To be buried,
beneath the waves.
A sailor's grave it's all I crave.
Bury me (bury me),
5000 fathoms deep.
And leave my bones,
for the depths.

There's blood in the water,
(sinking, always, sinking).
There's blood in the water,
(sinking, always, sinking).

There's blood,
in the water.

Boneyards, Parkway Drive

There have been many times where the heroes that are most loved have contemplated their death. Will it be quick and painless, or painful and drawn out? Would she die an infectee, or die taking out every last one B.O.W. that she could? That was the question always on Jill's mind. However, Jill Valentine would never consciously consider herself a hero. When she died, that was it. She was unsure if, or how she would be remembered—she doubted it would be as a hero. Hero was, in fact, a term she had grown to hate. She was no hero; she was only doing what needed to be done—doing what she was sure any of the other billions of people in the world would do if they had known...if they had been through the nightmarish hell she ran through—

Shit—

But, Raccoon City was the past. At the moment, the Queens Zenobia was her present, and she was slowly falling, slowly losing the breath from her stinging lungs. She was in a fight not just for her life, but a fight to protect the lives of every innocent being on this planet.

She was failing.

The water was just too cold. It was so painful to her throat and nose. It had rushed into her nostrils, filled up her ears, and burned her eyes. She could barely see anything; the water was as black as it was murderous. Those damned mutant fishes! She heard their squeal of delight carry out through the water as she felt one brush past her. Before she noticed, it was too late; the Sea Creepers were swimming around her, circling with their relentless bloodlust. Goddamned vultures, every last one of them. Her head spun as her vision began blurring. She didn't know how much longer she could take this pain; take the darkness and the stinging.

Swim, swim—

Swimming was never something she excelled in, and now that fact was coming back to bite her in the ass—well, technically, her leg. A sharp sting in her right leg caused her to go wide-eyed, the water only paining her more as she struggled and writhed in pain. The mutated fish had her by the leg, and it had no intention of letting go anytime soon.

—Air!

Jill couldn't breathe, her breath hitched in her throat. She could see the blood, dark, thick, and rising high to the surface. She could see the air bubbles float up with it, their gasps of freedom were the only indication she was below the surface. She needed to save her air, but she unintentionally gasped in pain, releasing most of what she had left and inhaling the freezing sea. Spinning, the water was twisting and twirling. She was being dragged to the bottom—fast, the cool water numbing the pain in her leg.

To die like this—eaten away to nothing but bones by these horrible creatures.

Sinking, sinking away into the depths. Jill stopped fighting as she shivered—what was the point? She had gone numb with sorrow, numb at the thought of dying here.

No…Parker, O'Brian…Chris...I've let you all down.

She could hear it, the sound of her own heart beat. She was still alive; she could still fight—if only she had the energy. Her shoulders shifted in protest of the high pitched squeals of pain from the creatures surrounding her. There was a flash, and then the blackness of the water once more. Had the creatures been killed, shunned away? Had they let go of her leg? She couldn't feel anything. Was she truly dying, had she imagined the flash and noises? She must be delusional, there was no way someone was here. She has split up with Parker, and was still hunting for Chris.

Chris?

She couldn't die, not here—not yet. She had to find him, she had to know he was okay. She had to save her partner.

Jill felt something grab her. It started pulling her up towards the surface. She couldn't see anymore, but she felt it. The strangers arm gripped her waist tightly, she could feel the panic in the way they jerked through the water. Those seconds to the surface felt like an eternity to Jill.

Air—

Her body was lying on mostly dry ground. She was safe.

"Jill!" The fear behind her name—that accent.

Parker. How had he known she was in trouble? So many thoughts ran in her mind, she was only half conscious. She still couldn't breathe, she was still blind. It was in that moment she felt truly frightened, fearing his effort would be in vain—fearing her life would end. The pressure on her chest, the air filling her lungs was all she could remember.

"Jill, answer me!" Was that a quiver in his voice? He sounded on the verge of tears, because of her? She needed to wake up, she needed to continue on, and she needed to find Chris, and to stop this damn virus.

Wake up—

"Goddamn it Jill—!"

—wake up!

With a gasp of breath, the bright lights made her cringe as she turned to the side and vomited up dirty sea water. Her throat tightened, she could practically feel the water leaving her lungs. The air was bittersweet, feeling both glorious and yet painful to swallow up. She continued to vomit and tried her hardest to stop the coughing fit which came afterwards. She shivered; her normally hardened demeanor seemed to vanish the moment she awakened. She tried her hardest to hide it but a few tears slipped down her cheek, mixing into the slimy water which coated her face in a glimmering sheen. She was alive, she was alive.

"Parker…thank you so much…" She didn't think any word in her vocabulary would truly express her gratitude. Parker knew—she could see it in his face by the look of relief.

"You had me worried there!" He smiled kindly at her. "But you have survived tougher. A pesky fish won't stop you now!" He extended a hand for her, her mouth mimicking his sincere smile as she graciously accepted his help up. After making sure she could stand on her own, Parker checked to make sure all of his equipment was still there. Jill followed in suit, her legs a bit shaky. She cocked her handgun with—thank God she hadn't dropped it down there. She hear Parker sigh and place his hand on top of her own; he must've seen her shaking.

"You're fine now, Jill. You don't have to worry, I've got your back. Nothing this small will stop us. But we should probably hold off on splitting up for awhile."

"A smart idea." Jill agreed with an exasperated sigh.

"Let's get going, we still have to find Chris." Jill nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly and beginning to walk towards the ladder which would jump them up to where they needed to be. Parker followed in suit right behind her, covering her, just like she trusted him to.

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