This chapter is dedicated to Manya91. Go read her fics, because they're about 500x better than my own and she's just fucking awesome in general.

Disclaimer: What'd I tell you last time? Go back to chapter one.

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"Time to bring it down again.

Don't call me a pessimist.

Try and read between the lines.

I can't imagine why you wouldn't

Welcome any change, my friend."

Aenema – Tool

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Claire stayed lying on the floor, her face buried in rubble and dust. She turned her face back and forth, trying to rid of the thoughts currently plaguing her mind.

'It's time to just give up.'

'Think of all the relief.'

'No more pressure.'

'Nothing.'

She was about to give in. What did she have to lose now? This world has gone to hell, what's the point in staying any longer?

She thought of nothing.

'What about K-Mart? Alice? Chris? Are they nothing?'

Claire lifted her head. For all she knew, they could be dead. For her, it was easier to believe that because if she died here and now, she'd finally be with them, with no worry or struggle to survive.

She let her head fall back and she loosened her muscles. She was done.

There was a shift around her waist, sudden warmth and strength surrounded her lower half. Then, she was hoisted off the ground, almost flung into the air. Claire panicked. A yelp was about to escape until she felt a hand cradle her close. Her own rested on a warm chest, she felt the heart beat just beneath her fingers. Emerald eyes gazed upward at their savior. She was met with dark chocolate eyes and black mane of messy hair. Her hero turned around and yelled out.

"We better get moving!" A voice, deep and husky, responded back.

"Move forward, the exit should be just a few feet ahead."

The voice sounded so familiar, Claire strained to remember where she heard it, but all her mind brought forth was the warmth of the burning sun and the rustic smell of the desert sand.

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Barry led the pack into a large corporate building, his pace was low and slow.

"We've secured this building about a year ago for ourselves, but every now and then a surprise will jump out." Leon stated, looking back at Alice. The brunette cocked her head to the side in response.

"What? Did you snag this from Umbrella or something?" Barry whipped around.

"That's exactly what we did." Leon shrugged his shoulders.

"Seemed as though they were expecting someone to tackle this place." The tyrant trailed behind Alice. He growled as this was mentioned and pushed himself past the leading three. Leon twisted back forward and Barry kept his eyes on Alice.

"He gets like that sometimes. The others believe Umbrella still has control over him and are j-"

"Just waiting for the right moment to strike." Leon cut off the bouldering man, much to his disdain.

"Yeah, what he said." Alice arched an eyebrow.

"How long has he been with you?" She asked. Leon shrugged and tapped his foot on the floor.

"Couple o' years, why?"

"No reason, but Umbrella hasn't been very patient as of late, I highly doubt they'd keep this up for that long."

Barry scratched his chin and nodded several times in agreement. Leon finally turned around and clicked his tongue against his cheek.

"You've got a point…but maybe they're waiting for someone rather than something." Barry came up from behind Leon and patted him on the shoulder, shaking the man back and forth in the process.

"Leon, how many people have you come across while in tow with that thing?" Leon squinted in thought, raising his chin towards the ceiling.

"Hundreds, if not more. Why?"

"Don't you think that it's a little odd that none of those people triggered tyrant?" The sandy haired man looked back at Alice, examining her from head to toe, taking everything she was, in. He raised a gloved hand and pointed straight at her chest.

"No one we met carried that." Leon turned back to Barry, frustration building in his eyes. The older one stared back intently, shaking his head in disbelief.

"6 months ago, we met that woman. The one in the regeneration pod, which was clearly labeled under ownership of Umbrella, and not once did tyrant make a move! Not even when the woman fled did he flinch or react in the slightest!" Barry patted his shoulder once again, a little softer this time.

"Just let it go, go get some rest, I'll take lookout tonight." Leon shrugged off Barry's hand but followed his words, with a small dip of his head at Alice, he left them alone.

The brunette cocked her head to the side and released a long sigh.

'10 years and this bullshit is still following me around.'

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A soft clicking sound was what woke Claire up. Constantly clicking, as if right up in her ear. She grunted and waved a hand to ward off the noise, but to no avail. The sound continued.

"Fuck, knock it off." Still clicking.

"Shut the hell up!" She screamed. That did the trick.

"Oh! You're awake!" Claire's eyes shot open. She turned over and looked at where the voice had come from. Her eyes wandered around the body, a man in his late 30's early 40's all geared up in a commando suit, his blackened face was smirking and his dark eyes were wide, looking admiringly at Claire.

"You healed nicely. Can you get up?" Claire remained unmoving and silent, unsure of this character. He held up a hand and laughed.

"No rush, take your time." The redhead leaned off the bed, resting herself on her hands. She took this as an opportunity to get a bearing on her surroundings. Her eyes fluttered back to her companion.

"Who are you?" He turned around and leaned up against a table.

"The name's One. You're Claire." Her eyes went wide at this.

"How the hell do you know that?"

One threw a thumb behind him, pointing at a man sitting at the table he was leaning on. Claire hadn't noticed there was another in the room.

"Carlos knows you." At the mention of his name, he raises his head.

Claire becomes bombarded with memories. When they first met up, just outside Raccoon City. Nevada. Vegas. The suicide mission. It all comes back in one big wave.

"Carlos…how…?" He quickly gets up out of his seat and makes his way towards the redhead. Reaching her side, he takes her in his arms and holds her tightly.

"It's a long story." Claire smiles against his chest as soft tears travel down her cheeks.

"I have time." He smiles back.

"Umbrella. It's as simple as that. They must've gotten a hold on a sample of my DNA and had it cloned," he let her go and looked over at One, "same deal with him." One saluted her in a friendly manner. Carlos looked back down at Claire, a glint of hope in his eyes.

"They knew Alice. They met her when this whole outbreak took place. They might be able to locate her." Claire was overjoyed, ecstatic even, but her mind finally slowed down and caught wind of something.

"'They'?" A noise came up from behind her, jarring her forward back into Carlos' arms. The Hispanic laughed and patted her back.

"Claire, this is…" The redhead turned to face behind her, meeting the darkest chocolate eyes she's ever seen.

"The name's Rain."

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