N/A: Hello, boys and girls, I'm back! Here's the first chapter – I hope you like it :D
Avienda, I know I'm late, but… Happy Birthday! Here, have a chapter as a gift ;)
Disclaimers: You know the drill. I don't own anything from Resident Evil.
1. Mrs. Abernathy
Little by little, she felt her brain regaining consciousness of her body. Her muscles felt a little sore, like they didn't catch a break in years. The shutters floated about with the soft breeze, allowing the clarity inside the bedroom. As the furtive sun beams warmed her skin, her blue eyes opened very slowly, growing used to the blinding light.
Claire frowned and rubbed her eyes as she sat up straight on the bed. Bed. She had the feeling she wasn't supposed to be on a bed. Her back ached too much for a bed that was so damn comfortable. And the pillows – God, the pillows…
She looked around with the odd sensation that she was somewhere she shouldn't be. Her body might be sore, but her nerves were alert. Slowly, pictures of what seemed to be just a nightmare came back to her – pain, guns, helicopters and a lot of yelling. Maybe she should cut some slack with those war movies. But they did felt real…
She looked down and registered she was wearing nothing. Claire's immediate reaction was to grab the bed sheet and wrap it around her body. She felt movement and the bed springs creaked softly. She jerked almost imperceptibly with the new weight added to the mattress. Claire turned around and, out of pure instinct, she swung her arm backwards. Her fist immediately met a cheekbone. There was a lot of clattering and a muffled growl of pain.
"Fuck!" a familiar voice grunted.
Claire quickly lurched forward and kneeled on the opposite edge of the bed. Her heart jumped on her throat when she saw a pair of long fingered hands covering the blonde woman's face. Even though she couldn't see her, Claire knew it was the same face she had expected so much to see in her nightmare last night.
Claire noticed a golden ring on her left hand that matched perfectly with the blonde's ring. What the hell? Now she was a lot more confused. The redhead swallowed hard and whispered the first name she could think of, even though she had no idea where that came from.
"Alice?"
The tall blonde sprawled on the floor removed her hands from her face, and seeing her brought to Claire a mixture of pleasure and pain. Green, confused eyes greeted her along with a sly smile, and Claire was sure she had never seen a woman so beautiful in her life.
"Morning," Alice said, her hoarse voice making Claire shiver pleasurably. "What was that for, honey?" she sat up gingerly. "It's the second time this week-"
Claire did not reply. She could not take her eyes away from Alice either. The blonde stood up and watched the breakfast mess on the floor. She didn't seem to acknowledge Claire's desperate look towards her.
"Well, let's see…" Alice put her hands on her hips, her brow deep furrowed. "I'll just…" she squatted and started to collect the ruined food. There were scrambled eggs and toasts, broken china and a puddle of dark brown liquid on the carpet. "If you didn't want the crappuccino, you could just have said it."
Claire held her breath at the joke. That rang a bell – the bell of an old memory she could not quite catch yet.
Feeling like she hadn't eaten in years, her mouth watered with the meal she had just ruined, but she could not even move to help Alice to try and salvage anything. There seemed to be something wrong with Alice too; Claire had the impression that she was too smiley.
The redhead watched her closely. There was something different about her appearance as well. The Alice in her mind was a lot rougher, silent and, well, filthy. Now Alice's skin was silky, and her hair looked clean. It wasn't astray or with the looks that the last haircut it got was with a blunt scissor. She wore loose, khaki pants, and a very tight, navy-blue top. Where the fuck those clean clothes came from? They even smelled like detergent…
When the talking Alice left the bedroom with everything wrapped in a table cloth, Claire noticed a mirror on the wall. She stood up slowly and walked to it. The image shocked her a lot, because that was not how she remembered of herself. Her hair looked clean too, shinny, and very well-tended. Despite the disheveled mess it was now, she knew it would look just perfect after she combed it. Her face was dusty-free, and her nails were clean… She parted both ends of the bed sheet and chanced a look at her body. No scars, no mud…
Maybe she was still too caught up with that stupid dream; a chuckle from the doorway startled her and made her heart jolt inside her chest. Alice was leaning against it with her arms folded, and damn they still looked muscular and hot – at least that remained unchanged. However, the curiosity Claire felt was showing differently on her expression, because Alice drew near her looking worried. She pulled the redhead to the bed and sat down next to her.
"Are you alright?" Claire nodded, looking at their matching rings. Alice didn't miss that. "Look, I know it's a lot. Hell, I know that… Honey, I'm sorry if… I think that, when I freaked out, I said many things that… Well, they're not true. Of course I'm ready for this."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Claire whispered with a frown, hoping that finally things would start to make sense.
"I'm talking about the best day of my life," Alice held her hands with hers, sending waves of warmth that comforted her from head to toes. There was so much love in her green eyes that Claire really started to feel scared that this was just a dream.
"Why don't you take a long shower while I prepare us some breakfast again, hm?" the blonde pulled her up. "Maybe not too long, though. Mrs. Henderson is expecting us by ten."
Claire merely agreed with a silent nod, feeling bounded to it. She really wanted to see where that was heading, when something occurred to her. The redhead could not believe that she had forgotten about the girl. "K-Mart," she whispered.
"What?"
"Where's K-Mart?" her sudden panic brought Alice once again back to her side. Now Claire was scared; what if that had been just a dream too? How come she could have made up something huge like that?
"Hey, calm down," the blonde shushed her – shushed her, for God's sake!
"You're asking me to calm down? I promised her I would not leave her! She's just a child, she can't-"
"Hey, hey! Claire…" Alice held her by the shoulders. Claire held her breath. "Relax! I know she's a little girl! We're going to pick her as soon as you're ready, okay? Mrs. Henderson is not giving her away to other parents, I promise you."
"Parents?" Claire repeated, and it made Alice smile.
"Yeah," she whispered, planting a kiss on Claire's temple. "We're going to be a happy little family, baby. Now go shower."
C'mon, Claire. I don't do happy families.
What's happy about anything, anyway?
She was still too stunned to answer. Alice kept babbling something as she moved to the kitchen. God, it was their house… Claire was afraid to ask more questions and find out she merely woke up to insanity.
It was really not in her nature to accept orders like that – even if they sounded too smooth and caring - and it was completely out of her character to do things without questioning first, but just this time she felt too tired to put up a fight. It was Alice assuring her that K-Mart existed and that they were heading to get her. And for some unexplained reason, Claire knew she trusted Alice with all her heart.
Claire entered a fancy bathroom adjacent to the room, and the nice scents of soap and shampoo swirled around her senses; there was condensation on the mirror surface, and there was a fluffy towel folded on top of the sink, apparently for her to use.
She knew she was clean, but somehow Claire felt like she really needed to enjoy it. However, her mind was too focused on K-Mart to relax. She washed her body from nothing in particular, except that she noticed remnants of obvious sex she didn't remembered having with Alice.
Dripping wet and with the towel wrapped around her body, Claire stopped in front of a large closet and studied her options. One side of it contained military suits carefully folded next to regular clothes. Frowning, she reached out for a camouflaged jacket and unfolded it. The name sewn above the chest pocket said MAJOR A. ABERNATHY, so obviously it wasn't hers.
The other side had casual articles, with simple colors that she actually liked, and everything in there seemed to fit her pretty well – shoes, jeans, t-shirts and even underwear. Claire didn't remember buying any of that, but Alice seemed to have a good taste and trained eyes, too.
The blonde was waiting for her in the kitchen, pressing an ice pack on her cheek as she placed hot toasts down the counter.
"I'm really sorry about that," Claire muttered.
"Don't worry about it," Alice chuckled, grabbing the coffee pot and serving two cups.
They ate breakfast in silence while the news echoed from the small TV on the counter. The Raccoon News anchor announced the gas price skyrocketing and something related to facial lotions that had collateral effects on consumers. When the Umbrella name was mentioned, Alice turned off the device with a disgruntled look on her face.
"Bastards," she grunted, and turned to look at Claire. "Let's not ruin your day with them. You ready?"
Claire once again just managed to nod. Well, if they had a common hatred towards Umbrella, then some things were in the right place, and that soothed her a little. She walked out of the house with Alice closely following her, one hand in her lower back. And there, gleaming under the sun that woke her up, stood her shinny-
"Prius?" she whispered to herself with a look of utter disbelief. Why the hell would she drive a Prius?
"Shit!" Alice hissed. "I forgot my license. Do you know where it is?"
Claire shook her head. "I have no idea." Well, that was not a lie at all.
"Crap…"
She watched Alice re-enter their house with a small smile. Their house. If that was a dream, then hell, it was such a nice dream. Noticing she was not carrying the car keys, she simply took the passenger seat; Claire had no idea where they were going anyway.
"Hey, sweetheart!"
She jumped from her seat with the sound of another familiar voice. It was… Mikey. A very clean, properly dressed Mikey. Why was she under the impression that everyone she knew was supposed to be covered in dirt?
"Morning," Claire said with a frown, noticing he wore a green polo shirt with the words Terra Save inked in large capital letters across his chest.
"I know it's your day off, but look at this!" He showed her a huge Terra Save insignia sticker. "It's for cars! Pretty amazing, eh?"
"Uh…"
Mikey stared deeply into her eyes. "Forget it, I'm sorry. Today's the big day, huh?" he looked down at his Timberland boots and then back at her with that familiar sadness. His eyes were on her ring for a second and then up. "It still feels like we were making those plans, you know… I'd get a job, buy a nice car… We'd bring Terra Save to the world-"
"You brought Terra Save out alright," Alice showed up at his side, nudging him away with her elbow, passing a handbag to Claire through the window. "But you still got a very shitty car, Mickey."
He grimaced at her insistence on pronouncing his name like the stupid cartoon, but then his eyes were back on Claire as the blonde went around the vehicle to take her seat. "So, is she finally… willing to raise a little Redfield?"
"Redfield-Abernathy, like Claire," Alice said even more harshly, slamming her door shut and fastening her seatbelt. "It's been three years already, boy. Stop acting like you don't know that yet."
"Alice-" Claire touched the blonde's arm with a warning look on her face. She remembered how their last conversation had ended. Except that Mikey's nose didn't look crooked anymore. Claire was positive Alice had broken his nose.
"That's okay," Mikey assured her with a small grin. "Congratulations, you two. And I'll see you around. Or next week at work," he said that only to Claire, who pursed her lips and nodded.
Alice grunted something and started the car. She put the gear into reverse mode and they left the parking spot in front of their garage. They lived – and Claire assumed she was taking it right – in a nice neighborhood. And they had been married for three years. And they were going to adopt K-Mart.
Claire felt like her brain was on a frying pan. She had memories from her childhood and adolescence. She remembered going to college in Raccoon University, and she remembered vaguely about Terra Save, though it didn't sound like a non-profitable organization to her.
It was a perfect paradise, but it felt like she was living someone else's life.
"Look, I'm sorry," Alice said quietly. "I know it drives you mad when I'm rude to him, but… He hates me too! He just… fakes it better than me."
Claire turned to look at Alice with an amused grin on her face. Had she tamed Alice? Really? The blonde had a small frown of concern as she waited for Claire to speak.
"Maybe you could try and be fake-nice to him, too. Starting by saying his name right."
"But that's just when you're around, right?"
"It's a start," Claire agreed, grinning at how cute Alice looked. "Why do you still hate him so much?"
"Because… He's Mikey! It's my nature to hate Mikey! I mean, he's your college ex-boyfriend and wingman! He's all over you when he's got a chance, and he just acts all nice to me when you're looking. Trust me, he hates me a lot more than I hate him. It's not my fault I'm much more attractive," Alice gave her a cocky smile. "I totally tagged him out and he just can't suck it up."
"And… How was that again?" Claire asked with a provocative grin. She was really curious to know how the hell they ended up so perfectly together.
"You like hearing that, don't you?" Alice asked with a smirk. "You sexy egomaniac."
Claire sighed and rolled her eyes. "Seriously, how-?" She went silent for a moment, frowning as she stared deeply into Alice's profile, suddenly being hit by an image of the blonde driving a different car in a completely different outfit. "Where's your hat?"
Even though it came out as a faint whisper, Alice had no problem hearing her. "You do realize it looks ridiculous with civilian clothes, right? I won't be wearing my uniform for a week and-" she had a devilish grin on her lips when she turned to Claire. "Unless… does that turn you on?" and before the redhead could say anything in her defense, Alice was already babbling. "I thought that day inside the locker room had been just to spice things up, you know… Like when you decided to buy those Victoria's Secrets finest-"
"That's not what I'm talking about!" Claire exclaimed, feeling the heat crawling from her neck to her ears and cheeks.
Alice chuckled at her blushed face. "Fine. But I can wear the cap if you like it."
"I'm talking about the-" Claire forced her memory to grasp the picture for a second longer "-that stupid… cowboy hat. The one you wear all the time."
"I don't have one." It was Alice who frowned now, but she quickly turned it into a dirty smirk. She curved her lips to the left and faked an accent. "Did you get me one, lady?"
"Who are you and what did you do to Alice?" Claire grunted, shaking her head in disbelief. The cowboy impersonation reminded her of another distant, blurred face.
"I know you prefer when I wake you up with sex instead of breakfast. At least I think you do, because you never punch me," Alice said in a husky voice. "But come on, grumpy… I'll take care of that later."
While Claire tried to ignore the urge to kiss Alice for being so cute, the blonde parked in front of a two store building surrounded by short fence and a beautiful garden. She really wanted to see K-Mart, but she was giving that 'later' business a lot of thought too. Claire took the handbag and reached out to open the door, stopping midway when Alice called her.
"Hey."
Claire looked back and found green eyes scrutinizing her so deeply that it almost felt like being undressed in public. "What?"
"I know you're edgy because I bailed on you once… But I promise everything's gonna be alright this time."
The redhead offered her a smile. "I know."
They crossed the front lawn, climbed a few steps to the double doors, and then walked together through a wide and long corridor. It looked like a school, but she was not sure of it yet. Alice stopped in front of a door, took a deep breath and knocked.
"Come in," said a voice from inside.
The blonde held the doorknob for a moment and then finally pulled it open. It was a very large office and a woman in her mid-fifties sat behind a desk, apparently already waiting for them.
"Good morning," she said with a polite smile, pointing the chairs for them to sit.
"Thank you for calling us, Mrs. Henderson," Alice said, pulling the chair for Claire and then taking the other for herself. "We're really glad you checked our papers again."
"I understand you really want to adopt her, but I also want to be sure you are aware of all the responsibilities that come along being a parent. Especially in this case. Same-sex marriage sadly is still considered a scandal, and I don't need to mention what some people think of two mothers."
"We know that," Alice said, looking at Claire for support. The redhead turned to Mrs. Henderson.
"We can handle it," she said a little insecure. K-Mart was just part of Claire's life and now someone wanted to decide if that would go on the same way? As if a piece of paper would change anything she already knew.
"So, Mrs. Abernathy-" surprisingly it was Claire that she was addressing, and not Alice. "How's Terra Save going? You're the president," she said, checking the file in her hands.
Claire gulped. "Yeah," she said faintly when the woman peered up at her over the rim of her glasses. "We're… doing well." Claire had no idea what she was talking about.
"Have you heard of this new lotion Umbrella put on the market? I almost bought one, and look what happened to those poor people…" she shook her head slightly. "Are you planning on taking any action against them?"
Claire felt Alice's foot grazing softly against her leg under the desk. "Not now, I don't. We're more worried about… adopting. I want to focus on that first."
She sensed Alice relaxing on her chair at those words. Apparently she was a bit of a workaholic environmentalist.
"You started the group at college, right?" Mrs. Henderson inquired again. "Who's going to be in charge while you take care of Becky?"
Claire took a deep breath and frowned slightly. "Mikey," she said promptly. "He's in charge of the campaigns for now." K-Mart's real name wasn't Becky; she had no idea what it was, but she knew it wasn't Becky.
"Well, that's good," Mrs. Henderson said after a few seconds, checking more papers. "Now, Major… How does that work for you? I remember the first time, when you were a little insecure about it."
"I'm relocating from my base, and now I'm permanent here. I'll supervise the Raccoon Police Department so I can stay home every day."
"And how does the Army feel about all that?"
"I don't talk about my personal life there. I just follow the rules and keep them satisfied."
"Good… I see you have a good income… House in the suburbs… Do you have any pets now? Becky is allergic to cats, but I believe you already know that."
"No, no pets," Alice said.
"Well then. I assume you're going to consider the support we offer for the kids?"
"Yes, if we think Becky needs it," Alice shrugged.
"She'll need it," Mrs. Henderson stated. "Even with all the love and care I am sure you are disposed to offer, children tend to have issues in their late adolescence, sometimes regarding their real parents' whereabouts and any other thing related to them. As for school bullies, promise me you won't threat students just because you're in the Army, Major Abernathy."
"I wouldn't do that," Alice gave her an awkward smile. "Again."
"And when have you ever done that?" Claire spluttered. She forgot she was supposed to know it, and for a terrible second she wondered whether she had ruined her chances of seeing K-Mart.
"When you were just a little brat in RU," Alice said and then looked at the woman. "It was about eight years ago, Mrs. Henderson. Claire put on the biggest riot of Raccoon City's History, and caused the biggest traffic jam ever registered in the State, and someone had to stop her!"
"And yet she fell in love with you," the woman grinned broadly. "I have no idea how come a pacifist and a soldier could ever get into… terms."
"Me neither," Alice chuckled, throwing a sideway glance at Claire and then turning back to the older woman. "But it works."
Mrs. Henderson nodded with a small grin. "You just have to sign a lot of paperwork now. Here," she handed two identical packs to Alice and Claire. "When you're done you can follow me. Becky is on the playground waiting for you."
Claire looked astonished at the blonde, who mouthed "Nice move, sexy!" and gave her the thumbs up. Whatever that meant, they had conquered the woman's trust and they were finally taking K home.
The playground area was overgrown with kids and cheerful shrieks. The redhead wondered what the teen could be possibly finding interesting in there, but when the trees and bushes were finally out of the way, she took a look at large and spotted no one older than seven or eight.
"Where's she?" she asked, craning her neck to look for the long blond hair and the bracelet covered wrists. However, a little girl came running towards them, and she had a small bag on her shoulders that wobbled to the sides. Her hair was dark blond and quite bushy, and she had a wide smile plastered on her face.
She jumped at the redhead's arms completely unannounced, but Claire managed to hold her just fine, only a little surprised with the gesture. She had green eyes that looked exactly like Alice's, and that caught her a little off guard.
"Hey, little one," she whispered, instantly feeling her heart melt. If she could, she would take her too without even thinking about it. To her deep astonishment, Alice approached them and collected the girl's bag and slung it over her shoulder.
The little girl grinned at Alice and made a gesture that the blonde mirrored immediately.
"Claire and I have been practicing," Alice explained to Mrs. Henderson and the young teacher that joined them a moment later. "We love you too, Becky," she whispered and threw a lovesick smile at Claire.
Claire swallowed the lump in her throat and was forced to smile in return, noticing the girl used signs to communicate. She tilted her head slightly towards Alice's ear. "What about K-Mart?" she hissed, glad that at least they were taking Becky.
"We're about to get there," Alice assured her and stretched her arms to the little girl. "Come on, my turn."
Becky went willingly with Alice and Claire took the chance to adjust her heavy bag on her shoulder. She had never been much of a purse girl as far as she could remember, but hadn't that escalated. It felt like she was carrying a car engine on her shoulder.
"Call if you need anything," Mrs. Henderson said to her. "We'll have a social assistant visiting you very soon."
"Sure," Claire nodded, watching Alice take Becky to the car. "Thank you, Mrs. Henderson."
"Always a pleasure, Mrs. Abernathy."
Claire turned on her heels with a stupid smile on her face. It still sounded very weird to be called that, but she was growing fond of it. When she went past the entrance gate and got to the sidewalk, Alice was already adjusting Becky on the booster seat of the Prius, the Hello Kitty backpack hanging pathetically on her arm.
Chuckling, Claire took it and walked to the passenger seat. Soon they were riding through the agitated streets of Raccoon City again. Claire's heart sunk when Alice parked in front of a K-Mart store.
"You're kidding, right?" she asked, feeling dormant anger suddenly sprouting to life.
"I told you we'd come here since you woke up," the blonde hissed over the car hood to prevent Becky from noticing their disagreement. "We only have organic, and we need to get kid food for her, remember? Greasy and chemically colored? What's the matter with you today, Claire?"
She did not wait for a response as she locked the car and held Becky's hand. They started to move towards the front doors of the supermarket, and Claire just followed, feeling cranky that she was the only one there who seemed to be missing a large chunk from that story.
Differently from what she would have expected from Alice, Claire found it very easy to keep up with her. Maybe it was because she was respecting Becky's shorter legs, but still she didn't move or even sounded like the Alice Claire thought she knew.
The inside of the store was packed with people shopping. Alice selected a cart and put Becky inside; the girl chuckled as the tall blonde pushed it, accelerating her pace and making noises of screeching tires. Claire wanted to be mad at her, but it was simply impossible.
She hurried after them and met both by the cereal aisle. Alice was holding about five boxes in her arms and staring confused at them, trying to make the hand signs for Becky to help her.
"What you think?" the blonde asked when she saw Claire. "Fruit Loops are colorful, but this one has marshmallow bits."
Claire rolled her eyes, chuckling. "I think she will like anything you pick, Alice."
The redhead merely stood there, watching their interaction. The way Alice's clumsiness made Becky laugh was just too good to be true. She was smiling like an idiot again, until she caught, on the blonde's other side, stretched arms fumbling for cereal boxes – arms that were covered in bracelets.
Claire hurried past Alice and found a mane of blond hair that made her heart stop.
"K-Mart?" she whispered.
The girl turned around with a small frown, chewing bubblegum without any politeness. She was wearing the K-Mart's blue uniform, but her name tag said 'Dahlia'.
"Yep, this is the K-Mart," she said, looking at Claire with a frown. "Can I help you?"
"Actually, yes, you can," Alice said, hurrying to get into the conversation. "Which one you prefer?" She showed up three different brands of cereals.
The teen picked at her ruined nail polish and popped a gigantic pink gumball before answering. "None of these," she said, going back to adding more boxes to the shelf. She craned her neck and saw Becky inside the cart and couldn't help but give the girl a bright smile. She looked back at Alice. "Go for Cheerios. She'll like it."
"Cheerios," the tall woman smiled at the teen and went back to her scavenging. "Cheerios… How many you think, baby? Four boxes? Maybe five?"
"She never buys groceries, huh?" the blonde teen said in low voice to Claire with an amused smirk. She frowned again when the redhead did not respond and just stared blankly at her. "Uh… Are you okay?"
"Your real name is Dahlia," Claire muttered, not exactly looking at the girl. "And you were found at a K-Mart store."
For a moment, she felt like she was going to pass out. Flashes of her life went past her eyes and then everything came back to Claire. The convoy. Chris. Chase. Otto. Alice. Alice leaving her. Umbrella. The ambush. What the hell was she doing in that city that did not even exist anymore? And how come she was married to Alice if Alice was gone? What kind of sick joke was that?
"What day is today?" Claire asked harshly, trying to hide the panic that was dominating her completely.
"Monday," K-Mart said after popping another gumball, obviously still confused with the weird woman's attitude.
"Monday," she repeated and picked a cereal box. Claire checked the expiration date at the bottom. It was the year of the outbreak, and unless Umbrella could send people back on time, she was pretty sure that was a very sick joke. The redhead looked at the teen. "Can you show me where the electronics are?"
"Six aisles to the left, one to the right - hey!" she protested when Claire grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her along.
"I suck with coordinates," the redhead lied. "Come on, Alice."
Alice frowned intrigued. She recognized that alert tone, so she picked Becky on her arms and left the cart there. They could come back for the Cheerios later. The teenager grumpily guided them, and pointed the TV's and stereos area. Claire froze in front of one of the screens that were displaying the news channel.
She remembered the headlines about the plane crash that fatidic morning. It had been on the news all over the country, and she remembered vividly being on a café in her hometown while people talked about terrorist attacks. It had been in the same day the population of Raccoon City was locked up to die.
"We have to get out of here," Claire hissed, pulling Alice and K-Mart with her. She came to a sudden halt when both refused to move.
"What you think you're doing?" the teen asked angrily. "I don't even know you!"
"Claire, what's wrong?" Alice shifted Becky to her other arm, the little girl watching their interaction with a confused look on her face.
"The t-virus! The outbreak! Umbrella is going to kill us all, we have to run away from here-"
"I'm not going anywhere with you," K-Mart said. "And I still have cereals to line up in the food's section. My boss is going to kill me if-"
Suddenly everything around Claire just froze. Time stood still and sounds went mute as everyone stopped moving and stared blankly at her like lifeless bodies. A female robotic voice boomed from up above.
"Stand by. Testing environment initializing in ten seconds."
Claire looked around, horror-struck that no one other than her seemed to be aware of what was going on. "You don't need to actually stand by!" she yelled tentatively, running a hand in front of Alice's paralyzed face. "Are you all people stupid? This is a fucking trap!"
"Stand by. Sequence initializing in six seconds."
"Oh my God," she gasped, looking at K-Mart and then at Becky. Both girls were completely motionless, expressing no fear or any emotion whatsoever. "K? Becky? Alice? Shit-"
"Stand by. Suburbia sequence initialized."
Everyone simply slipped back to reality just as if nothing had happened. The sounds and chattering around the store replaced the voice. Alice adjusted the hem of the little girl's t-shirt and the teen resumed her disgusting chewing as she scowled at Claire. A sudden growl made the redhead's heart skip a beat.
"K-Mart, watch out-"
"Look, I just work here! My name's Dah-"
"Get down, girl!" Alice exclaimed, pushing her out of the way as a gnarling creature came towards her. He had blood on his shirt and his milky eyes travelled from one woman to the other. "Hold Becky!" she said harshly to Claire, who caught the girl in her arms protectively. The blonde lifted the hem of her pants and removed a gun from a strap around her calf. "Stay behind me," she ordered, holding out one arm to prevent Claire or K-Mart to come forward.
Claire instinctively reached out for her rifle on her shoulder, but then she remembered they had taken it from her. Instead, she cupped Becky's face with one hand and brought her closer. The little girl's immediate response was to round her neck with both arms. K-Mart looked horrified at the scene, not sure if she was more worried about the creature or Alice having a gun.
Well, at least Alice had a gun, and like the old Alice, she did not hesitate to use it. The first gunshot echoed all over the ceiling and corridors, and suddenly there seemed to be a lot more costumers in there, all of them terrified, running and yelling.
"We have to get out of here," Claire repeated to the blonde, desperate to find the old Alice in those green eyes, but the blonde wasn't exactly the woman Claire had known.
"I have to get you out of here," Alice gnarled, pulling her by the arm and beckoning the teen to follow.
"Don't pull the sexist douche on me now!" Claire hissed, holding Becky and making sure the girl was not seeing much of the chaotic onslaught that unrolled right before their eyes as more and more of those creatures invaded the place. "You know fucking well I can-"
"Honey, you can totally babble about that later, okay? Now hurry!" Alice asked, not being exactly harsh but neither too mellow. Claire rolled her eyes and they headed out of the store to the parking lot, the blonde shooting the undead and yelling at people to run and get out of their way.
Alice shoved the pistol on the back of her pants and took Becky from Claire's arms so the redhead could go faster towards the car and unlock it. Even though she was carrying the girl, Alice easily kept pace with the redhead, and when Claire sat down in the car, she put Becky on her lap and closed the door. Slightly breathless, she leaned on the window and stared at her wife, droplets of sweat running down her forehead.
"So, what's up with that talk inside, Nostradamus?" she panted. "Baby, what Terra Save knew that you didn't tell me?"
"I-" Claire's voice failed when she noticed someone was missing. "Where's K-Mart?"
"Claire, please, just answer my question-"
"Dahlia! The girl from K-Mart that was with us! She's not here!"
Alice looked back at the store's main entrance, watching the hysterical crowd leaving in a hurry. There were shards of glass raining over them. People were shattering the windows with chairs to escape from the upper floors using the building's rail and the roof.
"Claire, she could be anywhere now. And we don't even know her."
"I know her," she said, her voice broken, trying to stand up from her seat. "She… She doesn't remember me, but I… I virtually watched that kid grow up, Alice."
The blonde sighed; the idea of leaving her wife and kid inside a car was really not part of her plan, but the look on Claire's face was somewhat stronger than anything she wanted to do. "Fine," she finally grunted, avoiding the redhead's eyes for a second as she watched the battle and collected her gun, handing it to the redhead. "Take this. If I don't come back-"
"You better, Alice," Claire cut her harshly. "And you'll need this down there," she pushed the weapon back to her hand.
Alice swallowed and stared deeply into Claire's eyes. The leader saw the blonde's lips part, and she knew what Alice was going to say to her. "Don't," she begged. "Don't say it."
The blonde patted Becky's hair with a brittle smile and looked deeply into Claire's eyes for the last time before spinning on her heels. Claire held the little girl against her body, watching the distant war zone apprehensively. It was in her blood, and her wish to be in the middle of the fight helping people was painfully strong, but not stronger than her will to keep Becky safe. The feeling she had for this girl was the same she had for K-Mart – an urge to protect and care that came spontaneously to her after five seconds of meeting them.
She just could not believe Umbrella had captured everyone, and while she had been lucky to get past the effects of whatever drug messed with her memory, the others seemed completely oblivious that they were living a big fat lie. Claire felt her hatred towards Umbrella grow exponentially, and as she held her breath waiting for Alice and K-Mart to return, a raspy, tiny voice caught her attention.
"Mommy?"
She looked surprised at Becky, the knot in her chest suddenly being untied by some sort of soothing warmth that she hadn't felt in her life yet.
"Is my other mommy coming back to us?" the girl asked again, using the signs to help.
Claire gulped. Her lower lip quivered slightly, but she was not allowing herself to break down in front of… her daughter. "Yes, sweetie," she whispered with a reassuring smile. "She's coming back for us."
That seemed to settle Becky just fine, and Claire was impressed by how quickly a child could trust a person. Except for K-Mart's earlier innocence, the redhead had not seen that in years.
"Mommy!" the girl cried, and instead of the warmth, Claire felt her chest constricting her lungs. The scene in front of her seemed to unroll slower than normal. Alice was running back to the car, dragging K-Mart by the hand, a look of terror covering their expressions.
Then there was a loud explosion and Umbrella's troops suddenly flooded the parking lot like a dark river, and they started to shoot – people and undead. Alice pushed K-Mart behind a car and took every single bullet meant for the girl. Claire felt a painful and raw scream erupting from her throat as Alice fell on her knees in the middle of the parking lot, her gun falling from her hand as her lifeless form collapsed on the ground.
"ALICE!" she yelled furiously. "Stay down," she ordered Becky as she jumped out of the car and locked the doors, ignoring the sudden lack of oxygen in her body. She stumbled towards the car where the teen was hidden. Two undead were already circling the vehicle and surrounded the teen. "K-MART! No, no, you stay away from her, you bastards- K-Mart!" she yelled hoarsely, the teen looking at her with fear in her eyes. She was paralyzed. "No, K-Mart, please! Run, just- NO!"
Claire gasped for air when the teen was attacked by two undead. They were shot by the Umbrella soldiers a second too late, and the redhead felt her knees falter when she saw that. They were probably going to shoot her too, and then Becky-
"Fuck!" Claire sobbed, and she ran back to the Prius and quickly took the driver's seat. She helped Becky up and buckled the girl's seatbelt. "Hold on, honey. I'm taking us out of here."
She hit the gas pedal and clenched her teeth, trying to avoid pedestrians and other vehicles. Dustbins clung loudly past the hood of the car when she swerved from people and drove up the sidewalk. She went back to the street and checked the rear view mirror.
A horde of undead was chasing them, faster and a lot smarter than the ones she was used to. She swallowed hard, unable to distract her thoughts from the worst day of her life. Pain and anger didn't even begin to describe what she was feeling. Trying to catch her breath, Claire reached out for Becky's hand. She felt the little girl's small fingers clasping around hers, and she hated that she could do nothing to change their fate. Whatever that place was, it was going to be destroyed by the apocalypse again.
Claire remained on main avenues so she wouldn't get lost, and more out of despair than sense of direction, she managed to find the suburbs and the neighborhood they supposedly lived in. It was desert and ruined, and a few cars were on fire, the sound of their alarms going off echoing all over the street. Many houses had their front doors broken and glass windows shattered, and there were corpses everywhere over the well-tended lawns and gardens.
The redhead parked in front of the house she had left a few hours ago and helped Becky out of the car. With some luck, she would find food and water for the girl, not to mention tools she could use as weapons in case they needed to face another attack. Claire decided to keep the lights off as she marched carefully through the house with Becky holding her hand.
She fumbled the kitchen's drawers and found a sharp knife. The redhead silently gestured the stairs to Becky, and the little girl nodded a little apprehensively. Claire held out the knife, ready to stab anything or anyone that tried to hurt them.
The redhead had no idea how she had missed that before, but now she spotted a closed door with the name 'Becky' hanging on it in colored letters.
"Wanna see your room?" Claire whispered. Becky nodded slowly; she had traces of dry tears on both cheeks that made Claire even more miserable than she already felt. She picked up the girl in her free arm and gave the door a soft kick.
Once the door swung open, it revealed a pink room fully decorated with the Hello Kitty theme. Becky smiled – a very watery smile – and jumped off Claire's hold to walk around. The woman stood by the door with the knife still at ready, but she could not help watching the girl's awe.
"Is it just for me? I don't have to share anymore?" Becky asked as she drew closer. Claire only managed to smile and nod, but Becky hugged her around the waist and looked up at her. "Thank you, mommy."
Claire kneeled down and hugged her strongly, pulling some loose strands of her blond hair behind her ear. "You have your other mommy's eyes," she whispered against Becky's shoulder, not sure why she was saying that. She drew back and cupped her left cheek. "Come see the rest of the house."
Hand in hand, they walked around. The tour was meant for Claire too, because she didn't have the chance to explore the place before. It was a typical suburban house, nicely decorated and cozy, and it was hard to believe that everything there was make-believe bullshit.
Claire decided it was a lot worse than waking up from a nightmare.
Once she certified every room was safe from undead, Claire broke apart a fancy looking coffee table in the living room and nailed the wooden boards on the front door and windows, adding furniture to barricade the entrance. She found more furniture to dismantle and secure the rest of the house, and she was completely wasted when she was finished.
Becky accepted some food Claire found and managed to prepare with her limited cooking skills, and after a long and hot shower, she put the girl down the bed she never shared with Alice.
Alice.
God, that hurt…
"Where's mommy?" Becky asked in a sleepy tone. "You said she would come back with that girl."
Claire felt her heart clench.
K-Mart.
That really hurt.
"I know I said, honey," she whispered. "But she's protecting us out there, okay?"
"When they come back, the girl will sleep with me in my bedroom so mommy stays here with you?"
Claire had no idea of what she should say. Instead, she kissed Becky's cheek and ran her fingers through her hair very slowly. The little girl fell asleep quicker than she had expected, and Claire took her time wandering around the house, trying to force her mind to accept that what was there was not the truth. It was very difficult, though. She kept staring at many portraits on the living room, and it was damn hard to watch her fake happiness before her.
There was a picture of Alice covered in pink paint, holding a brush. She was in the bedroom that now was Becky's, smiling at the camera. Claire was on the next frame, messed red hair tied into a knot at the top of her head, wearing Alice's military jacket and nothing else, displaying her legs on the corridor and offering a naughty smile. There was a third portrait with the two of them, glaring at each other, unaware of the world and the camera.
There were pictures all over the walls too – Alice in her uniform, Claire all dressed up, Chris and Alice giving each other awkward, one-arm hugs, Mikey holding her around the waist while Alice gave the finger on the background… And nothing was real. Claire sighed and sat down, sticking the knife in the ankle of her boot.
She rested her sore back against the wall and buried her face on her hands for a second. When she felt the cold metal on her eyebrow, Claire stared down at her left hand and noticed the ring. She removed it and observed the golden band for a while, playing with it around her fingers.
There was an inscription in the internal side, and she wasn't surprised when she read Property of Umbrella Corporation. Now she understood Alice and her angry impulse to destroy that nasty company. She put the ring in her pocket and sighed.
It felt like her heart had been ripped apart from her chest, and Claire had no idea if her body could endure that amount of sorrow. She was going to dedicate every fiber of her body on killing each and every member of Umbrella. Claire was going to protect Becky until the day she died, but she would make sure it would only happen when Umbrella didn't exist anymore.
She would hold on for K-Mart, for Alice, and for everyone she had lost because of them. She picked the portrait of Alice and her staring at each other, looking happy in that fucking parallel universe Umbrella had created.
Desolated, Claire climbed up the stairs and entered the bedroom as quietly as possible. She removed her boots and placed the knife on the bedside table. Becky lay fast asleep, and Claire brought the girl closer, wrapping one arm around her. Tears ran free down her face as thoughts of Alice and K-Mart flashed past her mind.
They could have been a fucking happy little family. Except that Umbrella seemed to get a kick out of taking that away from them whenever they got closer to accomplish it.