Disclaimer: All resident evil characters, places, and things all belong to capcom and other involved companies. I own none of them, this fanfic is purely for fun and the enjoyment of others.
RESIDENT EVIL: THE ROAD TO DESTINY
CHAPTER 3
Chris Redfield stopped in his tracks as he passed by the room he had formally put his sister in. The door was slightly ajar and the sounds of silent weeping trailed out of it. Slowly, Chris walked into the room.
Claire's back was to him and her face was buried in her hands. Chris's heart filled with sympathy for his anguished sister.
"Claire?"
Her face immediately shot up at the sound of her brother's voice. She was slightly embarrassed that her brother had caught her in such a vulnerable state and she swiftly began to wipe her eyes free of her flowing tears.
Chris gave his sister a moment to orient herself. "I must seem like a total wimp huh?" She said with a sniff after wiping her tears away. "The big bad Claire who survived the Raccoon city disaster is reduced to crying like a little baby. Pretty pathetic huh big brother?" Her voice was horse with pent up emotion and her throat was raw from all the crying she had done.
Instead of giving her a response, Chris simply sat at the edge of Claire's bed and embraced his sister in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into his chest as he rocked her back in forth. It reminded him of when they were little and his sister would wake up from a bad dream about a terrifying monster. After promising that he would make sure the monster wouldn't bother her again, Chris would rock his sister back to sleep. A small smile played at the edge of Chris lip as he recalled this fond childhood memory.
"H- he told me that he loved me." Claire said, after getting her sobbing under control.
Chris simply nodded. "I'm sorry Claire."
"He was such a great guy. He was so lonely Chris. He needed support and I think we found solace in each other's company." Claire heaved a shuddering sigh before continuing. "Why did he have to die…"
"I honestly don't know Claire." Chris replied silently. "But as long as you keep his memory alive in your heart, he'll always be with you." Chris gathered his thoughts, planning out how he was going to say his following words. "I, … I lost a lot of good friends to Umbrella also Claire. Good men that didn't deserve to die in a horrible place like that; Kennith, Forest, Joseph, Richard, all of them. It was a nightmare Claire. To see the very friends you held dear and were willing to trust your life to, lying dead before your feet after only a few hours of separation. It was a disgrace to their memory and a disgrace to the very value of human life."
Claire looked up and saw the deep pain in her brother's eyes as he recalled the painful memories of the Spencer estate. She wanted to comfort him. Being in a city full of Zombies was horrible and it was an experience she wouldn't want to relive ever again in her life however there was no telling what horrors Chris had personally seen in his stay at the mansion.
"Chris?… When will this nightmare ever end?"
"I honestly don't know Claire. But if I can, I want it to end soon. Very soon."
Claire slowly nodded her head in response. She knew her brother. Whenever he had that look, he was dead set on his objective. Claire knew her brother was sort of a hot head; that's how he got booted out of the air force after all. Yet at the same time, Chris could be amazingly serious and cold too. Claire found the change to be unreal sometimes yet at the same time she found that she admired him more for it. Chris could look at life in multiple ways and shift his personality accordingly, depending on the situation. She was proud to have a brother who could show compassion when he needed to and at the same time, exhibit an attitude of determination and righteous indignation as well. 'That's my brother.' She thought to herself as a warm smile crept to her face. It was good to be reunited with her sibling again. Together, she felt they could take on the world.
Suddenly, their quiet solace was shattered by the sounds of roaring helicopter propellers. "What's that?" Claire asked with a hint of panic in her voice. "Have they found us already?"
Chris simply grinned down at his little sister. "Well, yes and no."
"Huh? What are you talking about Chris? Have your muscles gone to your head again, we gotta get out of here!" Claire was clearly flustered at Chris reaction to the whole ordeal but she found it refreshing to engage in a yelling fit with him. It reminded her of old times and it lessened the pain of her recent loss.
Chris chuckled at her remark, then slowly walked towards the entrance of the safe house. "Come on Claire, just follow me."
Claire gritted her teeth and held back a biting response. She hated it when he kept secrets from her. Grudgingly, she slowly followed him out the door and into the windy field as the helicopter made its landing.
Finally, as the propellers died down, Claire made out the forms of three figures exiting from the helicopter. The two taller figures obviously knew Chris, as they embraced him on sight. The other seemed to stare in the distance until her eyes glanced in Claire's direction. At the sight of the third figure, Claire's breath caught in her throat and all of her previous pain momentarily died away only to be replaced by unbinding happiness. "Sherry?!?"
"CLAIRE!"
****
Barry Burton leaned back in his chair as he puffed on a fresh Cuban cigar. "Your late." He said as the door across from him creaked open. The building He was in was an abandoned warehouse, once used as a S.T.A.R.S weapons department. After his first three years of service with the stars, the building had been closed down and was scheduled to reopen as simply a training facility. However, that modification plan was never carried out.
Standing at the doorway, Jill dropped her bags and immediately embraced the friend who had saved her life countless times in the Spencer estate. "Oh Barry! It's so good to see you again!"
Barry chuckled mildly. "It's been too long Jill. So I see you've picked up a stray along the way."
Jill's face suddenly became crimson red with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry. Barry this is Carlos. He helped me get out of Raccoon City before Umbrella detonated it. Carlos this is Barry, my S.T.A.R.S teammate and very good friend."
Carlos frowned slightly, but covered it up with a warm handshake just as quick. 'So that's all I am to you huh Jill? Just a guy who helped you out of the city?' He quickly erased these thoughts from his mind, as they wouldn't be of any use to him in the long run. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Burton. I heard a lot about you."
"Heh heh in that case, believe only half of it. My friends tend to exaggerate my exploits sometimes."
"Ha! Same old Barry I see!" For the first time in months, Jill was beginning to feel the tension ease from her shoulders. She had not realized how much she had missed her companions. "So Barry, how's the family? Are they well?"
"Yes they are, thanks. I regret having to leave them again but I just couldn't live with myself, knowing that I did nothing, while my closest friends fought a life or death struggle with an organization bent of biological genocide."
"Barry, we all know you're a hero. You don't have to prove that to anyone."
"Nor am I trying to be Jill. I'm sure we all have the understanding that in these trying times, there's no place for hero's, only survivors. And I intend to be one of those survivors Jill."
The young woman smiled warmly at this last comment. "Well if that's the way your gonna phrase it then count me in as one of the survivors too. Because I'll be damned if I let Umbrella take anything else from me."
"Uh, Compadres? I hate to break up the lovely reunion and all but unless you're expecting company, I think we got trouble."
Without another word, Carlos withdrew his 9mm handgun and released the safety lock. However, Barry pulled him back before he could train his gun on the unsuspecting intruders.
"Hold your horses… Carlos was it? Anyway, these aren't intruders. Far from it actually."
"Yeah listen to the old man!" Came a deep, unfamiliar voice in the distance. "Because, like he said, we aren't intruders. Think of us more as … reinforcements."
Barry began to laugh immediately.
"Why you old bloodhound! Who are you calling an old man?" He said as he embraced the speaker in a bear hug. The man returned his hug with equal intensity.
"Who are you calling an 'old' bloodhound?" He countered. They both began to laugh even harder as they patted each other on the backs.
Carlos ran a nervous hand through his thick main of brown hair before finally turning towards his companion. "Jill, would you mind telling me what's going on?"
Jill held back a smile as she saw the troubling effect this meeting was having on her mercenary friend. "Carlos, this is Derrick Mathy. He's an old friend of Barry's. They used to serve together in S.T.A.R.S back when Berry was still a raw recruit. As things went, Barry and Derrick had preformed numerous outstanding feats, which eventually lead to their separation. Derrick was transferred to Europe, while Barry got stationed over to Raccoon City. Derrick, This is Carlos Oliviera. He's a very good friend who helped me escape from Raccoon right before it burned to the ground."
"It's nice to meet you." Carlos said as he sized up the huge man standing before him. Derrick easily stood up to a height of 6'5. His thick muscles shaped his dark brown skin so that he had a body builder appearance similar, if not equal, to Barry's own muscular physic. His head was bald yet his beard was thick and sported a few hints of gray although he'd never admit such a claim. The man was dressed in loose fitting, tan khakis and a white tee shirt that wrapped snuggly around his upper body.
"Well Mr. Oliviera, it's an honor to meet you as well. So you're the brave knight who rescued Jill from her torment huh? I' guess that means I'll be hearing more about you and your 'adventures' with Jill."
Derrick and Barry both laughed at this, however Jill and Carlos flushed with embarrassment.
Behind his mask of amusement, Barry frowned inwardly at Jill's reaction. 'I guess she must have gotten over Chris. But then how will she react when she see's him again.' Barry roughly shook off these prying feelings as he resolved that they were none of his business.
"So Derrick, where you able to round up anymore volunteers?" Barry asked, changing the subject.
Derrick caught on immediately and followed suit. "As a matter of fact I have. Of course, as you know my brother came along. Then there's also Frank Belivan, and Walter Risakes. They're all in the van bringing out the supplies right now. Then there's also the two contacts Chris has made."
Jill immediately stiffened at the sound of Chris name in the conversation. "Derrick you … you know where Chris is?"
Derrick gave her and odd look then laughed heartily. "Of course! He's the one who got this whole thing in motion."
"It's true." Barry concurred. "Chris is very much alive. He sent me a message through email about a week ago. He has just found startling news concerning the Umbrella agency as well as another organization. The message was sketchy at best but basically wanted us to know that he found his sister and is reunited with her and now he wants the rest of us to meet up with him at his secret safehouse hidden deep in European territory."
Jill didn't know what to think. It almost seemed unreal that after such a long time, Chris would soon be in her life again. She had never believed him dead, even after she found evidence of his alleged death at his safehouse in London two months ago. She had found his knife there and a pile of blood. The rest of the place was a mess and signs of a struggle were clearly evident. Yet even though she believed he still lived, she had given up hope of ever seeing him again. Now that recent evidence had proved her wrong, she couldn't help thinking about what she would say to him when she saw him again. Many things had changed. 'She' had changed. 'Chris, will you forgive me?' Suddenly a new voice broke her out of her reverie.
"JILL! OH MY GOSH ITS SO GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"
Jill was momentarily stunned as Rebecca Chambers swiftly embraced her in a tight hug. "Jeez, I've missed you so much!" Rebecca said with her voice slightly muffled by the material of Jill's jacket.
"R – Rebecca? Is that you?" Jill asked, still a bit flustered.
"My goodness, It's been too long! It's good to see you again."
Apparently, as Jill scanned the room out of the corner of her eye, she wasn't the only one thourally shocked by Rebecca's dramatic entrance.
Derrick had his hand on his hip, dangerously close to pulling out his handgun. Carlos eyes were still widened in shock. The only one, not surprised by Rebecca's entrance was Barry. Instead he simply wore a scowl of disapproval.
"Rebecca, how many times do I have to tell you? Make your presence known before you do anything drastic like that. Had we all not caught ourselves, you would be lying dead in a pool of blood right now."
"I'm sorry Barry. It's just that I haven't seen Jill in a long time and I guess I got overexcited at seeing her again."
Barry nodded his head sagely. "And I see you brought along a friend as well?"
Rebecca's face flushed crimson. "Oh I'm so sorry! I totally forgot in all the commotion. Hey Leon it's ok to come into the light! We're all friends here!"
Leon grudgingly submitted to Rebecca's wishes as he slowly came out of the shadows. His torso was wrapped in medical cloth and he seemed to favor his left side as he walked with a limp. His right shoulder also had a slight bandage but otherwise he seemed ok.
Leon this is Barry, a good friend of Chris Redfield's and he's also the one who sent me to find you. Barry, this is Leon, as you already know. I found him wounded and about to get a lobotomy by an Umbrella goon. Don't worry though, cause I wasted him."
Barry nodded his head in gratitude. Leon paused for a moment then spoke. "Listen Mr. Burton, I want to thank you for all your help but what about Sherry? Did she make it out ok?"
Barry immediately knew who Leon was talking about. "Don't worry Leon, Sherry's in good hands now. She's with Claire and Chris as we speak."
Leon breathed a sigh of relief and nodded his head towards Barry in thanks.
Just then, Derrick's brother, James Mathy, entered the room with Frank Belivan and Walter Risakes in tow. They were all carrying three heavy bags each. Although, not as built as his elder brother, James Mathy was just as tall and well muscled. His hair was short chopped and his attire was simply a pair of standard issue S.T.A.R.S pants together with a dark green sleeveless tee shirt. Frank was a few inches shorter then James and just as built. He had raven black hair, which was long and tied back into a ponytail. He wore faded blue jeans and a silky blue dress shirt. Walter was the shortest of the three with brown hair and wore an outfit consisting of S.T.A.R.S issue pants and a black muscle tee shirt.
"Well now that we're all together, I suggest we get started." Barry said as he sorted through their supplies. "First we make preparations, then we pack our gear, and after that we are off to Europe to meet up with Chris. Its time we stopped dancing around the bush with this whole mess. It's time we finally teach Umbrella a lesson and take those bastards down."
Well how do you like it? It's taking me a while but I think I have the whole thing figured out with where I'm gonna take this story. As always thanks for reading!
-Cordis