Disclaimer: So. Not to spoil much. But this chapter is the true start of the count down. We've got some unknown puppeteer to it all while Chris' and Alex's gang prepare to meet. Claire remembers and rushes off to find her brother first.. while Albert seems to be sent to some coordinates. Is he going to where the meet-up is.. or is he being sent elsewhere? And just what is Laura doing? She's been rather.. quiet lately, aside from contacting Albert once. I sense a lot of things going on behind the scenes that has yet to be properly revealed.
Do enjoy!
The lyrics: Get Scared by Sarcasm.
You've got me shaking from the way you're talking
My heart is breaking but there's no use crying
Albert didn't really know what to expect when he was speaking with Laura. The call had been brief and to the point, cluing him in that something had happened between his siblings to put them at odds. From what he had gathered.. Laura had been rather faithful to the younger brother. And yet here she was, proposing him the trinket he had once sought after.
Claire Redfield. The name was sent through his being like a shiver. He had tried to deny the shattering bond that had formed between him and the redhead. Now clearly infected and a specimen to observe he wanted her more than ever. Mostly for personal reasons, as much as he tried to think otherwise.
"What do you have in mind?" Was his only answer before she laid out her plan. Yet through her words he sensed.. the strings weren't hers entirely. As if something, or someone, was truly behind it all.
The call had ended and he studied the coordinates given to him in a text. He knew what he had to do. He had to get there first.
What a cyanide surprise you have left for my eyes
If I had common sense I'd cut myself or curl up and die
Chris wasn't really sure what to make of the crystal white garden. It was tucked deep in a forest, surrounded by giant broken stone walls. It felt almost.. primitive, as if the Aztecs had built it long ago. Yet it was truly stunning. Chris didn't really gauge the beauty of it. White Rose, Lily, Orchid, Tulip, Carnation, Gerbera Daisy, Hibiscus, Jasmine, Iris and more. There were even white trees circling along the walls, as if shielding these flowers. Birch, Aspen, Eucalyptus, Plane, Whitebark and Cypress.
But at the center, surrounded by a grassy patch, sat the real beauty. Blue roses rose out from a crop of Hydrangea, which are these really pale blue-purple flowers. Golden Morning Glories sat tucked away at the base of this section, giving highlight to the upper plants. Behind this part sat a really antique fountain, a weeping angel crumbling at the top. Half of the left wing was gone, tucked against it's back while the right wing was extended behind it. A hand reached out, as if to these flowers, while the other clutched at the gown the angel wore. It covered it's body, the old stone mossy and cracked.
The angel's face was the most haunting of this scenery. Tears were etched into the youthful cheeks.. coming from black holes where the eyes should have been.
Jill had gasped at the sight, eagerly rushing around to study these flowers. He didn't try to stop her. They had already scoped out the area and it was clear they were early. Beta was sweeping the perimeter, keeping out of sight and would alert them when anything arrived.
Sticks and stones could break my bones
But anything you say will only fuel my lungs
Leon had trailed after Jill, keeping close to her in case anything sprang out, he was just protective of friends. Something caught Chris' eye and he turned to see something tucked away between two white bushes, what looked like wood. It was a chest, he realized as he dug through the foliage to tug it out. It was small, very old and with a lock at the center.
"What'd you find?" Jill questioned over his shoulder, noticing the way he seemed to stare blankly at the lock. She pushed him aside and got to work and had it open within a few minutes. The trio studied the dusty looking pistol inside the box, a single bullet beside it.
"Sir, someone got past us!" A voice came from the radio clipped to Chris' side. Jill immediately dropped the box as a twig snapped behind them.
They turned to see..
Claire holding her side, panting, staring at them rather intently.
Tears filled the redhead's eyes. Jill gasped and Leon tensed.
Don't mind us we're just spilling our guts
If this is love I don't wanna be loved
"Chris..." She whispered before she rushed up to them, tackling her brother and squeezing him.
Jill didn't know what to do, just stared shocked at the scene. Leon blinked multiple times, as if in disbelief.
Chris was speechless as Claire clung to him. She seemed stronger as she tugged the wind from his chest. "Air!" He hissed as she then loosened her grip. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her before holding her close. Tears rolled down his cheek. "Is it really you Claire?" He whispered.
She glanced up to him, golden eyes meeting his blue orbs. "I.. remember you..." She sniffled, smiling up at him. "I remember everything.. I'm so sorry Chris.."
"It's ok Claire.." He hugged her tightly.
You pollute the room with a filthy tongue
Watch me choke it down so I can throw it up
She began to legit sob against him, burying her face into his chest as she had so often growing up. He was home for her. He was the only thing she had left.. especially after their parents had died in that car wreck.
"You guys need to leave!" She suddenly seemed to tense, wiping the tears from her eyes as she pushed away. "Alex is coming. He's got an infected second-in-command with him and two mercenaries." She seemed frantic, pushing Chris toward Jill. "You need to get away-"
"You aren't going anywhere." A smooth voice called out over the air, drawing the attention of everyone present.
Don't mind us we're just spilling our guts
If this is love I don't wanna be hanging by the neck
Before an audience of death
"Alex.." Claire took a stance in front of Chris, baring her teeth at him. Leon and Jill stood relatively close to the siblings, on either side.
"Claire, dear.. you belong with me.." The blonde cooed, smiling softly at her.
"No... Nooo.. I DO NOT! You were USING me. You're no better than Albert! You're both MONSTERS." She seethed, anger restoring her strength, her drive, lost since her 'death' so many years ago. "I remember everything. I remember you tricking me. Using me. Manipulating me. LYING to me. I know the truth." She trailed off, her thoughts churning.
"I never once lied to you. I might have given you half of the truth, twisted a bit.. but never lied." He tapped his skull with a smirk. "You were so gullible, so weak and helpless."
She clenched her fists, her eyes narrowing to slits.
He lifted his arms, stepping a bit closer. They stood with the fountain and flower patch between them. "I gave you power.. the capability of being superior to humanity. You are the cure for disease, I gave you practically immortality. And you what? You missed HIM?" He gestured a hand loosely to her sibling behind her. "For that pathetic human? You don't belong in their world now, Claire, we both know that. Deny what you wish! But the truth is inevitable. You are infected, you cannot ever revert and you will never live a human life. You will be hunted, fought, attacked, a target until the day you die. But I can prevent this!" He snarled. "I can protect you from humanity." He extended a single hand toward her. "I can offer you salvation."
You could be the corpse and I could be the killer
If I could be the devil, you could be the sinner
Her blood boiled. How the hell did he have the audacity to spit this shit.
"You.. are.. a mad man!-" The sound of a hammer being pulled back alerted them to the new threat behind them. Standing just behind Chris was a snowy-haired male with sharp blue eyes. Leon and Jill seemed speechless at this person's presence, though Claire didn't know who it was. He held a gun pretty much to the back of Chris' head with a knife pressing against her brother's back.
"Von.." Jill's small breath gave some indication of an identity but Claire ignored the man, turning back around to scowl at Alex.
"What do you want from me." She hissed.
The edge of his lips twitched up.
"Humanity's downfall is inescapable, Claire." He said softly, as if talking to a child. "Humanity is broken.. and short-lived. They kill each other, they fight disease, they are greedy.. They starve each other, torture people.. and hold such aggression. I understand there are good ones.. but so many are corrupted that they outweigh that kindness."
You could be the drugs and I could be the dealer
Everything you say is like music to my, music to my ears
He sighed, taking a deep breath.
"They feebly pray to some deity for protection, for the answers.. for salvation. They act as if some religion is a shield to hide behind, to kill, steal, rape.. and leave it at some man-created altar. Humans create weapons of mass destruction. Swords, guns, canons, machinery, jets.. tanks.. nukes.. gas."
He took a step closer.
"You hold the key. The virus in your body is the solution to humanity's problem. It is the evolutionary finale. I don't think you understand. None of you do. You think too SMALL." He scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. "You think like a human." He flexed his fingers against his arms, drumming the fingertips. "I don't want to kill humans, I don't wish to make them extinct. I just want to push them along in the chain of life. Give them something worth fighting for."
"You are insane! You act just like Wesker!" Chris snapped, clenching his fists at his side. "You are all corrupted with some notions of playing god in a world you can't control! You are sick!"
Alex snorted, directing his golden gaze toward her brother. He nodded toward Von. A grunt was heard and she turned to see Chris collapsing to one knee. Von towered behind him with a bloody knife, watching as Chris clutched his side where blood flowed.
Failure find me
To tie me up now
'Cause I'm as bad, as bad as it gets
"Chris!" She took a step toward her brother, concern rushing throughout her frame but Von pointed his gun at Jill. She halted, flashing the lock-picker with a startled look.
"I'm sorry to say, Claire.." His voice caused her to spin back to face Alex, her knuckles whitening from her intense grip. "But this is the part where you say goodbye to the other survivors." He pulled a gun from his side beneath his jacket, lifting it to aim at Leon. Her eyes went wide as he fingered the trigger.
"Don't... you dare.." She whispered under her breath as his finger squeezed. "Pl-"
A gunshot echoed, smoke billowed.
"NO!"
A sharp scream was followed by a loud thump.
Failure find me
To hang me up now
By my neck cause I'm a fate worse than death