3. Claire

Wake up.

She felt the pain and the numbness grow stronger as she slowly regained consciousness. Claire had grown accustomed to the sensation of pain. Somedays, the pain was bearable, but others felt as if her body was getting shredded to pieces. However, as she regained consciousness, she realized that this was the first time she felt so bad.

Wake up.

At first, she felt disoriented and confused. Her vision was blurry, and she could barely make out the contour of some shapes that were close to her line of sight. She tried to recall what had happened, but her memories were fuzzy and unclear. She should have grown used to that already; it wasn't the first time she woke up with no idea of what had happened in the recent hours; in fact, it had almost become a habit.

When her vision finally cleared, she immediately noticed the white tiled ceiling, the white walls, the beeping sound of the medical machines, and the heavy scent of sanitizer.

Finally! You are awake.

Claire recognized the Voice without trouble. She was used to it, always there, whispering into her head. At some point, the Voice had become a corporeal figure, to the point where she had trouble remembering it was just a hallucination.

She looked in front, and there she was; a girl in her teens, with auburn hair tied up in a ponytail and wearing a black blouse and shorts. The first time she had seen her, she'd panicked; but after months of her being her only companion in confinement, she had grown used to this hallucination of her former-younger self.

She never told the medics she could see her. They already thought she was crazy, so why give them more fuel?

How long are you going to stay like this?

Claire didn't know. All she knew now was that she was feeling too much pain and that she wanted to throw up.

You're wasting time. You know this is useless.

"Shut ….up…" Claire mumbled weakly; her voice sounded raw and trembling.

The girl ignored her, but someone else had heard it.

"Somebody call, Dr. Nolan, quick!"

A woman wearing a white nurse uniform rushed to her side. She checked the machine and then turned to the panicking woman. Her big green eyes stared at her with concern, but Claire didn't recognize her. Was she a new nurse?

The woman was talking, asking her questions, but Claire couldn't hear her. The words sounded distorted, but they made Claire shudder with panic.

She felt as if something had fallen over her head, and an avalanche of terrible memories began to fill her head. The images were fast and short, like small snippets of memories. Nothing seemed to be making much sense, but the wave of sensations accompanying her was enough to let her know that it wasn't good news. She saw white tiles splattered with blood; she could almost smell the coppery scent; she also saw an open window; a music box; a book; fire; the smell of burned flesh; monsters; darkness, screams….

She couldn't make sense of the things going through her head at the moment, but there was something she understood: the urgency of escaping and the headache that seemed to be trying to break her skull.

After a couple of eternal minutes, she was finally able to put together her thoughts. She had to run; escape these people….she couldn't remember why, but these people were dangerous. She had to run away.

The nurses were trying to calm her. She did not know when, but she began to thrash around the bed, and the nurse was trying to hold her stiff.

"No…"

What will you do?

"Escape…"

Yes, she remembered that. She had tried to run away from them and from the monsters once, but she must have failed. They had dragged her back to white tiled rooms. The doctor would be furious, and things would get worse. She had to leave.

"Oh, no….no, no, no…."

Claire pushed her weakened body up and pulled out the tubes hooked into her with ease. With a quick spin that sent a wave of indescribable pain into every nerve in her body, she managed to get herself out of bed. Her weakened legs barely managed to support her weight for a second before she dropped unceremoniously onto the cold white tiles on the floor.

What are you doing?

Claire ignored the sting of pain that she felt when she tried to push herself back again.

"I...am not…" she mumbled, but why was she running away? She couldn't remember.

All she knew was that urgency of getting out, her senses warning her of an unknown danger. She needs to find help, but who? Her attempt to escape had failed after all.

She gave up the idea of trying to stand, and instead, she began dragging herself on the cold floor. Suddenly, she felt a warm and wet sensation on her abdomen. She was bleeding; had it been someone else, the view of the blood trail she was leaving on the floor would have caused alarm and fear, but this wasn't the first time that Claire woke up covered in injuries that she didn't remember getting.

Remember.

A sudden image crossed her mind. It was like the ones before it felt cut off. She saw a dark room, the only light coming from a yellow lamp hung over her head. A few distances from her, she saw something, a creature dismembering someone with a disgusting crunch. A sudden need to throw up came to her.

Do you remember?

Did she? Were those images memories or just scenes from a nightmare? She couldn't trust the things she saw, after all. The proof of it stood a few steps from her. Crazy people shouldn't trust their minds.

Do you know who you are?

Claire took a deep breath. She remembered her name, at least. Strangely, her name was one of the few things that Claire never forgot. Her name and the ghostly doppelganger that kept whispering into her head were the only two things that remained unchanged. She had held onto her name so that she could retain the bits of sanity that she had left.

The blood had begun to pool under her, staining the pale hospital gown. The loss of blood was starting to take a toll on her, and she felt dizzy.

Tell me then. Do you remember?

"I...can't…." she whispered, "I ….just...can't… I never can…"

Her ghostly doppelganger crouched in front of her, and Claire found her own cerulean eyes staring at her. She wanted to say something, but she could not articulate any words.

"OH MY GOD. Ms. REDFIELD!"

Claire heard voices mumbling, and even though Claire could not understand them, the panic started to fill her, and the woman pushed herself away from them until her back hit the wall in the corner. Her heart was beating fast. The doctors would be angry with her. What would be her punishment this time?

She never remembered, but her scars were a reminder that they had been real and any hallucinations from her sick mind.

Her body tensed as she felt the nurses grabbing her arms and her immediate response was to push back and struggle. She was too weak, too tired, and too much in pain. The adrenaline was making her head a little clearer than usual, but her body could not answer her commands.

"No," she mumbled, "No, let me go. No more, please…."

"Ms. Redfield, please calm down. We won't hurt you…."

"No...no….please….stop it."

She didn't stop struggling. She knew she couldn't if she wanted to survive. The pain was growing unbearable, but she wouldn't give in.

Suddenly, she felt a strong, warm arm wrapping around her shoulders. It was odd, it wasn't threatening, nor it felt dangerous. On the contrary, the sensation was familiar, soothing, and she automatically stopped struggling. She, then, heard a soft voice humming into her ear softly and lovingly. She knew the song, but as much as she tried, she couldn't remember from where.

He came for you.

She knew this warmth and that scent, but from where? They had never done this before. What were they planning? Was this a trap to trick her?

No, he isn't…

Claire stopped moving. Her cerulean eyes were foggy as she turned to the person hugging her with strong and warm arms. She met the gaze of a man with dark eyes and short brown hair. His eyes were glassy, almost as if he had been holding back tears and something about his features felt familiar.

Familiar….yes, family. Do you remember him?

"Shuush….Calm down, Claire. It's fine. You're safe now. You're safe…" the man was whispering at her; softly, soothingly, and calming. His voice made her relax.

Her body memory could recognize him, but why couldn't her mind? She wanted to remember him; she needed to, but as much as she tried, her thoughts came blank.

Claire stared at the man with frustration, sadness, and resignation?

"Who are you...?"