Jack woke up to the steady throb of her injured shoulder; the sound of Leon fiddling with his gun.
"What are you doing?" She lifted her head to see him sitting at the desk.
"I'm reloading it."
"Why?" She put a hand out and found her ammo vest gone, "Where's my…"
"It's right there." He nodded to the tabe beside the couch, and the pile of ammunition and weaponry resting there.
"Okay."
"Jack.. Why were you here when all of this started?" She paused, rolled over onto her side and looked at him. She lifted an eyebrow, and then, quite blatently;
"I was being held here until I could get a court date." He blinked. "They thought I killed my father." Leon stopped, staring at her with round, shocked eyes.
"They what?"
"I didn't… if that's what you want to know. I loved my dad. He was awesome. A scientist… William Birkin…" She smiled faintly. "I didn't kill him, though! Umbrella did, those fucking bastards… " Jack trailed off, sat up suddenly, and then stood, rotating her shoulder in a cautious fashion. "So, am I gonna live, Doc?" She changed the subject, smiled at him. He waited, and then decided not to push the subject.
"You should be fine. "Does it still hurt?" He asked, not looking up. Jack shrugged.
"Not really." She had been unconscious for about an hour, and in that time, in that silence, he had heard things… things he was afraid to think about. That, coupled with the noise of the fan, had drawn so many pictures in his mind that he believed he was going into shock. Jack, on the other hand, seemed in high spirits, she donned her vest and picked up her weapon, checking and then aiming it. "Do you think I'll be able to shoot without any problems?"
"You should be… as long as you're careful." Leon felt an edge of anticipation creep into the room- she was ready to go already? After what had just happened? She reached for the knob. "Wait."
"Hm?" She turned to look at him and he strode foreward.
"Tell me what happened to your father." She sighed.
"It doesn't matter."
"It does."
"Why?"
"BECAUSE I WANT TO KNOW!" He shouted. She looked at him grimly, and then relented.
"My father was a scientist for umbrella… he was perfecting the thing that made these zombies… a virus… I was an assistant at his office. An intern… My mom worked there too… and one day… we were… attacked, by men with helmets and guns… who wanted his work…" Leon could see tears in her eyes. "As soon as they'd gone…" She bit her lip, drew blood, and then spat as the bitter taste flooded her mouth. "…My mom gave me a gun and told me to go find my little sister… she went to find my dad… but the second I got out of there… I was arrested…"
"But, if there was a hostile invasion, they must have known it wasn't you!"
"Umbrella is an evil company." Jack hissed back. "They called the RPD and told them that I was the one who had shot that place up… the cops were just in time to see me fleeing the scene with a weapon." Her voice was bitter.
"And your mom?"
"Dead, I would think. Just like my sister, Sherry. Zombies got 'em. So I guess you could say I inherited this nightmare… my dad's the one who first dreamt it up." She unlocked the door and left the office then, quickly.
It wasn't just her nightmare, though. It was everyone's.