Title: Fading Away
Author: Malenkaya
Rating: R
Summary: (RE movie fanfic) A continuation of the movie, featuring old and new characters, new settings, and new conflict. In a zombie infested Raccoon City, how can Alice, Matt, and Rain survive?
Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or its characters.
Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as their explanatory, are fine.
Author's Notes: Again, a thousand thanks to Gabzilla and Jano for their reviews! Sorry this was updated later than usual; instead of posting this chapter after I was finished it, I moved on to write the last two chapters of "Fading Away" before posting it, in order to give myself some more planning time for the second part of this trilogy, "Into the Light".
Updates now will occur every second Friday.
Par usual... "y"s for spaces. LOL.
Fading Away
Chapter Five: Reaching to Salvation
Rain was jolted awake as J.D shifted, pulling her up higher on his back before gripping her thighs again and continuing their slow, steady walk.
She shifted forward, looking over J.D's shoulder to check the time on the worn leather watch she wore on her left wrist.
It was past one o'clock already.
They had been wandering through the river for over an hour since their run in with the bear. Both Matt and Alice had figured it was their safest bet, and Michael had mentioned that rivers generally opened up to wider lakes and more civilization- so there they were, wandering through water that had to be barely above freezing, cold and exhausted.
Her clothes were wet and sticky and a breeze had started up in the hour she'd been sleeping, cutting through her clothing like knives. She could feel J.D shivering, realized that she was shivering too and moved closer almost unconsciously, as if the action would generate some newfound warmth.
The once warm sun was absolutely useless to them now, blocked by clouds and rendered cold by the wind- but, as Michael had so adequately pointed out, at least it wasn't raining.
Their march was a silent one as they crept down the shimmering river, the water up to their knees- every so often, a bush would rustle, a tree branch would snap, and as if a command had been made, the six would rush into the middle of the river again, letting the water rise up to their shoulders.
But for the most part, all was quiet.
Rain shuffled again, bored, and was rewarded with another annoyed sigh from J.D. She grinned, amused despite herself.
Ever since she could remember, she was always the one running around, driving him absolutely insane. Neither of them were particularly stable or lazy, but of the two of them, it was Rain who couldn't be trusted to sit quietly in the same room for over five minutes.
It was, ironically enough, that same restlessness which had led to her meeting J.D in the first place.
Her childhood hadn't exactly been easy, being passed from foster home to foster home; and she let the stress out the only way she knew how to- through violence.
By the time she was finally expelled in her senior year of high school, she had been involved in nine fights, seven of which she initiated.
Really, it was surprising her principal had waited so fucking long to finally expel her.
It was breaking Tony's arm, though, that finally did it.
Tony's dad was rich, and despite her arguments that he had started it, him and his two fucking cronies waiting for her after school, he was determined to get revenge for the abuse of his precious son.
And that was how the authorities got involved.
In the end, she was given two choices: apologize to Tony, pay the hospital bill, and spend six months doing volunteer work at his father's company—
Or she could spend a year volunteering at the Raccoon City branch of Umbrella Corporation.
Always stubborn, the thought of apologizing to Tony and his dickhead father completely impossible to her, she chose the second.
To their credit, Umbrella didn't waste time trying to teach her to do receptionist duty, to wash the floors, to accompany privileged members like their little lapdog.
No, they took one look at her record and put her up to train with Raccoon City's Umbrella S.W.A.T. team.
They figured that the trials and training would be too much for her, that in less than a month she'd be exhausted and sick of it, perfectly willing to work at a boring desk job in one of the offices.
And for awhile, they were right. She was put with Spence as her superior officer who, she quickly found out, found her sarcastic demeanor neither amusing, nor endearing.
So her made her do menial jobs instead of any sort of routine, sweeping the floors, cleaning the windows, carrying around his water bottle and towels, anything he needed done.
He'd made her into fucking Cinderella.
Which, she knew, was allowed. It's not as if she was there for fun.
And anyways, it was worth it for the admittance into the police gym it allowed her. When she was finished, when Spence left for a few minutes, she'd go take out her anger on the punching bag, even jumping into the ring to spar occasionally.
It was One who finally realized her potential and set her up with an actual daily training course, replacing Spence with J.D, who'd graduated into S.W.A.T. six months earlier, as her superior officer.
From then on, volunteering had been like a nonstop party. Despite a few early skirmishes with J.D, the two of them were actually quite similar, and besides the constant competition between the two, they'd actually gotten along quite well. She'd actually become friends with J.D, grown closer to him than she'd ever been to anyone in her life—
And it was him who eventually convinced her to join Umbrella permanently. Despite being only 20 years old- she was only 21 now- she had J.D's support, and she had One's support- and the only person who was really against it was Spence.
Rain was brought out of her thoughts as another crack resounded through the woods near the river bank where they stood and everyone went rushing into the middle of the river again.
She bit back a shout of surprise when the water closed over her shoulders- it was cold, colder than it had been before anyway, and it permeated her nearly dry clothes like ice.
They stood there for a moment, staring out at the riverside; and then walked back to it, striding along again as if nothing had happened.
J.D's shirt was surprisingly warm, and Rain buried her face into his shoulder. She was absolutely exhausted again, and, much as she hated it, couldn't keep her eyes open.
It was weird that J.D was back. That he had been brought back from the dead. And despite the happiness she'd felt when she'd seen him again- after the shock had dissipated, anyway- sometimes she couldn't bring her mind to accept that he had actually died, had actually become the empty monster that'd left the scar across her throat.
But she didn't care as her eyes fell closed, her head sinking into the warm fabric. She didn't care how weird it was that J.D was back, that sometimes it was impossible for her to understand how he'd been brought back.
She was just happy he was back.
Because no matter how badly Raccoon fell apart, no matter how far the virus spread, it still felt as if nothing had changed.
y
It was evening by the time they finally waded their way into the long awaited lake at the end of the river.
It was wide, shaped almost like a figure eight, the shores stretching up and over high, grassy hills.
The sun had fallen to the west of the hemisphere, casting a sunset of pink and gold over the water that would have been considered beautiful at any other time- but now it only made the wind colder as it swept over them.
Alice waded out first, careful to keep to the edge of the lake.
It seemed somehow familiar to her. The lake's figure eight shape, the daisies growing on the west bank, the sunset's reflection on the lake. It was as if she'd been there before.
She wondered if she had. Her memory, for the most part, had come back to her already, but there were still blank spots, empty holes scattered throughout her mind.
Reaching the left bank, she climbed shakily onto rocky ground, feeling as if an Umbrella monster would somehow rush at her from over the hilltop now that she was out of the water.
The others followed, looking as tired and bedraggled as she felt. Kaplan was unconscious where he lay between Matt and Michael, his expression peaceful for the first time in what felt like days. She was surprised that the icy water hadn't woken him up when they'd waded out to the middle of the river.
Rain was asleep too, dozing quietly, her head on J.D's shoulder. She, unlike Kaplan, had reawaken every time they ran back into the water, resulting in her own shout of surprise and J.D's answering laughter.
The two fit well together, J.D's easy nature complimenting Rain's more closed off character and creating an almost comical pair. They were like- like Tweedledee and Tweedledum in a way, both entertaining and aggravating with their constant quips and easy bravado.
They were all like characters from Alice In Wonderland, really. She of course would be Alice- not only did their names match, but it was she who had fallen into the rabbit hole of the Hive, into a world she no longer knew or understood with her memory completely lost.
Always worried about time, always jumpy bordering on nervous, Kaplan made a perfect white Rabbit- and who would Matt be?
Maybe the caterpillar. They were both sort of a mystery to her- with Matt, she could never tell what he was thinking until her told her.
And then of course there was Michael, who she couldn't help but think would make a perfect... rabbit. Not the white one though, but the one paired with the Mad Hatter...
She gave up on the search for his name. It didn't really matter anyways, was just amusing to her.
Light footsteps announced Matt's presence as he stepped up next to her, Kaplan's legs still under his arms. She smiled at him, still thinking about the Alice in Wonderland analogy.
He returned the smile, looking slightly confused at her sudden happiness- she considered briefly telling him her thoughts, but decided not to bother. There would always be time later.
Instead she noted, "No more forestry."
"Yeah." He paused. "Do you think there might be another farmhouse up here?"
She shook her head. "No. It feels-" She turned to look at him fully, feeling stupid despite herself. "Like I've been here before. You know?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I think-" He hesitated. "I think we're near the Spencer mansion."
"Can we move?"
Alice turned to look at Rain, grinning despite herself. The petite brunette was awake, a cranky expression spread over her face, matching J.D as if the two were twins.
She turned to Matt, who nodded. "Yeah. We'd better see what's up there, anyway."
He started climbing up the hill, the rest following behind him in a more or less even line.
The hill wasn't slippery, nor was it particularly steep, but with the exhausted adults carrying two casualties, it took awhile to make it to the top.
None of them expected what they saw- none of them expected anything, really, besides just more forestry or another clearing.
Instead they trudged onto the grassy plain stretching on for miles around them—
And instantly saw the beautiful mansion set in the center of it, it's gothic architecture still grand despite the damage it had endured. The light's were off, the high windows still shattered, but it was instantly recognizable to all present.
Alice turned to Matt, asking in surprise, "How did you know?"
They were standing in front of the Spencer Mansion.
y
They had spent over an hour sitting on the shore of the lake, staring out over the water as the sun fell behind the horizon, casting shadows over the lake and six adults sitting by it.
Nobody spoke; it was as if they were all in some silent agreement not to, each person instead running through their own ideas of what they could do, where they could go.
It was Alice who finally broke the silence.
"I think we should go in."
Matt turned to look at her, feeling shocked. "Inside the Spencer Mansion?"
She stared at him, as if gauging his possible reaction, and then nodded. "Yeah."
"Are you insane?" It was J.D who had spoken now, straightening up where he lay stretched out over the rocky shore, the perfect picture of laziness. "The place is probably crawling with Umbrella's freaky mutations."
Alice nodded. "I know."
Not only Matt and J.D, but Rain and Michael and Kaplan as well opened their mouths to protest this time, but she interrupted them first.
"There's a safe house under the library in there, stocked with medicines, weapons, food, water- everything. We could stay there for awhile, get our bearings, let Kaplan and Rain relax for awhile." She paused for a moment, and then added softly, "It's worth the risk."
Matt looked around the group, trying to decipher their expressions. Michael looked convinced. Kaplan looked worried, but convinced as well. J.D looked skeptical. And Rain... Rain looked as if she didn't particularly care.
"How well-protected is it?"
"It has two different codes; Spence and I were the only ones with access to them." She paused, hesitating. "And the codes- besides opening the entrance to the safe rooms, they also reinforce each door, each window with plated steel, making it impossible for anything to get in."
J.D asked the next question, his expression still skeptical. "Wouldn't Umbrella have already figured out the code and deactivated the house reinforcements?"
Alice shook her head. "No. It's not possible. To do that, they'd have to open every single door manually; each door opens to a different code. If anything, they probably just entered through the broken windows in the entrance hall and entered the Hive through the elevator before the alarm system was activated."
J.D nodded. His expression looked convinced now, bordering even on triumphant at their discovery of the safe house, and looking around, Matt realized the expression was echoed on all of their faces.
It was, he had to admit, a sound plan.
And yet he couldn't shake the feeling that somehow it was wrong, that they shouldn't go back into the mansion.
He searched his head for the only available argument he could find. "What if they've changed the codes?"
Alice shook her head again. "Manual figuration of the code was made to be literally impossible- unless Spence or I tell someone the code ourselves, nobody can open those doors."
They were all looking at him now, waiting for him to either accept the plan or reject it outright, and he finally quit racking his head for an excuse, bringing it out into the open.
"I don't like this."
Alice didn't say anything, only waited patiently for him to continue, as if she knew what he was going to say. For some reason, the calmness of her expression angered him, and he bit down on his lip to avoid saying anything he'd regret.
"I don't know." He said. "What if the codes are different? What if we get trapped in one of Umbrella's efficiently sealed rooms with one of their mutations? There's just too many things that could go wrong with this scenario."
Alice nodded. "Matt, I know it's risky, but where else can we go?"
He had no answer to her question, and looked away. "It doesn't matter. Just not here."
There was a short silence, broken when J.D said quietly, "So we vote."
They turned to look at him, surprised, and he shrugged. "We've got to make a decision, right? So... we vote. I'm for it."
Alice nodded. "Me too."
Their sentiments were echoed by Kaplan, by Michael- even by Rain, who at some point had decided to take an active interest in the conversation.
Which left Matt the odd one out.
"Fine," he said finally, resigned. "Whatever."
y
It was a short trek up the hill and over the grassy plains.
Alice and Matt led the way, him and Michael still carrying Kaplan, J.D still carrying Rain. They held two of three of the rifles, Matt ready to drop Kaplan's legs at any given time. J.D held the other one, strung around his neck on the sling.
They had formulated a loose plan of entrance- if anything attacked, Matt and J.D would drop their respective impediments and move forward with Alice to meet the thing head on while Michael got Rain and Kaplan, somehow, to safety.
Or, as Rain so adequately had put it: "If anything moves, shoot it."
Despite the somewhat exasperating sarcasm of the words, as Michael thought over the words in his head, he realized how true they really were.
After all, how was he expected, should the situation arise, to get both Kaplan and Rain to safety? Rain could hobble, sure, but there's no way she could even walk properly, let alone run—
And anyway, Alice was the only one who knew the password.
So really, the "plan" was pretty much useless.
They knew that though. Not only Michael, but everyone knew their plan was pretty much all bravado.
But it didn't matter. Whatever got them through the house, got them through the house.
And it wasn't as if he could complain, anyway. They all had more experience then him, they knew what they were doing.
He couldn't help but shiver as they reached the heavy mahogany doors creating the entrance to the mansion. Evil had dawned here, he could feel it- and he expected something to come crashing through the doors at any minute.
Alice punched a few numbers on the alarm system near the front door, and the doors both clicked.
She moved back, glanced at Matt warily, who dropped Kaplan's legs. And then, perfectly in tune, both kicked in their respective doors and jumped forward into the house, scanning it quickly, rifles at the ready—
And stopped. They exchanged another look, this one of confusion- and then gestured at Michael and J.D to follow as Matt reached back, lifting Kaplan's legs again.
"Why isn't there anything in here?" Michael whispered to them. He winced as the whisper echoed in the massive room they stood in.
"I don't know," Alice said, her tone worried. She looked around the room again, as if she had missed something, and Michael took the opportunity to do the same.
The room they were in was imposing, somehow both grand and intimidating to Michael. The marble flooring continued through the hall, it's coldness perfectly echoed by the pale blue curtains covering the floor to ceiling windows—
Which, Michael realized, looking more closely, were plated with a heavy steel.
At least Alice had been right about that.
The room was almost completely devoid of any furniture, save a plushy loveseat and small end table, and Alice's search behind the furniture ended quickly. She exchanged another look with Matt, this one of complete bewilderment, and then whispered, "We'd better keep going."
They advanced through the marble hall slowly, quietly, not speaking. Their whispers carried in the cold hallway and they were too busy listening for other entities to bother speaking.
The next set of doors they reached at the end of the hall were a step down from the ones leading to the entrance hall, made not in the rich mahogany wood, but a cheap oak blend instead.
Alice repeated her former actions, typing the code into the keypad and waiting for the click. Matt dropped Kaplan's legs again as it resounded through the silent room, holding his rifle at the ready—
And both kicked in their respective doors, jogging inside, scanning the perimeter—
And saw nothing.
Again.
Michael could tell by the confusion on their faces, by the frustration on Matt's, and entered silently as Matt lifted Kaplan's legs again.
"I don't understand," Alice whispered silently.
Matt shook his head, looking grim. "They're probably converged somewhere."
"No," Alice told him. "Look at the room."
They did. It was a beautiful room, a small sitting room decorated in pale lilacs and blues, the soft couches and lacy tablecloths both inviting and exquisite.
The main table, the small rounded one, was set for tea, the cups still placed carefully in their respective places.
"Nothing's changed. Nothing's been in here."
She stared at Matt. "The entrance to the Hive is on the other side of the mansion... do you think- maybe they couldn't make it all the way to here."
Matt shrugged. "I don't know." He looked at her, looked back at all of them. "Stay ready."
And they did, falling into position as they continued the same routine through another room, another after that, Alice typing in the code, her and Matt bursting through the doors, imitating their own confused expressions as they continued to exchange looks at each empty room.
They continued through each room the same way, passing by untouched crystal, gorgeous china patterns, plushy couches and chairs and heavy velvet curtains.
They had made it past over ten rooms and were nearly to the library, still wandering in unbroken silence, when they finally realized that nothing was going to attack them.
The mansion was completely empty.
y
The trip that had began in total silence ended it total silence when they finally reached the small entrance room to the safe house.
It wasn't in the library, but in the room directly next to it; a tiny room, the flooring a massive chessboard, completely windowless.
A deep red tapestry hung against one wall, painted on it a vivid image of a dying tree.
It's leaves were a dark red, the color almost of dried blood, a sharp color against the bright red of it's background. It seemed to reach up towards the ceiling, it's branches brushing the top of the tapestry as if reaching for some sort of life-giving miracle, some sort of salvation which would never come.
As Alice gazed at the tapestry, she remembered the day when Spence had insisted on buying it to cover up the keypad. "It's too obvious," he had insisted, and she had agreed, thought it even a good idea.
But she had been creeped out by the melancholy tapestry he'd chosen, by the icon of death he felt suited the entrance to their safe house.
But now, as she gazed at the tree, she was able to understand the symbolism, the outcome of such a movement. All six of them were hoping only for that salvation- and chances of it coming were fading away with each passing day.
Her expression, the exhaustion, the worry, the hopelessness that was beginning to reign over all other emotions was echoed by that of those around her. They were all holding on by barely a thread.
And holding onto what? They had no objective, no goal- all they were attempting to do was to survive, fading into the driven unconsciousness of such a desire.
She shook aside the thoughts, not wanting to depress herself further, and moved aside the velvet tapestry to reveal the gleaming keypad. Matt held it for her as she typed in the six number code.
They all stepped back as the floor underneath them slid back slowly, giving way to a wide entranceway.
The banister-edged staircase appeared slowly to their eyes as they adjusted to the darkness, spiraling down into the ground.
Matt pulled the knapsack off his shoulders, dropping it to the ground as Alice stepped onto the stairs—
And lights flashed on, exposing what looked like at their height a cavern of rooms.
"Automated," Alice said with a small smile to Matt, answering his unasked question as he climbed onto the staircase with Kaplan and Michael, J.D and Rain following behind the four as they slowly descended the wide staircase.
Alice slid the door shut as they reached the bottom, reaching over and tapping the bottom stair twice with her toe.
She hid a smile as the rest of her friends stared around the house, their expressions shocked, mouths agape. By the term "safe house", they'd been, most likely, expecting some ramshackle house, a bomb shelter, perhaps.
What they'd stepped into was merely a small mansion.
There were less rooms, but the ones there were big and decorated beautifully with soft, expensive carpets, matching bedspreads and sofas with delicate gold accents.
The entrance room they were in led to a kitchen and dining room on their left, a living room directly ahead of them, a massive storage closet behind them and two grand bedrooms to their right, connected by a large bathroom complete with a shower and a sunken tub.
It was, like the mansion itself, exquisite, even despite the lack of sunlight or fresh air. Spence would have it no other way.
She scowled slightly to herself. She didn't want to think of Spence, of what they'd had- they had never been close, but she'd never pegged him as the sort of coward who'd sell them all out for profit.
Her former "husband" was dead, and that's all there was to it.
They were still alive, and as Alice looked at the five people gathered around her, she realized their frustrated, exhausted expressions had given way to ones of surprise, of wary contentment.
For better or for worse, this was their home for the next few weeks.
At least they'd be able to sleep for once.
End of Chapter