Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil.

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 4:

Separated

September 25th, 2011

Midnight

"RUN!"

The single word burned in Amy's head, and her arms pumped as she ran to keep up with Crystal. Gunshots and screaming were faint in her head, her own harsh breathing the loudest. Tears stung her eyes as she stumbled across something unseen. "Crap!" she cried out, falling onto her stomach. She flipped over, groaning, as something suddenly pinned her down.

The strange creature stared at her, its mouth foaming with hunger. It opened its jaws, preparing to take a chunk out of Amy's face, and she braced herself-

Boom!

The monster was blown off her by a blast from a gun. Amy looked to see Crystal pointing the gun, breathing heavily, glaring at her. Blood seeped from under her bandage… "What're you waiting for? Get the hell up!"

Amy obliged, muttering thanks. Crystal, in return, roughly grabbed her arm, urging her to run. As she and Crystal ran, Amy thought back to what had happened only a few hours before…

!Flashback!

"… no others are coming," Barry said. "Like Leon said, he's gonna remain in D.C. Sheva is handling things in Africa, as well." They were all in the main room, listening to Barry explain what had happened so far.

"Well, at least we've got the chopper," Claire said, pointing to it. "But, where should we go? We were relying on Rebecca telling us something, but…" She looked worriedly toward the barn.

"Rebecca's a good kid, but she's not gonna tell us anything," Jill sighed. "That probably means we won't find the antivirus anytime soon."

There was an awkward silence.

Barry cleared his throat. "Well, I heard there was an Umbrella base nearby. We could try and infiltrate there, see what information they have."

Chris said, "Good idea."

"Who should go?" Jill said, eyeing the rest of the group; namely, the high-school people.

"We can take care of ourselves," Isaac said, bored.

"Obviously not," Crystal snorted. "You almost killed us back there, what with your bitchy attitude…"

Guys!" Rin reprimanded softly.

"Well," Barry said, scratching the back of his head, "I'm glad you're so confident, Isaac, but we can't just leave you kids here."

"Yeah, Isaac," Sam whined. "Don't purposely tell them to leave us!"

"Shut up!" Crystal said scornfully. "It's not like you've done anything since we've come here. Stop your bitching and-"

"Don't you tell me what to do!" Sam cried, standing up.

Rin looked at them. "Guys, come on… now just isn't the time-"

"No, it isn't! Let's just leave this stupid, whining bitch here and go."

"How dare you! You're such a heartless, pathetic person! I HATE you!"

"Stop arguing-"

"Fuck this, you're all gonna get us killed-"

"You're gonna get us killed! Don't blame everything on me, you asshole-"

"STOP!"

Amy panted slightly, her chest heaving. Everyone turned to her. She looked defiantly at them. "We need to calm down…" she said quietly, but firmly.

Barry chuckled. "Well, I think I know who the most sensible is now."

"Thank you, Amy. That was-"

A shriek suddenly pierced their ears.

Out from the barn, Rebecca stumbled out, bleeding on one shoulder.

"Rebecca?" Claire cried out.

Rebecca stumbled a little, but kept her balance and kept running. From behind her, a monster appeared. It was a lizard, but stood upright like a human. It had dark green scales. What was most notable, however, were its long claws, which swayed at its sides restlessly.

"Hunter…" Chris said quietly.

Jill suddenly gasped. "You mean, hunters."

Along with the first hunter, six others appeared, looking hungry.

Chris, Jill, and Barry grabbed their guns. They headed for the door. Jill looked behind and said, "Claire! Look after them!"

Claire nodded, hastily grabbing her own gun.

The three ran out the door, and gunshots were soon followed afterward.

"Where're they most vulnerable?" Isaac asked, cocking his own gun.

"Just aim for the head," Claire said. "Like zombies, headshots are the best." She glanced around. "We should be fine, though. If-"

A crash suddenly sounded from the kitchen. Two hunters broke in, growling. Sam was the first to react, and she fled, running for the door. Rin followed after her, screaming, "Sam! Come back!" The two disappeared outside.

Amy started to follow, but jumped as Danny fired a shot that went wild, nearly hitting one of the hunter's heads. Crystal fired a shot too, and managed to hit one of them in the legs. The hunter went down, growling even louder.

The other hunter screamed and took a blind swipe at them, and managed to hit Crystal's arm. She stumbled back, breathing heavily.

Claire stepped in and shot one right through its head. The hunter swayed, then toppled over, blood seeping out of the hole.

The other hunter managed to jump over the group, and land on the other side.

"Holy motherfucker!" Keith exclaimed. "That was an EPIC jump!"

"Keith!" Danny rebuked him as he fired another shot, hitting the hunter in the chest. It stood dazed, and Isaac shot it straight in the head, and, it, too, fell dead.

Claire rushed over to Crystal. "Let me see your scratch."

Crystal unwillingly showed her, holding out her arm.

Claire put a hand to her mouth. "Poison…" she muttered. She ripped a piece of her sleeve off and used it to wrap Crystal's arm. "That's the best I can do. Jill has the blue herbs for healing your wound."

"I'm fine," Crystal grunted.

Claire nodded and looked around. "Everyone else is fine, right?"

Amy suddenly looked toward the door, hearing more growling. Her face paled when she saw what was waiting near the door.

A dog padded in, hissing. One of its ears was gone and its skin was peeling off, showing its red flesh underneath. It barked loudly, and started for Amy, running at an incredible speed. Crystal used a chair to knock it away, and the dog hit the wall, whimpering, but still very much alive. Crystal took aim-

When suddenly, the ceiling collapsed. Crystal and Amy dove for cover, screaming. One piece of brick almost hit Amy's head. Amidst the rubble and dust, five hunters stood, dividing the group, Amy and Crystal on one side, and the others on the other.

"Go!" Claire shouted.

"But-" Amy started.

"Amy, GO!" Danny shouted.

"Let's go! Before your boyfriend kills me!" Crystal yelled, grabbing Amy's arm.

Amy didn't resist, but tried to hold back tears all the same. Crystal and she ran out, but didn't see anyone, not Chris, Jill, or even Barry. Rin and Sam were nowhere to be seen either.

Crystal swore under her breath. Suddenly, they heard more growling.

Apparently, the dog had brought its friends.

A pack of dogs ran at them, barking viciously and slobbering angrily at the mouth.

Crystal screamed, "RUN!"

…

!End Flashback!

Amy snapped out of her thoughts and ran alongside Crystal. Crystal suddenly coughed out blood, and Amy stopped to check Crystal's wound.

"I'm fine!" Crystal said, slapping away Amy's hand. "Keep running!"

"Please… give me the gun," Amy said, noting how closely the dogs were gaining.

"Can you shoot?" she asked, gasping for breath.

"You can't," Amy countered. "Not in your position."

Crystal didn't argue and handed her gun to Amy.

"Thank you," Amy said, nodding.

"Just get shooting!" Crystal looked ahead. "There! A thicket of trees. It should give us some cover."

"Okay, you go ahead," Amy said, turning slightly, aiming. Her finger quivered on the trigger for a second, and one of the dogs suddenly lunged at her with enormous strength and bowled her over. Amy crashed to the ground, holding the gun tight in her hand.

"Amy-"

Before Crystal could say anything else, Amy shot the dog in the head, crying as the blood splattered on her face. Amy cried, shakily getting up, pushing the dead dog off of her.

"Amy! Let's go!" Crystal said hurriedly.

Amy dried her tears, narrowly dodging one of the dogs. She rejoined Crystal and took her hand as they dove for the cover of the trees. Branches scratched the girls' bare legs as they hit the ground, gasping for breath.

The dogs screeched to a halt when they came to the trees, barking loudly. Crystal looked behind and saw one dog rush forward, only to be suddenly thrown backward, as if there was a force field.

"What the…" Crystal got up, looking at the dog that had fallen. The dog was whimpering in pain and its flesh burned slowly away, like it had been hit with acid.

"What-what happened?" Amy asked nervously.

"I- have no idea," Crystal started, "but this is freaking me out. Let's get away from here…"

Amy nodded, and they walked away from the dogs, who were still pacing. Amy looked back one more time, wondering how they had entered, unharmed, and why the dogs couldn't. She handed the gun to Crystal. "Sorry, I don't think I'm fit to hold it or, even, use it,"

Crystal looked at her, saying, "Well, at least you admit it." She had a coughing fit.

"Do you need to rest?" Amy asked.

"Only a minute," Crystal said, agreeing. She slid down and rested her back as the trunk of a tree, sighing.

"Can I see your wound now?" Amy asked quietly.

Crystal glanced at her. "Hell, why not. You're so freaking polite; how could I say no?" She moved out her arm and lifted the bandage a little.

Amy studied the wound, getting concerned. It wasn't bleeding as heavily, but the skin surrounding it was turning a sick purple color. Obviously, that wasn't a good sign.

Amy brushed her hand slowly across the wound, and Crystal yelped. "What the hell, Amy!"

Amy said, startled, "What?"

"You just shocked me! More like you just hit me with a bolt of lightning!"

"I didn't feel anything…"

"Well, I did. And it felt like you'd just dragged your feet through an ass-load of carpet."

Amy rubbed the back of her head. "Well, sorry, um…"

Crystal shook her head, getting up. "Let's get moving. I feel a little better." She took out the clip of ammo in her gun. "Damn," she said. "Only a few bullets left."

"Let's hope we don't run into anything bad," Amy said, grimacing.

"Don't jinx it," Crystal said simply in reply. "We've gotten into enough shit as it is."

Amy nodded silently. They started walking, keeping on the lookout for whatever might come their way. Their feet crunched quietly on fallen leaves.

Crystal looked at the huge, towering trees. "Jesus, this place seems like prison."

"It's really creepy…" Amy said faintly. "I… I feel like someone's watching us…"

"Yeah, I get you," Crystal said, sounding surprised. "Y'know, you're nothing like Sam."

Amy looked at her, shrugging. "Well… yeah, I mean…"

"Sam's a stupid bitch who's probably already dead. Just saying," Crystal added. "Anyway, weren't you two good friends?"

Amy avoided her gaze. "Um, yes. She hates me now. If you haven't noticed."

Crystal laughed. "Yeah, I've kinda noticed." She smiled slightly. "In class, you weren't like this. You were always quiet."

Amy shrugged. "Maybe zombie invasions bring out the best in people?"

Crystal couldn't help cracking another grin. "I guess they do."

They fell silent again, trying to compose themselves. Crystal scanned ahead. "There's nothing but freaking trees."

Amy used her sharp eyes to see something black in the distance, something that looked like a large factory…

"There," she said, nudging Crystal. "I think I see a building. It's kinda covered by all the trees though."

"For real?" Crystal said, dropping her tough-girl act. "Sweet, let's get moving!"

Amy giggled, and Crystal glared at her mockingly.

The two sped up, hoping it was someplace nice, somewhere they could relax.

'Now, isn't that a thought,' Amy thought sarcastically. 'Still, not a half-bad idea…'

When they reached the building, they looked up in awe. It was massive, towering over them like they were little ants. It was made of what looked like glass, yet, you couldn't see through it. There were a few windows and a small balcony on the side, but, to their surprise, there was no door.

"This is one messed up building," Crystal muttered, stepping closer.

Amy looked up, feeling a sense of dread. Something about this building scared her…

"Crystal…"

Crystal looked at Amy. "What's wrong?"

"I think we should go," Amy blurted.

"Why?" Crystal asked, turning away from her. "Let's check this place out."

"Please, Crystal-"

Out of the corner of Amy's eye, she saw a shadow slip out onto the balcony. Before she could warn Crystal, something whizzed by her face and hit Crystal in the neck. Crystal cried out before collapsing to the ground.

"Crystal!" Amy cried, rushing forward. She looked at what had pierced her neck, which was a dart. What she really noticed, though, was the symbol on the dart.

'A red and white umbrella-' Amy thought, her face paling.

As Amy turned around, another dart whistled through the air and hit her in the neck as well, and she blacked out, again, crashing to the ground.

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