Chapter 10 - Faith

We compared each other's reports so that the information matched up.

Agents Redfield and Burton were sent to the hidden Chinese base in Canada, their mission, reckon the area and confirm the arrival of the newest antenna relay device developed by the Chinese to serve in communications, data transferring and high speed satellite connection amongst themselves. An invaluable piece of tech. According to Agent Redfield's infiltration, they discovered that the device would be transported by plane forty eight hours after its arrival, so they were ordered to obtain it right away. After devising a plan, they concluded that at least one more agent would be necessary for its success. That's why I was sent. After obtaining the device, Agent Redfield hacked into its systems to provide us a backdoor into the Chinese intel base to access its contents and send them to headquarters. That's when they discovered the means to enhance the device's relay signal range and sent us to plant it in the radio tower to intercept further information. Because we're already inside their network, it is unknown if they will ever detect us and if they're even able to block our relay or not. For now, the mission is considered accomplished, and we're ordered to return to headquarters immediately.

-/-

I grabbed her arm forcibly. That stopped her. She knew why.

She extended her hand. "Let's go." Said she.

Once at her place, she turned to me and looked me in the eyes. It had been a while since she'd done it. I don't know why, maybe she was afraid of seeing something or letting me see something that, at the time, couldn't be revealed.

"First, tell me about that woman." Said I. "And don't treat me like a kid. You don't have that right."

She exhaled slowly. "We went through a lot together. We were forced to count on each other to survive. At one point, I..." She made a long pause. Her eyes darted to her right. After blinking several times, she returned her glare to me. "I thought I couldn't live without her. I didn't feel at ease if I wasn't near her. I told her that. She felt the same. ...But it didn't work out. We didn't work out. We never... We never did anything, Sherry."

It didn't seem as though she was lying. But I simply didn't believe her anymore, not after she revealed the existence of her other personalities. For all I know, she might be a mythomaniac.

"And what if you're lying to me?" Asked I.

"I guess it's time I show you some proof, then. Come." Said she, walking towards a room. I followed.

Inside a drawer, she retrieved a box. She sat on the bed and patted the space beside her. I obeyed, nervously.

She took my hand in hers and said: "You're not gonna believe this, but I'll show you because I want you to trust me."

She opened the box and took out a single photo among various others. She showed it to me.

The photo depicted Claire herself, and me. A twenty year old me.

-/-

"I don't... I can't... This isn't..." I held my head in my hands. A slight headache was beginning. "This isn't possible!" Said I.

"It's the truth, Sherry, look at me, I can't lie to you." Pleaded Claire.

"No!"

"The reason why I was so happy to see you, the reason why I cried that day... You know, Sherry, you felt it!" She took my hands and set them behind her neck, leveling our faces, she continued. "There are other mes and other yous, there are other worlds with different timelines, different events, different lives. Multiple dimensions."

I shook my head. "My head hurts." Said I. She brought me closer and embraced me.

"You're special. You have the power to cross the space-time. You can even take someone with you. That day on Raccoon City, a version of you saved us." Said she. "But that brought up a whole new array of problems." She added, in a whisper.

Feeling calmer, I asked: "What kind of problems?"

"Well, other dimensions started getting affected, and... some versions of you... simply ceased to exist... And... no, that's all." She looked somber.

"What? Claire, what...? What were you going to say?"

"I'm sorry, Sherry." Said she, reluctantly.

"Claire, tell me! We've come this far! I believe you, I believe everything, so tell me!"

"You're the last one. If I lose you this time... It's over."