Chapter 10: My Last Serenade

Claire awoke sometime later into the stillness of the room. Light was starting to peek in from the window and the stacked furniture was causing the light to contort on the walls in odd shapes. She turned her head to look over her shoulder and found that she was in the bed alone. Looking over her other shoulder, she spotted the furniture moved away from the front door.

Claire sat up and grabbed the sheet from the bed as she moved toward the bathroom. She paused and glanced over at the handgun that Sebastian had given her yesterday. Thumbing the safety off, she walked quietly toward the bathroom. Pushing it open with a bare foot, she was met with an empty room.

Her heart began to pound as she let the sheet drop. Sebastian wouldn't have left her alone and vulnerable unless it was important. Why hadn't he woken her? She turned toward her backpack in the corner of the bathroom and quickly dressed in the clothes she had obtained the previous day. As she finished buttoning up her long black sleeve blouse and slid the red biker jacket over her shoulders, the hotel door opened quietly.

Claire spun around and snatched the gun off the bathroom counter, lifting it as Sebastian stepped into the room.

"Well, good morning, beautiful." He said as he took in the gun aimed at him.

She lowered the gun and sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "You scared me, Sebastian. I didn't know where you went." She said with relief lining her face.

He closed the door and held up a bag. "Thought you might like some food since all I have left is more protein bars." He explained as he eyed her new jacket. "Looks like it was made for you."

He pushed further into the bathroom as he gently set the bag on the countertop. His eyes glowing gold for a moment as they caught with the hanging light above. He crossed the space and backed her up into the wall. Repeating their positions in the lab, he placed his hands next to her on the wall as he leaned in.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here to wake up with you." He said in a warm tone, his deep voice curling around Claire's heart.

Claire took an unsteady breath as she lifted her face up toward his. A lock of his dark hair had fallen out of its customary swept-back position, and she reached up to smooth it back into place. His tone calling to the desire and safety she could easily get used to.

"You make up for it with your morning disposition." She replied as she stepped up to him and leaned in so she could kiss the corner of his mouth, her hands finding his hips.

"Sleep well?" He asked as he lifted a hand from the wall, ran his fingers through her ponytail, and gave it a tiny tug.

"Would have slept better if I woke up warm." She quipped with a wink before she ducked under his arm, grabbed the bag off the counter, and walked out of the bathroom.

In the bag was some fruit, granola bars, and to Claire's ultimate delight, a doughnut.

"You got me sugar!" She exclaimed, ripping the pastry from the bag. She took a bite and had no shame as she moaned loudly.

"Should I leave?" Sebastian's slightly amused voice asked behind her as he sat down in the chair near the table.

"Listen, there's only one doughnut in here, and if you think mind-blowing sex is enough for me to share—" Claire began as she sat on the bed.

"Mind-blowing?" Sebastian interrupted with a smug look now on his handsome face.

"You can't ruin this right now by trying to make me blush." She declared around the doughnut while she chewed.

"I could try harder."

Claire stared at him, as if daring him to interrupt the momentous breakfast she was having.

"Hey, I gotta ask," Claire said after swallowing her bite. "How did having a 'sir' kink work out for you as Team Leader in Umbrella? Didn't you have subordinates?"

Sebastian's lips wobbled as he tried not to smile at the odd question. "Fine? They were all guys, so…" He trailed off.

Claire was laughing so hard she didn't stop until Sebastian snatched the doughnut away.

When Claire and Sebastian didn't hear from Hunnigan by the late morning, they both decided to pack up and make their way back toward the cathedral. Claire stood by the window in their hotel room as she studied the map that Hunnigan had shown them yesterday on the communicator. She stared at Aviles as it was marked for the frater ship Saddler was preparing.

"Plants, bacteria, and fungi produce spores..." She muttered out loud to herself. "Plants…"

Her eyes crossed over to the ocean on the map. The significance of the port kept coming back to her.

Claire turned and looked over at Sebastian who had been setting up his rifle and packing the ammo into his duffle.

"My money is on Aviles. The boat—that's what we need to figure out; sailing out of here seems too simple. Plus, when I saw Saddler last, he made a comment about seeing me soon. Which makes me believe that he thought he injected me with the Las Plagas… Like I would come running to him." She trailed off for a moment. "It's been eight hours now and the only thing I'm noticing is—" and at that moment an explosion rocked the structure of the hotel.

The world was suddenly flooded with noise and plaster. Claire felt something ram into her back and she went down with the communicator flying out of her hand.

Claire lifted her head as the deafening noise had ceased. Something heavy was pressing against her back, and she was pretty sure she was going to have hearing damage to add to the growing list of injuries she was collecting in her 25th year of life.

She coughed and tried to push up from the ground. The weight on her back stopped her short before it too started to move.

"Claire," Sebastian's voice sounded off behind her. She twisted her neck around and saw he had been laying on top of her. He had tried to shield her.

"Sebastian, can you move? I'm stuck. I think this is the bed next to us." She said as she tried to push away from the shifted wood frame next to her.

Sebastian grunted before he pulled away from her. She heard the clatter of plaster and drywall as he climbed to his feet.

"You alright?" He asked as he helped her up and kept her hand in his for a moment.

"Still in one piece." She said as she squinted around the room.

The wall that had the bathroom connected to it had been completely destroyed. Claire was certain that if she got in the right position, she would be able to see down the hall into the main lobby. She lifted her head and caught the smell of smoke coming from somewhere toward the lobby.

"We need to get out of here." Sebastian was saying as he yanked something up from under the rubble.

Claire looked down and saw the shattered device of the communicator. "Fuck."

Claire pivoted and took in that their route to the door was cut off. She cut her eyes back over at the wall with the window. With a grunt, she began pushing the furniture out of the way with what little space she had to maneuver.

"Window is clear." Claire said as she turned to look back for Sebastian.

She was suddenly looking up into the red lenses attached to the masked face now beside her. It should have been seen as practical given how much of the plaster dust was still floating around; however, she had a wild thought of asking him to wear that the next time they went to bed. She shook her head and briefly wondered if she was concussed.

"Are you alright?" She asked when she shook the thoughts away.

"Yes," his deep muffled voice sounded strained. "Let's get going."

He grabbed her hand and moved toward the window, checking first before he stepped out and led her through.

The street outside of the hotel looked like a huge crater from some alien invasion, creature-feature flick Claire had seen as a child. Flames were covering the remaining wall of the hotel as well as the walls of the shops adjacent to the hotel. The wreckage of a fighter jet lay half through one shop, while the other half had been what smashed into the hotel.

Claire stepped forward as she tilted her head at the symbol on the side of the jet. She felt the air leave her lungs as she recognized the shape of the F-18. It was an American carrier-based aircraft; this was one of the aircrafts from the stationed Navy ships nearby. Her head jerked up at the sounds of an engine rumbling in the sky.

"Move, Claire!" Sebastian's voice cut through her. His hand clasped hers tightly as he began to run down the street in the direction of the cathedral.

"What the hell is going on?" She yelled over at him as they ran. Flinching mid-stride as a cracking sound in the sky pierced the air. Another explosion sounded somewhere far left of their position.

"War." Sebastian called distractedly as he turned into an alley. "We need transportation."

"Why wouldn't Hunnigan have contacted us?" She called in growing irritation as she followed close behind. She briefly lamented not finishing her breakfast after the doughnut; she was going to need the energy if this is how the day was going to turn out.

"I suspect that Hunnigan is no longer at the controls." Was his simple reply.

She looked up as she heard the jet's rumble in the sky again. It sounded much closer than it was before.

Sebastian grabbed her shoulder and yanked her into a small alcove attached to a house. The fighter jet was so close, she could hear the exact moment it released its missile.

Sebastian was shoving her head down as his body covered hers in a corner. The ground shook as a building nearby was hit.

Claire was breathing rapidly as she lifted her head, looking up into Sebastian's mask with fear in her eyes.

"Stay with me. I've got you." His muffled voice was steady as he picked her hand up again and squeezed.

He pulled her back out into the alley. Claire looked around and blinked a few times as she spotted a dark blue Honda Gold Wing motorcycle laying on its side at the end of the small alley.

"This way!" She called as she let go of Sebastian's hand and ran forward, her ponytail whipping over her shoulder as she pumped her legs.

"Wait!" Sebastian's shout came from behind her. She could hear him running after her.

Claire skidded to a stop and grabbed the handles of the bike. Using her legs and core she slowly lifted it right-side up. She was surprised at how light it felt. She nearly grinned to see the keys in the ignition. Swinging a leg over the side, she sat and started it up. It purred to life immediately, and that time she did grin.

"Claire—" Sebastian rasped as he caught up.

"Get on." She said as she checked her holsters to make sure nothing had fallen out. Her eyes went to the bike's indicators. The ol' girl had held strong through the fall.

"This isn't the best—"

"Get on, Hunk!" She ordered, looking up at him fiercely. She could hear the jets in the sky growing closer.

He tilted his masked face at her before he swung a leg over and grabbed her waist.

Claire shifted the bike from neutral, and they took off with a spray of gravel. She began maneuvering through the bodies of the previous citizens in the streets, the abandoned cars, and the debris from where the last missile had hit. Over the roar of the Honda's engine, she couldn't hear very well, so when the ground vibrated from somewhere behind them, Claire instinctively ducked her head and bunched her shoulders.

Sebastian tapped her shoulder and pointed over her arm at a sign in Spanish as they were going past. The symbol for a freeway was the only thing she recognized. She squinted and made out Route N-640. She gave a thumbs up and leaned to the right.

Claire understood his unspoken message: It was too dangerous to head to the cathedral. Whomever was currently attacking Lugo didn't seem like they'd be stopping soon. She wished she could get a better look at the jets. Were the American troops fighting someone else or was it the American troops fighting Spain? Had the American seamen been compromised? Was this becoming bigger than Spain now?

Claire pulled out into the wider road that led down to the main square of the city. Bloody and tattered looking Ganados were running at them from the left side of the street. They were either running from something or running to something. Whichever it was, when they saw Claire and Sebastian, they pointed their fingers and began to shout something.

Claire looked up the road in the other direction and realized that the way was blocked by army vehicles. The Spanish military was still somewhere in the area. Claire's brow furrowed as she turned back to the Ganados to her left. She took note of the uniforms they wore; the Spanish soldiers had fallen.

A boom sounded over her shoulder. She jerked her face over and saw Sebastian lower his Magnum as one Ganado had appeared from the road they had just come from.

Another crack of a missile sounded, this time she watched as a building further down the road exploded into the shards of concrete.

Claire turned the bike sharply and hunched forward as she aimed for a narrow alley that cut through the buildings.

Bullets struck the path in front of the motorcycle just before they neared the alley.

"Guess they can use firearms." Claire thought while she gripped the handlebars firmly and carefully handled the throttle as she began to prepare for the scrape.

Sebastian's hands gripped her hips hard.

"Claire!" He yelled behind her. It was going to be a tight fit.

Claire shot through the alley, correcting their direction with the alley as it slightly curved to the right and narrowed down to no bigger than the width of the bike itself. The bulky back storage wings scraped the wall; sparks were flying out behind them. If Claire turned to further correct, the bike would smash into the other wall. She held true until suddenly they were on the street again.

Claire maneuvered the machine between the traffic of abandoned cars as she saw the sign for the freeway. She felt Sebastian's hands soften their hold on her hips as she pulled onto the onramp without further hindrance from the fallen city. She reached back and squeezed Sebastian's leg.

With one last look in her side mirror, Claire bid the smoking city of Lugo farewell and sent up one of her prayers for the people left in the city. The jets were growling their descent from above like monsters in the sky.

The rural area between Lugo and Oviedo was beautiful. The sun was almost reaching a late position in the sky as it bowed toward the west. Claire was in her element as the Honda flew down the road. She lifted her face and let her mind wander. When she wasn't in school, working in her garage, or applying for jobs, she often took her Softail out for a drive around the winding hills on the north end of her city. There was something about the purring of an engine between her legs and the open road she couldn't resist. A mother's lullaby in the form of a machine.

Claire spotted a gas station ahead and reached back to grasp Sebastian's leg. She pointed when she thought she had his attention. His right hand squeezed her hip once in response.

A funny feeling came over her as she pulled into the gas station parking lot and recognized theirs was the only vehicle in the lot. As she peered into the windows, she couldn't see anyone moving around inside either. It made her feel like she was pulling up to the diner in Raccoon all over again.

Claire slowed the Honda to a stop and killed the ignition, her foot whipped down to lower the kickstand. She blew out a breath and patted the Honda's tank; she would never say another bad word against Hondas. It was a bad mindset that she had picked up from her father, but it was more ceremonious to his memory than anything else.

She pulled herself off the bike and looked at Sebastian. He was slightly slumped in the rear chair. A hand over his side.

She cried out as she neared him. With a touch to his hand, Claire watched as he jerked up and turned his masked face to her.

"It's fine." his gruff voice said from behind the mask. "Something hit me in the hotel room blast. The adrenaline is just wearing off."

Claire watched as he hauled himself up out of the seat and started slowly walking toward the gas station, his TMP already in hand.

As Claire followed him, she pulled out her handgun and did one last circular look around them. The gas station stood by itself amongst the rest of the natural surrounding area and she didn't think they'd have company anytime soon, but the quicker they grabbed supplies the better.

She caught up with Sebastian and moved forward in front of him to take point. Recognizing he had sacrificed enough to protect her lately, she chose to lead this check through. She heard him grunt behind her in response and she smiled slightly as she neared the darkened building.

Claire took to sweeping the store first, her foot holding the door open as she checked both sides of the trashed gas station. Walking toward the back area, she completed the rest of the small building before returning to the main area. Her eyes caught on the overturned displays and the missing items throughout the store; people had already made a few passes at the location. When she was certain it was all clear, she moved back from the storage room toward the front.

As Claire walked back into the main area, she looked to see Sebastian sitting on the ground, his head resting back against the wall. She swiftly moved over and squatted down beside him.

"You have a shard of glass in your side." She said in sudden irritation. She could have stopped the bike sooner if it had been hurting him. "Get up and don't tell me it's a flesh wound."

"I've been domesticated... I can't believe it." He muttered as he stood up.

Ten minutes later, Claire had Sebastian laying face first on a desk in the backroom, his mask sitting on the desk chair. She had pulled off his tactical coat and cut around the shirt with a pair of orange scissors she had found near the registers. A bottle of hydrogen peroxide with 4x4 bandages was prepared from Sebastian's duffle. She was surprised he managed to hold onto it on the back of the bike.

Thankfully, the glass wasn't as long or in as deep as it had initially looked. Claire figured it shouldn't be too hard to move with. The large, forming bruises on his back were another story though. She felt a touch of guilt curl in her gut as she remembered he had shielded her in the hotel blast.

After pulling the glass free, she disinfected the wound, and used the needle to begin the Interrupted Suture Pattern.

"Where did you learn how to do this?" Sebastian asked as he laid there on his stomach.

"Brother was in the Air Force. My brother also has a big mouth and would often come home with all kinds of nasty wounds." She responded dryly. "You're not a big baby like him though. If this was him, we would've stopped four or five times already."

Sebastian grunted and laid his face to the right, his left eye looking over his shoulder at her.

Claire glanced over at him before her eyes went back to her work. "Are you a religious man?" She asked suddenly.

"Not particularly," Sebastian answered almost hesitantly. "Why do you ask?"

"The Archangel, Ariel." she replied, feeling a rush as she remembered their conversation last night. "I love stories like that."

Sebastian shifted a little and was pulling something out of his breast pocket in his shirt. Claire pulled her hands away from the wound.

"Hey, stop moving—" She started as she turned toward him. She paused as she noticed his elbow was bent on the table with his hand held upwards; he was holding something small in his hand.

"Take it." He said quietly.

Claire set the needle down on the 4x4 and took the small trinket. The item was tiny, slightly smaller than a dime. A pendant of an open palm stared up at her and it was connected to a rusted, thin chain. The design within the pendant had been carefully crafted. Claire's attention drew to the eye in the center of the palm; the pupil of the eye was the Star of David.

"It's been the only personal item I've ever carried; it's called a Hamsa hand. When my mother left me in a synagogue, I had this around my neck. They kept this for me until I was old enough not to choke on it. Oddly enough, Umbrella never confiscated it. I imagine it was partly because I was very efficient, even in my youth. I also think even Umbrella had an HR Department; wouldn't want to get sued." He paused before he laughed without true humor.

"It's supposed to protect you from the eyes of evil, and maybe it does; I kept it in a pocket instead of around my neck. I've lost all my gear before, had my uniform torn up, fallen into deep waters—doesn't matter, it's always left over at the end of day."

Claire listened quietly, her hand squeezing around the necklace.

"As a boy, I didn't care much for prayer, but I did love learning about the Mal'akh; the angels." He lifted his head and looked over at her. "It's yours now."

"No, Sebastian, I can't take this." She said looking down at her hand. She moved to give it back and he shook his head and grinned wryly.

"Don't need it anymore; God doesn't protect men like me, Claire. I'd rather you kept it safe." He said as he laid his head back down to let her finish.

Claire looped the chain around her neck and picked the needle back up as she got back to work.

"If all that is true, then God created men like you too, Sebastian."

Once Sebastian was patched up, the pair quickly grabbed a few items from the gas station and filled up the motorcycle's gas tank. Sebastian had grabbed a hand sized map book from one of the display turntables. He had explained their route and showed Claire what signs to look out for as she neared the port. He wrote Port Authority Aviles above where the sea had created a canal.

As the duo had driven through smaller towns, Claire kept gnawing at her lips to see the same sights she had in Lugo before the jets had arrived. Sometimes she would fool herself into thinking they had found a town that remained standing. Subtle signs of distress became more apparent as she looked closer. Broken windows, car doors left open, homes with their front doors left ajar, and half-hearted packed bags that had fallen to the sidewalk in haste.

The bodies made it the most undeniable.

When Claire and Sebastian reached Aviles, Claire had pulled up to a hilled dirt path that overlooked the valley. Her eyes caught on the looming sunset spread out before them. The sea sparkled, refracting hues of oranges, reds, and yellows across the city below.

Sebastian had stepped off the bike to stretch while she leaned sideways on the bike, staring out.

"Beautiful." She heard him say beside her.

She turned her attention from the sea to find him staring down at her with that genuine smile on his lips. His eyes dipped lower to notice his chain around her slender throat. His expression changed slightly and when he looked back up at her, something tender was staring out.

"If something goes wrong down there, I want you to run." He said then.

"I—" her eyes shuttered.

"Claire, I know you want to save him, but we're cut off from resources, back-up, and intelligence. The U.S. soldiers stationed here may be compromised as well. I don't expect you to turn tail immediately, but don't die in the attempt to get him to see you." He said reaching out to touch her shoulder when she looked down at the ground.

She took an angry deep breath and nodded silently. When she turned her eyes back up toward him, the sun was highlighting her features sharply.

If someone had asked Sebastian what he saw in her eyes then, he would have said it was like staring into the wrath of heaven.

Sebastian had opted for stealth and had asked Claire to leave the motorcycle behind not long after their departure from the hilled path. Claire had sighed dramatically and patted the fuel tank of the beast that had brought them this far. She would consider purchasing one in the future just for the sturdy loyalty it gave across the Spanish soil.

She followed close behind Sebastian as he scouted ahead, giving her signals to wait or follow. She watched the way he moved and handled his weapon. Her soul roared at the thought of Umbrella taking abandoned children and turning them into killing machines; she had seen the orphanage that Chief Irons used to keep children at for Umbrella's experiments. Watching Sebastian now, she hatefully acquiesced that they at least knew how to train a soldier.

The sound of distant gunfire reached both of their ears, and Claire looked up at Sebastian. He nodded to her and took her around a parking structure that stood at the very top of a sloping canyon. They ran along the top of the canyon, parallel with the coast as they neared the sounds of war.

When Claire made it to the second slope, she looked down at the short valley that led to the port. Her eyes widened to see the flashes of firing gun muzzles popping out in the nearing dark. Lifting her eyes to the ships, she observed the moving figures of Ganados by the hundreds.

They were protecting something.

Claire's focus wandered to the cargo ship's deck. She and Sebastian were too far back to be able to make out the figures on deck. Two other ships sat beside the cargo ship; she didn't see any movement from them.

Claire took a thoughtless step forward to try and gain sight.

"Claire!"

She was falling forward, the earth seeming to reach out and pull her down as she began to tumble down the canyon. With the foliage from the bushes smacking her in the face, she fell and fell, rolling like a log down into the pits of a full-scale war. After what felt like hours, she suddenly slammed to a stop, her back connecting with something hard behind her. She felt the wind knock from her lungs and she opened her mouth to try and get a breath.

"Claire!"

Claire's ears were ringing as she tried to inhale fully. She laid there for a moment as the sounds of the battle around her warbled in and out. The darkness was spinning around her as she attempted to sit up. Having enough of her faculties left to know she was in danger, she gritted her teeth and slowly made it to her knees before she stood on uncertain legs. A passing thought found her thankful to discover no broken bones; not a single visible scrape to be found along her skin. She looked behind her then to see the large rock that had stopped her rolling form.

"Sebastian—" She choked out while still breathless. Lifting her hand, Claire looked up the sharp edge she had fallen from. Sebastian had begun to slide down toward her and paused as he saw her stand. She was surprised to see how far she had gone down the canyon.

"Stay there! I'm coming down to you." His voice carried to her.

She nodded like he could the action and she touched her face as her equilibrium started to normalize. The gun fire echoed against the canyon wall around her, sounding much closer now.

WHUMP

Claire jumped as a loud metallic sound bellowed across the valley.

WHUMP, WHUMP, WHUMP

The sound was a heavy, steady clank. Like the heartbeat of a machine or the steps of a titan.

Claire's eyes shot to the boat she could see beside the frater. As she was much closer now, she made out a war boat whose coat of arms she could not quite identify. Something large was turning on its deck. It took her a few seconds to realize she was looking at a main battery; a cannon.

"CLAIRE!"

Claire turned back to begin running up the hill toward Sebastian. He was sliding down as fast as he could to get to her.

BOOM!

Claire's eyes widened as her brain took in the impact of the shot, stopping her in her tracks. The canyon wall in front of her became a mushroom of dirt before the top area of the crest began to collapse.

Sebastian disappeared from sight.

"Sebastian!" She was stumbling forward, slipping on rocks and uneven soil as the adrenaline in her system made her legs shake. The rocks at the area where she stood at only a few minutes ago were sliding down, cracking against the earth like dice in someone's hand.

Claire fell to her knees as she heard the blast sound again. The ground shook as the shot landed somewhere further away.

Claire took one last look at the blast zone before she began to scream.

Where Sebastian once stood was now nothing more than a scar in the earth.