A/N - Hello again! Wow, so amazed by the intensity of readers' lust for some AlicexRain!
Welcome and thank you to all my readers, new and veteran! I hope this continues to satisfy your femslash cravings :)
Chapter 3
Heat
Lori didn't have a clue where they were going. She was blindly following the woman she kept telling herself that she'd never met before, but that her heart kept insisting she knew very well. The blank concrete walls weren't helping her solve the silent riddle, and neither was the ridiculous leather outfit that clung tightly to Alice's lovely body. "You going to explain the leather?"
A laugh burbled up out of Alice's mouth. "It was this or nothing."
"Oh." Lori's jaw worked silently. "Fair enough."
Becky joined the conversation. "What happened to your other clothes? And your hair?"
Alice looked stricken, her eyes flickering nervously and her jaw tightening.
Feeling responsible for opening the can of worms, Lori rescued the woman from her dilemma. "Probably an awesome story, huh? Maybe you..."
The door they had paused in front of opened by itself, and Lori was staring inside, her jaw hanging loosely and her eyes bugging out of their sockets. Her feet moved forward of their own accord, taking her inside with the girls hot on her heels.
"What is this?" Lorraine squawked, staring up at dozens and dozens of Alices, Beckys, Lorraines, and others she recognized from her neighborhood. Each scarily perfect copy was garbed in black spandex bodysuits and suspended by metal harnesses that looked almost like meat hooks embedded into their spines. They were carried on transport rails that disappeared into the shadows far above their heads. They couldn't even see the ceiling. Swiftly, precisely, creepily, the people swung past on their hooks. Unmoving and lifeless, they seemed no more human than toy soldiers, with no other purpose except to entertain bored little children.
"Mommy, who are those people?" Becky's outcry echoed Lori's tangled, confused thoughts. The young girl was frantically pointing at the copies of herself and Alice. Tears pooled in her eyes and her voice quavered. "Mommy! You are my mommy? Right?"
Wanting to see Alice's reaction to the question, she forcibly turned away from the parade of giant toys, aliens, clones, hallucinations... whatever they were. Fear, anger, and compassion flashed across Alice's face until it settled on steely determination. "I am now." The blonde whispered harshly and pulled the girl to her in a protective hug.
That was when Lori's brain caught on that Alice knew exactly what was happening, and that there was more to the leather gear and guns than she let on. She would be able to tell the spunky Latina why she kept having the strange visions that felt disturbingly like memories. Lori did something that was totally not like her. She grabbed Alice's arm roughly, and growled at her. "I want answers."
And Alice did something that Lori definitely did not expect. The mysterious woman smiled. "After we get out of here, I'll answer anything you want. Good enough?"
Lori blinked, rage lost at Alice's eager response. "Yea, sure."
Alice jerked her chin at the other side of the massive room. "We need to go that way."
An all-too-familiar snarl caught their attention. Looking up revealed that giant monster was back. "Crap! I thought you said you killed that thing." Lori cried out shrilly.
Alice followed her line of sight. "Damn that psychotic AI!"
Confused, yet again. "What?" Lori squeaked.
But Alice aimed her gun at the terrifying creature and yelled. "Run!"
The blasts of her gun threatened to make Lori as deaf as Becky. Fighting back the urge to clamp her hands over her ears and cry like a baby, Lori grabbed the kid and ran like a bat out of hell. Hearing the gun go quiet and Alice's boots pounding the concrete, Lori knew that the monster was probably close behind. She brought up her own gun, and after shoving Becky forward, turned around. The monster was just about to swipe at Alice, so Lori opened fire, distracting it long enough for Alice to catch up. Her gun clicked, out of ammo. Angrily, she hurled the useless thing at the creature and allowed Alice to pull her along.
They dove through another door right ahead of the monster's deadly claws. It crashed into the heavy door, and the girls could hear it roar in frustration. From around the corner, two soldiers in black gear appeared, aiming guns at them. In the blink of an eye, the incredible Alice had taken them both down. She yanked a gun, and what looked like grenades, off of one goon at the same time the monster's claws burst through the door. Sparkling green eyes met Lori's terrified gaze. "Ready for a little heat?"
"Make it rain, Ali!" Lori chuckled. "Come on, kiddo." She grabbed the huffing Becky and started pulling her down the latest shadowy passage. "Not time to rest yet."
Alice grinned at them and primed the grenades in her hand. The door was ripped away, and a grotesque head poked through the fresh hole. "Chew on this!" And she shoved the volatile package into its gaping mouth before bolting after Lori and Becky. They burst into a side passage right as the explosion rocked the concrete walls.
A vicious inferno blew past, burning the air in Lori's lungs, and setting her to gasping and coughing. The others were choking and coughing too for several unpleasant moments. Alice was the first one up, helping the other girls to stand as well. She gestured down the scorched tunnel. "That way," she rasped.
Not more than a few minutes later, what felt like another, even bigger explosion knocked them off their feet again. Groaning and muttering about having had enough crazy for the day, Lori picked herself up. She could still feel tremors through the heels of her boots. Becky and Alice joined her, and they continued on their previous route. With every step they took, the air grew progressively more frigid. The tunnel branched, and the direction Alice chose ended in a metal grate that she kicked open. Hugging herself against the bitter cold, Lori peeked around Alice, who had an arm wrapped around Becky.
It was a massive vertical shaft that she could see many other platforms, exactly like the one that she had been thrown from earlier, dotting the edges. Sloshing water that smelled rather salty filled the bottom of the shaft. A couple yards down from their position, two familiar, tired faces looked up at them. The guy with the boy band hair, and the flirtatious dude. Despite her lackluster opinion of them, Lori was thrilled to see them alive anyway. "Hey, guys!" Enthusiastically, she waved down at them.
Luther grinned at her while Leon's face remained in its usual constipated expression. When Leon cranked the power for the elevator again, the girls hopped down, joining them on the trip up. Once they reached the top, the girls stared around in stunned amazement. They were surrounded by snow-covered land. In one direction was what looked like an abandoned arctic facility. In the other, frozen ships poked up from a vast sea of ice. They glistened frostily in the sharp, cold sunlight.
"Where the hell are we?"
"Siberia." Leon answered. He trudged away, and the group followed quietly. The man led them to what Luther called a snowcat. It was a huge vehicle with massive snow treads and a bright orange paint job. They clambered inside the spacious cabin, where Alice was handed a toasty-looking parka. Alice pulled it on quickly. Her eyes met Lori's and suddenly, and she started yanking it off.
Teeth chattering, Lori shook her head. "Nah, I'm fine." She strategically bumped Becky into Alice's arms before the other woman could finish taking off her coat.
"But..."
"Don't worry, I've got her covered." Luther's smooth voice soothed Alice. Lorraine was afraid to turn around and look at him, thinking he was probably about to offer his body warmth. The feel of heavy fabric being settled on her shoulders shocked her. She whipped around to face the guy. "Better?" He asked, already snugly zipped into his own parka and tugging on gloves.
Easing her frozen arms into the coat, Lori nodded gratefully. "Much. Thanks, man."
Luther's grin widened, and he nodded. Another coat appeared in his hands, and he held it out to the shivering Becky. "It's gonna be huge on you, but it'll keep you warm."
"Thank you." Becky replied and took the offered garment. Alice helped her into it before settling herself and the kid onto the bench.
The snowcat's engine rumbled to life, sending vibrations through Lori's feet. She plopped down on the seat beside Alice. Becky was on Alice's other side. Luther settled himself on the opposite side, grinning at her. Leon spoke up from the driver's seat. "Wesker is sending a chopper to meet us at the rendezvous."
Feeling Alice tense up, Lori touched her arm. Alice met her eyes. "I don't trust Wesker."
"He went through a lot of trouble to retrieve you alive, Alice." Leon barked.
Alice's face tightened, and she glanced at Becky, seeming to consider her response. "I still don't trust him."
The cabin was tensely silent. Uneasy and bored, Lori dug into her pockets to distract herself. She found a pair of gloves and happily shoved her numb hands into them, crooning out loud and earning herself four sets of stares.
"What?" She squawked indignantly.
When no one answered her with words, she decided that smug grins and mocking eye-rolls didn't count, she went back to her treasure hunt. Another pocket gave up a neon yellow, fleece-lined beanie that she eyeballed before leaning across Alice and tugging it over Becky's curly hair. Becky grinned a silly smile and brought a hand up, touched her fingers to her chin and arced her hand away from her face.
Thank you.
Lori was proud she actually knew that bit of sign. She smiled cheerily and settled back in her spot, her right side pressed into Alice for warmth. Feeling Luther's heavy regard, Lori closed her eyes and pretended to doze. An arm slipping around her waist nearly had Lori jumping out of her skin. Her eyes flew open and met a pair of uncertain green, looking into her. The arm started to move away.
"No." She hastily whispered, feeling a blush spread across her face. "This is... nice."
The smile that grew on Alice's face had more heat pooling on Lorraine's cheeks and elsewhere. She ignored the embarrassing blush, the rabid butterflies in her stomach, and Luther's half-jealous, half-amused stare. Alice's arm wrapped around her and pulled her a little closer. Hesitantly, Lori leaned into the warmth and affection that the strong blonde was offering her. Her head tilted to rest on Alice's shoulder, and she thought to herself that she really didn't care about getting answers to her questions so much anymore. Being with Alice made everything else seem dreary and unimportant.