This fic is just another self-insert story (with OC placeholder) taking place during the Resident Evil 2 Remake. I am warning you ahead of time, this shit is super self-indulgent, probably over detailed and probably not very realistic. BUT I had a good time writing it and, honestly, I made it for me. I'd just thought to share for other fans who like these kinds of fics like me.
Please feel free to insert yourself if you so choose 'cause honestly that was the whole point of me making this lol Life's too short to not self insert/selfship
May be a bit ooc but whateva. Very self indulgent. Both Claire and the OC being bisexual af but honestly I headcanon a lot of RE characters as bi, including Leon.
Also another thing, things will be different throughout the story via boss battles and items because I want to incorporate the impact of Leon's actions from his B scenario. Not all the time. Some things I have to keep 'cause of how the game is played, but sometimes. Especially near the end. Just trust me on this. If you're interested, I have the counterpart fic but in Leon A's scenario since I'm also in love with him lol
New game [2nd Run: Claire Redfield
Chapter 1:
Groans of the undead filled the night air. The empty streets were paved only with abandoned cars, lingering bodies, and scattered garbage. Rain pelted the ground reflecting back the chaotic environment in the puddles it left. The water almost ran red with all of the blood spilled during the carnage. However, there was one other sound echoing in the night, and it was the sound of footsteps running hastily across the city.
They were made by a lone survivor trying to find safety in this godforsaken place, where despite being alone, she had somehow managed to stay alive. Stopping under a nearby tree to catch her breath, she could hear the loud voice of the PSA drawing nearer.
Shelter and supplies sounded very nice right about now. Maybe just one more block, she can make it! There had to be survivors, right?
With all of the running, she couldn't feel the cold sting of the rain on her skin anymore, even as it drenched through her thin purple flannel. Her jean shorts and ripped black tights weren't any better in protecting her legs from the rain. The numbness wasn't all bad, but the squelching in her black sneakers still made her shiver
She didn't expect the weather to turn south, and she certainly didn't expect the city to fall victim to an outbreak. Unfortunately, she had lost her jacket in a skirmish with those monsters out there, but that wasn't important. All that mattered was that she would live no matter what.
Just as she was about to start running again, the sound of a loud explosion in the distance rang out through the city. The ground shook even to where she stood, meaning that it wasn't too far off. That's gonna draw attention, I have to keep moving! With that thought in mind, she took off toward the Raccoon City Police Department.
Rounding the corner, she could see the giant lit-up sign of the R.P.D. in the distance and a feeling of hope filled her heart. She carefully looked out onto the street in front of the colossal building only to curse under her breath. To her dismay, more of the wandering dead were walking near the front gate. She took a moment to think before deciding to take a stealthier approach.
Perhaps there was a back or side entrance she could use instead. Carefully, she weaved through the cars till she reached the giant brick fence surrounding the station. Then she followed it away from the front entrance to find some sort of alternate way to get in.
Luckily, she found a small white iron gate leading to the side of the building, but she was also just as unlucky to find it already locked. Looking around, she didn't see any monsters, so she gave it a little shake to see if she could pry it open, but to no avail. Her heart stopped as panic set in.
"C'mon," she grunted while trying to reach the lock on the inside."Please open!"
The gate rattled in her grip enough to cause her to whip her head around for danger. She was being too loud. Maybe this wasn't-
"Hello?" a girl's voice suddenly called out from inside. A saving grace! Pulling her hand back, the survivor heard footsteps coming from the inside toward her.
"Hey! Is someone there?! Please open the gate!" she pleaded, hope filling her at the prospect of finally being safe.
From around the corner came a tall Caucasian girl with brown hair pulled up into a ponytail. She was wearing a red leather jacket and jeans that were soaked to the bone, just as she was. She ran over to the gate without hesitation, unlocked it, and yanked it open, much to the girl's relief.
"My god you're actually alive!" the stranger exclaimed.
The other girl quickly ran in and shut the gate behind her, locking it back up before turning to her savior. She had never been so happy to see anyone in her life and she didn't even know her.
"Yeah, somehow," she said while trying gather herself. "Thank you so much! I couldn't find another way to get in. I don't know where else to go!"
"It's no problem! I'm glad you're safe. Name's Claire, Claire Redfield," she introduced herself, holding out a hand to the other.
"Veronica Lopez," Veronica replied, grasping Claire's hand and shaking it.
It was cold and wet, such as the environment will do, but it was still soft. Even in the dimly lit outside, Veronica could tell that Claire was pretty, which might've been a problem since she was a closeted bisexual. But now wasn't the time for that.
"Nice to meet you, Veronica."
"Likewise!" They both began walking away from the gate, glancing around at their surroundings when Veronica spoke up again. "Hey, um, listen I know we're still strangers and all, but do you mind if I stick with you? I really don't want to go through this alone anymore." Claire turned to her and blinked in surprise at her statement.
"Anymore? Have you been by yourself this whole time?!" The other girl nodded as she swiped her hair away from her face, wiping the droplets of rain against her skin.
"I barely drove into town today to visit my friend. I had no idea what was happening. My car broke down and I've been trapped here ever since. Any safe place I went to, just shut me out. They didn't want to risk any of those things getting in."
"Those assholes," Claire scoffed in anger then softly grasped one of Veronica's shoulders. "Of course, you can stay with me! Just keep close. I have another friend here somewhere in the station. I'm sure he's gotten here before us." Veronica sighed in relief and nodded in gratitude.
The pair continued walking around, finding a large yard filled with shallow graves. Each mound of dirt was marked by a thin plank of wood. There was even a ditch filled with bodies that wasn't finished with burying them.
Each body was tied up in body bags, meaning that if they weren't fully dead, they were going to have a hard time getting out. Taking it in, they realized that the survivors in the station turned this peaceful-looking picnic area into a makeshift graveyard. And the number of graves was devastating.
"So, how long have you been here?" Veronica asked as she picked up one of the leftover planks of wood that was lying her foot to bend it at the end, it broke causing it to have an sharpened edge.
It wasn't much of a weapon, but it'll have to do. If anything, this was the best thing she had all day. Claire carefully looked around a corner that led further towards the station and down a wide staircase as she responded.
"Just got here. I wasn't even here for five minutes before I heard you show up. My friend, Leon, and I were separated after a gas tanker exploded. I had to take quite the detour to get here."
"Holy shit! That explosion was you?! I heard it from all the way over here!"
"Yeah. It was a miracle that we even survived, to be honest," she said while leading the way down the flight of stairs that led under the front entrance to the station.
There was a door right under the poorly lit bridge, but they found the handle wrapped in chains. They would need something to cut it to get in. The taller girl turned to the other and Veronica couldn't help but notice that she flitted her eyes up and down to get a better look at her.
Claire's expression was unreadable, but Veronica would be lying if she said she wasn't doing the same. From what she could tell, Claire was tall and fit, with long, toned arms and legs. She may have been only a few inches taller than her, but it was enough for Veronica to slightly look up at her.
Even under such shit lighting, she could tell her cheeks were dotted with cute freckles under her intense ocean eyes. Her pink lips looked soft as they rested in a cute pout which Veronica had to tear her gaze away from. Her long bangs framed her face nicely, even though the ponytail she had was already getting messy.
Her clothes were casual but in a biker girl kind of way. The red leather jacket with the pinup design on the back was a dead giveaway. Veronica couldn't really see the design since it was too dark to see in the night, but from what she could tell, it looked cool. There was already a gun holster strapped to her thigh, but it was no surprise to see it.
There was a black tank top that peeked out from beneath her jacket, and a feather necklace hung down from her neck near her chest. Veronica tried to keep her eyes up to not be rude, but boy was it hard. Claire was beautiful!
"Do you by chance have a gun?" Veronica just lifted the wood in her hand to answer. "Right. Do you know how to shoot if we found you one?"
"Kinda, but not really. I'm a little scared to, to be honest."
"I get it. Well, if we find you one, I'll help teach you how to shoot 'cause you're gonna need it."
"R-right," Veronica agreed nervously. She wasn't very confident in her shooting abilities.
They continued to make their way forward, going back out into the rain and up another set of stairs. As they were walking up to it, they heard a distant buzzing growing louder in the sky. They looked at each other curiously, then tried looking up to find the source, but it was hard to find while surrounded by thick trees.
"Is that a helicopter?" Veronica asked.
"If it is, then that means we can get rescued!"
Carefully walking up onto the courtyard, they found some bodies lying around on the floor. Whether they were actually dead or not, they didn't know, but they weren't moving yet. That had to be a good sign, right?
Turning a corner, they found a chain-linked fence in front of a possible entryway to the station about fifteen feet away. It stood high above them with barbed wire sitting at the top. I guess climbing it is out of the question.
As the pair began making their way towards it, however, they were stopped dead in their tracks as the buzzing sound grew louder overhead. They watched in horror as a helicopter swooped in low, clearly out of control, and crashed into the side of the building. The wall crumbled down on it leaving a giant cloud of dust in its wake. No one got out of it, as if anyone could survive a crash like that.
"Oh my god!" Veronica gasped.
"So much for getting rescued," Claire mumbled dryly.
As they continued toward the gate, a door on the second floor of the station opened, much to their surprise. It was a young man, and he was shining his flashlight onto the crash site. Claire's face filled with recognition once she saw him.
"HEY!" she shouted at him, her voice echoing in the night air. "LEON!?" Catching his attention, he ran over to the stair railing to look down at them.
"CLAIRE! HOLD ON! I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!"
"OK!"
The girls finally ran over to the gate to meet him. There was a door in the fence, but unfortunately, it was locked. Claire tried rattling at the knob and shoving at the door but to no avail. Looking around for something to help, Veronica found a bolt cutter sitting in a wheelbarrow against the wall.
She was about to start clipping at the fence, but Claire stopped her. She explained that it would take too long to clip through without being noticed. Not to mention it would let the zombies in if they did so. So instead, Veronica saved it for the door they had passed by earlier.
The young man made it down the stairs in record time and Veronica was caught by surprise. He looked to be just as young as they were and was dressed head to toe in an upgraded police uniform that fits well to a built body. His light brown hair was soaked but it still framed a handsome face.
If the situation was different enough where she met Leon instead of Claire, she might've fallen for him. Wow, ok now is not the time to be in a bisexual panic. We are in a zombie outbreak, calm down!
"Claire...It is so nice to see you," Leon sighed as he grasped onto the fence with gloved hands. Veronica had to agree, seeing another living human being was very nice indeed.
"How're you doing? That helicopter just came out of nowhere…" Claire nodded up to the crash site. Leon glanced over at it for a second while nodding.
"Yeah...I'm in one piece."
Claire nodded for a moment in agreement and was about to say something else when Leon's gaze flitted to her companion. Veronica swallowed nervously as his blue eyes met her brown ones. He was really handsome.
"Who's this?"
"This is Veronica! We both got here around the same time, so we're going to be gal pals from now on," Claire joked, causing Veronica to inwardly choke on her breath. Even though it was a joke, the gay implications were the only thing that came to mind for her. Wow, she was already going through it.
"Gal pals, huh? Well, it's nice to meet you, Veronica!" he grinned, and Veronica couldn't help the one growing on her own face.
"Likewise, it's really nice to meet you too, Leon. Glad to see someone still alive amidst this chaos!"
Glancing over at Claire, her eyes were also on her. Holy shit, both of them are looking at me and they're both beautiful literally what the fuck. She cleared her throat and looked away, seemingly stopping the other two from staring. When Claire faced Leon again, the boy raised his eyebrows suggestively at her causing her to also clear her throat embarrassingly and a light blush to spread across her cheeks.
"I'm guessing you don't have a key in one of those fancy pockets?" Claire asked looking at the many pouches at his waist, even if to divert the conversation.
"Unfortunately, no... But, how are you guys doing?"
"You know," she shrugged playfully as she leaned an arm against the gate, "just surviving." Both Leon and Veronica chuckled at that.
"That's good. Any luck with your brother?"
"Your brother?" Veronica asked. Claire looked over at her and nodded.
"Yeah, I came here looking for my brother, Chris. He's supposed to be working here, but no, not yet."
"Claire, don't lose hope...I'm sure we're gonna find him-," Leon began when suddenly, a giant explosion from behind interrupted him. Turning around, the helicopter had caught on fire causing the fire alarm bell in the building to ring loudly into the night.
"Damn it. You know what that means," he stated grimly.
Claire and Veronica turned at the sounds of snarling coming from behind them. Zombies were beginning to circle the outer gate. A body was already sitting up near a bench at the end of the courtyard.
"Yeah...Dinner time," Claire mumbled while taking out her gun, Veronica holding her makeshift weapon tightly in her hand.
"Guys, I think you should go." They turned back to face him, Veronica watching him with sad eyes.
"Don't worry about us, Leon. You take care of yourself." The farther fence that surrounded the building was beginning to shake with the amount of undead trying to get in.
"You both need to go- NOW!" Leon urged.
Claire silently agreed as she began to walk away, but Veronica hesitated, her fingers grasping at the fence tightly. She didn't know him, but she still cared. She didn't want anyone else to die tonight.
"Please be careful, Leon," Veronica pleaded, receiving a swift nod and a small smile in return. She turned and jogged over to follow Claire who was waiting for her. They both turned to look at Leon, one last time.
"Hey...Let's get through this. All of us," Claire wished full of conviction for the group.
Leon nodded in agreement before the girls looked at each other then began running back the way they came. Now with the bolt cutters in hand, they could get into that room they had found for safety and supplies if there were any. They were able to dodge and weave past most of the zombies, but Claire did have to shoot a couple just to get through. She was already low on ammo.
Once they made it to the door, Veronica quickly used the bolt cutters and opened it in a flash. Dashing inside, they locked it behind them, to find a tiny room with a desk, a big black box, and some lockers. There wasn't much, but they took a moment to push the box in front of the door as a barricade of some sort since it was heavy.
Next to the desk was a police recruitment poster with a man named Brad Vickers on it. There was a fleeting thought in Veronica's head when she saw it where it was strange to remember there was a regular city before this all happened. Now it was all chaos and destruction. This Brad guy could be dead for all she knew.
"Over here!" Veronica whispered, pulling Claire out of the door window's line of sight and into the corner. "Don't move."
They waited in silence on the darker side of the small room near where the poster was, pressing themselves against the concrete wall. The groans of the zombies that were following them had made it just outside the door.
Both of the girl's hearts began racing in their chests as they waited. If they were found and the zombies were able to break in, they were ultimately fucked. The zombie's pawed uselessly at the plexiglass for a solid few minutes before they lost interest and stumbled away.
The girls waited a few more seconds before finally relaxing. Claire decided to carefully peek out the window and found no zombies waiting too closely nearby. Taking this moment, she sat on the desk, while Veronica sat on the chair nearby to try and catch their breath. A few minutes won't hurt.
"We can never catch a break, can we?" Claire sighed looking over at the other survivor who shook her head.
"Never seems like it," Veronica replied while squeezing the water out of her long brown hair.
She glanced over at the other girl to find her looking right back at her. They gave a small smile to each other before turning away and glancing around the room. There was a strange feeling of tension in the air. It was faint and prickled at the skin but did not go unnoticed.
Claire was very cute and so far, she's been very cool as a person, so it wasn't hard to feel a little attraction. However, Veronica had to keep her head on her shoulders. This was not the time for a silly little crush.
"That was some quick thinking!" Claire suddenly asked, as if to break the awkwardness. "You know, with the hiding? It's a small room with not much to hide in. How did you know that would work? Aren't those things usually relentless?"
"It was just basic instinct," she answered before looking back over at the other. "But even though they're relentless, they're not exactly smart. I figured out that once you're out of sight and quiet for a good while, they'll forget you're there and walk away. It's worked for me so far. That with a little distraction. Throwing a rock in the opposite direction has worked a couple of times in getting me out of a jam," Veronica explained. Claire nodded as she took in that information before thinking about her next question.
"Do you by chance know how all of this started? I mean, a zombie apocalypse doesn't just happen overnight!" she asked. Veronica merely shrugged.
"No idea. I didn't know this was happening till I got here, and no one would give me an answer when I asked. As far as I know, the people don't know either."
Claire sighed at that and stared at her feet as she thought about what to do next. While she did that, Veronica decided to finally fully check her surroundings. Across from her against the wall was an old radiator and she noticed something odd sitting on top of it.
It was kind of dark to see, so she picked it up thinking it could be something useful. Revealing it out into the light, she gasped and quickly set it on the table. It was a grenade.
"Oh, I'm not carrying that," she muttered nervously. Claire picked it up to study it before hooking it around her belt.
"I will. I know how to use it." Veronica blinked curiously at her.
"You do?"
"My brother, Chris, taught me. He was in the Air Force before joining S.T.A.R.S. here at the R.P.D. We lost our parents when we were young, so it was just me and him for a long time. He wanted to make sure I was protected even when he wasn't around to protect me," Claire explained while smiling fondly at the memory. "I can only hope he's around so that we can find him and Leon, then all of us can get the hell out of dodge." There was a moment of hesitation before Veronica spoke again.
"Do you really think he's still here?" Veronica asked, avoiding whether the question should be about if the guy was even alive at all. "I mean, he hasn't like, tried to call you? Told you to stay away?"
"Honestly, I hope he's not here, but I don't know for sure. And no, he didn't. Not too long ago, Chris just stopped calling. It was like he dropped off the map. He was always so adamant about keeping in contact with me since I'm his little sister, but then he just...vanishes. By the time I called the station to ask, no one answered. And now I'm starting to know why."
"So that's why you're here…"
"Yeah. I got really worried about him. And now, I…. I'm going to find him and bring him home."
Veronica pursed her lips and didn't say anything. Now was not the time to shatter her hopes. Who knows? Maybe the guy was alive after all. After a minute, Veronica sighed to herself while remembering where they were, and the little time that they had.
"We should search this room for supplies then figure out a game plan. Right?" she suggested.
"Right! First, we need to get into the station somehow and catch up with Leon! Once we find him, we'll work from there."
With that plan in mind, they both got up and looked around for supplies before they could leave. Veronica turned to the desk behind her and found another gun hiding under some papers. What luck!
"Oh! That's a Quickdraw Army gun!" Claire told her excitedly. The shorter girl raised an eyebrow.
"Wow! How do you know that?"
"Like I said, my brother is very protective of me. He's taught me how to take care of myself in an emergency and that includes gun training." She held out her hand for the gun which Veronica gave her. "This one can shoot very fast, kinda like those old westerns when they do those gunfights. I'll trade you guns if that's alright with you." Veronica didn't know much about guns, but she figured Claire would make better use of it than she would.
"Sure."
Claire handed her the revolver that she had been using before as she checked her new gun for ammo. Despite now having a weapon to protect herself with, the gun felt heavy in Veronica's hand, and she wasn't sure if she liked it. But she knew she had to use it eventually in order to survive.
"Here. Let me teach you how to use it," the other girl offered.
She began to explain the basics, bringing up both of Veronica's arms. She gently fixed her hand position on the gun handle and placed her thumb on the hammer. The girl in purple felt her heart pound in her chest at all the touching and closeness. She could feel Claire's breath brush lightly against her cheek.
Her touch was soft and gentle against Veronica's skin, making her nervous. She was suddenly very hyper-aware of the other girl's body heat near hers and the cramped space of the room didn't exactly help with that. Blood rushed up to her cheeks and she could feel the warmth spread across her chest.
Claire didn't seem to notice as she explained what to do with her arms and how to aim. Why Veronica was suddenly so focused on this, she didn't know. This is so not the time for this! Claire's voice behind her suddenly awoke her from her thoughts.
"Now make sure, you keep your finger away from the trigger until you're about to shoot. We don't want an accident happening."
Veronica nodded and brought herself back to reality as she listened to how to reload the gun. With that lesson done, Claire pulled away to do more searching and Veronica felt like she could breathe again. Damn me and my gay panic!
While she internally calmed down, Claire turned towards an open locker on the other side of the room and peered inside. Finding something useful, she pulled out an extra gun holster made more specifically for the gun that they had found in the room. She reached around her leg and unclipped her current holster, holding it out for the other to take. Once in hand, Claire clipped the one she found on, placing her gun inside.
Following suit, Veronica clipped hers around her own thigh, before placing the gun she was given inside it. Since she was low on ammo and considering that they had found more ammo for Claire's gun in the room, she decided to keep the wooden board as a makeshift weapon for the time being. It's not like she had any real target practice before.
Digging through the large police-issued box, they found a couple of leftover pouches and the last large police-grade knife in its sheath. Since Claire already had a knife, it worked out for Veronica to take one to match. However, the both of them took the last of the pouches and hooked them to their waists since they were useful. They didn't know what they would be up against or what they would find, but anything could help.
Once they were done getting ready, Claire took one last look into the lockers for anything she had missed. Opening one a little wider, she noticed that there was a key hook on the other side. To their luck, on one of the hooks was a key labeled for the gate they had met Leon at.
"Well, what do ya know!" she exclaimed, lifting it up into view with the key ring hooked on her finger.
Taking their luck in stride, they pulled out their weapons and carefully peeked out the door window. There still didn't seem to be any zombies around. So, on a count of three, they ran out of the room and took off up the stairs.
At the top, they were met with the crowd of zombies they had dodged past, and they were all too quickly noticed. The group was too big to hold off with the ammo they had, so, with some quick thinking, Claire reached behind her and grabbed the grenade. She pulled the pin and threw it over towards the zombies.
"Grenade!" she shouted in warning.
A moment later, it went off blasting the small horde to kingdom come. There was a high-pitched ringing that lingered in their ears after the explosion, but they couldn't hang around to deal with it. Veronica felt herself being tugged away from there before she could even get her hearing fully back.
They ran through the cleared path and busted through the now unlocked gate door. Claire shut it behind them and locked it back up so that the zombies couldn't get in. Leon was now long gone, but at least they were safe in the department.
Right?
