Chapter 4. Necessary Social Interactions

Nearly a week's time passed by since Sarene had been told of her actual past. Yet still, she wondered what those strange dreams meant.

'I'll ask him once I have the chance to. Sasha's really been my main source of comfort this past week and I hers. Perhaps I'll try and train today..'

She was lost in thought while walking down the corridor, hopeful there would be a possibility to train outside. The weather looked wonderful. When passing by a corridor which had large windows down its entire hallway, she stopped suddenly to look out of a window into the courtyard, nearly coming into direct contact with a rather familiar face. Brutus recognized her as he side stepped out of the way. Not knowing what she should say, Sarene only nodded in his direction, averting her gaze from the gardens fountain and countless rows of flowers outside.

She made a hasty attempt at leaving, but stopped when she heard him say, "Wait, I need to talk with you." He raised his right hand, reaching for her arm. He gently grabbed her hand, hoping that she'd hear him out. Having a change of heart, her expression changed from unfeeling to that of a sympathetic one. To his delight, she accepted his proposal, responding, "Alright, let's go to Oswell's private study. He won't really mind, don't worry, he's most likely not even in there. They haven't been working much as of late." Accepting this, he nodded, following her. "It's actually the only room in this entire compound that requires a key. The rest of the rooms require access codes and sometimes fingerprint/eye registration."

It took them only a minute's walk to reach his chambers. Luckily it was located in the center of the compound; along with the main control room and lab. Their rooms and the workers were in the same area as well. They came to a halt in front of the door as she unlocked it quickly, ushering him inside. Upon entering, Sarene immediately locked the door. Both were relieved upon discovering no one had previously entered the room, laying in wait for any unwelcome guests.

The private study looked impressive in size, having a desk, multiple book shelves, several chairs and couches, along with some chair and table sets too. The area looked tidy without even a trace of dust anywhere to be found. Located underneath the desk was a secret drawer; unbeknownst to anyone save for Oswell and Marcus. However, Sarene along with Brutus and her allies, would come to discover its contents in the near future. Almost by accident would they realize the very thing that would give them their freedom.

Sarene led him over to a black suede couch.

"What do you want to talk about?"

She took her seat, crossing one leg underneath the other. Looking at the floor in silence, Brutus sat there for several moments, contemplating how he could tell her his true feelings. Now knowing what to say, he responded, "Haven't you ever thought about leaving this place? We could go away from here, just you and I, never taking a look back."

Sarene tilted her head out of curiosity.

"I haven't had much of a chance to. Besides, they would find us. Because of this substance, Spencer would be capable of tracking me."

She sighed, frustrated that everything had to be so complex.

"I still don't have any idea what these strange dreams I've been having even mean..I very much want to ask him about that issue, among others. There's still so much that I don't even know about him..I couldn't just leave that easily and now that you're here..neither can you."

"That may be, however every time I see you or hear your voice, my heart yearns for you. I can't stand to see you with another man."

"I really like you too, but as I've said before, I hardly know anything about you."

She stood, walking towards the door.

"I'll talk with Oswell about what could happen if I were with another. I won't say that it would be with you, just with anyone. I would rather he remain unaware."

Brutus now stood, walking towards her. Instantly a figure appeared behind her, leaning against the door. Brutus' eyes were wide with shock as he stared in horror at the peculiar shadow apparition. She stood in front of the door, unaware that this thing had even appeared. Brutus managed to ask, "Who are you and what do you want?" His voice shook with fear as he continued looking at this strange thing.

Sarene looked behind her, now confused.

"There's no one else here, what do you mean?"

Its shadow form turned around, facing him now. With a throaty rasp, it let out a long, painful groan that echoed throughout the room, continuing into his head. He shrieked, putting his hands against his head, saying, "No! No! Go away!", falling to his knees. Sarene rushed to him, asking what was wrong.

"Leave me! Just go away!"

She backed away in confusion.

"If there's something wrong with your mental state of health, perhaps Dr. Marcus would know how to assist you. I wish that I could do something but unfortunately, that isn't possible. I hope that you are able to recover from whatever is ailing you."

She unlocked the door, then turned saying, "You should leave here soon too." Instantly the figure had vanished after she turned to the door. It seemed to Brutus as though she walked through this peculiar thing.

As she was leaving, Wesker shoved her back into the room with Marcus coming in from behind. The portentous doctor offered his hand to Brutus, saying "I'll help you recover from this Brutus. Come with me, you'll feel much better afterwards."

He looked up towards Marcus muttering, "Later on, now I must finish talking with Sarene in private."

Wesker glared, casting his eyes downwards at Brutus.

"Would you rather I assist you with brute force?"

He sneered in response, crossing his arms. Marcus gave a small smile, squatting. He patted Brutus's shoulders.

"Now now, there's no need for any unnecessary acts of violence. Besides, all there had been left to say was a simple "goodbye". There there Brutus, all will be well."

A needle had been hidden in his sleeve all this time. Marcus pulled it out with ease, injecting the sedative into his neck.

"This will help you relax. Up you go."

A different man entered the room. Brutus noticed that his name tag read "William Birkin". He barely noticed this when squinting his eyes, fighting through blurry vision. Marcus and Birkin lifted him onto an operating table, Birkin steering him to most likely a lab for further testing and analyzation.That had been the last memory of his before losing consciousness.

Sarene still remained against the wall where Wesker had pushed her. Marcus looked back at Albert saying, "Make certain that Spencer comes to this room immediately." Wesker simply nodded as he locked the door behind him. She glared at him, planting her feet firmly on the ground.

"If only you hadn't disobeyed orders prohibiting unwanted visitors in this room, we wouldn't be in this predicament. Tsk tsk." He clicked his tongue after saying those words with satisfaction.

Casually strolling up to her, Wesker placed his hands on either side of Sarene's head while smirking.

"Spencer is quite busy at this moment in time. I had recently received a message notifying me to wait momentarily before contacting him. And if the thought of kicking me in the pelvic region even crosses your mind, I strongly urge you to reconsider."

She kept her gaze locked on him, returning his smirk. "It just did actually but before you do anything rash, don't you think that there could be a small possibility we're being recorded? Someone is always watching everyone almost constantly; if not constantly! After all, they watched as you were brutally tested and experimented on. I've heard some stories from Oswell how Amar made life hell for you. And now your vengeful plan is to make me pay for his sins against you? Is that it?"

He grinned, tracing his thumb against her bottom lip. "Not quite, my reason for doing this is simply to achieve pleasure to its fullest extent. I'm unable to find other women in this area, simply due to them already having husbands. They're hidden rather well."

He leaned in for a kiss, then stopped unexpectedly, placing his hand around the back of her neck while his finger rubbed over something. Wesker felt the small device, knowing very well what it was. He chuckled saying, "You're right Sarene, we should do this at a later time. It pains me to admit how we must postpone these...activities."

Without another word, he left, slamming the door behind him. Speaking into his microphone on his ear piece, he informed Spencer what happened.

"She's in your private study, waiting for you." Oswell replied only saying, "Alright."

...

Nearly half an hour had passed by after the two's strange encounter. Sarene sat patiently waiting for Oswell. She placed her hands underneath her lap, fidgeting with the hem on her dress. The door slowly opened with a familiar face showing itself.

"Sarene.."

He walked towards his desired partner, sitting beside her on the sofa.

"Why did you come here without my permission?"

He could hardly restrain his urge while being in this close of quarters with her. She looked away, sighing out of frustration.

"He wanted to talk with me about some sort of issue. We never discussed it due to an outburst that he underwent..It seemed as though something is still plaguing him from his past. I really didn't think you would mind, sorry."

She propped her elbow up against the sofa's side, resting her head on her hand.

"I would rather you come directly to me and ask for my permission. What if some fatal incident were to happen and no one knew of your location? What then?"

Sarene stood to leave.

"Can we just discuss this later? I would like to go back-"

"And do what? Bend over for your new lover? You know only a fraction of his past and already you wish to run off together. How asinine do you take me to be? I am aware of your plans and they will not work. If you leave together, we will find you. It would be a very poor decision to run away. You're better off staying here."

He took her hands in his, gazing into Sarene's eyes.

"I want nothing more than for you to be happy. If your wish is being with him, then that is fine, you have my consent, only because I already know his background. We've been monitoring Brutus for quite some time now; nearly fifteen years ago had been our starting point."

Sarene's mouth fell open in surprise, then closed.

"I'm..thankful for this..but will we still..I only..-"

He'd left her speechless due to his sudden consent, words were difficult to find.

"You don't have to say anything else. Go to him if you must but remember this: I will always be there for you in your greatest time of need."

She squeezed his hands as she tried to respond, her face growing red with embarrassment.

"If there is something you must say then come out with it, I will under-"

"I love you."

She averted her gaze downwards, placing her hands in her lap.

"You made me fall in love with both you and him..I may have feelings for Marcus and Heath as well."

He smiled at her, nodding his head understandingly.

"Shall we make love one final time then? You may imagine me as the others if you desire, Sarene. Make love with them as well and tell him that he is able to do so with Sasha if he desires. After all, it is better to live having tried an experience and regretting it later than not having tried it at all and regretting that you had missed the experience later on."

She bit her bottom lip, climbing onto his lap.

"I can't contain this urge within me any longer.."

Sarene hurriedly undressed, throwing her yellow sleeveless dress carelessly on the floor. He took her nude open-toed heels off following suit, casting everything else aside.

"It's not as though you've made any sort of commitment..yet. It will only be this one other time."

Her eyebrows slanted upwards, pleading with him to make this quick. She already felt his erection rubbing against her, enticing the pair to begin. This truly would be their last private interaction.