Author's Note: Hiya! This chapter focuses more on the Steve/Claire relationship ^_^ I was surprised to see how much dialogue was in this chapter. Hopefully, I did well to please you romance fans in this chapter (Sorry, but I'm not experienced with romance writing). I'll let you be the judge though, enjoy!
'I'm...still alive?'
'Everything hurts...'
I felt something prick my skin, which instantly woke me from my sleep. Figuring it to be a monster, I lashed out at the unknown enemy.
"Hey! Hey! It's me!" a voice cried. I dropped my arm. It was Claire.
My vision began to clear, and I saw Claire staring at me. She looked really tired.
"Claire...?" I said. She smiled.
"I thought you'd never wake up," she said. I realized I had been propped up against the wall, far away from the monster's corpse. My wounds had been wrapped up, a little sloppily. Claire looked embarrassed.
"Sorry, I'm not really that great of a medic. I just basically know how to mix herbs and stuff," she said. I touched my bandaged stomach and winced. I looked at her again. I needed the antidote, I didn't care anymore if Claire knew about the T-Virus.
"Claire...the antidote...I need it," I mumbled.
"I know. You woke up right after I gave you the injection," she said. I was a little confused. Claire knew about it? My confusion must of been apparent to Claire.
"I'm not stupid, Steve. I saw how you were walking when we split up. I've seen these monsters before. I also saw this," she held up the T-Virus note that was in my pocket, "it fell out when you collapsed."
"You've seen these monsters before?" I asked. I couldn't believe it, this girl who I used to think was so naive? Claire looked a little sad.
"Yeah...I'll tell you about it when we get out of here, okay?" she said.
"Thanks for helping me," I said.
"Why didn't you tell me about the infection?" she asked, suddenly changing the subject. I was a bit surprised.
"I didn't want to get you involved. It's my problem," I replied.
"I could have helped, we might have found the cure faster," she said. I just closed my eyes, I didn't want to argue about it. I wanted to go to sleep.
"Steve?" Claire sounded frightened.
"I'm okay, just tired," I said. I looked at her, worry was built up inside of me.
"Claire...will I turn into one of those zombies?" I asked. I didn't know whether or not I was in stage four. She shook her head.
"No, you'll be fine. I promise," she said, she pulled out a piece of paper with a large green powder on it, "here, take this. It should make you feel better." She helped me swallow the herb mixture. It tasted horrible, but the throbbing pain seemed to slow down. She laughed at my expression when I gulped it down.
"Yeah, I know. It tastes like crap, but it'll increase your strength. I gave you some of my first aid sprays while you were out too. You should be fine soon," she said.
We were silent. We just stared at each other for a few minutes. I had never realized how much I appreciated Claire. She was the only person I felt I could trust. I began to feel uncomfortable and looked down. I felt my eyelids fluttering close.
"Claire, I'm sorry...I'm just really tired..." I began.
"Don't worry, you can sleep if you want. You need it," she said. She sat next to me. Her body heat was warming me. It was a nice change from the freezing Antarctic air.
"I'll stay with you until you're strong enough to leave," she said, resting her head on my shoulder.
"Thanks," I said quietly, but I don't think she heard it.
'She's going to stay with me,' I thought. I was happy.
"Claire, I think being with you has made me stronger," I said, "I'm really glad I met you." I was greeted by silence. What was she thinking? I peered over my shoulder, and I found her eyes closed. She was peacefully asleep.
"Why do you always have to fall asleep so fast...?" I muttered. I looked at her again. I gently pushed the strands of hair out of her face. I leaned forward and quickly kissed her.
'She would've killed me if she had woken up,' I thought. My face went red. I felt embarrassed about what I did, but it was satisfying.
"Sweet dreams, Claire," I said, then I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
I woke up to find that the pain had lessened a great deal. Either it was the antidote, the herb mixture, or both. My shoulder wasn't itching anymore, thankfully. The T-Virus was gone. I wasn't going to turn into a monster.
"Steve?" Claire lifted her head to look at me. I rubbed my shoulder. No pain, no itching...
"I'm not going to turn into a monster," I said. She smiled.
"Well of course you're not. I'd be mad if I went through all that trouble to help you and you turn into a zombie," she said. I quickly got onto my feet, stumbling as I did. I felt my strength returning little by little. It was as if I were walking for the first time.
"Hey, take it easy," Claire warned. She got up to help me.
"I'm fine," I protested as she walked up to me.
"You haven't fully recovered," she argued. I felt strong enough to leave, though.
"C'mon Claire, let's go. I want to get out of here," I said.
"I do to, but..." she watched me as I walked towards the door, "you're not going to give up, are you?" she asked.
"Nope," I grinned. Claire sighed.
"Okay, but I want to help fight too," she said.
"That's fine with me," I said, and we both left the room.
We explored the entire base. Claire sometimes left me to complete some things on her own. Our adventure took us to a machine room. There was something there that caught my eye. A large crane. If I could operate it...
"Claire, why don't you go check out the other rooms? There's something I want to do here," I said.
"Okay, be back in a second," she said. She disappeared through the door. I began checking out a nearby machine. If this could operate the crane, we'd be able to bust out of here. There was a map lying on top of the machine's controls. I inspected it. It had Umbrella's Antarctic base circled, but there was another base...
"Hey! I'm done. What did you find?" Claire asked, swinging the door open.
"Claire! It looks like there's an Australian base seven miles from here!" I said. She walked over and looked at the map, then she looked at the crane.
"If we break through that wall with that crane, we'll have a better chance of escaping," Claire said, pointing at the crane. It looked like she had read my mind.
"Okay! Let's do it!" I began moving the crane. I was thrilled when I found out it was in good working condition. Claire walked past me. She leaned against the rail and watched the crane. I couldn't help but look at her. She was beautiful. The perfect girl, I guess. At least that's what it seemed like. As I looked at her, I didn't realize that I wasn't controlling the crane anymore. Claire whirled around.
"Steve! Watch out!" she cried. It was too late, the crane smashed into the pipes and broke them open. Gas began pouring into the room.
"No! It's toxic gas!" I fiddled with the controls hoping I could fix it. Claire grabbed my arm and dragged me away.
"Come on!" she yelled. She pushed open the door and we both escaped. Once we were safe, I leaned against the rail. I had botched up big time. I'll I did was screw up...
"It's all my fault," I muttered.
"Don't say that!" Claire said, she looked me in the eyes, "listen to me. We'll escape from here. Together. Now let's shut off the gas. If we split up, we may have a better chance at stopping it," she said.
"Okay," I said. I took off to find a way to shut off the gas.
"Steve," Claire called. I turned to face her.
"Don't forget, we'll get out of here together. I promise," she said. I nodded, then smiled. I ran off to find a way to shut off the gas.
I retraced my steps back to the assembly room. I didn't want to go back into any those rooms. I didn't want to be ripped apart by those scaly freaks again, but I had to help Claire any way I could. I had to repay her for saving my life. I tried the "BOW" room again. The monster that attacked me was already dead, but the spider probably wasn't. The door opened with a loud creak, and I was overwhelmed by the fumes in the room. I began coughing as I scanned the room. There was gas in this room too. I spotted the gas mask next to me. I grabbed it and left the room. I began walking away when I heard Claire's voice.
"Hey! Steve! Good thing I found you!" she said. She ran up to me and held up a valve.
"This is what's going to shut off the gas," she said proudly, "but I need a gas mask to enter the room to shut it off."
"All taken care of," I said smiling. I gave her the gas mask. Her eyes lit up.
"Wow, that saves me some work. Thanks a lot! Let's go!" she said. I followed her up the small flight of stairs. She turned around and stopped me.
"Wait here until I turn off the gas," she said. She slipped on the gas mask and entered. I waited patiently by the door. I heard the loud creaking of the valve being turned. I was about to go in when I faintly heard a voice.
"Think again, Claire," it said. It was feminine, like I heard on the plane's monitor.
Alfred!
"I shall enjoy watching you shriek in agony," Alfred said. I shoved open the door, aiming at Alfred.
"Not this time!" Alfred turned to face me. He looked horrified that someone had interfered. Then he gave me a furious look.
"You again!" he hissed in the same voice as his sister's. He shot at me and I rolled out of the way. Another bullet whizzed past my ear and I rolled forward again until I was laying on my back in front of him. I pulled the triggers and Alfred convulsed as he was showered in bullets. He tumbled over the rail with a loud shriek. He landed harshly on a weakened part of the floor. Alfred stood up with blood covering his shirt. He groaned and reached for his sniper rifle. The ground broke under him as he reached for it and fell to his death with a scream.
"Good riddance," I snarled. I walked over to the crane and motioned for Claire to follow. She looked dazed by what had happened. She hopped down the stairs to where Alfred was and scooped up his sniper rifle.
"Claire, what are you doing? Hurry up," I said impatiently. She nodded and we both got into the digger. As I got into the driver's seat, I looked at her.
"Ready? I'm going to bust through that wall!" I said.
"Go for it!" she said enthusiastically. The crane dug into the wall as if it were digging through dirt. Water began pouring out and flooded the base. The digger moved forward and we dug through the other side. We both got out and I looked up at the helipad.
"Hey Claire! Maybe we can escape through there!" I said, pointing to the helipad.
"Come on! Let's go!" she said. We began out climb up the ladder knowing that nothing would get in our way now.
'I'm...still alive?'
'Everything hurts...'
I felt something prick my skin, which instantly woke me from my sleep. Figuring it to be a monster, I lashed out at the unknown enemy.
"Hey! Hey! It's me!" a voice cried. I dropped my arm. It was Claire.
My vision began to clear, and I saw Claire staring at me. She looked really tired.
"Claire...?" I said. She smiled.
"I thought you'd never wake up," she said. I realized I had been propped up against the wall, far away from the monster's corpse. My wounds had been wrapped up, a little sloppily. Claire looked embarrassed.
"Sorry, I'm not really that great of a medic. I just basically know how to mix herbs and stuff," she said. I touched my bandaged stomach and winced. I looked at her again. I needed the antidote, I didn't care anymore if Claire knew about the T-Virus.
"Claire...the antidote...I need it," I mumbled.
"I know. You woke up right after I gave you the injection," she said. I was a little confused. Claire knew about it? My confusion must of been apparent to Claire.
"I'm not stupid, Steve. I saw how you were walking when we split up. I've seen these monsters before. I also saw this," she held up the T-Virus note that was in my pocket, "it fell out when you collapsed."
"You've seen these monsters before?" I asked. I couldn't believe it, this girl who I used to think was so naive? Claire looked a little sad.
"Yeah...I'll tell you about it when we get out of here, okay?" she said.
"Thanks for helping me," I said.
"Why didn't you tell me about the infection?" she asked, suddenly changing the subject. I was a bit surprised.
"I didn't want to get you involved. It's my problem," I replied.
"I could have helped, we might have found the cure faster," she said. I just closed my eyes, I didn't want to argue about it. I wanted to go to sleep.
"Steve?" Claire sounded frightened.
"I'm okay, just tired," I said. I looked at her, worry was built up inside of me.
"Claire...will I turn into one of those zombies?" I asked. I didn't know whether or not I was in stage four. She shook her head.
"No, you'll be fine. I promise," she said, she pulled out a piece of paper with a large green powder on it, "here, take this. It should make you feel better." She helped me swallow the herb mixture. It tasted horrible, but the throbbing pain seemed to slow down. She laughed at my expression when I gulped it down.
"Yeah, I know. It tastes like crap, but it'll increase your strength. I gave you some of my first aid sprays while you were out too. You should be fine soon," she said.
We were silent. We just stared at each other for a few minutes. I had never realized how much I appreciated Claire. She was the only person I felt I could trust. I began to feel uncomfortable and looked down. I felt my eyelids fluttering close.
"Claire, I'm sorry...I'm just really tired..." I began.
"Don't worry, you can sleep if you want. You need it," she said. She sat next to me. Her body heat was warming me. It was a nice change from the freezing Antarctic air.
"I'll stay with you until you're strong enough to leave," she said, resting her head on my shoulder.
"Thanks," I said quietly, but I don't think she heard it.
'She's going to stay with me,' I thought. I was happy.
"Claire, I think being with you has made me stronger," I said, "I'm really glad I met you." I was greeted by silence. What was she thinking? I peered over my shoulder, and I found her eyes closed. She was peacefully asleep.
"Why do you always have to fall asleep so fast...?" I muttered. I looked at her again. I gently pushed the strands of hair out of her face. I leaned forward and quickly kissed her.
'She would've killed me if she had woken up,' I thought. My face went red. I felt embarrassed about what I did, but it was satisfying.
"Sweet dreams, Claire," I said, then I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
I woke up to find that the pain had lessened a great deal. Either it was the antidote, the herb mixture, or both. My shoulder wasn't itching anymore, thankfully. The T-Virus was gone. I wasn't going to turn into a monster.
"Steve?" Claire lifted her head to look at me. I rubbed my shoulder. No pain, no itching...
"I'm not going to turn into a monster," I said. She smiled.
"Well of course you're not. I'd be mad if I went through all that trouble to help you and you turn into a zombie," she said. I quickly got onto my feet, stumbling as I did. I felt my strength returning little by little. It was as if I were walking for the first time.
"Hey, take it easy," Claire warned. She got up to help me.
"I'm fine," I protested as she walked up to me.
"You haven't fully recovered," she argued. I felt strong enough to leave, though.
"C'mon Claire, let's go. I want to get out of here," I said.
"I do to, but..." she watched me as I walked towards the door, "you're not going to give up, are you?" she asked.
"Nope," I grinned. Claire sighed.
"Okay, but I want to help fight too," she said.
"That's fine with me," I said, and we both left the room.
We explored the entire base. Claire sometimes left me to complete some things on her own. Our adventure took us to a machine room. There was something there that caught my eye. A large crane. If I could operate it...
"Claire, why don't you go check out the other rooms? There's something I want to do here," I said.
"Okay, be back in a second," she said. She disappeared through the door. I began checking out a nearby machine. If this could operate the crane, we'd be able to bust out of here. There was a map lying on top of the machine's controls. I inspected it. It had Umbrella's Antarctic base circled, but there was another base...
"Hey! I'm done. What did you find?" Claire asked, swinging the door open.
"Claire! It looks like there's an Australian base seven miles from here!" I said. She walked over and looked at the map, then she looked at the crane.
"If we break through that wall with that crane, we'll have a better chance of escaping," Claire said, pointing at the crane. It looked like she had read my mind.
"Okay! Let's do it!" I began moving the crane. I was thrilled when I found out it was in good working condition. Claire walked past me. She leaned against the rail and watched the crane. I couldn't help but look at her. She was beautiful. The perfect girl, I guess. At least that's what it seemed like. As I looked at her, I didn't realize that I wasn't controlling the crane anymore. Claire whirled around.
"Steve! Watch out!" she cried. It was too late, the crane smashed into the pipes and broke them open. Gas began pouring into the room.
"No! It's toxic gas!" I fiddled with the controls hoping I could fix it. Claire grabbed my arm and dragged me away.
"Come on!" she yelled. She pushed open the door and we both escaped. Once we were safe, I leaned against the rail. I had botched up big time. I'll I did was screw up...
"It's all my fault," I muttered.
"Don't say that!" Claire said, she looked me in the eyes, "listen to me. We'll escape from here. Together. Now let's shut off the gas. If we split up, we may have a better chance at stopping it," she said.
"Okay," I said. I took off to find a way to shut off the gas.
"Steve," Claire called. I turned to face her.
"Don't forget, we'll get out of here together. I promise," she said. I nodded, then smiled. I ran off to find a way to shut off the gas.
I retraced my steps back to the assembly room. I didn't want to go back into any those rooms. I didn't want to be ripped apart by those scaly freaks again, but I had to help Claire any way I could. I had to repay her for saving my life. I tried the "BOW" room again. The monster that attacked me was already dead, but the spider probably wasn't. The door opened with a loud creak, and I was overwhelmed by the fumes in the room. I began coughing as I scanned the room. There was gas in this room too. I spotted the gas mask next to me. I grabbed it and left the room. I began walking away when I heard Claire's voice.
"Hey! Steve! Good thing I found you!" she said. She ran up to me and held up a valve.
"This is what's going to shut off the gas," she said proudly, "but I need a gas mask to enter the room to shut it off."
"All taken care of," I said smiling. I gave her the gas mask. Her eyes lit up.
"Wow, that saves me some work. Thanks a lot! Let's go!" she said. I followed her up the small flight of stairs. She turned around and stopped me.
"Wait here until I turn off the gas," she said. She slipped on the gas mask and entered. I waited patiently by the door. I heard the loud creaking of the valve being turned. I was about to go in when I faintly heard a voice.
"Think again, Claire," it said. It was feminine, like I heard on the plane's monitor.
Alfred!
"I shall enjoy watching you shriek in agony," Alfred said. I shoved open the door, aiming at Alfred.
"Not this time!" Alfred turned to face me. He looked horrified that someone had interfered. Then he gave me a furious look.
"You again!" he hissed in the same voice as his sister's. He shot at me and I rolled out of the way. Another bullet whizzed past my ear and I rolled forward again until I was laying on my back in front of him. I pulled the triggers and Alfred convulsed as he was showered in bullets. He tumbled over the rail with a loud shriek. He landed harshly on a weakened part of the floor. Alfred stood up with blood covering his shirt. He groaned and reached for his sniper rifle. The ground broke under him as he reached for it and fell to his death with a scream.
"Good riddance," I snarled. I walked over to the crane and motioned for Claire to follow. She looked dazed by what had happened. She hopped down the stairs to where Alfred was and scooped up his sniper rifle.
"Claire, what are you doing? Hurry up," I said impatiently. She nodded and we both got into the digger. As I got into the driver's seat, I looked at her.
"Ready? I'm going to bust through that wall!" I said.
"Go for it!" she said enthusiastically. The crane dug into the wall as if it were digging through dirt. Water began pouring out and flooded the base. The digger moved forward and we dug through the other side. We both got out and I looked up at the helipad.
"Hey Claire! Maybe we can escape through there!" I said, pointing to the helipad.
"Come on! Let's go!" she said. We began out climb up the ladder knowing that nothing would get in our way now.