Author Note: Some of the timeline will be off for this one, but I was not planning on following the script of the Resident Evil movies, but instead using the characters you all love to create my own story line. Please, enjoy, be courteous, & review (I do take constructive criticism!)

Disclaimer: I do not own the Characters, but a girl can dream right?

Without further adieu…here comes Chapter Two

B

Update Oct-9-2015: As I prepare to add more to Calm Before the Storm I figured I should go back and look over what I posted almost two years ago to the story that started it all. This way I can make some editorial changes while also refreshing my memory on what things I left off with in the end.

Updated Dec-10-2019: I haven't created any FF in awhile, and would like to get back into it, specifically with some RE stuff. To do so, I figured I would edit some old work to try and get some ideas percolating in my head before the Christmas holidays.

-2-

-Claire-

There was an extra kick in her step as she approached the door to the Bridge. She turned the wheel with a squeak before lifting the latch to unlock the blast proof door. The noise alerted her brother, Chris, who was hunched over the charts on the table. A scowl was on his face, for his sister was almost an hour late in arriving for her shift. Normally, Claire would fear her brother's wrath, but after her mid-morning roll in the hay with Alice, nothing he would say could wipe the smile from her face.

The bridge was wide, with the ships wheel replaced by an array of computer controls. This allowed even the most novice of people to control the ship. It was a simple as punching in the coordinates and letting the ship do the rest.

"Where the hell have you been?" Chris barked.

Claire ignored him, approaching the large, slanted windows, scanning the empty ocean in front of them. Bullet holes dotted the glass in crisscross patterns; scars from their latest battle with Umbrella. Below was an unobstructed view of the bow. Pockets of black ash that resembled spilled black ink marked where the battles had happened. Survivors looked like ants, all dressed in their grey and white jump suits, dumping large pieces of debris overboard.

"What are our bearings?" Claire asked, turning to meet her brother's angered eyes.

"Just past the Gulf of California. Next will be Mexico. We should be there by midnight tonight." He said, walking towards his sister, catching the glint in her eye. "Now, stop avoiding the question and tell me why the hell you weren't here an hour ago."

"Something came up."

Chris scoffed, "I find that hard to believe."

Claire narrowed her eyes, "Well it did, and now I'm here, so you can go."

Chris stood his ground, crossing his arms over his chest as the bulging muscles from his biceps stretched the thin fabric of his t-shirt. "Don't lie to me Claire, I have a right to know."

She refused to be bullied by her brother into telling him something that was none of his business. What Alice and Claire did on their off time was no ones business but their own. Besides, she and Chris had been estranged for years, making them not exactly the closest of siblings. Being open about things like the fact that she was a lesbian, or that she was in love with Alice, were not easy to come by.

"Like hell you do. What I do in my own time is my own business."

"It becomes my business when it if effects your duties." Chris snapped.

"Still treating us like your soldiers instead of your friends huh? I'm your sister, not your subordinate, I don't report to you." Claire rebutted, pushing past Chris as he grabbed her by the arm, squeezing tight.

"I'm sorry Claire, I didn't mean to upset you. It's just, I'm tired, I've been up here for twelve hours, I need sleep."

Claire nodded as he let go, a small imprint of his fingers on her skin from holding her too tight, "I'm sorry, I should have been here on time, I'll be better, promise."

Chris smiled, "And I'll promise to try and be a brother first and a soldier second. Deal?" He said, holding out his hand.

Claire shook it firmly, "Deal."

Chris frowned, seeing that the spark Claire had in her eyes when she came in the room was gone, "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked.

Claire smiled faintly, looking back out the windows at the ocean, "Nothing, I'm just thinking about our latest run-in with Umbrella. The damage that was done, pushed us back a few days from where we thought we would be at this point."

"Not to mention, we have no crew." Chris replied, looking to the work being done by survivors down below.

"Yeah, that too."

"Speaking of, where's Alice?"

"Sleeping." Claire replied quickly, walking to the chart table and starting intently at map, feeling her brother's eyes burning a hole in her neck.

Chris raised an eyebrow, "Sleeping?" He questioned, watching his sister's body language.

"Yeah, you know that thing you should be doing right now."

Chris walked towards Claire, leaning his back against the table, "What are you hiding from me Claire?"

"Nothing Chris, I promise." Claire replied, the frown re-appearing upon her face.

"There's that frown again, what's on your mind Kiddo?"

Claire knew that 'kiddo' was his invitation for some quality sibling bonding time. She looked up from the chart that was making her go cross-eyed, looking Chris straight in the eye, "If I tell you, you have to promise not to breath a word of this to anyone."

"Scouts honour," Chris said, raising the infamous two finger salute.

"It's Alice, she has nightmares, horrible ones. She's convinced this is all her fault."

"The death of the human race? She thinks she did all of this?"

Claire huffed, heading back to the control panel, "Forget it. I shouldn't have said anything." She stated, trying not to cry.

Chris wanted to go to his sister, but being touchy feely was not exactly his forte. "Listen Claire, Alice has seen things, things I'm sure would give anyone nightmares, but she's stronger than any of us on this ship. I wouldn't worry."

Afraid she would just make matters worse, Claire just nodded, smiling at her brother, "Yeah, I'm sure you're right."

Chris left the table, heading for the door to the bridge, "If you need me, I'll be in my quarters."

Claire just nodded, waiting until she head the door shut before she broke down into tears once more.

-Alice-

When she opened her eyes, the room was now completely bathed in sunlight. It was hard to tell how long she had slept, but she was finally able to shut her eyes without visions of blood and death filling her mind. Their was an empty void where Claire was almost an hour ago, leaving to relieve her brother from the bridge in a frantic rush knowing he was going to chew her out for being late.

She moaned, still groggy from her sleep as the pillow she tossed over her face to block out the sun was ripped from her face. Alice squinted, frowning at the young blonde who was nose to nose with her.

"Five more minutes." Alice gargled almost incoherently.

"Alice you said that thirty minutes ago." The young girl whined.

"If you don't start acting your age K-Mart I will put you in charge of lunch duty for the rest of the month." Alice replied, coming to terms with the fact that she was not going to get anymore sleep.

If there was one duty on this ship that everyone also groaned over, it was lunch duty. With the decline of current society, meal time has become more of a war zone than a civilized eating establishment. The aftermath of all the survivors getting together to eat was worse worse than pigs at a feeding trough.

"Okay, okay!" K-Mart conceded, getting up off the bed. "But, you still need to help me with my project." She stated sternly.

"I know and I will" Alice replied. She sat on the edge of the bed, feeling like she had just woken up for the worst hangover imaginable.

"Promise?"

"Promise," Alice said, waving her hand, "Now go before I make you spit shine my boots too."

K-Mart smiled and left, her blonde ponytail bouncing. Alice shook her head, hoping that with the next group of survivors there is a teenager that was K-Mart's age. She loved the girl who clung to her better than a magnet, but she also needed to interact with people her own age.

Alice got off the bed, tossing on her pants and inspecting her appearance in the mirror. Her blonde hair was a ball of knots, dark circles were under her eyes and globs of sleep crusted on her eye lids. She ran the taps, splashing some cold water on her face, hoping that would wake her up a bit. Next, she ran her hands through her hair, her fingers acting like a comb, hoping to de-tangle the knots as best she could.

Satisfied that she was at least presentable, she strapped on her trusty thigh holsters and lacing up her combat boots, finally ready to start her rounds for the day.

- Survivors -

"Are you sure that is what you heard?" One of the men asked their messenger.

A small group had converged in his stateroom, a few decks below where the crew's quarters were located. Seven burly men, all dressed in matching white smocks that Umbrella had placed them in, sat in a circle. They filled the two single beds and a few makeshift chairs from discarded crates, making the already small room feel like a coat closet. A board was propped up against the door to avoid unwanted visitors, and the curtains were shut, blacking out the sunlight. There was a small, makeshift table made from of a piece of plywood atop a crate in the middle of the circle with a crude map outlined in black marker.

"I am positive. The blonde said she was infected." The messenger repeated as the men grumbled in the small room. "She said it was Umbrella, that she worked for them before and they experimented on her, cloned her." He added.

One of the men shook his head, "We can't trust her, not if she's infected."

This was met with another round of mumbles and head nods of approval.

"We need to eliminate her before the infection spreads." Another stated, their mutterings becoming louder.

"This is Arcadia, a safe haven for what remains of the human race. We need to defend what is rightfully ours!" Another screamed, rallying agreement from the rest.

"What are we to do?" The messenger asked, suddenly nervous.

"We need to take out the threat before it's too late." The man who sat in the middle of the circle proposed.

"Yes, but how?" Another piped up.

"We have to do some recognizance, understand her schedule and pick the best time to act. She will be doing her rounds soon, possibly alone, it may be the best time to strike, but not today. We must learn as much as we can about her before we engage." Their leader replied as a circle of nods was exchanged.

"For Arcadia!"

"Arcadia!" They screamed in unison, raising their fists into the air in salute.

T.B.C...