Back to the Living
Andrella07
Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil (as depressing as that is) and I don't own "Say You'll Haunt Me" by Stone Sour.
Claire and Alice are in the world on their own. Our beautiful redhead was never in charge of any convoy, and I think that's about all I need to tell you.
However, if you enjoy this and would like to see more, let me know in review form. I crave reviews like zombies crave brains. They aren't absolutely necessary for my survival, but I will HUNT YOU DOWN AND- whoa, lost myself for a second there… Just leave a review, yeah? -nervous laughter-
Lastly, this is all Avienda's fault. Awesome reader = awesome reason to a write story. So put the song on loop and enjoy. :)
Little supernovas in my head
Little soft pauses in my dead
Little souvenirs and secrets shared
Little off guard and unprepared
"Please, Alice?"
Claire's request got the same rapid fire answer it always did as of late. "It's not a good time," the blonde said, hardly paying attention to the woman beside her. Alice was about to exit their truck, more than ready to raid the store they stopped at and then be on their way.
The redheaded driver captured Alice's wrist, not allowing her to leave. "It's never a good time," she argued back.
Alice's eyes shot down at the hand locked around her, but it was enough to finally give her pause to really notice Claire. For months they'd been on the road nonstop. It was getting tiring, Alice had to admit. But it was all they could do; it was all that was safe. Years ago, being so near ground zero – Raccoon City – would have been unthinkable. Now it's almost genius… almost.
"It's not safe, Claire. You know that. I'm just trying to keep us alive."
I was never good enough to find
I was never bad enough to mind
In the middle I will do my best
Take me in your arms and leave the rest
Claire's head dropped in submission.
I will give you anything to –
"What's the point then? Why be alive," Claire released Alice's hand as her question finished in a gentle whisper, "if we're never going to live?"
Say you want to stay, you want me too
Say you'll never die, you'll always haunt me
I want to know I belong to you
Say you'll haunt me
Alice picked up the hand Claire had negligently rested on the center console after letting her go. While the touch was familiar to the redhead, the way Alice was running her fingers on the inside of her palm no longer had the effect it used to. She was too distracted. Alice had a point, she always did. The outskirts of Detroit, no matter how deserted it seemed or how abandoned they'd found every other place in Michigan, it wasn't quite safe to do what Claire had in mind.
Five years after the outbreak and most of the undead near the epicenter had moved on. Couple that fact with the freezing effects of winter that were currently ravaging the area and they should have had the entire state to themselves. Very few undead lingered. They hadn't come across any survivors either, not since leaving the small group they'd been a part of almost a year ago. Alice was uncomfortable around people and while Claire didn't mind, her companion came first.
As far as Claire was concerned, this was as safe as it got, but Alice was unresponsive towards the attempts to sway her to the affection they'd come to know.
Little variations on my page
Little doors open on my cage
Little time has come and gone so far
Little by little who you are
Alice wanted to give Claire what she desired. Of course she did. But they hadn't come here for that. They needed food, and the supermarket right outside their vehicle's doors was where she hoped to find it. Claire hadn't eaten in days, Alice hadn't eaten in longer. Sleep was much the same in that the blonde made sure Claire got more than she did.
Since splitting off from their group, life had become difficult to maintain. The best they could do was sleep in turns, and it didn't leave much in the way of time together. Alice had thought her powers would be enough to keep the redhead safe, but there was much more danger when there wasn't a group to watch your back. It was draining her – the knowledge that she was responsible for Claire even though the redhead claimed otherwise. She wasn't sure how she'd survived on her own before running into Claire and the group she traveled with, but that was before preserved food had started to go bad, before the undead migrated endlessly while increasing their numbers, before the world died…
Alice continued to trace Claire's palm as the quiet got to be too much.
I can see the patterns on your face
I can see the miracles I trace
Symmetry and shadows I can't hide
I just want to be right by your side
Claire wasn't reacting to the touch meant to soothe her. She was simply staring out at the snow-covered cityscape. Night would be falling in less than an hour, and that meant Alice would continue driving as Claire tried unsuccessfully to sleep. She missed the convoy, missed the security they'd provided. But mostly she missed the way Alice used to hold her as they both slept.
I will give you everything to –
The redhead tried to pull her hand back. She'd grown too cold for the small comfort Alice was offering, but the blonde wouldn't let her go.
"I'm sorry," Alice said, and knowing that was not what Claire had wanted to hear, released her hand and got out of the truck.
Say you want to stay, you want me too
Say you'll never die, you'll always haunt me
I want to know I belong to you
Say you'll haunt me
Claire jumped down to the snow and found it almost six inches deep. Though her boots kept out the ice, it did nothing to combat the chill that radiated from within. Alice didn't want her – that much was clear. Nothing was as it was before. For the first time, she was starting to lose hope.
She wanted more than the lame intimacy of holding hands. She craved for real skin on skin, for passion. Alice's claim was that it made for a distraction they couldn't afford. They couldn't take an hour to drop their guard, not even ten minutes to think of pleasure and love instead of fear and safety. The blonde's worry was quite clearly etched into her every action, and Claire knew it would wear her thin.
Say you want to stay, you want me too
Say you'll never die, you'll always haunt me
I want to know I belong to you
Say you'll haunt me
The pair scouted the perimeter of the building only briefly before trying the front door. The structure's windows were intact, so the elements hadn't gotten the chance to weather the inside until Alice pulled open the door. The action ushered in a gust of falling snowflakes and cloud-covered sunshine. The light however, wasn't quite enough especially in the far back. It threw the space into a dim collection of soft light and deep shadows.
Alice turned on her flashlight, holding it beneath her Nite-Tac. A quick sweep of the entrance told her there was no need to run, but a more thorough search would have to be made before she would know it was safe to put away her gun.
Right off the entrance was the fresh produce section. This store had obviously been raided at some point, more than likely it had been rummaged through over and over. Still, there was the odor of rotten fruits and vegetables. It mixed with the stale, cold air to create an overwhelming fume. Had any corpses been in the building, they would never be able to tell by smell.
Claire came in on her heals. With her own flashlight and semi-automatic out, the pair separated to comb through the store. It was their practice to search in silence, usually no more than a few feet away from each other. But Claire was feeling careless, and before she knew it, she was completely cut off from the blonde.
Except for her single beam of moving light, the aisle she was in was pitch black.
Little supernovas in my head
Little soft pauses in my dead
Little souvenirs and secrets shared
Little off guard and unprepared
Claire didn't know how far she was from Alice. She could've been on the other side of the supermarket for all it mattered. So far, that didn't seem like such a mistake. There were no signs of any undead in the building, so there was no real reason to find her again. When the blonde finally noticed her missing or if she was needed, Alice would call out for her. But personally, she wanted the space from Alice.
Even in Alice's presence, Claire felt alone. It hadn't always been that way. Before Alice had really become attached to her, they were as close at night as any two people good be. It was as if Alice couldn't get enough of her.
Then one night, Alice let slip a confession she hadn't meant to. Claire had professed her love for Alice long before and was not so torn when the blonde didn't say it back. It was Alice's way. She wasn't good with words; Claire didn't need her to be. What she needed was Alice.
Claire holstered her pistol and stood for only a few seconds before sinking weakly to the tile floor. It was pathetic the way her knees buckled, it was hopeless the way she caught her head with one hand, but mostly… it was just sad the way she thought she was losing the love Alice had for her.
Though Claire absolutely craved them, there were no tears for the heartbreak ripping through her chest.
A footstep sounded behind the woman. Alice had finally come to find her. The redhead opened her eyes but the dark figure was too tall to be Alice. Claire drew her gun as she trained her light on the undead creeping forward. The fiend's joints were stiff with their near frozen state, but the creature's hunger consumed him just the same.
One undead was nothing, so Claire stood to aim. She shot him quickly and knew the sound would alert Alice to danger better than a yell would. But Alice wasn't the only one it would call to her. The infected man dropped dead a second time.
Suddenly, another shot sounded. It seemed Alice had found her own enemies. Claire followed the noise easily as more gunshots broke the silence. She knew Alice could handle herself, but that didn't stop the fear in her gut. The redhead finally found her companion in the center of an aisle. Her back was turned to Claire as she finished dispersing the threats in front of her.
The redhead merely watched, letting the beam of her light grace the floor, as Alice fired on the last undead. Claire took a step forward, needing to be near the woman, wishing they'd never been apart in the first place. The fear that Alice was in trouble without her had been much more painful than the notion that Alice didn't love her anymore.
At the step, Alice whipped around and instinctively fired a final shot.
I will give you anything to –
Illuminated by Claire's flashlight, Alice's face fell in horror as the redhead slumped to the ground.
I will give you everything to –
It hadn't been a headshot. The figure Alice had fired at was too draped in shadow. She had decided that a gut shot would be better to slow the infected person down, so she could take the time to aim. But there had been no undead. It was Claire. Alice was at her side in a second. The pistol used to shoot the woman dropped to the floor with a sharp clatter, followed swiftly by her flashlight.
The redhead had a hand clenched tightly to her side. "Alice?" she whispered.
"Let me see…" the blonde begged.
Say you want to stay, you want me too
Say you'll never die, you'll always haunt me
I want to know I belong to you
Say you'll haunt me
What Alice had just done would haunt her forever, there wasn't the slightest doubt. She was nowhere near ready for Claire to die in her arms; she would never be ready for that. She wasn't even ready to see the damage she'd done, but she grabbed the flashlight next to Claire and when the redhead removed her hand, shined the beam of light on her torso.
There was thick, red blood seeping its way through the fabric of Claire's shirt and the woman's hand was covered in the liquid, but tears came to Alice's eyes just the same. It was only a graze. Choking back a sob, Alice threw the flashlight to the ground and put her hand on the bullet wound to slow the bleeding, while she fiercely hugged Claire with her other arm.
She knew she needed to get Claire out of here and back to the truck where their medical supplies were, and she would. But right this very moment she just needed the distraction of holding Claire and never letting her go. Alice put her lips close to Claire's ear to whisper her a promise. "Once you're taken care of, and feeling up to it, I'll show you just how alive we can be."
Say you want to stay, you want me too
Say you'll never die, you'll always haunt me
I want to know I belong to you
Say you'll haunt me
SOooo, who did I have going? ;) Be honest now.