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The ruined hallway was littered with Licker corpses. In the middle of it all stood Alice, still under Jack's control, staring in shock at the carnage.
"It's time to get out of here."
Jack's calm voice cut through her daze. There were only twenty minutes left before the blast doors sealed shut.
Alice snapped back to her senses and immediately bolted for the passage.
But the moment she stepped out of the corridor, a sea of the undead greeted her.
"Alice, show me your strength."
Jack smiled faintly as his eyes swept across the endless tide of zombies.
At his words, Alice raised her hands. Her black combat suit rippled like liquid, reshaping itself into a pair of gleaming military blades. Without hesitation, she charged straight into the horde.
Her enhanced speed and strength tore through the zombies like paper. Limbs flew as she carved her way forward, never slowing, never tiring. Whenever the undead swarmed her all at once, she slammed a fist into the floor. The ground buckled and surged upward, launching zombies into the air like ragdolls.
The battle suit poured power into her veins, and instead of exhausting her, every kill only seemed to make her stronger.
Jack could have infected her the moment she put the suit on—just a thought was all it would take. But he didn't.
If she couldn't merge with the T-virus perfectly, one slip-up would ruin everything. No… it had to happen the way it did in the original storyline. That was the only way to ensure she became the perfect fusion.
For now, all he needed was for Alice to escape, return to the mansion, and let Umbrella capture her.
Alice continued cutting her way through the dead until she suddenly leapt high, catching hold of the wall and sprinting along it like a spider.
When she reached a cross-junction, her spider-sense flared in warning. She instantly launched herself aside.
A dark blur slammed into the spot she'd just vacated, blasting a crater into the wall.
Landing lightly on the opposite side, Alice glanced back. A Licker.
Moments later, more of them crawled out from the shadows—skinless monsters with exposed muscle and brains, long tongues flicking hungrily.
Two of them pounced at once.
Alice vaulted upward, flattening her body midair to slip cleanly between them. She landed on the ceiling, crouched and ready.
The two Lickers crashed into the wall instead, claws sinking into concrete.
Now a dozen of them surrounded her, eyes gleaming, tongues snapping.
Alice blurred into motion, streaking down the corridor in a burst of speed.
The Lickers gave chase immediately. Dozens of black shadows weaved and darted through the hallway, their movements almost too fast to follow.
For all their unnatural speed, they couldn't quite catch her—yet no matter how fast she went, she couldn't shake them either. They clung to her like a curse, always just behind, like a tail she couldn't cut loose.
Then Alice twisted sharply, reversing her momentum. She dove straight into the pack, arms morphing into razor-sharp blades.
The Lickers never had a chance to react. Two quick flashes of steel, and she burst past them.
The pair behind her split neatly in half, their bisected bodies hitting the floor with a wet thud.
The others skidded to a stop, regrouped, and immediately lunged after her again.
As Alice raced along the wall, she glanced back. They were gaining once more. With a flick of her wrist, dozens of threads shot from her wrists, crisscrossing the passage in an instant.
The web sealed the corridor shut.
The leading Licker sensed the barrier too late and slammed straight into it. Others piled up behind, thrashing as they were tangled in the sticky mass.
Alice didn't wait to admire her work. She pushed forward, racing for the exit.
Within minutes, she reached the Hive's entrance. Just beyond the tunnel lay the surface.
"There's a briefcase on the train. It's critical. Bring it with you."
Jack's voice spoke again for the first time in a while.
That case held the last sample of the bioweapon. It had to be secured.
Alice nodded faintly and turned toward the train.
But her spider-sense shrieked again. She darted aside—
—and a Licker slammed down where she'd been standing, smashing the concrete.
Crouched on a nearby pillar, Alice narrowed her eyes at the monster. More skittering echoed all around her. She turned her head sharply.
They were closing in.
By the time Alice realized it, she was already surrounded by more than a dozen Lickers.
One of them broke into a sprint and leapt at her in an instant.
Alice vaulted into the air, dodging the attack, and landed lightly on the ground.
Another Licker immediately lunged.
Alice saw it coming, rolled backward, let it fly past her, and kicked it hard in the side.
The creature went spinning, slammed into the ceiling, then crashed down onto the floor with a sickening thud.
But before Alice could even steady her footing, another Licker was already on her.
With no way to dodge in time, she flicked her wrist and fired a line of webbing that latched onto the ceiling.
Just as the Licker's claws were about to tear into her, Alice yanked herself upward, soaring out of reach.
She let go mid-swing, dropped straight onto the monster's back, and her suit shifted along her arm, forming a blade that stabbed deep into its throat.
The Licker shrieked in agony before she twisted and sliced its head clean off.
Standing atop the corpse, Alice's arm blade melted back into her battle suit.
The remaining Lickers roared in unison and charged.
Alice didn't flinch. Her black combat suit rippled, dissolving into liquid that shot out into a storm of jagged spikes.
The black lances speared through skulls like a volley of spears. The Lickers twitched violently, then went limp one by one.
Once every creature was dead, the spikes softened and retracted, flowing back into her suit.
"....."