One chapter left after this, I'm not sure thought when I'll put the sequel up since I'm going on holidays in March for six months so I just want to finish up all these stories so I don't leave you guys hanging.

…by bringing myself over the edge and back,
I discovered a passion to live my days fully,
A conviction that will sustain me like sweet water,
On the periodically barren plain,
Of our short lives
Jonathan Waterman

XXX

Alice glanced back over her shoulder to the blonde teenager and the redhead who were standing side by side one wearing a smile, the other an exasperated look. They had tracked the Umbrella helicopter to small shack just outside of Las Vegas but still a fair distance to walk. Alice sighed, unbelievably she had missed the young blond haired man who had been a source of not only amusement but company when Claire and Kmart where in conversation, which seemed to be all the time since the conversation better yet disagreement, or was it an argument? She couldn't tell and really she didn't want to know the real definition. All she did know is ever since then Claire had been ignoring her and it set Alice on edge, she didn't like having the redhead pissed at her but it was for the best.

Claire gave a small smile towards the blonde teenager letting her know that she was still listening – albeit barely – but still listening. Her mind was stuck half way between listening to Kmart and off with thoughts about what would happen when they finally found the Umbrella helicopter. Her convoy was gone, Carter had taken off and Alice was going to leave, in the end it'd just be her and Kmart and perhaps Alaska. She had been thinking about it ever since she had arrived in the underground Umbrella facility, perhaps her convoy had packed up and still continued on route to Alaska but even if they did they'd have to stop in a major city for supplies and Claire wasn't so sure that was a good idea, all she could do was pray that her convoy – or was it Carlos's now – was alright.

Alice entered Vegas at the opposite end the group had the first time they had arrived with the convoy. The moment she entered she took in the miniaturized version of the Sphinx that stood tall and proud, she had to admit she was amazed by the detail that was put into such a building. She could see the tip of the miniaturized Eiffel tower in the distance that they had stumbled upon when they entered Vegas the first time. Alice had planned on finding the vehicles from before after all a military transport truck held a lot more gas than a normal vehicle held but the possibilities of finding the vehicle and not running into any undead along the way were thin very thin, so she'd settle for any capable vehicle she could find.

Claire followed along behind Alice not to close but definitely not too far away so she'd start losing ground with the blonde, she wanted to apologize but every time she went to open her mouth the guilt disappeared and the anger for what Alice was actually doing seeped back inside her mind. She shook her head shaking the thoughts of everything that had happened over the past few days out of her mind, it was pointless fretting over such things when there were bigger things to worry about like how the hell they were going to reach the area that the helicopter had landed in with no vehicle to drive.

Claire sighed inwardly as Kmart went about kicking any stone or rock she could find in the thick packed in sand that covered the streets. She was tired, tired of it all; the running, the hiding, the surviving, why bother when in the end Umbrella comes out on top.

Alice fell back beside Claire, Kmart catching the hint as she walked a few steps in front of the two women, "You okay?" Alice asked barely above a whisper.

Claire jumped slightly startled at the fact she had been too far gone to notice Alice beside her and Kmart ahead, "I'm fine." She answered deciding against snapping at the older woman; after all it wouldn't solve anything.

"No you're not Claire," Alice commented resisting the urge to put her hand on the redhead's shoulder.

"Why don't you go back to thinking about plotting revenge on Umbrella!" Claire snapped earning herself Kmart's attention. Well so much for not snapping.

"Claire, just because you think I don't care…"

Claire held up her hand silencing the older woman, "Alice save it." She shook her head feeling the onset of a headache starting to make its self noticed, she gave one more look at Alice before walking away. Was she being too harsh?

Alice sighed inwardly, why couldn't Claire just understand where she was coming from? With another sigh she followed after Claire who had already caught up with Kmart. "The Jeep over there should be adequate enough," Alice pointed to a silver Jeep a fair distance in front of them that was slowly being buried by the sand. It looked recent, probably was too, she just hoped the survivors managed to make it out before they were infected…better yet eaten.

Claire followed after Kmart in a small jog towards the truck, hearing Alice's footsteps closely behind her. Claire yanked open the Jeep passenger door once she reached it, the dank smell of decay hitting her immediately. She waved her hand in front of her face trying her best to waft the smell away. "I don't want to know what died." Claire commented earning a more than enthusiastic nod from the teenager.

"It's clean there's no blood," Alice stated as she jumped into the driver's side. "Fuels good too."

"Let's start her up see if she's still good," Claire took a step back from the passenger side previous disagreement with Alice put aside.

Alice followed the order with ease by yanking the multi colored wires out from under the steering wheel dash board, in a matter of seconds she had two of the multi color wires connected. Alice groaned when she heard the vehicle pushing itself to kick over but no success ever came.

"Well let's take a look," Claire pushed open the hood of the Jeep before lodging it underneath its stand. "Well I got good news and I got bad news," Claire turned to face Kmart and Alice as she leant against the front of the vehicle arms crossed.

"Good news first?" Kmart asked.

"Well good news is I was studying to be a mechanic before the world went to hell in a hand basket." Claire thumbed over to the underside of the hood, "Bad news is determining what the hell the problem is with the Jeep could take a while."

"How longs a 'while'?" Kmart asked using finger quotations.

"Minutes, hours, hell it could even end up days but I don't think it'll take that long," Claire shook her head.

"We should just find another vehicle," Alice pointed out.

"Uh yeah good thinking, we'll just walk down the street and end up in a vehicle parade with thousands of vehicles to choose from," Claire sarcastically commented, "Seriously Alice do you see any vehicle that isn't buried underneath two tons of sand."

Alice had to agree with Claire there, there was a very rare chance they'd find another vehicle in such a good condition – well at least one that didn't lead them to where the infected were. Alice finally nodded to Claire, watching as the redhead gave a sharp nod back before turning and getting to work on the Jeep.

"Okay try now!" Claire called out to Alice who was sitting in the driver's side with the door open and a bored looking Kmart in the back. She had been looking at the vehicle for the past two hours and had yet to root out the problem.

Alice touched the multi color wires together for the fifth time in two hours but unlike the last times, instead of hearing dead ringing metal the sound of an engine roaring to life brought a relief to her.

Claire clapped her hands together, pulling down the stand and shutting the hood before jumping in the passenger seat. "Well let's get out of here."

Alice nodded pulling the Jeep away from the buried building before making her way out of the city in the direction they had come from hours ago. "What was the problem?" Alice asked after a few moments of silence.

"The engine was just dislodged slightly but with some fiddling I managed to put it back." Claire answered looking up into the rear view mirror to see Kmart staring out of the backseat window at the passing scenery well somewhat scenery. Claire leant back further in the seat before speaking up to Alice but keeping her focus straight ahead, "What do you think Isaacs meant by the truth?"

Alice thought about it for a second before glancing back and forth between the redhead and the slowly gravelling road ahead. "Honestly…" Alice shrugged, "I don't know. Only one who does is Carter and Isaacs."

"Do you think he ditched us to save himself?" Claire questioned the older woman in the driver seat.

"Truthfully…" Alice shook her head, "Carter doesn't strike me as someone who'd ditch people, there's got to be a reason he did."

"I..I'd just like to know how Isaacs knows me," Claire said turning face the still glancing Alice, "And what he meant by time to come home."

"Try not to think about it too much, Isaacs just likes manipulating people."

"I spose' but still there's just one thing that's got me really bugged," Claire turned in her seat so she was facing Alice somewhat.

Alice for one was just glad that Claire was talking to her and not just yelling at her, "What's that?" Alice took a long glance at Claire once she reached the graveled stretch of interstate.

"Before Carter took off he said he couldn't do it again. What do you think he meant?" Claire asked curiously. It had been eating her inside, if she were to admit the truth to herself; she just couldn't figure it out.

"I don't know but I have a feeling that we may find out in the distant future." Alice stated, she was almost positive since everything nowadays came back to bite you in the ass. She was sure she hadn't seen the end of Carter, oh but when she saw him again she was going to choke the bastard to death.

"You'll find out," Claire stated as she shifted back into the seat properly before leaning against the passenger window. Head caught somewhere between seat belt and door frame. "Wake me when we arrive."

Alice gave a small regretful nod in Claire's direction; she hated the younger woman being mad especially with her, it just didn't seem Claire like to her. Alice turned away from Claire's slowly breathing form, they were a few hours away from their destination but still it didn't stop a tiny chill running up Alice's spine. She knew Isaacs was devious and cunning, he had to know they'd be chasing him down like lightning after he escaped so she was sure he had a plan set up.

Alice took another glance at the redhead beside her; Claire had made a point when she had repeated what Carter had said back in the Las Vegas Facility, it had been replaying on her mind on occasion. She remembered he had said it on two occasions and each time he said it a little spark of guilt lit up inside of her. Why? She didn't know but that didn't dispute the fact it was there. She shook her head rather frantically trying to force the thoughts out of her head; she needed to remain focused if she was going to be able to take out the Umbrella facility but knowing the fact that she would no longer have friends to return to and that she'd just have to go back to being a loner…distraction came to easy.

Claire groaned in protest and batted away the hand that was shaking her shoulder gently in an attempt to wake her up, "Too early." Claire mumbled.

Kmart chuckled at Claire's incessant mumble, noticing that blonde woman in the driver seat wore a rather noticeable smile and was chuckling herself.

"Claire were here-" Alice bit her lip after accidentally nearly slipping out the word 'honey', what was wrong with her? "-Claire?" she gave the younger woman yet another gentle shake of the shoulder, this time causing the redhead to stir awake.

Claire sat up straight once she realized were she was, she gave the blonde teenager in the back a small glare through the rear view mirror when the teen refused to stop chuckling instead the chuckles turning into laughter. Claire diverted her line of sight from the rear view mirror to the fenced in shack a fair distance in front of them, "You sure where here." She stared idly at the shed for a few moments before speaking once again. "I thought Umbrella was all fancy and stuff."

"Best cover for an underground facility." Alice nodded in the direction of the large flying machine, "There's the helicopter but my question what happened to the infected?" Alice asked rhetorically as she glanced around at all the dead infected bodies layering the sandy desert.

"That was my next question," Claire nodded just as bemused and curious as Alice was.

"Maybe it was the birds," Kmart spoke up leaning in between the two front seats. It was easy for everything to be blamed on the crows even though possibilities like that were rather low.

"That's one thought," Claire continued watching the infected bodies go past as they drove over more making their way towards the fenced in shack, "My guess…" Claire paused as the bumps got bigger, "Umbrella didn't like their doorbell."

Alice listened to the conversation as she drove the silver Jeep through the destroyed section of fence. She was dreading this moment, the moment were Claire takes off angry at her, Alice with no chance of seeing the younger woman again. "It would have been smarter to keep them alive…" Alice felt the two sets of eyes on her, so she finished, "…Good security."

"Speaking of security," Kmart spoke up, her curiosity getting the better of her, "Shouldn't this place be like…" Kmart shrugged, "I dunno, well guarded."

"Keep your eyes peeled," Alice nodded. The teen had a point, it was lacking any security. Alice stopped the Jeep a few meters inside the fence line before getting out, the other two occupants following her movements. She had been expecting loads of alive undead, tight security and a clean and neat looking Dr. Isaacs with a smirk on his face when they arrived not – empty nothingness –.

Claire brushed a hand through her hair before making her way over towards the helicopter, jumping inside the moment she reached it. "Well it's still operational." Claire called out to an approaching Kmart and Alice.

Alice nodded with a weak smile as Claire jumped out of the helicopter and made her way over towards herself and Kmart.

"Well goodbye Alice," Claire nodded in the older woman's direction.

Alice swallowed trying her best to get rid of the lump in her throat. She nodded a few times in response before pulling out the little red journal that had given her the Alaska details. She handed the journal over to Kmart who managed to get the hint and made her way over towards the helicopter. "Clair-"

"Just promise me Alice," Claire glanced down at her shoes, "Promise me you won't get yourself killed."

Alice nodded, "I promise Claire."

Claire looked up from her shoes before pulling the blonde towards her in a hug. Claire rubbed the older woman's back before pulling away but not before giving a small peck on Alice's right cheek, "Bye Alice."

Alice felt the younger woman pull away before making her way over towards the helicopter, the kiss on the cheek the last reminder she would probably ever have of the woman. "Claire please," she pleaded this time not caring how weak it sounded.

Claire shook her head, "it's easy Alice…" she continued her path towards the helicopter, "All you have to do is let go."

Alice stood rooted to the spot as she watched Claire clamber into the helicopter. If she refused to bring down Umbrella now, it would be a betrayal to every life lost, every life to be lost in the future at the hands of Umbrella.

Alice heard the helicopter start up as sand kicked up all around her, propeller blades slicing through air, a quick glance at the redheaded pilot and she was near telling the woman too lower the helicopter so she could jump in herself. But she remained rooted to the spot her body refusing to budge an inch until the chopper slowly started fading from her T-Virus enhanced view. It was harder than it looked to let go physically of the one person she had truly started caring for, so she knew she was in for a war with her own emotions.

Alice put that aside for now, burying it in a little internal pocket that she had designated 'The Claire pocket', were all her thoughts, feelings, emotion and memories about Claire were stored. Right now her focus had to be completely on killing Isaacs. She pivoted on her heel making her way towards the rundown shack before she could make it a small glimpse of red in the corner of her eye drew her attention to a small trench that had obviously not been there when the shack was built.

Alice stepped up next to the trench, she had been angry before but now – now she was pissed – mortified was another word she would use to explain her current feelings. She stared at the group of bodies that replicated herself, they had been thrown carelessly into the trench as was noticeable by their positions.

Alice pivoted making her way over to the run down shack, kicking in the door and making her way inside slowly. She'd kill Isaacs but first she'd make him suffer.

Alice took in her surrounding of the shack; it looked as if it had been a home at one point. From where she was standing in the front doorway she could see a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom and a makeshift lounge room. Another step inside and a creaking hydraulic sound filtered throughout the small shack, bouncing its noise off of the walls. She took a step back as the floor in front of her opened up leaving her with a long dark tunnel drop. Alice leant in to take in the dark tunnel drop that had to drop thousands of feet below the surface. This was it; she was going to make sure she took care of Umbrella once and for all.

Anyway one more chapter than I can focus all my attention on finishing 'If Life Were Like This' and hopefully I will finish my new story before I leave so I can post.