So I'm updating a lot sooner than I was expecting. Things are going to be a bit hectic, my examinations start on the 26th. So here we go, chapter 5. Can I please ask that when you finish reading to please drop me a review? As I'm typing the story has 9 reviews… reviews are like comfort food, chocolates when you need them and a cup of coffee to balance off a nasty hangover! Enjoy :)

Chapter 5

Alice stormed out of the medical bay, leaving a confused looking Chris, and a clearly rattled Jill behind her. There was an annoying ringing in her ears, and it felt like her senses were on overdrive. More of the useless and obsolete things were calmly walking over to her. Everything moves in slow motion, like it was being played on freeze frame. Stopping in front of the door to her room, Alice turned and walked further along the corridor. She reached Chris' "room". He never spent any time here, so she knew nobody would be able to find her selectively hiding here. Hiding… Alice hated hiding, but she needed to calm herself down.

She remembered something someone once told her. You can't always be the strongest, quickest, smartest or all round best of everything all the time. Sometimes you need to let someone else take care of you, even if it only was for a few seconds at least. Her mind wandered to Carlos. He didn't hate her when she ran after the Detroit incident. He welcomes her with open arms in the desert after the world ended. He even comforted her when he was the one who was about to die. Alice sighed, moving inside Chris' room, and heading to the nearest dark corner. Carlos was there for her, as he always was. Except he happened to be dead, and for a minute Alice knew she was as crazy as people thought she was.

Alice lifted her fingers to her lips. Chris kissed her, not the way he kisses Claire, and he kissed her. Like he wanted to do it since getting out of that jail cell he was in. "Is this what it's like?" Alice mumbled to herself. The door opened and the light flickered on. Chris moved into her line of sight. He seemed momentarily startled when he saw her sitting in the corner, huddled up. She looked like a caged animal. For some reason he knew not to ask questions, or approach her. Instead he walked over to the bed and plopped down. Alice stared at him. "What's what like?" Alice felt a small blush creep up her neck. "Being human." She practically whispered.

Chris shifted on the bed, turning to face her. 'He has something to say. Must be important' Alice told herself. "Look, I'm not too happy with what you did to Jill. You said that Wesker injected you with something. Something that made you human again. But what you did on the deck, and what you did to Jill, then and now. I'm not going to lie when I tell you that it has me a bit rattled. I don't know on whose side of the fence you are, but if you are with us, with me, you need to act like it. Yeah, she pissed you off, but you need to remember that she is still a person. Being human was never easy for anybody, but you get used to it. And you'll get used to it too. But in the meanwhile, try not to kill Jill. We still need her." Alice got up and made her way to the door.

"Stop running away all the time Alice. Stay. I don't bite. S&M just doesn't do it for me." Alice found herself laughing. She smiled wide and bright. She couldn't remember when the last time was that she laughed, and laughed out of the pit of her stomach. "I could imagine that you would find biting very kinky." Chris grinned. "No thank you Alice. My annual rabies shot isn't in a few weeks." Chris motioned toward a chair. Alice nodded and took a seat. Talking never came easy for her. She usually ended up saying something silly, and ducked away before a retort could even be properly formed. Alice felt herself nodding off. She heard the soft snores coming from Chris. He looked to peaceful. The only way in which she could see a physical resemblance to Claire is; no wait. They didn't look anything alike. They have the same personality. They both looked at people the same way, and they didn't shift uncomfortably in company. Not like she did.

Alice shifted her head, trying to get comfortable. This was an awful substitute for a bed, but Alice didn't want to be alone. And she was way too lazy to want to get up and walk to her room. So she stayed. She didn't fight being near people. For the time being, she wasn't running away. Not yet.

When Alice woke up, she was alone and wrapped in a blanked that smelled minutely like him. Chris was gone. Stretching her limbs, even wiggling her toes Alice let out a yawn, and started rubbing her eyes tiredly. No dreams tonight. No dreams. Alice couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness, but contentment was the order of the day. She didn't need to cling to the memory of Carlos anymore. She had people again. "You're up." Chris spoke from the door. Alice craned her head to look up at him. "Yeah. We need to invest in a better chair." Alice managed to stifle a yawn. "Or a bigger bed." Chris laughed at her confused and shocked expression. "Come on, I wouldn't have kissed you if I didn't want to invest in a bigger bed with you." Alice gave him a look and opened her mouth to say something snappy when he interrupted her thoughts. "Jill is up again. Feel up for another, non violent, talk?" Alice simply nodded.

She was sure Chris could feel she was annoyed with him telling her what to do, but she didn't say anything. She didn't want to disturb the balance he was desperately trying to create between them. "Ready?" Alice tossed the blanket that covered her over onto his bed, stretched one last time and fidgeted with her hair. Alice always saw this as way too girly. But right now, she didn't care. She needed answers. And Jill had them. "Let's go." Alice reached the door and felt Chris' hand hover over the small of her back, not sure if he wanted to touch her or not, he pulled his hand away and held the door open for her.

Alice walked a few paces in front of Chris. She felt his eyes on her and only smiled. What else is there for her to do? This isn't the time or place for such foolishness. People are dying and she wants to get all giddy over some guy. Except he wasn't some guy. This is Chris. He couldn't just be some guy. Alice reached the medical bay doors and pushed them open. Jill's form, cuffed to the bed, greeted her as she entered the room. Alice could see Jill stiffen. 'Good' she thought. The more afraid, the quicker I get my answers. Alice went over to the chair she had occupied earlier and sat down as Chris closed the door behind him, leaning against the wall once more. Alice started humming a song, perching her feet on the table. Chris stared at her, but remained silent. "We need you to answer some questions Jill." Chris spoke. His voice was soothing, calming. Alice smiled. She would resume the position of bad cop, but she didn't mind. She rather enjoyed it.

"We need to know what Umbrella did to you for starters."Chris moved closer to Jill, grabbing the extra chair and moving it so he could sit opposite Jill's face. Effectively blocking Alice from the woman's view. Jill refused to answer. Mumbling something along the lines of them killing her once they know everything she knows. "Maybe not. Maybe they won't kill you, but I just might. I don't follow the same code of ethics 'they' do. You of all people should know that Jill." Alice talked in a raised voice, but stated her case calmly. Chris' back seemed to tense a little at her words. He definitely got the coldness she had intended Jill to receive."I'm not afraid of you Project Alice." Jill stated simply, trying to sound as if she didn't care. Alice stood up, and moved over to Jill's bed, resting her one foot on the mattress, balancing her elbow on her knee. "You should be." Alice smiled and stared at Jill. "What did Umbrella do to you?" Jill stared at Alice for about a minute before blinking and moving her eyes to Alice's boots. "They injected me with a different version of the T-Virus. A combination of the one Project Alice was treated with, the Nemesis' treatment and the version that mixed with your blood. It turned out a dark blue, verging on deep purple. I don't need to sleep, I feed off humans. I have all the abilities you had taken for granted. I can do so much more. The only side effect is that I need to feed regularly and my eyes are red." Jill seemed to get excited when she replayed the information Umbrella had obviously given to her. "Yours was obviously stronger. The elixir had 70% of your attributes. We only needed 30% from Nemesis. We only needed his brute strength." Alice laughed. Something cold crept up her spine at the mention of Nemesis. Matt was a good man, and she was talking about him like he was just some…thing they picked up on the side of the road. This showed that Jill was with Umbrella too long. She had no more humanity left in her.

"Well, if you just needed his brute strength, why do we have you cuffed to the bed?" Alice saw Jill wincing at this fact. "Draw back from not having fed it 3 days? And here I was thinking that taking you down was going to be a challenge." Alice shook her head. "It doesn't matter. But I do have a message for you from my superiors Project Alice." Alice cocked her eyebrow and a sly smile splayed across Jill's features. "It ends with you. Your blood can cure the remaining people on earth. Your death will set them all free." Alice nearly choked on her saliva. "How could it end with me? Umbrella cloned me. Why don't they use the clones then, hmm? They must have so many of me stashed away all over." Jill tried to sit up. "They need the original. They need to kill you to correct the past mistakes they had made. Your death will ultimately set all of them free. You know what will happen if you don't go willingly. They will never stop. Each facility has underground housing. Umbrella will never run out of fresh meat. New recruits as lining up as we speak." Alice moved closer to Jill, their faces only a few inches apart. "Then come and get me tiger." Alice nodded at Chris, signalling she was done for the day, and that he could continue the questioning on his own. "You know Jill, I never liked you. But L.J, Carlos and Angela didn't deserve what happened to them. Their deaths were all a result of the actions Umbrella took. They were your friends too. They're blood is on your hands too." And with that Alice turned and headed toward the deck. She needed some time to herself. She needed to breathe. Was it true? Does her death mean life for the rest of humanity? 'Can I do this?' Alice asked herself. 'Can my death be turned into life? Life for the rest of them?' Alice walked slowly onto the deck. It was close to dawn. This is going to be along day. This is going to a very long day.

"You okay?" Alice looked up and saw K-Mart staring at her. "Yeah, I'm fine." Alice motioned K-Mart to join her. She simply nodded and sat down next to Alice, staring out over the ocean at the impending sunrise. "I missed this." K-Mart whispered. Alice simply nodded. "I miss sitting out with Carlos and L.J when they had watch. I miss Mikey, and the kids." Alice heard K-Mart sniffle, but she didn't move. The teenager was having a tender moment with someone she saw as a friend. She wouldn't be all that happy if Alice spoke up. "Do you miss them?" K-Mart asked Alice. Again Alice only nodded, causing K-Mart to sigh. The conversation certainly was over now, but K-Mart made no move to get up and leave.

"Alice, I-"K-Mart started, but Alice held up her hand, silencing her. "Let's just sit, and watch the sunrise. Let's just pretend that everyone we loved and ever lost was sitting here with us, looking out over the ocean like we are." K-Mart smiled and nodded. "Okay." She whispered. Alice kept a tight screw on herself. She didn't say anything that may betray her feelings or thoughts. The thought about Carlos. She wanted so badly to tell K-Mart that she wasn't the only one who missed them. She couldn't do that. She couldn't show any emotion. She thought about the kiss she and Chris shared. Goosebumps formed over her entire body. She never betrayed any emotion toward anybody. When she was around Carlos, she dropped her defences a little, but she never let him in fully. Another thing to regret.

The sun started to creep up on them. A soft array of colours seeped into their view. Alice smiled to herself, feeling her muscles relax at the sight. "Alice." Chris was a few steps away from her. He was tense. "Jill told me a few things you might want to hear." Alice sighed and stood up. K-Mart grabbed her leg. "You know you don't always have to be so strong for everybody Alice. Sometimes it's okay to lean on the people around you. We're here for a reason you know." K-Mart looked up at Alice and smiled. Alice nodded and patted K-Mart on the head. Tuning toward Chris she motioned him to start walking. "She's right you know." Chris whispered into her ear. He was so close she could feel the stubble on his chin graze her neck. Alice turned to look at him and before she could stop herself, she kissed him full on the lips. Chris looked thoroughly stunned and Alice took this as the chance to head inside before he could comment on her actions. "I, uh, had a talk with Jill after you left. Claire too." Chris was still a few steps behind her as she headed toward her room. "Claire? What did she say?" Alice enquired, momentarily forgetting about Jill." Chris made a shrugging sound. "It didn't make a boat load of sense but never mind that." Alice stopped suddenly, nearly causing Chris to crash into her.

"What the hell?" Alice turned to face him. "Claire spoke to you after you told her what Jill said, didn't she?" Alice wanted to smack the red head, but stifled that desire quickly. "She thinks I'm putting them in danger. That if I left it would be better. Many lives would be spared and she wouldn't have to get attached to people, only to bury them soon after. I get it. What did Jill say?" Chris averted his eyes momentarily. "She just told me she doesn't know where the mixture was, and that the second headquarters were in Paris now. She said they should have the mixture, or at least be able to tell you where it is, or who has it. She doubts that Wesker is dead, but he's much stronger than she is, and it may be possible that he might have survived." Alice nodded. "That all?" She turned her voice cold. She would adopt the approach that seemed to work for Claire. She wouldn't get attached to him. Chris nodded slowly. "Thank you." Alice turned and left him alone in the corridor.

Alice stepped into her room and flicked on the light. She didn't have any personal possessions here. She never had any since the end of the world. Her guns were all she ever needed. Alice knew that she had to get off today, while it was still day time. She needed supplies and transport. A bike, or a car would do. She could get to an airport and look for a small aircraft to take her to Paris. Alice knew of an Umbrella facility that she could get the information about the Paris facility. Alice leaved the room, and went off in search of Claire. It didn't take long to find her. She was in the cafeteria sitting with a few children. Claire didn't look up when Alice approached her. "Can we talk?" Alice asked, turning, not giving Claire a chance to reply. Alice stood outside on the deck. Lazily taking in the sun as she awaited the arrival of the 'convoy' leader. Claire was barely outside when Alice started speaking. "I'm leaving. Now. I'd like to take one of the rafts." Alice turned to face Claire, only to see Chris standing behind Claire. His face was neutral. Claire only nodded. "Wondered how long it would take you to jump ship." Claire stated.

"Just wanna get a head start on things." It flowed like a business conversation. They were professional bordering on cold even. "It's okay, you can go." Chris snapped his head up. During their conversation he had opted to stare at his feet. "Claire, this is stupid and you know it." Both women looked at him. "She can't go alone. It's too dangerous." Claire stared wide eyed at him. Alice felt this was her time to retreat, and make for the raft. "Alice, stay right there." Chris snapped. "You, you can't be serious Chris. Alice is a big girl, and she can take care of herself." Claire was getting angry. Alice could feel that much from her. "She's not going alone Claire. I'm going with her." Chris started to move toward Alice, when Claire grabbed his arm. "She's dangerous. And I for one am not prepared to lose you again." Claire whispered this time. The sound of her voice was desperate. "She's not going alone. I love you Claire, but she's not going alone. I'll be fine, I promise you." Chris put a hand on his little sisters cheek and gave her a bright smile. He turned to Alice. "Let's go. Before she has a chance to come after us." They walked hurriedly to one of the life rafts and climbed down the length of the ship, and settled into the boat. "Are you sure Chris? I- She's right. It's dangerous with me. I'm dangerous." Chris didn't look at her as he loosened the ropes and climbed into the boat himself, starting it. "We're all dangerous in our own ways. It's the caged animal theory. We all get dangerous when we get pushed too far. And there was no way in hell that I would let you go alone. Paris just happens to be the city of love. And I owe you a bigger bed." He seemed to grin at his last statement. Alice snorted and turned to face the harbour they were slowly but surely drawing closer to.

She is dangerous. Being with her is dangerous. Somehow Alice couldn't think of a reason to get him back to Arcadia, she didn't want to. This was stupid, suicidal and dangerous. He knows the risks, and still insisted on coming with her. 'This is going to end badly.' Alice told herself, but for some reason she didn't want to think about that now. He was coming with her. An excited tingle crept over her. 'This could be fun.' Alice seemed to be talking to herself a lot these days. But the nagging in the back of her mind didn't seem to want to go away. Everything she did is dangerous. All of her past actions proved she wasn't afraid of a little danger, but this was worse. She felt it. This was a different shade of dangerous.

TBC…

Whoa, okay, this was uber long. Please review. I wanna know if this is going anywhere! Thanks again for reading :)