Happy Thanksgiving! -Akumu

CLAIREMBER 2022
Day 24 - family

"Alright, brake!" yelled Claire.

She looked over and saw Billie pump the bike's rear brake. The bike didn't slow enough for her to stop before the runway ended. She looked at Claire, panicked.

Claire slid alongside her. "Ease up then brake!"

Billie twisted the throttle and stomped the rear brake. She fell behind Claire. Claire dropped her bike's speed.

She patted her handlebar. "Front brakes!"

Billie squeezed her front brakes and fell behind Claire again. Claire hit her own front brakes. Side by side, she and Billie coasted to a stop.

Claire took off her helmet. "Not bad for your first time!"

Billie clawed off her own helmet and scrambled off the bike.

"What's wrong?" Claire asked.

Billie shook her head, looked away. The wind gusted back her loose ponytail and bleached bangs. Her eyes were damp.

"It's just…It should be my sister doing this, not me."

"We can head back to base, see if we can find her and Bert. Ask if they wanna join us."

"You don't get it. She wants nothing to do with me."

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sure that's not true. You both just lost your dad –"

"He wasn't our dad, okay? He and Bert are clones made by a complete psycho who tried to destroy the world, and me and Jade…we're just his fucked-up science experiments."

Claire leaned against her bike. "I once had the misfortune of meeting the 'complete psycho' who made him and Bert. And none of you are at all like him. He was a cold-blooded killer. You all…I can tell you care about each other. That's more than Albert Wesker was ever capable of."

Billie's tears flowed freely now. "Yeah? How 'bout the part where I got her boyfriend killed?"

"I've been in this fight since 1998, so longer than either of you have been alive. And believe me when I say that the worst part about it is seeing the people around you die while you somehow get lucky enough to survive."

"So that's what it means to be us, then? Just, stand by and watch while everyone we care about dies?"

"Sometimes yes. That's why you guys have to stick together. Separated, you don't stand a chance. But together? You can keep each other safe, just like Chris and I have all these years"

Billie looked away, dried her tears using her jacket sleeve.

Claire placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. Let's grab some lunch and see if Sheva can get ahold of Chris. Hopefully he's found a cargo flight to Japan you three can board."

The girl hesitated, then nodded.