ResidentEvil-Underworld [PROLOGUE (Starting)]

PROLOGUE

Associated Press, October 6, 1998

THOUSANDS KILLED

AS FIRE SWEEPS THROUGH MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY,

MYSTERIOUS ILLNESS MAY BE INVOLVED

NEW YORK, NY - The secluded mountain community of Raccoon

City, PA, has officially been declared a disaster area by state and

federal officials, as dedicated firefighters continue to wage war

against the dying blazes and the death toll continues to rise. It is

now estimated that over seven thousand people were killed by the

explosive fires that raged through Raccoon in the early hours of

Sunday, October 4. It is being called the worst U.S. disaster in

terms of lives lost since the industrial age, and as national aid

organizations and international press flock to the blockades

surrounding the still burning ruins of the city, shocked friends

and family of Raccoon citizens have been gathering, waiting for

word in nearby Latham.

National Disaster Control (NDC) Director Terrence Chavez,

coordinator for the combined efforts of the multiple firefighting

and emergency teams, released a statement to the press last night

stating that barring unforeseen complications, he expects the last

of the flames to be extinguished before midweek, but that it may

be months before the origin of the fire is determined, as well as

whether or not arson was involved. Said Chavez, "The magnitude

of the damage in terms of area alone is going to make finding the

answers a great undertaking, but the answers are there. We will

get to the bottom of this, whatever it takes."

As of 6 A.M. today, seventy-eight survivors have been found,

and their names and conditions withheld; they have been

transported to an undisclosed federal facility for observation

and/or treatment. Initial reports by HazMat teams suggest that an

unknown illness may be responsible for the incredible number of

victims, as infected citizens were unable to escape due to the

possibly incapacitating sickness. There is the further suggestion

that the disease may have induced violent psychosis in some of

those infected. Members of private and federal disease-control

centers have called for extending the quarantine boundaries, and

although no official statement has been released, there have been

several "leaked" descriptions of physical and biological abnormalities

in many of the victims. Said one source, a worker for a federal

assessment team, "Some of those people weren't just burned or

dead from smoke inhalation. I saw people who'd been killed by

gunshot wounds or stabbings, and other forms of violence. I saw

people who'd obviously been sick, dead, or dying long before the

fire ever hit. The fire was bad - terrible - but it's not the only

disaster that occurred there, I'd bet money on it."

Raccoon City was in the news earlier this year when a series of

unusual murders rocked the community. These were apparently

unmotivated slayings, of extreme violence, and several involved

cannibalism; already, tentative connections are being made by

local press near Raccoon between the eleven unsolved murders

from last summer and the rumors of mass violence prior to the

consuming flames.

Mr. Chavez refused to confirm or deny the rumors, saying only

that investigations into the tragedy will be thorough. . .

Nationwide Today, A.M.. Edition, October 10,1998

RACCOON DEATH TOLL RISES

AS SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAMS COMBINE EFFORTS

NEW YORK, NY - The official body count now stands at just under

4500, with the blackened ruins of Raccoon City still being combed

for additional victims of the apocalypse that took place early last

Sunday morning. As a nation's mourning begins, over six

hundred men and women are working to uncover the reasons

behind the destruction of the once peaceful community. Local

relief organizations, scientists, soldiers, federal agents, and corporate

research teams have come together in a show of determination

and purpose, pooling resources and accepting delegated

responsibilities in order to get to the truth.

NDC Director Terrence Chavez, the official head of the effort,

has been joined by top researchers from disease-control centers all

around the world, national security agents from several federal

branches, and a privately funded team of microbiologists from

Umbrella, Inc., the pharmaceutical company, which is investigating

the possibility that there may be a connection between their

chemical lab on the outskirts of the city and the strange infection

now being called "Raccoon syndrome."

Initial studies of this illness have been vague and inconclusive,

says Umbrella team leader Dr. Ellis Benjamin, "but we're

convinced that the citizens of Raccoon were infected with

something, either accidentally or intentionally. All we know at this

point is that it doesn't seem to have been airborne, and that the

final result was rapid cellular disintegration and death; we still

don't know if it was bacterial or viral, or what the symptoms were,

but we won't rest until we've exhausted all of our resources.

Whatever the findings, and whether or not Umbrella materials

were a part of it, we're committed to seeing this through to the

end. It's the least we can do, considering how much our company

owes the people of Raccoon." The Umbrella chemical plant and

administration facilities in Raccoon City provided nearly a thousand

local jobs.

The 142 survivors are still being held in quarantine for

observation and questioning at an undisclosed location. While

their identities are still being protected, the FBI has released a

statement listing medical conditions. Seventeen survivors suffered

minor injuries but are in stable condition, seventy-nine are still on

a critical list following surgical procedures, and forty-six of the

survivors, while not injured, have suffered some major mental or

emotional breakdown. There is no confirmation as to whether or

not any are infected with the syndrome, but the statement did

include a reference to survivor's stories that verified the existence

of the infection.

Gen. Martin Goldmann, overseer of military operations in the

ravaged city, is hopeful that all of those still missing will be found

within the next seven days. "We've already got four hundred

people out there working twenty-four/seven, searching for survivors

and running identification checks - and I just got word that

another two hundred will be coming in on Monday..."

Fort Worth Bugler, October 18, 1998

POSSIBLE CONSPIRACY

BY CITY EMPLOYEES IN RACCOON TRAGEDY

FORT WORTH, TX - New evidence uncovered by cleanup crews in

Raccoon City, PA, indicates that the "Raccoon syndrome," the

disease responsible for the majority of the 7200 deaths that have

occurred in Raccoon as of this writing, may have been unleashed

upon the unsuspecting populace by Raccoon Police Chief Brian

Irons and several members of the Special Tactics and Rescue

Squad (S.T.A.R.S.).

At a press conference held early yesterday evening by FBI

spokesman Patrick Weeks, NDC Director Terrence Chavez, and Dr.

Robert Heiner - called in by Umbrella team leader Dr. Ellis

Benjamin - Weeks revealed that there is strong circumstantial

evidence that the disaster in Raccoon was the result of a terrorist

act that went horribly wrong. The subsequent fires that have

nearly wiped out the small city may have been an attempt by Irons

or one of his accomplices to cover up the disastrous effects of the

spill.

According to Weeks, several documents were found in the

wreckage of the RPD building that implicate Irons as the

ringleader of a conspiracy to take hostage the Umbrella chemical

plant on the outskirts of the city. Allegedly, Irons was furious with

city officials over the suspension of the S.T.A.R.S. in late July for

their mishandling of a multiple murder investigation - the now

well-documented cannibal slayings that took the lives of eleven

people early last summer. The Raccoon S.T.A.R.S. were suspended

after a helicopter crash in the last week of July that claimed the

lives of six team members. The five surviving S.T.A.R.S. members

were suspended without pay after evidence suggested drug or

alcohol abuse in connection to the crash - and while Irons

publicly advocated the suspension of his elite squad, the documents

found indicate that Irons meant to threaten Mayor Devlin

Harris and several City Council members with a spill of extremely

volatile and dangerous chemicals unless certain financial demands

were met. Weeks went on to say that Irons had a history of

emotional instability, and that the documents - correspondence

between Irons and an accomplice - revealed a plan by Irons to

extort ransom from Raccoon and then flee the country. The

accomplice is named only as "C.R.," but there are also references

to "J.V.," "B.B.," and "R.C." - all initials for four of the five

suspended S.T.A.R.S.

Said Terrence Chavez, "Assuming these documents are accurate,

Irons and his crew had planned to storm the Umbrella plant

at the end of September, which would correspond exactly to the

timeline described by Dr. Heiner for the Raccoon syndrome to

achieve full amplification. We're currently operating under the

assumption that the takeover did take place, and that an

unexpected accident occurred with cataclysmic results. At this

time, we don't know if Mr. Irons or any of the S.T.A.R.S. are still

alive, but they are wanted for questioning. We've released a

national APB and all of our international airports and border

patrols have been alerted. We urge anyone with information

relating to this case to come forward."

Dr. Helner, a renowned microbiologist as well as an associate

member of Umbrella's Biohazardous Materials Division, stated that

the exact mix of chemicals released in Raccoon may never be

known. "It's obvious that Irons and his people didn't know what

they were handling - and with Umbrella continuously developing

new variations of enzyme syntheses, bacterial growth mediums,

and viral repressers, the lethal compound was almost certainly an

accidental aggregation. With the possible combinations of materials

numbering in the millions, the odds of duplicating the Raccoon

syndrome mix are astronomical."

The S.T.A.R.S. national director wasn't available for comment,

but Lida Willis, regional spokesperson for the organization, has

gone on record as saying that they "are shocked and saddened" by

the disaster, and would devote every available agent to the search

for the missing S.T.A.R.S. team members, as well as for any

contacts they might still have within the network.

Ironically, the documents were found by one of Umbrella's

search teams...