Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil.

Welcome back for another chap of your favorite (terribly heartbreaking) love story.

MOONLIGHT SHADOW HUNTRESS: Thank you! But Claire won't know for a while.

Ripsi: You're one of my fave authors on FF! I'm honored to have a review by you!

tvrs01001: Thanks!

Chapter 11: Desolation

The small car sped through the night, winding roads ahead of it and its driver rigid with focus. Her eyes did not wander to the mirror to see the city she once called home, blaze in the distance. Hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, adrenaline still pumping through her. The man in the back seat was weary, eyes red from tears that fell only when he thought about what he had done. She would not blame him, he was a cog in a machine he had no control over. It had built him and constructed him, prompted him towards darkness but his hold on his heart was too strong to sever. However, the man he called friend… that mans corruption was rooted into every part of his body. It was much apart of him as the skin on his back and the blood in his veins.

Claire's eyes flicked to a road sign they were approaching.

"Nebraska is about one-hundred miles out." Claire looked in the rearview mirror only to see William simply nod. "When we get there we'll sort all this shit out."

He did not respond and Claire would not force him. She touched the dial on the radio, trying to tune into something to break the silence in the car. Static sputtered through, a few words were distorted in the fuss until she finally found an available station.

Raccoon City has been completely evacuated, the US Army has moved in but have been recently subdued by what appears to be some sort of reanimated corpses. Surviving locals are calling them zombies… Recent reports have been brought to our attention as the surrounding Pennington-Arklay woods have been engulfed in flames seemingly caused by the sudden explosion of the Arklay Mansion. The mansion was home to some of Umbrella's top researchers, Umbrella is the infamous pharmaceutical company, responsible for Raccoons shining economy.

"Turn it off…" William's voice pierced through the report, what could be described as anger in his words. "Please turn it off."

The Raccoon City police division, Special Tactics And Res-

The radio was silenced. Not only for Williams sake, but for Claire's as well.

XXXXX

"Chris we have to go!" Jill shouted at her partner.

"Not until we find Claire!" Chris' words bellowed through the empty street as he slammed the door to his Jeep.

His fist banged harshly against the red wooden door. "Claire! Open up it's me, Chris!"

There was no response. Chris was growing impatient and they didn't have much time to begin with.

"Chris she probably got out already! We have to go!" Jill grabbed his arm but he resisted her as he began attempting to kick down the door. Chris managed to rip a hole in the door and with a final kick, sent it clattering off its hinges.

"Claire!" His shout echoed through the house.

It was dark and cold, no sign of anyone being here for at least a day. The curtains were drawn and the strange air hung about the home.

Jill came up behind Chris and felt her gut twist. The house was in perfect condition aside from a few papers scattered on the coffee table. It was as if Claire and Wesker had gone out for groceries and would be back in an hour. It felt like they were just gone for the day not… forever.

"She's not here." Jill said quietly as Chris inspected the home carefully, dragging his hands along the top of the couch as if he was trying to resurrect memories of this place.

"That bastard…" He growled. "He let this happen. He let all of this happen and he doesn't get to pay for it!" Chris' wild exclamation reverberated against the walls.

Jill put her hand on Chris' arm to settle him. "Chris… he didpay for it. He's dead."

Chris clenched his jaw. "That's not good enough." His voice cracked under the strain of his words. Jill saw how broken he had become within a matter of days. He had watched his comrades fall to the hand of a man he trusted, a man that they all trusted. Wesker's sinister smile was burned behind his eyes and each night since, he tossed in his bed, fear creeping into every corner of his mind. And even though Jill was right, even though Wesker's cold corpse was devoured in that explosion, the sheer memory of him was enough to crack Chris like glass.

"Come on." Jill chided. "We have to leave."

XXXXX

Nebraska was just on the horizon and Claire felt as though she could sleep for days. Her stomach growled, her muscles ached, and her hands felt raw from the strain she had put on the wheel. As they drew closer to the state, radio stations were sending out calls for survivors, welcoming them, offering them safety and shelter. Claire thought it might have been a stretch but according to the radio reports, the virus hadn't spread to any neighboring states and was quarantined rather quickly despite the many casualties. Raccoon City was now a distant memory that Claire would treasure for the rest of her life. Her entire world was rooted in the streets, the shops, and the brisk and winding roads of the mountains. Every tiny fiber of her being had rested away with that place. She was born on its soil and raised on its tender age as it seemed the city moved slower than anything else around it. It immortalized itself in time, a quaint and humble place that stood apart from anywhere else. Her friends bustled through the streets, the man she loved protected them, and the people she met on the way, borrowed seconds from her life to make a small yet signifiant impact. Everything Claire Redfield was… was the city itself.

The car rushed past the large green welcome sign, stuck in the middle of nowhere on a long road.

"NEBRASKA: THE GOOD LIFE"

Claire forced a small laugh… the good life.

"Will." She voiced. "We're here."

The man sat up and ran a hand through his unkempt hair. His untrimmed face reflected in the window as he looked around. "How much longer until we hit boarder patrol?"

Claire rose a brow. "Boarder patrol? Will we're not entering Mexico for gods sake."

He shook his head. "But they're gonna treat us like we are. Trust me, Claire as soon as we tell them where we came from, they're gonna take us into custody and make sure we're not infected. The radio cast said that all survivors are welcome because Nebraska is the closest state to Colorado but they wont take any chances. If someone tries to bring the infection over… they wouldn't be able to stop it then."

She nodded. He was right. They had come from the city that had been virtually decimated by an infection that no one quite understood. It turned its victims into the walking dead, creatures that fed on the flesh of the living. Claire inwardly scoffed… zombies. Literal zombies that craved the flesh and blood of humans, a shot to the head to dispose of them. Someones worst fear had come true two days ago.

Just as Will had said, a small Army sector was stationed right outside of the first town. As the car approached, a man waved Claire off to the side. He asked her and William to step out of the car and to keep their hands in the air and their backs turned.

"Are you from Raccoon City?" The man asked quickly.

"Yes." Claire responded.

"Reynolds," the man waved over a young woman in her army gear, seemingly a field nurse. "Check em for wounds or any signs of infection."

She nodded. "Yes sir."

The woman began inspecting Claire first. A very thorough search over every inch of her body, a flashlight in both eyes, a body temperature check, and finger prick. She paced into a tent to spin her blood and began reciting the same inspection on William. The woman receded back into the tent to retrieve Claire's blood.

"She's clean."

A few minutes later.

"And so is he."

The solider nodded towards the city. "Alright you two, head on in. Don't cause any trouble."

Claire started the car back up and sat there for a moment, her thoughts racing on what to do first. They needed to get in contact with Annette, Williams wife, and make sure they had made it to New York. Then Claire would look for Chris and Jill.

"Where will you go?" Claire's voice sliced through the silence in the car.

"Hopefully my family made it to New York… I hope to meet up with them and help fight Umbrella in any way I can."

Claire looked at him in the mirror, his eyes once again flicking along the road as the drove into the city. "You really want to take them out don't you?" She asked quietly.

"They took a lot away from me, Claire." He started. "I lost a lot of my life to them, years and years of time that I could've been spending with my family, I was spending in the labs… slaving over something I didn't even want to take part in. I'm a good man. I used to tell myself that every single morning… that I was strong enough to keep them away from the things I loved. Albert and I promised that we'd have each others backs forever, that we'd be there when we needed each other the most. I loved him like a brother, Claire and now he's gone because I couldn't protect him from Spencer's corruption."

"You know that's not true, Will." Claire said firmly. "You did everything you could to help him and he just couldn't win this time… he was so used to winning."

Will suddenly choked on a sob. "He held me up. He kept me sane." He stifled a laugh. "I'd always ask him to talk about something else other than work… and he'd always talk about you, Claire."

Her heart lurched in her chest, hands tightened on the wheel. Albert Wesker's memory stabbing at her brain. It was dense and it hurt. It hurt because everything she did somehow reminded her of him. The way her knuckles turned white while gripping the wheel, that's the way Wesker used to drive. Heavy and battering rain, that was always his favorite… small and seemingly insignificant moments tugged at the chords of her heart.

She heard William chuckle in the back seat. "I remember the first time he talked about you… came bustin' through the labs all frantic and," he waved his hand in the air absently. "to say the least, a little angry about it."

—-

The doors to the lab slid open and Wesker strode in, muttering something under his breath. His movements were frantic and a sense of confusion washed through the room.

William cocked his head at his friend who was now pacing. "Are you ok, Al?"

"I kissed her." He responded quickly.

William frowned. "What? Who?"

Wesker threw a hand into the air. "Redfield!"

"There's another Redfield?" William asked.

Wesker sighed heavily, jaw clenched in frustration. "Claire…" he breathed, and as if the very sound of her name calmed him, he settled into his chair and leaned back.

William smirked. "What's she like?"

Wesker was silent for a moment and William took that as his answer. He turned around to his desk again and shook his head, smiling.

"Fire." Wesker's calm yet thundering voice reverberated against the walls. "She's like fire."

—-

The city was small, no one asked who they were, no one really cared. It was as if they stepped away from time itself, no one wondered because outside these cities, nothing existed to them. They were simply ghosts floating through a town in which they did not belong.

William was on the phone, his voice lofted by the small motel room.

"Thank god…" he muttered. "I'll be there as soon as I can, tell Sherry that I love her."

Claire clenched her fists and her head filled with memories of her brother. She wanted nothing more than to be with him right now. Every fiber of her being hoped that he had lived, that somewhere, in that turmoil of disaster, he pushed through like wind in a storm. Claire had always looked up to Chris, he was strong and selfless, always putting others before himself and when their parents died, providing for Claire was his number one priority. Their lives weren't cookie-cutter perfect but Chris always tried his hardest to make sure it was the best. Without him, Claire wouldn't be able to live with herself. She lost Wesker and she would not let her brother be next.

"Claire." William's calm voice pierced through her thoughts. "I'm flying to New York tomorrow." William placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a light and reassuring squeeze. "You should come with me. Your brother might be there."

Claire grit her teeth. "How can you be sure?"

William frowned. "Well I'm not but… but the BSAA headquarters are there and I'm sure they'd take Chris in a heartbeat."

Claire remembered her conversation with Chris not four weeks ago about the BSAA. A rising force against bioterrorism that Chris had run ins with during his time in the Air Force. He was quite interested in them and was considering joining them after his terms at the RPD. So perhaps William was right.

"Ok." Claire said quietly. "I'll go."

—-

"Raccoon City is on the verge of self-destruction. Our only choice now is to contain this infection before it spreads to neighboring cities and states. Myself and the US Military have issued a nuclear missile to strike the city in less than twenty-four hours. You have hereby been advised to stand clear of Raccoon until further notice."

Wesker frowned into his mug, the Presidents words in his ears. Everything in that small mountain town would become ashes and a small part of him pitied his time there. He had spent so much of his time there that it felt like home. Despite that fact, his mortality reverberated against the desolation of the mansion that only left its wake in his dreams. Pieces of him were left there that he would never be able to recover. The team of fighters that he had trained with pride, the streets and winding mountain roads… and Claire. Claire Redfield was the biggest and the best part of his time in Raccoon. He would not hand back a single second with her for every memory of her rang in his head like a hurricane, overwhelming and powerful. She was able to tame him and her glorious charm befell him and what a relentless emotion it was. However, he could not hope for her survival, it would only lead to unnecessary emotions that would cloud his time. Eventually, he would know if she came through or not, he would make sure of it. Closure was his preference.

Now he played the waiting game, and Albert Wesker was a very patient man. HCF was quite generous with his arrival, making sure that he had everything he needed to carry out his missions. Standardized ethic within the groups was erupted when he arrived, making his story into a legend. The dead man that walked the earth again. His visage was enough to make men tremble, the storm under his skin was unwavering and powerful, his eyes like coals from the pits of hell. All of these things and then some, left the rest to imagination, Wesker could glare at a man and he'd drop dead. And a man like that, was a man HCF needed. They were brutal and undercover, their entire operation underground, only ever topside for missions. They targeted big names, Umbrella being the first. James Marcus was their first Umbrella catch, his body was promptly dismantled after his death, parts and information sold all over the world. It was now the news of Rockfort Island that reached them and rumors of the late Alexia Ashford roaming the property peaked everyones interest. Wesker had worked with her once, the child genius infuriated William, claiming that she 'had it out for him'. Wesker chuckled as he read through some documents. She was a prodigy, heir to a very large family history and wealth, her brother Alfred hardly met the qualifications to be the head of the Ashford Family. Alexia was a prime example of nurture and force, a fine young woman with more ambition than most. However, their family name had been declining and with the disappearance of Alexander, the only true surviving member of the Ashford's was Alfred. Nonetheless, Wesker knew that the only way to find what he needed was to go there and see for himself.

HCF had a location in Paris where they kept a more dangerous collections of viruses and Wesker had his sights set on it. It would prove to be difficult to infiltrate without raising any sort of suspicion but a challenge nonetheless. Slowly, he was beginning to seep into the cracks of this organization and lift it from its roots. One by one the roots would snap and the tree would begin to lean and then, only inevitably, would the tree collapse. It wouldn't be long until he either disposed of them or ruled them.

Whatever the reason for his betrayal, Wesker would always find something greener on the other side whether he had to force it or find it. Hopping from Umbrella to a relatively smaller faction proved to be quite the transition for him, even Ada was having trouble making her adjustments. It was only for the fact that Umbrella was large and domineering amongst other pharmaceutical companies, or any company for that matter and HCF was a mere speck compared to them. Things were run differently and the organization in charge was mysterious but no one really cared where the money came from so as long as they were receiving it. They gave the information and the missions and teams carried them out, no strings attached and no hidden motives. It was straightedged, unlike Umbrella where it seemed as if Spencer always had a trick up his sleeve. However, they were all smoke and mirrors when it came down to it, a clever yet foolish facade that the community wouldn't see through. That is, until Wesker of course. It wasn't even for exposure of what Umbrella really was more so for his own gain. Spending countless years under the thumb of one man really sharpened Wesker down to the teeth, an unmistakable lesson to be learned from wolves such as himself. He knew shortly after he was hired that it would only take a few twists and turns to flip the corporation on its back. His more personal reasons still intact, Wesker had to set those aside and remain stoic against his foe. Umbrella shadowed him until he took his final breath as a human being, his final breath as its slave.

Wesker was a patient man and now his patience was his only virtue. He would have HCF pinned down soon enough and he would continue to sink his claws into its sides and his teeth on its throat.

It would only be a matter of time before they ran out of breath.

A/N: I am so sorry this took so long to update. I haven't had the right motivation but now I do and I feel good about it! Stay tuned! (also sorry it's a little short)