Author's note: Here's the next chapter of the story, second to the last of this ten part drama. Hope you enjoy.
Serena: The interaction will come a little more later, kind of the last chapter, hope you're cool with that. And by the way, you really are fond with descriptions of really sharp things.
Tifa Redfield: Yes ma'am.
Hotaru: The pancake speaks to me.
Frenchy: You are my official drum girl.
Orion: First time I had a guy faint on me.
Chapter 9: "Beyond Suffering"
Rachel's heart stopped beating, and she was quite certain that the other girl's heart had the same course of nature as well. "…You know me…he told you about me?" Claire asked Rachel, moving closer. "…I…yeah…he…he…" Rachel couldn't find the words to express what she felt. On one hand, there was the utter shock of seeing the woman Leon was looking for all this time, and on the other, there was the creeping hatred she had for the woman as well. It wasn't like the big movies where the climactic confrontations occurred in massive factories or well-lit hotel rooms; Claire and Rachel met in the sidewalk, coated by the silver moonlight.
"He's here…he's…he's here…" Claire stammered, not unlike Rachel who also clamored to get her thoughts in proper organization. She began to walk past Rachel, her eyes trailing the dark apartment complex on the opposite street. "…He found me…" Claire was almost in a trance, and Rachel couldn't even find the strength to move, as all that was left in her view were bricks and concrete, ironically holding a cheap wedding dress through a dirty looking glass.
"…He tracked…he…uh…" Rachel bit her lower lip and turned to look at Claire, who one half turned in response. "…He…asked help from his friends in the…department and he…they…" Claire simply nodded to Rachel's attempt at an explanation, still hypnotized by the fact that Leon was there, breathing the same air as she was. "I have to…find him…" the survivor slowly said, walking up to her old apartment. "…" Rachel covered her mouth with her hand, ignoring the soreness from the fisticuff she had earlier on. She wanted to scream her head off, tell Claire how much she ruined her life, and even hit her if she could. "…I…" Rachel knew in her heart that she couldn't blame Claire, no one could. "I'm have to…talk to her, no, no what the hell am I supposed to say? Stay out of our lives?" She could tell that Claire had already been through so much, it was present in her eyes, her voice, the hindrance of time was like a dagger that had stabbed her so many times. "What should I do?"
""She's not there anymore!!!" Leon screamed at the man on the other line, the very same person who he talked to days ago, the one whom helped him find Claire. He found himself in front of an old Church, abandoned by progress. It was the only place that people didn't find amusing to flock into, making it also perfect for him to scream his lungs out without looking like a psychopath. "Listen…I'm sorry but, but Jesus you don't have to fucking shout in my ear…" The man on the other line said, clearly in the receiving end of Leon's frustration. "Where is she now?" Leon quickly asked, not minding his friend's plea for a little calm. "I don't know…what, you think it's easy pinning where people sleep…?"
"Find her!!!" Leon shouted once again, as abrupt as he possibly could. "Jesus Christ man I said calm down! Shit man, you're the one asking a favor here…" the man defended, almost getting his fuse cut by the police officer's lack of patience. "Just…do it, okay?" Leon said. "You'd better be damn thankful you saved my family too, you asshole." The man retorted, hinting both angrily and jokingly at the same time. Leon didn't bother to reply, shutting his phone off and stuffing it back in his pocket.
Two young women came up to him, giving him a long seductive stare as they did. "Great…" Leon thought sarcastically as the two girls stopped to lean dangerously close to him. "Hey there handsome…" crooned a blonde girl that had a fake fur coat on. It was closed, either to prevent the cold from seeping in, or from everyone seeing that she only had a pair of red panties underneath. "…Want to have a good time?" the other one asked, this one an African American with a violet tube top, black skirt and a rather shiny cowboy hat. "Come on baby…I'd even do it with you for free…" offered the blonde woman, destroying Leon's mythos that all women who chose that lifestyle were but forced to do it. The other one gave her a quick glance, as if asking what the hell she was thinking. "…But we still need a nice place to sleep though…" she immediately added before the blonde could do anymore damage. Leon smiled and nodded, first time he was ever approached with an offer like that, most probably because everyone in Manhattan knew he carried a badge.
"Uh girls?"
"Yeah?" they both responded at the same time, making Leon wonder if they were really interested or they just needed the job so badly. "Okay…I'll break it down…prostitution is illegal now." He said, making both girls laugh. "What? You the model citizen aren't you?" the African American joked, slapping Leon by the arm. "Uh yeah…model citizen…who happens to be working for the police department." He said, promptly stopping the girls' laughter. "Oh shit." The blonde blurted out. "They have cops that cute? Take me to jail!" she exclaimed, garnering a light slap on the shoulder from her partner. "You're friend's not…drunk is she?" Leon asked. "Uh, no…uh, sir?" the African American quickly answered, backing away a bit. "…What're you're names?"
"Dianna." Replied the African American. "This one here's Natalie…she's uh…very enthusiastic about her work…she has a lot of mouths to feed…" Dianna said, as if hinting at him a sort of plea to let them go. "Yeah…with an opening line like hers…I bet she does…" Leon said, pushing back his hair.
Leon rubbed his temples and shifted his glances to both women. "Hey listen…I'm kind of…well, this really isn't my jurisdiction…" he calmly said, lavishing in the curling smiles of relief that came from both women. "So you're…not going to bag us?" Dianna asked, as excited as a little girl. "Uh bagging's kind of with the evidence…when it's with people it's…" Leon stopped, wondering why on Earth he always had the urge to explain everything. With that in mind, he simply shook his head with a smile, avoiding their eyes as he did. "You are an angel!" Dianna shouted, hugging Leon out of the blue, making him yell out a short laugh. "Hey…hey, come on…I'm taken." He said, gently pushing her away. Natalie then came up to him, seductive smile and all. "Well, since I don't see her anywhere…" she quickly planted a big kiss on Leon, who couldn't believe what a moment of kindness could do for someone. "…Okay…" Leon said, pushing Natalie a little more forcibly than he did with Dianna. "Uh…I think you two should better…uh…go now." He said, drawing whimpers of disappointment from the two.
"Go on, go on… before I have to handcuff you…" he said, then prompting the two girls to look at him with a strange smile. "Kind of not what I meant…you two are keen on the subtext aren't you?"
"Honey, with us, it's all about the subliminal thing going on." Dianna replied.
"Uh…hey, one last thing…before you go…" Leon called.
"Yeah, what is it?" Natalie asked first.
"Here…" he took out his wallet and fished out a few hundred dollar bills. "Didn't really need it…though the guy I got from the train wreck thought I did…" He stopped and looked at them both in the eye. "I think you need this more than I do." He said, handing the folded bills over to the two girls.
"Oh wow…" both of them whispered in disbelief, with Natalie slowly getting the money from Leon's hand. "Are you sure?" she asked, with sincerity clear in her voice. "Like she said, you have mouths to feed right? And you need someplace to stay for the night…"
"But we can't just…" Dianna tried to reject, although she knew in her heart that she couldn't. "I'm sure you can. Just…do me a favor…find…find yourselves a decent job, you know, something honest." Leon said, not really believing how much of a boy scout he sounded like. Both of them nodded, realizing that some good people still do exist in the planet, people that are clearly hard to find.
"The mouths are also looking for a father…if you're interested?" Natalie asked, and then, she knew that she was joking, and Leon and Dianna knew it as well. "…Thank you." Dianna said. "I mean it…thank you." She reiterated, with Leon once again nodding in reply. Natalie also shared the sentiment, as both of them began to walk away.
"Um…how long have you two been…engaged?" Claire asked Rachel as they sat on the front steps of the complex. "…About a year now…I think." Rachel replied, both of them looking in the far off distance. "How…did it happen?"
"Well…I…it was in a bank. I…well, I was kind of cashing in a check, when all of a sudden… these armed lunatics stormed in and started taking hostages and stuff. They told the…uh, people up front to put all their cash in the bags they had. So, then, the police began to pile outside…and then they had to take somebody hostage and stuff when they go interrogate or something. Just so happened that it was some psycho that grabbed me and pulled me outside. I…was so scared I was crying."
"…What happened?" Claire asked.
"Well…this guy was a real psycho, and I mean a real psycho…he…told the cops that they wanted to clean escape, but the cops didn't budge. He must've been new at the thing because he started shooting at everyone. I kind off got sick of crying and I bit his arm and stomped my heel on his toes…broke my hell off but it was worth it. He…hit me hard with the…um, back, the butt of his gun and grabbed me again so the officers wouldn't shoot him. Just so happened that the first moment I took a bite, Leon was already by the first few steps of the bank. When he got back to using me as a hostage, Leon was practically in his face."
"Then Leon gave the bastard what he deserved?"
"Made me realize that he must have really liked watching WWE."
"He does? Wow…"
"Yeah…he'd always go 'oooh!' and 'owwww; it's…nice."
"I bet it is."
"He…literally swept me off my feet." Rachel felt her eyes sting as she dug up the memories of old. "…He asked me if I was alright, then he helped me get down while other officers got into the bank to…take care of…I don't really remember what happened then…all I saw was him…but it turned out that he was the only one with a real gun."
"Wow…that's really…"
"…What about you? What's you're story?"
"I don't think you'd believe me."
"Trust me, I'm pretty open minded…you're talking to an ex-Raccoon citizen here."
"You…really?"
"Yeah. Got out at the very first sign…my mom and dad don't ever want to talk about it, that's why they say that we never came from there."
"But you guys never met until…"
"Well, he said that he just came into the city when the…infection already spread. We already skedaddled our way out."
"…A…friend told me that…no one believe din those things until it was too late."
"…One of them broke into our home. Had a helping of the cat."
"I'm sorry."
"Hated her anyway." Rachel responded, hoping to inject a little bit of false humor into the situation.
"Oh."
"So…"
"Yeah…I…I came in looking for my brother…you know, in the City. Had the time of my life…met Leon…met Sherry…"
"Sherry…?"
"…Kind of like a surrogate daughter…she…she's in somebody else's custody now." Claire said in a trance, as if she was reminiscing her days with the child. "I'm sorry to hear that." Rachel replied as comfortingly as she could. "It was coming sooner or later. It's…it's my fault really…I was so…stuck in my own problems that I didn't let anyone in anymore…even…him." Claire explained, brushing back her hair and then running a finger by her eye, possibly to wipe away a small tear.
"…Do you still love him?" Rachel asked, a question that she always dreaded. She was a romantic, somebody who believed in chivalry and the essences of beauty. She always believed in love prevailing, no matter how stupid it may have been in those times, and she always believed that her love for him was stronger than anything. Rachel wasn't ready to believe that somebody else loved him more.
"I…miss him." Claire replied, in a way avoiding the question. "It's been so long since I ever felt it…since I felt being involved with somebody." She knew it in Rachel's question, how insecure she must have been. "Is that what you were thinking when you called him that night?" Rachel asked, practically trembling at the question. "…This is going to hurt…" Claire thought. "…No, when I called…all I wanted was for Sherry to be…all I wanted was somebody to help Sherry." She replied, completely ignoring the lament that echoed from her heart. In an instant, she could see the new calm that entered Rachel's soul.
"…Rachel?"
"Yeah?"
"…Take care of him, will you?" Claire asked, standing up and quickly walking away before Rachel could give a reply. "Uh, Claire, wait!" Rachel called, in which Claire turned and faced her in silence. "…You can…if you want to…go." Rachel said, uncomfortable at her sudden proposal. "…"
"It's…at the…Shrine of the Immaculate Conception…over in Manhattan…our wedding. I mean, if we still have a wedding. On the 21st."
"…" Claire nodded with an unconvincing smile, and then walked away. "…I don' want to ruin anymore lives…she loves him…and…I don't want to have to be caught in the middle of that…" Claire thought to herself, all the while wishing that it were her that would be going down the isle.
Leon sat on the front steps of the old Church, staring right at the pavement. "Conversations with God?" asked a familiar female voice. Leon turned his head to see Rachel walking towards him. "Actually…it was with two prosti…yeah." He nodded and stood up, feeling his heart pound like a hammer at the sight of his fiancée. "…What are you doing here?" he asked, though in the back of his mind he almost expected her to come. "Well, can't let my fiancée go on his first road trip without me, right?" she responded. "…I'm sorry I had to put you through this." Leon apologized in a soft voice, looking away. He was humiliated by how selfish he was, how much he let his own problems cloud what he already had.
"Don't all couples go through a little hell sometimes?" Rachel asked him in response. "Not this kind of hell…" Leon replied. "…Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked him. "I…guess I did." His mind flashed back to the letter that he thought was dedicated to Steve. "…Do you want to go back now?" she asked, praying that he would say yes. "…I guess so." He told her. It wasn't a particular hobby of his, but he also gave the elderly Ms. Acorn some money, and asked her that she give it to Claire the next time she sees the young lady. It was all he could do to help, he thought.
"Leon…let's start over…okay?"
"…"
"Let's focus on what we have now, no more yesterdays, no more last years…let's just…cherish what we have this very moment." She whispered as she quickly wrapped her arms around him. "This moment may be all I ever have…" suddenly came the cryptic thought. Leon reciprocated the feeling by pulling her into his embrace as well. Without her knowing, crystalline tears began to flow down her cheek, and for the first time in a long time, it was because of happiness.
Claire looked off into the stretch of the Eiles River, thinking about her previous bout of self-sacrifice. "I deserve to be happy too. But…she loves him…and so do I. I can't…no, I won't…what makes me so sure that he'll go with me anyway? He doesn't…no, he wouldn't have come here if he didn't feel the way I feel about him…" She shook her head and covered her face with her palms. "I deserve to be happy." She repeated to herself, this time with resolve. "I deserve to be happy."
Author's note: The wedding will be in the next chapter, and you know me, all sorts of hell will ensue.