Authors Note: The last time I updated this story was nearly a year ago. Only recently did I remember about so I guess it's never too late to finish the story, even after a year. Sorry for keeping you all waiting.
Chapter 6- Love Triangle
"Steve! Let me go!" Claire said as she tried to release herself from Steve's tight grip.
Steve continued to pull her through a few more doors before finally coming to a halt. Claire shrugged her arm free from his grip and examined Steve's fingernail marks he left on her skin. Nobody could mistake that Claire Redfield was furious. Her cheeks were red and flushed and her blue eyes were glowing with a fiery rage.
She sure does look cute when she's mad…
"Who do you think you are!" Claire snapped interrupting his thought. "You left Chris and Barry!"
"I just wanted to protect you!" Steve replied looking hurt by Claire's sudden outburst.
Claire looked less like she was about to strangle Steve. In fact, her gaze upon him seemed to have lightened. She sighed in response and gave Steve that "I-really-don't-know" look.
Before they could say anything else to each other, Leon pushed open the door and stopped to catch his breath before confronting Steve.
"Are you insane!" Leon yelled inches from his face. "How could you just leave Chris and Barry like that?"
"I-I don't know," Steve said looking guilty.
There was a moment of silence. Leon eagerly waited for Claire to back him up and say something else. Instead, Claire said, "Leon, let's just leave it."
"Claire?" Leon seemed stunned by her statement, "You know he was wrong! How can you side with him after he left your brother and Barry to fight Wesker alone?"
"There's no point fighting about it. What's done is done. So let's just leave it at that," Claire said with less patience.
Steve shot Leon a smug look as Leon's mouth hung half open in shock. Claire groaned and spun away from the guys heading towards the door they came from.
Sometimes guys can be so immature…Claire thought as she pushed open the door.
"Hey, Chris!" Barry said pointing to a random painting on the wall. "Check this out!"
Chris stopped on his track and looked over his shoulder, "Yes?" He said curiously raising an eyebrow.
"Ain't this funny?" Barry grinned as he pointed to the painting.
Chris walked towards the painting and admired it. It was a painting of a cat.
"Huh?"
Barry laughed out loud as he walked away from the painting. Chris smiled to himself and rolled his eyes.
Man, Barry is such a goofball!
Barry and Chris had been walking through what seemed to be an art room of some kind. Barry had stopped to comment on almost every sculpture and painting in the room. Including the ones of cats.
"So, where do you think Claire, Steve and Leon are?" Barry asked as he bent over to tie his shoe lace.
"I don't know, but we should look for them before Wesker finds them," Chris replied surely.
"And what do we do once we find them?"
"I think our best bet is to call for a helicopter once we find them. We can't beat Wesker, he's far too strong," Chris said looking Barry in the eye.
Barry caught his gaze and nodded. As much as he hated to admit it, Chris was right. Wesker was very powerful.
"Wait! I have a plan!" Barry said aloud and then paused, "We should split up."
"What?" Chris said totally taken back. "Barry that is the worst plan in the history of bad plans."
"But Chris, I can find the control room and call for a helicopter. There's no signal here."
Chris thought about it for a second, but immediately shook the idea out of his head.
"No way Barry, I'm not putting my friends in danger. I really think-"
"Shut up Chris! I can do this!" Barry interrupted. Chris looked shocked, his eyes wide in surprise.
Barry, Mr. Nice guy, is telling me to "shut up?" Chris thought to himself.
Chris couldn't help but smile. Barry always knew how to crack him up, even when he didn't mean to.
"Weapon Storage…" Steve read aloud.
"Wow Steve, you can read!" Leon said sarcastically and then pushed the door open.
Steve mimed stabbing a knife into Leon's back as he opened the door. Steve felt better, that is, before Claire shot him a look of death.
"Sorry," Steve muttered under his breath.
Once they were in the room, Claire traced her hands against the wall to find a switch. She flipped it on when she felt it. However, once she flipped it she wished she hadn't, as the room was filled with zombies crawling around the floor.
Claire gasped and took out her handgun. Leon and Steve already had their guns ready.
"Wait! Don't shoot!" Steve yelled above the moans coming from the zombies. "Maybe we can dodge them and save ammo."
"Steve's right," Claire said, "Quickly check the room for any guns or ammo and then let's go!"
With that being said, all three of them searched the spacious storage warehouse for any guns or ammo. Claire stepped over the zombies on the floor, kicking a few in the head as they tried to grab her boots. Whenever she made any eye contact with the zombies, she couldn't help but feel utterly disgusted and grossed out. It was like a bad horror movie. Everything that's happened in her life.
Until there was Steve…
Suddenly Claire came to realise what she had just thought to herself.
Now is not the time to be thinking about that! She reminded herself sternly.
Claire snuck a quick glance at Steve and blushed. She continued checking all the shelves and pulling all the boxes down, but there was nothing but dust and spider webs.
"Found anything?" Leon called from a corner in the warehouse.
"No, nothing here," Claire replied still pulling more boxes down.
"I found a machine gun," Steve proudly announced.
That Steve is such a cocky asshole, Leon thought and said softly to himself.
Leon had never felt so humiliated. He was competing with a kid for Claire's heart. Sure, he was only four years younger, but Leon knew he couldn't look after Claire. Claire needed a real man- like Leon. He turned his attention back to searching for weapons, but it didn't last long when without warning, the lights turned off.
Claire's heart stopped for a second. All she saw in front of her was complete darkness. She could not even see the outline of her hands.
"Steve? Leon?" Claire almost whispered, unable to keep the trembling out of her voice.
She was afraid.
"Someone turn the lights back on!" Claire heard one of the guys say.
Claire stood completely still in the darkness. She could hear the shuffling sounds of clothes on the floor, as the zombies moved around. Accompanying that sound was the sound of an opening door that creaked and echoed throughout the warehouse. Claire felt the tears well up in her eyes. Suddenly she heard the sound of heavy footsteps and a scratchy kind of sound. Claire knew that sound, but she didn't want to believe a hunter was in the room. She wouldn't let herself believe it.
Oh my gosh…
For a minute, the only other sounds she heard were the sounds of her heavy breathing. It was then that the lights started blinking on and off until the whole room lit up again. Immediately Claire spun around and aimed at the wall. She moved back, taking each step slow, her eyes traced down to the floor. Surrounding all of the previously living dead was a large pool of blood. Claire tried to remain calm, but the silence was beginning to get to her head. Slowly she let herself look up, and on top of the shelves stood the last thing she wanted to see. A hunter stood before her eyes- only this hunter didn't look anything like the one she saw earlier. Its colour was purple, and it appeared to be larger. Claire was frozen with fear. The hunter didn't seem to have seen her yet.
Now's my chance... run, run!
But her feet felt like they were glued to the ground. She knew she had to make a run back to the door- if she had any chance of surviving the situation. Claire pushed herself away from the shelves and made a run for the door. She didn't look behind, but she was sure as heck the hunter had spotted her. It let out a high pitched, ear shattering cry, after which followed a loud thump. She turned a sharp corner and slipped on the blood. Her knees and hands were drenched in blood.
"Leon, Steve!" She called in despair as she took of running again.
Her pace began to speed up when she turned and saw the hunter barely a few inches away from her. She looked over her shoulder and saw the hunter jump. In mid-air it raised its right arm and slashed at her. Claire leaped forward, dodging the slash so it just barely missed her body, but managed to slash her ankle. She cried in pain and grabbed her ankle. She tried to push herself away from the hunter, but her efforts were pointless.
I'm going to die here! No, someone help me!
"Hey asshole! Over here!" a voice called behind the hunter.
The hunter didn't look, and continued walking towards Claire.
"Claire duck!"
Claire immediately threw her hands over her head and fell to the ground. The spacious and almost empty warehouse echoed loudly when Steve used the machine gun. The sound of ammo pumping holes in the hunter was very reassuring that this wasn't the end for Claire Redfield.
Phew.
The hunter let out its final cry before it fell slowly to the ground. Claire was so happy; she could have kissed the floor if it wasn't covered with the guts and blood of previous employees. She tried to move, but almost instantly felt an enormous amount of pain in her ankle as well as her leg. Steve and Leon both rushed to her. Steve placed his newly discovered gun beside her.
"Claire, are you okay?" Leon said, his eyes filled with concern.
Claire examined her leg, "I think so. But I can't move my leg. It feels numb, and it really hurts."
Steve looked at her leg. It was bleeding, and it looked to be infected.
"I think I'm poisoned," she continued, "not again!"
"No worries Claire, I'll go look for an antidote," Steve volunteered.
Leon looked at Steve and raised an eyebrow, "Steve, you don't even know if there is one. It could be dangerous if you go running around."
I'm not a kid! Steve wanted to shout out. He was furious by the way Leon talked to him like he was just some kid. Steve gave one last glare to Leon, picked up his new weapon, and stormed out of the room.
"Steve!" Claire shouted.
But it was too late. He was already halfway down the hall.
