Chapter five:

At dawn, Alice and Jill woke, intertwined on the sofa. When their eyes met, they grinned at each other hazily, gradually remembering that they hadn't been dreaming when they had kissed. Jill was ready to move in for a sweet good morning kiss when she realized Carlos was standing in the room. Alice soon realized they were being watched too and couldn't help laughing.

"So, this is how it is," Carlos said, smirking.

Jill kept a solid arm on Alice. "Yep."

"Yeah," Alice seconded.

"Okay then," he returned, only slightly disappointed for himself. "We should get moving."

They untangled themselves and left the couch. Within fifteen minutes, everyone was dressed and in the car. Carlos was at the wheel, following Alice's route as closely as possible. At first, it was smooth sailing, as many people in that area had remained in their homes as instructed. As they neared the Mexican border, the military and Umbrella's soldiers were on high alert, and hundreds of citizens were trying to get out of the country at once.

"This is going to slow us down," Carlos warned. "There's a roadblock. I can probably work around it, but that's what everyone is trying to do."

As they finally moved around a roadblock and saw the border, Jill had flashbacks to the Ravens Gate Bridge in Raccoon City. There was a massive group of people on foot and a line of civilian cars. Soldiers were trying to keep everyone inside, and tensions were rising. They were not even at a major crossing. When they turned to look along the border, it was chaos as far as the eye could see.

"Maybe we need a new plan," Jill suggested.

"The fact remains that we need out of this country," Alice replied.

"Yeah, but there ain't no way in hell we're getting through that shit," L.J. returned.

Alice couldn't argue with that. "We try for the Gulf. Maybe we can slip onto a boat."

"All right. Let me see the trajectories. There must be a road we can take that won't be monitored," Carlos returned.

While Carlos checked the satellite data, a group of soldiers opened fire on the civilians and cars attempting to leave. At that point, madness erupted. Some charged the border while others retreated. A man came to their SUV and attempted to get inside. Carlos had to drop the data and throw their vehicle into reverse. They tried pulling away only to have a truck slam into them, knocking the entire front of their vehicle off.

"Is everyone okay?" Carlos asked. When there were murmurs, he grimly patted the steering wheel. "There goes the SUV."

"Let's get out of here," Jill declared.

Jill helped Angie out of the vehicle. Alice followed, and then the boys joined them. They entered into a mosh pit of panic and blood. The soldiers were still firing. It didn't help that all the delays had gotten them terribly off schedule. The satellite was bound to pass overhead at any moment. Alice realized this a tad too late. By the time she knew, there was nowhere to hide. The satellite easily picked her up.

Umbrella soldiers at the border received a transmission. Their orders were altered, and they were told to take Project Alice, Angela Ashford, and the others if possible. The soldiers looked through the crowd and spotted the group attempting to flee. They headed in their direction.

"We have to get somewhere now," Alice told the others. "The satellites could have picked us up. We were in this grid too long."

Jill saw the Umbrella soldiers heading right for them. "I think they've found us. Move!"

As they began to run, the Umbrella soldiers kept pace. In the chaos, there wasn't anywhere for the group to run. They soon realized they'd have to stand and fight. Jill pushed Angie behind her and pulled her gun. Alice pulled her weapon, and they opened fire. They killed the first few soldiers, but more were coming. Carlos and L.J. were shooting as well, but they were vastly outnumbered.

Before Alice knew it, the Umbrella logo was in her eyes. They had shut her down remotely. She was helpless, unable to defend herself or the others, as the soldiers closed the gap. Jill saw the soldiers reaching for Alice and went ballistic. "Get your hands off her!"

Jill moved to defend Alice. As she fought for her, the soldiers nabbed Angie. Jill realized what was happening and shouted at Carlos. Carlos was engrossed in a fight with three soldiers, unable to pull himself away. L.J. tried to get to Angie, but he was shot in the leg. He fell to the ground.

Alice was doing everything she could to fight the programming. She could hear Jill's voice calling to her, and she was trying to follow it home.

"Something is wrong with Alice!" Jill shouted at Carlos. She saw the soldiers were moving away with Angie and couldn't let that happen. "I'm going after Angie. Get Alice to safety. We'll rendezvous later."

Jill did her best to rescue Angie. Carlos fought his way to Alice. He gathered her into his arms and tucked her into an overturned truck. When he went back to help L.J. get off the ground, he saw the Umbrella soldiers loading Angie onto a helicopter. They had an incapacitated Jill Valentine with them, and her hands were zip tied. Carlos cursed under his breath and dragged L.J. away. The Umbrella soldiers were still coming.

Thankfully, the satellite was moving off the grid. Alice was finally able to come back. She heard there were still gunshots outside of her safe spot, so she left to rejoin the fight. She saw Carlos and L.J. coming towards her. With ease, she eliminated the soldiers who were following them. She looked around urgently for Jill and Angie.

"Jill? Angie?" Alice asked.

Carlos shook his head. "Umbrella got them. They left on a chopper."

"What? No, that can't be," Alice returned.

"I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do," Carlos said.

Alice couldn't believe it. Just the night before, she had finally kissed Jill for the first time. They were just beginning to be together, and now they were separated. Alice wouldn't stand for it. She wouldn't lose Jill, and she wasn't going to lose Angie either.

"I'm going to find them," Alice said simply.

"How? What about the T-virus? It'll be here before we know it," Carlos replied.

Alice realized that. "That's why you need to get L.J. and try to leave the country. You two can make it. I'll be fine on my own."

"Jill and Angie are my friends too. Let me help you," Carlos argued.

"No. You need to stay safe. I can't lose you too. Besides, it'll be easier for me to stay off the grid on my own. When I get them back, we'll come find you."

Carlos knew there was no talking Alice out of it, especially knowing her relationship with Jill. He nodded and put his hand out. She took it and then embraced him. He hugged her tightly. "Good luck, Alice. I know you'll get them back."

"Good luck to you too," Alice said. She gave L.J. a pat on the shoulder. "Take care."

L.J. waved. "I hope you find them."

"I won't stop until I do," Alice returned.

Alice left Carlos and L.J. at the border. It was going to be a monumental task, trying to find Jill and Angie, and it was going to be even harder to extract them successfully. However, she wasn't going to rest until she was with Jill again.

I'm coming, Jill, Alice thought to herself. I'm coming for you. Just hold on, wherever you are.