AN: This first short is from Alice's point of view from when she meets Claire and the rest of her convoy in Resident Evil: Extinction. This little bit is from the first night that Alice stays there. The continuing chapters won't be documenting the events of the movie, instead it will be more scenes between Alice and Claire. Yes, this is that kind of fic. Don't like it? Don't read it. Simple as that.~

Taking Chances

It was getting dark out, and everyone was preparing their small fire pits and preparing to hunker down for the night. I always found it hard to sleep out on the desert floor with just a blanket roll. You never knew if one of the undead was going to make a surprise visit to you while you were asleep. And then of course, I had those dreams where I felt like something just wasn't quite right. Hell, waking up to see that motorbike coming to a crash from being lifted by the powers in me? That was a God Dammit moment right there.

So, at least I had come across the people here, and saved them from death by undead flesh eating crows. I honestly have no idea how I did it, but regardless if they were freaked out or not, they were alive because of me. It was also a relief to know that Carlos was alive. I never thought I'd see him, or anyone for that matter, ever again. I knew he was glad to see me too, though I probably wasn't going to stay for long. People tended to die around me.

But, as Claire had said, it wasn't just me. In all reality, that came as kind of a relief. After all, it's not a nice feeling knowing that you've caused unintentional deaths of good people because you're the one that the Corporation's after. However, Claire was letting me stay, and that, I was absolutely grateful for.

I was sitting against the back side of on of the trucks, away from anyone who was still awake. It had to have been nearly midnight with the moon high up in the sky. I heard footsteps and turned my head to the left to see a familiar figure walking towards me. With a smile, I moved my hand back from my pistol's holster to the top of my knee again.

"You're still up?" Claire asked, a brow arched. I looked up at her with a grin.

"Can't sleep." I chuckled.

"Neither can I." The redhead replied, sliding down to sit beside me. She sighed softly. "I don't know why I can't sleep. It's not like I've had problems before."

"I've always had a hard time sleeping out here. Or maybe it's just because I'm with a group now..."

"Why would that have to do with anything?"

"Well...with the powers...I dream and things happen that I can't control."

"Like what?" Claire asked softly, turning her head to look at me, brushing back a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Power to move stuff, lift it in the air. That's why I was on foot. Had a motorbike, but woke up to see it fall from six feet up to smash in half."

"Oh..."

"Yeah..." I sighed deeply, looking back to the sand between my boots. There was something bothering me deep down in the back of my mind, but I couldn't place it. Claire had also fallen silent and I found myself looking up at the stars, slouching back a bit so I could lean against the truck more.

"You ever think this might end?" Claire suddenly asked me. I wasn't sure what to say to be honest.

"I don't know. It could..."

"But you doubt it?" I looked to my left, blue green eyes meeting her olive green ones.

"Did I say that?"

"You sounded like it." She replied quickly. I looked away again, that odd feeling returning now to the pit of my stomach.

"After seeing the world turn to nothing in the past 8 years, I have a hard time believing anything good can come out of this." I explained, distracting myself by kicking the sand with the toe of my boot. Suddenly, I jerked my head up when I felt her hand on my knee.

"There could always be something good, you just have to take a chance."

I felt my dark brows furrow for a moment, wondering what she meant. I looked to her again, our eyes meeting in a glance. That look that she had, it was hard to tell what she was thinking. However, that thought was soon answered when she leaned forward, her hand travelling from my knee to the side of my face, and kissed me. I was far too surprised to react in any way, positive or negative. But as I felt the red head's lips on my own, that feeling in my gut was telling me that nothing bad could come of this. That finding that something good in times like this was rare and...

Claire pulled back, lips curved into a smile. She stood up without another word and just started to walk away. But, once she reached the cab of her truck, she paused, looking back at me over her shoulder, hair blowing in the slight breeze. "Take a chance, Alice."~