

She flipped the wall switch and the roo brilliance, overhead fluorescents pulsing to life Blinking against the sudden glare, David surveyed the team, saw that Steve had one hand pressed to his chest

"Are you hit?" "Vest stopped it," he said, but he seemed more out of breath than the others, his face paler than it should have been Rebecca glanced at David with a questioning gaze He nodded at her

Doesn &039;t appear that we have anywhere else to go "Check him out Anyone else?"

Nobody answered as Rebecca stepped up to Steve,for him to take off the vest David turned and looked around the rooainst the memory of Trent&039;s map and what little he&039;d seen from outside There were a half dozen cheap metal desks, each with a computer and bits of clutter on top The cement walls were undecorated and plain There was another door on the all that had to lead deeper into the building "Karen, secure that," he said They could check out the rest of the site once they&039;d decided what to do

Once you&039;ve decided, Captain; perhaps you&039;d like to send them out for a swim? It can&039;t be any worse than what you&039;ve already nored the inner voice, perfectly aware of how badly he&039;d underestimated the situation The team didn&039;t need to see hi The question hat now? "Let&039;s talk," he said "It doesn&039;t look like we&039;re facing an accident after all What did the note say? The food was drugged, and so the others is it possible that we&039;re not looking at a T-Virus spill?"

Rebecca looked up from her exa on one of the desks in front of her Steve winced as Rebecca&039;s fingers circled the darkening bruise on his right pectoral She s her head

"You&039;re okay Nothing&039;s broken"

She turned back to David, the s away

"Yeah If there&039;d been a release, that guy on the door, Ammon, would&039;ve been affected But the Trisquads - if they&039;re the result of experiments with the T-Virus, they&039;d have rotted away by now It&039;s been over three weeks since he wrote that note, we should be looking at piles of mush Either it&039;s a different virus, or so care of theeration"

David nodded slowly, following her reasoning