Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, Kyami, Ashley, Bee, Lei and any other character I decide to throw in that wasn't in the movies or the games.
A/N: So I have good news, I'll be staying with my aunt for a few months which means I'll be able to write, the bad news is that she may need me to move back out sooner than I anticipated and since I can't afford my own place yet, that may mean I gotta move in with my sister anyway, and that's just not cool. Sigh. Thanks for the reviews, makes me feel appreciated, even tho a lot of ppl have read and only a few reviewed, I still feel good. Not sure how much longer this story's gonna last but I'mma stick with it till the end despite all ma writer's blocks so no worries I won't leave you guys hanging. Anyway, read on and if you got the time, leave a review!
"So what are you gonna tell her?"
"I don't know" Kyami answered with a sigh. She and K-Mart were sitting on the cushions before the fire after ensuring Ashley was truly asleep. "I don't really want to take her with me but the firecracker has a point, we were just fine before we got here. I didn't take her here for her safety; I can protect her just fine. I brought her here so she could be around people, she needed some social interaction, I just—I don't like the idea of putting her in danger. What do you think I should do?"
"I think a lot of things but I understand what you mean. What I do know is Ashley and Bee suffered the last time you left and I think that if you leave them behind again, it'll be harder to get them functioning. I don't want them in danger any more than you do but based on what I saw the last time, it may be your only option right now."
"You're probably right," responded Kyami pensively. "Thanks for coming over; I know things are okay but you don't have to go home. I have a perfectly good cot in a perfectly unoccupied room and you're more than welcomed to stay there as planned," she finished with a smile.
"You're welcome. Don't think just because I'm civil that I'm not still angry about this whole thing. I just can't understand why you would constantly want to put yourself in danger like that, but I guess it's not my place. I'm gonna head to bed, good night" K-Mart stated with forced terseness.
"Good night" Kyami responded with a small smile. She knew K-Mart wasn't as angry as she wanted her to think but decided not to call her out on it.
As Kyami sat and watched the wood burning in the fireplace she wondered when would be a good time to tell K-Mart who she really was. She knew twelve years was a long time and that was probably why K-Mart didn't recognize her as the little girl she used to play with and call her best friend. She knew questions would come up, questions she really didn't want to answer because they would show her hand in destroying the world as they knew it.
The day had come for them to head out for supplies, in the end nine men had decided to go on the run with Kyami and though she wasn't looking forward to spending a week or two in the woods with so many people trailing behind her, she was happy to be spending that time with her daughter. Ashley was beyond ecstatic when told that she would be joining the expedition with her mother; Bee was just happy that everyone was happy. Becky was less than enthusiastic that her best-friend would be leaving, even if it was only for a short time. As each person said their goodbyes to their family members, Kyami watched as Ashley hugged Becky and K-Mart, she could see the tears in K-Mart's eyes and knew she was thinking of the possibility of them not returning. As their eyes met Kyami gave her a nod of acknowledgement, she wasn't much for goodbyes and didn't intend to start now. Instead of watching the tearful partings she moved towards the gates, she knew they'd all get the idea that she was leaving, after a few seconds Ashley ran up and took her hand in hers with Bee keeping pace beside her, Kyami heard the men as they began to fall in line but didn't slow down, she'd told them before not to stay more than five feet behind her and she had no intention of reminding them of that. She knew she'd promised Alice and Claire to keep them safe but if they decided to ignore her rules then they were on their own.
"Mummy?" asked Ashley as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
"Yes angel?"
"Where were you last night? I woke up and you weren't there"
"I'm sorry honey; I went to check the parameter that I put up so that none of the bad people can sneak up on us."
"Oh okay. When are we going back home? I miss Becky and K-Mart," stated Ashley with a small pout
"Well we're going back home today. We found everything we need and more so we'll load everything in the trucks today and head back"
"But won't the trucks make noise and attract the bad people?"
"No sweetheart, I'll take care of that."
"Okay. What's for breakfast?"
"Haha, a one track mind huh? Come here you little munchkin," laughed Kyami.
The laughter of both mother and daughter and the excited barks of Bee could be heard all around as the camp came to life. Most of the men didn't even know that the stoic young lady could laugh as they rarely even saw her smile but this trip had provided them with the opportunity to experience a lot of her previously rare laughter. Everyone chipped in and before long breakfast was prepared and served, they all knew that they'd be heading home that day and were all anxious to get all the supplies packed and head off. When Kyami told them the mode of transportation they'd be using they were skeptical but after they saw her effortlessly move the vehicles with just her mind, they decided to take the chance. Granted a few were even more afraid of her and what she could do.
As they were loading the last supplies into the third truck, two undead appeared around the corner of the hardware but were quickly disposed of silently. The parameter alarms hadn't sounded so Kyami knew that could only mean that they were already in the town, probably had been confined to a building and finally found a way out. With everyone loaded into the trucks except Kyami, they set off. It took them four days to get to the compound as Kyami needed to rest every few hours as she wasn't used to moving so many vehicles at once. She knew the men were probably wondering why she asked them to come along in the first place but the strain of loading, steering and moving the vehicles would have taken too much of a toll on her mind and she would either be stuck moving three vehicles for a few months or making multiple trips with a smaller amount of load.
They were greeted with open arms and shouts of joy. Those who had families were treated to tight hugs and tears of relief that no one had been lost to any undead; the others who lived alone were greeted by their friends and instead of unpacking the trucks, the occupants of the compound gathered for a welcome home feast of sorts. They didn't want to use up too much supplies but it was an occasion that everyone considered worth celebrating.
As she watched the people around her greeting each other, telling jokes and overall just reveling in the joy of being together once more, it brought to Kyami's mind the scores of people who would never get to enjoy this, people who had lost their lives because Umbrella was greedy, people who died because of her. She knew ultimately what she really wanted to do in this dilapidated world; it was going to be her last effort at redemption. She planned to travel the entire globe, searching for survivors and rescuing them. Since she'd been on her own, she'd never once thought of attempting to save anyone, partly because no one had been nice enough to warrant the thought and partly because she'd been spending her time suppressing her guilt and buying into the thought that the world deserved what it'd got because there weren't enough good people in it to justify saving it. Subconsciously she knew she didn't believe wholeheartedly in that philosophy, evidenced by the measures she'd taken to undo what was done. Now that she was older and wiser and seeing the good in the people all around her in the compound, it brought home exactly what she'd missed out on and what she and Umbrella had destroyed.
Sitting there at the table and watching the smile on her daughter's face as she and Becky joked around and looking at the peaceful expression on K-Mart's face. Kyami vowed to do all in her power to right her wrong as much as she was able, even if it meant being away from the people before her for a long time.