Resident Evil: Phoenix by Red Hope

Chapter 15

K-Mart yawned and stretched under the warm blankets. She let out a low groan after she realized how stiff her muscles were from sleeping on a metal floor. She'd been spoiled by her bed back on the Arcadia. After a few blinks, she tempted looking around the interior of the helicopter. She rolled onto her side and saw that Claire and Alice were gone. She vaguely recalled their boot steps about twenty minutes ago.

K-Mart climbed out of bed because her stomach rumbled at her. She noted that Jill and Leon were still resting so she silently tiptoed out of the helicopter. She squeezed through the small opening in the door and headed to the campfire, which had been burning all night.

After another brief yawn, K-Mart focused on the lone figure seated by the campfire on a pile of blankets. She smiled at seeing Alice's calm profile, and she wondered where Claire was. K-Mart approached Alice but became confused by Alice's longer hair. She didn't overthink it and instead greeted, "Good morning, Alice." She instantly found amused green eyes peering up at her.

Casey canted her head at the kid, who had emerged from the Osprey. She'd detected the girl's presence earlier but only now acknowledged her thanks to the morning wishes. She didn't hide her entertainment at the girl's confusion. It was to be expected, but Casey also decided to go along with it. She did, after all, have Alice's wicked sense of humor.

"Good morning," Casey drew out. "Sleep well?" She'd heard somebody snoring, loudly last night in the helicopter.

K-Mart was fiddling with her long hair and getting it reset in a bun. "Yeah, I was tired."

Casey smirked and figured it was the girl that'd been so damn loud. She had half expected a few undead to be attracted to the noise. "I could tell."

K-Mart furrowed her eyebrows, but she decided it was best not to ask. She instead took a seat beside her friend and asked, "Where's Claire?"

Casey licked her lips and curiously studied how the girl just flopped down next to her without a care. She leaned to her right so she had a better view of the girl next to her. "She's getting cleaned up." She had a wicked glint in her eyes.

K-Mart bit her bottom lip and could no longer hold back her question. "So what's up with your hair?" She shook her head and teased, "Did you go to the beauty salon last night or what?" Her heart jumped wildly when Alice flashed a wide grin.

"You got me," Casey huskily replied. Her grin shifted into a cat-like smile. "I got a manicure too."

K-Mart couldn't help but laugh at the idiotic conversation. She knew Alice was teasing her, but the idea of Alice getting a manicure done was beyond her. She cleared her throat then amusingly stared at the older woman.

Casey had chuckled a few times, but she decided to heat up the game further. She leaned to her side until her right arm carried some of her weight against the ground. She smirked and asked, "So what's your name, kid?"

K-Mart was startled and stared oddly at Alice. "What?" Never once had Alice call her a 'kid', and it actually hurt her.

Casey straightened up and gave a nearly serious look except for the smirk pulling at the corner of her lips. She held out her right hand and introduced, "My name is Casey... Casey Abernathy."

K-Mart stared, hard and long at the woman, who looked just like Alice. Well actually, the woman looked more closely to Alice from a year ago after K-Mart seriously considered it. She attempted to say something, but no words passed her lips.

Casey chuckled and exposed her devilish grin. She lowered her hand and teased, "You forget your name?" She thoroughly enjoyed K-Mart's shocked stare.

K-Mart's gawk was finally broken by the movement coming from across the camp. She rotated her head that way and went wide eye at seeing Claire strolling into camp with Alice. K-Mart instantly looked back at Alice's double and thought the double would be gone. But instead the double was softly laughing at K-Mart.

"Holy fuck!" K-Mart squealed and suddenly came to life. She scurried to her feet, but she tumbled away and almost fell on her ass. Her excited heart nearly broke through her chest. She reversed several more feet until she hit a soft body then sure hands gripped her shoulders.

"It's alright, K-Mart," Alice soothed. She steadied her young friend then flashed a small warning look at her chuckling clone.

Casey swallowed down her laughs and tried playing nice instead of upsetting the girl. She climbed to her feet and mentioned, "It was hard not to."

Alice sighed, but she understood the clone's wicked streak. She glanced at Claire, who wasn't annoyed but had a small grin.

Claire wiped it away though and looked at her sister. "I see you met Casey."

K-Mart straightened up and felt Alice's hands slip away from her shoulders. "Yes." She regained her composure after being scared half to death. "You have a twin sister?" She peered up at Alice.

Casey had joined the group and informed, "Not exactly." She grinned at the girl and explained, "I'm Alice's clone."

K-Mart lips shifted into a silent 'oh'. But she stepped forward and held out her hand. "I'm K-Mart." She warmly received a strong handshake.

"Nice to meet you, K-Mart." Casey finally gave a sincere smile after the handshake. She put her hands on her hips. "So what is for breakfast?"

"Beans or yams?" Claire questioned. She held down a grin, but the mirth entered her eyes.

K-Mart groaned and replied, "I'll pass on both."

Claire peered down at her sister and offered, "Oatmeal then?"

K-Mart now grinned at the leader. "Got syrup?"

"You're pushing it, K-Mart."

K-Mart chuckled at her sister's reply. She nodded once and declared, "I'll get the water started then." She slipped past everybody and went to work.

Casey's soft green eyes briefly followed K-Mart but cut back to Claire. "Your sister?" She already smelled the different blood between Claire and K-Mart, but she also noticed how Claire looked after K-Mart.

Claire pulled her hat's brim then replied, "Yup." She folded her arms and wondered where Casey was going with it.

"Hmmmm." Casey rocked on her feet then stated, "She's cute." Then she pivoted on the balls of her feet and headed back to the campfire. She planned to help get breakfast ready.

Claire had opened her mouth to say something to Casey, but she was cut off by Casey's sudden departure. Instead she turned to her partner and asked, "Should I be..." She faltered because Alice already shrugged at her.

Alice then held out their tiny pack that contained their toiletries.

Claire knew Alice was leaving her to wake up Jill and Leon. She swiped the dangling bag and walked off with a heavier than normal footfall.

Alice grinned at her lover's back, but she joined Casey and K-Mart with getting things prepared. After breakfast, she and Casey would organize the explosives for today. K-Mart had twenty-one questions for Alice and Casey while she organized the bowls and spoons for the future oatmeal. Casey handled most of the questions, for Alice's sake. She actually enjoyed talking to K-Mart, who was more than just a kid or girl. Casey had been wrong about her first assessment.

Casey was knelt in front of the campfire after feeding it some new wood. She turned her head sidelong after she saw two newcomers. She went still at seeing Jill Valentine in the lead.

Alice stood up from her spot beside K-Mart. She wrapped around the fire until she was near Casey, who was standing up again.

Claire jogged out of the helicopter and caught up to Jill and Leon. She noticed Jill's distraught stare in Casey and Alice's direction. "Jill..."

Jill stood only a yard or so from the perfect carbon copy of the woman that'd shot her years ago. But she shifted her darkening stare to Alice. "What the fuck is this?" A strong hand on her shoulder made her take a deep breath. She focused on Claire, who was trying to calm her.

"Jill, this is Casey." Claire squeezed her friend's shoulder then lowered her hand after she was sure that Jill wouldn't do anything. "She is Alice's... clone." She didn't like how it sounded to her ears. She inwardly flinched because Casey's confidence was cracked by Claire's words. She decided from that point to introduce Casey as Alice's twin. Nobody else needed to know Casey's unusual history.

"Clone?" Jill breathed out in surprise. She stared hard at Casey and easily envisioned this woman pointing a loaded gun at her head. At least Alice's mutations had made it slightly easier for Jill, but this clone rekindled her bad memories too perfectly.

Alice shifted a step forward and placed herself a little in front of Casey. She didn't like seeing the fracture in Casey's upbeat attitude. It was no surprise that Casey was more affected by Jill's wrath than Alice had been at the start.

"Well isn't that fucking great," Jill chewed off. She shook her head and walked away from the group. She decided to leave the camp so she could have some time alone. She also had to clean up.

Claire sighed and sent a silent apology to Casey, who didn't deserve any flack for the history between Jill and Alice. She glanced over at Leon, who just finished with his shock.

Leon stepped forward and held out his hand. "I'm Leon Kennedy."

Casey briefly shook his hand, and she instantly didn't like him. Her skin crawled and there was fear all over him. She nodded at him but said nothing.

Leon decided his safest bet was Jill so he excused himself. He followed his friend's cold trail since she'd need her things.

"I'm really sorry, Casey," Claire honestly offered after Leon was out of earshot.

Casey shook her head and shifted away from Alice and Claire. She needed a moment to regain herself. She saw that K-Mart was preparing to put the hot water into the bowls so she joined her.

K-Mart gave a reassuring smile to the clone, but she didn't say anything about what happened. She instead took Casey's help and started mixing the hot water and oatmeal. She'd been thrilled to discover the oatmeal was actually cinnamon and sugar flavored.

Casey appreciated that K-Mart didn't make any remark regarding Jill Valentine. She fell into the motions of getting the food ready for everybody.

Claire sat down with her partner and placed an aviation chart between them. She and Alice worked out their plans to get back on course for Houston. Claire had the other relevant sectionals set off to her left side.

"What about fueling up?" Claire asked her partner.

Alice looked at Deming and the large airport that could potentially have jet fuel. "I'm not sure it's a good idea." She tapped the large town that may have undead living in it. "We have enough to get to and from Houston."

"But I rather have full tanks," the leader debated.

"It's going to take some work," Alice fought. She looked up from the sectional. "We're going to have to wire the gas pump's electrical system to the helicopter to run the fuel pump." She considered what time it was already. "We'll waste time."

Claire frowned and seriously weighed it. She wasn't that she worried about time. She did want to enter Houston during daylight hours, but once they were in the facility it didn't matter if it was day or night. The more she thought about it, they would probably be better off going in at night and using the darkness as cover for any of Umbrella's security.

Alice caught onto the leader's train of thought and sighed. "Night operations are more ideal, but Umbrella still has heat sensing cameras and sensors."

"You said they usually have sharp shooters guarding the main entrance," Claire murmured.

"Yes, but they won't matter to us." Alice didn't plan to go knocking on the front door, like normal.

Claire shook her head after a long moment. "I want to get the fuel." She looked up from the sectional and held her lover's stern futures. "I rather have too much than not enough." She was obviously concerned about something despite she was unsure what nagged at her. She just had to listen to her gut.

Alice gave in with a nod. She then looked at K-Mart and Casey, who brought over bowls of breakfast. Alice thanked K-Mart and stirred her oatmeal a few times.

K-Mart sat next to Alice and noted that Casey was next to her.

Casey tasted the oatmeal and didn't expect the sweetness. She rarely had anything sweet in her short life, so far. To her, human blood was sweet smelling, but the oatmeal was three times sweet on her tongue. She imagined it was probably perfect to humans like K-Mart and Claire. She considered how it tasted to Alice. A glance at Alice told her that it was no problem for Alice.

"So we're going in here?" K-Mart pointed at the west side of Houston. "Where's the facility though?"

Claire set her bowl to the side, twisted around, and grabbed another chart. She opened it up and set it on top of the other. "This is a terminal area chart," she explained to her sister.

"It's an exploded aviation chart of a busy airspace... usually cities," Casey further told K-Mart.

K-Mart nodded and continued stirring her oatmeal a little. It took some studying of the colorful chart for her to get use to it.

"These are the two major airports here." Claire pointed them out for K-Mart. "And Umbrella is located here." She pointed to it with her index finger.

"Right in the middle... of course," K-Mart muttered.

"Tell me about it," Claire softly agreed. She then indicated the river. "That's the Buffalo Bayou that runs through the city."

"The Houston facility is an older facility," Alice revealed to K-Mart. "There are certain abandoned systems that link to the facility."

"What kind of systems?" K-Mart spooned her oatmeal but waited to eat it until Alice answered her.

"Ventilation and sewage," Alice replied. She grinned at K-Mart's crinkled nose.

"And also an underground subway system," Casey piped up.

K-Mart swallowed down a mouthful of oatmeal then looked at Casey. "Really?"

Casey grinned and nodded but pointed to an airport in the southeast outside of the city. "It ran out to this airport that Umbrella owned at one time." She picked up her spoon again. "Back in the day, Umbrella housed all their jets, planes, and helicopters at that airport and used the subway to ship supplies and people back and forth."

It made sense to K-Mart. She studied the airport, which was called La Porte. She noted it wasn't that far from the city of La Porte. She mused whether or not Umbrella owned the port in the city and if the Arcadia came from La Porte. She shook it off and asked, "Do they still use the subway?"

"Not anymore," Casey replied. "They quit using it after they did a massive expansion on the Houston facility about ten years ago. They were able to move the aviation division into the facility."

K-Mart gawked and checked, "All of it?"

"Aaaall of it," Casey assured.

"Jesus," K-Mart muttered. She glanced over at Claire, who had been listening and eating. She looked at Casey, curiously. "How do you know all this stuff too... about Umbrella?" She only expected Alice and Jill to have such knowledge.

Casey grinned then explained, "I have Alice's memories... it's called genetic memory." She didn't care to explain that it wasn't a perfect mirror image of Alice's memories, but it didn't matter right now.

K-Mart's eyebrows lifted up, and she stared in awe at the clone. "Cool," she murmured then went back to her meal.

Casey chuckled and focused on the original topic. She listened to Alice and Claire explaining to K-Mart what the team planned to do, where to enter, and where to get out. K-Mart only had a few questions and agreed to Claire's plans for her. K-Mart hid her nervousness at the pending future because it was what she set out to do when she snuck into the Osprey. But a bump to her shoulder made her peer up at Casey.

"I got your back," Casey promised the young woman.

K-Mart traded a smile with the twin, but it didn't meet her eyes.

Casey easily detected the mild fear coming off K-Mart. However, she planned to keep a careful eye on K-Mart. She didn't doubt that Claire and Alice would have her head otherwise.

"So..." K-Mart shook her head and looked at the aviation chart. "We're picking you up at the old La Porte airport?" She pointed at it on the chart.

Claire dipped her head in agreement.

"That doesn't make sense," K-Mart argued. She looked up at her sister, who gave her a curious glance. K-Mart looked between her sister and Alice then explained, "Look at the distance between the facility and the airport." She drew an invisible line. "Granted you're underground in the railway... away from the undead above ground, but it seems too dangerous."

"We'll be under cover," Claire reminded her sister. "We have the time to travel the distance."

K-Mart shook her head and posed, "But what if you don't have the time?" She set her bowl down. "What if they catch you? And you need to get out of there quickly."

Alice had a frown and looked at her partner. "She has a point." She canted her head and added, "We don't have a clear contagious plan if we are discovered or captured."

"Even if," K-Mart started again, "you're captured and escape then running down this subway to the airport. What if the explosion goes off sooner than you timed and you're caught in it?" She seriously studied Claire and Alice. "Haven't you ever seen that movie Backdraft?"

Claire arched an eyebrow at her sister.

K-Mart poked the airport twice with her finger and stated, "You open that sealed door at the end of the subway then you got backdraft." She put her hands in her lap. "All that fresh oxygen comes rushing into that subway system and feeds the fires from the explosion."

Claire let out a sigh and focused on her lover, who was clearly mulling it over.

K-Mart looked at Casey and inquired, "Where's the aviation division located in the facility?"

Casey bit her bottom lip then pointed to the spot on the chart. "Here."

K-Mart bent over and argued, "That's the west side." She straightened up. "How do they get planes in and out of there anyway?"

"Underground runway that breaks to the surface," Casey explained. "There's a thick concrete door that separates the above and below ground runway." She recalled the details from her genetic memory. "There's about a thousand feet of the runway that's outside... all the rest underground."

"So go out that way," K-Mart deduced. She looked at her sister and Alice.

"If we're discovered and Umbrella escapes with helicopters," Alice told Claire, "then they'll be sure to go that way. It'll all be open for us." She held her partner's concerned features. "We don't even know what that subway system is like or what shape it's in." She shook her head and murmured, "It could be gone."

"But then that puts Casey and K-Mart right there in front of the danger," Claire argued. "They'll be shot down within seconds." She pointed at the airport to the east. "We're better off going out there."

K-Mart sighed but held her tongue. She gave her opinion.

"Even if there is some trouble with fire then your telekinesis shield can block it," the leader reasoned.

"Then who will handle the seal at the end of the subway?" Alice challenged.

"Jill is plenty strong enough," Claire argued. "Or we save a couple of explosives to blow it off."

Alice ran her fingers through her midnight hair. She wasn't sure how powerful she was to hold off an explosion ripping down the subway system.

Claire looked at her sister and revealed an open expression. "I'm not discrediting your idea, K-Mart." She indicated the facility on the chart. "But having you and Casey picking us up there is far more dangerous. If Umbrella exits that way then we'll get shot down." She drew her hand back. "If we could be a hundred percent sure that no Umbrella helicopters would come out of there then it'd be a perfect pick up spot."

K-Mart exhaled quietly and found that her sister was right. A flood of Umbrella helicopters rushing out would surely get them all killed in seconds.

"We stick to the plan," Claire stated to the group.

Casey swept a lock of hair behind her ear and nodded once. She gazed across to Claire and asked, "How about that rotorcraft lesson then?"

Claire was about to reply until she noticed that Jill and Leon had returned to camp. She told Casey that they would do it twenty minutes after she spoke to Jill. She picked up the charts and folded them up.

Everybody busied around the camp, either cleaning up or hurrying with breakfast. Casey and Alice had retrieved the explosives and spent the time breaking the bombs into groups. Alice already had a specific plan and position for each bomb. She looked forward to planting them. She also set aside the hand grenades for her, Claire, and Jill to utilize in case of a bad fight. She didn't trust Leon with any of them.

Alice then packed away the explosives into three backpacks. She made sure the three detonators went into the pack she'd be carrying. She felt better now that they'd organized the explosives for the mission. But Alice recalled two details she hadn't dealt with since K-Mart and Casey's arrival.

Casey adjusted her duster's collar after the breeze shifted it. She glanced at Alice, who had a concerned look. "What is it?"

Alice glanced back at the camp where the humans were getting things packed and cleaned up. She turned back to her clone. "I need you to keep a close eye on K-Mart."

"I know," Casey assured.

Alice hesitated but explained, "I showed her the basics with a handgun... she's good with a shotgun." She glanced at the open Osprey and recalled she needed to give K-Mart another weapon. "I'll give her a shotgun, Glock, and more ammunition."

Casey nodded but waited for more. She could tell that Alice had something else on her mind.

"If..." Alice glanced off to the right of Casey but made herself talk about it. "If Claire or I are killed then neither of us will be coming out. Don't wait for us... don't come for us."

"Alice," Casey murmured. She dipped her head but forced herself to respect Alice's wishes.

"Claire has one dose of antivirus on her," Alice whispered. She found curious green eyes on her. "If she's infected..."

Casey silently agreed and would make sure that Claire stayed clean of the virus. She gripped Alice's arm and held tightly.

Alice ruefully smiled and sincerely offered, "Thank you, Casey."

Casey returned the smile then broke their contact. "Let's get this show in the air." She hefted two packs and took them to the helicopter.

Alice snared the last one and followed her clone. She told Claire that they were ready for the mission. She wasn't surprised when Claire insisted that Casey have some training in the rotorcraft. Alice held back a grin and allowed her lover and her twin to bond in the Osprey.

K-Mart and Alice went over K-Mart's new shotgun. Jill spent time checking over her weapons and insuring that she had the right equipment. Like the humans, her night vision wasn't that grand. She would be able to handle the climbing easier than them, but she wasn't superior like Alice.

After schooling K-Mart, Alice peered over at the Osprey, which was starting up after Claire hollered out the window. She suspected that Casey would be getting a few quick lessons in the air too. She briefly shielded her face from the lifting dust until the Osprey was high enough.

K-Mart turned to her friend and asked, "Is Casey your age?" She brushed the loose hair from her face. "I mean when is she a clone of you?" She wasn't sure she was asking it the right way.

Alice had her head tilted back and watched the helicopter climb higher. She finally looked down at K-Mart. "Casey is a clone of me when I was twenty-five... not long after the outbreak."

K-Mart nodded. "She looks younger than you."

Jill strolled up to K-Mart and Alice. "After you went to the Detroit facility?"

Alice didn't expect Jill to join in the conversation. She looked at the former S.T.A.R.S. operative, who was less tense near her. "Yeah... I think so."

Jill bobbed her head a few times then seriously stated, "Hopefully she's not a crazy pilot... like you."

Alice narrowed her eyes at Jill. But she wondered if Jill wasn't somehow referring to Alice's landing on the prison rooftop. She finally spotted the glint in Jill's eyes. She felt a grin tug at her lips, but Alice held it down.

Jill strolled off and went back to her remaining weapons.

"Where's Leon?" K-Mart questioned. She scanned about the camp, which only had a nearly dead bonfire.

Alice hummed after she realized he was gone. "Stay here with Jill." She sniffed the air and detected Leon's unique blood scent. She found it quickly and started following the invisible path. She itched to free a gun, but she restrained her desire. Her hunt took her completely across the ranch until she was in front of the house.

Alice breathed deeply and took in the strongest scent of Leon's blood. She entered the tilting ranch house through the front door, which hung on by one hinge. She moved silently through the house until she was on the steps, which creaked once under her heavy weight. Alice glared at the first step under her boot, but she used her powers to lighten her next steps. She felt like she floated on air as she rose up the steps.

In the master bedroom, another heavy item was thrown across and slammed into a wall. Leon softly cursed under his breath, but continued going through the closet that had lost its doors. He tore open a safe door, but it'd already been picked clean. It wasn't a likely spot anyway, but he thought it was worth a glance.

Alice stood in the doorway and continued watch the searching human. She read the tension in his back and smelled his wired stress in the air. She canted her head when he hotly growled in frustration.

Leon shook his head then quickly turned around but instantly went for his gun upon seeing Alice in the doorway. He gasped for air and felt his heart pound against his chest. "Alice," he breathed.

Alice held his gaze briefly before turning her eyes towards the closet. She tried guessing what he was looking for, but she couldn't be sure.

Leon seemed to sense what was on her mind so he explained, "I was looking for any supplies."

Alice darkly smiled at the human. "I already told the team that I checked yesterday. And there was nothing... there's still nothing here."

Leon licked his dry lips and ignored the forming sweat on his temples. He lowered his gun in good faith. "But... it's good to have another set of eyes to check things."

Alice gave a low laugh that filtered into the room and echoed around Leon. She now entered the room and seemed to fill it with her imposing height. "Because there's something wrong with my eyes." A glowing blue ring formed in her eyes to emphasize her point. Her long legs ate up the space between her and Leon. She was suddenly towering over him.

Leon lifted his chin as the air grew electric all around him. He couldn't fight down his fear for Alice, who had grown much different since he'd first met her. He was indeed caged by a dark woman that was barely human.

"What are you, Leon?" Alice murmured. She leaned over him and inhaled his blood's scent, which was mediocre compared to other human blood. She bent down even closer, near his face, and she whispered, "You reek of fear." She ruthlessly smiled at his stiff posture.

Leon tried stepping away, but his back pressed into the peeling wall. "Alice, we're reasonable people."

Alice chest rumbled from a deep laugh. "I'm not human, Leon... surely you haven't forgotten." She revealed an amused smile. "I'm that viral beast in your nightmares."

Leon held his small ground and clenched his gun harder. All he had to do was raise the barrel slightly and shoot his predator in the stomach if she attacked him. He had every good reason too.

Alice brought her hand up close to Leon's neck. She struggled not to read his mind because she recalled Claire's words from last time. She didn't want to damage her relationship so she sharply grabbed Leon's vest and jerked him closer.

Leon closed his eyes and restrained from shooting Alice. He didn't doubt that she would kill him even if he pumped her full of bullets. Something in his head told him that she could survive a lot of gunfire.

"I will kill you if you cross us," Alice softly warned him. She gave him a toothy smile and promised, "And if you touch Claire then I'll rip your guts out then feed you to the undead." She straightened up and then heard the distant helicopter blades cutting through the air. Alice suddenly released Leon and swiftly escaped the bedroom.

Leon barely caught sight of Alice leaving him. He inhaled deeply and slumped against the wall. He tapped his gun's cool metal once against his forehead and became extremely thankful.

Outside on the abandoned ranch, Claire was instructing Casey how to land the large bird near the camp. She was impressed how quickly Casey learned the skill, and she suspected Casey retained all of Alice's knowledge as a private pilot. After they shut off the engines, she and Casey exited the helicopter and ordered everybody to board the helicopter.

Claire came around the Osprey and pinpointed her partner, who was coming from the rundown ranch house. She folded her arms and waited for Alice to come to her. She already knew something had happened so she headed towards Alice and met her a quarter of the way.

"What happened?" Claire softly inquired.

Alice looked sidelong over her right shoulder, but she didn't see Leon yet. She turned back to the leader and revealed, "He might be a problem."

Claire's eyes narrowed then flickered towards the ranch house. She spotted Leon Kennedy coming out of the leaning house. She lifted her eyes to her lover and murmured, "It's your call." She left it in her partner's hands because she couldn't allow the team to get killed over one human. Nor did she and Alice have the luxury to discuss a fair solution for Leon if he was a problem. Claire's only choice was to let Alice make the final decision that was best for them. She trusted Alice's perceptive instincts on humans.

Alice nodded in acceptance to Claire fully placing the situation in Alice's hands. She looked at the humans getting the helicopter ready.

"Time to go," Claire agreed to her lover's observation.

Alice tasted the uncertainty behind her lover's words. She touched Claire's cheek and lowered her head closer.

Claire could tell Alice wanted to say something to make it easier, but words wouldn't make the mission less dangerous. She instead gave a thin smile and whispered, "Just don't do anything too crazy."

Alice grinned, wildly. "I wouldn't dare." She wanted to kiss her partner, but she withdrew instead because Leon was upon them.

Claire chuckled then took a step back, which broke her contact with Alice. She pivoted to the right and ordered, "Time to load up, Leon." She nodded at the helicopter.

Leon dipped his head then silently passed the pair. He didn't make any eye contact with Alice.

Alice huffed and muttered, "He's scared of me."

Claire smirked and twisted her head around. "You are pretty scary."

Alice rolled her eyes but followed her grinning partner to the helicopter. However, this time she sat in the cargo bay with the humans. She wanted Casey to spend more time with Claire in the cockpit. After she was sure that K-Mart was buckled in safely, she took a seat next to her friend and became comfortable for the short ride to the Deming Municipal Airport. She faintly grinned when the Osprey lifted off because she knew it wasn't Claire's piloting by how everything rocked.

The ten minute ride to the airport was the easiest part, but the landing wasn't the softest anybody experienced in the helicopter. K-Mart couldn't contain a few chuckles and head shakes at Casey's lack of finesse. But anybody had to cut the twin slack since she was taking her first lessons in a large scale rotorcraft.

Alice was first out of her seat and slid the cargo door open. She hopped off and moved aside once she sensed K-Mart behind her. She visually scanned the airport's concrete pad, which was overrun with weeds, cracks, and dust. She sniffed the air but didn't detect any undead scents.

The entire team exited the Osprey with their leader being the last one out. She adjusted her ball cap and peered up at Alice. Her silent question was answered by Alice's simple nod. Claire then ordered Jill and Leon to pair up and guard south side of the fueling station. K-Mart and Casey took care of the north side of the fueling pad. Claire set to work and marched over to the fuel pump, which needed to be checked for jet fuel. She eyed gigantic white fuel tank then looked at her partner for help. Alice grinned and decided she would check the tank's contents herself. Claire folded her arms and watched her partner take two running steps then jumped onto the top of the tank.

K-Mart glanced back towards the fuel tanks where she heard the low boom. She spotted Alice on top of the tanks and most likely checking whether there was any jet fuel. She suspected by Alice's smile that it was good news.

"Come on, K-Mart," Casey called. She realized after a few steps that she'd lost the human.

K-Mart picked up the pace and caught up with the twin. She held her shotgun with both hands at a diagonal. She and Casey soon stood guard several hundred yards away from the Osprey.

Casey visually scanned the airport, but she saw nothing on the runway. She turned to her left and studied the terminal, which was in shambles now.

K-Mart followed the clone's gaze then gave a low sigh. She tired of seeing everything in ruins all around them.

"How'd you meet Claire?" Casey tempted. She hoped to strike up a conversation.

K-Mart hesitated but replied, "She found me... at a K-Mart store."

Casey grinned at the human then nodded. "How long ago?"

K-Mart let out a big breath and shook her head. "It's been over five years since the outbreak, right?" She shrugged and explained a bit of what happened after the outbreak. "Claire started a convoy of survivors... maybe a year after the outbreak in Raccoon City." She freed her right hand and brushed a lock behind her ear. "We traveled south-west and picked up more survivors. But some die, and we find more." She lowered the shotgun until the buttstock touched the worn concrete.

"You met Alice in Nevada?"

"Yeah." K-Mart recalled the first day that seemed like a long time ago. "She saved us from a huge flock of infected crows."

Casey clearly recalled the brief story from Alice about the survivors.

K-Mart kept studying the local area for any signs of trouble. But she half turned when she heard louder noises coming from the Osprey. She caught glimpses of Alice and Claire fussing over the fuel pump. She couldn't imagine what they had to do to get the fuel flowing out of the above ground tank.

Casey glanced at Alice and Claire, but she looked down at K-Mart.

K-Mart felt the warm green eyes on her so she met the stare. She tapped the buttstock once then asked, "So you have all of Alice's memories from her past?"

Casey shrugged and better explained how it worked for her. "It's like a movie to me." She focused on their task of watching out for trouble. "But some memories were lost or broken during transition." She considered the cloning process. "Maybe it's a flaw in cloning."

"How can you have her memories?" K-Mart didn't understand how it was possible.

"I'm not a scientist," Casey teased. Yet she went more serious and guessed, "It's most likely imprinted in Alice's DNA."

K-Mart considered this for a moment then shook her head. "You know how when you make a copy of document on a copy machine, and it doesn't come out exactly the same?" She peered up at the older woman. "I bet it's the same thing."

Casey grinned and had to admit it probably wasn't that terribly different. "At least I wasn't missing a hand or somethin'... instead of the memories."

K-Mart crinkled her nose and then that made her think of a something else. "You ever see those Alien movies?" She received a raised eyebrow from Casey. "Oh come on," she pressed, "they were famous, especially the first one." K-Mart sighed at Casey's dubious look so she explained it anyway. "The last one was called Alien Resurrection and the protagonist had been dead for like hundreds of years, but she's cloned and had genetic memory."

Casey had a grin pulling at her lips. She was starting to enjoy K-Mart's company. She hadn't really interacted with a human and found it quite easy with K-Mart.

K-Mart recalled the movie's plot and mentioned, "The clone was the eighth one, and all the predecessors were deformed." She nodded and agreed with Casey's assessment about being deformed somehow. "You could have had a giant bald spot too."

Casey laughed in surprise at K-Mart's joke.

K-Mart chuckled too and smiled at the older woman. She became curious again and asked, "Do you have Alice's emotions and feelings from her past?" She wondered if the factual aspect of the memories were separate from the emotions of the experiences.

Casey frowned and seriously considered the young woman's question. She revealed her perplexed features to K-Mart. "It's complicated." She tried putting it together in her mind. "I have the emotions from her past, but they're... foreign to me." She wasn't sure how else to explain it. "I can feel them and yet they're not a part of me." She shook her head.

K-Mart pretty well understood what Casey was trying to tell her. "I understand." She slightly lifted her left leg and flexed her knee. She inwardly sighed at the rising soreness in it and decided to sit down.

Casey squatted down and worriedly studied the human. "Are you alright?"

K-Mart nodded and indicated her left knee. "It acts up if I stand still too long." She didn't have the problem until the fateful day she harshly jammed her knee into the truck's dashboard in Las Vegas. She briefly recalled LJ's undead face when he attacked her in the truck. She'd scrambled to get away from him and keep him at bay until Carlos saved her life.

Casey could sense she shouldn't dig into why K-Mart's knee bothered her. She instead looked back towards the barren runway.

However, K-Mart was more interested in what Claire and Alice were doing to refuel the helicopter. "I'm not sure they're winning," she muttered.

Casey followed the human's curious gaze and revealed a small grin. "I think your sister is getting pissed."

K-Mart propped up her legs and nodded. "She's a redhead... it's to be expected." She and Casey traded an evil laugh. But K-Mart cringed when she heard Claire's loud curse echo around the airport.

"It's not enough juice to start the fuel pump," Claire hotly concluded. She slammed her fist against the rotorcraft's haul. She had plugged the helicopter into the electrical system for the fuel pump, but there just wasn't enough voltage to truly excite the fuel pump.

Alice studied how Claire had done it, but she didn't have as much knowledge about electricity. "The rotorcraft is probably a twelve volt system?" She folded her arms and traveled her eyes along the cord that clamped onto the gas pump's power source.

"Yes." Claire removed her ball cap and pushed her hair back. She was starting to get hot now that the sun was climbing higher. She couldn't imagine how Alice handled it with all the black and leather.

Alice strolled over to the fuel pump and knelt beside the power source. She reached towards the positive gator clamp but faltered when Claire called her name.

"Don't," Claire sharply ordered. She quickly came over to her partner. She didn't trust her lover near the electricity after she saw what Alice did to the GPS system the other day. "I don't think we're going to get anything out of it." She hated to admit it too.

Alice licked her dry lips and still felt the draw towards the positive clamp. "You just think it needs more juice?" She twisted her head to the right and studied her partner.

"Most likely," Claire agreed. She didn't like that Alice hadn't backed away from the connections. "Let's just leave it alone."

Alice pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at the gator clamps. Her blood was excited by the faint charge around the red gator clip.

"Come on, Alice." Claire shifted to the right and decided to get the clamps off until she saw the blue glow in her partner's eyes. "Alice, don't do it." She knew exactly what her partner planned to try.

Alice nearly went for the red clamp first, but she placed her right hand over the negative clamp first. Then left hand locked over the red clamp. She held her breath when the charge erupted all around her hands.

"Shit," Claire hollered and turned her head away from the bright white light. After it faded away, she looked in awe at the small electrical bolts dancing around Alice's hands. Her head jerked up when the fuel pump kicked to life and primed the fuel system. "Jesus," she muttered.

Alice was fully focused on concentrating her power into the fuel pump's electrical system. "Claire, I don't know..."

The leader looked at her partner's strained features, and she realized there wasn't much time to pump the fuel. "I'm going," she assured and sprinted off. She already had the nozzle by one of the open tanks. Claire didn't waste a second pumping the jet fuel into the first tank.

Alice was breathing hard, but she didn't release the clamps. She continued using her new yet undeveloped power to feed the electrical system. For a moment, she admired how the electrical bolts danced around her hands then were absorbed by the clamps. She lifted her head and spotted Claire dragging the fuel hose to the other tank.

Claire found that the pilot's side tank was lower since it had the vent. She then noticed the fuel flow was decreasing so she yelled, "Alice, I'm losing the charge."

Alice barely made out her lover's holler. She shook her head and continued feeding the electrical system.

Claire swore under her breath but kept filling the tank at a slower rate. She stole a glance at K-Mart and Casey, who were seated on the concrete pad. She could tell the pair was chatting more than guarding, but she suspected Casey's sixth sense was in full swing.

"Oh no, the best place was Chickfila," K-Mart insisted, strongly.

Casey softly hummed and newly challenged, "The best ice cream?"

K-Mart lit up and declared, "Dairy Queen... hands down the best banana split." She sat up but earnestly added, "Outback though had thee best sundae. It was vanilla ice cream with toasted coconut around it then smothered in hot fudge and whip cream."

Casey gave a low whistle. "That sounds fat free."

K-Mart rolled her eyes and grinned at the clone. "It was so good... better than sex," she joked. But she realized exactly what she said to Casey, and her blush instantly formed then brightened thanks to Casey's wicked smile.

"That is pretty good," Casey drew out, huskily.

K-Mart nearly face palmed, but she instead glanced off to the left towards the terminal. She then caught how Casey extracted a sai within seconds. Her heart jumped into fourth gear, and she scrambled to her feet when Casey slowly stood up.

"What is it?" K-Mart murmured.

Casey carefully smelled the passing breeze and took in the familiar grotesque scent. "Undead are coming." She indicated the runway with her chin. "From there."

K-Mart studied the runway area, but there was nothing. "I don't see anything."

"You will... in a minute." Casey bent down and extracted her left sai too. She glanced at the young woman and advised, "Stay close to me."

K-Mart flexed her grip on the shotgun, but she didn't falter and nodded at the clone. She then realized how right Casey was about the undead. She pointed the barrel towards the slowly nearing undead. "I can deal with the attacks," she softly mentioned to Casey, "it's just the awful smell that gets me." She grinned.

Casey had her sais' blades under her wrist, but she flipped them out. "They remind me of rotting, dead bodies."

K-Mart rolled her eyes and muttered, "You think."

Casey elbowed the young woman then ordered, "Cover me." She dashed off towards the thickening mass of undead that was dragging closer.

"Shit," K-Mart snapped, "So much for sticking close." She primed the first shot and began firing on the undead when Casey began her wild assault.

Claire's head snapped towards the first gunshot's sound. She went wide eye at seeing the flood of undead coming across the runway. "Damn it!" She only needed a few more gallons. She decided it didn't matter and instead tore the nozzle out then slammed the cap on.

Alice lost her focus after hearing the shotgun resounding in the airport. She couldn't smell anything due to the electrical burn all around her. She noted Claire was done so she released the clamps.

"There's a wave of them coming," Claire hastily told her partner. She looked down at Alice's hands, which still had electricity playing over her fingers.

Alice clenched her hands, which cut off the electricity. "Get the Osprey started while we hold them off."

Claire nodded and decided to dump the nozzle by the fuel pump. She watched her partner hurry off towards the developing fight.

Jill and Leon abandoned their post after hearing the fighting. Jill easily caught up to Alice thanks to her heightened abilities. "I'll go right."

Alice nodded and veered off to the left side of Casey and K-Mart. She unsheathed her kukris and spun them in the air before she slammed into the undead mass. She sliced through the first three with ease and continued hacking her way into them.

K-Mart back stepped a few times but an undead came up to her right. She jumped when he went down thanks to a bullet to his head. She glanced at Leon Kennedy, who had shot him. She silently thanked Leon then continued shooting at the undead. But she kept being pushed backwards, inch by inch.

It only took moments for it to happen and a second for K-Mart to realize that she wasn't fast enough. She swung her empty shotgun on her back and ripped her Glocks free. She tried not panicking now that she was nearly surrounded by the undead. She was going to escape from the small opening until three undead filled it.

"K-Mart!"

K-Mart took out two undead that came closest to her. She heard the familiar voice, but she wasn't sure if it was Alice or Casey.

"Duck down, K-Mart!"

K-Mart shot three more undead that wanted her. She sharply hunkered down just as an intense explosion rocked her body. She listened to all the loud grunts and groans from the undead. She opened her eyes and looked up. Her mouth hung open as the undead went spewing through the air from an unknown force. She cautiously stood up after the ground stopped shaking. All around her the concrete was turned into rumble, body parts scattered, and dark blood soaking into the concrete.

"Holy shit," K-Mart gasped.

Casey's eyes were dilated and blue along the edges. She let out a breath after using a psionic blast to save K-Mart from the trap. But a prickle at her back made her swung around with both sai blades out. She stabbed the undead in the stomach and hefted him over her head. She threw him towards Alice.

Alice heard Casey's call so she twisted around and sliced the falling undead's head off. She kicked the body away then attacked more undead. It felt like for every one she killed that five more took its place. She was growing tired of it.

"Jill," Alice called over the din of groans, "Get the humans in the helicopter."

Jill heard the order and easily obliged. She grabbed Leon first then went to K-Mart's side. "Let's move... come on."

K-Mart was back peddling but still shot at the undead. In the distance, she heard the onset of the helicopter's engines coming to life. That was some comfort to her.

Casey took two running steps, jumped, and kicked an undead's head off his shoulders. She landed neatly beside two others and stabbed the closer one in the head with the outer forks piercing the undead's eyes.

K-Mart lined her sights up on the undead nearing Casey's back. She shot it directly in the forehead. She grinned at Casey's appreciative smile.

"K-Mart," Jill called, "Time to go."

K-Mart turned on her boots then ran away from the fight. She caught up to Jill and Leon, who were watching her back until she joined them. "Thanks for the save back there."

Leon nodded at K-Mart's appreciation. He liked the girl.

"Casey, get behind me," Alice commanded. Her tone left no room for disagreement. She held back the undead while Casey dissected herself from the mass. Alice cut down one more undead then backed off too, but she smoothly sheathed her bloody kukris. Her eyes were bright blue, and she lifted her hands.

Casey was breathing a little hard, yet she moved away from Alice. Her eyes slightly widened once she spotted the tiny electrical bolts forming around Alice's hand. "What the..."

Alice aimed her open palms towards the undead. She gave a low cry as the first bolts shot off her hands and instantly entered over a dozen undeads' eyes. She slightly looked away when the undeads' heads exploded and spewed all over.

Casey stared in awe at the gory demonstration of electricity meeting animated bodies. But she could tell that Alice was trying to tame the new power. The bolts were erratic, disorderly, and quite undeveloped yet every bit fierce and violent upon impact. It reminded Casey of a wild, bucking horse being lassoed for the first time.

But the clone tore away from the show and looked at the helicopter, which was ready to go after Claire gave her a wave to get onboard. Casey turned back to the hybrid and called, "Claire says it's time to go!"

Alice was rather focused on frying the undead, but she replied, "Get on. I'll be right behind you."

Casey wanted to argue yet knew better than to even try. She spun the sai blades under her wrists and jogged off to the helicopter. She hopped through the open door but grabbed the handle beside the door when she felt the Osprey lift off the ground.

Claire turned in her seat and yelled, "Casey, I'm going to bring the chopper over to Alice. Make sure she gets in."

Casey hastily sheathed her sais then straightened up as the view outside filled with undead. She grinned at Alice's continued efforts. She could already tell a difference in Alice's skill with the lightning bolts.

"Alice," Casey called out, "Quit screwing around!"

Alice agreed by ending the storm of bolts and hastily made a break for the open door. She didn't have to jump high, but she did have to do a ten yard dash.

Casey noted the nearing horde coming for them and decided to handle it. Her eyes went a sky blue, dilated, and a psionic blast rippled past Alice and slammed into the hungry undead.

Alice took two more steps then launched into the door. She easily landed after Casey moved aside. She spun around and grinned at the undead that were stains on the concrete. But she had a better view as the Osprey lifted higher. Alice realized how many hundreds of undead had been coming for them. Thankfully they took off just in time before they would have been surrounded.

Casey helped Alice shut the door then she commented, "Nice fireworks."

Alice smirked and shifted around her clone. She wanted to check on Claire.

Casey padded across the cargo bay and took a seat by K-Mart, who sat by herself opposite of Jill and Leon. She decided K-Mart was smart for staying opposite of the others so that the weight was balanced in the helicopter.

Alice took the copilot's seat and buckled up in normal routine. She put on her headset and adjusted the microphone after Claire had probably fooled with it earlier. She studied the heading indicator and recognized that they were going mainly south with a slight eastern touch.

"I figure we'll stop an hour before Houston," Claire commented.

Alice nodded and stretched out her long legs into the foot well. "Is Casey ready to fly this bird?"

Claire glanced at her partner but stayed focused on flying the bird. "It'll be enough." She traded a knowing grin with Alice.

"How old is K-Mart?" Alice inquired. She hadn't taken the opportunity to ask Claire until she considered how far K-Mart had come since Nevada.

"She'll be eighteen this June," Claire replied.

Alice filed away that K-Mart's birthday wasn't far away. "That makes them seven years apart," she muttered.

But Claire heard what her lover had said and clarified, "You mean Casey and K-Mart?"

Alice studied her partner's profile and shrugged. She wasn't about to solidify her lover's curiosity about K-Mart and Casey. She hadn't really foreseen it herself, but Alice clearly recognized her clone's intensions.

"Alice-"

"I'll talk to her," Alice insisted. She felt her partner's instant relief, which made Alice feel more at ease. She canted her head at another thought. "Do you know K-Mart's real name?"

Claire peered across at her lover. Her eyes were slightly hooded thanks to her brim. "Yes." She took inventory of the gauges and checked her heading.

Alice shook her head and drew out, "What's her real name?"

Claire couldn't contain her smirk and replied, "That's for her to tell you... or not."

Alice huffed at Claire backing up K-Mart. She folded her arms in defense and slightly groused at being denied.

Claire softly laughed and found Alice's childish reaction rather cute. She didn't dare voice it.

Alice straightened up in her seat then held out her left hand to Claire. "Hold my hand," she ordered.

Claire nearly did it until she realized Alice's scheme. She playfully growled and slapped her lover's larger hand. "You smartass."

Alice evilly smiled despite Claire quickly figured out she wanted to read Claire's mind for K-Mart's real name. She retracted her arm to the chair and chuckled at her trick.

"I think your sense of humor is getting far more wicked anymore," Claire remarked.

Alice softly hummed but didn't say anything back. She agreed with Claire, fully.

Claire didn't press the topic and instead brought up Alice's new found power with electricity. She'd had a brief chance to watch Alice tackle the undead mass with electrical bolts. Like Casey, she could tell that Alice was unsure how to use the power and probably would take time to master it.

Alice decided it was another factor of the G-virus. She preferred the power than a physical mutation. She tried not letting the mutations bother her, especially when she saw her older self in Casey. But at times it was hard for Alice and only made easier thanks to Claire's support. As each day passed, Alice could feel her guarded emotions come free around Claire. Alice grew up as a shy kid until her grandmother showed her how to be stronger. But that also made Alice hide her emotions and trust. She didn't trust anybody, especially not completely. All the mistrust was well placed until she met Claire Redfield. Alice functioned through life in solitary. However, she was learning that trusting Claire and working together was making life worth fighting for.

After a long silence, Claire released her right hand from the stick. She held out her hand towards Alice but never took her eyes away from the window.

Alice was resting her arm on the chair, but she studied her lover's outstretched hand. She deciphered the silent invite, and it tingled her blood throughout her body. Alice bravely released the chairarm then cautiously reached for her partner's hand. Nothing prepared her for the wholeness she felt when her long fingers slid through Claire's hand. Claire's sure grip sent strength through Alice.

Claire ran her thumb over her partner's thumb. She continued the soft, rhythmic motion and brought them calmness before tonight's Hell.

Continued.