Sometimes they Come Back
By diddly day
Disclaimer: What doesn't belong to me? Oh, wait, everything.
A/N: Hmmmm. I'm not to sure if you guys want more, but here it is. Man, this story is getting long. So, I hope this chapter doesn't blow. R&R please!
Chapter Six:
It was quiet.
Leon gazed at his door, everything was so still. Had she already gone to bed? He looked down and saw the through the crack of the door, the light was on. Maybe she was reading a book. He reached out his hand and turned the knob.
As he entered, he saw Claire, staring at the bed. Blankets turned up, and pillows out of place, she stared down with a look that Leon could only described as horror. In her petite hand was a small, crumpled up, white piece of paper.
"What's wrong?" It took her a minute to respond to his voice.
Her head slowly bobbing up to meet his gaze, she opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her eyes fell again at the same spot she was looking at. Leon couldn't see behind the upturned pillow. She seemed to be lost in thought for a few more moments, until her eyes snapped up, and her eyes seemed to blaze with all of the insane fury that he had ever seen from a woman.
At first he thought that he had done something wrong. But she quickly grabbed something, something big, something gold.
Before he could ask another question, Claire was running past him, with such speed and force that when she pumped him, he staggered back, almost being knocked to the ground as if he were playing tackle football. Not bothering to shut the door, he followed her. The sound of her feet pounding against the carpet. The look in her eyes was that of a demon escaping the very jaws of the absolute worst hell imaginable.
"Claire! Hold on! Wait!" he called after her.
But she payed no heed. She practically slid past the stairs as she stopped to make a sharp turn. He never knew she could run that fast, he half expected her to jump over the rail to get to the main hall faster. But all her could do was to try to keep up as her form jetted down the stairs.
"Ada!" she screeched as he hit the main floor.
Her voice echoed along the Mansion hall. Leon could hear everyone's hurried foot steps swiftly racing out to where Claire stood.
"Ada get your ass out here!" Everyone gathered around her. Ada appeared looking bewildered.
"Claire what is it?" Rebecca questioned taking a step toward the outraged woman.
"You had something to do with this didn't you?" Claire spat, her eyes fixed on Ada as she waved the object, no, objects in her hand.
Leon could see the gleam of them reflected in the light that was cast down by the chanticleer. It took him a second to realize what they were.
"Claire, put the gun down, it couldn't have been that bad," Carlos hushed, afraid that Claire had been pushed over the edge and would go postal, shooting them all.
"I don't think she gonna kill anyone," Jill whispered to him. Claire wasn't paying any attention, her eye were still glued to Ada.
"Do with what? All I see are a pair of lugers," Ada conveyed, staring at Claire with shock.
"And what about this?" Claire hissed, throwing the piece of crumpled up paper at Ada, causing it to bounce off her chest. She bent over, picked it up, and as she unfolded it, she read:
"Trade you," Ada read.
She flipped it over to see if anything else was on the back. Ada then looked back up to Claire.
"I don't get it."
Leon never was sure he could trust her, but right now, he did.
"Claire, just calm down," said Chris.
"I will not calm down!" Claire shouted, her head whipping around to face her brother and husband. "For almost a year, I've been trying to forget the hell I've had to endure. And now there is someone here, under my nose, pulling this shit on me!"
At her last words she threw the lugers so hard to the ground that Leon was sure it would cause a dent in the floor.
"Claire, those could just be a decoration," Ada said shrugging.
"Then what about the note?" Claire demanded. Ada threw her arms in the air.
"I don't know!" Ada snarled. "Why is it that you expect me to have all the answers? You all treat me like that bad guy, but have I once lied to you since we started this?"
At her words, Claire seemed to calm down. Leon had never seen her so worked up. He rested a hand on her arm. Claire bit her lip and turned away from Ada, her face flushed and her brow sweaty. Taking her pinky, she brought it her lips and began to chew the nail as her eyes darted from one member of the party to the other. Leon was sure she was thinking quickly. . . he could practically see the wheels turning inside of her mind.
"Hey, I've seen those before," Chris said staring down at the lugers Claire had thrown on the floor.
Just as soon as the words flew out of his mouth, his head shot up, looking at Claire. His eyes widening with understanding. "Oh."
Silence.
The room that had once been filled with demands, shouts and anger had just gotten deathly calm. Claire turn her face to the ceiling. Her eyes closed. Leon held a tight grip on her arm, he could feel her shaking. He stepped closer so that he could hear her breathing, it seemed to quicken, sounding more strangled. She swayed a little bit, her own hand tightening on Leon's.
Panic ran through him.
"Claire? Claire, calm down," Leon slid his arms around her. Just as he was turning her around to face him, her legs gave away.
Struggling to pull her up, Carlos grabbed her as he helped Leon move her to the couch. He eased her down so her head was resting on a soft pillow.
"Breathe honey, breathe." He placed a hand over her chest, trying tocomfort her.
"Here, let me see," Rebecca softly pulled Leon away from his wife. He saw her rub gently on Claire's upper chest, calmly giving instructions for lulled breathing.
Leon glanced at Chris, who looked as terrified as he felt. Ada looked over at Barry and Sherry, who stood by the dinning room door. Sherry looked as if she were about to burst into tears, all the while Barry holding a comforting arm around her.
Everyone's attention was soothed as they heard Claire gasps subside. The whole ordeal seemed to take it out of her, because just as soon as she snapped out of it, sleep seemed to invade her mind, and soon she was lightly snoozing on the couch.
"She's gonna be okay." Rebecca looked up, managing a small grin. Leon spun around and faced Chris.
"You," he pointed at his brother-in-law, "Come with me. I need to talk to you. . .alone."
Chris nodded and followed Leon as they entered the library. After Leon locked the door, he met Chris while rubbing a hand over his dry mouth.
"Okay, you obviously know what's going on. It has something to do with what you two encountered on that island. I want to know everything. About the lugers, about those crazy people you ran into, everything," Leon said in almost one breath.
"I'm not at liberty to say!" Chris stepped forward, looking Leon right in the eye.
"I'm her husband! I have a right to know why my wife is having nightmares and panic attacks!"
For once, Leon wasn't about to let Chris off the hook just because he felt inferior.
"Now, up until now I've been quiet. I've minded my own business. Through Claire's hardships and even through her beating, I assumed that she would tell me when she was ready. You're the only one who really knows what is going on inside her head, and if I am to help her, I need you to tell me. Isn't it my liberty to know?"
Chris whirled around and sat in one of the cushy chairs by the fire place. He brought up a hand and pointed at the chair across from him.
"Have a seat."
Leon timidly sat and rubbed his cold hands against his slacks. Chris stared into the fire, his eyes glowing.
"I've seen those lugers before." Leon rested back in his chair.
"Go on." Right now, Leon was prepared for anything. Chris stroked his own hands and continued.
"When I got the email from you, I went to look for her. Leon, when I saw that island, I thought she was dead."
Chris ran a hand through his dark, brown hair.
"The place was completely decimated. A blast of some sort, it looked as if the place had been blown to bits. The only places the weren't totally demolished were the Military Training Facility, and some sort of palace.
"When I was inside the Training Facility, I found a desk. Inside was gun. I was shocked when I saw Claire waving around the same gun a moment ago."
"So, your saying Claire found the same kind of lugers when she was there, only these hold a more sentimental value?" Leon scratched his head.
"I don't think sentimental is the right word."
"What about the note? The one that said 'Trade you' she freaked when she saw that. Could those crazy people she ran into have anything to do with it?"
"The Ashfords? No, I don't think so. They carried around jewels."
Leon's head snapped up at he name Ashford. The image of Claire tripping over the sheet in the hallway ran through his head. Almost as if watching a movie.
"What were you saying? Before you fell?"
"It's not big deal. This hall just reminds me of the Ashford Mansion."
The conversation was so clear, it was almost like listening to a radio.
"What?" Chris had one eyebrow cocked.
"Claire . . she said this place reminded her of the Ashford Mansion. I knew I heard that name before."
Chris let out a deep sigh.
"That doesn't sound good." The room was still for a second. "So, get comfortable. I'll tell you everything I know."
I I I
"Man, she's out of it," Carlos said staring at Claire's still form. "Who knew such little thing could set her off?" Rebecca rocked her head in agreement. "You did great by the way."
He gave her a soft smile. Rebecca reached out and rubbed his legs as if you say thank you.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Rebecca asked, throwing her head toward the library door.
"I don't know. I hope they get done soon, so Leon could take her up stairs and watch her. So I can go to bed."
"You don't have to stay here, I'll keep an eye on her for you. After all, I'm the medical tec. If you don't, that's also okay . I enjoy the company." Carlos chuckled.
"Yeah, I'll stay." He looked around the room. "Where is everyone else?"
"Sherry, Barry, and Jill are in the dinning room. Clearing everything away. Ada's in bed. Claire's passed out. And Chris and Leon," she pointed to the double doors.
"And what about you and me?" Carlos asked softly.
"Are you hitting on me?"
He flashed her a toothy grin.
"Maybe."
Rebecca looked him up and down. Carlos stared down at her. She really did have very nice lips. He was beniding down to get a better look at them when Claire bolted up right on the couch, causing Rebecca and Carlos to jump apart. Claire stared around for a minute, then she found the pair watching her on the piano bench.
"Where's Leon?"
Carlos and Rebecca mutely pointed at the double doors again. Claire swiftly got up and crossed the hall. She tugged at the doors, only to find it didn't budge.
"It's locked," Carlos told her. "He needed to talk to your brother."
"Alone," Rebecca emphasized. Claire stood there, staring at the doors. Finally, she pulled her gaze away and started to walk up the stairs.
"When he's done, tell him I went to bed," Claire muttered groggily and she carefully watched her step to get up to her room. As soon as she was out of sight and earshot, Carlos turned to Rebecca.
"Ya know, when you said alone, it didn't sound important. It sounded gay."
That statement earn him a good swat across the head.
I I I
She had to do something, or go mad. But what could she do? She laid on her bed, the same spot where the lugers had been. The very thought made her sick to her stomach.
Trade you.
What did it mean? Was she overreacting? Was Ada playing some sick joke on her? Was Wesker any part of this? Or was Steve really there? Alive? Had he been in this very room?
To many questions. Blood was going to come shooting out of her nose if she kept up her deep thoughts. Right now, anything was possible. Leon had thought Ada was dead, and here she was.
Her thoughts drifted back to the note. She hadn't told anyone about what she and Steve had encountered. She had only informed Chris of his and death. He had died declaring his love to her. But she had never been able to say the same. It wasn't how she felt. She had assumed that on some unconscious level, her heart always belonged to Leon.
She didn't mean that in a corny, cheesy, trashy love novel sort of way. They had grown close after Raccoon. He had also been very against her going off to Paris to find her brother. He almost came along. Claire thanked to everything holey that he handn't. What if it had been him instead of Steve?
What if he had been the one to die?
True. She had been attracted to Steve. She had cared for him deeply. In the midst of all the horror that had gone on around them, she had caught herself flirting with him once or twice. His death had effected her in a way she never thought possible. But she just couldn't bring her self to love him. She had only been with him for a short time, and it was still hard for her to believe that he had been in love with her.
As she looked back on their time together, she could sense some interest that he had for her. A memory sprang into her mind. One that was long forgotten. When she and Steve had found themselfs getting weak, and as a result, tried to get something to eat out of the candy machine.
"Just kick it!" he had said.
Claire brought her boot up and crashed it into the glass. It cracked, but did not break.
"Here, let me do it," he said rolling his eyes. She rested her head against the wall, her body felt as if it were going to melt.
"I hope Leon got my email."
Steve stopped rocking the machine back and forth and looked at her.
"Is he, like, your boyfriend or something?"
"That's none of your damn business," she had wanted to shout back, but reluctantly told the truth.
"No, he's just a good friend."
He continued rocking the machine again, and for a split second, she thought she could see a smirk play on his lips.
It was so obvious now that she looked back on it. But if it was true, and he was the one who gave her the note, the man who claimed to care for her so deeply that he would sacrifice himself to protect her. Then why would he go about it in such a cruel way?
She was going to burst into tears. To much to think about in one night. To much to happen in one night. To much stress, all she needed was a good night sleep. Just one night without nightmares, or psycho pranks. Just one night of being well rested and she would be able to battle anything that came her way.
Just one night.
The door creaked open, and sheknew it was Leon in the room. She heard him shut the door softly behind him, and she soon felt his weight on the bed. Sitting next to her, his eyes on her.
"What were you and my brother talking about?" she spoke, her eyes still closed.
"Everything. The lugers. The Ashfords. . .Steve." Claire didn't like where this was going. "What happened back there?"
"It was nothing. I got a little worked up. You go into a room, you find a note, and guns. I was just stressed and I freaked out. It's no big deal."
Her eyes cracked open to stare at the wall.
"I'm talking about with Steve." She held her breath. The edge in his voice was unmistakable. "What happened with you and him.?"
There was something else. Something in his voice she couldn't detect. Was it jealousy?
"He died," her answer was short. But she knew what he wanted. If the lugers and him had anything in common.
"And before that?"
"I needed some lugers. I was going to use them as a key to open a door. Steve had those and he said he'd trade me if I gave him something better."
That didn't come out right, she decided.
"What did you give him?"
His voice was shaking, as if he were afraid to ask. For a split second she thought of pulling a cruel prank on him, but she wiped the thought just as soon as it entered.
She rolled over, smiling tenderly at him, she reached out and took his hand.
"A machine gun."
She heard a gust if breath surge out of his mouth. Followed by a small laugh. Even more of his weight came flooding down next to her, wrapping his arms around her.
"You're safe now," he whispered.
"I know."
But deep down she knew he was telling her, and she was letting herself believe a comforting lie.
I I I
"It's freezing in this place," Jill complained as they walked out of the kitchen. Chris had just come back form his conversation with Leon.
"I think Ada said there was a shack full of firewood out back," Chris said, sticking a poker in the fireplace, picking at the dying flames.
"There is."
The sound of Ada's voice echoed throughout the hall as she stood over the balcony, next to the stairs. She stood in her nightgown. Sleep apparently sleep didn't come easy to her either.
"I'll go get some," Chris said walking over to get his coat. Jill stopped him by resting a soft hand on his arm.
"No, I got it. You just relax."
Chris shook his head no, but Jill insisted further. Chris caved in, knowing it was just as effective arguing with Jill, as it was arguing with Claire. Impossible.
"Where is it?" Jill asked whirling around and looking up at Ada's form above her.
"Just around the back. I think you'll see a small shack," she paused. " Be careful, the snow is
quite deep."
Jill waved a hand at her before disappearing through the front door.
I I I
She was right.
Jill was practically hitting her chest with her knees, trying to get past the snow. She looked around. Everything was dark. Why did this remind her so much of the Spencer Estate? She half expected a hunter to spring out and gash her to bits.
Maybe she should sing a psalm? That might ease her mind. That's what she used to do when her parents made her take out the trash late at night when she was a child. Afraid that a monster would jump out and eat her. But in her world, monsters were real. And anything was possible.
Where was this shack? Off in the distance, she thought she could hear the romp of snow. Chris. he'd gone out to help her.
"Chris! I got it. Go inside!" she shouted. It stopped.
Good. He got the hint.
She smiled, although she didn't feel it. Frost was beginning to stick to her face. She covered her mouth with her hand. Then, she saw it. The shack. Thank goodness. She slowly made her way there.
The small wooden door opened with some reluctance. Pounding on it, she was able to open it a crack, before throwing her body into it, causing her fall through, and hit the wall, and stumble into the pile of wood.
At last.
She grinned as she found what she had been looking for. Her joy was tainted as she heard crunching of the snow behind her. Footsteps.
"Chris, it's fine, I found it."
He stopped in the doorway. The room seemed to get colder.
"Chris?"
The door was being shut behind her.
"Not quite," said a low, deep, familiar voice, with a hint of arrogance. Her stomach turned to mush as she realized who it was. She whirled around to see the worst possible sight.
"Wesker," she breathed the words, more then said them. He smiled his same evil smile.
"Nice to see you, Jill."
Her eyes scanned the room, looking for anything to use as a defense. Her eyes caught the axe in the corner. She dove for it. But he was fast. In one full swoop, it was in his hand.
"No, no, no," his tone held mockery. "You know what the most wonderful things about snow storms are?" Jill fell to her knees. "They burry evidence. Burnside, come here and help me take care of her."
A young man appeared behind him.
"My pleasure."
His toothy grin made Jill want to vomit. Her eyes met the man that Wesker called Burnside. In that moment she held his gaze, and then. . .
Blackness.
To be continued. . .
Tre0220: Dude, thanks for the email, and the review. I sent you one, but I'm not sure you got it.
I really am glad that you told me that. I would have kept spelling it wrong. My french teacher is
big on spelling to. But what can you do. Thanks for the review.
Bludevil34: yeah, I hate to say it. But Steve does have a role in this story. It might be big, it
might be small, but he's here. But he's not the center character. Thanks for the review, your
rock!
Darryl-Flower: Thanks. I worked hard on those chapters and it's nice to know someone noticed.
Thank you for the review.
Saunce: Aww, I made your day. How sweet! Thank you. You made mine just by telling me
that. You keep playing CV for that part? Are you sure you're not pro women violence? JK. I
don't have CVX, But I wish I did! Thanks for the review!
Dale: ha! No, no, you are awesome. You said I was a genus. I've never been called that before.
I like it, I like it. Thank you so much for your wonderful review.
Tifa Redfield: What can I say? I love every single one of your reviews. I also love your little
chapter analysis. I think those just rock. And you are so sweet!(I loved the last chapter of your
story by the way.) I know you will reach 200 reviews. That's not a dream at all. It's gonna
happen. Yeah, I'll have to send you an addy. So cool. Thank you so much!
Daniella: I have you chills? Hehe, I've never done that before. Thank you for the review!
Did you know that. . .
Leon was going to be in CV? He was going to go there, and die. But he was so popular, that they replaced him with Steve. Pretty cool, huh? Although it probably also mean that it was Leon who was supposed to fall for Claire. So instead of a romance between Leon and Claire, Leon is a alive and well. . . and a total douche.