-Learn to Live Again-
Dawn was breaking when Chris opened his eyes. Claire and Leon were still asleep, Krauser was no longer on the roof with them, and it seemed Wesker had yet to return. Eva was wide awake and appeared to be watching him sleep. She smiled when his eyes found hers. He was thrown off by finding the girl who was so recently the subject of his thoughts the previous night, being the first thing he saw in the morning.
I could get used to waking up to her beautiful face.
He pretended he didn't think that.
"You're up early," he said, pointing out the obvious. "Couldn't sleep?"
"Nah, too many thoughts running through my head."
"Understandable. A lot has happened. And it's not like a concrete rooftop makes the best bed."
Eva scooted over to sit beside him. "Do you think Melody will be okay?"
The question unexpected, he stood to awaken fully. He did much better with thinking when he wasn't extremely exhausted or half-asleep. Once he was properly alert and oriented, the reality of Melody's predicament soaked in. Chris would rather not answer but he knew she wouldn't let this particular question slide. Melody had become a sort of friend to them during the time she was with them. Eva had a right to hear the truth.
"I don't know. I really don't know. Ada tends to work for shady characters. Hell, she worked for your father at one point. If she handed Melody over to some other corporation that has a twisted fascination with illegal experimentation..."
He trailed off, letting his lack of vocalization tell the rest. She heard what he wasn't saying aloud and looked away, staring at a sky covered in clouds. He looked with her.
The clouds were dark. It was colder up here than it was earlier. Bad weather appeared imminent, the dawn concealed behind increasing gloom.
Every time there was a storm it rekindled bad memories. During the time of the mansion incident in 1998, it had been storming most of the night. His demeanor became morose at this line of thinking. The life he knew held a lot of events he wished never happened. One couldn't choose what did or did not happen. There were facts in life and they could be downright painful.
Eva adopted a look of thoughtfulness. "Whatever happened to that cop? I can't remember seeing her on our way out."
Sudden guilt stung worse than the brewing storm. Chris hadn't thought about Detective Taylor until this very moment. She helped them out and saved Melody's life. Whatever it may be worth now that Melody had been taken captive by another, the cop killed her own partner to protect a group of strangers. She put herself at risk, yet he didn't consider her survival once.
"Eva, I think... I think maybe she stayed behind."
It was a guess he couldn't be sure was accurate. There was silence the next few minutes but it was the good kind where it didn't feel necessary to talk. The two of them watched the sky.
Instead of growing lighter as would be the case for everyday sunrises, the sky was getting darker, clouds filling the clear spaces. If they didn't get off this roof soon they were going to get wet. Chris could care less, however, the others would care. His sister would not appreciate waking with the rainfall.
No doubt law enforcement had been combing the city through the night. They would be tired, fighting to stay alert and focused on the task of tracking down those responsible for the gunfire and explosions. Umbrella wasn't going to be able to keep this under wraps. The annihilation of a seemingly mundane family pharmaceutical company in the middle of a sizable city would not escape media attention. Even should reporters fail to discover Umbrella's role, Murphy Pharmaceuticals would take the blow. Police often missed things but they weren't totally hopeless. They would realize there was something worth investigating and Murphy Pharmaceuticals AKA Umbrella Corporation, would be a mere memory.
He had done it. Umbrella was finished. There could be no coming back from such total destruction and loss of employees and funds. Chris did it. No, they all had. Eva, Claire, Leon, Krauser, and Wesker each had a hand in putting a stop to the evil company. He smiled big and caught Eva looking with a mixture of curiosity and wonder.
"I was just thinking..we did it. Months ago, we set out to do something and we succeeded. Umbrella is gone. I hate to say it, but working with Wesker, well..things get accomplished fast."
Eva grinned. "That's my dad. The quicker the better. He isn't one for patience."
"No, he's not. You know, I was also thinking about what I'd said to you that day in Africa after everything was over. About people like us not getting happy endings. I was thinking maybe I was wrong. We might not get perfect endings, but right now, I'm feeling pretty happy."
"Wow, Chris. That's deep," she said, sarcasm obvious in her voice. Her expression grew more solemn as she continued to observe him. "I'm glad to see you smiling like that."
"And how exactly am I smiling?"
She paused, as though finding the exact right word. "Honest."
Chris stared and she stared back. For a moment he swore she was trying to tell him something solely by look. But she turned away, back to gazing at the murky clouds.
"I'm going to miss this."
He wanted to ask what she meant. She suddenly seemed a bit sad and he couldn't understand it. He was going to ask too, but out of nowhere, a wave of nausea swept through him and his head began to throb. Receiving a night's rest let the prior injuries acquired settle on his frame and he was feeling them now.
Leaving the rooftop with the excuse he needed to use the bathroom, he headed down the stairwell, making it to the mall's garage entrance on the ground floor. He didn't attempt finding a restroom on one of the floors, opting for the concrete ground of the parking area. He disposed of his stomach contents in an instant. There was a lot of dry heaving since there wasn't much to begin with.
Footsteps echoed in the garage and he prayed the heaving would stop. It did and he wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, straightening up and turning to face the owners of the two pairs of footsteps he heard coming. Chris wasn't sure if he was relieved it was Wesker and Krauser instead of police. He wasn't in fair condition to fight anybody. He supposed the two superhuman beings beat running into cops convinced they were doing the right thing by trying to bring him in. Ironically, if Chris was ever connected to the Murphy/Umbrella pharmaceutical building blowing up, he might be thought the terrorist and not the other way around.
Krauser was eyeing the little mess left on the ground while Wesker was busy apparently reading into Chris's soul or something. He was staring pretty hard.
"I suppose it was an oversight not to perform a proper examination after what happened. I should take a look at you and draw some blood."
Chris rapidly shook his head at the idea, immediately regretting his choice of motion when the sharp pain in his head worsened and he felt he might be sick again. He braced against the wall, unconvincingly trying to appear as though he was casually leaning on the solid surface, and shook his head slower this time.
"I'm fine and hell no you're not getting any samples from me. I haven't forgotten how you managed to get it the last time and you better not think about doing it again."
"You're hurt."
He snorted. "No shit. I've been hurt plenty of times. It sucks now but the pain will eventually lessen and go away. I may have gotten a little used to the whole auto-heal thing that came with the virus when I got killed. But if the virus doesn't make me heal or come back from the dead or whatever, I'm fine with that too. Unlike you, I don't have some psychotic need to be God-like or invincible. You know, whatever your rallying cry is these days."
Krauser chuckled and Wesker narrowed his eyes at the other man, who held up his hands in a mock position of defense.
"Hey, that was funny. I can appreciate humor. You should try it sometime."
He looked away from Krauser, back to him.
"Entirely serious, Chris, sit."
Krauser placed a hand on his shoulder and shoved him down so he was seated on the cold surface. He tossed a bottle of prescription painkillers into his lap and Wesker walked away from them. Entering the stairwell, his footsteps receded until there was nothing.
"My turn to be serious," Chris said, ignoring the pills and his curiosity of how they'd been acquired in the first place. "How can you work for that guy?"
"I don't. Not really. This is a favor."
"Come on, be serious."
"There will be some compensation. I'm just a hire. I work for anybody who can afford my services."
"You're a piece of shit, Krauser, you know that?"
"Utterly."
He grinned. "Well alright then, as long as we're on the same page."
Popping two pills in his mouth, he dragged himself to his feet and held out a hand to the other man, who stared at it in obvious puzzlement.
"You worked with me and didn't stab me in the back or anything. That's an achievement in my book after what happened with you and Leon. So..it was nice working with you, Krauser."
The bigger man hesitated a moment longer before accepting Chris's hand in a firm shake. "Pleasure working with you too I guess. You should really try getting hurt less though."
Chris smiled humorlessly. "Yeah, yeah."
Sounds of people on the staircase reached them. He turned expectantly to face the direction knowing it was probably everyone coming down.
"Chris."
When he peered at the mercenary, he was surprised at the intensity in which he was staring.
"You know Wesker."
"What?"
"People can change. But not entirely. Whatever is at their core, that's for life."
"Interesting philosophy...?" he said uncertainly.
"It's a warning. Be careful who you keep for company. They could be the very people you're trying to stop."
Chris frowned. "Are you talking about Wesker? I don't think for a second he's changed his scheming ways. He's too in love with himself and his apparent 'superior intellect' to do that."
"Good. Long as you're aware."
"Krauser, is there something I should know?"
"I think you'll be fine. You're a smart guy and you've survived Wesker thus far."
He didn't say more on the matter and he was left staring at a wall, puzzled. His sister and Leon strolled into the parking garage. They were walking particularly close and his frown deepened. Switching his gaze from Claire to Leon and back again, he approached the two. Krauser said he was a smart guy and yet he apparently missed something right in front of his eyes.
Chris smiled at Leon, a polite smile which didn't reach his eyes whatsoever. Leon noticed its falseness and attempted a weak smile.
"Uh, hi, Chris. How are you doing?"
"Oh I'll be wonderful in a few seconds."
"What? Why's that?"
"Chris, are you feeling okay? What's up with you?" his sister demanded, suspicious.
Leon was still clueless. He took his gun out and gestured toward his face. Eva shrieked in surprise, an uncharacteristic thing for her to do, but he didn't drop his gaze from the younger man. No one else seemed to be reacting much. He stared into Leon's eyes until they were looking straight into his own, then he spoke nice and clear.
"You hurt her, I shoot you. Are we understanding one another?"
Leon's quick glance at Claire told everything he already surmised. The two were in a relationship. He had been too preoccupied to notice before. He wasn't too busy now. Leon swallowed hard.
"Right. Yeah, I understand."
"Chrrriiis," whined his younger sibling.
He lowered the gun and holstered it, paying no attention to Claire. He said all he wanted to say on the subject of their relationship, which could have gone on for any amount of time without his knowledge. It wasn't like he was around to notice, but hey, he was the big brother. It was his duty to watch out for her.
Chris clapped Leon on the back. "With that out of the way, I'm happy for you Leon, and good luck."
"Heeeyyy..." Claire protested.
Her protest went ignored and he glanced Wesker's way. "So, we gonna try to get out of here, or what?"
Wesker nodded. "We're moving."
They headed out to the street on foot and walked down the sidewalk for a while without seeing much of anything. It was still early in the morning and there were few cars on the streets and even fewer people. Chris was surprised there had yet to be any sign of police presence considering their overt presence the previous night. Their current location was a good distance from the incident site so it wasn't impossible the cops were searching primarily that area.
When a squad car came into sight after they walked a good ten minutes, the six of them ducked into the nearest building. It was an electronics store. There were only two customers as it hadn't been open for business long, and a few employees were present. Everyone was standing around the section of televisions watching something with interest. Chris walked over to the television closest to the door in order to watch the news report, vaguely aware the others did the same.
A male reporter was on the screens standing across the street from the burned remains of Murphy Pharmaceuticals, speaking into the camera. He saw he had guessed right. There were cops crawling all over the place along with firefighters. Chris paid attention to what the reporter was saying.
"And the fire has finally been put out. Not long ago, I was made aware the well known pharmaceutical company famous for its family first way of business, has shut down all of its factories. You heard right, folks. Murphy Pharmaceuticals has closed down business indefinitely. The decision was made public to us early this morning and little is known about the reasoning behind the move. What we do know is that the company has been having issues with orders failing to make it to their destinations, entire facilities shutting down one by one.
"The details are fairly murky, but what we know is that last night, the explosion which rocked the city dealt directly with the company. Apparently their entire central office building exploded, the result of an unknown factor. Police believe some sort of sabotage to be the cause of the explosion. As we reported several days ago, the president of Murphy Pharmaceuticals was actually killed in the explosion of a completely separate building owned by the company."
Chris glanced at his sister. He never wanted to drag her into this mess. She had always been involved though. It was his fault but there was nothing he could do about it then. He'd done something about it now though. His sister wouldn't have to worry about what Umbrella could do anymore. He returned to listening.
"Law enforcement officials refused to comment on what they referred to as an 'ongoing investigation', but one official did admit police were looking at the demolished buildings as targets of possible terrorist attacks. Why terrorists would target a family pharmaceutical business is definitely something to wonder about...
"In other news, an anti-terrorism organization known as the Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance or the BSAA, has announced they will be disbanding effective immediately, and say the decision will be permanent. When asked the reason for shutting down the organization, a representative responded, saying only that the funding was no longer there for them to remain in operation..."
Chris felt like smiling, knowing the BSAA and Murphy Pharmaceuticals were shut down permanently, proof Umbrella was finished. But his happiness was overshadowed by the tragedy that could never be erased, could never be undone. So instead, he did what he could finally do. He walked away, secure in the knowledge Umbrella couldn't hurt anyone again. By the exit, he could still hear the man continuing his report on the television screens.
"Interestingly enough, the ruin of Murphy Pharmaceuticals may bring feelings of deja vu for those who recall the pharmaceutical corporation that went under after suspicions of illegal experimentation got out back in 1998. These rumors leaked to the public after the Midwestern town of Raccoon City was wiped off the map, and evidence eventually came to light about possible fault lying with the pharmaceutical company. Umbrella Corporation, founded by Oswell E. Spencer in..."
The rogue soldier didn't hear the rest. He didn't have to. Chris knew the rest of the story. There was no need to dredge up the past. This chapter of his life was over and it was time for a new one to begin.