Chapter eight:

Alice woke a few hours later. She was lying on the sofa inside the motel, with her head in Jill's lap. Jill felt her wake and gently brushed the hair from her eyes. "Hey you."

"Hey," Alice returned.

K-Mart and Angie were in chairs across from them. Jill explained. "You made a fan earlier. She's been waiting for you to wake up."

"Hi. I'm K-Mart. Angie has been telling me all about you two. Thank you for saving us."

Thanks to Jill and Alice's efforts with Carlos and the others, they had only lost Betty, Otto, and one other to the crows. Jill and Alice had moved the others to the safety of their Hummer before the birds could take them.

"K-Mart, huh?" Alice repeated.

She nodded. "That's where they found me. Clarie and the others. It was a few years back. I never liked my other name, and everyone I knew was dead. It felt like time for a change."

"I like it. It's unique," Jill said.

K-Mart smiled. "Thanks. I should go. We're having a funeral for the people we lost. There would have been a lot more, if you weren't here."

After K-Mart left, Angie looked at Alice. "Are you all right? You fainted."

"I'll be fine," Alice said.

Angie nodded and left Alice with Jill. Jill checked Alice's temperature with the palm of her hand and then Alice's pulse. Jill felt relieved. "You're okay. I was worried."

"I'm good, and everyone is safe. But I doubt they're going to be happy having us around now. I probably scared them half to death. What I can do…it's not normal."

"What you do is save people, and I love you just how you are."

Alice never got tired of hearing Jill say that. She held her hand to her lips, sighing. "I love you too. Do you remember the first time we said it?"

"Of course. We were in Indianapolis, and you'd gotten a little overconfident against some of the Undead. One almost bit you and I had to blow its brains out. I told you that you were an arrogant idiot and to never do that again because I loved you too much to lose you."

"I asked you to say it again because I didn't think I heard you right."

"No matter what, Alice. No matter if this Claire Redfield doesn't want us around, we'll have each other."

Alice nodded at that. "We should go ask."

"Do you feel like moving?"

"Yeah. I just want to get this over with."

Alice and Jill left to find Claire. She was talking to Carlos by the empty fuel pumps. When she saw Jill and Alice, she took off her sunglasses. "Thank you. You saved us."

"I sense a 'but' coming," Jill said, picking up on Claire's tone.

"It's just that everyone is talking about what you did, Alice. And they're scared. We are very grateful. Don't get us wrong," Claire said.

Alice sighed. "Do you want us to leave?"

"I was telling Claire that we need to hit a major city," Carlos interrupted before the conversation could go too far. "And I think we can't do that without the two of you."

Claire anxiously bit on her lip. "I don't know, Carlos. We've lost so many. It'd be risky to try for a big city."

"But there's nothing else out here, Claire. We have no food. No gas. The last few places we've gone haven't had anything for us. We know we'll find supplies in a big city. If we want to keep going, we'll have to go there eventually," Carlos said.

"We can help," Jill assured Claire.

Claire couldn't deny that the convoy was in bad shape, or that they'd have been in worse shape without Alice and Jill. She relented. "Fine. But the only place that's guaranteed is Las Vegas. And if we do that, I want everyone to agree it's the right move. We take a vote. If it passes, we'll go to Vegas—with Alice and Jill. If not, we go on as we are, and I'd rather Alice and Jill go their own way."

"Agreed," Alice said.

As Claire gathered everyone to discuss their next move, the rerouted Umbrella satellites were moving overhead. Alice got the strangest sensation. She gripped Jill's hand as goosebumps rose on her skin. Jill looked over at her and whispered. "What's wrong?"

"A feeling," Alice replied. "What time is it?"

Jill checked her watch. "We're fine, honey. This grid isn't a concern for another hour."

"Hmm. Maybe I'm imagining things," Alice replied.

Claire addressed the group and told them how dire their situation was. Everyone agreed that hitting Las Vegas was worth the risk. That meant Alice and Jill could stay with the convoy. From there, everybody got into their respective vehicles and left for Las Vegas.

In the desert lab, Dr. Isaacs was preparing a team to intercept Alice.

XxXxX

The drive to Las Vegas was oddly enjoyable. Carlos joined Alice and Jill in their Hummer, along with K-Mart and Angie. It felt like the old days, though Alice couldn't shake a strange sense that something was coming. Everyone grew quiet when they saw Las Vegas in the distance, taken back by the desert.

"No one was around to keep the sand back," Alice commented. "The birds must have picked everything clean, gone block by block."

"Keep your eyes open for gasoline," Carlos said.

A moment later, they received a transmission from Claire. "L.J. says there are gas pumps at the casino valet. We're trying there."

They rolled up to the casino to find a large storage container blocking the entrance. The convoy came to a stop as everyone left their vehicles. Alice's heart was racing. Angie stood at Alice's side with a similar feeling. "There's something in there, Alice."

Alice nodded and slowly approached. As she leaned towards it, she could hear Claire talking about getting a winch to move the container aside. In her gut, she knew there were biohazards inside. She leapt back and pulled her weapon.

In an instant, the container opened and the Super Undead charged. Everyone opened fire as chaos ensued. K-Mart and Angie ran to the safety of the tanker truck with L.J. Carlos, Claire, Jill, and Alice did their best to keep the Super Undead from the rest of the convoy. Somewhere along the way, Alice and Jill were separated. Jill was busy rescuing Mikey from his tech van while Alice was using blades to protect a few members of the convoy who'd run off in terror.

It was at that time that Dr. Isaacs gave the order to shut down Alice. She froze, just as she had at the border, while the others continued the fight. She thought of Jill and the others, and she fought back. She fought the programming in the satellite to the point that the satellite malfunctioned. She could then sense where the signal had come from, and she was going to hunt them down.

Alice whistled to call the Super Undead away from the convoy. As they ran to her, Jill was helping Claire move Mikey to her vehicle. He'd gotten away without being bitten, but he had twisted his ankle. Jill realized Alice was running away from the convoy, towards a building, and she took off like a shot after her.

The Umbrella operatives on the rooftop were panicked. Alice was heading right for them. She joined them on the rooftop and killed nearly everyone she came across. She'd brought the Super Undead with her. One bit Dr. Isaacs before he climbed aboard his helicopter. The helicopter made a quick getaway as Alice watched. Jill joined her on the rooftop.

"What's going on?" Jill asked.

"It was Dr. Isaacs. The doctor from Detroit. The one I see in my nightmares," Alice explained. "There must be a facility near here."

Jill nodded. "I say we find out where that chopper went and pay them a visit. It's about time we dealt with him."

"I agree with you there."

Alice and Jill went into the little tent Umbrella had been using as a base and found the coordinates for the facility. They then returned to the convoy to assess the damage. Several members of the convoy were dead, including Chase who had been acting as their lookout on the miniature Eiffel Tower, but overall they had survived. The Super Undead were defeated, and the convoy was free to resupply.

Alice and Jill pulled Carlos aside to talk to him about Dr. Isaacs. Jill put it plainly. "If we don't deal with him, he'll keep coming for Alice."

"But that's our problem. Not the convoy's," Alice said. "We don't expect Claire and the others to help us. Or you."

Carlos hummed. "You know I want to help."

"Let's see what we're up against first," Alice replied.

Alice, Jill, and Carlos took the Hummer to the coordinates. They found a high ridge to look down on the facility. What they saw was a rundown building, a tall chain link fence, and hundreds of Undead. Alice looked at the place through binoculars, which she then passed to Jill.

"Oh great," Jill grumbled.

"It's a good thing we like a challenge," Alice commented.

Carlos shook his head. "You're not getting in there without some serious firepower. We have some dynamite. I can see if Claire will let us take it. We might be able to rig it in one of our vehicles and send the vehicle ahead. Weigh down the gas pedal with something and tie off the steering wheel."

"If we do this, I don't want Angie to come along. She stays with the convoy," Alice decided. She looked over at Carlos. "And so do you. Someone has to look after her and the others."

Carlos glared. "They have Claire. I can come with you."

"It'll be hard enough for us to get in alone," Jill said. "Alice is right Carlos. We need you to look after Angie for us. I love L.J. but he's hardly the paternal type."

That got a laugh out of Carlos. "That is true. All right. I'll see if I can get you that dynamite, but only if you promise to find us after you're through with Umbrella."

"It's a deal," Alice agreed.

Jill cast a sad look at their Hummer. "We've had some really great times in that thing…it's going to be a shame to blow her up."

"Too much information," Carlos grumbled. Alice and Jill laughed, causing him to smile. "I am going to miss you two. I hope you know what you're doing."

Alice sighed. "If we want to live without Umbrella hunting us, we don't have a choice."