Chapter One:
"Ow! Geez, Chris, could you watch where you're going!" Claire Redfield exclaimed as her older brother pushed by her.
"Sorry." He replied, swinging the refrigerator door open and peering inside. A puzzled frown crossed his features and he glanced up at his sister. "Um...Claire? Where's the marinade?"
"What marinade?" Claire mumbled, rubbing her elbow, which had scraped against the pointed end of the island bar.
"The marinade. My marinade. The one I was up half the night making. The one that involves about half a million herbs and spices-some that I can't even pronounce. The one that is my special recipe and that I alone can drive Leon and Carlos crazy with because they still don't know-up to this very day-how to make it."
Claire thought for a moment, her teeth pressing into her bottom lip. "Is that the one that's brown?"
"With just a hint of spicy red-yes." Chris said.
"The one that had the ribs soaking in it?" she continued.
"Yes."
Claire's eyes suddenly widened, as if she just realized the meaning of life. "Oh! The one that was just right in there?" she asked him, gesturing to the bottom shelf of the fridge.
"Yes! Yes! Where is it!" demanded Chris.
Claire gave a shrug. "Beats the hell out of me."
Chris exhaled loudly and leaned against the bar. "Little sister, I am going to count to five. If you are still in here by the time I am finished I swear to you that you will regret the day that you ever set foot on God's green earth."
Before Chris could begin the final countdown to her most certain demise, Claire smiled brightly. "Hi, Jill! When did you get here?"
"Hello." Jill replied, heaving a sigh. "Just now. I had to stop by the store to pick up the ingredients for my fried chicken. Things were just so hectic this week that I did not have the chance to buy any of it." Jill sighed again. "But Sherry loves the stuff, so I figure the trouble is worth it."
Claire nodded and turned around to rummage through the cabinet. It seemed like it was only yesterday that she and the rest (though it was primarily herself) were struggling to help young Sherry Birkin survive the hectic years of teenage angst. There had been a time when she wondered how her father had handled her for so long. All the constant headaches and broken hearts over unfaithful friends, clueless crushes and pressuring classes was almost too overwhelming for her to go through again. But somehow they had survived all of those horrors the same way they had survived the horrors of Raccoon City together.
Now Sherry was a sophomore at a university in the next state and finally blossoming into the woman Claire had assured she would someday be. Thank God for that. The last time she had visited was over the Christmas holidays, when she had regailed the group with her adventures as an experienced second year student: all the cute guys she had met and had asked for her number, her loved and loathed classes, the parties...Sherry had talked a lot about the parties, but had assured the gang that nothing gave her more joy than to return home and have the ultimate party with them, the "traditional" barbeque.
Actually, it was only a barbeque during the warmer months of the year, when it was appropriate to sit outside in the backyard; during the colder seasons it was simply a big cooking event with proportions that rivaled those featured on the Food Network in the Redfield kitchen and then a pigging out fest in front of Chris Redfield's prized big screen television set.
Speaking of the elder Redfield...
Chris heaved a howl of indignation as he shut the refrigerator door and stormed away. "God, where the hell is it?"
Jill cast a questioning glance at Claire.
"Chris can't find his precious marinade." Claire replied in answer to Jill's unspoken inquiry.
Jill's head rose then dipped down and her mouth formed a silent O of understanding. Claire grabbed a big pot from the dishrack and let it sit underneath the running tap. She watched the water fill for a few seconds before glancing up and letting out a startled gasp. Carlos Oliviera's visage was right before her. The man was standing outside at the table beside the BBQ grill with the big tub of Chris's marinade with his own little bowl beside him. It was obvious that he was attempting to recreate her brother's concoction.
Claire shook her head, smiling slyly.
"You're going to be in so much trouble when I tell my brother." Claire half said, half sung in a follow-the-bouncing-ball sing-a-long.
Carlos put his hand to his ear, indicating that he could not hear her.
"Chris is going to kick your ass." she repeated, enunciating the last three syllables and illustrating her point by walking the middle and index fingers of her right hand across the flat open palm of her left. She then ended the motion with an elaborate kick off with her right digits.
Carlos scoffed at her make-shift sign language and illustrated his disdain by swatting his hand through the open air in front of him. Then, like a scene out of a horror film, Chris appeared behind him, seemingly out of nowhere. Immediately sensing that something was amiss, Carlos turned around and though she could only see the younger man grasping the back of his head, it was obvious that Carlos had come between the wrong man and his marinade.
Jill laughed as she headed over to the sink to rinse off her frying pan. "Oh, those two." Jill nudged Claire slightly. "Scoot over, would you? I still remember the time when they couldn't really get along."
Claire snorted, "And now, they still can't get along. But they're both so damn endearing, it's like the Odd Couple. An extremely odd couple."
"The oddest." A voice spoke up from behind them.
Claire turned around and gave a nod. "Hey, Rebecca."
Jill glanced back. "Hi, Beck."
Rebecca Chambers took a deep breath as she slid her sweater off of her shoulders. "So, what's happening?"
Claire grimaced. "Same old, same old. Carlos is trying to steal away the secret formula for Chris's secret recipe." she explained, waxing on a diabolical mad scientist voice.
Rebecca shook her head. "They don't ever stop, do they?"
"Doesn't seem like it." Jill put in.
Claire hoisted her pot of water onto the gas stove and turned on the burner. There was a burst of orange flame that flared up then receded with a hint of shimmering blue at its base. That reminded her that there was only one last person to account for in the preparation process.
"I guess now all we need is Leon." she spoke up.
Rebecca frowned. "Leon? I thought he was already here. His car is right outside."
Jill perked up at the mention of Leon's attendance. "Rebecca's right. Leon's car is parked right in the middle of the driveway like he owns the place."
"Really?" Claire mused, looking puzzled. "That's strange. Because I've been here all morning and I haven't seen hide nor hair of him."
"Oh, that's too bad. There isn't a woman in town who would miss a chance to have a peek at his hide." Rebecca teased her.
Claire rolled her eyes. She dried her hands on a towel before heading out of the kitchen to begin a full area search of the premises. Before she left she turned abruptly, "Hey, Beck. Are you going to start on your ziti right now?"
"No, not at the moment." Rebecca said, stretching her arms.
"Good. Then you can cut up the carrots for my salad." Claire replied.
"What? But-but I hate cutting carrots." grumbled Rebecca.
"I know. So do I. But I called you on it first so tough luck." Claire teased. She made a move to leave but turned around again as if to add one last thing. "Make sure they are cut thin and small so that no one chokes on them."
Rebecca shivered as she turned to face the ominous pile of unpeeled, uncut carrots.
Claire headed to the front door just to verify if Jill and Rebecca's allegations were true. Indeed, Leon's Jeep was parked right smack in the middle of the Redfield driveway, raised arrogantly above the other cars. It was strange how Leon could make his presence known simply by parking his car. Claire searched the living room and the basement before venturing upstairs in search of answers to the disappearance of Leon Kennedy.
The bathroom was empty and he wasn't in any of the bedrooms but just as she neared the den area, she heard distinctive proof that Leon was occupying that particular room. The sound could have woke the dead with its loud, gurgling pitch. The snores only intensified as Claire opened the door and peered into the darkness. On the couch with a bunch of DVDs in his hands was Leon's sleeping form.
Giving an insulted scoff, Claire marched over to Leon and shook himvigourously.
"Excuse me, officer, but get up!" she shouted.
"Wha? What's going on?" Leon exclaimed, his eyes flying open and his hand grabbing onto her wrist. "I'm awake!"
"Ugh, let go!" Claire groaned, the grip of Leon's hand alone could have crushed about five walnuts and was cutting off the circulation to her arm. "Leon, you're hurting me."
Leon relinquished his hold and gazed up at her bleary-eyed. "What happened, did you set the kitchen on fire?"
"No, we've all been downstairs starting on the food-and you're up here sleeping!" Claire paused for a moment before barging on. "And what do you mean, did I set the kitchen on fire?"
Leon shrugged, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry about that. I guess I must have fallen asleep. I came up here to look for something to watch while we were cooking and I guess the caffeine rush was dying out and..." he grinned up at her. "You can't blame me for being tired on account of my duties, can you?"
Claire ignored his puppy dog eyes and massaged the pulsing in her arm. "Whatever. Look, why don't you just get downstairs-Sherry should be coming in a little while, Jill, Rebecca, and I have already started on our dishes, Chris and Carlos will eventually start to barbeque the ribs and hot dogs just as soon as Chris finishes grilling the guy about how if he ever tries to steal his marinade he'll kill him-"
"Wait a minute, Carlos tried to get Chris's secret recipe?" Leon interrupted her.
Claire gave a nod.
"That bastard." Leon interjected, rising with deliberance.
"I know, all he's doing is making things complica-" Claire began.
"He stole my idea!" Leon exploded. He threw up his hands and started out for the stairs. "Wait until I get my hands on that sick son of a-"
Claire exhaled so forcefully that her bangs flew up then fluttered back down onto her forehead, shielding her eyes with the individual auburn strands. "The sheer indignity of it all." she muttered to no one in particular before she followed Leon down the steps back into the kitchen.
Upon entering the kitchen, she caught the last bit of Rebecca's statement of, "Leon, Claire wants you to cut up these carrots."
"Sorry, Rebecca." Leon replied. "But I currently have an appointment to bust a cap in Oliviera's ass."
Jill looked up from her flour and mustard mixture that she was currently smothering her chicken with. "What did he do this time."
Leon sniffed disgustedly. "He is the most deceitful jackass. He stole my idea to steal Chris's marinade."
The door flew open and Chris charged in. "Can you believe that deceitful jackass?"
"Who?" Leon asked innocently.
"Carlos. He tried to steal my marinade."
The girls stopped whatever they were doing to watch the followingdialogue the two men picked up.
First, Leon's eyes widened in disbelief. "No."
"Yes." Chris spat out. "He tried to copy it-in my own house!"
"No!" Leon repeated.
"Yes!" Chris fumed.
Carlos stuck his head in through the door. "Okay, first of all, I was outside, alright? So you can just quit with the violated act because you're only going for the shock value of it all."
Chris recoiled at him. "You get out. You are currently not allowed in my sights at the moment."
"Oh, come-" the rest of his outraged was lost as he slammed the door and paced the backyard.
The room was silent before Leon slowly spoke up. "So...he tried to copy it, huh? Um...did he-did he-"
"No. Thank God." Chris sighed. "At least it's safe for now."
"Yeah..." Leon nodded his agreement with a strange smirk on his face. Claire made a mental note thatthecontorted expression he wore made him look a little like the Grinch."Yeah."
Chris headed to one of the drawers and started to rifle through it before pulling out two tongs and a basting brush. He headed outside with the utensils but stopped in front of Leon. "You know, Kennedy. You're a good man. You're probably the only one I can trust with my pride and joy. I think when I die, I'll leave you the recipe in my will."
"Really?" Leon whipped around to Rebecca. "Rebecca, you're the doctor, when is Chris gonna die?"
Claire kicked at his ankle.
The door flew open once again. "That isn't fair!" Carlos exploded. "I would never have even attempted to copy the marinade if Leon hadn't put the idea in my head." He spoke so fast that his accent caused all the words to link together but the gist of what he said got through. Chris turned defensively on Leon.
Claire groaned and joined the other two girls as the three men continued to rant for the next five minutes. Eventually, the only solution was for Chris to give the two a healthy dose of the silent treatment while they both stood at a distance from him and watched as he basted the meat himself.
The tension ended the moment they heard a car pull up to the house and the horn honk repeatedly.
"There she is!" Jill called out to the boys.
Sherry laughed spritely as she sat on the couch with Jill, Rebecca, and Claire. She had been there forabout an hour helping the girls prepare the rest of their food and it was now all either boiling on the stove top, baking n the oven or being fried outside by one of the men.
"So, Sherry, anything interesting happening in your life?" Claire asked, twirling a lock of Sherry's long blonde hair as if she were still a little girl.
Sherry's bright blue eyes brightened considerably and she made a little jump. "As a matter of fact, there is!"
Claire sat up a little straighter. "Well? Tell all."
She expected Sherry to go into a dreamy description of some extremely hunky teacher or incredibly wild guy or at least something that would give the three of them to giggle over while the guys worked wearily outside. But that wasn't what she or any of them would talk about for the time being.
"I have this incredible class that I'm taking for my psychology major." Sherry exclaimed.
"Oh." All three of them seemed noticeably deflated but that did not seem to bother Sherry one bit.
She continued. "The first semester we were studying all these different things-right now I can't remember all of them, I blocked them out, but now we're delving into the psychology of..." There was a lot of other scientific terms before she said, "So how about it girls, do you ever have any rape fantasies?"