Disclaimer: Resident Evil is not mine.
A/N: You guys are totally awesome with all the reviews you've been leaving, they really motivate me to update as often as I can. You can all thank Avienda who requested another update before Monday and here I am to deliver.
A/N2: Chapter title is from Armistice, love that song.
"So what did you think K?" Claire asked as they walked out of the movie theatre. It was pretty late but the cool night air felt nice on her face after being stuck with the stifling heat of the crowded theatre for the previous two hours.
K-Mart bounced happily along the sidewalk, still running on the sugary high of theatre snacks and soda despite the late hour. "I liked it! It was more fun to watch than actually funny, but you can never go wrong with Betty White!"
Claire only half agreed with her little sister. She had let K-Mart pick the movie and they'd ended up sitting through 'You Again.' Claire thought it was kind of a pointless movie, but if K-Mart had a good time then that was all that really mattered to her. As they walked away from the building, leaving the noise and people behind Claire noticed there weren't many other people out and the only source of light came from the street lamps lining the sidewalk. She checked the time on her phone and let out a curse. "Shit, we missed the last bus of the night." She glanced at the short blonde walking at her side. "It will be a good half hour walk. Can you make it or should I call us a cab?"
"No, it's fine. I can walk." K-Mart reassured and as if to emphasize her point she grabbed the redhead's arm and dragged her down the street, neither of them noticing the two hooded figures following half a block behind them.
Claire chuckled at K-Mart, even when the blonde was little she was always trying to prove she could keep up despite the fact that Claire was so much older. "So, did you finish all your homework for the weekend before we left?"
The teen rolled her eyes. "Why do you always have to ask me about school and homework?"
"Because I care, and because we both know what will happen if I don't make sure you're looking after your studies." She wasn't overly hard on her little sister, but she always made certain to emphasize how crucial it was that she did her best in school. After the death of their parents in a car crash three years earlier, the social workers, lawyers, and guidance councilors had all made it abundantly clear that if there was ever any reason that Claire was found unsuitable as a guardian then K-Mart would be taken away from her. It was something Claire didn't often let herself think about, it was her single biggest fear and finding out the blonde was failing history had brought that fear closer to home.
K-Mart seemed to realize what her sister was thinking. "I know you care, I've never doubted that you care. And to answer your question, no I have not finished all my homework yet. Tomorrow I need to start working on my extra credit assignment for Mr. Wesker."
Claire couldn't help but smile as she thought about the painting that was now proudly displayed in their living room. The night of the art show K-Mart had immediately hung it on the wall the moment they set foot in the apartment and had proceeded to stare at it for almost an hour before Claire had finally forced her to go to bed. "How lucky was it that you met Alice the other night right? The painting and then helping you with history, it's like she came out of nowhere to solve all your problems."
K-Mart snuck a sideways glance at her sister, she had promised Alice not to interfere but that didn't mean she couldn't find out what her sister thought of her new tutor. "Yeah, Alice is awesome. She's smart and talented, and totally cool."
"I'll take you're word for it, since you've spent more time with her than I have."
"Would you want to spend more time with her?"
Claire eyed her sister suspiciously. "What are you getting at K?" Not ten minutes ago the blonde had been bouncing around and carefree and now she was calm and selecting her words a bit too carefully and thus K-Mart's attempt to remain nonchalant did not get passed Claire. As far as she was concerned the young blonde was an open book.
"I just think that you and Alice would be perfect together. You haven't been on a date in almost a year-"
"Eight months," Claire quickly corrected, a little embarrassed that her younger sister was keeping such close tabs on her love life, or lack thereof. She made a face just thinking about the last date she had been on. What had been that woman's name? Terri something? All Claire could really remember was the woman had gone on and on about her work in television and trying to win an Emmy. It had all been too self indulgent for Claire's liking and she hadn't even been tempted to go out with anyone else since.
"Whatever," K-Mart waved dismissively. "Alice is hot, awesome, and available; you could do a lot worse you know. But it was just an idea, something for you to think about."
Claire wrapped an arm around K-Mart's shoulders and pulled her close, letting the blonde know she hadn't overstepped any boundaries. "You're right K, I could do a lot worse. But I'd like to know someone more than a few days, I don't believe in that love at first sight crap."
K-Mart smiled up at her sister. "Ok...but admit it, you think Alice is hot."
Shoving the blonde away playfully, Claire rolled her eyes. "Fine, I admit it. Alice is hot, happy now?"
The teen smirk triumphantly. "I knew you thought so, and yes I am happy."
Claire just shook her head and the pair continued making their way home. K-Mart did have a point, it was hard meeting nice women who didn't run the other way when they found out she had full time custody of a teenager, so to know someone who was 'hot, awesome, and available' was something of a lucky break. But she still didn't know Alice very well, and she couldn't be too careful when it came to letting someone into her and K-Mart's lives. It had been a long time since she'd met anyone she actually liked, but Claire was able to recognize those early signs of a crush whenever she was around Alice. When they had shaken hands at the art gallery and sitting so close to the other woman on the ride home last night had made her feel warm inside. Warm and safe. Even though they'd only known each other a few days she felt as if she could trust Alice; not only with herself but with K-Mart as well. And that feeling, while kind of nice was also unfamiliar and the redhead didn't know how much she could trust her instincts when it came to Alice.
They were only about four blocks from their apartment when Claire heard footsteps behind them. Turning her head she could easily make out two figures wearing dark hooded sweatshirts closing in on them. The redhead acted as if she hadn't seen them, keeping her pace leisurely to match the blonde. She leaned towards her sister a little and whispered; "Don't look behind you, but if I tell you to run you had better do it. Run and don't look back. Understand?" K-Mart looked frightened but nodded nonetheless.
"Hey ladies!" One of the men called. "You two are out pretty late, my friend and I are going to a party, would you like to join us?"
Claire grabbed K-Mart's arm tightly and picked up their pace a little, ignoring the men behind them.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" The man yelled again, and Claire could tell he was closer now, just behind them.
She stopped abruptly, turning to face the men and pulling K-Mart behind her and out of sight. The two men stopped as well but stood less than ten feet away. She couldn't make out their faces but the pair of them were both well over six feet tall and she knew there was no way both her and K-Mart could outrun them. "Look, you had best fuck off and leave us alone while you still have a chance." Claire was pretty impressed that her voice didn't shake once and that she sounded much braver than she felt at the moment.
"Ooh," the other one spoke up this time. "I like em feisty, that one is mine."
Before either man could move Claire pushed K-Mart back. "Run!" She shouted and the blonde took off in a sprint. Claire saw the first man make to go after K-Mart and threw herself at him, tackling him to the ground as he went passed her.
The other man was soon pulling her off his buddy. He had a firm grip of both her arms and despite her attempts at kicking and shaking him off he would not let go. "Go get the kid!" He yelled and the man Claire had tackled quickly pulled himself to his feet and took off down the street after K-Mart.
"No!" Claire yelled as she was yanked into a nearby alley that she hadn't noticed before. Her attacker shoved her face first against the brick wall and she felt her lip split open and tasted blood. He seemed to be waiting for his friend to return before he decided what to do with her and Claire's mind cycled through various ways she could try to escape as she prayed desperately that K-Mart had gotten away. However her heart sank when she heard the other man entering the alley and despite the hand covering K-Mart's mouth Claire could hear her sister struggling to scream and free herself from his grasp.
The man holding Claire flipped her over, pinning both her hands above her head with one of his own and used his other to punch her in the gut, and had her hands not been pinned she would have doubled over in pain. But what hurt her even deeper was the terrified expression on K-Mart's face. Claire hated herself in that moment, thinking that this was all her fault. They should have just taken a cab home. It was her job to protect her sister and she had failed miserably. Gathering as much strength as she could muster Claire head butted her assailant and heard a satisfying crunch as his nose broke. He dropped her hands in favour of covering his nose to stop the flow of blood and she pushed him to the ground before going after the other one.
At the distraction she had provided, K-Mart had taken the opportunity to kick her captor in the shins and let out an almighty scream as he dropped her.
"Run!" Claire yelled to K-Mart and once again the blonde took off. But before she could make her own escape the man who had held K-Mart and was now standing between her and the exit pulled out a pocket knife, pointing it in her direction as he took quick steps towards her. The other man was back on his feet and grabbed her again, shoving her against the wall and with both men pinning her down Claire knew she wouldn't be able to fight them off. The only small consolation she had was that at least K-Mart had gotten away and as far as she was concerned that was the most important thing in the world.
Alice wasn't surprised to find herself behind the wheel of her truck on her one night off even though it was almost midnight. She and Carlos had watched the basketball game as planned and as per usual had made a wager on the outcome. Tonight she had lost the bet and now had to perform a special errand for her best friend. After the game Carlos had decided that he wanted pizza, and not just any pizza. It had to be Chicago style deep dish with every topping known to man, and it had to be from the best pizza place in Raccoon City. The only pizza place in Raccoon City it seemed, that didn't deliver. So there she sat, driving almost clear across the city to procure the most wondrous of all pizzas.
Fortunately, the last time she had been forced to make this errand she'd found a useful shortcut down a couple of side streets. Driving down a deserted street with the windows open to enjoy the night air, Alice slowed down her truck to avoid a stray cat meandering across the street about twenty feet ahead. When it was gone she was about to put her foot on the gas again only to hear a horrified shriek coming from somewhere close by.
Slamming her foot on the brake and putting the vehicle in park Alice jumped out of the truck, hearing another scream as her feet touched the pavement. Looking around quickly Alice spotted an alleyway a little further up ahead and not giving it a second thought, ran towards it to investigate. However, nothing could have prepared her for the sight of a terrified K-Mart running in her direction.
"K!" She called and met the hysterical teen in the middle of the street. "What the hell is going on? Where's Claire?"
The young blonde tried to speak but was having difficulty controlling her breathing as she sobbed. "Claire...two men... needs help..." was all she managed to get out.
Alice's eyes immediately hardened. "Go! My truck's over there, get inside, lock the doors and wait for me or Claire to come get you." Her voice was calm yet demanding and K-Mart quickly nodded and ran off.
Alice sprinted into the alley and despite the lack of light she could clearly make out the scene before her. Two large men had Claire pinned against the wall and one of them was holding a knife. Eyes narrowed to near slits, Alice stared at the men coldly. "Hey boys!" She called to get their attention. "Is that any way to treat a lady?"
Knife-boy came right at her, arms swinging wildly. Alice was easily able to dodge his first few attempts to slice her and managed to get in a couple of hits to his face and chest. But when she tried to block his arm at his next attempt she felt the pain of the dull knife blade cutting into her arm almost a whole inch before she kicked him away, causing him to crash against the wall and smacking his head. He fell to the ground but was not unconscious. The knife had sliced further along her arm as he stumbled back and dropped to the ground as he smacked his head.
Alice looked up just in time to catch Claire knee her captor in the groin and when he fell to his knees she clocked him in the face and he fell to the ground. Now free, the redhead ran to Alice as the two men picked themselves from the ground and scurried down to the other end of the alley to make their escape, muttering something that sounded to Alice like 'crazy bitches' as they clutched their damaged body parts.
When Claire was in reaching distance Alice grabbed her gently at the elbow and pulled her out of the alley into the street and didn't stop until they were standing under a streetlight.
"I have to find K-Mart." Claire insisted, trying to pull away.
"She's safe in my truck, now stop moving while I take a look at you. Are you hurt?" She questioned as the redhead stopped resisting, noticing the blood splattered across Claire's forehead.
"I'm fine. It's not my blood, I managed to break the one bastard's nose. Wish it could have been his whole face though." Claire reassured.
Alice gave her a relieved smile. "Good." She reached up to wipe the blood off Claire's face with the sleeve of her jacket and the redhead gasped at the amount of blood rolling down Alice's arm.
"What happened?" Claire demanded, pulling at Alice's arm and causing the blonde to inadvertently take another step forward. She rolled up Alice's sleeve to discover the source of the bleeding.
"The one with the knife, he nicked me with it. It's not that bad." She tried to shrug it off so Claire would stop looking so concerned but the redhead just seemed to get more upset.
"Alice he stabbed you! You have to go to the hospital. I'll take you, there's no way I'm letting you drive anywhere until you get that arm looked at."
Alice gingerly took of her jacket and pressed it against her wound to slow the bleeding. Claire was taking charge so she didn't argue, and just led the redhead towards her truck. They were met in the street by a still sobbing K-Mart who ran right at Claire and Alice tried not to look as the sisters embraced, feeling like she was intruding on a private moment.
Claire let her sister go and held the young blonde at arm's length. "Are you ok, K-Mart?"
"Yeah, I'm alright thanks to you." She answered, nodding rapidly before turning to Alice. "You saved Claire?"
Alice felt her face flush. "I wouldn't say that, more like I provided enough of a distraction for her to get away."
Claire frowned slightly. "Yeah, and you got yourself stabbed." She then ran her hand through her long red locks as if trying to decide what to do next. "Are you alright enough for us to drop K-Mart off before going to the hospital?"
"Claire I don't want to be left alone!" The teen protested.
The redhead rubbed her back soothingly. "I'm not going to leave you alone K, but you can't come with us. With Alice's stab wound the police are going to be called and we can't have anyone find out you were there. If they even think I almost got you killed they'll take you away from me and I can't have that K. I just can't." The redhead took in a deep breath, trying to pull herself together after the nightmare of a night. "I'll drop you off at the apartment and you can stay down the hall with the Bishops, I'm sure it won't be a problem. And I promise I'll come get you the moment I get back ok?"
K-Mart nodded slowly. "Ok."
"That's my girl," Claire smiled. "Come on, we should get going before Alice bleeds to death. I'm driving."
Alice didn't protest and just followed K-Mart into the passenger side, trying not to get blood all over the interior of her truck.
Ok, so Alice and Claire are off to the hospital! But wait, isn't that where Alice works? Does that mean we'll get to learn more about Alice in the next chapter? Absolutely!
So what kind of work do you think Alice does at the hospital? Leave me your guesses in the review and I'll see if anyone is correct. Also, feel free to leave your guess on who will make the first move, will it be Alice or Claire? I already know who it will be but I'd love to hear what you guys think!
