Resident Evil
The Seraphs
By: Xenogears
Chapter one
In no way do I own the characters of Capcom's
legacy, Resident Evil. They are used for non-profit purposes, only for
entertainment.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Claire awoke again.
Stifling a yawn, she looked out the window into the dull colors of the dawning
sky. It was that time when it's dark, yet bright outside. The clock on the
dashboard read 5:40 AM. Everyone else but her and Ryan were sleeping.
"Morning..."
Ryan said groggily.
"How long have
you been driving?"
"Uh...I
think...seven hours..."
"Okay, pull
over, and let me take the driver's seat. You get some sleep."
"We'll be
there in half an hour. Once we find a hotel, I'll get some sleep. Until then,
I'm driving."
"Whatever you
want."
Ryan's looks hadn't
changed much, except that his wound had almost fully healed, leaving a deep,
dark scar. He always covered it with a blue bandanna. He had grown about an
inch, and his pony tail was about an inch shorter than Claire's.
Claire now wore a
red denim jacket over her "Let Me Live" vest, her pony tail was now
braided and about halfway down her back, and she wore loose-fitting blue jeans.
"So tell me
again why we came all the way to Alaska just to visit this town of
Carlton?" Ryan asked.
"We need to
get as far away from Umbrella as possible. Alaska just happens to be the biggest,
most wide open, and remote state in this country," Claire answered.
Ryan didn't reply.
= = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Half an hour
later...
The van passed a
sign reading, 'Welcome to Carlton.' Soon after that, a hotel appeared at the
roadside. Everyone decided to stake it out at that location for the time being.
After parking the van, and taking their winter coats (Ryan for some reason
refused to wear his, relying on his thin, gray hooded sweat shirt, which he
refused to zip up), they went into the hotel lobby.
The room was
deserted. The lights were dimmed, and flickered once in a while, but they
stayed on nonetheless. On the counter there was a small non-functioning TV, and
various magazines. The room itself was very clean, but there was a smell of
lemon scent fighting a losing battle over alcohol and tobacco smoke.
"This place is
deserted..." Ryan said. "Let's just steal some keys and get on with
it."
"I'd rather
not," Leon said.
"Oh, whatever.
We're living as convicts. We might as well act like it," Ryan said.
"We're not
really convicts though. We need to pay!" Chris said.
"Argh! I just
want a place to sleep!" Ryan jumped behind the counter, and took the key
that had a '2' on it. "Claire, Leon, what do you want?"
They all looked at
him in disbelief.
"Does it look
like this place is occupied? I didn't think so. Now let's get on with it!"
"Fine. We'll take¾" Claire's gaze moved over
the board full of keys¾ "five."
"Seven."
Leon said.
Ryan tossed them
the '6' key, and they gave him a bad look.
"Chris?"
Ryan said.
Chris hid his face
with his right hand, and mumbled, "Ten."
Ryan threw him the
key.
"Well, Sherry,
looks like you're with me," Ryan said.
Sherry smiled.
= = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
"Hey,
Ryan!" Sherry asked. "Want to have a snowball fight or
something?"
Ryan was lying down
in his bed, trying to get some sleep. He groaned and rolled over.
"No...sorry,
Sher...I was up driving since God knows when. Let me get some sleep. Wake me up
in four hours," Ryan said, half awake.
"You sure
that's enough?"
"I need to keep
my sleeping schedule in check..."
"Okay. See you at
twelve."
= = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = =
"'The sound of the
blow tore into his head. Then Mariko's voice began again, and there was a
second blow and Blackthorne was on his feet in an instant, the shoji open. The
guard stood facing him balefully in the corridor outside Mariko's door, sword
ready.
'Blackthorne
was preparing to launch himself at the samurai when the door at the far end of
the corridor opened. Fujiko, her hair loose and flowing over the sleeping
kimono, approached, the sound of ripping cloth and another clout seemingly not
touching her at all. She bowed politely to the guard and stood between them,
then bowed meekly to Blackthorne and took his arm, motioning him back into the
room. He saw the taut readiness of the samurai. He had only one pistol and one
bullet at the moment so he retreated. Fujiko followed and shut the shoji behind
her. Then, very afraid, she shook her head warningly and touched a finger to
her lips and shook her head again, her eyes pleading with him.
Sherry listened
silently and intently to Ryan's storytelling. Even though she hadn't known him
as long as she knew Claire and Leon, or even Chris, she had gotten close to
Ryan over the last several months. He was a little like the big brother she
never had.
'"Gomen
nasai, wakarimasu ka?" she breathed.
'But he was
concentrating on the wall of the adjoining room that he could smash in so
easily. She looked at the wall also, then put herself between him and the wall,
and sat, motioning him to do the same.
'But he could
not. He stood readying himself for the charge that would destroy them all,
goaded by a whimper that followed another blow.
'"Iye!" Fujiko
shook in terror.
'He waved her
out of the way.
'"Iye,
iye," she begged again.
'"IMA!"
'At once
Fujiko got up and motioned him to wait as she rushed noiselessly for the swords
that lay in front of the takonama, the little alcove of honor. She
picked up the long sword, her hands shaking, drew it out of the scabbard, and
prepared to follow him through the wall. At that instant there was a final blow
and a rising torrent of rage. The other shoji slammed open, and unseen, Buntaro
stamped away, followed by the guard. There was a moment of silence in the
house, then the sound of the garden gate crashing closed.
Ryan's face
displayed the anguish of the story, and Sherry was struck again by how old he
looked for being only fifteen. Of course, he had seen and done much more than
the average teenager, but at moments of clam like this, it was especially
noticeable. Even his voice, when he narrated the story, sounded deeper than most
boys'...more mature, maybe, or more weary.
'Blackthorne
went for his door. Fujiko darted in the way, but he shoved her aside and pulled
the door open.
'Mariko was
still on her knees in one corner of the next room, a livid welt on her cheek,
hair disheveled, her kimono in tatters, bad bruises on her thighs and lower
back.
'He rushed
over to pick her up but she cried out, "Go away, please go away Anjin-san!"
'He saw the
trickle of blood from one corner of her mouth. "Jesus, how bad are you—"
'"I told you
not to interfere. Please go away," she said in the same calm voice that belied
the violence in her eyes. Then she saw Fujiko, who had stayed at the doorway.
She spoke to her. Fujiko obediently took Blackthorne's arm to lead him away but
he tore out of her grasp.
'"Don't! Iye!"
'Mariko said,
"Your presence here takes away my face, and gives me no peace or comfort and
shames me. Go away!"
'"I want to
help. Don't you understand?"
'"Don't you
understand? You have no rights in this. This is a private quarrel between
husband and wife."
'"That's no
excuse for hitting¾"
'"Why don't
you listen, Anjin-san? He can beat me to death if he wishes. He has the right
and I wish he would¾even that! Then I wouldn't have to
endure the shame. You think it's easy to live with my shame? Didn't you hear
what I told you? I'm Akechi Jinsai's daughter!"
'"That's not
your fault. You did nothing!"
'"It is my
fault and I am my father's daughter." Mariko would have stopped there. But,
looking up and seeing his compassion, his concern, and his love, and knowing
how he so honored the truth, she allowed some of her veils to fall.
Sherry studied
Ryan's face as he read, and as he spoke of the character Blackthorne, she
thought about how much Ryan was like the hero. His face, and his especially his
eyes, had a deep-rooted compassion, and concern, and even love. And, while
there was no blood between them, Sherry couldn't imagine having a better
surrogate brother than Ryan.
'"Tonight was
my fault, Anjin-san," she said. "If I would weep as he wants, beg for
forgiveness as he wants, cringe and be petrified and fawn as he wants, and open
my legs in pretended terror as he desires, do all these womanly things that my
duty demands, then he'd be like a child in my hand. But I will not."
'"Why?"
'"Because
that's my revenge. To repay him for leaving me alive after the treachery. To
repay him for sending me away for eight years and leaving me alive all that
time. And to repay him for ordering me back into life and for leaving me
alive." She sat back painfully and arranged her tattered kimono closer to her.
"I'll never give myself to him again. Once I did, freely, even though I
detested him from the first moment I saw him."
'"Then why
did you marry him? You've said women here have rights of refusal, that they
don't have to marry against their wishes."
'"I married
him to please Lord Goroda, and to please my father. I was so young I didn't
know about Goroda then, but if you want the truth, Goroda was the cruelest,
most loathsome man that was ever born. He drove my father to treachery. That's
the real truth! Goroda!" She spat the name. "But for him we'd all be alive and
honored. I pray to God that Goroda is committed to hell for all eternity." She
moved carefully, trying to ease the agony in her side. "There's only hatred
between my husband and me, that's our karma. It would be so easy for him
to allow me to climb into the small place of death."
'"Why doesn't
he let you go? Divorce you? Even grant you what you what you want?"
'"Because
he's a man." A ripple of pain went through her and she grimaced. Blackthorne
was on his knees beside her, cradling her. She pushed him away, fought for
control. Fujiko, at the doorway, watched stoically.
'"I'm all
right Anjin-san. Please leave me alone. You mustn't. You must be careful."
'"I'm not
afraid of him."'"
Ryan's voice drifted off as he finished reading aloud from the book Shogun.
"I think that's all
for tonight, Sherry." Ryan said as he bookmarked his page and placed his book
down.
Ever since a month
and a half ago, Ryan had made it a personal mission to read Shogun to
Sherry, thinking that she was old enough to understand, and he would take his time
explaining things that she didn't understand.
"Now that was
screwed up. Buntaro got away with beating on his wife?" Sherry said, somewhat
dumbfounded.
"Well, you have to
understand, Sherry, that in Japan back in the 1600's, a husband basically owned
his wife," Ryan explained. "He even had the right to kill his wife if she was
caught behind closed doors with another man, no matter who the person was."
"Harsh laws."
"Its just how their
laws and customs worked. To them, our laws and customs are considered
barbaric."
Sherry gave a small
yawn, turned off the light, and covered herself with the sheets.
"Good night."
"Yeah."
= = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = =
Two days
later...
The blizzard lasted
a whole day, so they weren't really up to going anywhere, and spent most of
their time in the hotel. Outside brought a whole new meaning to the term
'winter wonderland.' Four feet of snow covered the ground and buildings for as
far as the eye could see.
Leon was in the
lobby of the hotel, typing an e-mail to his sister using the computer at the
desk.
'Dear Megan,
It's me, Leon. It's been a long time. (two years to be
exact) So what are you doing now? How are things over there at University of
California? Are you getting good grades? What am I saying? Of course you are.
You're a Kennedy. Kennedys don't get bad grades. Please excuse my rambling.
Anyway, if you were wondering how I'm doing'
Leon paused for
thought.
'Should I tell her?
If she learns of this what I've been doing, it'll place her in danger with
Umbrella...' He thought.
'great. I just met this wonderful
woman, (she's about your age, maybe a little older) named Claire Redfield. I'll
send you a picture as an attachment file. Just wanted to check up on you.
Later, (with love)
Leon'
Leon then looked
through his 3.5" floppy for a picture of him and Claire to send to his sister.
Finally finding the one he was looking for, he attached the file to his message
and clicked 'send.' The picture was of Leon and Claire when the crew stopped
off at the Six Flags in Illinois. It showed Leon on the left side of the
picture and Claire on the right, each with an arm around the other and giving
the 'peace' sign with the other hand. They were smiling broadly, as if there
was nothing else going on in the world except for them.
Leon turned off the
computer, and Claire stepped into the room from the outside, shivering. Leon,
seeing that she was cold, took his jacket from the coat hanger and draped it
around her.
"Whatya doing?" she
asked.
"What are you
doing without a coat on?"
"It was just about
fifteen or twenty yards from here to our room."
"Still, it's below
freezing out there."
"You still haven't
answered my question." Claire said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"I was typing an
e-mail to my sister."
"All right. Come
back to the room with me. It's getting late."
Without hesitation,
Leon grabbed his coat and followed her out the door and back to their hotel
room.
= = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = =
They had been
watching the television for an hour or two, so it was now 7 PM and dark
outside.
'Hmmm...I think
I'll ask him now...a long shower just isn't like the real thing,' Claire
thought as she lifted her head up from Leon's lap, and sat up.
"You know,
Leon...We haven't had any time together for a month and a half..." Claire said,
as she turned her head to face Leon, a devilish smile curving her lips. "So I
was thinking that we could...you know..."
Leon scratched his
chin, then smiled.
"You're right,"
Leon said as he got up from the bed. "Come on. Get your coat on, and don't
forget your gloves, snow pants, and a second layer."
'What the heck?
Does he even know what I'm talking about?' Claire thought. 'Oh hell. Might as
well play along.'
They got dressed in
their snow clothes, and soon were out side in a very large field.
"So what did you
exactly want to take me out here for?" Claire asked, her back to Leon.
"This," He answered
simply.
Claire gave a yelp
of surprise as she found herself being lifted of the ground by Leon, and thrown
into a mound of snow. She hit the snow with a dull 'thump.' She then rolled
over to face Leon. He was laughing his ass off.
"That wasn't fair!"
Claire complained, and cleaned her face of snow. "Now help me up."
Leon walked over to
her, reaching out a hand, but was caught off guard as he found himself being
yanked into the snow pile next to Claire.
"My God, you are so
gullible, Leon!" Claire said between fits of laughter. "An eye for an eye, eh?"
Leon whipped the
snow from his face.
"Ha, ha. Very
funny."
"Yes, very."
At that remark,
both started laughing.
"You think that
that's funny, huh?" Leon said.
"Yep. You got a
problem?" She replied.
"Sort of."
Suddenly, Leon flung his arm that Claire couldn't see at her, which was full of
snow.
Leon started
laughing.
"Hahaha! Gotcha!"
"No. I gotcha." And
Claire did that same trick that Leon pulled. Now she was laughing.
"You're dead," Leon
said as he got up. "I'll give you a five-second headstart, now go!"
Claire started
trudging through the snow as fast as she could, but Leon soon caught up with
her and tackled her to the ground.
Leon looked down at
Claire's face as closely as he could, as if she were a priceless piece of art.
"What is it?"
Claire asked slightly embarrassed. "Is there something on my face?"
"It's just that I
love you so much," Leon said. "Every time I see you, you amaze me with your
beauty and personality. I just can't bear to be without you."
"Nice line."
Leon frowned. "I
mean it, Claire."
"I know, silly."
He lowered his head
to hers, and they kissed, not minding the biting cold of the Alaskan winter.
A little while
later, they separated. A small grin curved on Leon's face.
"I'm still not done
with you." he said.
"Oh really? What ya
gonna do?"
"Well...Are you
ticklish?"
Claire squealed as
Leon started to tickle her below the ribs.
"Ahhhhh!
Leon...hahaha!...s...stop...it...ahahaha!"
= = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = =
Chris watched the
scene from his window. Leon and Claire were throwing snowballs at each other
and laughing like schoolchildren all the way. Chris smiled.
'Heh...She really
likes this guy...She hasn't laughed like that since she was a kid,' Chris
thought.
"Jill..." Chris
said his thoughts out loud.
'Why are you saying
her name? For Christ's Sake, she's your fellow co-worker...Well, ex-co-worker,
but she's a friend nonetheless. Nothing high as to that degree.' Chris scolded
himself.
He walked over to
his bed, pulled up the covers, and turned out the lights.
'Let's hope that
her happiness lasts...' Chris thought as he slowly drifted off into a sleepy
twilight.
Author's note:
Yeah, no action. Well, I want to start off kind of slow. I'm thinking of
putting in action in the second or third chapter (probably the third). My
thanks go to my proofreader, F. Buckley, my copyeditor, Mayumi_H, and my beta
readers Catalina, Red Kat 9, and Jack the Ripper. Got anything you think that
this story might need? Then feel free to e-mail me with suggestions. (xenogears15@hotmail.com)
Once again, Shogun
is written by James Clavell, and was used without any intent to plagiarize, or
steal credit. The quoted text was from pages 576-578 in the book.
Gomen nasai,
wakarimasu ka? (GO-men-nas-I, wakare-mas-ka) / So/very sorry, understand?
Iye (EE-yay)/No
Ima (E-ma)/Now.
Anjin
(On-jean)/Pilot (The 'san' just means 'honorable pilot'. The Japanese
characters in Shogun call Blackthorne 'Anjin-san', because the 'th' sound in his name
doesn't exist in the Japanese vocabulary)
Side note: Give
credit to Mayumi_H for writing Sherry's thoughts during the quoted text from Shogun.
'Till next time,
Ja ne!
Draft: 1/17/01
Final: 2/26/01