Chapter 20

Something hits me in the face.

"Come on, we've got to run!" Claire hisses as she slaps me again.

I try to sit up, but pain shocks me. I touch my head, grit my teeth so I don't scream. She pulls back my eyelids.

"His pupils are dilated," she says.

Somewhere beyond the pounding in my skull, I can make out the whirring of a helicopter.

"We have to ditch this train now," says Redfield.

Claire grabs both of my wrists and lugs me through the hole in the roof. Redfield peers around the grill.

"Fall back," he whispers.

Twisting me sideways, Claire hauls me away from the train. The trees sail over me so fast it makes me sick. The two lights in the distance don't help, either.

"This way," says Redfield.

He directs us to some bushes. Kneeling, he peeks through the leaves at the lights. "They're almost to the train. They're going to follow our tracks straight to us. We need to take them out. I'll take the one on the left."

"Got it."

She holds my head while they push me under a bush. He grabs a fist-sized rock. She draws the knife. Their footsteps crunch away.

The snow feels cool, soothing to my head. I start to feel drowsy. I grab a fistful of snow and smear it on my face until I feel awake again. I turn so I can see the lights. The two mercs stand by the hole in the locomotive roof. One light swings from the train to the ground.

"Sir? The train cabin is empty. But we've got two sets of footprints, one a men's sneaker, one a women's boot, and a skid track. Looks like two of them dragged the other one out. I copy, sir. Over and out. Doc wants us to follow 'em and report on what we find."

A rock smacks the train. Both mercs turn, pointing their guns toward the caboose.

"You cover me."

"Copy that."

Claire darts from the shadow of a tree. She moves behind the second merc, then jams the knife in his throat. The first merc turns. Redfield snakes his arm around the merc's neck and snaps it. Both men slump to the ground. Claire and Redfield take the assault rifles.

Dick's voice echoes through the night: "Based on my men's silence, I assume they are dead. I also assume that they met their end at your hands, Claire and Chris, which leaves the BOW as the injured you're so stupidly trying to save.

"I consider myself an overall forgiving man. I only want to avenge what the BOW's existence has cost me. Abandon your futile attempt to save the BOW and leave now, and I swear I will let you live.

"I'll give you thirty seconds. If you're still here after thirty seconds have passed, your deaths will be on you."

Claire and Redfield run to me. Gritting my teeth, I drag myself out of the bush.

Claire kneels beside me. "Can you stand?"

"I think so."

"Tick-tock. Time's almost out."

She grabs my hand and pulls me up. I fall into her. She slips her arm under mine to prop me up. A light shines by the locomotive. I throw myself on her. We hit the ground as bullets fly over us. Redfield fires back. The man collapses, his light pointing skyward. More lights appear in the distance.

Claire pushes me off. Standing, she grabs the assault rifle stock. She and Redfield haul me to my feet. We run into the darkness, their hands gripping me. Claire leads while Redfield watches our backs, gun aimed at the lights. Shots pop, slapping into the trees. Redfield fires back. Bullets zip by Claire. Spinning, she returns the shots.

The lights are close - so close I can make out the night-washed faces behind them. Redfield and Claire fire in a fan, take a step back -

- and we all fall.

I hit the ground face-up and tumble down a steep hill. I roll off a flat rock and fall into freezing water. When I surface, the frosty air knives me raw. Overhead, the lights appear. A hand covers my mouth. It's Claire. She leads me to the rock I rolled off. We duck under the outcropping. A light ghosts the glassy surface.

"See anything?"

"Nah. Must've crawled out somewhere. Can't have gone too far."

The light drifts to the outcropping. Claire moves closer to me, shivering, her breath steaming in white clouds. The light glides off the water.

"Well, keep lookin'. The doc ain't payin' for assumptions."

"You know, I wonder what he's got planned. You don't pull an operation like this and expect to live, let alone keep your job."

"Long as the money's good, who cares?"

"As long as the money's good and Gaea doesn't find out, you mean. If Gaea finds out HCF double-dipped, we're probably all screwed."

"Shit, with the money we're makin' off this job? We can all buy new identities and go live like kings in the Caribbean. Just gotta find the freak first - hopefully before the other freak recovers and Doc makes us search with it."

Footsteps crunch away. The light fades.

"Gaea? The pharmaceutical company? That's who wants Chris dead?" Claire whispers.

"Now isn't really the time to talk about it."

"Well, make no mistake: we are going to talk about it."

Footsteps crunch by. Lights skim the water. Every now and then, a man reports that he's found nothing.

A light shines on the water. "Sir, there's no trace of them anywhere. My guess is they hopped in the water and followed the current downriver. Our best bet is to keep searching there. Affirmative, sir. I'll contact the men. Over and out. All units, report back to the chopper. Doc says we're moving this show downriver. Over and out."

The footsteps and lights disappear. The chopper's whirring fades. We swim to the nearest bank and climb out. Claire tries to cock the assault rifle, ejects the clip, and checks the barrel.

"It's totally waterlogged. Ice is going to bust it." Tossing it all, she checks her cell. "It's dead. Shit."

"Hey."

We whirl around, Claire brandishing the knife.

Redfield puts his hands in the air. "It's just me."

Sighing, Claire belts the knife and hugs him. "Thank God. I was so worried."

"What happened to you?"

"The river. You?"

"High ground." He nods at a nearby tree. "And guess what? I found us some shelter."

He leads us to a hunting cabin nestled in a clearing upstream. Footprints sprinkle the path to the cabin. The door swings off its hinges, the bolt blown free. Snowy tracks stain the sanded floor. Redfield jabs the thermostat's buttons."

"Power's out," he says quietly. "Look for anything we can use."

He heads into the kitchen area. Claire cuts through the living room to a closed door. That leaves me the other closed door. It opens into a bedroom. An undressed mattress rests on a carved frame. I grab the flashlight off the nightstand. The closet stocks blankets and a couple changes of clothes but nothing else.

I strip off my wet clothes. The bullet wound feels tender but not tender enough to merit spending the night wrapped in cold, soggy padding. I undo the dressing and wipe myself clean with one pad's unsoiled corner. The hole in my heart sealed shut, but not the hole in my skin. I pull on a flannel sweater and sweatpants. Miraculously, my cell phone is still alive at 36%.

As I'm hanging my pants and jacket on one of the bedposts, the door opens. Claire walks in, flashlight in hand, her damp hair hanging free.

She hands me a towel. "For drying off."

"Thanks. There's some clothes in the closet," I say, ringing my hair with the towel.

She pulls a pair of sweats out of the closet and looks at me, cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh, sorry." Face burning, I leave and close the door.

Redfield stands at the kitchen island. He shines a flashlight on the things sitting on the countertop. A couple of small heaters. Battery packs. White-labeled cans.

"No guns or knives?" I say, tossing the pads and hoodie.

"None."

I pick up a can. It's sausage and beans.

"At least there's food," I say, tugging at the lid tab.

Redfield yanks the can away. "Before we do anything, we need to talk. Claire says Gaea International is behind this. Is that true?"

"I told you -"

"We saved your life. Several times, at great risk to our own lives, even after you hurt my sister and tried to kill me. The least you can do is tell me why."

The bedroom door opens. Claire steps out, dressed in baggy sweats.

"I don't know why. I just do what I'm told," I say.

"So you're just being a good little soldier, huh?" Redfield says.

"Yeah. Sorry your number got called."

I grab another can. Redfield reaches for it. Wrenching it away, I sit in a corner and pop open the lid. I've got a mouthful of sausage and beans when Claire and Redfield approach me.

"Forget it. I'm not telling you shit," I say.

"Oh yes the hell you are —"

"Chris, let's drop it for tonight. We're all tired and cold and hungry. Let's eat and get some rest." She looks at me pointedly. "We'll pick back up on this tomorrow."

Redfield grumbles something, and they go back to the island for sausage and beans. When they finish, they haul the heaters and battery packs into the bedroom. Tossing the empty can in the trash, I bundle up as best as I can on the couch. Despite all of the bungling, I can't stop shivering.

A light shines on me. It's Claire.

"Hey, 'you.' Do you want to freeze or stay warm?" she says.

I follow her into the bedroom. The heaters sit on the nightstand, now at the foot of the bed. They give off a comfortable warmth that fills the room. Redfield lies unmoving on the bed, cocooned in a blanket. Closing the door, Claire takes Redfield's assault rifle from the corner, hands me a folded blanket, and nestles in beside him. Resting against the headboard, she sets the gun on her lap. I settle on the floor.

"Hey." She scoots closer to Redfield.

I watch her, then climb in next to her.

"It's Snake," I say.

"Huh?"

"I prefer to be called Snake."

"Snake?"

I nod.

"Well. At least it's a name."

I close my eyes. I tell myself just to sleep, to not think about anything, especially not what's happening or how I'm going to get out of this. And I don't. Instead, my mind drifts to Claire - to her eyes, her smile, her soft skin, her lips, and her warmth.

After a while, I stop shivering.