"You're going to have to work for your meal!" shouted Kaplan, as he struggled to twist himself around in order to fit into the tiny gap ahead. Just seconds ago he was contemplating suicide, but now he was fighting for his life. Anything would be better than being eaten alive by those creatures, yet here he was - faced with death and an easy way out. It was the others who gave him the strength he needed to continue. If only the pipe hadn't collapsed. He'd be with them right now, helping as opposed to hindering. When Alice told him they wouldn't leave without him, he could have easily agreed, allowing them to try and figure out a way to rescue him. Instead he gave them the order to leave without him. Kaplan had always been weak at heart. The thought of using his last bullet to send him to a better place was just too tempting. Thankfully, he thought to himself, he resisted the urge. 

At last he managed to squeeze himself into the gap, which upon close inspection turned out to be a disused ventilation shaft. Maybe I can find a way through here? He thought. Pulling himself along he could hear the anguished moans of the dead walking around him. Technically, it was his fault they were released in the first place. Still, the thought that unlocking the doors was a side effect to shutting down the Red Queen was somewhat comforting, just not comforting enough. 

As Kaplan continued to pull himself along, he could trace the outline of something in the shaft up ahead. It was too dark to see, and he couldn't reach into his pockets to find a flare. Whatever it was, he would have to take the risk of finding out. There was no going back now. 

"You could have been a pilot, a cop, or even a god damn baker, but no. You have to go and be Mr. Tough-Guy Commando don't you?" Kaplan thought that talking to himself would make the journey easier. It didn't. He stopped about two meters from the object. Now he was closer, he could make out what appeared to be a lifeless body. Dead or alive, he couldn't be sure. Feeling a lump in his throat, he moved closer. It didn't appear to be the walking dead, but he had to be certain. He reached his arm forwards and checked for a pulse. Nothing. As he drew his arm back, something shiny caught his attention. Resting near the body was a handgun. Looked like the kind that was standard issue among his team. After inspection, there was even a full clip minus one bullet left inside. "Where'd that go then?" he asked the body. There was his answer - in the body's forehead was one, clean wound. Suicide. Looks like this guy achieved what I couldn't, he thought. Poor bastard. 

There was no way around the body, so Kaplan had to push it in front of him until he made it to the end of the shaft. Gun in hand he did just that. 

After what seemed like an eternity, Kaplan could see light coming from the end of the shaft. Here was the exit he was looking for. The only question was how the hell do I get myself out? The grate at the end of the shaft was already broken. "Must be how this guy got in." An idea began to form in Kaplan's mind. He pushed the body as close to the edge as he could, then stopped. He could still hear the Umbrella employees' cries, and they seemed to be closer than before. "Maybe I can use you as bait," he said, pushing the body out of the shaft. Sure enough, as soon as the body hit the floor, there was an uproar of screams from the zombies as they shuffled towards it. Kaplan watched as they eagerly staggered near the body, before bending down to tear out huge chunks of flesh with their teeth. He thought for a moment how J.D. must have felt as his life was taken away from him, but stopped before fear took over. As the zombies continued to chew on their victim, Kaplan made sure the gun was ready, aimed it at his targets, then picked them off one by one.  

Once the clip had been used, Kaplan remained still while trying to listen out for any more signs of movement. Making sure there was nothing else out there that could attack him, he slowly lowered himself from the edge of the shaft. He looked about to try and get a grip of his surroundings. From what he could make out he was in some kind of research room. It would make sense, seeing as all the zombies he'd just taken out were wearing lab coats. Blood stained the walls, glass was broken and there were more dead bodies like the one he'd found in the shaft. Looking across the room, Kaplan could see what appeared to be a locked metal door, almost like a safe. There were computers dotted around the room, but they were not the way in. His eyes fixed on a locking mechanism not too far from the door. It looked as though all that was needed to gain access was a key card. Without stopping to think, he searched the bodies for anything that could let him in. "Bingo!" Kaplan swiped the card he'd taken from a female employee and stood back in preparation. Nothing happened. He swiped it again, and again, and again. Still nothing happened. He paused for a moment, then moved closer to the lock. Taking the empty gun in his hand, he used it to attack the lock, breaking it with one blow. Before he could step back and admire his work, the door began to hiss as steam was let out. The door slowly opened, but there was far too much steam escaping for Kaplan to see what they were keeping behind it. 

Kaplan waited for the smoke to clear before slowly stepping into the room. Ahead of him was a large metal container, seemingly filled with water, but it was too dark to see. More surprises, he thought. He looked about for a light switch, but there was no luck. As he fumbled about in the dark, he collided with something hard on the floor. He bent down to see what it was that had just caused his foot a moment of pain. "A flash light. How convenient." Kaplan flicked the switch on the light and a sharp beam of brightness shot out in front of him. "Time to find out what they're up to." 

He aimed the light at the water-filled container and jumped back at what he saw. He couldn't believe his eyes. Standing in the water was a naked body. An eight-foot tall naked body. An eight-foot tall naked body with a crab like claw in place of where it's left hand should be. Kaplan stared in amazement at the creature in the container. There were tubes attached to it all over, pumping what looked like blood into its body. The creature's organs and veins were exposed, as if it wasn't quite ready yet. Was it human? Kaplan couldn't decide. Whatever it was, it was proof that Umbrella needed taking down. Still staring at the creature before him, his attention moved back to the large claw. It began to twitch. Not wanting to find out why, Kaplan hurried out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. He had to find a different way out.

Kaplan couldn't stop thinking about what he'd seen in the past hour. First he'd witnessed his friends being torn apart by lasers, then survived an attack from the dead. On top of all this, he'd discovered one of the company's horrific experiments. As sick as all this was, Kaplan couldn't get it out of his head. He knew he had to find the others. What he didn't know was how much time he had left. 

Unknown to Kaplan, the slight twitch of the creature's claw continued to grow until it became a violent shake. With one sharp movement the claw flew up and hit the glass holding it, and the water inside the container. The creature hit the glass a second time, shattering it into a thousand pieces. Water poured out into the room and the creature took its first steps. It was finally free - free, and ready to hunt. 

Kaplan made his way toward a long corridor lined with mirrors. It seemed too much like the laser hall from before. Do I really want to take the chance? He thought. Might as well. I've got nothing else to lose. As he progressed down the corridor he felt his heart beating rapidly. It began to slow down as he remembered the insurance policy they had taken out on the Red Queen. Then again, she could get away with killing him and the others would never know. As far as they were concerned, he was already dead. The thought made Kaplan's stomach enter his throat. He paused for a moment, forced it back down, and continued on down the hall. 

Reaching the end, he pulled open a door that led into a computer room. If only I could find one of those 'you are here' maps, he thought. Like the kind you get in shopping malls. Looks like I'll have to settle for a computer. Scanning the room with his eyes, he sat down in front of a computer. It seemed safe enough. He wouldn't have to stay for long anyway. All he had to do was get the information he needed, then get out. As he booted up the computer, a screen appeared asking for a username and password. Easy, he thought. He was a hacker, he could find his way into almost anything. The words 'logging in' confirmed his skills as a grin formed on his face. "System operations, shutdown passwords...schematics. Gotcha." Kaplan accessed the plans he needed to find the whereabouts of his fellow survivors. Now he could figure out where the hell he was. 

Looking at the plans he could tell exactly where the group was. Sure enough, situated in a research laboratory not far from him were three people. "Alice, Matt, Rain and Spence. That's four of them," he thought. "Why are only three showing up?" He checked the plans over again, and sure enough, a fourth person could be seen moving about by the train they used to gain access to the Hive. What could they be up to? He wondered. Why aren't they sticking together? He would have had more time to question this but something on the monitor made him freeze. There was a fifth person not far from the room he'd stumbled into following his escape from the ventilation shaft. Sure enough, moving along the path he'd just been taken to get here was the outline of a seemingly tall person. 

"Oh god." He whispered. As far as he was concerned, there was only one thing that the person on the monitor could be. After all, how many other people had he seen down here with deformed yet deadly weapon for an arm? He didn't want to stick around and confirm his suspicion. Fighting the feeling that his body wanted to freeze, he slowly moved away from the computer and toward the only other door in the room - the one that would take him to his friends. As he hurried along, panic set in. He reached for the door handle and realized his biggest fear. It was locked. There was no lock to take his anger out on this time either. He'd have to go back to the computer and access the lab's locking mechanisms. 

In his attempt to leave the room, Kaplan had left the schematics open. Looking at them once more, he could see the creature moving closer. It was almost at the hall leading into the very room he was standing in. His fingers fumbled over the keyboard; he was shaking too much. He couldn't concentrate. Finally they managed to key in the correct codes. There wasn't much time left. Just as he was about to access the locks an innocent voice filled the room. He recognized the voice all too well. It was the Red Queen. 

"I told you that you would all die down here. You didn't want to believe me though, did you? Right now your friends are facing a little predicament. It's keeping them occupied while I have you killed." 

"Shut up. SHUT UP!" Kaplan shouted. He couldn't contain his anger any longer. He was getting nowhere trying to unlock the door. The Red Queen was fighting against him. She was right. He was going to die.

Kaplan gave up. He remembered the part about hindering rather than helping. It was the story of his life. I'd be better off dead, he thought to himself. As the creature burst into the room - a scream escaping its mouth like no other he'd heard before - he prepared himself for the inevitable. "You've won." He told the Red Queen. "Happy now?" He bowed his head as the creature moved towards him, a look of what could only be described as excitement on its face. As the creature rose it's clawed arm high into the air, a crashing sound like the breaking of metal came suddenly from behind. Kaplan swung his head around to see what was going on, and almost died at the sight of what had entered the room before him. 

It was another creation of Umbrella - it couldn't be anything else. There was no time to take into consideration what it used to be, if anything, but it was a blessing in disguise. It looked like the creature's attention seemed focused on the taller creature behind him. Kaplan put his theory to the test by darting for the hole this new creature had created for him. It was near enough to the door for him to make his escape. As he ran the two creatures leapt at each other, biting and clawing. Kaplan could hear the squelching sound of rotten flesh being torn away as the creatures struggled for power. "How do you like that, huh?" he taunted. The Red Queen didn't reply. 

Kaplan ran for his intended location. He would have to go back through some of the corridors he'd already been through, but it was the only way out. 

Minutes later, he made it to the room where his friends were. The only problem was, his friends weren't there. Damn, he thought, angrily. He was just about to turn around and head back the other way when the Red Queen's voice stepped in once again. This time she seemed to be coming from the room adjacent to the one he was in. He couldn't make out what she was saying, so he moved closer to the door joining the two rooms. 

"I require her life for the code." 

What? He thought. He could hear movement coming from the same room. Following the movement were frantic cries of voices. Rain! Rain was in the room, and from the sound of it, so were Alice and Matt. He tried opening the door, but once again found himself out of luck. By now the thought of the two creatures had left his mind. The only thing that concerned Kaplan was the safety of Rain and the others. "Open the door!" he shouted. The Red Queen obviously wasn't listening. Time to claim on the insurance, he thought. One simple click later and the power went out. Kaplan had shut down the Red Queen for good. 

As the door unlocked, he pulled it open. It was heavier than it looked, but he managed. On the other side were indeed Rain, Alice and Matt. "Kaplan!" they shouted. Kaplan stumbled into the room. 

"Bitch wouldn't open the door so I had to fry her."