Claire awoke with the sun blearing down on her. She
rolled away from the partly opened blinds and ended up
looking right into Wesker's face. He seemed asleep,
but she was never sure of such things. Claire scooted
away but her eyes remained constant on Wesker's
figure. His soft appearing lips were parted ever so
slightly, his normally trim and proper hair disheveled
boyishly. The rise and fall of his chest was evident
from the way he slept on his side. And on his chest,
between two perfect muscles buldging out, a define
skin colored scar lay.
'…The tyrant…it did leave a scar.'
Claire bit her lip, making herself wince, and scooted
closer to him. Her blue orb like eyes never left the
barely noticeable former wound, as if it were a key to
a puzzle. Now that she was so close that she could
feel the heat coming from him. Her heart pounded
inside her, breath hitching from fear of being caught
with her childish curiosity. Carefully she slid her
hand down to Wesker's abdomen, and ran her index
finger over the small scar. It was smoother then the
rest of his body, like baby skin, or brand new flesh
after a wound heals. Claire sucked in a small breath
and pulled away, holding the finger with her other
hand as if his skin had scathed her. A sort of
humanization for Wesker came to her, no longer did she
want him to die. A part of her understood.
Claire sat up and got out of bed, cold sweeping over
her limber figure.
'Stop being ridiculous Claire…he's not human or
anything near it. Wesker is a monster!'
Claire half believed it, and the pro Wesker side was
weighing in.
After using the bathroom, then examining her
'adorable' messy morning hair in which Leon had called
it, she applied deoterant found in the cabinet and
entered the room once again.
Wesker was still playing possum it seemed. Frustrated
and weary, Claire stood over him and shook him awake.
"Hey…hey Wesker. Get up."
Wesker's eyes opened atomatically in full, no moan of
annoyance and half open eyes. It was as if he was
really awake for a while. He politly turned his head
to look at her as he sat up.
"Good morning Dear heart, nice to see you awake so
early."
Claire followed his eyes to the bedside clock. 7:12.
"Damn..I never wake up this early."
Wesker chuckled and got out of bed, completely
ignoring the momentary closeness. Unlike before where
he had kept a close distance, now he was across the
room pulling on his black shirt. He hadn't taken off
his black combat pants, apparently willing to leave
the shirt if someone came in.
'Who would come in? Chris maybe?'
The thought that Chris may be out there searching for
her gave Claire a sort of hope. Though somehow she
knew better, if Wesker wanted to keep hidden, he
could.
When Claire turned around, Wesker was already
strolling towards her. Every muscle in her tensed to
stop her lower limbs from backing away. He stopped two
feet from her and crossed his arms. The sight of a
sleep fussed Wesker before her made Claire tense again
to stop from giggling.
"Well Claire my dear, are you hungry?"
x--X
Leon sat in his apartment, twiddling his thumbs as he
sat on the worn and seam splitting couch. His head was
lowered in a sort of shame, he narrowed his light
green eyes in self disgust.
'I could of saved her…I could have been here too.'
Leon realized he was sitting in the background looking
like a fool. Instead of sleeping in that day Claire
was taken, he could have been at the Redfield house
watching movies and eating poorly tasting popcorn with
Claire like they had a lot. Instead of sitting with
Rebecca and Jill knowing Chris was on a suicide
mission, he could have been upstairs with him taking
Claire to safety while Wesker and Chris duked it out.
Instead of sitting here brooding, he could be out
there finding his closest friend. Claire had become
his best friend, a partner is high crime. In the
months since they reunited, they found the energy to
joke around, watch zombie flicks and comment on how
inaccurate they were. Leon felt as if he had lost a
part of his sane head. Claire seemed to be the only
thing keeping him on track because she had seen what
he'd seen, and kept herself normal. Claire didn't
become bitter like Chris, or angry like Rebecca,
sketchy like Jill. She had only grown tougher, shed
the peppy girl perk and became strong. Now she is
gone.. in the hands of that beast!
The plan to rescue Claire came to an end the night
before. Tommorow..they'd find her whereabouts and
together, get her home. He had a bad feeling…a
premontion about the coming events. Leon Kennedy was
sure he'd be seeing Claire within the next 24hrs but
something, terrible, would go wrong. He sighed and
stood up, at that second, his home phone rang.
x--x
Wesker opened the door to the motel room and tossed
Claire's clothes to her, freshly washed from the
filthy washing machine and dryer down staires. She
grabbed them with good reflex and turned ambrutly back
to the bathroom.
'I have the notion she still doesn't enjoy my company'
He smiled at her defiance and watched her go into the
bathroom. Once the door was shut, he went to gathering
the phone. He dialed quickly and held the phone to his
ear and waited for an answer. A confused male voice
answered the phone.
"Hello Mr. Kennedy, is all well?"
The voice quickly became hostile.
"Wesker! Where the hell-"
"Yes, yes where is Claire. I know. I am calling you
because I assume Chris has a tracking device on his
phone, and I admit I enjoy a long call with him, I
sometimes can't help but tease him."
"Then why call me you-"
"I'm calling you to give your comrades a message.
Claire is safe, and she will be given back to you soon
enough. I just have to…make a few changes to her."
Silence…then a studdering Leon.
"W-What? What are you talking about?"
"You'll learn soon enough. Tell Chris to call off his
search. The one you so carefully plotted the night
before. I know Redfield well, he always is most
predicatble."
"But-"
"Goodbye Mr. Kennedy."
Wesker hung up and grinned. A satisfaction took him
over at once. How easy it was to play with puppets,
especially when it was the Anti Umbrella. Wesker more
so anticipated the plans he had for little Claire
Redfield. He had used so much restraint when she had
explored his scar only a while ago, used all his
strength not to take hold of her…
Wesker had plans…did he ever. Claire, would become his
greatest achievement.
x--x
Claire had exited the bathroom to find Wesker standing
innocently in the center of the floor. But she wasn't
stupid, she had heard his conversation with Leon, and
it had scared the piss out of her.
She had been pressed against the door shivering.
'Change…make a change..what could he mean?'
Now Wesker smiled sweetly to her, putting on his
sunglasses.
"Shall we attend the breakfast dear?"
Claire nodded and together they walked out to the
little pancake house across from the motel.
Claire and Wesker sat across from each other in a
booth. She ate her runny eggs and drank sweetened
coffee, Wesker kept to nothing but his bitter black
coffee. They sat in silence for a moment until Claire
had articulated a good non studdering question.
"What did you mean by changing me when you talked to
Leon?"
Wesker barley registered surprise though she knew he
hadn't thought she overheard him. Wesker sipped his
coffee and set it down, purposely making a clang.
"I told you dear that I have plans. I assume you've
been trying to piece my puzzle together. I'll give you
a vague summary. I have a virus with me in the car,
under my car seat. It is new, I made it myself from
Steve Burnside's blood. I call it the S-Veronica, in tribute
to him." Wesker folded his fingers into each other,
looking serious. Claire could do nothing but press
herself into the booth cushioned back and pray it
would stop her from losing it.
"Now, you and I, we've spent quiet a long time
together, and you might already see I don't find you
as annoying as you once appeared to me. You Claire
Redfield…are very special."
"..What? I don't under-"
"Your blood dear heart, it's very rare."
Claire snorted and shook her head. "It's 0-, that's
quiet common."
"Ah but you see, Umbrella is more advanced then mere
doctors. There are two kinds of 0- . One is called the
0 minus. 0 negitive is plain and universally
donatable. But yours dear, it can bond with any virus
known to us. If an undead bit you, you would of course
become a zombie because the T-virus was a failure. But
perhaps the G-virus, the one I have in my body, were
injected into you, you'd become-"
"Like you…"
Wesker smiled as she finished his sentence, nodding to
her.
"Exactly."
Claire shifted uncomfitably in her place, keeping her
urge to run under her.
"How are you so sure? Maybe…your wrong."
Was Wesker ever wrong? No, it was pretty rare.
"Because Claire, during our drive, after I had knocked
you uncountious, the top of your head under a small
strand of your hair bled. I of course wouldn't think
of letting you just drip all over my car seats. So I
took a cloth from the glove compartment and wiped it
away. Though to my surprise, the color was much darker
of a red then casual blood, so dark it seemed too deep
to call even red but black. I was surprised because I
have only seen the color in one other occurance,
myself. We discovered the blood varies a month after
the Raccoon incident, which explained why William
Birkin mutated and I did not."
Claire listen carefully, knowing finally what Wesker
was planning.
"Your going to infect me aren't you, because you know
I'll turn out like you."
The words were hard and cold toned, Wesker seemed
shocked she was so angered by it, so hurt.
"Don't you see Claire? You can be perfect! Stronger
then any man, able to heal from bullet wounds and
deadly impairments in seconds!"
Claire shook her head, her heart racing. She felt
sick, the perfect blood in her veins turning sick
against her.
"And you?"
"Hmm?"
"Would I be stronger then you?"
Wesker lost his grin, then regained it. "No dear
heart, I'm not that ignorant. I wouldn't let someone
with so much hatred towards me roaming around with
power to end me. You will be only a tinge weaker then
I."
"Why…I don't understand why me? Is Chris like this?"
"I highly doubt it, he is very light blooded, I've
made him shed enough to know."
She couldn't take it anymore, Claire stood up and
walked away from the booth, striding fast. She didn't
hear Wesker behind her, but didn't expect him not to
be. Instead of fleeing, Claire went to the motel room
and locked the door. Sitting on the horribly smoke
tainted bed, Claire let loose tears. There was so much
confusion and she had no other way to vent or place
things.
She could be like Wesker. 'Okay, well I don't want to
be.'
She was taken for Chris's pain, only to have her
capture discover she was far more usful. 'Great,
couldn't I just be a good normal little prisoner?'
Wesker slept beside her last night, boring his blue
eyes into hers and… 'And now that I realize I'm
nothing but a perfect subject, it hurts.
The final piece to Weskers puzzle made her cry harder.
What was happening to her? She didn't like him,
empathized maybe but not liked him one bit….
Claire didn't look up as the door unlocked. 'Of
course…he has a key."
Wesker walked in casually and shut the door behind
him, only then had she realized how dark the room
really was.
He took her side on the bed, and began running his
ungloved fingers through her flowing red hair that
hung over her face. The sobs had become less
detectable, but remained constant.
"You don't want me to do it, do you?" he asked, like a
surprised child, almost in awe she given up the
chance.
"Snake eyes and a bit more power? Wesker, I don't want
to be a freak, like you.."
He chuckled, continuing to fiddle with her hair.
"No selling your soul for comforting cold?" he jested?
Claire raised her head and stared at him, shocked.
"Forgive me dear, but while I noticed you being the
little poet, I couldn't help but read your work. Your
view on me is quiet sorrowful. You make my solitary
living seem so unwanted. I see that I have upset you,
but my proposing is still here."
"Remember Claire when you said it seemed odd that I
was answering to others? Well I left out the key part
that I in fact had been documenting a plan that is
already in action. I'm bringing Umbrella back from the
ashes, and I will lead then the way Spencer couldn't.
So here I am-"
Wesker stood and offered a hand to the sitting Claire,
who only stared at him, speechless.
"Come with me, let me inject the virus into you, and
be at my side. We could rule the world if we wished.
The power we'd share…man as we know it would fall
under only one man and one woman. Claire…"
He tore off his sunglasses but kept the offered hand
in air, staring down at the frightened Redfield with
snake eyes that haunted her dreams. Claire flinched
away and side stepped his standing postion.
"No way! How can you be so…crazy! I hate you!"
Wesker took back his hand and scowled.
"Come with me or die Claire Redfield."
"Fuck you!"
Before Claire saw it coming, Wesker flew at her and
served a hard punch to her temple. She hit the ground,
feeling the power she could have delivered to her in
the worst way. She slit her eyes before the world went
black, seeing Wesker grinning down at her.
x--x
His head hurt, his mind swam with colors.
'Ahhh…my head..'
He open his eyes and looked around the room. It was a
lab.
'Duh, you've been here forever, this shouldn't be a
surprise.'
He stood up and walked around his contamination cell.
It was a small white box of a room with a two way
mirror where scientists and the imfamous
Wesker could peek in. He walked up to the glass,
seeing himself. He smiled and pretended to not realize
it was seeable through the other side, mussing with
his hair and winking at his image.
Somehow he'd found a way to live with the fact he'd be
Umbrella's little pet til he died. It didn't matter if
he looked human, because he wasn't. Sometimes he lost
control and mutated, like the hulk. But he could
become human again just as easy.
'Pssh, hell if I were hulk I'd bust my ass out of
here.'
He looked down then, staring at his bare feet and
frowned. He didn't want to be like this, he didn't
deserve it. He just wanted to go home….
Full or rage, he ran at the glass and punched it with
all his strength. The mirror shattered but the pieces
held in place. All but one that had cut his finger as
it broke and fell.
'No…way'
He smiled and peeked through the broken glass.
'Finally I can see past this hell of a room!'
While looking, he saw a control room, empty, no one
looked in on him thankfully. He peered closer so that
the open room door on the other side of the glass
focused right. He saw nothing but hollow halls. Only
seven scientists and Wesker inhabited this small
abandon Umbrella lab, Ada sometimes but rarely ever.
Something black and red came into view.
'A man…all black…Wesker. '
Then the red focused.
'Carrying a girl…red hair…'
"Oh…oh God no…."
'It can't be…no not her. He didn't take her…Why would
he?'
"Claire…."