Chapter Two

For the first time in years, Albert Wesker awoke to the sound of music.

A breathy, sad voice sang from somewhere, accompanied by a delicate strumming. As his eyes slowly flicked open, it was all he processed. Albert could remember nothing, nothing but the explosion, and then darkness. The feeling of the waves and the taste of sand and blood, and maybe – he wasn't sure – a pair of dark eyes watching him.

Needless to say, waking alone to find a roof over his head and music playing softly from a radio had been more then a shock to him.

The dog was another surprise entirely.

A sturdy German Shepherd stood watch at his left, those large brown eyes eerily human with their intensity. Albert observed the mammal's unswerving determination with a keen interest; most uninfected animals reacted negatively towards the t-virus within him, especially at such a close proximity. It certainly was interesting to observe otherwise, he noted in the back of his mind.

Facing the ceiling once again, Albert began a standard test of his muscle functionality, starting with his fingertips, his toes, feet, hands, and on. Everything seemed to work and to still be in one piece, which he supposed was something to be grateful for. He twitched beneath the scratchy wool blanket that had been placed over him, his brows furrowing in concentration as he began to move.

He honestly wasn't interested in where he was, or who this dog belonged to. As he slipped himself slowly out of the chains that had heavily been laid across his chest, he didn't care to think of who might have dragged him here in the first place – only that they'd quickly regret it should they pose a th-

Ungh!

Albert snarled, his blood suddenly roaring in his ears at full force. His vision blurred to black and white spots as a pain stabbed his chest. He'd gotten up too quickly, and goddammit, he wasn't finished healing yet. He scowled while the discomfort began to subside. He needed...he needed to feed.

Albert looked at the dog to his left. The canine stood abruptly and backed away, a low whine building in his throat.

Hell...

"Hello?" A tired voice called. "Jack?"

Something moved in the corner of his vision. A pair of dirty sneakers came into view. The music, something soft and jazzy, continued to play from somewhere.

"Well I'll be damned..." The voice continued, a hint of amusement laced in their words. Something about it – be it the smart-ass undertone or the overall strength of the voice speaking to him irritated him. He didn't liked it. "Good morning, sunshine. I guess it's about time you woke up. Was starting to think you died again – it's been a good couple days, you know." The voice chirped. Albert was spared the degradation of looking up at his captor as they plunked themselves down in front of him on the floor.

He said nothing when his eyes lifted to hers. He could say nothing.

She was an absolutely tiny specimen, with a body that was lean from both physical excursion and starvation. A female of strong Asian descent, with sun-kissed skin and dark, sharp eyes that crinkled at the corners when she grinned. Her hair was short and cut roughly as if done by her own hands with a pair a shears. With full lips and a small, upturned nose sprinkled with freckles, she almost could have been considered beautiful – excluding the clear signs of America's wastelands riddled on her skin. A faded but jagged scar danced along her neck while another, thinner one crossed over her nose, nearly hidden by the all the dirt and grime she wore like a second skin.

"Eh, I guess I shouldn't expect you to talk." The nameless woman mumbled, rubbing her neck uncomfortably. Wiggling her nose, she managed to shrug away his blank stare and continued on. "Look, I don't know what you are exactly, but you haven't tried to eat my face yet and I'm gonna take that as a good thing. Beyond that, I don't really give a damn." She spoke frankly, raising an eyebrow at him before fiddling with the sawed-off shotgun in her hand.

"So you don't have to tell me anything - I don't want to know. Just don't try to chomp on me or my dog, and I won't have to put a bullet in your head, okay? It was alotta' fucking work to get you in here, but I'm telling you, it'll be a helluva lot easier to take you out."

Albert remained silent, watching her only for a moment with blank disrespect before turning away, not bothering to process or respond to her words. This was nothing but a weak girl looking for some sort of reward or companionship, neither of which he actually planned to offer. He did his best to ignore her mindless chatter, but one thing managed to catch his attention:

"Anyway, I'm heading off to find the Arcadia, but it's not like I have a time limit, y'know? You can tag along if you want, provided you carry your own shi-"

"The Arcadia...?" He rasped, the first words he'd consciously spoken in weeks. His gaze flicked up urgently, the golden colour darkening.

The woman blinked in confusion, those dark eyes squinting suspiciously before she answered. "It's a boat, or something, for survivors. It's-"

"Is it still operational?"

"What?"

"The Arcadia. Is it still operational?"

"How the fuck would I know? I don't-"

"Give me your radio."

A stunned silence between the two, but Albert was impatient. He scowled darkly at her and held out his palm, clearly expecting his demands to be met.

"Your radio. Bring it to me."

The woman muttered under her breath about rudeness before standing, but Albert didn't listen. He was beyond her and her pathetic attempts at conversation at this point. He had ordered the immediate destruction of the Arcadia vessel upon discovering the nuclear bomb inside his own plane. The ship should have been an easy target. It should have been terminated easily, as well as all those inside it. Albert wouldn't have been this put off if not for this one thing... They should have found him by now if the job was done. Knowing that they hadn't and that the Arcadia was still possibly floating?

Pathetic.

She returned with a grimace of annoyance and the radio, flopping down before him once again. The woman pressed a button to silence her tapes and turned the dials determinedly, not once gazing towards him as the sound of static noise filled the air. Slowly, a voice came into range as she found the channel and tuned it to the sound, and suddenly an seductive, heavily accented voice filled the room.

"This is the Arcadia, broadcasting on the emergency frequency for any and all survivors. There is no infection – repeat, there is no infection. We offer food, safety, and shelter to anyone who can hear us. We're currently stationed on the shores of Los Angeles. This message repeats."

Silence as the message repeated. The woman frowned and tilted her head, watching the radio with curiosity. "That's odd. Different woman than last time," She observed, raising a curious eyebrow. "You know anything about that?"

"No," He answered immediately, relieved and suddenly tired, aching for rest. Albert leaned back slowly into his makeshift bed and stared up at the semi-caved in ceiling.

"Oh...I don't usually go off and do stuff like this, but food's getting hard to find, even in the towns. It's a long way to go, but I figure I have as good a chance as any – especially with more people. So if you want to tag along..." She offered awkwardly as she pet her dog, not making eye contact.

"Now why would I do something like that?" He sneered, glancing in her direction. His eyes glowed viciously in the dimness of their camp. What did she want from him?

"Well, I can't exactly promise that you'll be safe with me, but I can promise that if you go alone, you'll be a lot worse off. I'm probably the best choice" She said blandly, flashing a straight row of white teeth in another sardonic grin while she tapped his stomach with her shotgun. Albert refused to let her see him wince, but the corners of her lips twitched knowingly.

"So, sound good?"

"No."

"But why not?"

"Stupid girl. That you're still standing is reward enough. I won't offer you anything else."

"Yeah, but..."

"What?"

"We're going to the same place, aren't we? Just come with me. Hang out. Shoot the shit. I'm pretty sure you can't run anyway, right? You're dead weight, buddy - you could use somebody like me." She pointed out, smirking proudly when he didn't say anything.

"Deal?"

Albert's eyes narrowed, watching her watch him with expectant eyes. He was conflicted; he felt weak, and at a disadvantage. He wanted to get as far away from her company as physically possible, but now she was offering to take him as far as Los Angeles? Hell, if the little twit wanted to fight off the undead for him, why should he stop her?

Why, indeed?

Albert huffed reluctantly.

"Deal."

The girl grinned at once, pleased with her arrangement. "Good. I'm Genesis. What's your name?"

Albert only scowled and closed his eyes.

She and Wesker (she'd gotten his name eventually) had a lot of differences, Genesis noticed the next day. The first being perhaps the most crucial, and absolutely most devastating at the moment of it's discovery.

Albert Wesker was an early riser. She was not.

By the time she'd awaken to the sound of his footsteps thumping on the ground, it'd hardly been dawn. The sun barely shined through the boarded windows, but she could still see the outline of his tall, sturdy form as he paced about the room.

"What the hell are you doing?" She muttered groggily, peeling herself from her spot on the floor and instinctively turning to look for Jack, who was lying beside her and looking every inch as tired as she. Three days – only one of them conscious - was all it had taken for him to pull himself off his ass and get moving again. And the way he was going now suggested the possibility that he wouldn't even need her.

Bloody ridiculous, was what it was.

Wesker moved in a slow, purposeful circle around the room, stretching his muscles as if for the first time and testing out every movement he could. He regarded her with a cool glance when she'd spoke, but swiftly returned to his exercising and pacing.

"You ignored me when I woke you the first time – I will not tolerate that again. Tomorrow morning, if you do not wake when I call you, I will leave you behind. Understood?" Albert replied briskly. No good-mornings, hellos, nadda.

"You're kidding me, right?" "No. I leave in fifteen minutes. I suggest you hurry." Cracking and flexing his fingers, Albert seemed content with his ability to function and leaned against the counter, aiming a pointed glance in her direction while he made a show of waiting for her. It was then that she noticed that he must have gone through her bag, because his sunglasses were once again on his face, hiding what she was sure was a glare.

Speechless from the rude awakening and the idea that he had found it suitable to touch her things, Genesis silently rose and reached for her bag, pushing her blanket into it and grabbing the first shirt that touched her hand. She didn't overly relish the idea of changing her clothes right now, but the fact that he'd bloodied her current shirt was enough to persuade her. She couldn't afford any of the biters picking up on the scent, especially not with a liability like him.

She stood and looked around, awkwardly realizing there wasn't a whole lot of privacy to be had here. The raised eyebrow Albert gave her when she struggled to look at him suggested that he wasn't moving until he damn well pleased, and that she had better hurry her ass up.

Fuck.

Scowling and grumbling lightly, Genesis ripped off her t-shirt and quickly changed into the navy tank top, not once acknowledging the male in the room and telling herself that he most certainly was not looking at her. Which he wasn't, obviously. Pssht.

With one distrustful glance back in his direction, Genesis lugged her bag up on to her back and ignored the prospect of breakfast. She was already so unstable this early in the morning, and she didn't feel like testing her body any further yet.

The door swung open, the light flooding the room and blinding her from seeing Wesker's retreating form. She only scowled and followed him slowly, snapping her fingers for Jack to come as she stepped out of the rundown gift shop, and back into the ruins of Seattle.

Several minutes passed in bleak, painful silence before she snapped.

"You're kind of fucking rude, you know that?" She started, still pissed at the man ahead of her and deciding that he wouldn't get off so easily. She'd saved his ass from the waves and the cold and the infected, all under the impression that he needed her help, and now she got this? Sure, her own pissy attitude might have something to do with this unusual and ungodly hour, but she still didn't have to take his bullshit.

"What?"

"And you're insane – what sick person wakes up this early in the morning anyway? What normal person wakes up this early?"

"If you can't keep up, then leave. I don't have time to babysi-"

"And that's another thing entirely; You're following me, not the other way around - and three days ago, you didn't have any time, okay? Cause' you were dead...or something. Now, you have alotta' fucking time, so stop telling me that you don't."

He turned and retaliated then, stopping Genesis clear in her tracks. A look of surprise came over her face as she saw the clear exhaustion etched into his features, alongside the startling amount of anger that was also present. "Leave," He sneered, and for a moment she thought it was an order. "...and you won't have to deal with it."

With that, he turned away from her, and continued at the quick pace that he had set as though nothing had happened. Genesis stood there, stunned for several moments until she snapped out of it, realizing that Jack had trotted up ahead to join Wesker.

Heh. You could tell she was in a good mood when the animal would rather hang out with the zombie. Traitor.

"Fine! Fuck you both then!" She called after them, not moving. Jack stopped for a second to look back at the sound of her voice, but even he knew the tone was angry and he quickly followed the other human. Wesker didn't even falter. "You're the one who needed me anyway! Take the stupid dog, I don't- oh, shit!" She yelped, steeping back from the skeleton she'd tripped on and scrambling back.

This time both of them turned to look back at her, both man and animal sharing a bland expression. She coughed to cover her embarrassment. Wesker didn't seem to care and continued on, but Jack, as if sensing the slight easing of anger in his master's aura, waited for her.

"Woman," Albert suddenly called back in reply to her previous insults. Although she couldn't be sure, she thought she'd heard a slight tone of amusement in his words. "If I find that you aren't watching after the mutt, I'll eat him."

Genesis stared at his retreating form in horror. Somehow, she didn't doubt that.