Chapter 46
"Wake up! Come on, wake up!"
A hand slaps me. Fingers pinch my nose. Lips cover mine. Hot air fills my lungs, forcing the water into my throat.
I choke out the water and gulp salty air. I'm lying on sand. It's as warm, silky, and smooth as I imagined - remember it would feel. Someone hugs me tight.
"Oh, thank God," Claire laughs, wiping away her tears. The bright sun haloes her.
"Lady, you have a bad habit of slapping me awake," I croak.
"Shut up," she says, laughing again as she strokes my hair. "I thought you were gone. Your heart wasn't beating."
I push her wet bangs behind her ear. "Regenerative powers, remember?"
Her beautiful eyes touch mine. My heart thumps loudly. My face grows hot. Claire smiles. She leans into me, and I lean into her.
An explosion shakes the ground. We jump apart. We're on a small beach, waves gently lapping the shore. Fire blazes across the cliff above us. Black smoke billows like a stormcloud, a shadow that eclipses the sun.
A chopper whirs past the smoke. The letters "BSAA" superimposed over a globe adorn the flank. Redfield stands in the open door, his hand looped through an overhead strap. He points at us. The chopper descends, the gust from the blades scattering the sand. Before the landing skids even touch down, he jumps out.
Laughing, he runs to Claire and throws his arms around her. "I thought I'd lost you, baby sister!"
"You almost did," she says. "Snake got me out."
"Steve's fine," I say.
Claire smiles at that.
"So you're Steve."
A pale woman with a blond ponytail tucked under a BSAA cap stands behind Redfield. She's the woman from the opening ceremony who's in Redfield's photos.
"I'm Jill," she says, extending her hand. "It's nice to finally meet you."
I shake it. "Nice to meet you, too."
"Lucky you showed up when you did," says Redfield.
"I'll say. If we hadn't dragged you onboard, you might've gone up with the complex." Jill jerks her thumb at the six uniformed men aboard the chopper. Shielding her eyes with her cap visor, she looks at the flames licking the sky. "As evil as this place is, it's a shame it went up. We might have gotten all sorts of data about Gaea, maybe even nailed whatever's left of them. But the important thing is you three got out. We've got supplies - blankets, food, water. Take what you need and get some rest. You'll need it for when we take your statements. I'll be in after I make a status update."
Redfield places a hand on her arm. "Thanks again, Jill."
She cups his hand. "You did the same for me once, remember? Now go rest, Chris. You need it. All of you do."
Redfield and Claire head for the chopper. I start after them, but Jill touches my shoulder.
"I'm glad someone else got away," she says. "It gives me hope that there are more of us still alive out there."
"'Us?'"
"Survivors."
'Survivors.' I like that.
"Thanks. Me too," I say.
She pats my shoulder and digs out a recording device. I run after Redfield and Claire, the spinning rotors blowing my hair and clothes like the sand. The waves rush the beach, sure and steady as breath.
She spent most of her free time on the beach away from everyone, including me...
And you need to show me that beach you used to go to, the one that's on the other side of the island...
I take out the chip that Trish gave me. It's still sealed within the cap.
I climb aboard the chopper. Claire and Redfield are sitting with the agents, munching crackers and chugging water as they all talk. Claire has a gray blanket wrapped around her. More blankets, crackers, and water bottles as well as comm devices, laptops, and ammo clips fill the equipment rack in the back. Taking a laptop, I boot it up and insert the chip.
A folder opens. Dozens of sub-folders load - folders with names like "Employee Directory," "Clients," and "Human Trials."
Jill climbs inside. "All right, pack it in and move it out!"
"Hey Jill, I've got something," I say as I pass the laptop to her.
She scrolls through the folder. "This is it. This is what we…" She stops at a sub-folder labeled To Steve.
Giving me the laptop, she says, "I'll need this back when you're done."
Barking at the pilot, she takes a seat on Redfield's other side. I sit near the rack. As the chopper rises, I take a deep breath and click the folder.
Hundreds of files load. They detail everything about me and the T-Veronica strain within me: medical records, x-rays, progress reports that Dr. Cabot sent to Conrad Steele, acquisition plans for Umbrella's decimated and abandoned Rockfort Island facility. Rockfort Island is the birthplace of the T-Veronica virus. The woman who created it, Alexia Ashford, tested it on herself and then on me.
That crazy woman. Mistress.
She died in December 1998 when her Antarctic base exploded, thanks to Claire and Redfield- but not before HCF took my body. They then peddled it until they found an interested buyer in Conrad Steele. To skirt legalities, he and the board maintained an office in Los Angeles but ran operations on Rockfort, renamed Coeus Island, far from the mainland. All of HCF's e-mails to Steele are signed with two letters: AW.
My and my father's Umbrella profiles are in one file. My full name is Steven Theodore Burnside, and his is Alan Theodore Burnside. He was a pharmaceutical researcher, like Claire said. His supervisor became suspicious of him when formula files went missing. Umbrella took us on July 18, 1998. They killed my mother, Odette Riviere-Burnside, because she wouldn't let them take me.
I was born April 12, 1981. I'm 28. I woke up right before my birthday.
The last file is entitled, "I'm sorry." I click it. A white document pops up.
Steve,
Even though I've known your real name for a few days now, it seems so strange to call you that. I've started this letter I don't know how many times. Claire is in the lab by herself, making sure you're okay, while I'm at the guest house looking for supplies, so I'll keep this short:
There's another reason why I never told you the truth. I was afraid you'd try to leave and either die or succeed and leave me here alone. I didn't realize how lonely I was until I met you. Before you, I'd never had a real friend. And I was afraid that if you knew, I'd go back to being alone again.
Claire showed me the picture of you and your family. She told me about you and them, and I can tell that they loved you a lot. I can't tell you how happy and jealous I am that so many people care so much about you.
I did you wrong, Steve. I lied to you. I betrayed you. I hurt you and the people you care about. Worst of all, I denied you the truth that you deserved to know. I did all of that to my best friend, the only person I've ever cared about more than myself, just because I was selfish and scared.
I understand if you can't or won't forgive me. But I hope with all of my heart that you do, and that one day we can find out what it's like to be friends.
Merry Christmas, Steve.
Love always,
Trish
My vision blurs. My throat burns. Wiping the tears, I touch my pocket to make sure Trish's ID card is still inside.
Clearing my throat, I hand the laptop to Jill. "Could I, uh, get a copy of all of the stuff that's about me?"
As she takes the laptop, she, Claire, and Redfield watch me. "Sure. We just have to wait until we get back to the base so we can find a secure drive to put everything on," Jill says.
Nodding, I grab a blanket and return to my seat. Claire sits beside me, her own blanket still cocooning her. She hands me the photo of my family. The sunlight catches our three faces - faces I might've never remembered if it weren't for the woman next to me.
"Claire, thank you for never giving up on me," I say.
She smiles. "I could never give up on someone who did what you did for me, Steve."
A distant black tower of smoke blots the clear, blue sky. Coeus Island, formerly Rockfort Island, burning once again. My world first for five months, and then again for nine months. The place where I lost my humanity. The place where people who cared enough about me helped me find it again.
"I wonder what'll happen to it," I say.
"The same thing that happened to Raccoon City. The fire will burn until it goes out or the rain puts it out. The island'll be a wasteland for a while. And then one day, life will return," says Claire. "What do you say we join the others?"
As I tuck the photo in my jacket pocket, we claim the two empty seats beside Redfield. He's saying, "Which base are we headed to, anyway?"
"Roosevelt Army base, in Hawaii," says Jill.
"Great. I hear Hawaii's nice this time of year," I say.
Claire laughs.
"What's so funny?" I ask.
"I'll tell you later," she says.
The sun glows red as it falls ahead of us, filling the chopper with sleepy light. The ocean glitters like a snow-blanketed field on a bright winter day. Claire rests her head on my shoulder and closes her eyes. Her breathing slows. Every now and then, she twitches. She's dreaming about something.
How would she feel about me kissing her? I want to know, but there are other things I need to know first.
Redfield, Jill, and the agents fall asleep. I want to fall asleep too, but I keep watching the horizon for Hawaii.
I've already slept so much. This is one day I want to be awake for.