Authors Note: Hey guys, I know it's been a while, but this is an extra large chapter. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2: Rest
The cry of a Starling awoke Emma's deep slumber. Her eyes fluttered open, and for a brief moment she forgot where she was, and the situation she was placed in. Her eyes dance across some of the familiar furniture with comfort, but the smell of fresh paint told her this wasn't home. Emma sighed into the pillow, before she pushed off the cushion. Time doesn't stop for mortal man, she might as well shower and take the time she was given to get some reading done.
For now, she would pretend that this was the leave she so desperately needed, that is until Wesker decides to kill her. Emma walked to the small walk in closet, to look at the clothes they had taken for her. Many of them were summery, which led her to the conclusion, she was somewhere near the equator, since New York has probably reached early fall by now.
Her fingers wrapped around a dark green spaghetti strap shirt with lace trim, as she also pulled at a pair of black capris she hadn't worn in years, not since Leon and she went to the beach. The memory forced a smile onto her face, as she skipped off to the drawer. With her underwear she always lacked pickiness, it's not like anyone will see them after all. A quick shower brought her back to life, and promised a good day.
"Good morning Mrs. Singh."
The gravel tone of Wesker's voice pierced the silence of her room, causing her to jump as soon as she found her way fully into the chamber. A moment passed, as she stared at the man. Her heart rate stayed at the elevated rate but she managed to breath out a reassuring sigh of relief. He wasn't holding anything that could kill her, though she knew he could do so with his bare hands. It's best however, not to think of such things at the moment.
"Good morning, Wesker." She greeted. "Please call me Emma, Mrs. Singh sounds too formal."
"Too formal for what?" he questioned.
"For a captive situation I suppose." She shrugged, being completely honest now. "I mean you're the big boss man. You say jump I'm supposed to ask how high, if I want to live that is."
A low chuckle rumbled from his chest as he listened to her words. She's completely right, if she wants to live, she will have to listen to him, but her wording could please any god complex enriched man, such as himself. Emma eyed him suspiciously, before walking to her bed and sitting on the edge.
"You are quite right," he breathed. "But for now I wish for you to relax and have breakfast with me and Alexia."
Her brows knitted together, as she glanced around the room. This isn't how hostage situations play out. Even though she has never participated in such a thing before, she knew what it looks like. Her first two weeks, and some days, were a nice version of what a real captive condition looked like. Usually there's torture, and almost permanent starvation. What did the man before her have planned?
A cold chill ran its way through her spine, as the sudden realization hit. What if this is the precursor of the worse torture she could imagine? What if he's trying to soften her up, before destroying everything she knew? Luckily Emma was already sitting, because her body would have collapsed in on itself.
"Mrs. Singh, are you well?" Wesker's calm voice pulled her from the panic attack.
"Y-yes, just still a bit tired from yesterday." She laughed breathlessly. "Wesker, May I ask why you're being so gentle to me?"
"You mean, why haven't I started torturing you for information?"
She nodded slowly, as a devious smirk crossed his features.
"I've killed so many others before you, that I've decided to allow you a reprieve," he paused. "For now, that is. Now let's have breakfast shall we?"
Breakfast with the two seemed more comfortable. With Alexia sitting with them Wesker's attention seemed to remain on her, when he wasn't looking at paper that is. Emma drifted into the background, as the two talked about normal family things which pleasantly shocked the youthful auburn haired girl. The tiniest of smiles stretched her cracked lips, as she listened to the chatter. Anyone could see they were avoiding important conversations in her presence, or maybe this whole conversation danced with codes, but she enjoyed the normality.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Alexia asked, breaking Emma from her daydream.
"At this tiniest of moments yes, I missed family conversations that didn't revolve around work." Emma smiled down at her oatmeal. "But in the whole picture, not particularly."
Emma's eyes didn't leave the bowl, as she talked. Considering her situation what she was saying didn't really match up. She listened carefully, no scraping of furniture on the floor or anything indication she had insulted either of her companions. In fact the bright chuckle that met her ears forced her to look at the young blond female.
"I suppose that was a silly question,"
"Not at all, it's very considerate."
Emma half smiled, before going back to eating. Breakfast remained quite between the three for the rest of the time, until Alexia faced the other female again.
"You have so many books in your tiny apartment," Alexia mentioned quietly. "Obviously you like to read, but what do you prefer to read?"
"I enjoy learning new things, so nonfiction is always a great choice, and I love fantasy so fiction tends to be another wonderful choice."
Alexia chuckled, sending her brother an amused glance before returning her stare to Emma. "That didn't answer any question."
"I love books," Emma shrugged. "Leon was so surprised when I was able to fix up his old truck, from just reading about how the make and model work. I have yet to master the art of crocheting and knitting though." Emma's smile fell, when her eyes met with Wesker's. "So, ah, what's the plan for today?"
"Well, we will be busy all day…." Alexia paused to glance at Wesker's amused features. "So today you'll be on your own, but tomorrow maybe we could do something. If you're feeling up to it, that is."
Emma nodded slightly, as she glanced around the large mess hall. The room hummed as the other Umbrella corporation members walked in chatting about the latest news. Somewhere in the other conversations, Emma heard something that would greatly help in her escape. The compound is in a small town in Africa. She concealed a small smile, as she called her attention back to Alexia and Wesker.
"Alexia, escort Emma to her room when you are done eating. I have somewhere to be, have a good day." Wesker smirked, before exiting the room.
With him gone, Emma couldn't help but relax against her chair. She knew that even though everyone in Umbrella Corp is dangerous, Wesker is by far the fearsome. In seeing this reaction Alexia giggled playfully.
"Tomorrow I was thinking about showing you around the compound," she muttered cheerfully. "I'm sure you'll love our library…. Talking about books, did we choose the right books? I wasn't sure which to grab."
"Yes, you chose well. I am thankful you have gone so out of your way to make me comfortable." Emma's voice cracked nervously.
"You know, if you help us, Wesker won't hurt you."
"The thing is, by helping you I will be betraying and killing the ones I love." Emma sighed, glancing at Alexia. "I'm not sure if I could live with that, and to be honest, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to help you."
Alexia rolled her eyes, before greeting one of the security guards. "Please escort our guest to her room. I'll be by around lunch."
Emma nodded hesitantly, before following the security personnel. As they passed different rooms, she tried to keep note of everything around her. Some windows showed different scientific experiments, while other room without widows remained a mystery to her. Every once in a while, someone would open a door to the mystery rooms, allowing her to see inside.
"Thank you," she muttered, when they arrived to her room.
She spent most of the day reading, and writing the things she's observed so far. She drew a small map of what she's seen of the compound, if she had any chance of escaping this would be an important part of it for her. Alexia kept true to her promise, about being there for lunch, but she didn't stay too long. The two talked about superficial things, such as the books Emma had been reading, to keep from slipping up and revealing things they shouldn't. Once Alexia left, Emma returned to reading the new romance novel Chris got for her birthday.
Her fingers gripped the book tightly, as she took in the new world at her fingertips. Nothing beats a book, not a laptop, tablet, or recording. A silly smile kissed her lips, as she laughed at a particularly funny part. No audible sound come from her lips, but the ridiculous smile was proof of it all.
"That smile suites you," Wesker muttered, from the door. "I see your mother in it."
Emma jumped, at the break of silence, flinging the book to the side of her bed. Her heart raced to exit her chest, as she placed a nervous hand over it. She hadn't noticed the door open and close, or even the fact that Wesker now sat at the bottom of her bed with an amused smirk on his face.
"I may keep you, just to watch your reactions to me." He chuckled, cleaning his sunglasses.
"Knocking is a glorious thing." Her words puffed out quietly. "If I ever make it home again, I'll never just walk into Chris's place again."
Wesker sent her a playful glance, before leaning over the beds edge to get the paperback novel. Emma grimaced, as he looked at the books title, and sent her an all knowing grin. Romance novels are one of those things she was embarrassed about reading. This resulted in her hiding this dirty secret.
"You have a key to Chris's home?" Wesker questioned, sending her a most interested glance and a wicked smirk.
"I-I, well I used to…" She trailed off, already embarrassed at her next confession. "I dropped my keys in the storm drain outside of my house last week. He wanted to punish my clumsiness by making it so I relied on him to get me In and out of my own apartment. That is until my landlord made me a spare key to my apartment…. Then I was left without Chris's key….." she sighed, omitting the fact she also lost her work keys. "Though he was going to make another when he gets home from his mission."
She paused, knowing she already said too much. Emma avoided looking directly at Wesker, as she slowly stood to put away the book, Wesker handed back to her. A silent prayer that he didn't catch her slip, repeated in her mind,
"Where's Chris?" Wesker questioned nonchalantly.
Her heart stopped. "I'm not entirely sure, he's not allowed to speak about it, and I'm obviously not working the mission."
This was true, or at least it would have been if Chris didn't tell her everything, whether or not he was supposed to. Emma smiled sheepishly, waiting for his questioning glance to move elsewhere. His eyes remained on her, analyzing every movement for an answer to his question. She already knew he knew she was lying, which made her avoid his constant stare.
"Please don't make me do this, I'll gladly take death, but I can't endanger those I love." Emma sighed, staring at a particularly shiny part of the tile. "Can't you relate to that? Don't you have loved ones you want to protect?"
Her voice cracked, as she dared a glance to Wesker. His brow arched, as he seemed to contemplate what she was saying. Emma's heart lifted at the hope he may actually understood her point, but when his usual smirk appeared, her heart went straight to her stomach.
"Let me tell you what's going to happen, I think that will help with your situation. You'll have a couple more days of rest," he chuckled as he put his glasses back on. "In those days you'll take a long hard look at the idea of death. Then I'll come and ask you what you want to do, if you choose death, I'll torture you for a while, and then the cycle will continue."
Her flesh paled, as his words echoed through her head. Yes, she knew there was going to be torture involved at some point, but it really wasn't apparent until now. Emma cleared her throat, before looking at her cobalt blue toenails. A small prayer leaving her lips, in silent resignation.
"I'll have dinner sent to you," Wesker cackled, before standing back up. "You don't seem like you're feeling well, and you'll need your rest for tomorrow."
Emma ate in silent contemplation, it was obvious Wesker wasn't going to let her die, not without getting some tidbit of information out of her. She could always give him enough information to wet his lips, but not enough to truly hurt the others, but for the life of her she couldn't think of what it was he wanted from her. She ate without really tasting the food, in fact, she couldn't tell another person what she had eaten. By the time she snapped out of her haze, Emma was in her bed.
The next morning she woke up to a knock on her door. Emma grunted as a response to the door, expecting Chris or Leon to come bursting through it, with some sort of news she must hear, instead she was met with the blond hair and blue eyes of Alexia.
"Good morning sleepy head. I brought you some pancakes and such to fully wake you up." Alexia smiled brightly. "I'll grab some comfortable clothes you can explore in, and then we shall start the tour of the compound."
Emma sighed while sitting up in her bed. Tour? As in showing her the entirety of her source of captivity? She thought with much confusion. This would be great, to help her out with her escape plans, but now thinking about it, it also seems like a set up. Alexia glanced at Emma oddly, before a small pout puckered her lips.
"You don't trust me?" Alexia questioned, sniffling a bit. "You think I'm tricking you."
"N-no, I don't think you're tricking me." Emma sighed, jumping out of bed to reassure her companion. "I just wasn't entirely sure if I heard you right. I'll eat quickly and get dressed quickly, and then we can go on your tour ok?"
"Great! Hurry though, I'm supposed to be taking you to see a demonstration Wesker has planned for you." Alexia called out.
Emma barely heard the other females warning, through the thick bathroom door, but she knew she needed to hurry. She rushed through her shower, and placed a pair of dark blue shorts with a deep crimson tank on. When her eyes met the mirror, she exhaled unsteadily. The night before she hadn't slept well, her mind continued to remind her of what Wesker had told her. When she woke up this morning, she wanted nothing more than for this entire situation to be a nightmare; a figment of her imagination, from a terrifying story Chris or Leon told her.
"How did you sleep?" Alexia questioned, when Emma came from the bathroom.
"I slept fine, you?"
Emma's voice cracked as she spoke, forcing a quiet smile from Alexia.
"I slept beautifully, but you look exhausted. Maybe I can talk to the doctor to see if he can prescribe a sleeping pill for you." Her eyes brightened. "How does that sound?"
"N-no thank you, I'll get through this." Emma muttered quietly. "So what are we going to do first?"
"I'll show you the presentation hall, since Wesker wants to present something to you." Alexia cheered slightly. "What did you guys talk about last night? He said you weren't feeling well."
"He likes that I'm jumpy around him." Emma stated bluntly.
"Yeah, fear does it for him… Let's go."
On the way to the Demonstration Hall the two girls passed the Gym, two dressing rooms, six dorm rooms, and an office. Alexia very forthcoming with information, of the rooms the two past, gladly answered any questions her companion had. It came to a shock for Emma, when they walked into the large stadium based room. Separated the area where any performances would have been, and the audiences seats was a large ten inch plexy glass structure that domed at the top. Emma gulped nervously, she had a bad feeling about this.
"Ah, the two of you are right on time." Wesker''s voice pierced the silence.
Emma glanced to her left, to see him sitting comfortably in one of the chairs. Yes, things were most defiantly going to turn out very badly. Wesker stood from his chair, taking a moment to glance at the control room before walking to the two women. He forced a sarcastic smile to his face, making his features soften for a moment.
"Alexia you may leave for a little bit, if you wish." His smile dropped slightly. "I'll take care of our guest, while you get lunch."
Without hesitation, Alexia left Emma alone with Wesker. His fingers dug into her upper arm, once they were alone, and pushed her forward to the chair he sat in when they arrived,
"I thought you'd like a show after our conversation last night." A deep throaty chuckle left his lips. "Please sit, things should be starting soon."
"I think I'd rather stay standing…." Emma paused glancing at him.
"Sit"
Emma followed his orders too quickly. Her body crashed down onto the stadium chairs, leaving a pain filled throbbing along her back and bottom. Wesker smirked at her promptness to satisfying him, he soon sat next to her shaking form.
"It's not as bad as you think it will be."
A rather alarming sound rang through the stadium, before two large men appeared in the center with a very tired looking man. Emma glanced from the three, and back to Wesker's rather entertained mask. What did he have planned for them? She wondered, when her eyes drifted back to them. The alarm went off again, and the two men placed the weaker one in the only chair. How she didn't automatically noticed the chair she would never know.
Emma could hear the rush of blood, and little else, when she got a good look at the weakened man. Her first instinct was correct, there was nothing good that could come from this. Benton looked skeletal, as his guards tied him to his chair. The young model looking man's head lolled back, the two had gotten to know each other during their long hours of doing paper work. Very much like Leon and Chris, Benton's ass had been saved many times by Emma's vigilance, and to now see him so weak brought her to tears.
"There's no need to cry," Wesker's voice sounded more than amused as he handed her his embroidered handkerchief. "There's a chance he'll survive, minimal, but there is still a chance."
"Wesker, please don't. I beg of you not to harm him, his wife is expecting."
The words came out as a choked out gasp, as the two men walked away from sight. Wesker chuckled before looking back to the scene before him.
"Watch."
"N-no, I refuse."
She sounded less confident than she meant to. Wesker's dark snicker halted immediately, before he gripped her chin roughly. It was threat, and she very much knew it. His eyes glowed from behind his sunglasses, and suddenly his thumb started rubbing light circles on the skin it touched.
"You will watch, or else I'll make his death so excruciating you'll dream of his terror filled screams." Wesker muttered almost lovingly into her hair.
His teeth teased the fleshy lobe of her ear, before he pulled away. At a loss of words Emma nodded, only to be met with Wesker pushing her face away forcefully. It took a moment, before she could get herself to look up at her once dear friend. I'm so sorry, was all she could think while another group of people, this time scientists, walked into the spot light. What terrified her the most, was the fact Wesker had placed a loving tone while he spoke to her, instead of that cool, calm, and collected voice he always seemed to have with the others.
"Live test number twelve." One of the females stated clearly, before picking up a large needle.
The other scientists held small cameras, to record the session. The needle pierced Benton's skin, forcing out a pain filled yelp, before they injected the dark green liquid. It only took moments for his screams to drown any noise that would have been made in the clean-up. Unable to watch what happened next, Emma shut her eyes tightly. Hiccups of her sobs were drowned out by his screams, and eventually the tearing noise told her it was over…. Whatever it was.
"See that wasn't as bad as it could have been. He died five minutes into his injections." Wesker cackled.
Wesker's fingers lightly danced over her cheek, only now realizing her eyes were closed tightly, and her sobs now the only sound in the hollow room. He tsked lightly, before leaning further into the leather bound chair. She got the message he was sending, but it would have hit harder if she managed to power through the blood bath. His eyes flickered back to the scene momentarily. The young blond man, or what was left of him, sat neatly in the chair with a flooding of blood around him. His body, like most subjects, started splitting from his shoulders up before sending a red misted explosion, leaving very little of the person.
"I hope you have fully grasped the gravity of the situation you're in." he muttered, glancing back at the palling woman. "Though, if you refused to help, you'll be wishing for that death."
Her tears slowed after a few moment, a brilliant idea popping into her head. In meetings about Wesker, the words narcissist and god complex flew around rampantly to describe his character. One thing both have in common, is the need for things to go his way. Emma took in a deep breath, trying in vain to calm her nerves, before she looked into his eyes with determination.
"I will never help you, you pathetic example of a man." She growled out.
Quick like lightning, Wesker's fingers gripped her neck with a crushing grip. Emma's self-defense training kicked in, as she tucked her neck between his thumb and index fingers, which allowed her to breathe easier. Her own fingers gripped his thumb and forearm tightly. She paused momentarily, remembering why she had taunted him to this point. With resignation, she let go of her targets, and slowly allowed the pain filled death of suffocation to take over.
Wesker growled out, before letting her drop to the ground. Emma's body hit with a loud thump as she gasped loudly for breath. Her lungs burned as the chilled air rushed in and out. For the second time today her eyes filled with tears, her plan had failed and now she was forced to figure out another to get out of this situation. It would have been so much easier if he had killed her right then and there.
"You're a smart woman," Wesker sighed, as he struggled to regain control. "Go tell Alexia our guest is ready for her tour."
A guard came from the shadows momentarily, his eyes locking with Emma's, and then he left her with her captor. Wesker stretched, as the scientists started the much needed clean up. Wesker and Emma's little spat had no effect over their work, they paused momentarily but continued with what they were doing. She supposed death wasn't any longer something they minded, since they barely flinched with the gory mess that was Benton.
"What happened to you?" she gasped, finally able to fill her lungs properly. "You used to care about others, and even helped those who needed it."
During her mid-teens, Emma had to come to her parent's jobs so she could drop off their coworkers and their personal dinners. They had done many late hours towards the end, and she had to visit them at nights to make sure they were fed. Usually he was off on a mission, or talking to the higher ups, this time though, Wesker was walking the halls of the building. She had run into him while trying to keep her grip the giant pot, bowls, and utensils in her arms. As she fell back, the tall blond man gripped her shoulder with his free hand.
"Who are you young lady?" Wesker questioned, pulling her back to a normal standing position.
"Emma, I brought food for everyone in the S.T.A.R.S unit, M-Mr. Wesker."
Emma's storm cloud eyes, went from his light blue ones, to the floor. She had forgotten to tell him who her parents were, and now she wasn't sure if she should bring it up now. He sighed deeply, before taking the heavy steel pot out of her hands.
"Come on, we better feed them." He muttered, already walking further into the hall.
It was from that moment on Emma knew exactly what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. That is until Wesker betrayed all the people in the unit. If asked now, she would mention how stupid it was to base her whole life around that single moment, but now she could defend her choices with her second family in the B.S.A.A.. Wesker laughed momentarily at her naïve question, before facing her again.
"You do what you need to, to stay in power, even if that means helping others." His familiar smirk graced his features again. "Alexia, I think Mrs. Singh is ready to see the compound."
"Awesome," Alexia's smile faltered momentarily when her eyes met Emma's bruising neck. "The infirmary would be a good place to start with."
Alexia's hand appeared in front of Emma's face, as the brunette tried standing up. Emma graciously took the offering, and followed the blonde out of the room, leaving a very frustrated Wesker behind. Without skipping a beat, Alexia started chatting about all the activities the compound had to offer any of its inhabitants. Despite her previous encounter, Emma tried her best to commit everything to memory.
"Right now we are on the second floor of the underground portion of the compound." Alexia chattered, sending her companion a sweet smile. "In order to access the elevators and many of the science labs in use, one must have an access key, but don't fret, there is much for you to do down here."
"We're underground right now?" Emma parroted with great confusion. "But I woke up to the sounds of a Starling yesterday..."
"Yes, we have enough vents in the building that Starlings and a few other birds get inside. It's great when you wake up to their songs, but absolutely horrible when they die." Alexia waved a hand in front of her face, before shrugging. "Anyways, here is the infirmary."
"I'll be fine." Emma muttered, touching her dark blue neck. "There's no need to stop here."
"You'll have a hard time swallowing, and probably talking for the next few days." Alexia protested.
"There's nothing a doctor can do, I'll just deal with the discomfort."
"Fine, let's continue on to the Library."
Hours past, as Alexia showed Emma the entire compound, even the top floors. When they entered the elevator three large men joined them, and continued to follow until the two women returned to go back down. By the time they returned to Emma's room, she was exhausted.
"I hope you enjoyed the tour." Alexia breathed happily.
"I am can't imagine how you can rush around the building all day in those heels." Emma sighed, crashing face first into her bed.
"You get used to it really." Alexia bit her bottom lip nervously, "Emma?"
The young brunette grunted slightly, before shifting to look at her companion.
"Yes?"
"You shouldn't tempt him you know." Alexia sighed, backing towards the door. "He'll kill you, and I so rarely get to interact with other females."
"He didn't kill me," Emma muttered, glancing at the bookshelf nearest her. "It blows my mind, everything we know about him says he should have killed me… Unless-"She stopped mid-sentence, and glanced back to the other female in the room.
"Unless?" Alexia questioned, cocking her head slightly.
"N-nothing, just a stupid memory."
"You've met Wesker before?"
"Once, when I was younger."
Alexia's name echoed through the P.A. system, changing the focus from Emma to the noise. Emma was grateful for the distraction, and even more so when Alexia groaned.
"I need to go handle that, your dinner will be delivered later. I'll see you later maybe. Night Emma."
"Night Alexia, thanks for everything."
A rare smile graced Emma's face, as she watched the other woman leave the room. She waited patiently for an hour, before grabbing the book she had been drawing the map in. When she knew there was little chance of getting caught, Emma started drawing out the compounds specs from memory. Being that her job relied on her memorizing capability, she was very confident with what she was doing. Now all she needed was the opportunity to escape.
Dinner came with an all too familiar face, though this time Wesker's features were tranquil again.
"Mind if I join you for dinner?" he questioned amused with the chill that ran down her back. "Or are you too frightened to eat with me?"
"You don't scare me." Emma's voice flickered at her words.
There was no power in her voice, making the statement more of an observation than declaration. He placed two plates onto the table, never taking his eyes away from her.
"Then what is it my presence do to you?" he questioned.
"Many things, mostly though, it confuses me." She said honestly.
"I see, come sit down."
She followed his directions, leaving her romance novel on her bed. Dinner went by in silence, though many things burned to be said out loud. Emme wanted more than anything to confront him about Brenton, and what he things she could tell him. Wesker wanted to know everything the young woman knew about the B.S.A.A's movements and plans. Still nothing was said, that is until the meal was over with.
"For the next two day's you'll be left along." Wesker declared, before leaving.
