Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil, Capcom does.
8-year old Angela Ashford was having the time of her life, getting dizzy on the merry-go-around. Spinning in circles, everything felt whoozy as she held herself tightly to the handlebars, but she only cared about having fun while she saw her Daddy looking on from a distance. It was a sunny midsummer afternoon, the sun shining brightly and people seeking coolness in the shadows of the trees.
She saw Daddy in what was called a wheelchair, waving at her. He was bound to what Angela thought of as this silly looking vehicle, because his legs didn't work somehow. Angela didn't know how or why, which was why her Daddy's condition puzzled her. Maybe she could ask about it later when she's done playing.
The playground was spinning around as Angela got off the merry-go-around, her legs feeling wobbly. It took a while to get accostumed to solid ground beneath her feet. She soon regained her balance, though, and ran towards Daddy.
"Daddy Daddy push me on the swings", Angela yelled and gave her father a hug.
"Okay, but not too long", her Daddy said, "Okay, Angie?"
Angela nodded smiling and cheerfully ran towards the swings, her Daddy steadily wheeling himself behind her. Everytime, being pushed on the swings by Daddy was special, because this was one of only a few things that they could do together, instead of Daddy only sitting by in his wheelchair.
"I want to go high", Angela said and sat down on one of the swings.
"Okay, just hold on tight", Daddy instructed.
With that, Angela felt the strong hands of her Daddy pushing her forwards, then wheeling himself back again and repeating the same cycle once she came swinging back. Angela felt herself swinging higher and higher with every push Daddy gave her, pumping her legs out then in. It felt wonderfabulous, like flying without wings. Like there was no gravity pulling her down. Angela screamed till there was no more air left, giggling like mad in the bright sunlight of this warm midsummer day. It just felt amazing.
After a while, Angela could almost touch the sky as the swinging set shook a little with every swing. A cloud had moved in front of the sun, yet it still felt like there was no tomorrow. Daddy was gone. Maybe he was getting her ice cream, maybe he'd gone to the toilet. Angela didn't know. He'd be back soon, she imagined. Hence the reason why she continued swinging, getting as high as the clouds, as she wanted to make this feeling last forever.
Swinging down, Angela suddenly felt a weird tingling feeling in her legs. Like sparks of electricity made their way from her toes up to her waist. She tried to pump her legs in as she swung over the ground, but her legs didn't move. Moving forward again, she tried to pump her legs out, but that didn't work either. Angela was confused. Why all of a sudden didn't her legs work the way they were supposed to? What was happening? She closed her eyes, hoping the tingling feeling would go away. However, it didn't. It only seemed to become worse.
Angela became scared as dark clouds were looming above her, hiding the sun and casting everything in darkness. Whatever she tried to do, her legs didn't move not even a bit.
"Daddy?" Angela looked around, but Daddy was nowhere in sight. Neither was anyone else as the whole playground was vacant.
Angela was beginning to panick as she was getting higher and higher on the swings. She didn't feel anything in her legs, which terrified her. It felt like the feeling was sucked out of her legs somehow, and she had no choice but to keep sitting on the swing, moving back and forth in a continuous cycle. It was terrifying, especially since she couldn't use her legs in case she fell off the swing. She firmly held onto the ropes, afraid of tumbling off. Why was this happening to her? What was happening to her legs? Why didn't she feel anything? The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Angela screamed in terror.
Looking down, a frantic Angela saw her legs dangling loosely with the swing's movement. She wouldn't dare hopping off the swing, afraid of getting hurt, yet continuing to sit wasn't an option either. What was happening to her? What was wrong with her legs? Where's Daddy? She needed him so much right now.
"Daddy! Help me!" Angela screamed to her heart's content, yet there was no reply.
Holding tightly onto the ropes, Angela screamed in terror, squeezing her eyes shut. She felt terrified, hoping this moment would go away quickly. The most fantastic feeling she had earlier had been replaced with being scared out of her mind. Holding her eyes squeezed shut, she just hoped this was a really bad nightmare.
And then, all of a sudden, it felt like gravity vanished and a weird sensation coursed throughout her, like she fell off the swing or something.
"Daddy!" Angela screamed as she sat upright in bed.
Gasping for air, Angela quickly noticed that everything was dark, the moon shining through the curtains. She was wearing pyjamas and she was in her own safe bed.
"Angie, what is it?" she heard her Daddy's muffled voice behind the door.
Realizing she had just woken up from a nightmare, a frantic Angela quickly climbed out of bed, glad to have the feeling in her legs back, and got to the door, opening it. Apparently, Daddy had heard her screaming for him in her nightmare, as he was right there behind the door, sitting in his wheelchair. She immediately dug her face into her Daddy's shoulder, starting to cry and climbing onto Daddy's lap.
"Did you have a nightmare again?" Daddy asked.
Angela nodded while keeping her face burried into her Daddy's warm shoulder. A comforting hand was laid down on her back, padding her.
"It's going to be alright", her Daddy tried to calm the little girl down, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise you that."
Sobbing and crying, Angela kept sitting on her Daddy's lap while being comforted by him. She hated having nightmares. Especially nightmares about her legs going numb, which had been occurring alot lately. Maybe they had something to do with the injections she had to take during the day, maybe it had something to do with her finding out more about the Umbrella Corporation, Daddy's boss, the other day. Maybe it was both. Fact was that she hated having nightmares, even so much that she regretted finding out more about Umbrella if that was the cause.
Angela was glad that Daddy would always be there and he wouldn't go anywhere. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't know what to do right now. Hence the reason why she felt relief wash over her as she cried her heart out on Daddy's lap. He would always be there and he wasn't going anywhere. She could rely on that forever. Daddy was the one she could count on in her time of need. Whatever happened, she just needed him. Just Daddy.
Foggy breaths were escaping Angela's mouth as she continued to shiver heavily and chatter her teeth. The freezing coldness felt like hell, especially since she was barely wearing anything to keep her warm. Her legs being paralyzed, the naked people inside the ice cubes around her, herself only wearing a white blanket and nothing else; it felt like pure and utter hell. Still, she kept trying to remember, even though her mind continued to draw a blank. What happened to her? That's what she wanted to figure out.
"I wonder what happened to her", Angela pondered.
"Who?" Alice asked, stroking the girl's hair as Angela rested her head against her chest.
"Jill", Angela replied, "If Umbrella got to me, then they have her too."
"What makes you say that?"
"Last I remember, she was in the car with me when we crashed", Angela pointed out, "Next I woke up here. No doubt that they also retrieved her from the car. Bastards!"
"I know", Alice tried to be calm, still she was just as angry as Angela was.
For the past hour and a half, Chris hadn't returned yet. Alice wondered what took him so long. Finding some clothes didn't take this long, now did it? Then another thought came to mind. What if he had encountered an undead? Shaking off the thought, Alice sighed, her breath condensating immediately. She shuddered from the cold.
After calming Angela down for what felt like an eternity, the both of them just sat there. The loss of the feeling in Angela's legs had been devestating, to say the least. Never in a million years did Alice think that Umbrella would take away one's ability to walk. Still it happened, which made her furious. After finding out, Angela just couldn't be calmed down. She kept crying, and Alice was there to dry her tears. It was like a nightmare to her. A nightmare from which she couldn't escape. She was just stuck and there was nothing in the world that would even be close enough to repair the damage. It was just devestating to see her like this. Damn Umbrella and their fucking experiments!
In the mean time, Alice had wrapped the white blanket around Angela's body to keep her warm, holding her close to share some body heat and comfort her. The hallway they were in was freezing cold. It felt like they were on the north pole. Hell, even Alice herself needed some body heat to stay warm. Still, they needed to stay put. Going out there without back-up wouldn't be such a good idea. What if there were zombies out there? She wouldn't endanger Angela even more, especially now she couldn't walk. So they had to stay inside the cargo hold, where they'd be safe.
"What keeps him so long?" Alice sighed.
"Who? Chris?" Angela asked, "I thought he was only going to get me some clothes."
"I guess it took him longer than I thought", Alice said.
However, that was when they both heard the door to the cargo hold slowly opening, which made them both turn their curious heads towards the sound. However, nothing could be seen entering the room, which made them both suspicious.
"What was that?" Angela said.
Alice was immediately on high alert. Something in the way the door opened seemed untrustworthy. It opened too quietly for a human to pass through. And along with the fact that they both didn't see anyone, seemed too much of a coincidence. Drawing her gun, Alice stood up, letting Angela sit on the floor as the girl put one hand on the floor behind her back while the other held the blanket against her chest.
"Just stay put", Alice warned as she steadily made her way towards the door, her gun drawn out in front of her.
Slowly passing by the icecubes, Alice grew nervous. Obviously, Chris wasn't the one entering the cargo hold. So who else did they share this room with? An undead? An Umbrella-employee? Even though neather had been seen so far on this ship? Who could it be? Maybe he, or she, would be waiting behind one of the ice cubes, about to jump out and scare the living shit out of her? Alice only hoped against it.
A low moaning sound could be heard, echoing off the walls. A clear indication that an undead was around. Only the question was: Where? Where was it hiding its rotten face?
"Alice, I'm scared", Angela whispered as to not to attract the zombie, shrinking a little on the floor.
A careful Alice, however, kept her focus on whatever surprises were waiting ahead. She didn't want to be in for something horrible to happen as the adrenaline coursed through her bloodstream. So she stayed quiet, keeping her attention on her goal. She didn't want to lose her focus, especially now. Everything was quiet, except for the moaning, which sounded louder and louder as Alice continued to walk. She was getting closer. She could feel it. It would only be a matter of time before she found it. Only a short while before it would show itself to her.
However, the next few minutes were crucial. All of a sudden, a dark shadow appeared on Alice's left side, scaring the living shit out of her. Turning around, she quickly aimed the gun at the undead that was lunging for her. However, a clicking sound made her realise the gun was out of ammo.
"Shit!"
Alice fell to the floor, the zombie on top of her. Her survival instinct kicking in, she struggled while the zombie tried to take a chunk clean right out of her neck. The gun was knocked out of her hand, skidding over the cold floor. With all of her strength, Alice tried to keep the blood-stained mouth away from her. The zombie, though, was very strong and not easily overthrown as it craved for her flesh. Which was why the struggle continued, both parties trying to get what they wanted.
"Alice!" Angela screamed as she fell on the floor, her legs unable to use, and started to crawl her way over.
Keeping the blanket around her body with one hand and pulling herself forwards over the floor with the other hand, it wasn't easy to move around. Especially since she was numb from the waist down, Angela had a hard time reaching Alice. Damn paralysis! Still she tried, her teeth clenched together as she groaned everytime her body slided over the freezing floor. It hurt like hell, still she had to save Alice from the undead's clutches.
Grabbing the zombie by the throat, Alice attempted to keep herself from being bitten. Yet it wasn't easy. Despite her powers, she still had trouble throwing the undead off of her. The struggle continued, the zombie trying to overpower her. From the corner of her eye, Alice saw Angela nearing her.
"Angie, no!" Alice yelled as she used all of the power in her body to keep the zombie away from her.
This was pure survival. The zombie trying to take a chunk clean out of her and Alice on the other hand trying to keep herself from being bitten. This was the moment of truth, the moment in which it would be a matter of life and death. With all of her strength, Alice tried to hold onto life as good and as bad as she could while the undead tried everything it could to feast on a fresh piece of meat. To Alice, the struggle seemed to last for hours. Until something happened...
Just as it seemed like Alice was about to lose the fight, gunshots all of a sudden rang out, echoing off the frozen walls. It sounded like thunder. Someone had entered the room. Someone with a smoking gun...
Next, it soon dawned on Alice that the undead wasn't moving anymore. Like a strike of lightning, the undead all of a sudden stopped trying to attack her as it went limp on top of her, like its battery had died or something. Feeling the litteral dead weight of the zombie weighing down on her, Alice sighed out of relief. Finally, the fight was over. And that only because someone shot it. Worried that Angela might've also been hit, Alice looked to her left. Angela seemed unharmed, though, which was much to her relief. Still she wanted to know who shot the undead.
Throwing the undead off of her, Alice looked in the direction the gunshot came from and saw Chris hurrying over to where she was, reaching out his hand to her.
"Are you alright?" a worried Chris asked.
"You're back", Alice let out a sigh of relief, breathing heavily from the fight. As she was brought to her feet by him, Alice was glad to finally see him return.
"Of course. Looked like you needed some help."
"Did you find anything?" Alice asked as she looked past Chris to see the 2 suspicious looking men standing behind him. Both had the Umbrella-logo on their left chests, indicating them to be Umbrella employees. One of them, she noticed, had reddish brown hair and the other had darkblonde hair.
"Not yet" Chris replied as he turned toward's Alice's point of interest.
"What's going on? Who are they?" Alice raised her angry voice as she looked in Steve and Kevin's direction.
A million questions floated around in Alice's confused and angry mind as her blood pressure started to boil. Why the hell would Chris bring Umbrella employees along? Why for God's sake? Was he stupid or something? Didn't he know that she hated Umbrella? What the hell was he thinking, taking them here? And for curiosity's sake, didn't he also hate Umbrella for what they'd done to his sister? So why the hell did he do this? Why? That was all Alice wanted to know.
Despite the relief Alice felt to finally find some survivors aboard the ship, anger boiled up inside of her seeing these Umbrella employees. They had no right to live! Not after what they'd done to Angela! She was furious at them. They should be punished. She would take care of that. That was for sure. They should burn in hell for all she cared. Their names didn't even matter. She just wanted them gone. Permanently!
Slowly but surely, a furious Alice focused her energy on the one with the darkblonde hair. She just wanted to destroy Umbrella, and using her powers on this guy was a nice way to start getting revenge on them. With all of the powers she possessed, Alice used her powers on the darkblonde guy. She wanted him and his friend gone, even if she had to kill them. She just wanted to get rid of them. Murder them if she had to. They didn't deserve to live. Not after all the lives they destroyed for the sake of science. Anger coursed through her veins as she used her telekinesis on this guy.
The darkblonde guy stopped dead in his tracks, having a confused look on his face as he looked at his feet. His muscles seemed to have stopped functioning, which was exactly Alice's goal. He suddenly couldn't move a muscle. Hence the confused look on his face. To him, it felt like there was something preventing him from taking the next step, which caused him to start freaking out. He looked up at the others, panick in his eyes. It felt like an invisible force was preventing him from moving or something. Definitely not a thing he seemed to enjoy, which was much to Alice's delight as she began to smirk.
Just as Chris was about to introduce the strangers, Alice used her telekinesis to lift the darkblonde guy off the ground and into the air. Everyone took notice.
"What's going on?" the darkblonde guy panicked as he got lifted off into the air.
Frightened, the others just looked on. Floating about 5 feet in the air, the stranger noticed the darkblonde woman who was staring intently at him with a devilish smirk on her face. Was she the one doing this? Nah, that would be impossible. No one would even be capable of doing this, especially not this woman. No way someone would be able to do anything like this, though he was about 5 feet above the floor, which puzzled him to no end. What was happening to him? However, before he could even try to figure it out, he began to fly through the air and got slammed into a wall, rendering him almost unconscious. Blood streamed down a wound on his forehead as he got turned around and got pinned to the wall.
"What the hell are you doing?" an angry Chris yelled at Alice, knowing that Alice was the only one capable of doing this.
"Don't you see? I'm killing him", Alice explained in the calmest of ways and focused even more on the darkblonde guy, which resulted in him starting to make choking sounds.
"Just stop it!", Chris yelled, horrified.
"Why?" Alice asked back, "What the hell were you thinking, bringing them here? Look at what they've done to Angie!"
Slowly but surely, it seemed like the life was slowly squeezed out of the guy on the wall. A horrific sight, yet Alice kept her focus as she badly wanted to kill this guy. Fury seemed to consume every fiber of her being. This man would suffer for what he'd put Angie through. He would suffer badly. Finally, it was time to avenge everything the Umbrella Corporation had done to her.
"I thought you and I were on the same side, Chris", Alice said furiously.
Chris walked up to Alice and looked her straight in the eyes. This had to stop. They needed Kevin to fly them out of here. With him dead, the chances of entering Tokyo were slim at best. So they needed him alive. He didn't need Alice to choke the life out of him, even if he understood where she was coming from. No, they needed him to take them to Tokyo. Otherwise, they should just forget about it and their whole journey here would've been a waste.
"Listen to me", Chris told her intently, "You can't kill him. We need him."
"Yeah, and why is that?" Alice asked furiously, yelling.
"Because he's a chopper pilot. He can take us out of here", a yelling Chris continued to explain, "Come on. What's more important? Killing him or getting revenge against Umbrella?"
"Why should you care?" Alice yelled, "They killed your sister, for God's sake!"
"Don't you think I know?" Chris yelled, "That why I'm going after something bigger than this!"
Alice started to doubt. Should she kill this guy or not? After all, Chris had a point there. What good would it do if she killed the one person that could take them to Tokyo? Especially after Chris' plan sounding better than what Alice originally had in mind, going after the big bosses definitely sounded like a better idea. An idea worth thinking about. If killing a chopper pilot would risk getting revenge against all of Umbrella, then why not let him live and kill him once they get to Umbrella's HQ? Why not?
"Please!", Chris pleaded.
Alice sighed. Despite the anger that fueled every fiber of her body, Chris' plan made sense. They needed this darkblonde guy to fly them away from this ship. That was the only way to enter Tokyo safely. Which was why, eventually, Alice released her hold over the guy, letting him breath and putting him on the floor again. The guy immediately sat down in his confused state, coughing and breathing heavily from the shock of almost getting killed by a woman. He didn't have the slighest idea of what had happened to him.
"Thank you", relief was in Chris' sighing voice.
"Don't. Just don't", Alice warned in disgust and walked towards Angela in order to tend to her, breathing heavily from the use of her powers.
With that, Chris just stood there as he watched Steve walking up to Kevin, who was still sitting dazed on the floor. Somehow, his plan just had to work. It just had to. Otherwise, it would all be for nothing. For a moment, Chris had felt like his plan was going to fail if Alice had indeed killed Kevin. But now that she'd let him live, things were looking up again. If only his plan worked the way it was supposed to, then there would be nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.
Author's note: After a long time of being absent, here I am again with a brand new chapter. I just needed to take a break from all the writing I've been doing for the first half of this year, and now here I'm back to finish this story once and for all. However, I won't be updating this story as often as I've done before, so you have to be a little more patient if you're already waiting for the next chapter. I can't tell you when I'll be updating again, so I'm kinda leaving you guys in the dark there. But I can already promise you that there'll be a few more chapters to come. So just be patient...
Meanwhile, what did you think of this chapter? Pretty exciting, right? And this is only the beginning of the end as there's a whole lot more coming. I mean, Alice not trusting Kevin and Steve, Chris having a bigger plan and Angela not being able to walk: It all sounds promising, doesn't it? Or do you not agree with me? Cause you gotta tell me when you do. It's alright, I can take the heat (as long as it's brought in a kind way ;)), so don't hold back. Maybe you can even review this chapter? It would mean the world to me as it'll be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.