"Fuck!"
Claire, who's attempting to be the level-headed one out of the two of them, lets out the longest sigh she's ever felt. It's like her entire soul has left her body via her mouth and, honestly, she's seconds away from joining Ashley on the ground.
Apparently, Leon didn't lock them up in the mansion basement. No, he didn't even lock them away in some secret tunnel leading to an underground war base or whatever. Leon fucking Kennedy locked them up in an island nearly a mile away from the coast they were just on. Claire can see the mansion still sitting at the top of the hill, taunting them. It's not even completely faded, but it's far enough in the distance that she knows it'll take until sun up to get over there. But that's also impossible because they have no boat or means of crossing the fucking water.
Ashley's throwing rocks into the ocean now, her screams of rage making Claire closer to losing it herself, so she kneels down and places a hand on the girl's shoulder. Ashley doesn't startle, but she also doesn't meet Claire's eyes. She just sits there, her jaw set in a deep scowl as she looks out at the water.
"There's gotta be a way to get over there." Claire knows it looks impossible, but many things in her life have and here she is. "Leon got over here nice and dry, so there should be some way for us to get back."
"He could've used the only boat available." Ashley responds bitterly, her wide eyes half-closed in a sad accepting look. "I'm so stupid. Of course Leon would guess we'd find a way out of the stronghold."
Honestly, Claire has to admit that Leon outsmarted them this time. She was expecting the guards and high security. She was even expecting some other monster to show up, which one did, but the longer she thinks about it, the more that thing starts to resemble a rabid animal instead of some creature made from the Plaga. It might've been some kind of mountain cat or something -they have those in Spain, right? Either way, they used a good few bullets to get past it but otherwise ended up unharmed.
"But there's still something we can do, right?" Claire's already running through the pages she memorized from that old wilderness survival book her father got her. She can build a raft out of enough logs and some duct tape. But they don't have any duct tape from what she saw, so maybe she could think of something else. Maybe-
"Like what?! We're all alone now!" Ashley throws her hands up in the air, just as exasperated as Claire feels. She then goes back to scowling at the water and lazily throws another pebble. It hits the water with a soft splash. "We were unconscious for hours before we even broke out and who knows where Leon could be now. He might not even be in the mansion anymore. And Luis is probably dead too."
"Wait, what?" Claire shakes her head. "What makes you think Luis is...? Leon wouldn't just-"
"You saw the way they were looking at each other." Ashley interrupts. "Any trust they had in one another is gone now. Luis knows too much and if Leon's willing to lock us on an island, then he's sure not going to let Luis wander around and ruin his plans." She lets out another sigh, closing her eyes as her head falls forward in defeat. "It's just us, now and we're stuck."
The entire display leaves a bad taste in Claire's mouth. She wants to fight back, to prove Ashley wrong but even if she had the evidence and the points to say just that, it wouldn't help anything. So, she sits down beside Ashley and looks out at the water as well. "Alright, you have a point. I don't know about Luis being...dead, or anything, but we can't count on him to stop Leon on his own. And yes, we're stuck here, but if we give up, then there's really no getting out of here. I'd rather die fighting for my life than letting this crazy plan go through." Just the thought of letting Leon get what he wants makes her upset.
Ashley lets out a bitter laugh, but there is some humor in it too. "How do you do it?" Her words are soft and Claire's caught off guard by it.
"Do what?"
"Stay positive." She says. "Leon was the same way, back then. He was tired and I knew he wanted nothing more than to just sit down and rest, but he kept moving because he had to. No matter what happened, he got back up and pressed on." She looks away, her head shaking again. "How do you find the courage to fight like this? Don't you ever get sick of it?"
Claire already knows her answer before the question's finished, but she does give Ashley the courtesy of pausing first. "To be honest, I've been tired of this same routine since I got back from Raccoon. I didn't even get a moment to rest before going out to find my brother, because after that night, I realized just how possible it was that he was dead." She swallows down the emotion that threatens to make her voice shake. Out of everything, her worry for Chris's life has always been the hardest to really express. "And once I found him, we got stuck in it again. It's not too different now than it was back then."
Ashley looks at her in what seems like sad disbelief, but there's some respect there too. Claire isn't sure if she deserves any praise just for her and Chris's lives, but she accepts it anyway.
"I want this to end, Ashley." Claire speaks in a quieter tone this time, her eyes going soft as she leans a little closer. Ashley's eyes go wider and the moon reflects in her eyes. It makes the blue in them stand out even more. "I want to sleep at night, knowing that no one else is getting killed by another bioterrorist attack. I want Umbrella to be exposed for the filthy shit they did, but I also know that fighting fire with fire only causes more damage. And If we're the only ones on this entire planet who can stop Leon from doing just that, then I have to do it. There's just no other way."
Tears pull at Ashley's eyes but the girl doesn't look away. She stares ahead, her expression soft and genuine as she gives a tentative smile. "You're really inspiring, you know that?" They share a soft laugh. It's more of a quick exhale than a laugh, really, but Claire finds it endearing to see Ashley's eyes glow again. "I..." She looks away for a quick moment, but it doesn't take long. Those bright eyes return to Claire's. "I want to save the world with you, Claire. Even if it's going to be hard. I...I wanna try."
"That's all I ask of you, Ashley." Claire catches the way the girl melts a little, like that was exactly the right thing to say. After a long moment of just looking at each other, Claire suddenly comes back to herself and their situation. With a smile, she stands up again, dusting off her pants and stretching her legs. Sitting on sand really isn't very fun, even if the rocks they're on are barely small enough to be considered sand. "Let's get moving then. We need a way across the water and I'll bet there's something here for us to use." Again, the idea of building a raft returns.
Ashley gets up as well and they look at the treelined just ahead of them. They don't want to return to where they just came from. The stronghold was packed full of guards and if that Krauser guy ends up being on this island, then she'd rather not run into him. Though, he's probably with Leon, acting as a bodyguard. There's only so much relief she can take from that.
Not wanting to waste another moment, Claire leads the way into the trees, walking along a smaller path that they haven't explored just yet. It's difficult to see with only the moonlight, but they couldn't find much in ways of flashlights or even lighters back at the stronghold. She just hopes that the sun will rise sooner rather than later.
As they walk through the thick vines and leaves, swiping away at anything in their path, they eventually see something ahead. At first, Claire can't make out more than just a few pieces from the small streaks of light coming through the tops of the trees, but as she gets closer, she can finally get the whole picture.
It's an old-looking shed and immediately the two of them rush towards it. A shed in the middle of the island could hold tools, which they could use to make some kind of raft. Or, if they're just so lucky, they could find an actual vehicle to ride on the water. It looks big enough to hold a jetski. Now she's really hoping for a jetski.
She shelves the excitement for a moment to look at the shed door, but immediately groans when she sees a thick lock hanging from the door handle. "Maybe we can...break it?" She suggests to Ashley, who looks like she was just about to say the same thing.
"I don't know if breaking into it like we did the cell door is the best idea," Ashley holds up one of her hands to show the red marks left over from their splinters. Yeah, those wooden beams really weren't in the best shape but it did the trick. "But we do have a weapon. What do you think? A couple of shots could probably break it enough, right?"
Claire nods slowly. The lock probably can't just be shot off, but the door itself wouldn't withstand something like that. Especially against her shotgun. But..."I don't know. We don't want to shoot whatever's inside of it and a shotgun is really loud too. We could end up in deeper trouble than we were before." When Ashley slumps a little, giving that kicked puppy look, Claire lets out a laugh. "It's still a good idea, though. Just needs some more caution."
With that, Claire steps up to the door and pulls off her shotgun. She holds it tight in her hands and uses the butt of the gun to test the door's strength. It rattles but doesn't splinter on the first or second hits, but the third starts a crack along one of the boards that make up the door frame. Claire stops after she hears it and smiles. Well, this shouldn't be so hard to get into, then. Now, Claire throws herself at it with all her strength. She doesn't stop until the door bursts open.
The board holding the lock and handle breaks first, since she's hitting that area the hardest and the pieces call to the floor. Claire stops her attacks and pushes the door open. It swings easily.
"Nice!" Ashley congratulates her, her smile wide and encouraging. It makes Claire feel ready to take on anything else in their way, whether it be another rabid animal or making their way across a mile of water.
The inside of the shed is darker and Claire squints to try and see anything. "Shit." She curses to herself. "We really should've gotten a lighter or something."
"Oh! I have an idea!" Ashley suddenly steps forward and she pulls out a metal slate from her pocket. Claire looks at it for a moment before she realizes it's a flask and can't help the gasp that leaves her.
"What in the hell do you have a flask for?!" Ashley isn't old enough to drink, yet...right? She was about twenty last year, based on the report and if her birthday is in March...
She's twenty-one. Legally able to drink.
The girl rolls her eyes but she's playful as she says, "I brought it just in case we might need something like this, which we do. It doesn't have anything in it yet, so don't worry." With that, Ashley steps into one of the small beams of light and uses the metal surface to carry the reflection toward the shed. It isn't much, but the small stream lets Claire see a few details at a time. Ashley moves slowly so they're able to see the tools along the sides and the extra pieces of wood by the door.
the light catches something in the middle back. "Wait! Shine it over that area again!" Ashley does as she's told and Claire steps forward until she meets the object. Her hands glide against wood and she grabs a ledge tightly. "I'm gonna pull it out, okay?" She doesn't know how big it is, but it's already on the ground, so it's likely very heavy. Claire plants her feet on either side of the wooden thing and pulls it with all of her strength.
She nearly falls when it gives easily. It's not too light, otherwise, she'd already be on her ass, but it isn't nearly as heavy as she was expecting. Resettling herself, Claire plants her feet again and gives another pull, this time, expecting it to move with her. The wooden bottom of whatever this is scrapes against the shed floor, but it doesn't sound like anything's being damaged too badly, so she continues pulling it out until the dim light gives them a better view of it.
Claire only has a third of it out when she realizes it's a canoe. "Well...it's no boat, but it can get us across." Ashley comments as she looks all around it, helping Claire to pull it the rest of the way out. "I'll go back in and check for paddles."
Leaving Ashley to reflect the lights again, Claire looks through the inside of the canoe, her eyes scanning for any signs of a leak. The last thing they need is to get out on the water and begin to sink. When she doesn't find anything, she turns back to Ashley in time to see her put two rusty-looking paddles into the canoe. That's probably the best they're going to get out here, unless they want to make their own and telling from how the sky is beginning to lighten slightly, they really don't have time for that.
"Alright. Let's bring this thing out to the water and see if she's got any leaks. If not, then we're heading back out to the other coast and we're kicking Leon's ass." Claire doesn't wait another moment before she's pulling at the canoe again, cringing at the way it scraped against rocks. It's going to be a pain to get past all of those roots from the forest, but it should be doable at least.
As they push and pull it, Ashley's voice barely makes it above the sound of grinding rocks. "Are we really going right up to the mansion again once we get back? Wouldn't it be a better idea to play low or try to find Luis first?" Claire can hear the worry in her voice without even looking at her.
"I don't know..." They pull the canoe through the tree line and the slope down to the water is much easier. Once they've settled it just a little ways into the water, not nearly enough to send it out, Claire stops. "I usually just run into these kinds of things. Well, usually I don't get a choice but to run into danger. Someone's always either chasing or they make it clear that my only way forward is by going into something worse." That island prison comes to mind first, with Alfred Ashford. He taunted them and trailed them through his little games in order to even get off of the island. And once they did get off, he followed them into the South Pole.
Claire can't help but smile fondly. Despite the horrors of the Ashford twins, she still met Steve Burnside and reunited with Chris. Maybe that would be like their experience now. They have to fight Leon, but it'll be worth it once they find a way to kill the Plaga inside of him and return home. Then it's back to their usual routine. Maybe she can have a big gathering with the former STARS members too. Maybe Sherry, if she can get permission.
"Claire?" Ashley's voice pulls Claire from her thoughts and she looks up to meet a concerned face. "You're crying."
She sniffs and realizes the emotion building up. A touch to her cheek also shows that she was, in fact, crying. Claire shakes it away and gives Ashley a smile to ease her worries. "It's alright. I was just remembering something." Was it the memory of losing Steve? It still hurt, a lot, but it usually didn't trigger her tears anymore. She's come to accept that she'll never see him again. "I think...I think it was Sherry." She says it to herself, mostly. "I don'y think Leon's seen her since..." Since Raccoon, when she left them to look for Chris. She hadn't even realized that they last saw each other after the government took both of them. It's been seven years since them, making Sherry nineteen. He's missed all of those years.
"Who's Sherry?" Ashley asks suddenly, her eyes curious but also hesitant, like it may cause more pain.
Claire smiles at her and begins to answer as she pushes the canoe into the water near fully, watching it for leaks. "She was a little girl I saved in Raccoon City. Her parents worked on the G-Virus and...well, it was a whole mess that's hard to explain. Mainly, I saved her from getting killed by her mutated father, and with Leon's help, we made it out of the city before the government decided to blow the place sky high." No leaks in the boat. Claire pulls it back out enough to let Ashley climb in first.
The girl does, understanding the unspoken cue. As she settles in the front, grabbing at the rusted paddle, Ashley turns back to her. "You and Leon know each other really well, then. I thought you two were, like, exes or something."
Claire flushes at that. "What? Really?" Why does everyone think that? She never thought their relationship looked romantic, even to those who might've been searching for it. They're just good friends, like they've always been. Honestly, she can't imagine being with Leon in that kind of setting.
The confusion must be clear on her face, because Ashley retracts.
The girl blushes but she doesn't look away. "Well, I just assumed, since you stared at him like..." Like what? Like she loves him? Claire can't exactly say that she does, at least not like that. She was just so relieved to see him after so long. "Like he's your entire world." Ashley finishes.
Claire settles into her own seat as she thinks about that. She thinks of Leon and all that he means to her. It's nothing romantic, that she's knows, but he isn't just a good friend. He's her support and foundation. They know so much about each other and she's more honest with him than even Chris, depending on what it is.
"I think I just missed him." Claire finally says. "I missed having him around me and...he means a lot to me, Ashley. I wanted him back so badly that I didn't see the same things Luis did." And that's her own fault, really. Luis was present enough to see Leon as he was then, saw how he was acting, and called it correctly. Who knows what would've happened had he not been there.
A hand reaches out and touches Claire's knee. She meets Ashley's eyes, sees how the moon reflects off of them. The girl smiles, something small but so warming. "We'll find a way to help him." She says, like it's a promise. "We'll save Leon."
And all Claire can really do is nod in agreement. They hold that moment until Ashley pulls away, picks up her paddle again, and readies herself to lead them back to the coast. Claire smiles at the back of her head for a moment, wanting to pull the sticks and leaves from the blonde locks, but she shoves that aside in favor of pushing them the rest of the way into the water. They float out for a moment until Ashley starts pushing them forward.
As Claire pulls her paddle, she looks out at the ocean in front of them. They're just one more step closer to where they need to be. A part of her is hesitant to find Luis, with Ashley's grim assumption running through her head. Leon could've killed him. Or worse. After everything they've been through so far, she doesn't want to see Luis's dead body on top of it. They still need him to help Leon get rid of his Plaga and beyond that, he's also a survivor that doesn't deserve to see his last days in this hell hole.
The canoe carries them across the glistening water at a surprisingly fast pace. The sun begins to rise, just hiding behind the hills. It brightens the sky with streaks of red, yellow, and orange. It'd be a lot more calming if what lay ahead of them wasn't so daunting. With nothing else to do but wait, Claire sits back and hopes that Luis can hold on just a little longer. They'll find him, wherever he is. She promises.
This chapter was really hard for me to write for some reason, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. This went through so much editing, you don't even know.
