The wind blows trough the empty windows. Glass cracks under her feet. Walls black with fire. The orphanage stands silent. She came back. Not sure why. Chasings ghosts. Chasing nightmares. Her old room is no more. Large part of the house collapsed because of the fire. A worker left a welding tool on, the paper said. The fire spread and exploded a gas pipe. The truth was right under feet yet out of reach. If there really was a hidden room the entrance was buried under two stories of stone, concrete and wood. Nobody could reach it.
Her life here was just a memory. All evidence of it erased. People she knew gone. They took her to an all-girl collage. She was the only one from the orphanage there. Where did they take the others, she wasn't sure. No way to reach them. No way to know if they were even alive.
It was hot summers day. Her collage friends waited outside in a car. Well, she supposed they were not really friends, just people she could use. Knowing the truth was the only thing that mattered. She wasn't even sure why anymore. It was the only thing she had. The only thing that defined who she was. A nightmare. A moment of pure fear and dread. Of death and loss.
She had seen that man again. Not in person. In the newspaper. An article about Umbrella. She did all she could to learn more about him. He had all the answers. He knew what really happened. She needed to get close to him. Spencer. It was the only way.
William was saying something. But the man next to him didn't really listen. Something caught his eye. Across the glass door of the lounge he could see two people. One he knew. The other was woman he had never seen before.
The old man was wearing a suit and leaning on cane. Next to him was a young woman with short blond hair neatly slicked back? Her white suit contrasting with the black one of the old man. Files clutched to her chest tightly. She turns as if sensing his gaze. The old man seems to notice. He grabs her by the wrist and pulls her. She stumbles. Bows her head. Follows.
William has caught on by now that he wasn't listening.
"What's got you so occupied?"
"It seems we got a new staff member. Have you hear anything?"
William glances at the hall.
"Her? "
"Yes."
"That's Lord Spencer's little ward. Or so the rumor goes. He took some girl in. Never had any kids of his own. But like I said it's just rumors."
"Well, I suppose we'll find out soon enough."
He sees her again two days later. Spencer calls for him. A new job. He enters the office. Soon after the same woman walks in. she hand some documents to Spencer. He notices how he is looking at her.
"This is Dr. Alber Wesker. "He introduces him to the woman.
The woman lifts her head suddenly and looks at him. Surprised? Scared? He can't really tell.
"This is Alex." He says.
No titles, no last name. Juts Alex. She shakes his hand. Smiles.
"Leave us. We have important business to discuss. "
And she is gone.
Later that week there is brief meeting. New projects. Progress made on the old ones. A brief mention of a new member joining the intelligence division. No name. No formal introduction to the others. No welcoming party. It's only when he looks at the official records that he knows it's her. Alex W. No other information. Just the name. He was lucky enough to know her face. Not even a picture in the file. By the end of the week everyone is talking about this new staff no one has seen or even know the name of. William jokes about them being so low on staff they hired a ghost. He hasn't seen her since. It's only when a report comes in signed by her that he knows she's still here.
She knows there is something more to it. She isn't to say what her last name is. His name the same as hers. But she never had any family. Or perhaps they never told her. She looks trough the files. No information about parents or siblings. He was born the same year as her. She had to know what it all really meant. To her surprise He told her truth. But Albert cannot know. He must never know.
"I knew you were capable. Since that day you managed to find the laboratory in the orphanage. "Spencer laughs
Alex feels the floor beneath vanish. She feels like sinking into the abyss. It was real. The nightmare was real.
"To be honest I didn't expect those who ranked so low on the list to be this capable. He was the last one. Nr. 13. You were in 12th place. But now I would say you should have been last. He is by far your superior. He is perfect. "
There were thirteen of them. So few. Out of the hundreds that used to fill the orphanage halls.
"Who were the others?" she asks.
"You haven't earned the right to know that. " He says.
She wants to know. Who else made it out of that place alive? Did she know any of them?
He puts her on a new project. Secret. From everyone else, even in Umbrella. Something he is personally working on. She dreads but puts on a smile. She doesn't want to spend all her days with this cruel old man. He doesn't give her a choice. If she proves herself she can gain access to what she want to know.
William grins.
"I've heard the old man will be having a house warming party. Plan on going?"
"Naturally." He says.
William says something else but he isn't listening anymore.
He sees a white figure drift across the room. She enters the lounge. Walks across. Doesn't stay. Leaves thought the other door. William has caught on by now.
"You know she'll probably be there."
The mansion is huge. Guests walk around in lavish clothing. Waiters walk among the crowd with trays of food and drink. Little do they know, about the many secret passages and hidden laboratories beneath the luxury and décor of the mansion. The thought makes him smile.
William is there with Annette. He walks past them. Underneath dark lenses his eyes are searching. Among the beautiful woman in luxurious dresses and men designer jackets. There is no sign of her. The woman has made him feel drawn to her. He doesn't understand why. He wants to understand. He is certain he had never met her before. Yet she feels familiar. If she is just another staff member, why is there much mystery to everything surrounding her?
He finds her away from the all guests and the music. On a stone bench outside on the balcony. A book in her lap. There is a smile on her lips. She doesn't see him. Lost in the book. He moves closer, casting a shadow on the pages. She immediately looks up. There is that look of surprise in her eyes.
"Dr. Wesker?"
"Albert will do. "
"Did you need me for something?"
"Actually, I was wondering if you would be interested in a dance." A lie, something he made up on the spot.
The look of surprise on her face again. She puts the book down on the bench. Gets up. Her dress is a mix of sliver and white. Feathers and crystals along the edge, covering her chest, going over one shoulder. White gloves cover arms to the elbows.
"I would." She says.
He glances at the cover of the book.
"Kafka?"
She gives a little guilty smile.
"Work has kept me busy. More than I would like. Catching up on some reading while I can. "
He says nothing.
"Are you a reading man, Albert?"
"Can't say that I am." He admits.
"You should give it a try. A book could be like a key to the secret chambers within the castle of oneself."
"Is that what it is to you?"
She is standing close to him. Both still locked in place on the balcony. She looks away. As if checking to see that they are alone.
"To me, it is an escape."
He nods. Understands. She takes his hand. Her white gloved fingers entertaining with his black leather ones. They enter the hall. Most are too distracted to notice. Her eyes dart around the room. He isn't there. Albert puts his hand around her. She is so close to him now. A million thing she would like to tell him. A million question she would like to ask. She swallows them down. They waltz among many other couples. But to them nobody else exists.