Chapter Nineteen:
Claire's heart stopped beating and fell dead silent as she stared at the blood staining the carpet. She pulled herself free of the handcuffs and leapt off the bed, falling to Leon's side. His blood smeared all over her legs and arms but she didn't care, pulling his head into her lap, she caressed his face.
"Leon, Leon, oh, God..." she muttered over and over again.
Even though she could hardly see straight, it didn't take a genius to see that he was barely holding on.
"Just hang on, okay? We're going to get help." she whispered to him softly. After the initial shock wore off, her gaze darted to Steve. He was hanging back against the wall, pale-faced and shaking.
"WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE!?" Claire screamed in a voice not her own.
"I--I..." Steve trailed off. He swallowed hard, "Is he...hurt?"
"What the HELL do you think?!" She bellowed so loud her vocal cords nearly burst. "Did you think that it wouldn't hurt a person to be SHOT?! You were on Rockford, you know what guns could do--and those killed things that were already as good as DEAD!"
Her outrage carried over all the chaos outside, for a few house lights turned on across the street. Claire didn't give a damn. Let those noisy shits wake up, let them call the cops, let them take Steve away and lock him up forever. In her fury, she temporarily forgot about Leon, which was, in itself, a very dangerous thing to do. The bullet could have punctured a major artery.
"I didn't...I didn't mean to...?" Steve stammered.
At that, Claire jumped up, crossed the room and delivered one GodAlmighty blow to Steve's jawline. She had never hit like that before. Steve actually fell to his knees and then clutched at his face, crying out like a child.
"Like hell you didn't!" Claire screamed.
"Well, YOU shouldn't have disagreed with me!" Steve shouted back, jumping up and grabbing her shoulders. With one last look at Leon's pallid features, he shook her hard. "Come with me. You can't stay here anymore--you'll be thrown into prison They'll blame you. Will you be able to live with yourself if that happens?"
Claire kicked Steve's balls (at this point in time we can scarcely call them the tamer 'groin') as hard as she could and then karate chopped his midback. "Wipe your conscience." she spat at him.
Walking back to Leon, she picked up the revolver at his side. "I'm giving you to the count of ten."
"What?" Steve wheezed, still keeling over.
"Ten, nine, eight..." she began, ignoring him.
"You dumb bitch, you're going to stay here with that dead man--"
"Seven, six, five, four..." she cocked the gun and aimed it at Steve.
Cowardice suddenly flooded Steve and he leapt up and smashed through the French doors.
"Three, two, one..." Claire stood up and aimed outside as Steve jumped the railing of the lanai. Taking aim, she fired. She was rusty, and it showed, but she didn't go through life with Chris Redfield as a brother for nothing. The master marksmanship had rubbed off. She didn't hit anything vital, but she hit something, because he cried out and fell to the ground, flat on his face. She shot again, a clear shot of his arm before he ran off, limping all the way.
Police sirens wailed in the distance as Claire picked up the phone, dialing 911. Looking down at Leon, she finally allowed the tears to fall.
"Leon..." she breathed. "I'm so sorry..."
Leon groaned and sputtered pitifully. "Don't be..." he tried to move, then cried out in agony. "Jesus Christ!"
"Don't move!" she begged him, grabbing a blanket and covering him up. "Just rest, relax! Please!"
Tears formed in Leon's eyes as the pain seared through his body. Ripping his insides and hammering at his brain. Looking down at his midsection, he laughed absently.
"God, is that all my blood?" he asked. He had meant for it to be a silent thought, but it had come out instead. Claire looked down at him and kissed his forehead. She spoked some hurried words into the phone (probably to a 911 dispatcher) then held him close to her breasts.
"Get into... a robe for God's sake, you'll freeze to...death." How ironic. Leon groaned, trying anything, saying anything to stay awake. He didn't care how ridiculous he sounded, right now, staying away was the important thing. But God, wouldn't it be great to close his eyes? The pain would stop, certainly, and he wouldn't be feeling so damn light-headed.
Foolishly, his eyelids fluttered down briefly when Claire shook him violently.
"Fuck you, Leon, don't you DARE close your eyes!" She sobbed angrily.
A ribbon of pain shot through him, penetrating his wound and he cried out again. "It hurts..."
"I wish I had killed him..." she whispered. "I let you down."
"Not...really...you shot at him--he got hurt...I could tell..." Leon said, his voice weakening.
"Shh..." Claire whispered. "Don't talk. Please, just...don't talk..."
Leon closed his mouth and swallowed hard. The door was suddenly pushed aside and the room spun.
"Claire! Shit, what in hell happened?" A male voice, someone familiar...WHO was it though?
"Oh my! Claire, what in heaven's name happened?" Now a female voice, also familiar...WHO was it this time?
At that, Claire began to sob.
"Leon! We have to get Leon to the hospital, I don't know how long he'll be able to last!"
Just at that moment, a loud siren cried out and red, white and blue lights flashed through the darkness. A few seconds later, two men came in, carrying a stretcher and he was lifted up just as two or three police officers entered the scene.
"Cl...Clay..air.." he murmured drowsily as unconsiousness began to take hold of him.
"He's getting delusional..." one man said as they loaded him into the ambulance.
"LEON!" he heard her cry through the rain.
"Cay-lair!" he shouted, trying to fight against them but was held back.
Claire paced the ER floor anxiously. Looking hastily at the clock, she realized that it was only one minute later than when she last checked. The time was dragging on and on. Tears filled her eyes and then spilled over. Her life couldn't have gotten any worse. She had been interrogated for nearly two hours; the same old boring questions, 'who, what, where, when, how, why?'. When she had explained why Steve would have been so irate, the officers shared a knowing glance. She knew what they were thinking. No wonder she's in this mess, the slutty ones are always the trouble-makers.
Biting her lip in anger, she remembered how it was only when Chris arrived that they wound up with a simple, 'We'll do our best to catch him, ma'am' and then walked out. That was when she headed for the emergency room and was told she had to wait outside. They didn't even answer her when she asked how he was holding up.
"Claire," a hand touched her shoulder and she jumped away.
Chris was standing behind her. "You should get some rest." he told her.
Claire shook her head vigorously. "No, not until I see how Leon is..."
"If I had known that Steve was that demented I would've come back sooner--"
"Please, let's not talk about it..." she begged.
"Then, WHEN Claire?" he demanded. "Every time I want to talk about your problems with Steve, you always say, 'let's not talk about it'. Well, if not now, then WHEN. Maybe if you had told me about this before, you wouldn't be in this mess."
His words hadn't meant to come out harsh, but they had. Claire whirled around and frowned deeply.
"Don't you DARE turn this around on me. It's always my fault, isn't it?"
"I didn't mean that--" Chris began.
"No, fine. It is. It's always my fault! Fine." she turned to the window and watched the rain zigzag down. "It's always my fault... It IS always my fault..." Fresh tears formed in her eyes and she sank down to her knees. "It IS! It IS!"
Choked sobs flew out of her throat and she doubled over, crying harder than she'd ever cried before. "Chris, it IS always my fault. If I hadn't dragged Leon into this, he wouldn't be here. He'd be safe, unharmed..."
"Claire," Chris sat down Indian-style next to her. "It isn't your fault."
"Then whose fault is it?" she asked shakily.
Chris shook his head. Pulling her into his arms, he embraced her hard. "I don't think...No one ever means for this to happen..." he said. "Bad luck, you know..."
Claire didn't know, but she nodded anyway. Chris was trying to help, but in his usual, big-brother ways, he stumbled on explanations of why there were monsters under beds and why people deliberately set out to hurt others.
"I love you, Chris." she said softly.
Chris froze, like he usually did during an unexpected show of affection, but he relaxed and kissed her forehead. "I love you, too, Rainbow..."
The sound of that old nickname bestowed by her dad made Claire look up at her brother. Rainbow...the promise that after even years and years of darkness and bad weather, the sun would always come out...and there would always be a rainbow. The memory comforted her and she nodded gently. The sound of footsteps coming from opposite directions jolted her from her bubble of safety and comfort.
Rebecca and a doctor came from opposite sides of the corridor.
"Good news, he's in stable condition." he said to Claire, just as Rebecca spoke in a shaky voice, "They found Steve's body in a ravine just off the highway..."
Claire's heart stopped beating and fell dead silent as she stared at the blood staining the carpet. She pulled herself free of the handcuffs and leapt off the bed, falling to Leon's side. His blood smeared all over her legs and arms but she didn't care, pulling his head into her lap, she caressed his face.
"Leon, Leon, oh, God..." she muttered over and over again.
Even though she could hardly see straight, it didn't take a genius to see that he was barely holding on.
"Just hang on, okay? We're going to get help." she whispered to him softly. After the initial shock wore off, her gaze darted to Steve. He was hanging back against the wall, pale-faced and shaking.
"WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE!?" Claire screamed in a voice not her own.
"I--I..." Steve trailed off. He swallowed hard, "Is he...hurt?"
"What the HELL do you think?!" She bellowed so loud her vocal cords nearly burst. "Did you think that it wouldn't hurt a person to be SHOT?! You were on Rockford, you know what guns could do--and those killed things that were already as good as DEAD!"
Her outrage carried over all the chaos outside, for a few house lights turned on across the street. Claire didn't give a damn. Let those noisy shits wake up, let them call the cops, let them take Steve away and lock him up forever. In her fury, she temporarily forgot about Leon, which was, in itself, a very dangerous thing to do. The bullet could have punctured a major artery.
"I didn't...I didn't mean to...?" Steve stammered.
At that, Claire jumped up, crossed the room and delivered one GodAlmighty blow to Steve's jawline. She had never hit like that before. Steve actually fell to his knees and then clutched at his face, crying out like a child.
"Like hell you didn't!" Claire screamed.
"Well, YOU shouldn't have disagreed with me!" Steve shouted back, jumping up and grabbing her shoulders. With one last look at Leon's pallid features, he shook her hard. "Come with me. You can't stay here anymore--you'll be thrown into prison They'll blame you. Will you be able to live with yourself if that happens?"
Claire kicked Steve's balls (at this point in time we can scarcely call them the tamer 'groin') as hard as she could and then karate chopped his midback. "Wipe your conscience." she spat at him.
Walking back to Leon, she picked up the revolver at his side. "I'm giving you to the count of ten."
"What?" Steve wheezed, still keeling over.
"Ten, nine, eight..." she began, ignoring him.
"You dumb bitch, you're going to stay here with that dead man--"
"Seven, six, five, four..." she cocked the gun and aimed it at Steve.
Cowardice suddenly flooded Steve and he leapt up and smashed through the French doors.
"Three, two, one..." Claire stood up and aimed outside as Steve jumped the railing of the lanai. Taking aim, she fired. She was rusty, and it showed, but she didn't go through life with Chris Redfield as a brother for nothing. The master marksmanship had rubbed off. She didn't hit anything vital, but she hit something, because he cried out and fell to the ground, flat on his face. She shot again, a clear shot of his arm before he ran off, limping all the way.
Police sirens wailed in the distance as Claire picked up the phone, dialing 911. Looking down at Leon, she finally allowed the tears to fall.
"Leon..." she breathed. "I'm so sorry..."
Leon groaned and sputtered pitifully. "Don't be..." he tried to move, then cried out in agony. "Jesus Christ!"
"Don't move!" she begged him, grabbing a blanket and covering him up. "Just rest, relax! Please!"
Tears formed in Leon's eyes as the pain seared through his body. Ripping his insides and hammering at his brain. Looking down at his midsection, he laughed absently.
"God, is that all my blood?" he asked. He had meant for it to be a silent thought, but it had come out instead. Claire looked down at him and kissed his forehead. She spoked some hurried words into the phone (probably to a 911 dispatcher) then held him close to her breasts.
"Get into... a robe for God's sake, you'll freeze to...death." How ironic. Leon groaned, trying anything, saying anything to stay awake. He didn't care how ridiculous he sounded, right now, staying away was the important thing. But God, wouldn't it be great to close his eyes? The pain would stop, certainly, and he wouldn't be feeling so damn light-headed.
Foolishly, his eyelids fluttered down briefly when Claire shook him violently.
"Fuck you, Leon, don't you DARE close your eyes!" She sobbed angrily.
A ribbon of pain shot through him, penetrating his wound and he cried out again. "It hurts..."
"I wish I had killed him..." she whispered. "I let you down."
"Not...really...you shot at him--he got hurt...I could tell..." Leon said, his voice weakening.
"Shh..." Claire whispered. "Don't talk. Please, just...don't talk..."
Leon closed his mouth and swallowed hard. The door was suddenly pushed aside and the room spun.
"Claire! Shit, what in hell happened?" A male voice, someone familiar...WHO was it though?
"Oh my! Claire, what in heaven's name happened?" Now a female voice, also familiar...WHO was it this time?
At that, Claire began to sob.
"Leon! We have to get Leon to the hospital, I don't know how long he'll be able to last!"
Just at that moment, a loud siren cried out and red, white and blue lights flashed through the darkness. A few seconds later, two men came in, carrying a stretcher and he was lifted up just as two or three police officers entered the scene.
"Cl...Clay..air.." he murmured drowsily as unconsiousness began to take hold of him.
"He's getting delusional..." one man said as they loaded him into the ambulance.
"LEON!" he heard her cry through the rain.
"Cay-lair!" he shouted, trying to fight against them but was held back.
Claire paced the ER floor anxiously. Looking hastily at the clock, she realized that it was only one minute later than when she last checked. The time was dragging on and on. Tears filled her eyes and then spilled over. Her life couldn't have gotten any worse. She had been interrogated for nearly two hours; the same old boring questions, 'who, what, where, when, how, why?'. When she had explained why Steve would have been so irate, the officers shared a knowing glance. She knew what they were thinking. No wonder she's in this mess, the slutty ones are always the trouble-makers.
Biting her lip in anger, she remembered how it was only when Chris arrived that they wound up with a simple, 'We'll do our best to catch him, ma'am' and then walked out. That was when she headed for the emergency room and was told she had to wait outside. They didn't even answer her when she asked how he was holding up.
"Claire," a hand touched her shoulder and she jumped away.
Chris was standing behind her. "You should get some rest." he told her.
Claire shook her head vigorously. "No, not until I see how Leon is..."
"If I had known that Steve was that demented I would've come back sooner--"
"Please, let's not talk about it..." she begged.
"Then, WHEN Claire?" he demanded. "Every time I want to talk about your problems with Steve, you always say, 'let's not talk about it'. Well, if not now, then WHEN. Maybe if you had told me about this before, you wouldn't be in this mess."
His words hadn't meant to come out harsh, but they had. Claire whirled around and frowned deeply.
"Don't you DARE turn this around on me. It's always my fault, isn't it?"
"I didn't mean that--" Chris began.
"No, fine. It is. It's always my fault! Fine." she turned to the window and watched the rain zigzag down. "It's always my fault... It IS always my fault..." Fresh tears formed in her eyes and she sank down to her knees. "It IS! It IS!"
Choked sobs flew out of her throat and she doubled over, crying harder than she'd ever cried before. "Chris, it IS always my fault. If I hadn't dragged Leon into this, he wouldn't be here. He'd be safe, unharmed..."
"Claire," Chris sat down Indian-style next to her. "It isn't your fault."
"Then whose fault is it?" she asked shakily.
Chris shook his head. Pulling her into his arms, he embraced her hard. "I don't think...No one ever means for this to happen..." he said. "Bad luck, you know..."
Claire didn't know, but she nodded anyway. Chris was trying to help, but in his usual, big-brother ways, he stumbled on explanations of why there were monsters under beds and why people deliberately set out to hurt others.
"I love you, Chris." she said softly.
Chris froze, like he usually did during an unexpected show of affection, but he relaxed and kissed her forehead. "I love you, too, Rainbow..."
The sound of that old nickname bestowed by her dad made Claire look up at her brother. Rainbow...the promise that after even years and years of darkness and bad weather, the sun would always come out...and there would always be a rainbow. The memory comforted her and she nodded gently. The sound of footsteps coming from opposite directions jolted her from her bubble of safety and comfort.
Rebecca and a doctor came from opposite sides of the corridor.
"Good news, he's in stable condition." he said to Claire, just as Rebecca spoke in a shaky voice, "They found Steve's body in a ravine just off the highway..."
