Listen to the Rain…
It was raining outside, and it was quiet. Nobody could believe that Chris was alive, even now. But, they were glad, and that's all that mattered.
"Chris, how did Mickie keep you alive?" Jill asked. "What did she do?"
Chris couldn't explain it in words. But he could try to explain it the best way he could. After all, his situation resembled Jill's back in Africa…
"I…can't really explain it, but she held me in a chamber until I was fully healed. I kept going in and out of consciousness, so I can't really tell you much."
"Tell me all that you remember. I'm pretty sure I can piece together the rest after you tell me."
I don't want to tell you, Chris thought. I didn't even wanna go through it the first time.
"Well, she taught me how to feed from humans; it felt good at first, but overtime, I hated it. I knew she could tell, but it was for my own good…after that, I had to control my abilities. I didn't want to come back and suddenly crush you unknowingly."
He had a point. If he came back too early, he would've killed them with just a hug or a simple handshake.
"It took me a few months, but I soon got the hang of it. Mickie was still skeptical about letting me go, so she decided to keep training me. I'm glad that she did. She taught me not to rely only on brute strength alone."
I'm glad you're okay, Jill thought as she leaned against him. I'm glad you're not hurting anymore…
That moment still haunted Jill. Chris' insides being crushed by a simple flick of Wesker's hand; it was the worst feeling to her. She couldn't do anything but watch him almost die right in front of her.
"You should've learned that from the beginning. You would've lasted longer in a fight with Wesker if you would've thought it out a little…"
"I know, but…I was just so obsessed with ending his life, that I never really thought things out ahead of time…"
No kidding, dipshit, Chris thought, scolding himself. None of this would be taking place if I would've thought things out. Geez, I'm such an idiot…
"It's not your fault," Jill said, standing up. "Besides; thinking was never your stronghold to begin with."
No, it wasn't his stronghold. He always thought of others before himself, no matter the situation. It was how he acted, even back in S.T.A.R.S.
Oh! I almost forgot! She reached into her pocket and pulled out Chris' half of their necklace.
"Here you go. I thought you'd be missing this…" She draped the necklace back around his neck. "Didn't you notice it was gone?"
"I did," Chris said. "But I wasn't gonna rush it. I knew you were gonna give it back eventually…"
"Yeah; but don't you need to talk to Claire? She's happy and all, but she's been really distant still…"
Claire…why has she been distant…? It's just not making sense to me…
He gets up and knocks on Claire's door softly. "Claire, can you hear me…?"
No answer.
"Claire, I know you hear me; I can hear you moving around. Open up the door now."
It took her a while and some encouragement to open the door fully for her brother to step in. She didn't even look at him when he came to sit next to her.
"Claire, what's wrong?" Chris asked in a soft tone. "How come you haven't been around us lately…?"
He reached out to touch his little sister-she only backed away from him; almost like she was afraid.
"You don't trust me?"
"That's not it…you've been away for so long, it's just…how can I tell that you're the same Chris Redfield from before? Are you still my brother?"
That question was asked three years ago; and his answer was yes; he would never change. Even now, he's still the same person.
"Claire, I'm still the same person. Why would you doubt anything like that? I promised that I would never change!"
"Chris, I've been having rage blackouts for three years! My judgment is clouded; I need something to remind me that it's still you!"
He couldn't believe how much his own sister suffered. It was hard to see her like this.
"Come here, because I know how you can tell that it's me."
Claire approached him shyly. "How can I tell? You're not showing me anything new."
He picked her up and took her out onto the balcony. "You always liked being out in the rain whenever you felt upset or confused. So, here's what I'm gonna do…"
He sits down on the ground with Claire lying against his chest. "Now do you trust me again…?"
He is my brother…why is my judgment so clouded…? I feel stupid for not believing my own brother…
"Yeah, I believe you…but, when you were gone, did you always think about us?"
"Of course; there wasn't one day that went by without me thinking about you guys."
"So, what's the most important thing you learned from Mickie over these three years?"
"Uh…" He never thought he would ever learn something over the years. All he cared about was coming home…
"'Listen to the Rain'…"
"What? That's all you learned?"
"When you listen to the rain, you hear a soft, gentle melody. It calms every nerve of your being, allowing you to look deep within yourself. I use times like these to look within myself…I thought for long periods of time, and all I thought about was when I was gonna see you guys again…"
'Listen to the Rain'…I never thought of it that way, Claire thought. But it sounds so familiar to me…
The rain pushed on her face in a smooth caress. Her brother's time in the underworld has sharpened every part of his being. Mickie taught him pretty well.
"Mickie's like a mother figure to us, isn't she?" Claire said. "She treats us like we're her children. And I gotta admit I like it."
Chris just chuckled. Yeah, she was if you looked between the lines. She was also strict. But her lifestyle was so hectic! How can she keep up with herself?
"Eh…her life's like a damn rollercoaster; and so are her friends. They're just as crazy as she is."
"I'm not surprised…"
"Okay...skipping to another subject: How's Terrasave working for you?"
"Uh, it's okay. I'm still a little skeptical, but I'll get over it."
Terrasave was an organization that deals with bio-terrorism, like the BSAA. But Terrasave's work wasn't as extreme as the BSAA's work. So, Chris didn't have to worry about his sister getting hurt as bad as he would.
"How about you, Chris?"
"What about me?"
"What about your position at the BSAA? You've been out of commission for quite some time."
Shit, Chris thought. I haven't been there in too long…how am I gonna explain my reappearance?
"Uh, Jill and I will come up with something, okay?"
Jill rushed in soon after, holding Chris' earpiece. "Good timing. We need to go down to HQ."
"For what?"
Jill shrugged. "Who knows? We have to go."
Chris looked at Claire, and then stood up. "I'll be back, okay?"
Claire nodded, and he left the room in one swift motion with Jill. She laid her head back on the ground, still letting the rain fall against her face.
"…'Listen to the Rain', huh?"
A smile perched itself against her face. "Evanescence…"