Chris opened his eyes and looked around. It was still dark out, and everyone was asleep. He felt a movement on his shoulder and looked down, smiling to Claire. His smile faded when he saw her looking right at him, her eyes completely white and her face a slight tone of grey. "What's wrong?" he asked. She sat up straight, looked at him, and jumped forward. Chris yelled as she towered over him, biting into his shoulder. He tried pushing her off but she was somehow stronger, and ripped out chunks of his skin. He could feel the blood pouring down his chest. He called out to Jill, but she was sound asleep.
Claire pulled away and looked at him, blood dripping from her mouth. "Chris," she said.
Chris could barely focus on her face. She leaned forward, and Chris shut his eyes knowing he was a definite goner.
"Chris!" she said again, and he opened his eyes, yelling and pushing her away. She fell back on the couch, glaring. "What the hell!" she said.
Chris blinked and looked aside. Claire was alive, alert, and looked slightly annoyed. Her eyes were back to their normal bright blue, and she wasn't covered in blood. He realized it was only a dream, and sighed. He looked up and saw Jill watching him with concern. He smiled and looked back to Claire. "Sorry," he said. Claire sank into the sofa, lost in the big red coat. She still looked pale, but he could tell she was getting better. "How're you feeling?" he asked.
Claire smiled, which Chris was glad to see. "Tired, weak, hungry..." she said. The hungry part made Chris nervous.
"What about you?" Jill asked Chris.
He looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?" he asked.
Jill grinned. "Both of you slept through the day. We tried waking you but it was impossible, so we figured we'd let you sleep," she said.
"But it's still bright out," Chris said, looking outside.
"You slept all day, and all night. Now, it's morning again and surprisingly Claire's the one who woke me up," she said.
Claire smiled again. "You were mumbling and making weird noises, it was kind of creepy," she said.
"What kind of noises?" Chris asked.
"Like you were in pain," Jill said. "Seriously, if I'd been in another room I would've sworn a zombie was eating you."
Chris grinned, glancing at Claire. "I was," he said. Claire shot him a look of confusion, which made him laugh. "It was the worst nightmare I'd ever had," he said.
Barry joined them with a grin, as always. "Well good morning, sunshine!" he said.
"Morning Barry," Chris said, "what's the plan today?"
Barry sat on one of the chairs, and shrugged. "Have a coffee, talk a little, go out for a walk maybe?" he said.
Chris couldn't help but smile. "Still making jokes I see. Where are the others?" he asked.
"They're in the back making a few sandwiches to take with us," he said. He grinned and glanced at Jill.
"Shut up, Barry," Jill warned, but smiled nonetheless.
Claire turned and let herself fall so the back of her head was resting on Chris' lap. She looked up at him and grinned before he could protest. He rolled his eyes and looked at Jill. "So, do we know how we're getting out of the city?" he asked.
Jill nodded. "We're staying in one big group and following Main Street until we reach the borders. We can either find a decent car, or walk with the chance that we'll find places to camp out during the night," she said. She looked at Barry, and he nodded. "Then, hoping the infection is only in New York, we find out what started this and stop it for good," she added.
Chris sighed. "No doubt Umbrella's behind it," she said.
Claire frowned. "Which means we'll be fighting giant monsters, right?" she asked.
Leon and Rebecca came out into the lobby, each carrying a small cooler-bag. "We're set," Rebecca said. She set her bag on the counter and looked around. "What did we miss?" she asked.
Barry got up and walked to the counter where the guns were, while Leon took his seat and looked at Claire. "Feeling better?" he asked.
"Much," said Claire, smiling. Leon smiled back, but shifted uncomfortably in his seat when Chris glared at him.
Jill shook her head and looked up to Rebecca. "You didn't miss much," she said, "when are we heading out?"
"As soon as we have everything ready," Rebecca said. "We have enough sandwiches to last us two days, but I still suggest finding somewhere to stay the night."
Jill nodded and looked over to Barry. "How are we on ammo?" she asked.
"We'll be fine for awhile, as long as we don't go out into the open and shoot every zombie we see. And if there's a crowd of them, well, we're screwed," he said.
"That's so reassuring," said Chris. He looked over to Jill. "Let's get everything ready to go," he said. Jill nodded and walked over to the counter where the guns were dispersed.
Chris got up and followed her, along with Barry. They checked the guns one by one to make sure they were all fully loaded, and started packing the extra shells and rounds into a small duffle bag Barry had found in the back.
Rebecca sat on the table by the couch and looked at Claire. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
Claire sighed. "I'll be fine, trust me," she said.
"Just make sure to have a bottle of water with you at all times, so you don't dehydrate. I'll have the antibiotics on me, so let me know the second you feel dizzy or nauseated," said Rebecca.
"I'll keep an eye on her," Leon said, smiling to Claire. She smiled back, and slipped the coat off, tossing it to him.
"I don't need a babysitter," she said with a grin.
Rebecca laughed and stood, slipping the bottle of antibiotics into the pouch she had at her hip. "Maybe not, but take it easy anyways," she said. She turned back to the others, smiling. "Are we ready?" she asked.
Chris was holding a shotgun, smiling. "Yep!" he said.
Jill stood next to him, holding the ammo back and rolling her eyes. Barry was at the door, looking out with his magnum. "Seems clear," he said. "I'm surprised none of them tried to get in! I mean, we were here for two days!" he said.
"They're stupid," Chris said, "they probably walked by and didn't even notice us."
"Or maybe they're evolving really fast and are planning something," Jill said, grinning.
Chris shook his head. "I highly doubt that, I mean they've always been slow and wouldn't even know we were there if we were calling out to them, and I just realized you were joking..." he trailed off, smiling.
Jill smiled as well, and looked to Leon and Claire. "We have enough guns for everyone, but are you guys okay with just a handgun?" she asked. They both nodded, and she took in a deep breath before turning back to Chris. "Alright, I think we're ready!" she said.
Claire stood up and walked over to the others, along with Leon and Rebecca. They each took a handgun and a couple of boxes with extra ammo, and stood ready at the door. Barry looked around, and once he was certain that everyone was ready, he unlocked the door and pushed it open.
They walked for over an hour before Barry finally decided it was time for a break. They stopped at an intersection, next to a street-car that was completely wrecked, as though it had exploded days ago. Claire and Leon sat on a curb, sharing a bottle of water, while Chris talked about their escape plan with the others.
Leon put the cap back over the bottle and tossed it to Claire's foot. "Still feeling okay?" he asked.
"As fine as I was five minutes ago," she said.
"Sorry, I was just really worried yesterday," he said. "I mean, in Raccoon you were always the toughest one, not even letting a huge cut on your leg slow you down...so it was really scary to see you sick like that," he said.
Claire laughed. "I don't think I was tough in Raccoon," she said, "maybe I was just really good at hiding the fear."
"Fear is good; it shows you're human," Leon said, smiling.
"That sounds like something Oprah would say," Claire said.
Leon grinned and gently kicked her foot with his. "If she ever does, you'll know where she got it from," he said. He blinked, feeling a slight rumble from the ground beneath him, but as soon as it started, it stopped again. He sighed. "Speaking of fear...I think I'll be paranoid for the rest of my life now," he said.
Claire blinked. "You felt it too?" she asked, standing.
"Well, yeah but I don't think it was anything to worry about," Leon said as he also stood.
Rebecca walked over to them, smiling. "Are you guys ready to go? Barry and Chris are worried we might attract attention if we stay here too long, and Jill says we should do what the guys tell us or they might start crying," she said, grinning.
"We're ready, I guess," Leon said, glancing over to Claire. She still looked worried, so he looked back to Rebecca. "Listen, we both just felt the ground...shake, or something," he said.
"Shake? What do you mean by shake?" Rebecca asked.
"Well, kind of like what ice does when you walk on it and it starts to crack," he said, looking at Claire again. She nodded in agreement. Rebecca looked down, slightly worried.
"Hey, you guys ready to go?" Chris yelled out, sounding impatient.
"We might miss the bus if we don't hurry!" Jill yelled, grinning. Barry laughed too, picking up his gun and holstering it.
Rebecca turned to face them. "Leon and Claire said they felt the ground shake over here," she said.
"What?" he asked, the short distance between them making it hard to hear properly.
Rebecca looked at the ground again, noticing a small fissure. She followed it where it connected with several others, then glanced up at the destroyed street-car. Leon followed her gaze and blinked. "What is it?" he asked.
She nodded to the street-car. "I think the explosion might've damaged the pavement, which doesn't look very solid. How old would you say this road is?" she asked.
Claire almost laughed. "This is New York...it's all pretty freaking old," she said.
"That's what I'm worried about," Rebecca said.
"What's going on over there? Come on!" Jill said.
"I think the road's breaking up!" Rebecca yelled out. "We'll have to be careful not to trip or..." She yelled as the ground beneath her completely cracked and she fell through, as though she were falling through broken ice that topped a lake or river. Leon and Claire fell through as well, along with the street-car and everything that had been on the street in their small area.
Chris, Jill, and Barry ran to the edge of the hole that took the place where everything else had been. They looked down, each searching through the darkness within the hole. Jill looked at Chris, who was shaking and almost in tears. She looked back down. "Subway tracks," she suggested.
"Those go pretty far down," Barry said.
"Hello? Guys, come on answer me!" Chris yelled into the hole.
Barry pulled out a flashlight and pointed it into the hole, searching around. "I can't see anything through the dust!" he said.
Chris took the flashlight from him and leaned down. "HELLO? Claire, Leon, Rebecca! Hey, answer me!" he yelled.
Jill took in a deep, nervous breath. She made sure to stay close to Chris, knowing that any second he'd probably jump into the hole to go after them, especially since Claire was down there. "We have to find a subway entrance that hasn't been blocked off," she said.
"Or rope," Barry said, standing.
Chris kept yelling into the hole, ignoring the other two. His thoughts raced as different scenarios formed in his mind, and he hated every one of them.