Disclaimer: I do not own anything Resident Evil. Just what I create. This is what happens after the abrupt and very curious ending to The Inevitable, a story based on the struggles of a viral outbreak in Louisville. The story is set five years, as the summary and first sentence clarify. It was originally seven, but I found five more fitting. This is just the teaser chapter, like the introduction into whatever unfolds in this part. Enjoy!

The lyrics: Dark On Me by Starset.

There's no hate,
There's no love

It's been nearly five years since Claire.. since his little sister was discovered to be gone from this world, infected with the virus that he had so long fought against. She had died apparently, and her body was gone. The only indication that it was even true was.. a picture he had received. He had checked his email some days after the incident and it showed Claire's ghostly pale form scantily clad on a table. The skin on her visible body looked cracked, but all traces of blood, dirt and whatnot had been cleaned.

The message attached had merely read;

I'm sorry for your loss, Redfield. Claire was a kind girl and did not deserve to die by Albert's hand. I will make sure he pays dearly for this loss among others. Believe when I say I will not soil the body. I will use it's components respectfully to find a cure. Will keep in touch with any advancements. - Alex.

It was currently 2015. Claire would have turned 36 in a few days. She would have strung up her apartment with decorations to celebrate Halloween, her favorite holiday. Ever since her disappearance he and Jill had moved into the apartment that had been Claire's, paying the rent and living there. They'd moved all her things to the spare bedroom and had taken what had been her room. It felt weird sleeping in here, but.. this place had become like home over the years, since Raccoon City.

Only dark skies that hang above
I call your name as I walk alone
Send a signal to guide me home

People asked about Claire, primarily her few friends and coworkers, even the TerraSave lead Marcy demanded answers, but he was left with little to give. All he had said was that she had died in the Louisville Leak, as they began to refer to it as.

The city itself had been cleaned up and it had taken nearly a year to remove any trace of the virus. The following year was spent rebuilding and updating things. So on and so forth.

Chris swirled the bourbon liquid in his glass, mindlessly staring into the brown alcohol. He heard footsteps padding down the hallway coming this way. Jill had mentioned something about showering and it seemed she was done. She came in and he didn't turn.. knowing she would walk over to him. He felt warm arms circle his neck, a chin resting atop a shoulder. She grasped the left elbow with the right hand, flexing her left fingers to show off the ring in a thoughtful manner, as if to remind him.

"I'm really glad things worked out between us." She muttered. "Even if it comes with it the reminder of our loss.." She trailed off, sighing heavily behind him. He knew she too missed his sister, who had become like such to her as well.

Light the night up, you're my dark star
And now you're falling away

There had been many nights, Chris knew, that Claire had came to Jill for advice. He had firstly been offended that she didn't come to him, but knew she had wanted that sisterly bond with Jill and to have the option of doing girly things with another woman. So he had gotten over it fairly quickly, even encouraging afterward for her to go to Jill.

His wife was a strong woman.. always had been. Especially after her recovery from Wesker's control. That had scarred her, having her freedom taken away to be a puppet for another's entertainment. It had haunted her. But Chris, she had told him, had helped to get her to move on past it.

He studied the ruby ring, a small smile sprouting on his face. "I couldn't imagine life without my partner. I just wish I'd have asked you much sooner." He teased, turning his head to plant a kiss on her cheek.

A blush was quick to cover her cheeks and so she buried her face into his neck. "I'm glad you did, either way."

He turned in his chair as she released him, grabbing hold of her arm before she could spin away. She glanced back to him, arching a brow. "Hey, Jill.." From the look he gave concern flashed across her face. "How about we take off this week? I can tell Aiden, Faust and Walker to take on the mission, they are capable of handling it with Von leading." He gave a smile to try to win her over.

But I found in you what was lost in me
In a world so cold and empty

She pursed her lips before smirking. "I'd like some time off. That'd be nice."

He excitedly dug out his phone, nodding his head. "I'll let them know." He pressed call and held the phone to his ear, turning away from Jill who had went to the kitchen. "Hey, Von, it's Redfield." Damien was an excellent fighter, far more skilled than any of the others. Whether hand to hand or with a sword.. or, pretty much anything that he can swing, haha.

"Redfield! Great to hear from ya!" He heard the cheerful chirp of the man he worked closely with. "To what pleasure do I owe this call to?"

"How interested in the new case are you and Faust?" Chris waited half a heartbeat before continuing. "I'm looking for the week off but I need someone else to handle it."

"...I'm listening..."

I could lie awake just to watch you breathe
In the dead of night, you went dark on me

A sigh escaped the government agent as he signed the last paper, placing it atop the stack and pushing it aside. He thumbed his pocket for his phone, checking the time. Hell, it was only five in the afternoon. He glanced around the windowless room he sat in, a dim lamp his only source of light. He pursed his lips, peering back down to his phone, frowning as he noticed a message from Redfield.

It had been a long time since they had gotten in touch. Her first year anniversary of when she died was the last time he heard from him. After that it seemed he dropped off the planet. The message, he brought up, was strangely welcomed.

Jill and I are taking the week off. If you can arrange it as well we thought you might be interested in a vacation. Bring whoever. Going to stop by Claire's grave.

There was no point, Leon reasoned, to go visit an empty grave. Chris had told him Claire's body had been taken by some guy named Alex. Alex who? It reminded him vaguely of the time when they were beneath Louisville, before Wesker found them. Hunnigan had dug around a lot over the years into Project W. She hadn't found a lot until around 2014, a year ago.

You're the cause,
The antidote
The sinking ship that I could not let go

Leon had acquired a chip from Ada as prize for unknowingly assisting on one of her missions sometime in February of 2014. It contained information that shed some light on this mysterious Umbrella project.

The files on the drive had called it Project Wesker and it appeared, from what he read, Wesker was one of it's subjects. Leon could have sworn his name was Albert. The list of subjects consisted of 13 names, two scientists with one unnamed and the other Claudia Wesker, an overseer Edward Ashford and the founder Spencer.

The text had a lot of scientific notes and whatnot, talking about the Progenitor virus only briefly and how they had kidnapped hundreds of smart kids to work on. Out of all of those.. only 13 really showed any promise taking on the surname Wesker. The man they had fought so long against had been 13, but a name did jump out at him from the list of subjects.

12, Alex.

You led my way then disappeared
How could you just walk away and leave me here?