The only sound was the whistle of the wind through the rubble and carnage. Like ten years ago things had just changed irrevocably and Alice felt adrift in uncertainty and fatigue. Her eyes never strayed from the small device, the one that Alicia Markus had left for her. Now it lay dead, just like the woman that had created it. Her heart clinched as she thought of the woman, of the young girl, of herself. Her hand gripped into her hair and her eyes screwed shut as the new memories jostled around, settling themselves in order. Where once was darkness and uncertainty, birthdays and trips and slumber parties now were in technicolor, faded with time, like normal memories.
A hand slid up her shoulder, cradling her jaw. Alice turned her face into the familiar touch, needing it to ground her against the wave of strange memories. Claire. Her memories become more recent and familiar, days spent on the caravan, evenings spent talking and building trust between two women who'd seen too much and lost even more. They had grown close, nights filled with the desire to feel alive when the dead seemed to reign supreme. It had forged a bond; one Alice had come to depend on despite an almost animalistic desire to not get close to anyone ever again. Rain, Matt, Carlos, LJ, Jill, Angie … the list of the dead was extensive and often played like a mantra in her mind. A constant reminder of what happens when you get close to someone in a dead world.
'But it's not…not any more,' A small voice whispered in the back of her mind, one she hadn't listened to in a very long time. The voice of hope.
Green eyes slid open and connected with blue, seeing the same fatigue and just a small, sliver of hope like the one she felt wiggling at the base of her skull. The anti-virus was airborne, Issacs and Wesker were dead…this was a new time. Could they rebuild? Who knew. The earth was so ravaged and torn that it may not be possible, but at least they now had the chance. The original virus spread as fast as the modern world, hitching a ride on boats and airplanes. But the anti-virus would be up to the winds and Mother Nature.
"I'm so tired," Was the only thing that came to Alice's lips and both she and Claire shared a small, weary laugh. They came together, bodies resting and holding one another up as they have done for a while now. Lips brushed along steady pulse points, hands carding through hair and over bruised skin.
"Let's head back to the settlement," Claire murmured into Alice's hair. Smoke and sweat and heat filled her nostrils, but she breathed it in deep. They were alive, by some miracle and god she hadn't believed in in a long time, they were alive.
Back at the settlement people were still cleaning up from the assault. So much had been lost in the firestorm that Alice and Abagail had constructed, but they managed to salvage enough to patchwork a makeshift settlement for the moment. Claire had spread word about the anti-virus, aided by many seeing the dead collapse like puppets whose strings had been cut. There was a general sense of skepticism, an unwillingness to believe lest they wake up back in the nightmare. But as the news spread, as more and more people heard that the nightmare was truly over, a mood of celebration covered the area. People were coming up to Claire, asking over and over for the story. Claire had told them, smiling along with them. She had lost one group in a desert so long ago, but she was able to pull this one through.
Around a campfire, positioned so she could tell the story once more, Claire looked beyond the circle of light cast by the fire, to the lingering shadows beyond. People were milling about, but like a magnet she zeroed in on a lone figure, up on an upper level, leaning against a crumbled pillar. 'Always alone,' Claire thought sadly as she looked up at the woman. From the first moment, she'd met Alice, in that desert so far away, the woman had kept herself apart. 'People have a tendency to die around me.' Claire knew that sentiment all too well. They had become close, seeking a respite from the daily horrors. Neither had expected when their relationship had become more than just friendship. Hell, Claire herself had been surprised because she had seen how Alice and Carlos were together. It was later she had learned that they did share a bond, one built on surviving Raccoon City. They were close, but nothing had come of it.
But all too soon they had parted ways, multiple times over the years, but they always seemed to find one another again. 'Always alone.' The explosion was still fresh in her mind, how close she'd come to losing Alice again.
No one was going to be alone tonight.
She hopped off her seat and slipped away, waving off offers of drinks and more retellings, citing fatigue. She made her way through the maze of rubble and cinder. The sound of celebration became muted the higher up she went, but the feeling did not dissipate from the air. She was surprised that she was almost giddy with it by the time she reached Alice's level.
"You know, I think you should be taking part in some of this story telling," Claire said as she stood next to her friend, both of them looking down at the people below. "You are the one that saved them after all."
"No. That was Alicia Marcus," Alice said, the name dancing strangely on her tongue. "She's the one that put the file in the red queen that started all of this."
Claire reached out, pulling Alice's gaze towards her. "Yeah, but that file would have just stayed there if it hadn't been for you. You made it possible, you did the impossible. You have ever since I've met you."
"You make me out to be some type of hero," Alice replied ruefully. She didn't want the attention, because every face she looked at she saw the ones she couldn't save. She had been at ground zero, had been unable to stop the spread of infection in the Hive. It was only right that she be there at the end. A part of her had thought it was going to be the end. If she was being honest she had hoped it was going to be. She wasn't a hero.
"Because, whether you want it to be true or not you are one."
Alice turned to stare at the woman next to her, wanting to yell that no she wasn't. She was just a no body, a clone…she wasn't real. Except Alicia Marcus's last gift changed that. There was nothing separating her from the disease stricken young woman. She was human. She had memories of a childhood, of a family, and life before the outbreak. But what was she going to do now? Her entire purpose had been to fight the outbreak, to bring down Umbrella and make them pay for what they did. What now?
A warm hand grasped hers, pulling her from her thoughts.
"I think," Claire said. "That is the first time I've ever seen you look that lost. What's wrong?"
Alice swallowed, "Because for the first time since I've woken up…I don't know what to do." She let out a soft chuckle at the ridiculousness of the situation. After all she'd faced and this was scaring her.
"Well for tonight let's not think. We have a reason to live, not just be alive. Whether you want to believe it or not you are a hero and deserve at least one night to relax. Tomorrow we can figure out where to go from here."
"We?" Alice asked, turning to look at Claire, the corner of her lips quirking up a small, almost relieved smile.
"We. You're not getting rid of me just yet, Alice."
Alice wouldn't admit it out loud any time soon, but knowing the woman wasn't going anywhere anytime soon loosened some of the tightness in her chest. "Oh how will I survive?" She drawled, shooting a cheeky grin at Claire who rolled her eyes.
"I think you'll find a way, smartass. Come on, they scrounged up alcohol somewhere."
"Do I want to know what it's made from?"
"Probably not." The two shared a laugh as they picked their way through the rubble to the revelry below. Alice was completely human now. She had the chance at a future, and a small part of her wondered if the redhead in front of her would be a part of it. Another chuckle escaped her at the cheesy thought. She had no idea what was going to come, but at the moment she didn't mind.