New update. I hope you guys enjoy it. Somethings may be a little confusing, but bear with me. There's a reason for them.

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Claire

The feelings that Claire was having at the moment were too complicated for her to even try to describe them with words. For a minute, she wondered if this wasn't one of those lucid dreams she had every once in a while when she felt a little more like herself and she could remmeber little bits of her life.

"This time it is real" she thought "I am not making it up."

...but how long with it last?

The little voice in her mind whispered and as much as Claire hated to admit it, the voice was more or less, right. She didn't know if her mind would get messed up again the next time she woke up or if she would wake up with no memories again.

She was grateful that Chris had a notepad and a pen in his utility belt . Why on earth would Chris have it was beyond her, but she couldn't help but make a teasing comment about it. It'd been centuries since the last time she done it.

"You keep this on your utility belt? What do you use it for? Ninja origami stars when you ran out of grenades or kinfe-pen stabbing when you're out of ammo?"

"Very funny…" he said with an offended glare that she knew too well to be fake.

Claire took the pieces of stationary and set them on her eating table and began writing. It had become a habit of hers during the past month in the asylum. She had kept a journal in which she wrote all the things she was afraid to forget when her mind decided to become a scrambled mess. That way, the next time she became a clear in her mind, all she had to do was reading her journal and catch up with the things she might have forgotten.

'We are home….this is real. This Chris is real…' she wrote down in the notepad a couple times to emphasize it. She made sure to write every little thing she considered important; hoping that, perhaps, she wouldn't need it.

She was so busy writing that she didn't notice the door of the room opening and the two people that had just walked in.

"Claire?"

Upon hearing her name, she finally raised her head from the notepad and was greeted by a set of clear eyes staring at her shocked. Leon's dumbfounded expression had made her smile. When was the last time she'd seen that look in his face?

Their conversation went on smooth and naturally; and she found some comfort in the fact that they were exactly the way she remembered them to be. Sometimes she wasn't sure how much of what she remembered was real and how much was made up by her muddled up mind.

When Chris had jolted against her request to be returned home, she hadn't been that surprised; in fact, she had expected it and she knew he might have been right; but she had a bad feeling about this virus and what it might have done to her body. She couldn't rest at ease until she figured out what that thing was.

And then Leon had figured out about her little anonymous jobs with the BSAA and DSO; sometimes he was too smart for his own good. Naturally, Chris wasn't happy and neither was she when Hopkins and Adams had approached her three years ago. They had looked through her background, battle and academic wise and they had originally offered her a place in Rebecca's research team. Something she had immediately declined, the two men deserved a prize for perseverance, though. After some calls and negotiations, Claire had eventually agreed to help as their "support" team; however, only under her conditions: she would choose her team, work on her own place and they would be kept anonymous. The last thing she needed was getting unnecessary attention on herself or her colleagues.

That's how her little secret job had began. For the past 3 years, she and her little team had managed to profile many viral and non viral agents causing panic around the world, some that included variations of progenitor virus. The data they obtained was used as base to the development of antivirals, antibiotics and vaccines. Eventually, they had gained the name of "tipsters".

She had wanted to tell Chris and her friends all about it, but they had enough things to handle already. There was no need to put another stone on their backs if she could help it.

After a while, Chris had eventually agreed to her request and he and Saya had left prepare her eventaual departure. After months of in a strange place that held memories that she could barely recollect, she would finally return home.

"Well, that went better than expected" she thought while she tried to fix the hair strands that his dear brother had, so kindly, messed up.

The strands were being rebellious and refusing to go back in place, one of the bad perks from her short hair. She tried to recall when or why she had the auburn locks cut, but the memories seemed to be somewhere lost in her mind. She was so focused on that little task that she didn't notice Leon's hand combing her hair softly.

His sudden touch made her flinch and an unwelcomed flashback hit her. She saw a tiled room smelling like disinfectant and a bright surgical lamp. Her arms had been tightly bound to a cold steel bed and she was feeling dizzy and lost. She could hear a unknown voice talking softly; a man, whose face was blurred, was caressing her head and then, she heard the drill…

Claire shook her head trying to push the memories away. She couldn't remember what happened then, but when she woke up - as herself- some days later, she realized her hair had been cut. She felt a shudder ran down her back and she looked at the blonde man. Leon was looking at her puzzled.

"Sorry…"she replied quickly seeing Leon's look "...bad memories…"

"My bad..." he apologised "...kind of did it on impulse. Do you need something?"

"Not for now, I think I am as good as could be…"

Suddenly the light in the room flickered and Claire felt her heart skip a beat. She looked at the ceiling and paled. She had a bad feeling in her gut; darkness always carried a bad omen. That was something she could still remember.

"That's weird…" Leon said "It…"

But she never got to know what it was because all the lights went off leaving them with only the dim light coming from the red glowing lamps from the corridor outside. Claire paled and for a few seconds, she was no longer sitting on a bed in a normal hospital, but trying to survive in the darkness of endless corridors haunted by monster. She automatically reached for Leon's arm and tried to find comfort in the solidity of it between her fingers. She wasn't alone...Leon was here and he was real; not a ghostly image made up by her desperate mind.

Don't let it get you...don't let it get you…

Leon had noticed her tension and the blonde agent was looking at her in a expression that she guessed was concern and questioning.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't…" she mumbled "I don't like it when it is dark."

She could tell Leon was surprised. Of course he would be, Her "old" self hadn't been scared of the dark; but after all the horrors she had lived and seen in the darkness, she had learned to fear it with all her heart. She might not remember where she had been or what things she was done while in there, clearlu; but she remembered the tragedies that the shadows carried.

"Don't worry, it is probably a blackout. The energy will come back soon…"

She wanted to believe him, but she the bad feeling in her gut was growing and bubbling like boiling water. Maybe she was been a paranoid; perhaps Leon was right and this was just a normal blackout; but why she felt like it wasn't? She had had this sensation before.

You know it isn't just a black out...just listen…

Claire froze. A high pitched hiss pierced through her ears making her shrink in pain as she covered her ears. She knew Leon wouldn't hear it; that sound was something only she could hear and she desperately hoped that she hadn't. It was an unwelcomed memory of grotesque fisgures lurking in the dark, preying and waiting to attack.

Panic began to built up inside her. She could sense her breathing becoming difficult and her mind turning foggy. She was losing herself again, falling into a ghostly memory that she couldn't remember well. She couldn't fall into it, she had to warn Leon before it was too late. She had to warn Chris...she had to warn them all; she couldn't let it take control…

We can do it...

"Claire? What's wrong…?"

"Oh my god…" she crie out " they are here…."

"They? Who?"

Claire turned to Leon and with a trembling voice she answered.

"The demons…"

She felt herself starting to stifle. Her panic was preventing her from breathing properly and the lack of oxygen was making her head hazy. It wasn't the moment for her to lose her cool. Those things were close and she knew, for sure, that neither Leon nor Chris knew how to deal with them. She had survived to them before, never killed them, but survive. That was more than anything.

Don't let it take control….fight it….

Suddenly, Claire felt someone grabbing her shoulders and shake her lightly. It was Leon, his voice crawled into her head making the fog disappear little by little.

"Claire….Claire...Listen to me. I need you to breath…"the voice sounded distant at first, but it was slowly growing stronger "Claire...come on, breath with me…."

Claire held onto his arm and did as he told her. Slowly, the fogginess vanished and she felt like herself again as the oxygen began to reach her brain. Her grip of Leon tightened.

"Leon...we need to go. They're here...close. It's dangerous...we need to leave…"

Leon was visibly confused by her words. SHe could tell even if the features of his face were hard to make under the red light.

"Claire, what are you talking about?"

"You need to believe me...they are here…"

"Who are…?"

Leon's question was never finished. A loud crash followed by horrified screams echoed from somewhere near them. Leon was immediately on his feet in full agent mode with his handguns ready. Claire stared at the door horrified. It was too late, the monsters were already there. She should have known from the start, but perhaps her senses had gotten a bit clouded by the joy of being back with her family.

"Stay here…" he whispered "I'm going to check…"

"No…" Claire automatically said pulling from his arm "Don't… stay here with me..."

"It's fine…" Leon said trying to calm her "Just stay here, okay? I'll come back for you when I make sure it's safe"

Claire wanted to stop him, but Leon was already by the door before she could anything. The man stood in front of it and pulled it open slowly. His handgun was raised in front of him as he stepped through the door and checked both sides of the corridor.

Claire looked over his shoulder. The corridor was dark, but the emergency lights were on and she couldn't decide whether it was creepier that way or when it was totally dark. The red light made the corridor look as if was covered in blood and that made shudder.

Leon walked away a few steps and Claire held her breath as she saw him disappear behind the wall. She had the urge to run after him and drag him back into the room, but she held back.

"No point on running after him. If those thing are around they'll just hear us…"she thought.

Claire shook her head and took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves. After a while, she suddenly heard something that chilled to her bones: a hollow breathing and a dragging sound that she had heard too many times before.

A part of her told her to run and hide, but Leon was out there, completely unaware of the monster that was slowly getting closer. She stepped into the corridor as silently as she could, something that wasn't too difficult considering she was well practiced on it. She caught on Leon's dark shape a few meters from her; he was examining his surroundings.

The dragging sound was getting closer and she could almost hear the creatures growls over her shoulder. Swallowing up her fears, Claire ran behind Leon hoping that she wasn't doing enough noise to caught the monsters attention. Leon was visibly shocked by her sudden arrival, but Claire grabbed his arm and covered his mouth before he could say something. She shook her head and signaled him to stay quiet. She then looked behind her; the creature wasn't visible yet, but she could tell that it was close by.

As long as they stayed quiet, they could easily stay in the corridor, but Leon didn't know these creatures and she wouldn't risk it. She looked around and found the reception desk a few steps from them; she signaled Leon and pulled him behind it and crouched . It was a nice hiding spot compared to the ones she was used to.

She could see Leon's questioning look under the dim red light, but she shook her head and signaled him to stay quiet. She would tell him later, once that talking wouldn't get them killed. Slowly, she peeked from over the table and she saw Leon imitating her.

She was greeted by an upleasant view: the creature had a humanoid form; its pale skin reflected the red lights of the corridor giving it a bloody look. It's back curved into a large hump and the long arms ended in black claws fell over its side; one of them carried, between it's long fingers, the remains of what Claire assumed was, at some point, an unfortunate nurse.

Like others from its kind, the creature had no face, only a wide mouth that divided its "face" vertically in the center. Inside it, there were two rows of sharp shark like teeth that could easily crush bone and tear flesh.

The creature raised its head and began tilting it from side to side. Claire knew that gesture, the monster was listening: trying to catch the sound of any possible prey in the vicinity. She saw Leon intending to pick up his gun, but Claire stopped him and shook her head. He was no ready for this fight and neither was her.

"Go away….go away...there's nothing here for you. Just go away…."

She chanted the words silently in her head. The monster suddenly let out a guttural roar that made her flinch. It dropped the body it'd been carrying and with an awful speed, it ran through the corridor and disappeared from view.

It had probably heard some poor victim's cries for help somewhere else. Claire felt a thug in her throat knowing that there was nothing she could do to save those people; she had learned that lesson that hardway. Slowly she crouched back behind the desk and sat down trembling on the floor as the sense of deja vú was making her lose her grip of reality and ghost voice began to scream in her head: "Claire! Help me!" "RUN RUN RUN…." "Oh my, god….it's coming…."

The voices weren't familiar, but at the same time, she knew she knew them. The words didn't make any sense either, and she figured they were probably fragments of different memories. She hadn't realized she was hugging her knees strongly until Leon had gently pushed her back and loosened her hands.

She looked at him and with a quick movement she wrote on Chris's notepad:

"I'm sorry...we better avoid talking for now…"

Leon read the words with a frown. He then picked out his phone and typed on it before showing her the screen.

"You know that thing?"

Claire bit her lip and nodded slowly. She then wrote again.

"Kind of do. They are blind, but they are good tracking loud noises. We can avoid them aslong as we stay quiet…"

Leon read her explanation with conflicted eyes, before writing down a reply.

"New B.O.W , isn't it?"

Claire nodded.

"We need to warn Chris…."

Leon nodded. He then began typing in the phone once more and after a few minutes, he showed Claire the screen again. It was a message from Chris.

REDFIELD: Damn B.O.W.s , thanks for telling us. We'll figure a way to take them down without making too much noise if that makes any sense.

Take care of Claire. If anything happens to her, you can kiss that pretty face goodbye.

Claire couldn't help but smile. She gesture Leon to see if she could use the phone and Leon passed it to her. It'd been long since she had touched a thing like this, but she began to write as fast as she could.

Chris, this is Claire. I am using Leon's phone. Try to avoid conflict if you can. As long as you stay quiet, they can't find you. They are photosensitive; there are only few hours left before the sunrise. If we can lure them out when the sun is out, they are done.

Stay Safe, Brother. Don't go playing the hero. You're not ready for this fight yet.

Claire hit the send button and returned the phone to his owner. Leon immediately wrote her a message.

"We can't stay. We need to move out…"

And she could agree more.

"Rooftop. If we can stay there until the sun rises. We'll be ok; but we need to be sneaky. I don't know how many of them are here."

Leon nodded.

"We are close to the rooftop. We can make it."

Claire nodded. She stood up looking around the place. It was deserted and messy. The remains of the nurse laid on the ground in a bloody mass. The duo made their way out from their hiding spot and began walking down the hallway. Claire was on her toes, not only because of the creatures that she knew where lurking in the building, but because the darkness. Each step she gave took a lot of effort and sometimes she had close her eyes, because she could feel something stalking her from the murkiness. She had memories of dark endless corridors made of damp and cold stone; they stunk of blood and death. Some things she couldn't remember, but the fear, the horror and all those unpleasant feelings she had in that place were deeply carved in her.

Suddenly she felt a thug on her hand and she opened her eyes. Leon was staring at her. He had grabbed her hand and held it firmly in a comforting way. She didn't know how, but Leon had seen her uneasyness. Claire felt him squeeze her hand as he nudged his head pointing ahead and she nodded.

At least, this time, she wasn't alone anymore.