Disclaimer: All character, places, and creatures from Resident Evil are the property of Capcom. This story and any characters, places, or creatures that I create are my property. Simple as that, I hope.
Resident Evil: Armageddon
Part II- Hands of Fate
Chapter 7- Storm of the Heart
Written by: Striker
The helicopter landed at the S.T.A.R.S. base. Ark ran out of the front door, hunting rifle in hand. It was quarter to seven and getting dark out. The spotlight hooked up to the side of the building illuminated the copter as the passengers climbed out. Ark only saw six get out. Dread washed over him as he rushed over to check the situation. He got there just in time to see Leon and Barry pull Chris out the door. "What happened to him?" Ark asked.
"You were right. This fool did try to get himself killed. He damn near did it too if Jill didn't go back for him." Barry said.
"Let's get him inside." Ark pointed at the dark clouds beginning to form in the sky. "We're suppose to get one hell of a storm, and I don't think we want to be out here when it starts to pour."
"Why do I get the feeling none of us are going to get any sleep tonight." Carlos said quietly to Rebecca. She responded by elbowing him in the side.
Barry put Chris back over his shoulder and headed for the house. The others started to follow, but Ark pulled Jill aside.
"Exactly what did he do?"
Jill looked at the ground. "He was fighting a Hunter and it knock him into a wall. Then he told that thing to kill him."
"When did this happen?"
"Just as we were leaving the factory."
"Then that means that maybe he wasn't planning on dying. He just saw an opportunity and tried to take it."
"That wasn't the worse part. When I went to save him, he told me to leave him there. He wouldn't even let me help him up."
"Then why is he unconscious?" Ark asked.
"I had to hit him in his head. It was the only way to get him out of there."
"At least now we can help him." Ark and Jill headed for the house. They just reached the porch when the first drops of rain began to fall.
Jill, Barry, Leon, and Sherry sat in the kitchen. The others were in the living room, talking about the mission. Claire had gone upstairs to check on Chris. The storm had gotten worse and worse. The lightning had started around seven-thirty. Barry had ordered the TV to be turned off. Now it was eight, the wind had picked up and the thunder was making everyone cringe each time it came down. Barry had been in many storms like these before. He had gotten out battery powered lanterns and placed them throughout the house. He hoped that the power wouldn't get knocked out. The line to the cabin was fine. It had been run underground so it couldn't be damaged. It was the power line along the main road that was the problem. He figured the last thing he needed was for everyone to be left in the dark.
Claire came down the stairs and took a seat between Sherry and Jill. A bright flash of lightning, followed by a might clasp of thunder, made Sherry clamp onto Claire's arm. Claire ignored it, as she had more pressing matters to contend with. She turned to Jill. "He's still out of it. May be a few more hours till he wakes up."
"Look Claire, I'm sorry for what I did to Chris. Your brother didn't leave me with to many options."
"I just wish you didn't plow into him so hard. He may of gotten brain damage."
"Well excuse me for giving a damn about Chris." Jill said bitterly.
"You sure have a funny way of showing it. Maybe you should have used some of your little sweet talk on him. You said so yourself that he loves you so much. If he did, then why did he decide not to listen to you?"
"Then I'd like to know why you decided to go to Raccoon city. You knew what kind of job he had. You should have known that if Chris didn't call you, he must have had a reason. Why didn't you wait like he wanted you to?"
Claire glared at Jill. "Don't blame all this on me. This is your fault. Maybe if you didn't lead him on and told him the truth from the start, instead of letting him think you had something with Carlos, he wouldn't have given up."
"Why you." Jill couldn't take Claire's attitude anymore. She clenched her fist, ready to give it to Claire.
"Ladies, please." Barry said, trying to keep the peace. "Stop this right now. Trying to blame each other won't solve anything. It'll just give us more problems to deal with."
"That's right," Leon added, "It's pointless to argue over who's fault this is. We're all to blame for not noticing this sooner. Hell Claire, it's my fault you were caught and sent to Rockfort in the first place. I shouldn't have let you leave for Europe in the first place. Also, you complain about how protective you brother is, and here you are doing the same thing."
"What do you mean I'm being like Chris?" Claire asked defensively.
"Just that the whole time we've been here, you've had an eye on Jill. That little comment you said last night and the way you watched Chris like a hawk when he was checking to see how bad Jill was hurt are proof enough. I also saw the look you were giving Jill on the helicopter on the way here. Face it, you don't trust Jill as much as your brother doesn't trust me."
Claire hung her head in defeat. Leon was right, she didn't trust Jill. Maybe she was part to blame. Maybe she should have stayed put. Maybe she should have stayed with Leon.
"It doesn't matter anymore. We've all made mistakes that we regret, but we can't do anything about them. We just have to learn from them." Barry looked out the window. "It's like this storm. It'll blow through and cause a lot of damage. Trees will be knocked down, power lines will be snapped, cars will get into accidents, lightning may even strike a house and set it on fire. In the morning the whole city will look like a disaster area. The place will be a mess. No one will be able to change anything that happens tonight. All they can do tomorrow is pick up the pieces and go on." He turned back to the others. "That's what we have to do right now, go on from here, cause no amount of bickering over who's fault this is will change anything that's already happened."
Everyone sat in silence, listening to the storm outside. Sherry finally turned to Claire. "Claire, I'm sure Chris with be alright."
"I hope so Sherry," Claire said, "I hope so."
Chris slowly opened his eyes. He let out a low groan before he looked around. He was in what looked like his room, laying face down on his bed. "Can't be." He muttered. The last thing he remembered was telling Jill to leave him in the factory, then turning away from her. He then remembered a sharp pain in the back of his head before he blacked out. He touched the back of his head, winching. He still had a headache as he got out of bed. He was a little unsteady at first, but quickly got his balance. He rubbed his eyes and took another look around. Rage filled him when he realized where he was.
Chris stormed out of his room and quickly descended the stairs.
Jill stood up as soon as she saw him. "Chris, you're awake."
Everyone else look at Chris, only to meet his icy glare. His eyes locked onto Jill. He spoke, using the same harsh voice he had used the other night. "I told you to leave me there."
"I wasn't going to let you die. Never leave a partner behind. That's what we were all taught to do. That's what I did, I didn't leave you behind." Jill said, staring Chris right in the eyes.
"Maybe I wanted to die." Chris' voice changed. It was sharp and biting and full of anger. His expression had too. His teeth were clenched and his eyes were full of hate. "Maybe I don't care anymore."
"Why?" Jill asked. "Why did you just give up."
"Because I can't take this anymore. I can't live with the fact that this is all my fault. Because I put this whole thing with Umbrella before everything else, I made everything a mess. If I had stayed like I was suppose to, you wouldn't have been injured, Claire wouldn't have come looking for me, wouldn't have gotten caught, wouldn't have gone through the hell she did, and wouldn't be involved right now. If I had stayed, I could have done something. Instead, I left my friends behind. If I had stayed, all of this wouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have even gotten you and Barry involved. I should have done this myself."
"You can't do this by yourself." Barry said. "And even it you did stay, what makes you think that would have changed anything. Think about what your saying. Just because you did something you regret doesn't mean you should destroy yourself. That's not the way to deal with this."
"And you just have all the answers, do you?" Chris turned and threw open the front door.
"Chris, there's a storm outside." Claire tried to warn him, but her brother paid no attention. She got up as the others came from the living room.
"Don't tell me he's going outside." Ark said. "He'll catch pneumonia out there."
Jill and Claire had already gone out onto the porch. Barry and the others joined them. Chris was standing in the mud, looking at the ground. He was already soaked from the intense rain that was falling. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed as his mind was filled with conflict. He didn't know what to do. His thoughts fixed on the one thing Jill had asked. Why? Chris now asked himself that same question.
"Why? Why did I leave? Why didn't I stay ?" He soon found himself questioning everything. "Why did this even happen at all? Why do we have to be involved in this? Why did we all have to suffer? Why couldn't this happen to someone else? Why did this have to happen to us?" Chris felt the anger well up inside his. He could feel the pain and rage he had kept locked in his heart break out. Just then, the sky was filled with a blinding flash of lightning. Chris reared his head and let out a mighty roar, just as an immense boom of thunder came crashing down, shaking the windows of the building, and causing everyone to flinch. All the hurt and sadness, the anger and pain, all the emotions he had kept inside for so many years came pouring out. When he had no more left, his head dropped back down, full of sorrow. His knees buckled and he fell forward. He landed on his knees, mud splattering over his black jeans. His arms hung by his sides as he closes his eyes. "Why?" he muttered to himself. "Why?"
The others watched Chris drop to the ground. They were stunned by what they had seen and heard. No one had any idea what to do. Barry broke the silence.
"This storm is nothing compared to what's going on in that poor man's heart. I guess he finally cracked."
"I've seen this before." Ark said. "If he didn't lose it then, he's lost it now. He needs our help more than ever. We just have to be there for him."
"Then I'll go." Barry said. He went into the house and opened the hall closet. He pulled out a blue, plastic umbrella and headed out side. He approached Chris, who looked like he was on the verge of breaking into tears. Barry stood on Chris' left, holding the large umbrella over both of them "Chris." He got no answer. "Chris, I know what you're going through. During all the shit we've been through, for a long as I've known you, you've kept all your feelings to yourself. Even when we were still with the S.T.A.R.S., even when it looked like you had opened up to the others, I knew you still kept you true feelings to yourself. You can't do that Chris, no one can. You tried to be as strong as a rock, but even stone cracks and breaks. From what I just saw, it looks like all those feelings you've been running from have finally caught up, and you have been running for so long that you don't know how to deal with them."
Chris was getting angry. Barry had hit a soft spot. His face became filled with anger as he brought his left arm up and slammed his elbow into Barry's side. "Leave me alone." He growled. "You have no idea what the hell I'm going through, so don't think you know what I should do."
Barry had taken the blow. He clutched his side and ignored the pain that shot through his body. "I may not know everything, but I do know this. Right now you don't have that many friends. In fact, the only ones that matter the most are watching us. So far your actions are alienating them. If you kept pushing them away, soon you will have no one. And when that happens, you will be alone, just like when I first met you. So before you go making any decision, you better think about your friends first." Barry dropped the umbrella next to Chris. He then walked back to the house.
"Should I go try to talk him into coming inside?" Jill asked.
"No." Barry said, still clutching his side. "He won't listen to anyone. Besides, I think I hit a nerve. He's fighting his emotions, and loosing. We just have to wait until he calms down."
"Look." Sherry said, pointing to Chris.
Chris slowly stood up. He turned and headed to the house. Everyone moved out of his way. He had a solemn look on his face as he passed them. Without saying anything, he climbed the stairs and headed for his room. Jill walked to the base of the stairs, the others following. They heard the door close, followed by the sound of wet, muddy clothes hitting the ground. They then heard Chris climb into bed. The next sound they heard shocked them all, the sound of Chris softly crying.
Jill quietly opened Chris' door. Everyone else had gone to bed. Chris had stopped a half hour ago, signifying that he had fallen asleep. She slowly approached the bed. Chris was laying on his side, his cheeks red from the tears. In the whole time she had known Chris, he had rarely shown weakness. Now he lay before her, his heart broken. How long had he held those feelings inside of him? How long had he struggled to keep them from getting out? She didn't know. All she knew was that he needed her more than ever. "I'll never leave you Chris. No matter what happens, I'll always be by your side." She leaned over and gently kissed him on his cheek. She then quietly left, looking back before closing the door.
Claire slowly woke up. She sat up in her bed, letting her hair hang over her shoulders. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock on the bedside table. It read nine. "Good, at least the power didn't go out."
The storm had run its coarse, the sound of birds chirping filling the morning air. Claire wasn't sure when the storm had finished. She had fallen asleep around ten. The storm was still going strong, but the lightning had died down. She now climbed out of bed. She didn't even bother to put her hair in its usual pony-tail. If anyone found that strange, so what. "I better check on my brother. Maybe I can convince him to eat something." Chris hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday morning. She was sure he'd be hungry. She opened her door and walked to Chris' room. She stopped at the balcony, however, when she heard a sound from downstairs. It was the sound of heavy sobbing. Only one thought came to her mind. "CHRIS!"
She ran down the stairs and stopped at the doorway. There was Chris, sitting at the table in a white T-shirt and blue jeans. He was hunched over with his arms folded on the table. He had tears falling down his face and landing on the table. Small puddles had formed, showing that he had been here for some time. The others were coming out of their rooms, alarmed by Claire's voice. One by one they followed Chris' sobs to the kitchen, surprised by the scene before them.
"Chris." Claire said. "How long have you been here?"
Chris turned to look at her. He wiped the tears from his bloodshot eyes. "Long enough to make up my mind."
"What do you mean? What are you going to do?" Claire was worried about her brother's frame of mind. He didn't look he could make rational decisions at this point in time.
"Barry was right. I tried to ignore my feelings. I had to. Ever since our parents died, I swore I'd never let you see me be scared or sad. I had to be strong. I had to take care of you by myself. After mom and dad died I just closed off my emotions. I did for so many years." Chris' voice was shaky and broken, not like last night, when it had been filled with rage. He looked like a different person from the night before. "I managed to keep them locked away until all this. I thought I had found a new home in Raccoon. I almost began to feel again. But after that mansion, I lost everything. I stopped feeling again, using this whole crusade against Umbrella as a way to run from my emotions. But after I rescued you from Antarctica, I found it harder to run. I started to feel all this guilt. And now that we're all together and after all I've heard, it just got to me. I had hid for so long that I didn't know how to deal with all my feelings. And after yesterday, I've come to the only decision that will be the best for all of us. I'm leaving."
"What? You can't leave." Barry said. "Give me one good reason why you should."
"Because you don't need me." Chris answered.
"Of coarse we need you." Leon said. "You're the only one who knows what Umbrella is planning. You can't just split, we wouldn't know what to do."
"You're wrong. You don't need someone like me. You've all survived for months without me. Besides, I'm a liability. I'll just jeopardize the situation. You don't need someone who's an emotional wreak. It's better if I just go."
"You can't go." Jill said. "In the factory you were giving orders like a natural. We need you to lead us just like you did in that factory. Your sister also needs you. More importantly, I need you."
Chris stood up. "I've made my decision. I'm leaving, and nothing you say will change my mind." With that, Chris walked passed the team and continued up the stairs.
"This is just great." Carlos said. "We got to do something. We just can't let him walk out of here."
"We won't." Barry said. "I'm not about to let him make the biggest mistake of his life."
"I'm just worried about him and what he's thinking." Claire said.
"Why?" Rebecca asked.
"Because Becky, for as long as I can remember, I never saw him cry. With the way he was now, I'm afraid of what he might do."
Author's Comments: How was that for drama. Chris has reached the breaking point. Now that he's snapped, what will happen next. There's also dissension in the ranks. Claire and Jill were ready to tear each other apart. I like a good cat-fight, but that one would probably be to the death. I also thought that the storm connection to not only Chris' internal struggle, but to the whole situation were everyone is questioning their actions, was a nice little device to use. The comparisons worked out quite nicely. Time to see what's up next.
In the next chapter, a decision will
be made, one that will affect the whole story! Chris has chosen to leave the
group. Now, each of his friends will try to persuade him not to go. Can they
stop him, or will this be Chris' final goodbye. Find out in RE Armageddon: Part
2, Chapter 8- Resolution.