Choice
'But dad... rollercoasters are so much more fun.' Chris nags.
'No they're not. They're stupid and scary.' Claire throws back, tightly holding her teddy bear.
Their father sighs. They were standing in the front yard, ready to head out for a family trip to an amusement parc. Though once Chris discovered they weren't going to six flags, he started blaming Claire for it.
Chris' father takes him aside, as Claire sticks out her tongue to him and goes over to her mother, who was packing the car.
'Dad... come on, you said we would.' Chris nags disappointed, as his father crouches in front of him.
His father can't help but smile. Chris takes offence at not being taken seriously and crosses his arms.
'Chris... you know your sister and your mother don't like rollercoasters.' Chris' father looks at him gently.
'Yeah... but...' Chris tries. 'How can we ever do what we want?'
Chris' father bites his lip and thinks for a moment. Then he puts a hand on Chris' shoulder.
'You know what son? Next time, it's just you and me.' Chris' father suggests.
'Really?!' Chris asks excited. His father nods.
'But Chris, this time we do what's best for the team, okay?' Chris' father suggests. Chris takes a moment and then nods. His father ruffles up Chris' short brown hair and he heads to the car, to join the rest of the family. He looks back when Chris doesn't follow him.
'Chris?'
Chris slowly awakes to Piers and Wesker crouching over him. He had been knocked out when the ship threw him against the wall.
'What...' Chris tries, but the boat shakes another time, forcing him to find his balance.
They then hear jitter over the radio as HUNK starts speaking. He sounds haphazard. 'There is a B.O.W. attacking the ship. The same mutation subject Irving endured, but... more advanced.'
'Do you have control over the situation?' Wesker asks.
'For now, yes sir, but we...' HUNK hesitates. 'We believe he's after subject Niva- SHIT!'
The radio cuts out.
Wesker sighs.
'There is a satellite laser targeting system.' Wesker states. He then looks at Chris. 'You've proven to know your way around one, dear heart, so if you'd kindly follow me.' Wesker starts heading for the stairs to the upper cabins, but Chris stops him.
'If it's after Piers-' Chris tries.
'He should stay here.' The blond answers.
'It's okay. I can hold my own.' Piers reassures, agreeing with Wesker.
Chris shakes his head. 'I'm not leaving you behind.' Chris states. The boat then shakes another time, as leaks start springing from the roof, drenching the men beneath it.
'Captain, if you don't take care of that monster, the boat's gonna sink.' Piers stresses.
'I'm staying here and so are you.' Chris commands.
Piers shakes his head. 'You're being reckless again captain.' The cadet shakes Chris off of him and walks towards Wesker. 'We've got to take care of that monster. I'm not going back with them.' Piers demands.
The blond smirks, surprised at the boy's defiance to Chris.
'I guess you have to come with us now. Don't you, dear heart?' Wesker teases.
x
Wesker finds HUNK hold up in the upper cabin. He was wounded and bleeding, positioned against the wall.
Wesker crouches over him and checks the damage.
There was a deep tear in his abdomen, leaking blood. Wesker puts his hand on the wound and an Uroboros tentacle crawls out of his arm. It covers the wound and stops the bleeding.
The blond was then joined by Chris and Piers.
'What happened?!' Chris asks worried, looking at HUNK's silver eyes.
'We can't beat this thing...' HUNK coughs. 'It has no weak points.'
'Chris I need you to get me some medical supplies.' Wesker commands, as to which Chris obeys.
Piers meanwhile looks out of the cabin to the battle that was going on outside.
A gigantic sea monster was fighting off the many Umbrella mercenaries. It was about the size of a skyscraper, latched onto the bow of the ship with its razorsharp teeth. Its skin grey as rock, its motions as smooth as a feline, its power as strong as a volcano.
The mercenaries were bombarding it with explosives and every hit was right on.
But no weapon, grenade or rocket launcher seemed to have any effect.
And with each swipe of the many B.O.W. tendrils, less and less mercenaries were still alive and fighting.
'Where is it?' Piers asks, eyes on the monster, terrified by the thought of being taken away again.
Chris was standing over HUNK, as Wesker had finished tending to the injured man.
Wesker walks up to a keycard reader and with a swipe the targeting weapon revealed itself from behind a metal cover.
The blond grabs it and gives it to Chris. 'I'll distract it, dear heart.' The blond kisses Chris and looks over the Piers for a moment, enjoying the awkward yet somewhat jealous grin on the boy's face. Wesker turns invisible and heads out.
HUNK then stumbles onto his feet and points to a ladder heading up. 'There should be our vantage point.'
Chris nods at HUNK. He then looks at Piers, signalling him to stay here, on the inside.
Piers shakes his head and heads towards the stairs.
Chris sighs frustrated.
'I'll keep an eye on him.' HUNK reassures Chris, to which they head for the stairs.
x
Tendrils were snapping left and right as Wesker broke many of them off. But it seemed the beast grew them back with ease.
It must've been using sea life as an endless supply of growth material.
Chris was standing atop the cabin roof, aiming the targeting system at the mouth of the beast, as HUNK and Piers shoot off any tendril trying to make its way to them.
'LOCKED.' Chris informs HUNK.
'Wesker get out of there now.' HUNK radio's Wesker.
'Affirmative.' Wesker responds.
HUNK gives Chris the go ahead and Chris fires.
A beam of light shoots down from the sky, blinding them in the flash. It was followed by a thunderous clash, booming into the distance.
As the light faded, Chris could slowly see again.
The beast was oozing blood and roared a deafening scream.
It's tendrils start swirling aggressively, now ignoring the mercenaries and heading straight for the cabin roof.
Heading for Piers.
'Piers get back inside!' HUNK urges, and Piers doesn't think twice before he jumps back down into the cabin. HUNK fires his assault rifle at the tendrils, which ignored him and tried to follow Piers down into the cabin.
Chris quickly slams the latch closed, saving Piers.
The beast roars another time, in pain, as its skin starts breaking, many more tendrils spiraling out, enveloping the entire ship. The beast seemed weakened and... desperate.
It was going to drag the entire ship down with it.
Chris aims the satellite laser on the beast again, waiting for a lock.
But just before it does, the boat gets thrown around, almost capsizing it.
HUNK and Chris fall against the fence, trying to hold on, as they see the tendrils smashing against the cabin, eager to break in and capture Piers. They hear people scream and falling into the ocean, quickly consumed by the B.O.W..
'We have to let it take him.' HUNK shouts, as the ship started to sink. He starts crawling upwards, to the latch of the cabin.
Chris shakes his head furiously and grabs HUNK by his leg, stopping his ascend.
HUNK looks back distressed. 'Chris, we're all going to die if that monster doesn't leave.' He argues.
The boat then gets swung around, flinging HUNK and Chris away from and against the metal fence they clung on. It knocks HUNK out as Chris' hears the man's bones snap on impact.
Chris' face grows bleak, seeing HUNK's motionless body. Chris quickly looks around.
Everywhere people were being slaughtered by the almost infinite amount of tendrils, tearing people limb from limb. The boat was sinking fast too, soon leaving all of them vulnerable to whatever hid underneath the ocean surface.
And Wesker...
Chris saw his lover challenging the beast head-on.
He was surviving, but...
He was losing.
'Hunk, Chris. Shoot it. NOW.' Wesker's voice sounded out of Chris' radio.
The brunet saw the blond, standing far below deck, struggling as he dodged another set of tendrils trying to tear at him.
Then he sees Wesker getting caught and tendrils trying to rip him apart. The blond is able to break free, but he seemed exhausted.
Chris felt lifeless as HUNK's words start sinking in, seeing even Wesker wouldn't be able to hold out against this monster.
He looks over to the latch that separated Piers from the tendrils, who were still trying to get it open, yet they were too bulky to grab onto the handle and open it.
No...
Chris cries softly, as he realizes what choice he would have to make.
x
Chris grabbed two cans of beer out of the fridge and headed to Piers, who was sitting on the patio, overlooking the city lit up by moonlight.
They were at Chris' apartment, as the captain had invited his new first-in-command to get to know one-another.
Chris gives Piers a can of beer and sits next to him. He relaxes into his seat.
'Nice view isn't it?' Chris smiles at Piers.
Piers grins back. 'Better than where I come from for sure.'
Chris chuckles. 'Perks of being a so called superhero.' Chris jokes.
But he isn't greeted by a smile. Piers just stares into the night.
'Something up, Ace?' The captain asks.
Piers remains silent for a moment.
He then sighs.
'When I first joined, you told me you see us as family.' Piers says. 'You said it's because we trust each other with our lives and that we'll never leave anyone behind.'
The young cadet looks at his captain. 'You knew it wouldn't be like that.' Piers jabs. 'It's like you throw us a fairytale story, making sure we do what's necessary, but in the end we're still just soldiers. A means to serve a greater purpose and therefore expendable.' Piers sighs.
Chris was awfully quiet, listening to his cadet. He takes a deep breath and puts his can of beer away.
'You know Piers, this is why I put you in second-of-command.' Chris admits. 'It's because you see beyond the comradery. You see that sometimes what's best means making an impossible choice. One you'll regret for the rest of your life, no matter what you decide to do.'
Piers looks at his captain, nervous. There seemed to be a deeper fear in his eyes, one Chris hadn't noticed before, but he knew what it meant.
'How do you live with those choices?' Piers asks quietly.
'You can't.' Chris admits. 'But we have to, if we want to keep the world safe.'
x
Chris starts crying and smashes the deck beneath him. Then he grits his teeth and stretches his arm towards the latch, which was out of his reach. Uroboros tentacles start bursting out of his arm, spiraling towards the latch.
The tendrils smashing at the latch stop, almost aware of Chris' intent.
Chris' Uroboros almost reaches the handle, but the brunet needs more.
He cries in pain, as Uroboros bursts out of his back, shoulders and neck, all joining the dark mass at his arm.
They swirl around Chris' extended tentacles, reaching the end in a dancing motion, grappling onto the handle.
I'm so sorry...
I'm so sorry Piers...
Chris cries, as he turns the handle making the latch open into the captain's cabin.
The tendrils of the B.O.W. quickly enter and Chris hears Piers fight against them.
He hears him cry, not wanting to be taking away.
And then he hears nothing, as the tendrils drag Piers' motionless body back out of the latch, away from Chris. Away from the boat.
The wounded B.O.W. roars and quickly retreats, all of the tendrils retracting into the sea, disappearing under the mysterious surface.
And just like that, it was gone.
Gone like Piers.
Gone like the man Chris used to be.
Emptiness...
Only a shell laid there on the roof of the cabin.
A shell of guilt and shame.
One that would never forgive himself for what he had just done.
Never.