Chapter eleven:
Alice and Jill quickly ushered the survivors back below the deck. Just as the last person went below, Umbrella's ships opened fire. The four took shelter behind a lifeboat, one the surviving troops hadn't used. They opened fire on the rather disorganized task force, as the Umbrella soldiers didn't have the best security chief to lead them. Carlos and L.J. took the incoming forces on the right, and Alice and Jill handled the forces on the left. The troops weren't much of a problem. It was the ships and their weapons that were causing the main issue.
"This lifeboat isn't going to hold much longer," Alice said.
"If only we had that RPG," Carlos grumbled.
Jill perked up. "What RPG?"
"We raided an old military base in Concord. We got all sorts of weapons, but they're with the convoy," Carlos explained.
"No, they're not," Claire's voice answered from behind them. She had arrived with Mikey, Angie, K-Mart and a few others. They had found a boat and brought weapons along. "We couldn't sit this one out and watch you have all the fun."
"I thought we told you to leave if we didn't come back," Carlos said.
Claire huffed. "I think you meant to say, Thank you. We don't leave people behind, Carlos."
"Thank you," Alice said.
Jill excitedly took the RPG from the box. "I am going to enjoy this."
"Please tell me there are two of those," Alice said.
Jill handed a second RPG to Alice. "Ready when you are, honey."
"Let's go."
They stood, leaving the cover of their lifeboat, and took down the first two ships. The others continued shooting at the ships and troops. Angie and K-Mart helped Jill and Alice reload. They fired, taking down the next two ships. With the help of Claire and the others, they soon defeated the troops and the aircraft.
"Well, it looks like we own a boat now," Alice commented.
"A boat with two thousand survivors," Jill noted.
Claire beamed. "Two thousand? I never dreamt there'd be so many."
"I say we keep moving down the coast and picking up survivors. We can split up. Have some people on the boat and some in the vehicles," Alice suggested.
"What if Umbrella attacks again? They're not going to like us having their boat," Jill pointed out.
"I don't think there's much choice. We don't have the resources for two thousand people on the convoy, and it's not safe to return to land," Claire said.
"Okay. That just leaves one question. Who gets to be the captain?" Jill asked.
Everyone turned to look at Alice. She put up her hands. "No. But thank you. I just want to be a passenger for once."
"If not Alice, how about Carlos?" Claire suggested. "He's been my right hand on the convoy for years. I wouldn't trust anyone more than him to run this ship."
"I'd be fine with that," Carlos agreed. He glanced at Jill. "Only if Jill will be my first mate."
Jill grinned. "I accept."
"Then let's divide the convoy and get moving," Carlos said.
L.J. wanted no part of being on the water, so he returned to the convoy with Claire and Mikey. Angie wanted to stay with Alice and Jill. K-Mart was torn between staying with her friend, Angie, and going with Claire. Yet, she hadn't left Claire's side in years. So, she opted to stay with the convoy for now. They all began moving south.
Alice found a cozy cabin in the crew quarters to share with Jill. Jill found some food in the mess hall and brought it to their cabin. It was the first time they'd had a true space of their own, a space with an actual bed. However, that bed was meant to be a single. It wasn't much wider than the couch where they had shared their first kiss.
"I call little spoon," Jill declared.
Alice put down her dinner, playfully grumbling. "You beat me to it."
"Well, we can switch off."
"No, no. You called it."
They crawled into bed, Alice holding Jill close. Jill sighed contentedly. "I could used to this, and that scares me. We don't seem to be comfortable long."
"You can blame the end of the world for that, First Mate Valentine."
"It does have a nice ring to it. I should look for a sailor uniform around here. I miss wearing a uniform."
Alice hummed. "Don't. I don't think I could take seeing you in uniform."
"No? Imagine if you'd run into me in Raccoon City before my suspension. Wearing that police uniform of mine…"
"Oh no. I'm glad you weren't wearing it the night we met. You were already distracting enough in that blue tube top."
"Five years ago now. Hard to believe. And to think you almost left."
The thought made Alice hold Jill closer. "Thank you for getting me to stay."
"I knew the second I saw you that I could never let you go, Alice."
They settled into a calm quiet that led to sleep. Alice's nightmares of Dr. Isaacs had continued even after killing him in the desert. She never understood why she still dreamt of him, or why she still saw herself alone among a sea of corpses. She always woke with a start, but Jill was right beside her. That was usually enough to calm her. Though, that night her dream went on longer than normal. She saw Dr. Isaacs, older, in a familiar place. It was The Hive. He was there, talking about a plan and a cure.
Alice then saw a prison, Wesker, and the White House on fire. She was alone among the corpses again. Jill was dead at her feet, and she heard herself crying. Alone. All alone…
She woke suddenly, jarring Jill awake. Jill held Alice's hands, speaking in a sleepy voice. "Alice? You okay, honey?"
"Yeah. Just dreams." Alice hoped that's all they were.
XxXxX
After working down the coast, the convoy and boat had picked up several more survivors. They were now outside of Los Angeles. They broadcasted for survivors, discovering there was a small group of people living in a jail in the city. When they realized how many of the Undead were surrounding it, the only option was to use one of their aircraft to execute the rescue mission.
"We'll hover over the roof and drop down on ropes. We can pull everyone safely inside from there," Carlos decided.
Alice was at the controls as the aircraft left the boat. Carlos and Jill planned to drop down to rescue the group. They hovered over the roof of the prison and began the mission. They grabbed the first few people, leaving only Luther West on the roof. Jill and Carlos took a moment to chat with him.
"Is that everyone?" Jill asked.
Luther paused. "Well…"
"Well? Who else is in there?" Carlos asked.
"There's someone in a cell in the basement. But he's dangerous," Luther answered.
Jill shook her head at that. "We don't leave any survivors behind. We have ways to keep him confined on the ship if he is dangerous, but we won't let him rot in a cell down there."
Luther sighed. "As you wish. It'll take a moment to get down there. We don't have electricity."
Carlos hopped on the radio. "Alice, take the first batch to the ship. We have to get someone from the basement. We'll get to the roof and wait for you to come back."
"Are you sure?" Alice radioed in return.
"Yeah, it'll take us a second. We'd just be wasting fuel with you hovering there," Jill agreed. "Don't worry, honey. We'll be waiting for you."
Alice smirked at that and headed back to the ship. Luther led Carlos and Jill to the basement, where Chris Redfield was in his cell. When he saw Carlos and Jill, he offered his hand through the food slot. "Thank you for coming for us."
Carlos unsurely shook Chris' hand. "We aren't going to have a problem with you, are we?"
"No," Chris assured him. "I just want out of here."
Luther opened the cell, though he was nervous. Jill heard something moving in the walls and automatically pointed her gun in that direction. "What was that?"
"Nothing to worry about," Luther said.
The group moved to the stairwell, getting ready to return to the roof. Alice had made it back to the ship with the survivors. She took off again to return to the prison. As she resumed her flight, the others were getting closer to the roof, but Jill heard something in one of the hallways.
"You're sure you don't have anyone else in here?" Jill asked.
Luther nodded. "Everyone else was on that aircraft."
"Something is out there," Jill answered.
Just then, the door to the stairwell opened, and they were greeted by a Majini Undead, its mouth tentacles on display. Carlos blew it away. "To the roof. Now."
They rushed to the roof as more of the Undead started coming into the hallway through a hole they'd made in one of the bathrooms. As they reached the rooftop, Alice was returning. She hovered over the roof, and her assistant—none other than Angie—dropped the ropes. Luther and Chris each took a rope, and the winch system carried them up into the aircraft.
The Undead had made it to the roof. Angie dropped the ropes for Carlos and Jill. They each took a rope and started shooting. The Undead were nearly on top of them as the winches brought them up. Alice quickly left the area as Jill climbed into the front with her.
"Those things had something coming out of their mouths," Jill said. "Another new toy of Umbrella's?"
"I don't know. I thought all the facilities in North America were destroyed or offline," Alice returned.
"Maybe not. Maybe there's still a facility online somewhere," Jill said.
Alice hummed. "Why'd you have to go inside? Someone didn't hear us coming?"
"They had a guy in a cell. They say he's dangerous, but we'll see."
Carlos kept a close eye on Chris. He didn't get the feeling Chris was a threat, but he wanted to test the waters. "Why were you in that cell, Mr.…?"
"It's Chris. Chris Redfield. I was here with my regiment when the Governor released the prisoners. The inmates put me in the cell as a joke, and no one would let me out."
"Redfield?" Carlos repeated. A smile came to him. "You wouldn't happen to have a sister named Claire, would you?"
"Yeah. How do you know that?"
"I know her. Quite well. She used to talk about a brother. She's going to be thrilled to hear you're alive."
"She's okay?" Chis asked as relief struck him. "Where is she?"
"Inland with a convoy. But I'm sure she'll come visit when she hears you're on my boat." Carlos said. He then went to the front to see Alice and Jill. "We just found Claire's brother."
Alice and Jill exchanged glances. Jill then grinned. "I hope he's half as capable as she is. I have a feeling we're going to need all the help we can get."