Chapter Five: Briefing
No sooner did Jill make it out of the doomed building did the charges set up by Umbrella activated. The charges made a short activation beep, and suddenly the building went up in a dazzling orange fireball accompanied by a explosive burst of destructive sound. Just like a scene from an action movie, the four of them dove into the air, feeling a sudden surge of hot air as the satchel charges released their destructive power. The four hit the ground, and the four looked on as the last of the terrific ball of orange and yellow fire faded into obscurity, quickly becoming replaced with thick black smoke, a sinister reminder of the fate of Raccoon City just a little while ago. Chunks of various things rained down from the sky on the group; bits of radio equipment, computer motherboards and intricate circuitry, chunks of the building itself—drywall, stone, cement, twisted hot metal, foundation. Bodies and dismembered body parts flew out in all directions, splayed about the four. A soldier's head landed next to Jill, the detached part hitting the dirt with a sick splat before making an awkward bounce onto the highway, where the skull shattered. Arms, legs, and torsos lay everywhere in a disgusting spread everywhere, all burnt beyond recognition. Jill's stomach finally got the better of her, and in one quick motion, her stomach overturned. Turning her head quickly she heaved up wave after wave after wave of vomit and bile. Even though she was absorbed in the fetid smell of carrion, disease, and decayed flesh throughout her romp through the former Raccoon City, the sight was finally too much.
The four of them just sat there, sitting on the cool earth, staring at the rise of the black, eternal black smoke. No one said a word to each other. There was nothing that could be said. The group was less than ten seconds from joining the ranks of the mutilated bodies, building pieces and circuitry. Running as fast as they possibly could, they managed to escape, narrowly dodging death's door one more time. Once more, Umbrella failed to kill off the ones who knew, knew everything.
After a few minutes, the group rose to their feet, still silent. Chris looked toward the direction of the city, the smoke hanging like a veil of death overhead, as if God was placing the city in a body bag. Because of the flatness of the land, Chris could see the car he left a half mile down. His plan had worked. The car wasn't destroyed.
Finally, Chris broke the silence. "Let's go," he said quietly.
They sat in a small, but comfortable living room. Surrounded on all sides were seemingly endless acres of deciduous and coniferous forest. The cold arctic chill hung in the air outside, but it was nice and warm inside. The room had a couch, accompanied by three chairs. In the center of this was a small coffee table, and on it were five mugs, each filled with their own hot beverage of choice, be it hot chocolate, coffee, or tea. On the couch sat Rebecca Chambers and Claire Redfield, while in the three chairs surrounding the table sat Leon Kennedy, John Andrews, and David Trapp. It was early in the morning, and Sherry Birkin, daughter of the late Annette and William Birkin, was upstairs sleeping. When they arrived at David's home in Exeter, Maine, the exhausted three survivors from the Raccoon City incident were given proper care, cleaned, dressed, and plenty of sleep. David had arranged for a little pow-wow the next day, and so here they were, waiting to hear why David had called them here. It was two days after their escape from Raccoon City. Yesterday the day was spent trying to establish contact with any of the remaining S.T.A.R.S. They met with little success, and now, as David was getting ready to speak, he looked at the group and had a solemn look on his face. The others knew that something was up, something bad had happened.
After a sip of his coffee, he looked at the other four, their eyes locked in intent, anticipation of the bad news he was about to impart to them.
"I'm going to get straight to the point," David said, his voice trying not to waver. "Umbrella's political maneuvering in the U.S. Senate has failed. As a result, the Raccoon City project had been abandoned."
Leon stared intently at David. "What are you trying to say, David?"
"Raccoon City was destroyed at daybreak this morning," he said quietly. "The U.S. Army launched a missile into the city and completely wiped it off the map."
Claire shut her eyes as feelings of grief and loss swept the group. Suddenly there was this bad karma that filled the room as each one took the shock of the situation in their own way.
"How many died?" Leon asked solemnly.
"Over 100,000," David answered. Claire felt a tear roll down her cheek.
"First they infect everyone, then they blow up the city to cover it up," Rebecca said. "Barbaric. Totally barbaric."
"Any survivors?" Claire asked through her controlled weeping.
"Very few," David replied. "But there's one bit of good news that came from this. Earlier this morning, I received a call from Barry Burton, and was greatly relieved when I was told that he and three others escaped before the explosion--Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield—"
Claire opened her eyes in widened surprise. "Chris? My brother?" She exclaimed, cutting David off.
"Yes, your brother. Joining them is a soldier from one of Umbrella's mercenary force, the Umbrella Bio-Hazard Countermeasure Force."
Claire sighed in relief.
Thank God, Chris. Thank God you escaped that nightmare. Thank you, God, for sparing his life. Don't worry, Chris. I will find you.
"What happened after?" John asked.
"From Barry's description, Chris had found some sort of radio tower from which he could talk to Barry as he flew Jill and the U.B.C.S. soldier out of there. They met up with Chris and did some investigating until some Umbrella soldiers came in and caused some trouble, causing the destruction of the radio facility. Luckily the four of them escaped in time, and then they left, heading for the closest town," David described. "They'll be heading to Paris, to infiltrate Umbrella Headquarters."
So that's where I must go then…
"Which is our next move," David continued. "Luckily there are a couple of people in the Exeter S.T.A.R.S. who want to help us in our cause, and so I have arranged for one of our pilots to take us to Paris. From there, we will set up our plan of action, and assist the other group."
"When do we do this?" asked Rebecca.
"In three days. I want to give Jill, Barry, Chris, and the mercenary a few days head start. I have already arranged this with our pilot. By then we should be ready to go."
"What about Sherry?" Claire asked, her mind wondering where the orphaned Birkin fit into all this.
"I knew you were going to ask that," David said, a small grin playing across his face. "I have also managed to find some of the young girl's relatives in the outlying towns outside of Raccoon City. They were informed by Umbrella two days ago that both of Sherry's parents had died in 'a tragic accident' at the labs in Raccoon City. Her aunt, Kate, has offered to take Sherry in. I plan to take her to her aunt, located in the town of Arklay, about thirty miles from Raccoon City."
"She'll be safe, then?" Leon quickly cut in, his voice authoritative. "She won't be placed into military custody or anything like that? This is Umbrella we're talking about. She is the daughter of one of Umbrella's top scientists."
"I think Umbrella has better things to do than to track down little children," Rebecca chimed in. "They probably think she's dead."
"I agree with Rebecca's theory," John added. "I don't think they'd go that far."
"I don't know…" Leon said, his voice trailing off.
Claire watched the group talk and discuss about their next plan of action. Meanwhile, her mind and thoughts were in a totally different place, as she thought about finding her brother. She hadn't heard from him in a couple of months, and to put it mildly, she was worried. She finally took matters into her own hands when she took her Harley and left the university she was attending, headed for Raccoon City, a 6 ½ hour drive. When she finally arrived at the dead city, she clawed her way to the precinct, and she remembered finding Chris' diary in the S.T.A.R.S. office.
I talked to the chief today once again, but he refused to listen to me. I know for certain that Umbrella conducted T-Virus research in that mansion. Anyone infected turns into a zombie. But the entire mansion went up in that explosion; along with any incriminating evidence. Since Umbrella employs so many people in town, no one is willing to talk about the incident. It looks like I'm running out of options.
We've been receiving a lot of local reports about strange monsters appearing at random through out the city. This must be the work of Umbrella. With the help of Jill and Barry, I finally obtained information vital to this case. Umbrella has begun research on the new G-virus, a variation of the original T-Virus. Haven't they done enough damage already?! We talked it over, and have decided to fly to the main Umbrella HQ in Europe. I can't tell my sister about this trip because doing so could put her in danger.
Please forgive me Claire.
She knew he was heading to Europe. She felt that she needed some time, time back "home," her dorm back at university; time to relax, to think, before she would go to Europe. Alone. As much as she wanted to go to Europe now, she felt her own urges to see him would lead her into trouble. The idea of leaving this group, leaving David, Rebecca, John, and most importantly Leon and Sherry, began to brew in her jumbled mind. In her heart she believed that she didn't want to put anyone else in any more danger. She would leave tonight. She did some quick thinking—she had her wallet with her from when she left for Raccoon City. The contents of her wallet contained enough money for her to take a bus. If that failed, there was always the old hitchhiking idea. Either way, she knew her brother would want her safe at the university. Her mind made up, she decided she'd have to make her exit in the night. She didn't want to leave them, but she felt she had to.
"…Claire? Claire?" The voice of Leon brought her back to reality.
"Huh? Oh…sorry. Lost my head for a sec," Claire replied, her face blushing from sudden embarrassment. "What were you saying?"
David chuckled. "I feel like I'm a professor at University and you're the sleepyhead pupil," he said, his British accent clear. "Anyway, I was asking you before you decided to doze off, would you like to accompany Sherry when I take her to her aunt in Arklay?"
Claire's mind worked again.
That would seriously cut down on travel time back to the university. And I get keep the stressed Sherry company for a little longer.
"Yes. I think I should, seeing that I'm probably the closest thing she has to a mother figure at this point. I'd be glad too." Claire agreed.
"A fine decision. So that's settled then." David said. Claire heard the faint sounds of footsteps making their way down the stairs. A few moments later, a yawning Sherry walked into the room where the five were having their pow-wow. Her childlike innocence brought a calm amidst the tension and anxiety that filled the space. She didn't know what the fate of Raccoon City was, and it would be best if it was left at that. No need to add stress to what was already enough—after all, both her parents had very untimely died, one by mutating into a life form as a result of an untested virus, and one by being mutilated by said life form. She looked around to see the group staring at her, all with loving smiles on their faces.
"Morning," they all said in unison.
"Good morning," the young Birkin said cheerfully. Sherry walked over to the couch where Claire and Leon were sitting, and sat herself next to Claire. Claire looked down at the smiling child, and she looked up at Claire, flashing her a toothy grin.
Aww…soon she'll be totally out of danger. Soon enough…
* * *
Sherry and Claire stood near the doorway of the small house. Both were waiting for David as he was making the last of phone conversation with Kate Birkin, Sherry's aunt. From the bits and pieces Claire was picking up of the conversation, it sounded like David was getting driving directions to Arklay, one of the closest towns to the former Raccoon City, even though the town was thirty miles away and wasn't in Umbrella's "jurisdiction," so to speak. Claire and Sherry were bundled up for the weather. The early autumn felt like the dead of winter here in Maine. The foliage of the deciduous trees was long gone, and now the only green life was from the conifers that stretched for seemingly endless miles. Finally, after possibly a slight eternity, Claire could hear the familiar sounds that accompanied end of conversations.
"Okay, Mrs. Birkin. Thanks. You too. Okay. Bye bye." David had placed the receiver back on the cradle. His figure emerged from the kitchen doorway, and he looked at the two waiting for him.
"My apologies, you too," David said quickly, grabbing the thick winter jacket. "Shall we be off?"
"Yep," Claire nodded in agreement. "And you, Sherry?"
"Yes, but hold on." Sherry turned and walked back into the small den/living room, and saw the three—Jill, Barry, and Rebecca—and said her goodbyes to them.
"Bye, everyone. And thank you," Sherry said softly.
The three in turn said their goodbyes and in a minute, Sherry came back to Claire. "Now I'm ready to go."
"Good. Let's go then," David said, and headed out the door. Claire and Sherry followed suit and headed outdoors, immediately feeling the cold Maine air stinging their exposed faces. Huddling together, they made it to David's car. David, of course, entered through the driver's side, Claire climbing in through the passenger and Sherry in the back. Quickly placing the key in the ignition, the engine came to life.
"Let's go," David said, and placed the car into reverse. In a few seconds, the car had cleared the driveway. David placed the car into drive, and they were officially on their way back in the direction of the ruined city. Sherry looked behind her one last time, and saw the fading view of David's house seemingly retreating into the deep forest before becoming lost in the pines and firs. After a few seconds, she slumped back down in her seat staring at the road in front of them. This was going to be a long drive. So began the journey back.
A/N: 16,213 words down, 33,787 remain! I'm flying through, but the first icebergs of trouble have sprouted. I struggled with this chapter, as the action slowed down—tends to happen in slow moving parts. I hope this story guides me to action soon. I hope the next chapter will flow smoothly. Soon I will post Chapter Six: Three Months Later. As always, leave me a review!