A/N: I am so very sorry for the long wait everyone. Writer's block sucks so much ass it's not even funny, let me tell you, but, I was listening to my cd soundtrack for the Code Veronica game and it gave me the boost of inspiration I need to start this chapter. YAY!! Well, enjoy.
That night Claire had trouble getting to sleep. She was so nervous about going back to the Ashford mansion that she could have sworn she kept seeing Alexia right in front of her, laughing at her and mocking her. Claire closed her eyes and took a few deep breathes to calm her flaring nerves.
~Claire, calm down. Alexia's dead, she's not in front of you and she's not in the mansion anymore. There's no reason to be afraid.~
Claire was taken out of her thoughts when loud thunder began to strike. Claire gasped and felt as if her heart had jumped into her throat.
~Alright girl, you are really losing it now. It's just thunder. You really need to calm down. Just relax and try to get some sleep.~
After the pounding in her heart stopped she could hear little rain drops being splattered softly against her window. She sighed and laid back down.
~Rain always did relax me. Maybe I will be able to get some sleep tonight, after all.~
Claire put the covers up to her waist and closed her eyes. A few minutes later, she was sound asleep.
Sometime later, Claire found herself in a big circular room with a spiral staircase. Claire couldn't quite put her finger on it at the moment but, there was something about this room that was disturbingly familiar. She looked up and saw several paintings that were hung on the upper floor.
~What's going on here? Where am I? What is it about this room that's giving me the creeps?~
She let her eyes drift to the largest painting that hung just above the stairs. It was a painting of a man with short blonde hair and had a rather disturbing expression on his face. She gasped when she realized who the man in the painting was.
~Alfred Ashford?! Oh my god, am I back in the mansion?!~
Claire was taken out of her thoughts by the sound of footsteps and a voice just outside of the room.
"Hmm... I wonder what's in here." a female voice said.
~Someone's coming!~
Claire ran and hid in the open space under the stairs for lack of time to find a better place. The door opened and a young woman walked in. Claire poked her head out a little to get a good look at her. The woman was about Claire's height with reddish brown hair slightly past her shoulders which she presently wore loose, and brown eyes. She had a black strap around her neck that was attached to a camera. She walked a little closer to the stairs and looked up at the paintings.
"Oh wow. What cool paintings. I should take a picture of these." the woman said.
She brought her camera to her face and snapped a few pictures in three different directions. When she brought her camera down, Claire got a closer look at her face and let out a quiet gasp as she realized something.
~Oh my god, she kinda looks like Steve. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was related to him. Nah, that can't be. Could it?~
The woman took her camera and put it away in a small bag she had with her. Claire saw a name tag on her shirt. She didn't catch the last name because the woman turned around and went to another corner of the room.
~So, her name is Aly. What's her last name, though?~
Claire was taken out of her thoughts when she heard a snarl. She froze in place.
~What was that?~
Apparently, Aly had heard it too, because she looked up stairs and screamed.
"Ahh, a hunter!" Aly exclaimed.
Claire wanted to run out of her hiding place and help Aly but, she found that she was literally frozen in place.
~Oh no. I can't move.~
The hunter jumped to the bottom floor and Aly ran to the furthest corner. She looked around franticly for some kind of weapon to use on it but, found none. She spotted a vase just as the hunter leaped towards her. She grabbed it and smashed it on the hunter's head. It staggered back, bleeding and cried out in pain. Aly grabbed a big shard as it leaped towards her again. She sliced it across the eyes and in a blind rage of pain, it bit her in the arm. Aly screamed in pain and dug the shard right into the hunter's chest. the hunter released its mouth and staggered to the floor. Aly grabbed another shard and sliced it across its neck. It wiggled and struggled in pain for a moment before it died. Aly held her bitten arm as tears of pain streamed down her face. She looked at her arm and saw that was beginning to swell a deep purplish blue. She groaned as realization hit her.
"Oh great, just my fucking rotten ass luck! That was a poisonous hunter, and not only am I weaponless, there aren't any blue herbs around here either!" Aly exclaimed.
Aly staggered over to the stair case and sat down on the first step to catch her breath.
"Oh man, what am I gonna do? If I don't find any blue herbs soon, or a weapon for that matter, I'll be screwed." Aly said.
~Poor Aly. I wonder what is someone like her doing here anyway, and how did she know that was a hunter?~
Aly dug her head in her hands and began to cry. She was so caught up in her crying that she didn't hear the moans that came from outside the door but, Claire did.
~Holy shit, zombies!~
"Aly, look out! Zombies!" Claire exclaimed.
It was no use though. It was as if Aly didn't hear her at all. The door burst open and at least a dozen zombies came staggering in. Claire grabbed her gun but, couldn't move from her spot. Aly looked up and gasped when she saw the zombies.
"Oh my god, zombies!" Aly exclaimed
"Aly, run!" Claire exclaimed.
Almost as if Aly could hear her this time, she ran up the stairs and found a loaded handgun on a table next Alfred's picture. She grabbed the gun as the zombies started climbing up the stairs. She started shooting at them. She killed a few of them but, the gun ran out of bullets and the rest of the zombies were still coming. She ran towards the door to her far right but, it was locked. Then, she ran to the one at the far left but, that one was locked as well.
"Oh no! What am I gonna do?!" Aly exclaimed.
Claire finally managed to crawl out of her hiding place and tried to run up the stairs but, she literally froze in place again when she reached the first step. She tried to move but, to no avail. She looked up, only to watch in horror as the zombies began to close in on Aly who was now completely defenseless.
~Poor Aly. What a way to go. First, she gets bitten by a poisonous hunter, and now, she's zombie lunch. If only I could move, I'd be able to help her. Wait a minute, maybe I can.~
Claire threw her gun up towards Aly. It landed a few paces between her and the zombies. Aly looked down at the newly fallen object.
"What the hell? Oh thank god, another gun!" Aly exclaimed.
Aly rushed towards the gun and reached it just as the zombies approached. She started shooting but, one of the zombies that was crawling on the floor, managed to bit her in the ankle. She screamed and kicked it hard, smashing its head in. She brought her attention back to the other zombies and continued shooting. Unfortunately, she ran out of bullets and there were still three left standing.
"Oh no. Now, I'm really screwed." Aly said.
Aly closed her eyes, bracing herself to face her fate, when the door behind her suddenly broke open and a hand reach out and grabbed Aly by the wrist. Aly screamed and struggled in her captor's grasp. When the zombies approached, another hand that held a magnum shot in them all in the head. They fell like a set of dominoes on the floor. Aly looked up at her captor's face and gasped.
"Oh my god." Aly muttered.
Before Aly could say another word, her captor dragged her into the now broken down door. Claire found the ability to move again, and ran up the stairs to the broken door but, by the time she got there, the door had disappeared and everything started getting blurry. Claire clutched her head as a sudden dizzy spell overcame her.
"Ahh! What the hell is going on?!" Claire exclaimed.
"Claire! Claire, wake up!" a familiar voice exclaimed.
"Chris?!" Claire cried.
Claire felt herself begin to shake violently.
"Claire! Come on, wake up!" Chris' voice exclaimed.
Claire's eyes shot opened and she gasped. She looked up to find Chris and Luis looking down at her with worried expressions on their faces. She sighed in relief when she realized it was just another nightmare.
~Where did that one come from? I never knew anyone named Aly.~
"Claire, are you alright?" Chris asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a new nightmare." Claire said.
"What about?" Luis asked.
"I don't really want to talk about it right now." Claire said.
Luis nodded in understanding.
"Here. I should have given you this before you went to bed. This will help you sleep without dreaming." Luis said. (A/N: I don't really think that such a medicine actually exists but, just go with it.)
"Thanks." Claire said.
She drank the medicine and gave the bottle back to Luis.
"You sure you're alright, sis?" Chris asked.
"Yeah, I'll be ok." Claire said.
"Alright. Get some sleep. We have quite a day ahead of us tomorrow." Chris said.
Claire and Luis nooded. They all said one final goodnight and left the room. Claire laid back down and closed her tired eyes.
~Aly, who are you? What were you doing in the Ashford mansion? Are you still there? And how did you know about the hunter and the zombies?~
That were Claire's last thought before she was sound asleep once again.
A/N: Hope you all liked this chapter. And to think I managed to write it in just one hour! R/R. Tell me what you think.
That night Claire had trouble getting to sleep. She was so nervous about going back to the Ashford mansion that she could have sworn she kept seeing Alexia right in front of her, laughing at her and mocking her. Claire closed her eyes and took a few deep breathes to calm her flaring nerves.
~Claire, calm down. Alexia's dead, she's not in front of you and she's not in the mansion anymore. There's no reason to be afraid.~
Claire was taken out of her thoughts when loud thunder began to strike. Claire gasped and felt as if her heart had jumped into her throat.
~Alright girl, you are really losing it now. It's just thunder. You really need to calm down. Just relax and try to get some sleep.~
After the pounding in her heart stopped she could hear little rain drops being splattered softly against her window. She sighed and laid back down.
~Rain always did relax me. Maybe I will be able to get some sleep tonight, after all.~
Claire put the covers up to her waist and closed her eyes. A few minutes later, she was sound asleep.
Sometime later, Claire found herself in a big circular room with a spiral staircase. Claire couldn't quite put her finger on it at the moment but, there was something about this room that was disturbingly familiar. She looked up and saw several paintings that were hung on the upper floor.
~What's going on here? Where am I? What is it about this room that's giving me the creeps?~
She let her eyes drift to the largest painting that hung just above the stairs. It was a painting of a man with short blonde hair and had a rather disturbing expression on his face. She gasped when she realized who the man in the painting was.
~Alfred Ashford?! Oh my god, am I back in the mansion?!~
Claire was taken out of her thoughts by the sound of footsteps and a voice just outside of the room.
"Hmm... I wonder what's in here." a female voice said.
~Someone's coming!~
Claire ran and hid in the open space under the stairs for lack of time to find a better place. The door opened and a young woman walked in. Claire poked her head out a little to get a good look at her. The woman was about Claire's height with reddish brown hair slightly past her shoulders which she presently wore loose, and brown eyes. She had a black strap around her neck that was attached to a camera. She walked a little closer to the stairs and looked up at the paintings.
"Oh wow. What cool paintings. I should take a picture of these." the woman said.
She brought her camera to her face and snapped a few pictures in three different directions. When she brought her camera down, Claire got a closer look at her face and let out a quiet gasp as she realized something.
~Oh my god, she kinda looks like Steve. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was related to him. Nah, that can't be. Could it?~
The woman took her camera and put it away in a small bag she had with her. Claire saw a name tag on her shirt. She didn't catch the last name because the woman turned around and went to another corner of the room.
~So, her name is Aly. What's her last name, though?~
Claire was taken out of her thoughts when she heard a snarl. She froze in place.
~What was that?~
Apparently, Aly had heard it too, because she looked up stairs and screamed.
"Ahh, a hunter!" Aly exclaimed.
Claire wanted to run out of her hiding place and help Aly but, she found that she was literally frozen in place.
~Oh no. I can't move.~
The hunter jumped to the bottom floor and Aly ran to the furthest corner. She looked around franticly for some kind of weapon to use on it but, found none. She spotted a vase just as the hunter leaped towards her. She grabbed it and smashed it on the hunter's head. It staggered back, bleeding and cried out in pain. Aly grabbed a big shard as it leaped towards her again. She sliced it across the eyes and in a blind rage of pain, it bit her in the arm. Aly screamed in pain and dug the shard right into the hunter's chest. the hunter released its mouth and staggered to the floor. Aly grabbed another shard and sliced it across its neck. It wiggled and struggled in pain for a moment before it died. Aly held her bitten arm as tears of pain streamed down her face. She looked at her arm and saw that was beginning to swell a deep purplish blue. She groaned as realization hit her.
"Oh great, just my fucking rotten ass luck! That was a poisonous hunter, and not only am I weaponless, there aren't any blue herbs around here either!" Aly exclaimed.
Aly staggered over to the stair case and sat down on the first step to catch her breath.
"Oh man, what am I gonna do? If I don't find any blue herbs soon, or a weapon for that matter, I'll be screwed." Aly said.
~Poor Aly. I wonder what is someone like her doing here anyway, and how did she know that was a hunter?~
Aly dug her head in her hands and began to cry. She was so caught up in her crying that she didn't hear the moans that came from outside the door but, Claire did.
~Holy shit, zombies!~
"Aly, look out! Zombies!" Claire exclaimed.
It was no use though. It was as if Aly didn't hear her at all. The door burst open and at least a dozen zombies came staggering in. Claire grabbed her gun but, couldn't move from her spot. Aly looked up and gasped when she saw the zombies.
"Oh my god, zombies!" Aly exclaimed
"Aly, run!" Claire exclaimed.
Almost as if Aly could hear her this time, she ran up the stairs and found a loaded handgun on a table next Alfred's picture. She grabbed the gun as the zombies started climbing up the stairs. She started shooting at them. She killed a few of them but, the gun ran out of bullets and the rest of the zombies were still coming. She ran towards the door to her far right but, it was locked. Then, she ran to the one at the far left but, that one was locked as well.
"Oh no! What am I gonna do?!" Aly exclaimed.
Claire finally managed to crawl out of her hiding place and tried to run up the stairs but, she literally froze in place again when she reached the first step. She tried to move but, to no avail. She looked up, only to watch in horror as the zombies began to close in on Aly who was now completely defenseless.
~Poor Aly. What a way to go. First, she gets bitten by a poisonous hunter, and now, she's zombie lunch. If only I could move, I'd be able to help her. Wait a minute, maybe I can.~
Claire threw her gun up towards Aly. It landed a few paces between her and the zombies. Aly looked down at the newly fallen object.
"What the hell? Oh thank god, another gun!" Aly exclaimed.
Aly rushed towards the gun and reached it just as the zombies approached. She started shooting but, one of the zombies that was crawling on the floor, managed to bit her in the ankle. She screamed and kicked it hard, smashing its head in. She brought her attention back to the other zombies and continued shooting. Unfortunately, she ran out of bullets and there were still three left standing.
"Oh no. Now, I'm really screwed." Aly said.
Aly closed her eyes, bracing herself to face her fate, when the door behind her suddenly broke open and a hand reach out and grabbed Aly by the wrist. Aly screamed and struggled in her captor's grasp. When the zombies approached, another hand that held a magnum shot in them all in the head. They fell like a set of dominoes on the floor. Aly looked up at her captor's face and gasped.
"Oh my god." Aly muttered.
Before Aly could say another word, her captor dragged her into the now broken down door. Claire found the ability to move again, and ran up the stairs to the broken door but, by the time she got there, the door had disappeared and everything started getting blurry. Claire clutched her head as a sudden dizzy spell overcame her.
"Ahh! What the hell is going on?!" Claire exclaimed.
"Claire! Claire, wake up!" a familiar voice exclaimed.
"Chris?!" Claire cried.
Claire felt herself begin to shake violently.
"Claire! Come on, wake up!" Chris' voice exclaimed.
Claire's eyes shot opened and she gasped. She looked up to find Chris and Luis looking down at her with worried expressions on their faces. She sighed in relief when she realized it was just another nightmare.
~Where did that one come from? I never knew anyone named Aly.~
"Claire, are you alright?" Chris asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a new nightmare." Claire said.
"What about?" Luis asked.
"I don't really want to talk about it right now." Claire said.
Luis nodded in understanding.
"Here. I should have given you this before you went to bed. This will help you sleep without dreaming." Luis said. (A/N: I don't really think that such a medicine actually exists but, just go with it.)
"Thanks." Claire said.
She drank the medicine and gave the bottle back to Luis.
"You sure you're alright, sis?" Chris asked.
"Yeah, I'll be ok." Claire said.
"Alright. Get some sleep. We have quite a day ahead of us tomorrow." Chris said.
Claire and Luis nooded. They all said one final goodnight and left the room. Claire laid back down and closed her tired eyes.
~Aly, who are you? What were you doing in the Ashford mansion? Are you still there? And how did you know about the hunter and the zombies?~
That were Claire's last thought before she was sound asleep once again.
A/N: Hope you all liked this chapter. And to think I managed to write it in just one hour! R/R. Tell me what you think.