The bustling of the people seemed to halt whenever the sun set and the moon took its place, resulting in the black empty night sky. The pure white starts that would fill the dark spots in the sky habitually, allowing the earth to escape the pitch-black aura that would encircle the area without them, only had one light that scarcely illuminated the depletedness. As juvenile as it seemed, her superstition grew as she recovered the memory of the myth that a full moon summoned unbearable creatures to its calling. The engaged activity of the residents would resume the following morning, but fortunately, there would still be some noises of cars beeping and inhabitants murmuring, interrupting the silence that took place during the night. However, tonight was different. It was dead silent; nothing could be made out beyond her apartment window.
Tonight was exactly how it was before she left to retrieve her brother, Chris Redfield, in the quiescent, lifeless town of Raccoon City; lifeless because the horrifying and ghastly residents roaming the town were none other than the walking dead. She wasn't really alone in this game of survival, for when she carelessly walked into a bar to ask questions and a zombie happened to sneak up behind her back, her soon-to-be partner brought a bullet straight into the creature's head.
Leon, the rookie cop, seemed to be in the same mishap as her, so they decided to team-up to escape the horrors of Raccoon City. It only seemed to take less than a day to flee the city with both still in one piece, joined by a twelve-year-old girl, Sherry, who happened to be the daughter of the scientists whom tried to enhance the G-virus that her father injected into himself. It caused him to transform into a hideous creature that possessed him to try and dispatch their team, only to end up being destroyed in the explosion of the facility, along the walking corpses. She thought back to Leon, whom she forcefully had to separate from after departing the city. Where exactly were those helicopters taking him to? They've become well-acquainted during the mission and it was easy to cooperate, since she was only 18 and he was 21.
It hadn't been long when she was able to email him at the prisoner's facility in a militant island. She was caught in the Umbrella laboratory in France resuming her search for her brother and was locked up in a remote island, only to escape and accompany a new companion, Steve Burnside. They also managed to become closer, though it was tough in the beginning with his smart-ass comments and remarks. When they were finally on the path of desertion, the monstrous creatures conducted by Alexia Ashford separated him and her. She was then rescued by her brother, called upon by Leon who responded to her SOS by sending in her brother. They were then nonetheless separated by the collapsing staircase, leaving her to find Steve by herself.
She found him alright, but Alexia had injected the T-virus into his veins and made him transform into a huge, green, frightful monster that chased her down with his enormous and sharp ax. She was saved by the closing gates but was encountered by another one of Alexia tentacles. Steve was then able to cut through the steel gate, only to find her in a fatal hold by the tentacle. His possessed body was about to decapitate her until a spark of realization interrupted his action. She was as good as dead when the gigantic ax came to her neck, only realize that the ax cut the tentacle instead, which charged at him and stabbed him the in the stomach by an enraged Alexia.
This caused Steve to change back into himself, but the wound was fatal and time was ticking as his life was slowly being drained out of him. She sat by his side and his last words to her was, "I love you…Claire…" Her tears ran fast as his head lowered until it came to a stop, signaling that he was finally deceased.
She loved him back, but when the time came that the feelings of love were confessed, the one she felt that feeling towards was dying in her arms. This wasn't the first time she had butterflies fluttering in her stomach during a fight to survive. She had felt like this to Leon, whom she thought didn't feel the same way. Unrequited love was something Claire didn't want to encounter, knowing how painful it would be in the end, but she couldn't control her inner feelings towards that man.
Her unforgettable experience continued to play in her mind as she remembered that she and Chris finally collaborated to eliminate the transformed Alexia. They succeeded in doing so an escaped the exploding building through a jet.
Her mind suddenly drifted off to unforgiving questions that would fluster her whenever it came into mind. What would it be like if Steve were still alive? What if Leon traveled back with her and she confessed her feelings to him? Her head began to ache as a sign of frustration to picture multiple events that could've happened.
Now back to the present (or at least in her thoughts), she glanced at the framed picture of she and her brother and felt warmth rise in her body when she realized that he was back safe and sound. He now lived in a separate apartment far away from her in a whole different building in another state, but they were still able to visit each other anytime.
Here she was, sitting comfortably in the couch watching a movie that compelled her to finish watching the whole thing without the knowledge of how late it was. Claire was in her loose, off-white long-sleeved shirt, tight black undershorts, barefoot against the shabby carpet, and straight and thin auburn hair pulled back into a messy updo as she was staring into the screen of the small television that sat on top of a worn out wooden side table. She wasn't poor, but simply wanted to save money by buying necessary furniture with the minority of the money she was saving.
Her excitement grew as the anticipated but epic action scene was about to happen. The two enemies got into their fighting stances and right when they were about the clash, the breaking news logo popped up on the screen as if right on cue, interrupting the very scene that she stayed awake all night for. Her wide smile slowly turned into a frown and she slammed her hand on the couch that she was seated on as frustration flooded her mind. She cursed under her breath and tried to relax in her seat as she waited for their "important" news report.
It took a few moments before a pretty petite woman with long, curly black hair holding a microphone to her mouth appeared on the television screen. The scenery behind the news reporter appeared to be strikingly familiar as it was just as dead as the outside streets, but something in it caught her eye.
The fresh market that she shopped at once a week to buy her groceries, being only a few blocks away from her apartment building, was in the background with the street lamp turned off when at this time, it was always on.
The woman began to address the news report, pulling her hair away from her face so her voice wouldn't sound muffled from her hair in the way. "Hello. I'm Amy Rhodes standing here in front of the metropolis where there was an unspeakable event that was witnessed by the owner of the market. The owner, known as Jack, was closing up his shop when a weary man walked inside in unsteady legs; his body so pale that streaks of blue were visible, showing an emphasis on his veins that were bulging out of his skin along with his bones since he was abnormally skinny. Jack had warned the man in repetition on that the store was closed, but the strange man continued forward towards the counter. Before Jack could flee, the man grabbed hold of his arm with his grubby hands and bit down hard with his yellow chipped teeth."
Claire could already imagine that Jack shrieked in pain and shook the monstrous creature off of him and took the nearest appliance his hand could reach before he swung wildly at the man.
"Until he was sure the creature couldn't move, Jack called 911 as blood furiously dripped down his arm where the man bit him. When the ambulance and news crew arrived, the owner was till conscious enough to tell us his story, but was growing faint and pale from the blood loss that was obvious from the pool of blood that his arm hovered over.
As the woman continued her report, Claire could make out a dark and faint figure slowly creeping up behind the woman. The figure became more visible each wobbly step it took by the light from the camera crew. Chills of fear ran down Claire's body from head to toe as it crept closer; the object now had a mangled, decayed, and bloody face that looked hungry to devour her, even though she knew the zombie didn't have the slightest emotions or aspirations.
She screamed at the television screen, yelling out words of warning even though she knew it would be useless since she was inaudible to the reporter that was about to face a gory death in just moments. She didn't even care about the sleeping residents of the neighboring apartment rooms. Nothing could interrupt this agonizing moment of bloodshed.
Just then, the creature bit down hard on the woman's skin over her clavicle and her terrified shrieks amplified by the microphone made her realize that the woman was now struggling against the zombie's rotten but strong teeth. Her weak wriggling actually made the situation worse as the dark red liquid coming out of her shoulder rushed out rapidly because of the sharp teeth scraping against her flesh. Claire stared wide-eyed as the scene played endlessly, thinking that it was all a nightmare and she would wake up soon, even though it was incredibly legitimate.
After the walking corpse finished his meal of human flesh, her body lay limp on the cold sidewalk, leaving only her mangled body to be drenched in her own pool of blood. The zombie was now walking towards the camera and her face drained to white as she identified the zombified creature that was coming into view.
It was Jack.
She gasped as the kind and innocent middle-aged man she saw every week to purchase her necessities was the thing that had put the reporter to death by furiously knawing and rip off her flesh. Not only that, but the virus that was embedded into his bloodstream by the unwelcomed guest had spread so quickly since just a few minutes ago, he had been bitten.
"This can't be happening! No…not again! This terror was supposed to be terminated when the Umbrella headquarters was shattered." Claire said to herself in dismay. Never had she considered facing her gruesome experience all over again. And not only that, but this crisis is materializing where she subsisted. She started to calm down, trying hard to credit that this was just an innocuous nightmare. Claire flipped through the channels on the television monitor, even though her digits were trembling as she tried her best to press the buttons on the remote. She knew it wasn't a delusion because every channel she switched to was still fixed on the shredded female reporter on the blood-stained cement; the news crews assumedly left their equipment behind before running away in fear and the medics drove away without lifting a finger to help, but only thought about their own lives.
Just then, she heard boisterous, excessive footsteps rush across the hallways of the apartment building, as if a large bundle of residents were trying to evacuate the building. Only one person had been infected, but why are they running away like intimidated children instead of taking care of the situation that could turn into an enormous disaster? Claire took a shaky step backwards in her bare foot and turned to gaze out the undraped window to realize that it was too late to even consider staying in this room.
There in the midst of the dark street was a mob of infected mortals whom were all trying to satisfy their hunger in their own demeanor, as if they were the exact replicas of Jack's mutated form. The only feasible alternatives were to either stay in the apartment and wait for the famished, blood-thirsty beasts to devour her or retreat from the place pronto and look for a way to halt the broadening of the T-virus. Claire was very wise in a situation like this, especially since this would be her third time abiding this, so option one didn't cross her mind. She had a very exclusive prize that she had obtained during her former adventure; the 9mm Beretta that she had polished from the dried up, infected blood, reloaded, and cleverly hid in a multi-locked safe far back in her wardrobe.
It's a complex code to crack, but since Claire hasn't been in a position so deadly that she doubtlessly needed to equip the firearm, it would be a little tougher to unlock. Her efficient memory allowed her to recover the multiple pass codes the lock required, hadn't it been a long time since she locked up the gun, hoping to never have to use it again. The imponderous but dangerous weapon lay in her cold right palm as she scanned the gun with her distressed eyes. The feel of it in her hand was so alien and full of destruction as to what she used it for in the contaminated land of the dead.
She hadn't noticed how long she was investigating the handgun until a knock on her apartment door broke her off of her daze. A familiar voice filled the room as the person opened the door, since she forgot to lock it.
"Claire, what are you waiting for? You have to get out of here before you get eaten alive by those things outside!" said her next door neighbor and best friend, Kristen. Her light brown eyes looked at Claire, waiting for an answer and her long, straight, strawberry blonde hair was tousled against her slightly tanned skin. "I'm on it." Claire replied as she grabbed the fully-loaded gun and extra ammunition. Kristen stared wide eyed at the weapon in Claire's hand. Where'd you get that from?" "Oh, it's just a souvenir from one of my trips." Kristen was standing there flustered and suspicious until Claire hastily grappled her by the wrist and yanked her out the door.
They followed the terrified crowd of apartment resident out of the building as Claire was able to recognize a majority of the escapers, but one had caught her attention. A young woman who occupied the room two apartment doors away from hers was grasping her two twin daughters at the age of two, though something was skeptical of one of the bundles.
The small child she carried on her left arm was very pale with eyes bloodshot, veins incredibly visible against her delicate skin, lips disturbingly chapped and slightly purple, and strands of fragile hair was gradually diminishing from her head. By seeing this, she now knew altogether why tears were rolling down the mother's eyes and mucus running down her lips.
At some point, her child had been infected by the virus and the evidence was bare as the juvenile's chubby arm contained a gory bite mark surrounded by dark red blotches of blood. That being said, something must've maimed her inside the apartment building. This had motivated Claire to retreat the complex as soon as possible.
Claire started into a dash, dodging people hindering her from getting to the dark brown, wooden, double-doors that led to the outside streets. During her top-speed pace, a pang of realization slapped her across the face. Kristen's wrist was no longer clutched in her hand due to her sprinting that was too much for Kristen to handle. She trotted back towards the crowd only to find Kristen taking hold of the other not infected child from the mother jogging beside her, whom was clasping the other sickened toddler. She was endorsing the weary mother by conveying her child so they could escape and not get left behind.
It took a few moments before all three of them entered the double-doors, only to start to huff the dirty, contaminated air that filled the dark aura. "Kristen, we have to get to the airport. It's our only chance of leaving before this town is populated by those freaks." Claire reminded her best friend. "Alright, let me just give Lauren back her daughter." Kristen edged toward Lauren only to find her kneeled on the black gravel, sobbing with both hands cupped over her teary eyes. "What happened?" Kristen asked sympathetically as she placed her hand over Lauren's shoulder. Before she could reply, Claire could behold the limp, motionless bundle lying on the ground. She never heard Lauren talk during their unintentional meeting, but when she spoke, her words were muffled by various sniffles as she tried to search for words.
"My baby…my sweet darling…she's gone forever!" Lauren choked out between sobs.
Dejection and sorrow swelled up in both Claire and Kristen, each of their hearts beating rapidly as they gave the grieving mother a few moments of silence. Time passed until they've been standing in the same position for much too long. "Ma'am, I'm so sorry for your loss, but we must depart before those creatures catch up to us." Claire started. "No, I can't!" Lauren barked out harshly to her without looking away from her cadaverous daughter. Unexpectedly, she slowly spun her head around until her eyes met Claire's with a warm smile replacing her previous frown. "I'm sorry, but I mustn't travel alongside with you. I'll just become a burden and slow you down. Plus, I want to perish next to my baby, for I know that she's never going to wake up. Please accept my decision." Claire could comprehend the woman's feelings as she would do the same if it came to this. "But-" Kristen began. "Alright, we respect your choice." Claire interrupted. "But may I leave my other child with you?" Lauren said has her gaze turned to her baby still wrapped up in Kristen arms. "Of course she can." Claire reassured her. "Thank you. Please keep her safe." "I'll guard her with my life!" Kristen declared, her tears welling up in her eyes. They both gave Lauren a parting wave before they left the woman alone with her dead baby.
"Okay, the airport is close, but it'll take quite a while to reach our destination on foot." Claire announced. "It's all right, as long as we can get the hell outta her." Kristen replied, carrying the baby in a secured but tender grip as the bundle wrapped her small, chubby arms around her neck. The street lamps barely gave off their only source of light as they began to creep up the unoccupied sidewalk.
The awkward silence became more discomforting by the minute until faint footsteps could be heard along their path. Claire already knew what was coming and raised the gun until she was in her normal shooting stance. On the other hand, Kristen stood still at the sound of the footsteps with the baby slowly breathing in and out, indicating that she was asleep. As if on cue, a zombie could be seen walking sluggishly on its unsteady legs towards the not-yet infected women. Not long after, more trailed closely behind their leader until they were barricading their escape route. "Shit." Claire cursed as she loaded the pistol with a click. One bullet was fired and then another, each one being sent into their forehead by Claire expertise marksmanship. Claire admired her skill at shooting, for it's been a while since she fired a gun.
Careful not to waste ammo, Claire focused on clearing a small portion of the mob, big enough to let them squeeze through. Kristen stared in horror as each creature fell to the ground with a thump with their blood oozing out of their pierced foreheads that stained the street. There was nothing she could do except watch her best friend bravely execute each one of the famished monsters. She was snapped out of her trance when the firing stopped and Claire pulled her, telling her to move forward. She did so, pumping her legs as fast as she could with the baby still fast asleep in her arms. Alongside Kristen, Claire ran quickly, evading the hungry beasts trying to grab hold of her.
They ran until they dangerously began to feel an aching sensation in their thighs and calves. Luckily, they were able to reach an area that wasn't inhabited by zombies with their torn, filthy clothes tainted with another individual's blood. Their hope grew in every step they took in the opposite direction of the mob of zombies. Claire had interrupted their brisk walk to reload her gun and the baby started to wriggle in Kristen's arms before she was lulled back to sleep.
After a few minutes of rest, the two continued their walk until they reached an intersection that was lit up by a single tall and bright street lamp. "The airport is only a few more blocks away. We should-." Claire stopped midsentence as she spotted a shadow walking closer to the street lamp. Claire readied her weapon but noticed that the figure was walking steadier and faster than any other zombie she had encountered. She started to relieve the stress that weighed down on her stiff shoulders at the thought that this could possibly be a human. She remained static, still locked up in her stance as the figure became more visible. It appeared to have a gun pointed straight at her defensively just as she did. She froze and turned pale as shock overflowed her body. 'There's no way!' she thought to herself as the figure was now completely visible and incredibly familiar. She shakily lowered her gun as she successfully uttered out the only thing that could escape her lips.
"L-Leon?"