章 29: Epilogue 1 - Alice's Thoughts

Alice (POV)

It's been a couple of weeks since I escaped the Umbrella facility with the help of a couple of friends: Peyton, Carlos, LJ, Jill, and Zeel.

One of the first missions we did together after the Raccoon City incident was to compile a video from the footage found on Terri's camera - may God bless her soul.

The footage was compelling but Zeel seemed to have a different thought entirely.

Zeel seemed to be good at these types of things and so I left him in charge of the Project. He always needed something to keep him busy so he didn't self-destruct the base.

The final video was beyond anything I would have ever imagined, it showed the pain, love, sadness, and anger caused by the Umbrella Corporation. Some parts of the video were exaggerated.

When I asked Zeel about it he said "Why should we be worried about exaggeration when the T-virus can literally destroy the world?"

The video was aimed more towards breaking humans than to be informative. I knew his intentions weren't noble but I still allowed him to release the video. The team was being picked off one by one at this point.

When the video aired, it went viral immediately and all of a sudden people were fighting back and no longer being quiet. Zeel admitted that he included some psychological suggestions in the videos.

I was upset after the realization but nothing could be done at that point. Umbrella High Command had a couple of deaths since the fanatics who wholeheartedly believed in the video took things into their own hands.

I had to admit that deep down I also had a feeling of great satisfaction at seeing everyone fight back, I wanted Umbrella Corporation to be punished.

Not long after the video was posted; Jill, Peyton, and the others went their separate ways saying they would look for their remaining family members and find someplace to ride out the virus.

Apparently, the videos made the people looking for us triple overnight. LJ almost got killed the previous night.

LJ is a friend but everyone knew he could survive a nuclear explosion with his cockroach-like survivability factor.

Every time someone I knew left, Zeel would chuckle to himself saying "Goodbye forever". Though I didn't acknowledge it, through our connection I could determine that he didn't expect to see any of these guys ever again.

I could feel somewhere deep down in the pits of my stomach that this was only just the beginning. Zeel has been a mystery man to me ever since we met, sometimes he would say cheesy things like 'I've been looking for you all my life' and for the briefest moments I would believe him.

At least he had one good quality, Zeel never lied to me since we met, he only never tells the full story. I realize that sometimes I am unable to hold myself back from being near him.

He said this would change over time as I get my SRNT under control. I woke up one morning nibbling on his neck like a true vampire, after which I moved my room to the other end of the base.

I no longer hate Zeel, but the fact is he is still a crazy bastard who would kill anyone without batting an eye.

The nanites in my body would grant me the ability to collect information faster, though with how in tune I am to his intentions, I knew it could do much more than what he said.

Even without the nanites, I notice we have been steadily growing closer and closer, and boy was he the jealous type. Every time Carlos use to come around me, he would pout.

It was a cute sight to witness. And I can feel there is a lot that he doesn't want me to know, but I can also feel a childlike curiosity from him. Sometimes he can be overly rational, but other times I can feel the jealousy rolling off him like a torrent when I talk to other guys, especially Carlos.

I guess we kind of match, sometimes there seems to be a connection between us like we resonate with each other. Other times are like we are out of synch somewhat.

Recently, he hasn't paid me much attention but I guess it is because he has been spending a lot of time with Dr. Ashford studying the T-virus.

"We can get rid of some of the risks," He said and locked himself away with the doctor for a couple of weeks. The doctor left alongside his daughter to get away from the spreading infection.

Everyone thought it was over but turns out Raccoon city wasn't the end as the T-virus began spreading beyond what Umbrella could control. I don't know how far it has progressed since we are mostly in hiding but my guess is pretty damn far.

Looking at the urgency of all those around me, I guessed the world is already doomed. Today, Zeel wore a different expression from his usual 'sagely' look. I noticed he has been frowning a lot recently, especially when he turns his attention towards me.

Turns out Zeel is like a major genius in biology, genetics, physics, and a pro at Nanotechnology. My guess is over the weeks he and Dr. Ashford have made some breakthroughs, but they never talked about it, not even a little bit.

When I asked he simply said that we would talk about it later down the line, almost as if he was trying to hide the information from everyone.

Recently, I have been having suspicions that I am being controlled, I've been losing time and waking up in strange places.

I do not know how far it has gotten but I feel like I should separate from everyone – even Zeel.

However, before we do, I just need to do something about the growing tension that has been happening between both of us. Maybe I should find a more permanent solution I wonder to myself, stifling a giggle from coming out.

I never smile so people probably think I can't. Anyway, I just hope we won't become separated for too long. Despite all his quirks, we have made steady improvements – evident by the fact I no longer want to kill him.