Author's Note: Hiya! This isn't as action-related as the other chapters, since Steve just pilots the plane. This chapter has a bit of romance in it (there's more to come too). The next chapter will be Steve's hunt for the antidote, and the introduction of the Hunters. ^_^ Enjoy!
"That freak! He's trying to blow us up with the facility! We need to get to that airport," I said. Then it struck me. We needed those three proofs before we could operate the lift to the plane.
I cursed myself for not thinking of it before. I had been so wrapped up in my own problems that I completely forgot about it.
"Claire, do you have three proofs with you?" I asked hopefully. She pulled out all three army proofs.
"What, you mean these?" she asked. I wanted to jump up and hug her, but I think she would have pulled out that bow gun to use on me before I got too close. It seemed that I had underestimated her a lot.
"Let's get going," I said. We both ran through the mansion, through the palace, and we didn't stop until we were outside. I heard the voice on the speakers again.
"The self-destruct system as been activated. All personnel please evacuate immediately."
"C'mon! Hurry Claire!" I urged as we ran towards the airport. We both climbed into the sub. I nervously fiddled with the controls and the sub shook slightly as it left the port. Claire had her arms folded across her chest and was leaning against the side of the sub.
The submarine came to a halt and I climbed out. I helped Claire out and we dashed down the stairs. Three zombies were there to greet us.
"Stay behind me," I said. I squeezed the triggers of the submachine guns and they soon fell afterwards. I ran past them when I felt something grab my foot. I tripped and landed hard on my stomach. One of the zombies were still alive and was ready to take a bite out of my foot. It was about to sink its teeth in when it was gunned down by Claire. It moaned and convulsed before dropping to the ground. Claire put away her handgun and pulled me to my feet.
"We don't have much time!" she said and dragged me to the airport. She placed all three proofs in and the lift carried us to the plane. We were finally going to get out of here.
My hopes shattered as I fiddled with the controls of the plane. We couldn't take off yet until the bridge was raised.
"No! We can't take off until we raise the bridge," I said. Claire walked up to me and looked out the window.
"Leave that to me. You stay here and make sure we'll be able to take off," she ran off again. I didn't really like the idea, but I knew that she could handle herself now. I looked at the controls. It was time to do my job too.
It seemed like everything was working fine. Whether we got out of here or not was now in Claire's hands. It seemed like hours she had been away. What if that weird guy found her? She might need help or something.
'You need to back off,' I told myself, 'she'll do fine. I can't let myself think like that.' I was relieved when I heard the door open and Claire walk in.
"What took you so long? I was getting worried," I said. I turned to look at her, she looked like she had fought a really tough enemy. She had the cuts and scratches to prove it too.
"No time to explain! Let's get going," she said.
"Right! We're out of here! Time to say good-bye to this death-trap," I said. We took off into the air. We were safe from the island, we would never have to go back there again.
"We made it! Wahoo!" I cheered.
"It's finally over," Claire said. I looked at her for a moment, and then looked down.
"Claire...I'm sorry, I know I've caused a lot of trouble for you," I said. She just placed her hand on my shoulder.
"No, it's okay. It was hard for both of us," she said.
"Well, I really hope you find your brother. I know what it's like to be alone," I said, and it wasn't a good feeling either.
"Oh Steve..." she said. She sounded sympathetic.
I was suddenly reminded that I still needed an antidote. I panicked. How was I going to get the antidote now? I had no right to ask Claire to risk her life again to help me find the antidote, and now that the symptoms have gotten worse...
"So, where should we go, now? I can take you anywhere you want, Claire," I said, trying to not let my nervousness and fear show. She placed her hand on her chin.
"Hmm...well, I hear Hawaii's nice this time of year," she said, grinning innocently.
"You got it!" I said.
'How about Antarctica?' I thought bitterly.
She began to laugh. I laughed along with her. It felt nice, I couldn't remember the last time I laughed. However, the antidote was the most important thing on my mind. I didn't care if Claire wanted to help or not, but she at least needed to know. After all, what would she think if I suddenly turned into a zombie?
"Claire, I need to tell you something..." I began.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Well-" before I could tell her, the plane shook violently. When it stopped I noticed the cargo-hatch was open.
"What's going on?" Claire asked.
"The cargo-hatch is open. I can't close it," I said.
"I'll go back and check it out. You just fly the plane," she said. She grabbed the bow gun and scooped up some gun powder arrows. She loaded them into the gun. I pressed a couple buttons.
"Thanks. I've unlocked the door for you," I said. She nodded and went to go look. I tried to stay focused on flying, but I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the plane. I suddenly heard the explosions of the gun powder arrows going off, and the angry roars of something I had never heard before. It definitely was a monster, but what kind of monster?
"Please be safe," I said. I wanted to go and help, but I needed to control the plane. The explosions had stopped, along with the roaring. I was afraid of what might of happened. Please don't let her be dead...
"All done," I heard Claire say. I jumped. She casually walked in.
"What was wrong?" I asked.
"Oh nothing. Just a giant cockroach that had to be stepped on," she said with an arrogant smile. I was about to ask about what had happened to her when I felt the plane shift.
"What's going on?" Claire asked. I tugged at the controls, but they wouldn't budge.
"I don't know! The plane just changed directions on its own! It's on automatic pilot mode, I can't switch over to manual control!" I told her. The monitor flickered on. Alfred appeared on it, he spoke in a high-pitched feminine voice.
"My apologies, but I cannot allow you to escape now. Mwahahaha!" the monitor turned off.
"Alfred! Cross-dressing freak!" Claire cried. My hatred for Mr. Ashford grew. He may have just sealed our fate. I got out of the pilot's seat. There was no point in sitting there. I sat down elsewhere.
"Man, this sucks," I said. Claire sat down besides me.
"Yeah, but don't worry. We'll get out of this," she said. She leaned against me.
'You might, but I'm not,' I knew what fate was in store for me. I wasn't going to get that antidote. I still needed to tell Claire...
"Claire, I need to-" I felt her head against my shoulder. I looked at her. She was sleeping peacefully. I'd tell her later. I decided to follow her example, and I went to sleep too.
I woke up when I felt Claire shift in her sleep. I felt worse. My chest ached. I lifted my shirt to see what was wrong with me. My eyes widen in horror. There were a couple large wounds across my stomach and chest. I know I hadn't been injured there. They hurt badly. My leg ached too. It was swollen. I felt like I had been hit by a truck.
Stage three...
It was only a matter of time before I hit stage four. Then I could kiss my life as a human good-bye. I felt a wave of despair. I had tried to stay optimistic. I thought I could find an antidote, but it was too late...
I looked at Claire. It was the first time I had taken a good look at her face. She was pretty, kind, brave...my opinion of her had really changed. At first, I thought she was just a dumb girl who relied too much on others. She really proved me wrong, and now I may end up relying on her. I didn't want to turn into a zombie. I didn't want to hurt Claire. People like her didn't deserve my kind of fate.
I leaned closer to her face. I knew I'd never get this chance if she was awake, nor would I probably get this chance ever again. Just one small kiss couldn't hurt, right? She stirred before I could kiss her, and I jumped back. I was afraid of her waking up. I sighed and got up to look out the window. I found out that I had some difficulty walking over to the window. It was frustrating.
I saw from the window that it was snowing.
"Hey, where are we?" I asked out loud. I went to go check to see where we ended up. I heard Claire groan as she woke up.
"Huh?" she mumbled.
"Latitude eighty-two point seventeen degrees. That's...the Antarctic! We're over the Antarctic!" I said. I didn't care if I sounded excited about it. Alfred had led me straight to the antidote. Thanks a lot, Mr. Ashford. There was hope for me after all.
Claire ran over to the window. She looked around.
"Hey! Those are seaplanes that left the island just before us!" she said.
"And that must mean, this place belongs to Umbrella!" I said. I'd definitely find the antidote here. My excitement and joy ended when I realized that the plane wasn't slowing down to land. I quickly turned to Claire.
"Hang on! We're going to crash!" I yelled. The plane smashed into the ground and we skidded forward. Claire and I were violently thrown forward from the force of impact. I slammed my head into something and everything went black.
"That freak! He's trying to blow us up with the facility! We need to get to that airport," I said. Then it struck me. We needed those three proofs before we could operate the lift to the plane.
I cursed myself for not thinking of it before. I had been so wrapped up in my own problems that I completely forgot about it.
"Claire, do you have three proofs with you?" I asked hopefully. She pulled out all three army proofs.
"What, you mean these?" she asked. I wanted to jump up and hug her, but I think she would have pulled out that bow gun to use on me before I got too close. It seemed that I had underestimated her a lot.
"Let's get going," I said. We both ran through the mansion, through the palace, and we didn't stop until we were outside. I heard the voice on the speakers again.
"The self-destruct system as been activated. All personnel please evacuate immediately."
"C'mon! Hurry Claire!" I urged as we ran towards the airport. We both climbed into the sub. I nervously fiddled with the controls and the sub shook slightly as it left the port. Claire had her arms folded across her chest and was leaning against the side of the sub.
The submarine came to a halt and I climbed out. I helped Claire out and we dashed down the stairs. Three zombies were there to greet us.
"Stay behind me," I said. I squeezed the triggers of the submachine guns and they soon fell afterwards. I ran past them when I felt something grab my foot. I tripped and landed hard on my stomach. One of the zombies were still alive and was ready to take a bite out of my foot. It was about to sink its teeth in when it was gunned down by Claire. It moaned and convulsed before dropping to the ground. Claire put away her handgun and pulled me to my feet.
"We don't have much time!" she said and dragged me to the airport. She placed all three proofs in and the lift carried us to the plane. We were finally going to get out of here.
My hopes shattered as I fiddled with the controls of the plane. We couldn't take off yet until the bridge was raised.
"No! We can't take off until we raise the bridge," I said. Claire walked up to me and looked out the window.
"Leave that to me. You stay here and make sure we'll be able to take off," she ran off again. I didn't really like the idea, but I knew that she could handle herself now. I looked at the controls. It was time to do my job too.
It seemed like everything was working fine. Whether we got out of here or not was now in Claire's hands. It seemed like hours she had been away. What if that weird guy found her? She might need help or something.
'You need to back off,' I told myself, 'she'll do fine. I can't let myself think like that.' I was relieved when I heard the door open and Claire walk in.
"What took you so long? I was getting worried," I said. I turned to look at her, she looked like she had fought a really tough enemy. She had the cuts and scratches to prove it too.
"No time to explain! Let's get going," she said.
"Right! We're out of here! Time to say good-bye to this death-trap," I said. We took off into the air. We were safe from the island, we would never have to go back there again.
"We made it! Wahoo!" I cheered.
"It's finally over," Claire said. I looked at her for a moment, and then looked down.
"Claire...I'm sorry, I know I've caused a lot of trouble for you," I said. She just placed her hand on my shoulder.
"No, it's okay. It was hard for both of us," she said.
"Well, I really hope you find your brother. I know what it's like to be alone," I said, and it wasn't a good feeling either.
"Oh Steve..." she said. She sounded sympathetic.
I was suddenly reminded that I still needed an antidote. I panicked. How was I going to get the antidote now? I had no right to ask Claire to risk her life again to help me find the antidote, and now that the symptoms have gotten worse...
"So, where should we go, now? I can take you anywhere you want, Claire," I said, trying to not let my nervousness and fear show. She placed her hand on her chin.
"Hmm...well, I hear Hawaii's nice this time of year," she said, grinning innocently.
"You got it!" I said.
'How about Antarctica?' I thought bitterly.
She began to laugh. I laughed along with her. It felt nice, I couldn't remember the last time I laughed. However, the antidote was the most important thing on my mind. I didn't care if Claire wanted to help or not, but she at least needed to know. After all, what would she think if I suddenly turned into a zombie?
"Claire, I need to tell you something..." I began.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Well-" before I could tell her, the plane shook violently. When it stopped I noticed the cargo-hatch was open.
"What's going on?" Claire asked.
"The cargo-hatch is open. I can't close it," I said.
"I'll go back and check it out. You just fly the plane," she said. She grabbed the bow gun and scooped up some gun powder arrows. She loaded them into the gun. I pressed a couple buttons.
"Thanks. I've unlocked the door for you," I said. She nodded and went to go look. I tried to stay focused on flying, but I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the plane. I suddenly heard the explosions of the gun powder arrows going off, and the angry roars of something I had never heard before. It definitely was a monster, but what kind of monster?
"Please be safe," I said. I wanted to go and help, but I needed to control the plane. The explosions had stopped, along with the roaring. I was afraid of what might of happened. Please don't let her be dead...
"All done," I heard Claire say. I jumped. She casually walked in.
"What was wrong?" I asked.
"Oh nothing. Just a giant cockroach that had to be stepped on," she said with an arrogant smile. I was about to ask about what had happened to her when I felt the plane shift.
"What's going on?" Claire asked. I tugged at the controls, but they wouldn't budge.
"I don't know! The plane just changed directions on its own! It's on automatic pilot mode, I can't switch over to manual control!" I told her. The monitor flickered on. Alfred appeared on it, he spoke in a high-pitched feminine voice.
"My apologies, but I cannot allow you to escape now. Mwahahaha!" the monitor turned off.
"Alfred! Cross-dressing freak!" Claire cried. My hatred for Mr. Ashford grew. He may have just sealed our fate. I got out of the pilot's seat. There was no point in sitting there. I sat down elsewhere.
"Man, this sucks," I said. Claire sat down besides me.
"Yeah, but don't worry. We'll get out of this," she said. She leaned against me.
'You might, but I'm not,' I knew what fate was in store for me. I wasn't going to get that antidote. I still needed to tell Claire...
"Claire, I need to-" I felt her head against my shoulder. I looked at her. She was sleeping peacefully. I'd tell her later. I decided to follow her example, and I went to sleep too.
I woke up when I felt Claire shift in her sleep. I felt worse. My chest ached. I lifted my shirt to see what was wrong with me. My eyes widen in horror. There were a couple large wounds across my stomach and chest. I know I hadn't been injured there. They hurt badly. My leg ached too. It was swollen. I felt like I had been hit by a truck.
Stage three...
It was only a matter of time before I hit stage four. Then I could kiss my life as a human good-bye. I felt a wave of despair. I had tried to stay optimistic. I thought I could find an antidote, but it was too late...
I looked at Claire. It was the first time I had taken a good look at her face. She was pretty, kind, brave...my opinion of her had really changed. At first, I thought she was just a dumb girl who relied too much on others. She really proved me wrong, and now I may end up relying on her. I didn't want to turn into a zombie. I didn't want to hurt Claire. People like her didn't deserve my kind of fate.
I leaned closer to her face. I knew I'd never get this chance if she was awake, nor would I probably get this chance ever again. Just one small kiss couldn't hurt, right? She stirred before I could kiss her, and I jumped back. I was afraid of her waking up. I sighed and got up to look out the window. I found out that I had some difficulty walking over to the window. It was frustrating.
I saw from the window that it was snowing.
"Hey, where are we?" I asked out loud. I went to go check to see where we ended up. I heard Claire groan as she woke up.
"Huh?" she mumbled.
"Latitude eighty-two point seventeen degrees. That's...the Antarctic! We're over the Antarctic!" I said. I didn't care if I sounded excited about it. Alfred had led me straight to the antidote. Thanks a lot, Mr. Ashford. There was hope for me after all.
Claire ran over to the window. She looked around.
"Hey! Those are seaplanes that left the island just before us!" she said.
"And that must mean, this place belongs to Umbrella!" I said. I'd definitely find the antidote here. My excitement and joy ended when I realized that the plane wasn't slowing down to land. I quickly turned to Claire.
"Hang on! We're going to crash!" I yelled. The plane smashed into the ground and we skidded forward. Claire and I were violently thrown forward from the force of impact. I slammed my head into something and everything went black.