Authors note: Sorry for the long wait. Had a lot of school work to take care of and depression to deal with. Enjoy.
Claire sat silently at her desk in Biology class, half-listening to her instructors lecture and half-listening to her thoughts. She gripped her pencil tightly as she jotted down notes, becoming frustrated with her obsession over her past.
"Stop thinking about it. Just stop. There's nothing you can do about it."
It wasn't the first time her past experiences had distracted her from her school work. Her academic performance had gone down and she had been thinking about dropping out but a part of her said that was foolish.
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
She sighed quietly and held her forehead, trying her best not to lose track of her work.
Once class was finally over, she stayed in her seat while the other students got up and left. She waited a few moments before finally gathering her things and heading for the door.
"Claire," Her instructor said behind her desk.
Claire turned her head and looked at Mrs. Blight, her 32 year old instructor. She had grey eyes behind eye glasses and rusty brown hair. She looked concerned.
"Yes?" Claire replied softly.
"You haven't been keeping up with your work very well," Mrs. Blight said softly but seriously. "If you can't stay on schedule, you may have to redo the class."
Claire sighed, inwardly cursing herself for slacking off so much.
"I'm sorry," She began. "I've been through a lot of problems. Family. Depression."
Mrs. Blight nodded in understanding.
"I see," She said. "But you can't be this way for the entire semester. You're a bright kid and I know you have a bright future ahead of you but you'll never get it if you don't focus on your work."
Claire paused for a moment and breathed out through her nose.
"I understand," Claire said before checking her watch. "I've got to go. I'll see you next week."
Without looking back, Claire left the classroom and walked quickly down the hall, eager to get back to her dorm room and get something to eat. She passed a few chatting students, paying no attention to them as she left the building and began her long walk back to the dormitory.
Once again, she felt the horrible memories gnawing at her head again. No matter how hard she tried, it just wouldn't go away.
She shook her head, groaning a little through clenched teeth as she kept walking, absently reaching the dorms parking lot and then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a young couple making out in their car parked outside. They didn't notice Claire as she stood there.
Her imagination gave in as she pictured herself as the girl and the boy as Steve. The both of them sharing their hearts with one another. Entwined……..but it would never happen. It was something she felt she could not have in her life.
He heart ached and burned with envy and grief as she kept walking and entered the dorm, taking the elevator to the 5th floor.
"It's not fair…"
As she stepped out of the elevator, she began to cry softly, hiding her face from a few people walking by her in the hallway. She reached her room and entered, noticing that Gwen wasn't there but she didn't care. She shut the door behind her as she deliberately dropped her book bag on the floor, approached her bed and flopped down onto it, burying her face in her pillow as she wept.
"Steve…..you were the only one for me…and your gone forever."
As she cried she kept cursing her misfortunes. Feeling as if she had been cursed since the day she was born. She had barely turned twenty last week and already her life was miserable.
Her parents had both died while she was still in her teens. Chris had often been busy with work though he still helped her whenever he had the time. She had few friends aside from Gwen and her love life was non-existent due to her shyness and tendency to be a loner.
And when she finally met Steve, for the first time she felt her loneliness fade away. She felt as if she had finally found love and happiness…..but it was taken from her so quickly. And now she was as lonely as ever and feared it would be that way for the rest of her life.
And Steve himself was also seemingly consigned to a life of pain. He had lost his family, been enslaved by Umbrella and had his life ended before he even turned eighteen. And now…he was one of Weskers freakish experiments. For all Claire knew, Steve had already been turned into a mindless monster or simply discarded by Wesker after failing to find any use for the poor kid.
"It's not fair!" She muttered angrily, her voice muffled by her pillow.
The pain in her chest seemed to lessen as her tears tricked down her face and stained her pillow but she didn't get up, she just laid there motionlessly for a long time, inwardly praying that one day things would somehow get better, even if there was a small chance of that happening.
Dr. Alexis Murphy jogged down the metallic corridor, panting slightly with anxiety. A sealed dossier was in her hand. Along the way she passed by a few armed guards in uniform who ignored her completely but she could care less about them. She knew how impatient her boss was and that displeasing him was simply not an option.
Dr. Murphy was a thin, brunette haired woman in her late 20's. She had watery blue eyes and wireframe eyeglasses.
"I graduate from Arizona University with a PhD. in genetic engineering and this is what I get....."
She continued her quick stroll down the corridor and stopped just outside her supervisors office. She swallowed hard, feeling her heart pick up a little as she stood outside the door.
"Well...here we go," She said softly, breathing deeply.
She pressed the call box button on the wall beside the door with a slightly trembling finger.
"Sir, it's Dr. Murphy," She said as calmly as she could. "I have the results for Subject C-2."
There was a pause.
"Enter," A deep, calm voice said from the call box.
The door hissed briefly and slid upwards into a well lit but foreboding room. She stepped inside and the door closed behind her. Along the metal walls were shelves laden with books of various scientific fields, especially virology. On the far side of the room there was a smooth, black oak desk with a top of the line, flat screen computer on it. There was a man sitting behind the desk in a leather, office chair. Only the top of his head was visible above the computer screen, showing slicked back blonde hair.
Dr. Murphy felt her nerves quiver as she stepped into the room and approached the desk. Her supervisor was gazing at his computer screen, not initially bothering to look at the frightened doctor.
"Your late," The man said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"I...I'm sorry sir," Dr. Murphy said quickly, trying to hide her fear. "I've had difficulties with the new enhancements. The subject has been..."
"Enough," The man said, raising his hand and finally looking at Dr. Murphy, who silenced immediately.
The man was around his late thirties. His face was slender, slightly paled and as solid as ice, as if no human feeling lived inside. His eyes were hidden by a pair of sunglasses.
"Just give me the results," The man said, gesturing at Murphy to hand over the dossier.
"Yes, Mr. Wesker," Dr. Murphy said with a quick nod as she handed the dossier to her boss.
Albert Wesker leaned back in his chair, which creaked softly, as he opened the dossier and unsheathed a few papers from it. He flipped through them slowly, showing no sign of satisfaction or displeasement on his face, making Dr. Murphy even more nervous and again, her past came rushing into her head, reminding her of how she had gotten into this situation.
Ever since she graduated with her doctorates, she had been eager to join Umbrella as a biologist. Her brilliance and dedication to science served her well and impressed her peers greatly. However, once she was promoted to head scientist of one of Umbrellas smaller research labs, she made a frightening discovery: The T-Virus.
Although fascinated by the virus' capabilities and characteristics, the idea of using it to turn people and animals into horrible monsters frightened her. She never expected any of it when she joined Umbrella. But by the time she realized her mistake, it was too late. About a month after the T-Virus outbreak in Raccoon City, she had decided to abandon her career.....but when one of Umbrellas agents approached her and showed her a dossier containing information on the location of her home...and family.....she realized she was trapped.
Helpless and distraught, she continued her work without question, deathly afraid of losing her husband and infant son. Eventually, she was recruited by one of Weskers men and placed in charge of BOW research and development at his secret base.
As much as she hated it and as much as she was terrified of Wesker, she did her job.
Finally, Wesker nodded and grinned slightly as he finished reading the papers and looked at Dr. Murphy.
"Very good," Wesker said, leaning forward again. "It seems you've outdone yourself, doctor. Subject C-2 is ready."
"Th...thank you sir," Dr. Murphy said, exhaling through her nose and feeling less afraid.
"I originally expected you to be a disappointment to me but now I think your usefulness is showing," Wesker continued, simultaneously showing disdain and reliance for Murphy.
"Yes sir," Dr. Murphy replied, flushing slightly.
"Now then," Wesker said, changing his tone. "It is time to accelerate our plans. I want you to ready the BOWs and await further notice, Doctor."
Dr. Murphy nodded and turned to leave but just before she reached the door...
"Doctor," Wesker said.
Dr. Murphy froze and turned.
"Yes...sir?"
"Make sure that Subject C-2 is well cared for," Wesker said in a warning voice. "I want to make sure that his old friend lives long enough to see his face one last time."
Dr. Murphy paused, realizing what he meant, and nodded before she finally left the room and exhaled heavily, wiping sweat from her forehead. She stood still outside the door for a few moments.
"Poor kid..." She said softly before returning to her lab.