Chapter 1
Weapons of War, Symptoms of Madness
"This is Claire Redfield's convoy. Present location the Desert Trail Motel. Lat. 35, Long. 114. Calling any survivors…"
Alice was sitting by a small campfire in the cool of the Mojave Desert night. She reached over and shut off her radio transmitter with a thud. She'd been hearing that same transmission for the last nine days and was surprised each time she heard the name Claire Redfield resonating through the static, spoken by the man with the thick Australian accent. Usually by the time Alice reached any survivors calling out for help, they'd be long dead. But this Claire Redfield seemed intent on breaking that pattern.
Alice had been following the convoy, trailing inconspicuously a few miles behind them. It wasn't like they were asking to be rescued. They were the ones offering a safe haven to others. Since Alice was neither a survivor nor in need of rescue, she found it nonsensical to approach the group.
What would be the point?
The sun-bleached blonde focused her attention back on sharpening her Kukri blades. It's become more of a compulsion rather than a necessity over the years. She couldn't remember the last time she had spoken to another living human being. Her apathy toward socialization had become an integral part of identity the last four years she's spent in virtual solitude.
It's not like Alice was happy with her isolation, but she wasn't unhappy either. Then again, she hadn't expected that anyone would still be alive out there, given how rapidly and uncontrollably the virus had spread. The blonde sighed and sheathed her blades before lowering herself back onto her bedroll and stared up reflectively into the exquisite night sky.
There was one thing that made Alice happy. She enjoyed killing the undead that plagued the earth. She found her salvation in every bullet that pierced a mutated skull, and in every swipe of her blade that severed a rotting neck. But even that little bit of joy had become less frequent. Alice has noticed that instead of the undead finding her, she has been forced to hunt them down.
Once, Alice had stood and waited for a throng of undead to attack her just so she could test her strength and abilities. And perhaps it was also inspired, in part, by the stifling monotony of killing the same retarded zombies over and over again. But that day, the undead had just lazily shuffled by her, like she hadn't even been there at all. Only once she had attacked them, did they recognize her as a threat and fought back.
Not like it had been much of a fight in any case. Alice could only surmise that the undead had recognized the T-Virus flowing through her blood and had assumed her to be one of their own.
Alice stared up at the glittering stars that still managed to look the same, even though the world had gone to shit. She found sanctuary in such little things consistencies. No matter what, the stars would always be there, and they would always be the same. The irony was that the starry night had become even more spectacular over the years as the human population diminished to the point of extinction.
She inhaled sharply, able to scent humans and undead for a couple of miles depending on the direction of the wind. Alice could sense Claire Redfield's convoy close by and she closed her eyes, and found herself hoping that when morning came, she would hear their transmission again.
….
Claire woke from a restless sleep at a strange clanking sound coming from the roof of her yellow Hummer. She lifted her green ball cap from her eyes, where it had been shading her from the harsh morning sun. The redhead had always been a light sleeper, even more so since she awoke to a world filled with flesh eating zombies. She doubted that anyone could sleep these days, but then a half smirk graced her gorgeous face as she remembered her companion in the backseat, who she always had a hard time waking.
Claire was proud of the fact that K-Mart, the seventeen year old blonde she had saved three years prior, still felt safe enough to enjoy a good night's rest in this fucked up world. A black mass landing on the hood of the car gained Claire's attention and she realized that the crow must've have been the culprit that had disturbed her from a much needed slumber.
The redhead frowned when she noticed the engorged bloodshot eyes of the black bird staring intently at her, and her heart started hammering rapidly as the adrenaline speedily coursed through her veins. The bird took flight and Claire finally noticed that there were hundreds of them lining the rooftops of the rest of Convoy vehicles as well as the roof of the abandoned Motel and rickety telephone lines around the their campsite.
"K!" Claire whispered loudly toward the back seat as she tried her best to stay as low as possible. "K, wake up!" She hissed a bit louder and was grateful when the teenager finally stirred.
"What?" K-Mart mumbled.
"Wake up and stay down." Claire told her sternly and knew that if K-Mart heard her tone she would know exactly to do as she was told.
"What's going on?" The young blonde whispered back, still lying down, but was noticeably wide awake at the redhead's stressed intonation.
Claire didn't answer her, instead she reached for the radio that connected her to the rest of her Convoy and pressed down on the talk button.
"This is Claire. I need you to wake everyone up as quietly as possible and stay inside your vehicles." She spoke in a calm and steady voice repeating the message twice, her eyes never leaving the birds that were seemingly just waiting for them to panic. "Call in when you're ready and alert." She instructed and waited.
"Claire this Carlos. I see them. Ready and alert." Her second in command was the first to radio in.
Carlos Olivera was an ex-mercenary and with his particular skill level, Claire had put him in charge of the Convoy's armoury which was located within the Reo Army Truck he drove and slept in.
"This is Mikey. Ready and alert." Came the Australian accent of Claire's technician who was in charge of sending out transmissions from his news van, setting up security around the campsite and assisting Claire in navigating their way across the zombie infested countryside.
"This is Betty. Awake and fucking freaked out."
Claire smirked at the former paramedic's words. Betty was driving the ambulance that served as the Convoy's mobile hospital.
"Claire this is Chase. Ready and alert." Came the thick southern accent of Claire's sniper, who was also in charge of their gas supply and driving the 18' wheel tanker.
"Slater. Ready and alert."
Claire resisted the urge to growl at the clipped tone of the man in charge of their food and water supplies. She hated dealing with him, he was always looking to start trouble, but nobody else had wanted to step up and take the responsibility into their own hands. She had hoped L.J would volunteer, but his main concern was keeping Betty safe, as though the woman needed anyone to take care of her. So for now Claire was stuck with Slater.
The Convoy leader waited with baited breath as she stared at the school bus, the last vehicle in her Convoy, and who carried the majority of her 42 charges, to sign in. All her vehicles were heavily armoured and virtually impenetrable by the undead. Yes they could break the glass, but they would find it difficult to get through the metal bars that were sturdily welded all around the vehicle structure. It made travelling through the desert so much hotter, but that much safer.
"This is Otto. We are awake and ready to piss our pants."
Claire chuckled to herself as K-Mart finally sat up slowly and stared out the window with wide-eyes.
"This is Claire. For all you Hitchock fans out there… Fuck you, let's get out of here."
"Roger that."
"Amen."
"Fuck yes."
"Let's go."
The voices echoed through her radio as the Convoy's engine's roared to life and the birds took to the air in a panicked frenzy. Everyone was moving out slowly when Otto's voice rang through the radio again.
"This is Otto. We seem to be… stuck." He relented with clear frustration.
Claire looked in her rear-view mirror as the crows descended on the yellow school bus as though they somehow knew that breakfast was trapped inside. She noticed the wheels of the bus sunk deep into the loose desert sand indicating their predicament.
"Otto is Claire. Get everyone lined up in the middle of the bus. We're coming to get you." She turned the Hummer around and the rest of the Convoy halted, awaiting further instruction.
"Slater this is Claire. Pull up behind the bus and get the ramp out for evacuation. Betty, Carlos, flank the ramp to provide some cover."
Claire pulled up to the bus and watched worriedly as the birds swarmed at the windscreen of the large vehicle. Some looked like they were crushing themselves against the hard metal, as they flew at it repeatedly at ridiculously high speeds. She looked to the back where everyone was in place.
"Chase this is Claire. I need a distraction." She told him very vaguely.
Claire didn't want to mention over the open channel how close the bars covering the windscreen were to caving as a result of the birds' mercilessly hostile attacks. That would only lead to an unneeded panic, and the situation was already tensed enough as it was.
She watched the cowboy exit his tanker and start running for Carlos's truck. The birds seemed focused on the windscreen, probably sensing where most of their meal could be found, until a few became aware of the people being ushered over the ramp and into Slater's panel van, which could hold them all as the Convoy was dangerously low on food.
The angry birds started swooping down but L.J, Betty and Carlos started firing and managed to disorient them somewhat.
"Get behind the wheel." Claire told K-Mart as she exited the vehicle.
It was a precaution she always took when they were under attack and had instructed the young blonde that if anything were to happen to her, K-Mart needed to be ready to drive off and save herself. Claire drew her Glock 17 and hurriedly went to assist the rest of her Convoy.
Chase climbed onto the roof of the army truck where a flamethrower was mounted and directed the powerful blaze at the homicidal birds. The birds, however, only flew higher, out of reach of the flames. Claire counted eleven more passengers to be transferred and prayed that they would have enough fire power to keep the birds distracted for longer.
But then things started to go from bad to worse. Whilst fighting off two infected crows, he lost control of the flamethrower and it started spinning haphazardly, just as another bird swooped down and attacked Anitha, a young survivor, who shrieked and fell off the ramp. In her fright she rolled underneath Carlos's truck and straight out into the open desert.
Carlos gave chase and got to her just as the flamethrower directed its deadly blaze toward the young girl. The ex-mercenary instinctively went to cover the tiny body with his own and braced himself for a painful death.
But it never came.
Claire had been running toward the girl as well, but stopped dead in her tracks and watched on in amazement as the flames heading toward Carlos and the girl seemed to hit an invisible shield. Her mouth hung agape as those flames then lifted high into the air, creating a large bright yellow and orange cloud filled with black smoke that engulfed the murder of crows, causing dead bird remains to rain down on the dumbstruck convoy.
She didn't know what managed to tear her gaze from the astonishing spectacle, but something in her gut drew her attention to a lone figure standing next to a BMW Motorrad K1200R. Claire loved cars and she especially loved bikes, but the magnificent machine paled in comparison to the woman that stood next to it and Claire immediately knew that she was the one controlling the flames.
She walked closer to the blonde who was clad in a sand coloured tank top, a brown shirt with the buttons undone to her lower abdomen and connected to brown stocking-style straps with olive twin leg holsters. She had a dark scarf around her neck and fingerless gloves and it was rounded off with a full length stone coloured duster coat. Claire noticed the handles of two blades sticking out at her waist as well as two more guns mounted on her back, visible at either side of her surprisingly beautiful face.
Claire watched as the woman's eyes appeared almost black as a result of her widely dilated pupils. She focused on a pair of chapped but full luscious lips that were pulled into a haughty smirk, as the shaggy blonde stared up into the fiery sky with an unmistakable air of omnipotence, as the dead birds plummeted down all around her.
The Convoy leaders' legs became like lead as she figured out just who had come to their aid. She had known it even before Carlos straightened and whispered a disbelieving 'Alice' at the sight of his long lost ally. The sky cleared as suddenly as the woman had appeared and she stumbled slightly at the obvious strain the use of her telekinetic powers had caused.
Both Claire and Carlos moved toward her to offer support, but Carlos had been closer and reached his friend first. Alice smiled when she saw the man and hugged him tightly.
…..
Alice was visibly drained after killing all the infected birds, but stepped away from Carlos's hold nonetheless. She would be better soon enough and she wasn't about to pass out in front of all these people. She looked passed Carlos as all the convoy members came filing out of the van and bus. There were so many of them. It had been eight months since Alice had last seen real live people, and for a while, before the transmissions had started, she had seriously considered that there may not be any humans left.
Her attention shifted to a redhead wearing a green ball cap and large gold framed Police sunglasses. The woman had on a tank top, with brown suspenders and green cargo pants tucked in a pair of army boots. Her Glock remained clasped in her hand even though the threat was long gone. Alice found it difficult to tear her eyes away from the woman when Carlos spoke next to her.
"Of all the Motels in the world, you had to walk into this one." Carlos quipped grinning widely at her.
"I just couldn't stay away from you Olivera." Alice grinned back at him.
"Oh is that why it took you four years to find me?" He teased. "I missed you." He said hugging her again but let go when someone cleared their throat behind them.
Alice stepped away from the big man and locked eyes with the redhead who had hooked her sunglasses onto her tank top.
"Claire Redfield." The redhead stated, extending her hand. Her tone was crisp and professional, like they were at a business meeting, Alice noted.
"Alice." She offered, clasping the woman's fingerless gloved hand with her own.
"The Alice?" Claire cocked her head to the side suspiciously lifting her brow and turned to Carlos for confirmation.
Alice frowned as she wondered what Carlos had been telling these people about her.
"The one and only." Carlos grinned back then shifted his gaze to where Alice and Claire still firmly had their hands clasped together.
It was the redhead that let go first and looked very grateful when Betty called out to her from the ambulance where she was examining Anitha.
"Excuse me. I have things I have to attend to." Claire nodded to the blonde and Carlos and walked off.
Alice barely had time to wonder what had just happened when L.J. came flying at her and wrapped her into a boisterous bear hug. She laughed loudly as he spun her around enthusiastically.
…
Claire stopped her trek to the ambulance when she heard the woman's laughter behind her. She couldn't believe that it was really her. For years she had thought that Carlos and L.J had just made her up, to give hope to the Convoy, when all hope was lost. On occasion it had been good for the survivors to hear that there was someone out there who had made it her mission in life to fight against the undead. Claire had thought Alice to be a myth, or perhaps a drastic dramatization of the truth, but somehow she could almost feel the power radiating from Alice's very attractive body.
Distracted by the blonde and L.J's loud reunion, she almost walked straight into the ambulance, only just stopping herself from a major embarrassment.
"Who's that?" Betty asked.
"That's Alice." Claire answered absently as her eyes unwillingly shifted back to the woman who had managed to bond with the T-Virus instead of being turned by it.
"The Alice?" Betty asked sceptically.
"The Alice." Claire confirmed, before shaking her head and focusing on Anitha.
They had to check the young girl for any signs of infection and a few others who had been attacked and as soon as possible. Claire needed to get her convoy on the road again.
…
Alice leaned against her bike, watching as the convoy members all dutifully set out at their respective tasks with purpose. Packing up and lining up the vehicles in what she assumed was the order they drove in. Most attention seemed to be on repairing the protective bars of the bus's windscreen, and digging the large vehicle from the sand. They made use of cables connected to the vehicle batteries as a power source and Alice was mildly impressed by their proficiency.
She couldn't get over the fact that there were so many survivors and she could hardly keep her eyes off of Claire Redfield as the redhead barked out a variety of orders which were promptly followed by men both older and larger than her.
Now that had Alice really impressed.
"Hi." A voice came from her side and Alice turned to the blonde teenager whose approached she had noticed a few moments prior.
"Hey." Alice smiled at her and was amused at the coy smile and blush she received in return.
The girl stretched her arm out and handed Alice a bracelet crafted with an assortment of intricate and colourful electrical wiring.
"I wanted to give you this." The young woman spoke shyly. "To say thank you for saving us." She smiled at Alice with undisguised awe and admiration.
"Thank you." Alice said taking the bracelet and placing it on her right wrist. "It's beautiful." She complimented the girl who had clearly made it considering that her own two wrists adorned similar accessories. "What's your name?" She asked.
"K-Mart." The girl answered and at Alice's questioning look continued. "It's where Claire found me… A few years back."
"Do you have another name?"
"Never liked it. Everyone I knew was dead so… seemed like time for a change." She shrugged.
Alice nodded pensively. What did names really matter anymore? It wasn't like she herself had been born with her current one.
"And you're Alice." The girl grinned shyly and Alice raised an eyebrow at how everyone seemed to know who she was. "Carlos and L.J told us about what you did in Raccoon City." K-Mart elaborated. "We didn't think you were real."
Alice made to comment but was distracted by the approaching steps of the Convoy's leader. She turned to watch Claire Redfield walk up to where she was still leaning against her bike. The redhead's gait held a calculated determination. She screamed authority and Alice noticed the young blonde next to her tense at her leader's arrival. Guess she wasn't supposed to be talking to the freak, Alice thought to herself.
"Go make sure the Hummer is packed up K." Claire told the girl in a gentler tone than Alice had expected and watched the teenager rush off after giving Alice another bashful yet bright grin.
"I wanted to thank you for what you did earlier today. You saved two of my people's lives." Claire told Alice.
"I think I saved a lot more than just two, don't you think?" Alice retorted with an arrogant smirk.
She wasn't sure why, but she felt an uncontrollable need to get under the stoic leaders skin. To just rattle Claire's cage a little. Five years in the desert and Claire Redfield still looked like she was on a three day camping trip. It was surreal. It wasn't normal to find such beauty when the world basked in the cruel and ugly aftermath of the Umbrella outbreak.
Claire chuckled humourlessly at her statement.
"The rest of us would've been fine." She stated confidently.
Alice shrugged.
"Guess we'll never know now."
Claire hummed but seemed to be thinking about something else entirely. Alice was happy to just watch the redhead as the woman seemed to figure out what to say next.
"Are you dangerous?" Claire asked Alice outright.
"Depends." Alice smirked but Claire didn't even hint at a smile, her bright blue eyes piercing Alice deeply.
"Do you pose a threat to this Convoy?" Claire rephrased earnestly.
"Carlos and L.J are my friends." Alice started nonchalantly. "I don't know any of you. I will defend myself if I'm attacked. Other than that I honestly don't give enough of a damn to pose a threat to this Convoy." She answered truthfully.
"We're setting out within the hour. You may join us on your bike. Chase can hook you up with gas if you need it." Claire announced before turning to go and make sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to.
"You're not scared of what I can do?" Alice asked incredulously and Claire halted and turned around again.
Usually when people saw Alice's abilities they were frightened and ran in the opposite direction. Four years ago, she had been forced to leave Carlos, L.J, Jill and Angie behind because she was scared that she would hurt them. But that was four years ago, she had made and effort to practice her skill and could now control her psionic abilities. Well mostly. Alice still had the odd mishap when she had a nightmare, but that didn't happen too often.
"There are way more scarier things out there than you Alice. And if Carlos trusts you, I'm willing to give it a go." Claire admitted coolly. "Bear in mind though, my Convoy comes first. If you pose a threat to any of my people, I will personally put a bullet through your head regardless of your friendship with two of my men." Claire asserted before turning around and walking off.
It was as Alice stood staring at Claire Redfield's magnificent ass, that Carlos joined her again.
"You're barking up the wrong tree." He chuckled noting the look on his old friend's face.
"Why? 'Cause your already barking up there?" Alice smirked at him.
"She doesn't date or anything else you might have in mind. I'm not even sure whether she's gay or straight. She's not allowed anyone near her in the two years I've travelled with this convoy."
"Maybe that's 'cause she hasn't met me in the last two years." Alice grinned mischievously and Carlos groaned in response.
"Claire's got a lot on her shoulders Alice. She doesn't make time for anything else. She lives for this Convoy. Its safety and continued burgeoning is all she cares about."
Alice had already assessed as much from her minimal contact with the redhead, but further scrutiny into Claire Redfield's sex life would have to wait for later.
"Where are Jill and Angie Carlos?" She asked, averting her gaze from him and staring dejectedly at the yellow desert sand at her boots.
"We got separated when a throng attacked the safe house. I found L.J wandering around later. We looked for Jill and Ange, but didn't find them. We are still looking."
Alice nodded.
"Me too." She admitted biting her lip.
It had been a hard decision leaving them unprotected, yet also still having to leave for their protection. Survivors who wanted to remain alive have taken to the road. It's nearly impossible to try and find anyone and with Jill Valentine's survival skills, they may be able to stay veiled for a very long time.
"Why did you leave Alice?"
"I was dangerous. I couldn't control my powers. I was scared I would hurt you." Alice listed.
"Are you still dangerous?" Carlos asked tentatively.
Alice grinned at him.
"Only to the undead."
Carlos beamed back in clear relief. Alice shifted her gaze from him into the distance.
"What about K-Mart?" Alice asked as she watched the teenager talking to a blonde boy at a news van.
"What about her?" Carlos asked frowning.
"How old is she?"
"Alice!" Carlos groaned and Alice chuckled.
There were few things left on earth that amused Alice. Provoking people was one of them.
"I think she has a little crush on me." Alice smirked. "She's the cutest little creeper to have ever crept around me." She laughed then sobered naturally. "She has an innocence about her though, something I haven't seen in a very long time. It's almost like she's only slightly been tainted by the life we're forced to live now." The blonde pondered aloud.
"Claire has taken her under her wing. She tries her best to give K-Mart a sense of normalcy."
Alice snorted derisively.
"What is normal anymore?" Alice stated rhetorically. "Mind if I stick around for a bit?" She asked her friend even though the leader had given her the go ahead already.
"Will you keep your hands off of Claire Redfield?" Carlos asked raising an eyebrow.
Alice laughed as she gracefully swung a leg over her large bike.
"What about my lips?" She gave him a lazy grin that had the big man blushing at the innuendo. But he soon recovered and scowled at her playfully.
"Fine." Alice sang as she started the bike's engine. "I promise to keep my hands off of Red for as long as she wants me to." Alice winked at him and rode off chuckling to go and take her place in Claire Redfield's convoy.