9. Intruder
12.47
Alice's hands are gripping the steering wheel with enough force to bend it. She has been driving non stop all morning, not paying much attention to the traffic around her and the complaints about her speed. Her eyes are on the road ahead, however her mind wanders in other directions, the motel room. Claire possibly just woke up, and she can't help but imagine Claire looking indignant and pissed off, she chuckles a bit, knowing that if Claire is awake she's probably cursing like a sailor.
She doesn't know why but she finds it both amusing and sexy. She keeps smiling while her mind creates thousands of scenarios where an angry Claire would yell at her but all ending with the redhead all around her, possibly with little clothing.
"Right… focus" She mumbles, still smiling. Something catches her eyes and the thoughts of the other woman go to the back of her mind.
There's a lonely small shop on the roadside.
Alice slows down while she drives and passes the store, it seems to be closed. She looks at the back of the store in the rear mirror, it looks like the perfect place to get in, grab a few weapons, ammo and get away without attracting unwanted attention.
"Show time" She says as she gives a prohibited U-turn on the road, looking for the right place to park the car.
There are no vehicles around, so it makes her task even easier. Quickly, she parks the car behind some garbage cans, still studying the surroundings, her senses tell her that there is no danger, so nimbly and quickly, moving with superhuman speed Alice runs to the door of the store, it is shielded by a metal curtain. Alice smiles smugly, while with one hand she destroys the lock and lift the curtain a little.
Her senses tingle a bit, her instincts tell her that the place is protected with an anti-theft alarm.
"Go figure." She mumbles as she tries to concentrate all her power.
Her mind begins to spread outside her body, as if a part of her were moving to where she wants it to go, quickly acknowledging all that it meets and watching everything in her mind as if it is before her eyes. Her mind travels around the store until it finds the main unit of the alarm. Alice tries to concentrate more and she smiles again as her mind surpasses the plastic parts that cover the device, disconnecting the mains lead of the appliance.
Alice's smile widens while she kicks the door behind the iron curtain and enters the store, wondering if that power that enabled her to see beyond could be put to good use next time she'll cross paths with the redhead. She chuckles again, looking around and grabbing a big black bag to fill it with things.
Quickly she takes boxes of ammo and places them on the bag, making sure to move rapidly just in case someone shows up. She puts some holsters in the bag too, along with five more guns, just in case.
Alice is ready to go when something at the back of her mind stops her. She looks around, exhaling soundly.
"Damn conscience." She murmurs, pulling out some bills from her pockets and placing them on the counter, making sure it's enough to cover for the things she took.
She exits the place not giving her mind chance to make a "sorry" note for the owner of the shop.
"What's up today with me and notes" She murmurs to herself as she throws the big bag in the back of the car.
13.03
Claire's foot is on the accelerator, all the way down. She's driving crazy fast, passing the other cars and earning an occasional yell from the drivers.
"What's your fucking problem?" She hears a man yelling as she passes another car.
"None of your fucking business!" She yells pulling her head out of the window and almost falling out the car. From the rear view mirror she can see the man giving her the finger."Oh so very mature of you," She starts yelling in German, knowing damn well the man is far behind and it's impossible for him to hear her, still. "I can drive blindfolded you bastard! Just chill out!"
Claire has never been a reckless driver, yes she has always enjoyed the speed, driving around over the speed limit, feeling badass and stuff, but what she's doing now is completely another level.
"Fucking Alice" she says, turning violently, advancing on a few more cars.
17.05
All the driving, with nothing but her guilty thoughts is driving her insane. For a moment there the thought of Claire pissed and cursing was funny, but then again she'll be pissed off because she had been behind. She's not quite sure Claire would forgive her for having done that.
"Damn it." She looks at the clock, calculating that maybe she'll get to Zurich by 2am.
"Great." She mutters as he pulls down all the car windows, letting the breeze refresh her face but her mind is still full of guilt.
She's thinking about pulling off the road for a bit to stretch her legs when her eye catches the radio system, she decides that a little music can help her relax and she knows she can't afford to lose time pulling off. In the CD compartment of the radio there's a nameless CD, so she just presses play.
She looks at the map that's in the passenger seat, there's a gas station not too far, and she needs to refill the tank as soon as possible, she's started to think again about a pissed off Claire when her eyes widen in surprise as the sound of Haddaway asking her what is love emerge from the speakers of the car.
17.10
"Don't fall asleep ... don't fall asleep… don't… you… fall… asleep ..."
She can imagine her mustang in the evening news, completely lit on fire and surrounded by onlookers. She chuckles.
"That woman was driving like crazy!" She imagines the finger friendly driver from before on the camera. "It was expected that something like this would happen."
"Oh God." She is trying with all her willpower. "Damn... it's all…because of Alice... fucking wonder woman."
Her hand goes to the radio button, trying to divert her mind from the stupor that the monotony of the road is causing to her mind. However, the device chooses that moment to stop working.
"Amazing." She yells as she pushes the button harder. "This... piece of shit"
She looks at the map that's in the driver's seat, and exhale audibly, it's a long road ahead, and she can't stop, she's hoping to win the race.
Her nerves are killing her, she's hoping she'll get to Zurich in time, she doesn't knows how to get into Umbrella's platform, so she needs to hurry up, she's not entirely sure how long Alice's head start got her.
Before leaving the motel, Claire had asked the owner about the time Alice had left, the man was not sure. "Maybe an hour and a half ago." He said, not helping much. "You should take care, lady." The man had said suddenly. "Bizarre murders are happening all over the country."
Claire just had nodded, hoping all those bizarre murders had nothing to do with Umbrella and the virus stuff, but knowing deep down that she was hoping for too much. She had run to her mustang, eager to find Alice.
17.30
"…baby don't hurt me" She's mumbling. "… don't hurt me…"
Three repetitions of the same track and a road with no changes later, Alice's mind is completely away from her thoughts. "This is ridiculous…" She snorts and she starts moving her thumb on the wheel with the tempo of the song.
The map that was in the passenger seat starts moving dangerously with the wind coming through the window, almost flying outside the car.
"Damn." Alice's gaze is away from the road as she grabs with an agile movement and grabs the map before it is completely out of the car.
"…no more…whaaat is…FUCK!" She cries just as she handles the wheel, moving the car to the right just in time to dodge and pass a lump laying in the middle of the road, motionless. "What the ..."
Alice pulls the brake and parks a few meters away from the lump, looking at it in the rear mirror. Peering, she realizes that the bundle seems to be a person.
Alice stays there for a moment, turning off the radio, thinking what to do, she could just get out of there quickly, that's not her problem. She looks around, the road is completely deserted, there is not a single soul around. There are no cars, nothing.
"Damn." She says as she opens the door and goes to the still body, walking carefully, moving slow. She can only see the back of the head; it appears to be a man.
Her senses tell her that something is wrong, she can feel it in the air, something tells her that this person is not entirely alive.
Not entirely alive? How is that possible?
She stops thinking when the body starts to move a bit, like trying to get on its feet.
He's alive! She thinks as she approaches still moving carefully.
"Hey." She says, not quite sure if she can help the man. She has her doubts.
There's no answer, but the man is almost on its feet. There's a smell of rotten meat, she can't be sure but she thinks it emanates from the man.
"Hello?" She says, feeling stupid as she approaches the guy "You ok?" More stupid.
It seems like the man has heard her, because slowly he turns around and..
"Oh my God."
His arms and neck skin is in tatters, his shirt is all bloodied and Alice can see there's a hole in his gut. But the most impressive and scary thing is his face, his eyes are completely bloodshot, expressionless, a huge gash runs from his jaw along his neck and his lips.
His lips have been torn from his face, leaving a malevolent and grotesque grin in its place, the man open his mouth letting out a animalistic moan, he starts to walk towards Alice, raising one arm almost like asking for help.
But she remains in place, not knowing what to do. Her mind is a jumble of thoughts and memories. She has lived this before, she knows it but she can't remember it. How can it be possible? The memory of the dream about the dogs that appeared to have been massacred crosses her mind, this looks very much like that.
Impossible. She thinks, the man is still walking towards her with slow steps. Alice's not sure but she thinks she can hear the sound of something broken and out of place in the man's leg that cracks with each step he gives.
"The virus." She mutters. "The virus is here"
The man let out another guttural sound while he gets closer to his prey, she takes a step back, still absorbed in her memories, now she can remember everything, the plan that went wrong, the non accident that killed all the workers in The Hive, and their return to life as undead beings, eager to feed on anything that moved. The man grabs her arm, watching her eagerly, with dead eyes. He holds her strong while opens his mouth wide, he's about to tear the flesh from her arm when he falls to the ground with a thud, his head dangling in a strange position, and Alice's hands grabbing it with a strong hold. The man completely falls to the ground like a rag doll.
"Damn it." Alice mutters, while she starts running to her car, leaving the now dead undead man in the floor.
Her only thought right now is whether it should be the best to return for Claire, things have changed too fast in a short time and now she's not quite sure if it was a good idea to leave Claire behind, not now that the virus is spreading all over the world.
Umbrella Zurich
Spencer is walking around his office, thinking, making a plan on what he should do next, when the desk phone start to ring. He touches his temple lightly, he wants to rest but he knows he cant do it, not now that everything is getting out of control. He takes the phone and exhales.
"Spencer." He says, a feminine voice came from the other line. "It's confirmed?" He asks felling at the weight of the world falling in his shoulders. "Ok." He hangs up the phone, sighting.
"This thing is just getting worst" He mumbles as he pulls out his cell phone from his pocket. He dials a number and it only rings twice. "I need a helicopter."
02.33
Finally she's at Zurich, she's driving around the train station, measuring her next steps, she needs to get rid of the car as soon as possible, also she needs to prepare her guns.
She's heading to an alley, still looking around, but there's no sign of Umbrella. This makes her more nervous, first the decrease of people around, then her encounter with the undead in the road and now there's no signs of Umbrella at all.
What the fuck is going on.
She parks the car were it can't be easily seen and then moves to the back, taking off her jacket and putting on a series of gun leather holsters around her whole body.
She's making a simple plan of actions in her mind while she stores lots of ammunition in her small new backpack.
The plan is simple: Get in…
She places both Magnum Desert Eagles she stole from the Umbrella hitman at her sides.
…kill everything that steps in her way…
Her sub machine guns Brugger & Thomet MP-9 fit perfectly at either side of her thighs.
.. hide, find information…
Just in case she stole a pair of Berettas and now she's placing them at her back.
…run and shoot...
Several pairs of high-yield incendiary grenades go to her belt, along with a couple of sharp NR 43 combat knives.
…and then get the hell outta there.
Finally she takes her Mossberg 580 shotgun and places it in a hand bag, trying to not pay attention to the reminder of Claire's perfect posture using it. As she steps out of the car she puts a black winter gabardine on, just to prevent unwanted attention around the citizens.
However, there's not a single person walking around, and Alice's thoughts travel again to her undead buddy. She moves nimbly around the platforms of the station, knowing well where to go. There's a room at the corner of the platform where the entrance to the Umbrella station is, so she moves towards it just in case some Umbrella employee would appear while she got prepared to break through the entrance. She opens the room door carefully but as soon as she close the door behind her, her senses start to tingle, she's not alone, she can feel it, she stops there, ready to attack.
"You…" A voice from behind her reveals that indeed she's not alone.
Alice turns around ready to come up with a smart ass response when out of nowhere an unexpected fist crosses the air smacking her across the face.
"Bitch." The owner of the fist says, and Alice chuckles a bit, grabbing her nose with her hand.
"Yeah I've hear that befo…" She can't even lift her gaze when a slap hits her hard in her cheek. Again.
"Oh you've got to be shitting me." Alice murmurs as she recovers from the bitch slap.
"That one was free." Claire is saying, the ghost of a smile curving her lips up. "You know you deserve it."
"The first one yeah, but the second one? Really, Claire?" Alice chuckles, feeling relieved that Claire's standing next to her, the redhead just raises her eyebrows, expecting.
"Yeah yeah I guess I deserve both of them…" she mumbles, smiling at her companion.
"And don't…don't do that again." Claire says moving closer to Alice, her eyes softening.
"Honestly?… I don't think I can." Alice murmurs and Claire smiles.
"Now what?" The redhead says.
"Now we go through that door over there." Alice says, pointing to the door outside the room, she has seen in her dreams." But Claire are you sure?"
"Oh don't start with the bullshit woman." Claire says throwing a murderous look at her.
Alice only raises her hands in defeat. "Ok, but you need some equipment." She says as she drops her bag on the floor.
"What you mean? Oh…" Claire eyes widen as she looks through Alice's bag. "Did you just rob a military arsenal or something?"
"Something like that." Alice mumbles as she pulls out a pair of guns from the bag along with a holster and some ammunition. Claire is looking at her with her mouth wide open.
"What? A girl got to be prepared" Alice says as she hands Claire the shotgun.
"Now that's more like it." Claire says as she rapidly moves the gun in her hands, looking at the bag. "Alice, that's a lot of guns, did you… did you think that I would come after you?" She says smiling.
It appears that Alice is blushing. "Maybe?" She says with a smile, but then her face changes, to one of concern. "Hey I don't…"
"I can do it." Claire interrupts her. "Don't worry, nothing bad is going to happen to me."
Alice just nods, she still can see the holes in this plan, anything can happen and she doesn't want to risk Claire.
"Seriously..." It seems that Claire knows what she's thinking. "I can handle it." Claire reaches for Alice's hand running her thumb over it. Alice gently squeezes her hand and smiles.
"So now that you are sure about this." Claire says looking at the guns and holsters again. "What should I wear?"
"Nothing."
"Excuse me?"
Shit
Alice is blushing again.
"I… I mean it doesn't matter… it's not like you need clothes for where we are going. I mean…" her eyes go wide and her blush deepens. "I… what I meant is that your clothes are ok and besides it's not like we got a hell of a wardrobe here." She manages to squeak out.
Claire is smirking. "I was talking about the guns, genius." She says as she starts to put the holsters around her body.
"Oh yeah uhm whatever you want." Alice says moving towards the door, watching to see if someone is outside. "It's nothing like uhm, nude, that wasn't what I was talking about." She murmurs turning red again.
"Sure…I know what you mean." She winks at Alice, who's completely mortified.
Delay delay delay I know... sorry...