Hello dear readers,
I never actually thought that Claire's Chronicle would be so popular within a few days. I'm quite gobsmacked to be honest. So it is for those people I have decided to write another chapter early. I decided to push Claire and Wesker's first meeting up and also decided to have Rodrigo's last appearance in this chapter because I can XD. Steve will make his appearance in the next chapter.
Also sorry about how the last chapter was presented the fanfic edit thingy is kind of being a bit of a bitch. No offence intended Fanfiction, please don't kill me.
So tell me what you think, too long, too short, too much like the games? I'm a big girl, I can handle it.
REVIEW: Your story sucks Shadow.
ME: Why would you hurt me like that? :(
So, I don't own any of the characters or the basic plotline and some of the dialogue of the games used in this fan fiction. Overall, Resident Evil sadly belongs to Capcom.
However, the blending of the two games and this story in general is 100% mine. I wrote it!
Claire's Chronicle
Chapter 1
The snow fell idly to the frostbitten ground, suspended for mere seconds before lazily made its way to the earth. It was very hard to believe that a blizzard had occurred not so long ago, tossing the snow into a wild chaos. An old fashioned brick house had a blissful feel to it, with its red and brown bricks of different shades and patterns. The roof was covered by a large blanket of whiteness and golden light shone out of all its windows. A snow-covered tree with dark green leaves stood beside the house.
A boy and a girl played out the front of the house, taking hands and skipping around. The two appeared to be laughing wildly as they skipped and spun, their scarfs blowing around softly in the wind, seeming to just freeze in space for a moment. It looked so perfect, too perfect to be real. Which in fact was true.
Alfred Ashford shook the snow globe again and closed his eyes at the soft and comforting tune drifted from a music box on his desk. The smile on his face was large and warm, reminding one of a six year old child, along with the glow of the many candles in the room illuminating his youthful face.
"I feel like this year will be special don't you, Alexia?" he asked, his gaze trained softly on the snow slowing down and falling in the snow globe, "But I feel like I'm forgetting something to do."He wiped his brow again and set the snow globe softly on the desk letting out a deep sigh.
A soft and feminine voice soothed him, "My dear Alfred, please be easy on yourself. Lay down your burdens and we can come play a game together."
The childish but heart-warming smile appeared on Alfred's face again as he stood up from his chair, "You're right Alexia. I-I-I've never been this happy since you have come back to be with me. This year will be special."
Suddenly a violent tremor rippled through the room, shaking the furniture. The snow globe shivered as the tremor moved it to the edge of the desk where it began its free-fall to the floor. Alfred's eyes widened and his hand shot out, saving the snow globe from its shattering death.
He got up from his kneeling position and stared at the snow globe. A far-off explosion sounded and the room rumbled again as it was hit by another giant tremor. Alfred's shoulder began to shake with fury and he turned, glaring up at the ceiling as it trembled again.
.ShadowForceSilver.
One crystal blue eye snapped open as the tremors shook the earth again. Claire gasped and started to breathe in and out very quickly as she pushed herself into a half sitting-half lying position. The corner of the cement ceiling shuddered again, dislodging tiny rocks from their resting place and causing them to tumble to the ground with a skittling sound. Slowly, she swallowed her fear and observed her surroundings, turning a full circle. Wall. Wall. Wall. Bars. She was in a prison cell.
How am I going to get out of this one? Claire thought hopelessly as she walked towards the bars. They were cold and grimy as she gripped them with both hands. There wasn't much outside her jail cell, only a simple wooden desk and a simple plastic chair. She let out another sigh and rested her forehead against the bars, grimacing at the watery smell in the dungeon.
So this is where Umbrella sticks their leftovers. Certainly not a five star resort. Another explosion sounded and a tremor rocked the room again. The dingy ceiling lamp that swung on its metal chain flickered out; extinguishing what little light was left in the room. From far-off a drop of water dripped on the cement floor, giving off a drip sound, and then another and another. Claire's eyes slowly opened to darkness and she held her breath as she stepped away from the bars, her eyes jittering around the room like a scared rabbit. This was beginning to look worse and worse.
A creaking of a heavy metal door brought Claire back to attention as she turned curiously towards the noise. A shadow stirred from the doorway, and slowly that shadow came back into focus as a man. He breathed heavily and walked with a limp. Claire could see his hand pressed over a wound in his side, which was oozing blood slowly over his fingers and down his white shirt. He moved slowly and awkwardly, and Claire saw another dark stain on his jean leg. What the heck had happened to this guy?
Claire narrowed her eyes and took a few cautious steps back as the strange man stopped at the door of her cell staring at her in the dark. The two watched each other for a while, Claire glaring defiantly at this man, neither making a move. Claire slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out her brother's silver lighter. She flipped the lid open and a small yellow flame leapt up into existence, dancing and writhing. Claire held the lighter closer to the man in order to see his face, and her eyes widened when she found out who it was.
Claire gasped and took another cautious step back as she identified the stranger; her captor whose name was ... Rodrigo. Rodrigo took another step closer to the door and used a silver key on his key chain to unlock it.
He swung the door open and held it open; gesturing with his head for her to get out the cell like a master would with their dog, "You're free to go."
Claire didn't move one inch, her face plastered with uncertainty and suspicion. Rodrigo let out an annoyed sigh and left the door, limping over to the plastic chair where he sat down. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a white pill container with a green lid. He shook it to see if there were any pills inside, but no clattering sound greeted him.
He sighed and placed the pill container on the desk beside him and muttered, "Perfect."
He turned back to Claire who was still tensed and suspicious in her cell, "Go on. Get out of here. This place is finished."
He turned his head and scoffed as Claire took slow steps out of her cell, still keeping her distance. "Pfft, I don't know who they were. But this prison has been taken over. Most of my side are dead. Damn bastards."
Claire raised her head, "What are you saying?" Rodrigo turned back to her and spoke very slowly, "You are free to leave the complex. But don't get your hopes up. No one is going to get off this island. No chance."
Claire sighed and walked towards the door before she stopped and turned, "What about you?" Rodrigo shrugged and turned away, "Don't worry about me."
.ShadowForceSilver.
Claire pushed against the metal door, straining and groaning as it refused to budge. She clenched her teeth and gave one final shove before the door succumbed and groaned as it slowly dragged itself open. Letting out a sigh and taking a moment to recover, she straightened up and looked around.
She was greeted by a pretty ugly sight. It was a good thing her prison was underground; otherwise she doubted she would have been alive. The concrete yard was littered with various types of rubble such as building bricks, chunks of stone and the occasional human corpse. A car at the end of the yard was in flames, the metal twisted and melted and the glass cracked and shattered.
A large and sturdy brick wall to the left appeared to be the only thing that was still standing. The smell of burnt flesh was strong and Claire covered her nose in disgust. The driver and passengers of that car had obviously met quite a grisly end. Claire walked quickly past the car, wanting to get of this place as soon as possible. Something stopped her though.
It was a moan. A deep and unearthly moan. Claire came to a halt and slowly turned around, already aware of what she was about to see. It shocked her nonetheless. The driver started twisting his neck and turned slowly towards her. Letting out another expressionless moan, it climbed through the window, tumbling to the ground.
The flesh was charred and most of the skin on the face was missing. A huge chunk of flesh had been ripped from the driver's soldier, and another from its leg. Its eyes were milky white, and the teeth were stained yellow. What shocked Claire the most was the fact that the zombie was still functioning even though it was still on fire. It slowly got to its feet and started to slowly stumble towards her, the mouth agape and the tongue rolling out past the teeth.
"No.", Claire whispered in a horrified voice as she started to back away.
She was suddenly reliving Raccoon City again. Burning corpses, expressionless and milky eyes, bloody mouths and flesh covered teeth and the same chilling moans. Claire knew that she would never return a normal life with Umbrella's shadow constantly hanging over the world, but she hadn't wanted to go through this. Not again.
The flaming zombie lunged at Claire, causing her to fall backwards in an attempt to evade it. The zombie had fallen down also; one of its legs had finally given way due to the accident and the fire. The zombie, realising that it wouldn't be able to get up began to crawl towards Claire.
Claire let out another scared whimper as she kicked away one of the hands that were reaching out for her, "Go away!"
She backed further away from the zombie and got to her feet. What she hadn't counted on was the zombie getting a sudden boost of energy as it had caught up to her and seized her left foot. Claire let out a cry and kicked away, screaming at the sight of the dark blood stained mouth trying to bite into her leg. It didn't take her long to realize that shaking it off wouldn't work. Oh my god it's like a leg humping dog! Claire thought hysterically. Claire struggled to bring her seized foot back to the ground to give her balance and then lifted her free foot.
The last thing the zombie registered was the sole of a red-brown leather boot as it stomped on its skull. Claire grimaced as she felt the skull crush under pressure and saw the blood leaking from the nose and mouth. The moaning stopped and the body ceased twitching as its brain was destroyed. Claire let out a slow breath as she kicked the zombie with her foot.
When its demise was confirmed, Claire turned to go when she thought different and prodded with her toe at the zombie's waistline. Feeling metal, she dropped slowly to her knees, screwing up her nose as she did. Claire reached out slowly and quickly pulled her hand back when she found her prize.
It was a Glock 17, a little blood spattered but other than that, perfectly usable. Claire found herself smiling as she checked the ammo, smiling even more when she found that it was pretty full with only one or two bullets gone. Claire stood up, feeling much more confident with the familiar weight of a weapon in her hand.
.ShadowForceSilver.
This new courtyard didn't seem as badly ravaged as the last one. In fact it seemed quite small and bare as it was pretty much a dead end. Claire cautiously stepped out from underneath the stone arch, scanning the area with the Glock.
When she found no movement she lowered her gun and walked confidently through the courtyard. There was an abandoned supply truck on the right, the glass window shattered and half of the supply crates had tumbled out from the back. A crate with a red cross painted on it attracted her attention, and she found herself wandering over to it. The silver crate was on its side, but seemed rather undamaged apart from a few dents. Claire pried open the lid; the lock had been smashed thanks to the accident and peered inside.
There was a lot of broken glass and foul-smelling liquid inside and Claire instinctively recoiled. Her nose was going to get quite a lot of shocks today. Ignoring the torture and flaring her nostrils, Claire once again kneeled by the crate and sorted through the broken supplies. Her hand hid something plastic that gave a rattle, and Claire curiously grabbed it and pulled it out. It was a small white pill bottle with a dark green lid. "Anaesthetic" was written on the label.
Claire pursed her lips as her mind engaged in conflict, that man Rodrigo looked like he needed this medicine. He had caused her capture, but he had let her go hadn't he? "Time to go return the favour." Claire muttered to herself as she got to her feet. As soon as she stood up, the hairs on the back of her neck rose and she got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Someone had been watching her. And someone still was.
"Greetings." A rich voice called out to her, underlined in a charming manner.
Claire stiffened and slowly turned around to face this new potential enemy. He was about six feet high, and every centimetre said that he was a very powerful and extremely confident person. He was dressed from head to toe in black, with black combat boots, pants and a black vest and shirt. He had sleek blond hair that looked like it used a fair bit of hair gel and dark shaded sunglasses which Claire thought was weird considering it was night. He gave her the absolute shivers, and immediately made Claire suspicious.
He started to slowly walk towards her, the corners of his lips etched into a cold smile, "You must be the lovely Claire Redfield."
Claire took an unsure step back; there was no where really for her to run to, this guy was blocking her only escape route. No, she would have to talk and possibly shoot her way out of this one. Why do I always attract the creeps? It seems like they are drawn to me, I need to change my deodorant. Claire thought as she took another step back.
"And you are?" she hissed quietly, her blue eyes flashing. You mess with the bull, you get the horns.
The man chuckled at her aggressive posture, "That has no importance right now. You are the one that I'm concerned about. I never actually thought you would survive this long on the island."
That was what really set Claire on offensive mode; this guy was no friend to her. She pulled the Glock back up, its aim firmly placed on the man's chest, "Back the hell off you creep, or I'll shoot!"
The man paused and then gestured to his chest, "Go ahead." He resumed walking, faster and more menacing. Claire narrowed her eyes; she had given this bastard enough warning. She pulled the trigger.
The thunder shot sounded, there was a flash from the gun and she heard the impact of bullet hitting flesh. God there was even a blood spatter on the concrete pavement. But the man merely paused, registered the fact that he had just been shot and then moved on.
Claire's eyes widened and she let out a gasp of disbelief, "What the hell?" She had shot him in the chest, he should at least slow down if he wasn't on the ground writhing in pain.
The man chuckled, he was only a few metres away from her now, and she would be able to cut around him to get out the courtyard. "You seem surprised."
He chuckled again and Claire lowered the Glock, her eyes still wide and her mouth slightly agape. "It will take more than a mere shot to the chest to stop me my dear. In fact, it would be very wise if y-" Claire took advantage of his distraction and outmanoeuvred him, attempting to run to freedom.
Unfortunately, this guy appeared to be quite fast as well as bullet-proof. In a flash he was in front of her. He smacked the Glock out from her hand, spinning it to the other end of the courtyard. Claire let out a cry and attempted to retreat, but the man's hand grabbed her by the neck, choking her cry and forcing her against the truck.
When Claire tried to shove back against him, he pushed her back again, slamming her head back to the truck. Claire let out another cry and tried to pry the iron grip of her throat, which thankfully wasn't tight enough to choke her, just remind her of what could happen and to probably keep her in check. The man lowered his face so he was at her eye level, and his gaze reminded her of a snake.
The smile was back, like it was just a game to him and his voice had the same richness to it, "Dear heart, I think it would be better for the both of us if you wouldn't struggle."
Claire narrowed her eyes and they flared viciously; some called it the Redfield spirit. "Get lost." She hissed back, only to have that hand tighten.
She let out a strangled cry and shut her eyes. When she opened them again, the man was closer to her face, too close. 'Now now, no need to be unpleasant. I just want to-"
He was interrupted by a beeping at his waist. Frowning he used his free hand to retrieve his phone. He smiled and told his prey as he lifted the phone to his ear and listened, "I always get interrupted when I'm having fun."
He let out a sigh and turned the phone off, "Looks like we will have to cut our little chat short. Try not to get yourself killed dear heart. It would be most inconvenient." Claire saw a red flash behind those sunglasses as he released her and leapt up onto the truck. He disappeared from sight by vaulting over the wall.
Claire took a deep breath and muttered, "Freaking creep."
.ShadowForceSilver.
Rodrigo lifted his head at the sounds of footprints coming down the stairs. He turned the safety off his gun as it was probably more of the invaders to finish him off. He was most surprised when he saw that same girl who had released about half an hour ago.
"What are you going here?" he asked in astonishment.
She pulled a small container from her pocket and tossed it to him, "I'm returning the favour."
Rodrigo looked at the container in his hand, amazed. Medicine to relieve his pain, "Anaesthetic medicine. You are too kind. Thanks."
Claire smiled and came closer with her lighter, setting it on the table for light. "I'll give you a hand."
Rodrigo shook his head, "No, I can look after myself."
Claire paused and pushed the lighter further to Rodrigo, "Here, take this. It was a gift from my brother, but I think you will need it more than me."
Rodrigo looked up at her, and Claire saw something in his eyes. Regret she thought. He fished something out of his pocket and handed it to her. It was a small silver key or something. Claire curiously turned it over in her hands and glanced back at him.
Rodrigo gestured to the mysterious object and told her, "I'll give this to you in return. You'll need it to get out of here. Now hurry."
Rodrigo lowered his head again, and Claire nodded, "Thank you." She turned to leave, and didn't see the faint smile on Rodrigo's lips as he watched her leave. He would die knowing that he did one last act of kindness.