Notes: Time to admit one of my greatest shames: I am super scared of making a plush Raymond for one reason. I am terrifed of his tie! I've done ties before, but never striped!

Chapter 10

"So this has been going on for a while," Raymond remarked, moving a broken chair with his foot.

"Guess she got what she wanted while pretending to care, then stopped the pretending." After another sneeze, she added, "I almost feel bad for the villagers."

"Almost?"

"They attacked us," she reminded him.

"But can you blame them?"

Jackie shook her head and went ahead of him, muttering something that sounded a lot like "voice of reason." He followed her without a word.

A search of the building, or as much as they could access, did not reveal hide nor hair of the little girl. One locked door was enough for them to want to leave. It was bolted but inside they could hear human like screeches and snarls. The back door opened up onto the street.

"Do we keep going?" Jackie asked. "Where is your pilot friend going to meet us, anyway?"

Raymond shrugged. "We agreed on working that out when he finds the island. I couldn't provide him with a map, remember?"

They started down the street, unnerved by the silence. In the distance they could hear growling, but it didn't sound like a normal dog growl. "This is spooky," Jackie admitted as they passed an abandoned park. "Almost like someone flipped a switch and showed us what really goes on here."

"We did stay in the house most of the trip," Raymond reminded her.

Before Jackie could reply, there was an animalistic snarl from their right. Raymond held his handgun at the ready and nodded to Jackie. Out from behind a pile of trash stepped a monsterous dog-like creature. It howled and charged, but a bullet to the head stopped it immediately.

"Ugh," Jackie said with a groan, "it looks like an overgrown possum."

"Whatever it is, I want to get out of here before more show up. B.O.W.s like to travel in packs."

"I'll take your word for it."

Their leisurely pace became a sprint. Either the creatures were escaping, or Alex was letting them loose. Whichever it was, neither Raymond nor Jackie were looking to become lunch.

The sun was starting to sink when they came upon the fishing village they had once been warned about. Jackie seemed unsure, but Raymond pointed out that, like everything else they had come across so far, it seemed abandoned.

"That you know of," Jackie said, but she followed Raymond to the village, her hand resting on her weapon. Despite her uncertainty, and the prickling sensation at the back of her neck, the village did indeed seem empty.

The desire to explore the village was large, but not as overwhelming as the desire to find shelter. At the heart of the little village stood a pub. The front door hung open, but the inside was as empty as the rest of the village. And there was a way to bar the door.

"This is rather... modern looking isn't it?" Jackie had seated herself at one of the small tables.

"Probably another one of Wesker's... gifts," Raymond responded as he explored the small building. The upstairs was even smaller than the downstairs, but Raymond was quick to note the rather high tech looking panel at the back of the small loft.

Downstairs, there was less of note, though he did find an unopened bottle of wine. Jackie laughed when she spotted it, then pulled a candy bar from her bag.

"Cheers," Raymond said, fighting a smile.

"No, let's do this right." She pointed out one of the windows. "There's a ladder."

The night was a little chilly but cloudless. While being on a roof in an abandoned village late one night, drinking and eating chocolate, was not the best of ideas, both agreed falling off the roof would be better than winding up in Alex Wesker's hands again.

"Not that I plan on falling," Jackie said, passing the candy to Raymond. She sighed and stared off towards the waves breaking on the small shore of the beach. "You know what?" she said suddenly. "This island makes me sick of the ocean and the beach. After this, I think I'm going on a vacation."

"Skiing?" Raymond asked, breaking off a piece of the half eaten treat. "That's about as far from an island as I can think of."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Jackie replied. "Nice and cold, with no water in sight, except ice." She reached for the bottle, then took a sip. Slowly, she lowered the bottle. "Have you noticed something?"

He turned to her, waiting for her to talk.

"It's been rather quiet here. Maybe they haven't gotten this far yet."

"Then where are the villagers?"

"Not here," Jackie replied. She pointed to the few houses on the island. There were no lights, no smoke rising from the chimneys. "If I had to guess, I'd say long gone. Probably off in the mines, or imprisoned with everyone else."

"Good thing for us."

They sat on the roof for a long time, arguing over which constellations were visible, what the best place to ski was, and whether or not the village was worth looking over. As Jackie tried to point out that most of the writing they had seen recently had not been in English, Raymond shushed her.

"What?" she asked in a whisper. He pointed towards the direction in which they had entered the village. Jackie watched in confusion, then nodded, realizing what she was seeing. It was a flashlight. Someone was out there and looking for something.

Or someone.

"I'm going to check this out," Raymond told her, heading towards the ladder. "Pull the ladder back up when I get down."

"Right," Jackie murmured. She had been close to nodding off, but now she was wide awake again. "Be careful," she said, gripping the ladder and waiting for Raymond to reach the ground. She hauled it back to the roof, thankful it did not creak.

She lost sight of him as he wandered through the shanties, so she turned her gaze towards the intruder.

Despite not knowing the layout of the village, Raymond found it easy to sneak through it. The buildings were crude and lumped together in groups. The soft ground hid his footsteps. As he got closer to the flashlight, he swore under his breath. "What is he doing here?"