"How do you feel?" I finally asked, folding my legs underneath
me. We had taken the liberty of purchasing a few essentials for our
journey... namely, a backpack, socks, change of clothes, dental
hygiene, bottled water, and a couple of candy bars. Enough to last us
the continuing walk down the highway.
"Not bad," he replied, tossing the leftover crust into the
battered pizza box. "I think once we catch a ride into town tomorrow,
we should stop by the library to use their internet access. I figure
that's the safest route of communication to our families, as well as a
simpler means of getting out of here."
I chewed my lower lip, considering his words. We would never
know how much information Umbrella possessed about our persons... if
any at all. But in our case, it never crossed our minds to be
unconcerned... hence, the paranoia about outside contact. But
something in his tone was nagging me... something about disregarding
our previous fears, and ultimately wanting to divulge our crisis to our
family and friends.
"As long as you're confident that Umbrella would never be able
to trace your place of residence," I answered, still studying him. "We
still don't have any idea of the remaining survivors, or if Berkin was
able to leak any information before..." I left that thought unfinished.
He knew what I was leading up to anyway.
"In all likelihood, nobody knows we exist," he countered,
finally facing me. Again, this was probably true, but the sudden
change of his demeanor was alarming. Where was his almost frantic
concern about our safety? Or was it something else...
The exact chain of events leading up to our dispersal were
still pretty vague... Leon had mentioned a woman by the name of Ada
Wong... whose history and intent were questionable at best. He
wouldn't get into too much detail, but the striking look of hurt that
crossed his face was enough for me... whatever little history they
shared, it was enough to leave a lasting impression upon his poor
damaged psyche.
I decided to go for broke. "Leon, what is this all about
exactly?" He shot me a decidingly tense look, which prompted me to
continue. "I thought we agreed to wait it out for a while... watch the
news... keep our eyes open. That arrival in person seemed the best
course of action."
Instead of answering directly, he swiped at the stubborn hair
at his eyes...sighing deeply. A rather overdramatic display of
exasperation Leon...Christ.
"I'm tired, Claire." That wasn't exactly the response I had
expected. He rubbed at the skin of his eyes...settling his thumb and
forefinger upon the bridge of his nose, a certain indication of his
previous statement. "And frankly, I don't think we can keep this up."
That enlisted a bitter retort on my end, but I attempted to
smother it immediately. He was just being honest, but I couldn't hide
my hurt and disappointment. How the hell did he expect me to respond?
Didn't he know that I shared his exhaustion, his eagerness to get the
hell out of here...back to the world of normalcy? Did he think I
wasn't concerned about notifying my parents... finding my brother...
This time I bit my lip, struggling for composure. I would not
allow myself to weep just yet. It was unnecessary and it was
distracting. I didn't need Leon's pity or remorse... but I definitely
needed to see his motivations...and really, we both required mutual
understanding.
Another deep sigh...he seemed somewhat hesitant to
continue...or maybe he just didn't know what else to say. I don't
think we can keep this up...Christ, Leon.
"That is a rather vague concept, Kennedy." I finally stated,
staring him down. He returned the gesture in kind. "If you mean to
suggest that we can survive a city smitten with cannibalistic zombies,
mutated monsters from beyond imagination...and not be able to make the
transition back to civilization, I find your logic flawed."
"It's not the transition, Claire." He took the liberty of
getting up and closing the bedroom door... another gesture on Sherry's
behalf. He continued to stand, letting the intensity of his
frustration overwhelm his stance. "We've got a helluva long way to go
before we end up in recognizable safe territory..."
"That never daunted you before, why should it now?" I
demanded, letting my own anger surface.
"Because we've got a little girl to take care of as well... and
it's about time we started thinking about her best interests."
I was stunned. Was he suggesting that we had some other
motivation involved? I stood up, mimicking his posture. "Do you
really think I haven't been thinking of Sherry this entire time we've
been here? Huh?" I was within a few feet of him, tempted to complete
the whole stereotypical face to face confrontation. Another temptation
squashed.
"I don't think you have been thinking of the ultimate reality
here, no." Coldly, stately... infuriatingly so. I wanted nothing more
than slapping the shit out of him. "Do you think the way we've been
going about this is ultimately the best choice? Do you honestly think
that hitchhiking across the country is the best way to keep out the eye
of suspicion?" He glanced over to the bedroom. "Don't you think that
it looks rather *odd* to have two people as young as we are with a
child? And the added bonus of appearing on one of two possible roads
out of there... Where Umbrella scouts could very easily be looking for
our descriptions... does this not strike you at all?"
I remained silent... seething, but reflective. He had a
point... in either scenario, we would be risking something. But I
remained indignant... still stung over his rashness...his utter
audacity. I needed some air; Leon had stolen my breath from this room.
I started to walk towards the door, intent on a walk...
anything to get out of the immediate vicinity. But he had the balls to
grab my arm... force me to face him.
"Is that what you do when things don't go your way Claire? You
take off?" Normally azure eyes darkened with intensity... the color of
bruises along the inside of my arm.
"Let...go...Leon." I grimaced through teeth... blinking
fire...savagely ripping away from his grasp. A few seconds of heated
eye contact, then I hurried away.
me. We had taken the liberty of purchasing a few essentials for our
journey... namely, a backpack, socks, change of clothes, dental
hygiene, bottled water, and a couple of candy bars. Enough to last us
the continuing walk down the highway.
"Not bad," he replied, tossing the leftover crust into the
battered pizza box. "I think once we catch a ride into town tomorrow,
we should stop by the library to use their internet access. I figure
that's the safest route of communication to our families, as well as a
simpler means of getting out of here."
I chewed my lower lip, considering his words. We would never
know how much information Umbrella possessed about our persons... if
any at all. But in our case, it never crossed our minds to be
unconcerned... hence, the paranoia about outside contact. But
something in his tone was nagging me... something about disregarding
our previous fears, and ultimately wanting to divulge our crisis to our
family and friends.
"As long as you're confident that Umbrella would never be able
to trace your place of residence," I answered, still studying him. "We
still don't have any idea of the remaining survivors, or if Berkin was
able to leak any information before..." I left that thought unfinished.
He knew what I was leading up to anyway.
"In all likelihood, nobody knows we exist," he countered,
finally facing me. Again, this was probably true, but the sudden
change of his demeanor was alarming. Where was his almost frantic
concern about our safety? Or was it something else...
The exact chain of events leading up to our dispersal were
still pretty vague... Leon had mentioned a woman by the name of Ada
Wong... whose history and intent were questionable at best. He
wouldn't get into too much detail, but the striking look of hurt that
crossed his face was enough for me... whatever little history they
shared, it was enough to leave a lasting impression upon his poor
damaged psyche.
I decided to go for broke. "Leon, what is this all about
exactly?" He shot me a decidingly tense look, which prompted me to
continue. "I thought we agreed to wait it out for a while... watch the
news... keep our eyes open. That arrival in person seemed the best
course of action."
Instead of answering directly, he swiped at the stubborn hair
at his eyes...sighing deeply. A rather overdramatic display of
exasperation Leon...Christ.
"I'm tired, Claire." That wasn't exactly the response I had
expected. He rubbed at the skin of his eyes...settling his thumb and
forefinger upon the bridge of his nose, a certain indication of his
previous statement. "And frankly, I don't think we can keep this up."
That enlisted a bitter retort on my end, but I attempted to
smother it immediately. He was just being honest, but I couldn't hide
my hurt and disappointment. How the hell did he expect me to respond?
Didn't he know that I shared his exhaustion, his eagerness to get the
hell out of here...back to the world of normalcy? Did he think I
wasn't concerned about notifying my parents... finding my brother...
This time I bit my lip, struggling for composure. I would not
allow myself to weep just yet. It was unnecessary and it was
distracting. I didn't need Leon's pity or remorse... but I definitely
needed to see his motivations...and really, we both required mutual
understanding.
Another deep sigh...he seemed somewhat hesitant to
continue...or maybe he just didn't know what else to say. I don't
think we can keep this up...Christ, Leon.
"That is a rather vague concept, Kennedy." I finally stated,
staring him down. He returned the gesture in kind. "If you mean to
suggest that we can survive a city smitten with cannibalistic zombies,
mutated monsters from beyond imagination...and not be able to make the
transition back to civilization, I find your logic flawed."
"It's not the transition, Claire." He took the liberty of
getting up and closing the bedroom door... another gesture on Sherry's
behalf. He continued to stand, letting the intensity of his
frustration overwhelm his stance. "We've got a helluva long way to go
before we end up in recognizable safe territory..."
"That never daunted you before, why should it now?" I
demanded, letting my own anger surface.
"Because we've got a little girl to take care of as well... and
it's about time we started thinking about her best interests."
I was stunned. Was he suggesting that we had some other
motivation involved? I stood up, mimicking his posture. "Do you
really think I haven't been thinking of Sherry this entire time we've
been here? Huh?" I was within a few feet of him, tempted to complete
the whole stereotypical face to face confrontation. Another temptation
squashed.
"I don't think you have been thinking of the ultimate reality
here, no." Coldly, stately... infuriatingly so. I wanted nothing more
than slapping the shit out of him. "Do you think the way we've been
going about this is ultimately the best choice? Do you honestly think
that hitchhiking across the country is the best way to keep out the eye
of suspicion?" He glanced over to the bedroom. "Don't you think that
it looks rather *odd* to have two people as young as we are with a
child? And the added bonus of appearing on one of two possible roads
out of there... Where Umbrella scouts could very easily be looking for
our descriptions... does this not strike you at all?"
I remained silent... seething, but reflective. He had a
point... in either scenario, we would be risking something. But I
remained indignant... still stung over his rashness...his utter
audacity. I needed some air; Leon had stolen my breath from this room.
I started to walk towards the door, intent on a walk...
anything to get out of the immediate vicinity. But he had the balls to
grab my arm... force me to face him.
"Is that what you do when things don't go your way Claire? You
take off?" Normally azure eyes darkened with intensity... the color of
bruises along the inside of my arm.
"Let...go...Leon." I grimaced through teeth... blinking
fire...savagely ripping away from his grasp. A few seconds of heated
eye contact, then I hurried away.