Disclaimer: Resident Evil is rightfully owned by Capcom.

Chapter 8 – Touch

The motorcycle came to a smooth stop as Jake slowed down and rested a foot on the sidewalk for support. He felt Sherry's arms loosened around his waist as she leaned forward and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"What's the matter?"

He glanced behind him at her and motioned with his head ahead of them. She looked forward and saw why he stopped. Mountains of snow piled up on the road making it impossible for them to continue on by their bike. However that's the least of their worries right now. She squinted and she could just make out several figures ahead moving around in groups. They looked like they're searching for something.

"Looks like the welcoming committee is here," he muttered. Shutting off the engine, he kicked off the bike stand to leave it in a standing position. Sherry got off swiftly followed by the mercenary. "We won't be getting any further with the motorcycle. We're going to have to find another way to get to the rendezvous point."

She nodded in agreement. She looked around their surroundings. They were now further away from the town square in centre Edonia and heading towards the south. The old and abandoned buildings are still present but becoming more scarce at this part of the town. The road ahead is cracked, dirty and filled with potholes. Streetlamps are broken and the only thing that seemed to be working is only one or two. Biting her lip, she thought of their next plan of action.

Jake nudged her at the side. "Think fast because they're coming."

She strained to see and found out the figures are getting closer towards them. Upon closer inspection she could see the mutated limbs and multiple pairs of eyes. The Javos are back. They have to move fast. Glancing around the derelict buildings she spotted a huge abandoned warehouse just a couple of feet from them.

"Over there. We might need to hide for a while. Just at least until they pass us by."

Jogging swiftly but quietly she moved towards the rusty metal gate of the building. The mercenary was closely at her heels. The door closed with a loud clang as Jake forgot to hold on to the door handle to keep it from slamming close by the wind. Sherry turned towards him with a glare.

"For crying out loud, Jake! Couldn't you have closed the door even more loudly? I think those Javos must have heard that from the other side of town," she hissed at him.

He threw a hand up. "Calm the hell down, will ya? It's just a door. With everything broken around here, I'm pretty sure every door and window is slamming around this hell hole."

She shook her head exasperated. Motioning for him to follow her she moved around the halls as carefully as she could. You just never know what to expect. Passing some rooms which are empty much to her relief, she came across an empty storage room with a window at the far end of the wall. She peered outside but couldn't see much due to a blizzard which caused a flurry of snow flying everywhere.

"Good thing we're inside. We wouldn't want to be outside in that kind of weather."

The mercenary stood next to her as he examined the weather outside. "Winter's been crazy over here. We've never had snowstorms as bad as this year's. Too bad it doesn't seem to slow down those bastards."

Sighing she walked over to the other side of the wall and sat down the cold floor. Wrapping her arms around herself, she tried to keep warm. Being inside does not do anything much for the cold.

With his arm resting by the frame of the window, Jake continued to study the surroundings outside. He could still make out a couple of Javos walking around the snowstorm. Apparently the cold does seem little to affect them at all. Maybe the C-virus makes them more resistant to colder temperatures? Removing his arm from the window frame he stepped back not wanting to attract any attention from them. He turned around and saw his partner against the wall shivering a little. Walking towards her he slowly sat down next to her against the wall. Taking something out of his back pants pocket, he handed it to her.

"Here." he nudged it towards her.

She looked at firstly at him then at a small square object on his hand. She frowned in confusion. "What's that?"

"A heat pack. You looked like you could use it."

She slowly took it from him. "Thank you. Won't you need it?"

"Not as much as you do."

She gave him a little smile of gratitude as she put the heat pack on the inside pocket of her coat. The heat made her feel a little better. Wrapping her arms around her legs she tried as much as she could to conserve some heat.

Glancing at the man beside her, she noted that he doesn't seem to be cold at all. He was leaning back against the wall, arms resting on his knees. His head was leaned back and he was staring at something at a distance. It looked like he's trying to recall a distant memory. Angling her face away from his direction, she secretly studied her partner at the corner of her eye. He wore a neutral expression on his face instead of the usual smirk or scowl he usually wears. His eyes he usually wears with a hardened gaze seemed softer in the dim light of the room. For a moment she nearly forgot that he is a mercenary, trained and ready to kill mercilessly. His sudden act of kindness saving her from the BOW and giving her his heat pack surprised her seeing a different side of him from his usual wise ass attitude and brash demeanour. She saw the human side of him instead of the soldier.

Her eyes travelled down to rest on a gash above his collar bone. The blood had dried up but the wound is still fresh. She couldn't explain her next action and why she did it. Removing her thick leather gloves she reached forward and gingerly touched the skin around the wound examining it.

He jumped slightly at the sudden touch he felt. He looked at her in surprise as she gently touched his skin. Her fingers felt cool against his warm skin.

"Where did you get this?" she asked softly. Concern etched her voice that matched the expression on her face.

He shrugged. "I honestly don't remember. Probably when I was fighting the big guy."

She leaned in closer. As she did that, he caught her scent as he breathed in. It was sweet and feminine just like her. He looked away slightly agitated. He felt more annoyed at himself for noticing. He's a mercenary, he's here to do his job and earn some money. He didn't expect her to give him help nor did he expect her to be kind and caring towards him. But she is. She rubbed the green ointment made of crushed herbs into his wound and placed a bandage over it. She looked up to see him watching her and she gave him a smile. He gave her a small smile and quickly looked away. He wasn't used to being taken care of. Nobody's ever healed him. For as long as he remembered he had to grow up fast and learn to watch over himself. He only ever did things for his own goals. So when she healed him, her touch felt foreign but not entirely unpleasant. He didn't fail to notice that as she touched him, he felt a warm feeling in his chest that travelled all the way down to his gut. He groaned to himself. He tried to reason in his mind that he is probably experiencing a phase of temporary insanity after going through so much war and battle. Also the fact that he hasn't been laid in months contributed to his reaction to her physical touch and the sudden mental images of himself and his blonde partner in the dimly lit room. Ones that involved a lot less fucking clothes.

He cleared his throat as he sat up straighter. "So, uhh…how did you became an agent?" he asked. He realized he doesn't know much about his partner at all.

Now it's Sherry's turn to stare straight ahead. "I've always worked for the US government straight after university. I wasn't doing anything big, mainly just sitting at a desk and doing paperwork. I did my written and physical examinations, completed my field training and finally managed to become a field agent. It took many years and a lot of hard work but I made it. My first assignment is you, actually. My job is to keep you safe and get you out of this country alive."

He gave a half smile. "So much for your first assignment. I mean, having to fight off Javos and gigantic BOWS. Pretty big job don't you think?"

"Yes, it wasn't easy at all. To be honest with you I've seen zombies before. They're not as bad and intelligent as the Javos we've seen today though. However I've had my brush against the horrors of the G-virus in Racoon City fifteen years ago."

He looked at her in surprise. "You were in Racoon City?"

She nodded slowly. "That's right. I was one of the few survivors. It happened a long time ago but I can still remember it vividly. I was only a child back then. The outbreak was terrible and so many people died. Luckily I survived it. However I got some help. Two people helped me out, Leon and Claire. Claire is Chris's sister, he is the BSAA captain we've met earlier. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for those two."

He listened intently as she spoke. "Wow, I never would have thought you'd be one of the survivors. I heard all about the outbreak over there. That city has been wiped out due to it."

"Now it's getting worse. More and more outbreaks are occurring around the world. The infected seem to be having a deeper level of intelligence compared from the zombies back then. If we don't stop it, if we don't find a cure – "her voice trailed off. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She looked at her partner next to her. "That's why we need you, Jake. You can stop all this."

He remained silent and stared straight ahead. His expression unreadable. He turned his head slightly as she touched his arm lightly.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you. The world needs you!"

In turn he gave her a scrutinizing scoff. "No, no, not me. Just my blood. Well the world can have it. As long as someone ponies up the dough."

She released his arm as she sat back against the wall. She couldn't believe it. After all they had seen and witnessed, all the chaos and war that's happening around them all he could still think about is money? She felt frustration rise up within her. How can she knock some sense into him? Just as she was beginning to see a different side of him, he reverts back to his usual self. She turned her body slightly away from him.

Sensing her hostility towards him he couldn`t help but give her a scrutinizing look. "Don`t be so hasty to judge. For all I know you probably live in a nice big house with your big fancy four wheel drive in the garage. Well it`s a different story for me alright? I live in a cramped apartment the size of a shoebox. My mother has to work double, sometimes triple shifts at the diner to make ends meet. I know what I have to do to support her. So forgive me if I sound a little too self-centered."

Sherry raised her eyebrows in surprise. She didn`t read this information from his file. She had read his bio data and a little bit about his background but she realized she hasn`t got the clue about his personal life at all. All they had been doing is either running away from monsters or bickering with each other. She`s beginning to realize that there`s more to the man than the tough talking, rough walking and hardened persona he usually depicts.

"Is that why you became a mercenary?"

He stared straight ahead as he spoke. "Yeah. You gotta do what you have to survive, right? Things aren`t exactly looking up in our situation. Jobs are scarce and money is a bitch to get. This –"he waved a hand over him. "is for myself and my mother. That`s all there is to it."

Sherry looked at him a familiar feeling washing over her. He is just someone looking after the only family he has. She could identify with that. She was an orphan at a young age. Both of her parents died when she was barely in her teens. She can still remember her parents. They were busy most of the time and had no time left to spend with her. But she knew they both loved her very much. That was proof enough when her mother went to great lengths to provide information to Claire about the vaccine needed to save her when she got infected with the G-virus. Leon told her when they escaped Raccoon City that her mother had always loved her until the end. At that time she was so young, she couldn't understand everything. Now as an adult she finally understood that her mother regretted not spending enough time with her and would do things differently if she was to be given a second chance. Hearing Jake talk about looking after his own mother made her understand him in some level.

"I suppose you're right. Family's important after all. I do agree that you deserve some pay off if you are to give your blood for treatment. I just hope it won't fall in the wrong hands and make things a lot worse. I'm worried you might change your mind if another party offers you a higher deal or something," she replied looking at him for an answer. She at least hoped he had enough sense not to do that.

"As long as you give me the amount I want, everything will be fine."

Satisfied with his answer for now, she sat back against the wall. Silence fell among them each lost in their own thoughts. Glancing back at her partner, his wound reminded her of his actions previously while they fought the BOW. "You know that stunt you pulled back there was quite a feat. Nevertheless also dangerous and risky. You almost gave me a heart attack."

He gave a low chuckle and leaned his head back. "What now, you gonna lecture me? It worked didn't it? As long as we're still standing and the big bad ugly dude is not."

She gave him a half smile. "You're lucky I'm too worn out right now. Otherwise I would."

A corner of his mouth lifted up into a small smile. A comfortable silence passed by against the two. Both had been through a lot in a short amount of space. They had to deal with a lot of dangerous life and death moments and after the adrenaline rush had worn off, it was nice to sit back and have a quiet moment. However the quiet and peace they had right now had been cut short.

A loud bang snapped them back to reality. Standing up quickly, Jake went outside of the room and checked the hallway. Watching carefully he could just make out three human figures at the end checking the rooms one by one. "Sherry," he whispered. She was at his side in a second.

"Damn it. At any rate they're going to catch up to us. We need to move it and fast!"

"Not gonna argue with you on that one."

The pair made sure they have their weapons and ammo ready before heading off. Giving a quick glance behind her, Sherry made her way down the hallway in the opposite direction as fast and as quietly as she could. Footsteps behind her reassured her that the mercenary is following her. As they delved deeper in the maze of hallways and rooms of the abandoned warehouse, the thought didn't cross her mind that they are about to enter a dangerous game of cat and mouse.