Thanks for the reviews (again)! I'm happy to say that while the thought of writing a new chapter is daunting, when I start going I don't really have to think, the characters just kind of make themselves. Now if only my life worked that way… hehe. Special thanks to Osage, I will at least wait until I am able to erase the bad taste by watching the trilogy before I see the fourth movie ;) Let's see if I can finish this story in this life time shall we? =D
Between the two of them, Alice and K-Mart had managed to hack into the computer system and where playfully arguing about which files to open and what could possibly be in some of them.
"Oh! This one is called 'Operation Dogfood'! I bet it's something good!" K-Mart began to enthusiasticly click on files. Alice laughed from her lounged position in the second desk chair, her feet propped up on the table.
"At this rate, it's going to be Christmas before we find that chopper!" Her smile died as K-Mart stared her down. "What?" Alice had the feeling she had just stepped in it, and she didn't even know what 'it' was! "I'm sorry if I-"
"Christmas! In Alaska! You think there will be snow?" K-Mart's entire face seemed to be one huge grin. It was Alice's turn to stare before bursting into laughter at the childish enthusiasm.
"For the convoy's sake, I sure hope so. I'm afraid of the face you'll make if it's dry and dusty there too." K-Mart did pull a face at this and turned back to the computer. Alice continued to smile to herself and started to lean back.
"K-MART!" The shouting from the convoy below sent her rocketing to her feet.
"What? What is it? Alice?" K-Mart looked alarmed at her sudden movement while Alice simply looked queasy.
"Woops," was all she said before she started for the door leading to the stairs, tugging K-Mart behind her.
"What! Alice! Tell me what's going on!" But Alice didn't reply, instead trying to block out the hysterical screams she could still faintly heard from outside, now coming from not only Claire, but Carlos and someone else as well. "Alice!" This time K-Mart's voice sounded less like pleading and more like a command. Alice quirked a smile. Claire was rubbing off on her favorite youngster. "Tell me what is going on."
"You didn't tell anyone you were coming up here." It wasn't a question, it was a statement, and Alice perceptively sped up her pace as soon as the words exited her mouth. They suddenly seemed more real, more so than even the frantic screaming.
"No, everyone was fighting and I… didn't… Oh."
"Yes. 'Oh.'" Alice let go of K-Mart's wrist, trusting her to follow behind her at a quick pace now. They were nearing the bottom of the steps, and the screaming was becoming clearer, so much so that Alice could feel K-Mart wince behind her when it finally became audible to her less trained ear.
"Woops," she repeated Alice's word from earlier just before they opened the door and the sunlight hit them.
Everyone had their backs turned to them, shouting at the buildings on the other side of the road where most of the survivors had run for cover earlier. Alice watched as Carlos came charging out of one building, moving straight for the next. Her chest filled with love even as her stomach clenched with guilt. She was in so much trouble…
"Hey! Are you guys trying to attract everything within a 50 mile radius?" K-Mart's voice cracked like a whip and everyone froze for a moment. Alice glanced out of the corner of her eye to see the younger girl standing feet apart, hands on her hips, looking like an angry drill sergeant. Alice's lip quirked upward.
"Where in the hell have you been?" If Alice hadn't been such an experienced fighter, she would have outwardly flinched at Claire's rebuke. As it was, she only had to deal with the internal upheaval as she watched Claire stalking toward them, an angry looking Carlos not far behind. She was surprised to see K-Mart standing her ground next to her, not shrinking back in the slightest, although her face seemed to have lost some of its fierce determination.
"I'm sorry. I-"
"You're SORRY! Didn't you hear us calling for you? We thought you were dead! And we couldn't find a body! Do you know what that is like? Thinking that you were off turning into a flesh eating monster somewhere? That you were going to come back and kill us in our sleep? Do you know how nerve racking that is?" There was a horribly long moment of silence where the two women stared each other down, and then K-Mart was launching herself into Claire's arms and Claire was sobbing hysterically, practically squeezing the life out of K-Mart.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so-," Alice's gaze traveled away from the pair to a still angry looking Carlos, who was staring intently at the ground.
"I have to get back." Everyone's gaze, as a crowd of survivors had at some point gathered to see the reunion, shifted to Alice as she pivoted to return to the computer.
"Where are you going?" She was surprised that it was Claire's voice, and it didn't sound the least bit threatening or commanding. Before she could respond, K-Mart was pulling away from Claire and following Alice.
"I'm going to go too. We hacked the computer that Umbrella left behind and-"
"Umbrella!" This time it was Carlos, and he sounded furious. "Umbrella was here?" K-Mart didn't respond, leaving Alice to turn and find Carlos's eyes pinned to her.
Her suspicions were confirmed, he looked ready to kill.
"Yes."
"So they were the reason we lost so many? They put that container in our path!" She winced.
"Yes. It was a trap. For me."
"So what you are saying, is that you left without so much as a goodbye to protect us, only to have to come storming in to protect us because you left us, to protect us, to begin with!" His eyes were blazing. He threw his hands up, one still clutching his gun. "In what universe does that make sense?"
"Carlos-"
"Don't 'Carlos' me! Half the convoy, including LJ, is dead because of your self esteem issues!" Alice visibly flinched backwards, and Claire let out a startled gasp.
A breathy, "Carlos," was all in the way of a rebuke Claire could offer. Everyone stood shock still for a moment, waiting for someone to make the first move. "All right people! Shows over! I want everyone to pair off and take a gun! Make sure it is fully loaded before setting out! Then I want-" Claire had moved away ushering all of the survivors back toward the vehicles, leaving Carlos, K-Mart, and Alice.
"I'm going to go… take another look at those files." K-Mart bolted from the scene, the door clanging shut behind her.
Alice and Carlos continued to stare one another down.