Copyright: Capcom owns the Resident Evil franchise, not me.
Notices: This story contains violence and sexual content. Additionally, this story will contain grammatical or other errors. If you're feverish over the errors, feel free to privately message me about what you find and help me improve.
Summary: The Earth is flourishing, happily. But humans are endangered and on the verge of extinction after the greedy corporation Umbrella knowingly releases a viral plague. Small human civilizations survive including a moving convoy led by the strong Claire Redfield. Her solitary world turns upside down when she meets an infuriating yet mysterious woman named Alice. Claire soon learns about an underground survivor camp through Alice and heads there. However, Claire begins to secretly fear losing K-Mart, who has become her only source of strength over the years.
Feedback: redhope@redhope.net
Homepage: http://www.redhope.net
Write a Review: http://www.redhope.net/residentevil/review/oneshotform.html
List: http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/redhope/
Started: November 11, 2011
Series: One Shot
Copyright: Capcom owns the Resident Evil franchise, not me.
Notices: This story contains violence and sexual content. Additionally, this story will contain grammatical or other errors. If you're feverish over the errors, feel free to privately message me about what you find and help me improve.
Summary: The Earth is flourishing, happily. But humans are endangered and on the verge of extinction after the greedy corporation Umbrella knowingly releases a viral plague. Small human civilizations survive including a moving convoy led by the strong Claire Redfield. Her solitary world turns upside down when she meets an infuriating yet mysterious woman named Alice. Claire soon learns about an underground survivor camp through Alice and heads there. However, Claire begins to secretly fear losing K-Mart, who has become her only source of strength over the years.
Feedback: redhope@redhope.net
Homepage: http://www.redhope.net
Write a Review: http://www.redhope.net/residentevil/review/oneshotform.html
List: http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/redhope/
Started: November 11, 2011
Series: One Shot
Trigon
by Red Hope
Chapter 20
"Are the cleaners almost done?" Claire checked. Her cold stare remained locked on the survivors moving through the well fortified camp.
Carlos bit his bottom lip and barely retained a smart comment. He didn't understand why the convoy leader insisted on wasting the emergency reserves of gasoline. It was crazy to him despite he understood Claire's mindset to cleanse the Earth of the undead massacre from this morning.
After a deep breath, Carlos gruffly replied, "Yes." He then reminded, "The explosion burned off most of the undead."
The convoy leader pulled on her hat's brim then folded her arms against her chest. She stood in silence despite her thoughts were loud in her head. Her searching eyes crept over the campsite in the late afternoon sunlight. Damn days were definitely getting shorter, which could mean that Umbrella would have more time to attack at night.
Carlos studied the leader's dark profile that softly glowed in the lingering sunlight. Today's horrible events kept repeating in his head. "You should have told me," he quietly yet sternly pressed upon the convoy leader. He waited for Claire's response until he realized she didn't care. He set his jaw and argued, "There should have been patrols setup... guns distributed... traps built... anything but what you did, Claire." He flexed his grip on his rifle that he now carried in hand rather than on his back. "Your judgment is being impaired by her." Sharply dangerous green eyes cut to him, finally.
"She's the reason we're still alive," Claire reminded him.
Carlos was slightly startled. Only weeks ago, he recalled being on opposite sides with Claire about this topic. Now he believed that she was the threat, and it was Claire defending her. He refocused on the argument and shifted closer to Claire. "Maybe she's the reason for these attacks." He didn't doubt that Claire had thought of that earlier. Despite they were on the edge of camp, he kept his voice down so they weren't overheard by the survivors. "We didn't have this problem until she showed up."
Claire gradually turned her head away from Carlos and went back to studying the convoy, which now lacked a gasoline tanker. A deep breath barely soothed the black anger that was creeping through her chest thanks to Carlos's outspoken opinion. But a snide smile drew across her lips. "I thought she was your friend."
Carlos lifted his chin and glanced in Alice's supposed general direction before slotting his eyes at Claire's profile. It was true that he'd considered Alice a friend. After all, it was his bullet that stopped an undead from sinking its sharp teeth into Alice's neck this morning. But just what in Hell was Claire attempting to prove? If the convoy were to survive then removing Alice would most likely halt Umbrella's attempts.
Claire turned to Carlos and held his eyes as she threatened, "If you make her look like an enemy then I will tie you to a tree and leave you for the undead to feast upon." She took a step closer to him. "Question my judgment again... I'll just shoot you in the head." She narrowed her eyes and whispered, "Enough shit has happened to these survivors that they don't need your paranoid delusions." For another second, they locked cold stares before Claire disappeared into the campsite.
"It's a mistake," Carlos muttered. His bitter features stayed on Claire's receding figure. But there wasn't much he could do short of attempting a mutiny. But what would that really provide the convoy? Nothing but more turmoil and a new yet weak leadership because nobody else in the convoy could match Claire Redfield. And truthfully, nobody wished to be the next Claire Redfield.
Claire adjusted her hat, which was still damp after being washed clean of infected blood. She didn't give a damn and just needed the hat's constant companionship that it offered like the Beretta Cougars. Her next duty was rather high among her dislikes, but Claire had long ago adjusted to it. She crossed the camp and approached the twin ambulances parked rear to rear.
Hours ago there'd been two long lines snaking off from the back of the ambulances. Such an event had become uncommon but after this morning, it was necessary and required after Claire's orders were clearly established that not one survivor could be overlooked today. Unfortunately that included K-Mart, but she'd promised to heed the order and go to either Betty or Doctor Green. Last in line, K-Mart found herself in Doctor Green's hands despite she'd hoped for Betty. She nearly requested for Betty until she decided to hold her silence and just get it over with now.
Claire Redfield spotted Betty's ambulance open, and the nurse was busy cleaning up the inners of the old ambulance. "You have a report ready?"
Betty stopped her duties and approached her desk, a worn folder waiting there. "Yes." She slid the brown folder off then carried it over the convoy leader.
"How many?" Claire asked.
"Three," Betty softly answered. She handed it to Claire and waited for a response.
Claire was studying the simple list neatly jotted down on the paper in the folder. She pursed her lips while faces flashed through her mind. She closed the folder then looked up at Betty. "Who's Doctor Green with?"
Betty was squatted down, the bullet belt across her waist slightly sagged forward. She lifted her eyes from Claire to the closed door of the other ambulance. "K-Mart," she murmured. Like a few select others, she knew it was K-Mart's first time.
Claire breathed deeply then shifted away from Betty. "Thanks." She indicated the folder on her way to Doctor Green's ambulance.
Betty had just barely caught the leader's protective glare towards Doctor Green's ambulance. There was no reason to question it when she knew it was due to K-Mart being in Doctor Green's hands. "Sorry, Claire," she murmured, more to herself. She should have had K-Mart, and Betty didn't understood why the teen hadn't waited for her. What slightly surprised the nurse was that the convoy leader was going to go into Doctor Green's ambulance when K-Mart was there. Betty sighed because she didn't realize how much Claire still distrusted Doctor Green.
Claire had the right door open and ignored K-Mart's startled gasp. Her tall figure already concealed the open door from the world. She closed the door and cut her dark green eyes from K-Mart's nude form to Doctor Green.
K-Mart had subconsciously covered her breasts and bit her bottom lip when she heard somebody climbing into the ambulance behind her.
"Claire," Doctor Green warned the convoy leader. Displeasure shined in her eyes. She disliked Claire's uninvited entrance when she was performing a bite inspection, especially on K-Mart.
Claire easily ignored her friend's naked body and moved around her to where Doctor Green stood. Boots boomed against the metal floor and felt heavy in everybody's chests. "Are you almost done?" Once she was around K-Mart and near Doctor Green, she held up Betty's folder. "I want your report."
"In five minutes," Doctor Green replied. She waited for the leader to excuse herself from the ambulance and quickly concluded it wasn't going to happen. There was always talk that Claire Redfield was protective over K-Mart, but this was a direct show of it. A frown creased her lips further because it also told her that Claire didn't trust her.
"You've got two minutes," Claire corrected. Her icy stare remained locked on Doctor Green. She waited for a reason to be challenged by Doctor Green.
After a heavy breath, Doctor Green nodded and faced K-Mart again. She knew to hurry her bite inspection, but she refused to skip the blood check. "Where were you during the attack?" she softly asked K-Mart.
"In Claire and Alice's truck," K-Mart murmured. She still kept her arms crossed but stayed focused on Doctor Green despite Claire's imposing form was only a few feet away.
Doctor Green glanced over her left shoulder and noted how Claire Redfield wasn't about to sit or back off. She could tell it was impacting K-Mart a great deal after she'd already worked hard to get K-Mart semi-comfortable earlier. Taking a step back, the doctor knew she blocked K-Mart's view of the convoy leader.
"Did you get out of the truck?" the doctor questioned. She pulled off the stethoscope from around her neck then breathed on the bell so it'd warm up, for K-Mart's sake.
"Yes," K-Mart softly confessed.
Doctor Green nodded then moved closer and pressed the diaphragm against K-Mart's chest. "Any injuries?"
K-Mart shook her head. She then performed the doctor's deep breath requests.
"Good," Doctor Green soothed. She silently apologized to the teen when she had to go behind, leaving K-Mart exposed to Claire. Pressing the diaphragm against her patient's back, she instructed the breathing again.
K-Mart swallowed hard but continued staring at the floor off to the right. She hadn't made eye contact with Claire yet. Despite all the swims and baths together, the sex, and accidental mishaps in the past, it still wasn't enough to ease K-Mart's embarrassment in front of Claire. Most likely Claire was here to ensure Doctor Green was both professional and speedy. But that did very little to settle K-Mart. Suddenly her attention snapped up when the doctor came in front of her again and spoke.
"I'm going to take a small sample of blood." Doctor Green wanted to do the easy stuff first then save the hardest for last because after that then K-Mart would most likely want to bolt out of the ambulance. It was fairly normal for any survivor's first experience.
K-Mart nervously watched the doctor picking up a prepped needle and cleaning ointment. Needles weren't K-Mart's favorite, and she looked away when the tip was drawn towards her right arm. Once Doctor Green withdrew with the filled needle, she opened her eyes and studied her sample of blood being poured into a vial then seated in a tube holder for later testing.
Doctor Green returned to teen and sadly smiled. "Last thing is the visual inspection." She gently gripped K-Mart's folded arms and whispered, "You'll have to hold out your arms." The hesitation in the patient's eyes was clear, but soon Doctor Green was able to check over K-Mart's hands, arms, and breasts for any injuries or bites.
K-Mart closed her eyes when Doctor Green knelt down in front of her. She was breathing heavy and sweat developed over her palms. Despite her eyelids hid Claire's presence, she still starkly felt it. Distantly, she heard rubber softly snap against skin and caused K-Mart to grit her teeth.
The doctor adjusted the clean gloves over her hands then began probing the front of K-Mart's body for any signs of infection. Long ago in the Umbrella labs, it was discovered that the infection spread much more rapidly through open wounds versus oral ingestion. A human could ward off minor oral ingestion but anything else was too much. Since then, Doctor Green invested time into the visual inspection because she understood a bite or infected wound meant less time, a lot less.
Shifting behind K-Mart, Doctor Green finished off the visual inspection by checking over K-Mart's backside. She detected soft trembles coming from the teen despite Doctor Green's gentleness.
Claire kept a careful eye on the bite inspection. She strangled down a cutting remark when Doctor Green took too long, in her opinion. Despite every survivor had to be checked, she didn't like that K-Mart was one of them. "Wrap it up, Green," she sharply ordered.
The doctor sighed then slowly stood up but made sure to brush K-Mart's hair aside. There was nothing around the teen's neck, which was an all too common spot. Satisfied by the visual once-over, she moved in front of the patient and instructed, "Go ahead and get dressed, K-Mart."
All too happy to do so, K-Mart snared her clothes and hastily put each item on in record time. As she drew closer to getting her boots on, she became more relieved but not completely calm. The rising tension in the air made her hairs standup and prickled her skin.
"Thanks, K-Mart," the doctor offered. She was standing beside the desk and prepping the blood to be tested.
K-Mart put on her hat last and gave Doctor Green a firm nod. For a second, she glanced at Claire but said nothing and quickly left the ambulance. Surprisingly the late afternoon sunlight was relief to her rather than a scary omen about tonight. K-Mart let out a low breath then noted Betty in the other ambulance.
"Hey, how'd it go?" Betty checked.
K-Mart shrugged and simply answered, "Not fast enough."
Betty nodded in understanding and promised, "It gets easier each time." She then jutted her chin at the other ambulance. "Next time, wait for me."
K-Mart rubbed her hat's brim and murmured, "Thanks, Betty." She didn't want to discussion the bite inspections any further. From Doctor Green's closed ambulance, K-Mart made out Claire's muffled voice. But it wasn't her place to listen so she hurried off.
Claire accepted the file after asking for it. She held it in her left hand on top of Betty's file. Opening it up, she scanned over the list neatly printed in Doctor Green's handwriting. She came to the last name on the four person list and reread it twice then a third and fourth time. Slightly her lips parted and nervous heat washed over her body. Her dark green eyes lifted from the list and locked on the doctor's backside.
Doctor Green was bent over the small desk and testing K-Mart's blood for infection. After a droplet fell on the blood sample, Doctor Green carefully moved the slide under the microscope and began adjusting the light and resolution.
"Is this accurate?" Claire questioned. She held up the file with the list.
"Yes," the doctor replied, distantly. She focused on her task to check K-Mart's blood. "Look at the reports."
Claire shook her head and thumbed through the papers behind the list until she came to the one at the bottom. She skimmed over it then hesitated at the cause stated on the report. Several seconds passed while Claire stared darkly at the cause. She released a low breath after Doctor Green switched off the microscope.
Doctor Green sensed the convoy leader's disbelief so she turned around on the bolted down stool. She eyed which report had caught Claire's full attention. "I thought you'd been more concerned about the ten year old."
Claire narrowed her eyes at the doctor after closing the folder.
The doctor wished she could have taken the remark back. She sighed and shook her head. "You can't make a bite go away, Claire." She lowered her eyes and nibbled her bottom lip.
Something else was wrong, and Claire knew it. "What?"
Doctor Green took a deep breath and prepared to explain it to Claire. She lifted her gaze to the convoy leader. "They don't have much time left." She shook her head and better explained, "Whatever this stuff is... it's more advanced than before." Doctor Green held Claire's eyes. "If not tonight then tomorrow... first thing." She was distraught to share the news, but it was her duty as the convoy's doctor.
Claire didn't respond to the advice and merely lowered her hand with the folders. She started towards the sealed doors until Doctor Green's voice caught her.
"Is she awake yet?"
Claire peered over her shoulder. "No."
Doctor Green considered how long Alice was unconscious now compared to last time. "It's taking her longer to recover," she murmured.
Claire turned towards the doctor. "Do you know why?"
The doctor shook her head and honestly replied, "Maybe she knows." She watched Claire's features grow distant.
After a heavy breath, Claire focused on Doctor Green again and ordered, "Get a sleeping drink ready for the ten year old." She faced the door until yet again Doctor Green halted her attempt.
"None of us are immune to this, Claire... including you." Doctor Green hoped to reach through the convoy leader's steel and touch any emotions. But her attempt failed, like most other people's tries. She switched directions and softly added, "Not even Alice."
A gentle huff came from Claire, but she restrained her comment. She instead unlatched the door and pushed it open. She went down the first step.
"K-Mart's blood is clean," Doctor Green revealed before the leader left.
Claire paused on the first step. A thin layer of relief was evident in her shoulders lowering an inch. Yet again she held her silence and stepped off the ambulance then walked away. The dark brown folders in her hand carried seven names with seven reports that Claire would study in private. Tomorrow morning would be worse than today's morning, far worse.
Inspecting the camp, it was obvious that the survivors were quiet and settling in for an uncomfortable night. Many wished to have traveled away from today's grizzly battle scene, which rested just on the other side of the old theatre. But their leader had emphasized the importance of recovering from the battle, cleansing the Earth, and paying respect to the ones that died in the fighting. As Claire traveled through the darkening camp, she heard their whispers go quiet and curious eyes settled on her. She knew they were wondering what names lay hidden in the folders. Some already knew but not all were known.
Coming upon the M35 cargo truck, Claire spotted Carlos prepping the perimeter teams that would patrol tonight. She only gave him a faint nod of approval as she passed them. Disappearing out of the now fortified camp, Claire weaved through the woods for nearly five minutes until she found a nice, serene location beside a talkative brook. Setting the files down on a large boulder, she started putting together a small campfire. Shortly a fire was burning beside the slanted top boulder and provided both warmth and light for the convoy leader. Once settled on the boulder, Claire began carefully reading over the files within the folders. Soon the fire provided the only light source on the handwritten documents.
After reading over everything carefully, the convoy leader stared at the fire for a minute and mentally prepared for what tomorrow morning would mean, to the convoy and to her. She bowed her head and tried accepting what had to be done despite the consequences. Long ago she'd accepted this duty and what may come of it. Everybody in the convoy understood what had to be done, for the greater good. It was simply an accepted fact when a survivor joined Claire Redfield's convoy. Nobody was lied to or misled when it came to what was expected from a survivor once they joined the ranks.
A hefty sigh escaped the convoy leader and did nothing to settle her thoughts. Claire picked up the top folder, which had the three names from Betty. She pulled out the list and studied the names one last time. She wouldn't forget their names, ever. Accepting that she was the leader for a reason, she leaned forward and carefully fed the list to the flames in front of her. Nobody else could fulfill her duties as leader, and Claire wouldn't wish it on anybody else. Somehow, she was able to find sleep at night unlike most people if they were in her position.
Once the fire ate the list, Claire removed the supplemental documents and also handed them over to the flames. She watched each one burn and turn into ashes that the breeze took away. One day she knew this would be her own fate, but hopefully only after K-Mart was safe. How that'd ever be possible, Claire wasn't sure yet.
Dropping Betty's empty folder, Claire retrieved the one from Doctor Green and opened it to the list on top. Like earlier, she carefully reread the names that became engrained in her memory, like all the previous ones in the last two years. Licking her lips, Claire pulled off the list and held it near the dancing flames. She couldn't take her eyes off the last name, which caused her pulse to quicken. Every curse went out to the Fates for this sick, twisted situation that only served to make Claire madder.
"Damn them," Claire hotly whispered towards Umbrella. "Go to Hell, bastards." She watched the list wither into dark ashes. Just as the list drifted from her fingertips, a familiar presence alerted Claire's keen senses. She brought her right hand between her arm and stomach, fingertips dancing with a Beretta's handle. She only relaxed once she laid her eyes on Alice Abernathy.
Cautiously, Alice entered the firelight more and studied the folder in the convoy leader's left hand. She lifted her eyes to Claire's icy features. "Carlos said you were out here."
Claire wondered whether or not Carlos mentioned she didn't like to be disturbed on rare occasions such as this one. She looked back at the first report in the doctor's folder. "You're awake." She drew out the first report. "You were out of it longer this time," she commented.
Alice remained standing off to one side of the fire, facing the leader. She watched the document enter the fire and burn away.
"How do you feel?" Claire prompted after a long silence. She freed the first report then reached for the second one in the small stack. All her attention was focused on the document.
"Not a hundred percent yet," Alice admitted. She considered what exactly Claire was doing and caught a faint glimpse of medical information on the paper. Doctor Green's handwriting was all too familiar to Alice.
"I don't think anybody is," Claire murmured. She burned the second report and grabbed the third one. "So explain to me why you were unconscious longer this time?"
Alice canted her head slightly at the leader's more than abrasive attitude. She could feel some kind of pull over Claire, and it didn't make sense to Alice. Too tired to figure it out right now, Alice just went with the flow for once. She refocused on Claire's question and came up with a simple response.
"I'm out of shape."
Claire let the report go and finally peered up at Alice with hooded eyes. "Out of shape?" She waited for more information but first Alice came closer and knelt down near her. Claire lifted the folder's left cover up higher so the documents were hidden better.
"Once upon a time I was able to kill humans with my telekinesis," Alice murmured. She reached forward and continued stretching her hand out until her fingers entered the flames. But surprisingly they didn't burn her and instead parted then several flames joined above Alice's open palm.
Claire arched an eyebrow at Alice's display of powers. She held her tongue though.
"Now it takes a lot more... effort," Alice revealed. She withdrew her hand but pulled out the flame, which danced over her palm.
Claire restrained her awe and remained passive despite she was impressed by Alice's powers. She curiously watched the flame in Alice's hand until it began dying.
"But..." Alice also watched the flame fade away. "Like anything else, if you don't use it then you lose it." Once the flame died, she revealed the blue ring around her eyes to Claire after she turned her head.
Claire slightly leaned to her right, further from Alice. Now it made sense why Alice had a hard time recovering from the fights. She turned towards the campfire again and didn't have anything to say.
"K-Mart is shaken up from this morning," Alice softly mentioned.
Keeping her eyes trained on the last report, Claire seemed to study it but had heard Alice's words. She fingered the corner of the document and replied, "Everybody is."
Alice canted her head and considered whether or not that included Claire too. She sighed and attempted to go further into the discussion because she knew how Claire felt about K-Mart. "She needs us both, Claire."
The convoy leader extracted the last document and lifted her head. She turned the document so that the blank backside faced Alice then she held the top half into the fire. "K-Mart understands... she understands me." She stared at the cause scratched in Doctor Green's handwriting until the flames ate it up. "She needs me to lead her." Claire let the document go then looked at Alice and finished, "Not comfort her."
Alice chewed back a snide remark because it'd only hinder her relationship with Claire. After a low breath, she turned her head to the campfire and whispered, "Where exactly are you leading her to?" She didn't want an answer and climbed to her feet. Leaving the camp's light, Alice became silent in the dark woods. However, she didn't go very far and climbed into the trees then back tracked towards Claire's campfire. Hidden among the trees, Alice watched over the convoy leader. Umbrella and their undead couldn't be trusted even after she and the convoy wiped out a seeming legion of them today.
Claire Redfield remained seated in front of the campfire for awhile. The empty file folders were forgotten next to her boots. Her long stare went through the fire and focused on nothing but her thoughts. Alice's last question continued rolling through her head along with the seven names she had to face tomorrow morning. Just what was she doing with the convoy? Or more importantly, what the Hell was she doing to the convoy? All the traveling to nowhere seemed like an answerless riddle. A year ago Claire thought she knew what she was doing for the convoy, but now it was becoming nearly insane. So far there were thirty-eight dead by Claire's hand and soon more would tarnish Claire's soul.
Once the small fire started dwindling down, Claire got up from the hard seat and took the folders. She wasn't sure how much time had passed but soon Carlos would come looking for her. Dirt kicked onto the fire snubbed it out quickly then Claire was on her way back to camp. At first everything seemed quiet until her senses prickled, but Claire didn't hear anything more than a few fading crickets. As a precaution, she pulled out a Beretta Cougar and released the safety. Nothing jumped out at her and the sensation faded after she entered the camp.
From the edge of the camp, Alice remained in the trees and in the darkness but had a clear sight of Claire going to the ambulances. Most likely it was to return the empty folders that'd had some intriguing documents. Alice suspected what they'd contained earlier but wouldn't dare put the spotlight on Claire, right now. Instead, she wanted to check on K-Mart. Neatly flipping off the branch, she landed on her boots and entered the quiet camp.
Setting her sights on the F-350, Alice went there first and was surprised to find K-Mart in the back. She needed to check on K-Mart so she opened the rear passenger door and accidently startled the teen. "Hey," she carefully greeted.
"Hey," K-Mart murmured. She sat up and put her feet on the floor. "How you feeling?"
"Better," Alice softly replied. Visually scanning over K-Mart, she returned the same question.
K-Mart just shrugged then tried changing topics. "Have you seen Claire?"
"Just a little while ago." Alice reached out and hooked the back of K-Mart's neck. "Did you eat?"
"Not hungry." K-Mart felt guilty enjoying Alice's tender touch. She bowed her head and stared at her lap. "I just want to lay down." Hesitantly she met Alice's gaze and asked, "Are you patrolling again?"
Alice nodded then tenderly squeezed her lover's neck. "I don't think we'll have any more trouble for a bit."
"How can you be sure?"
Alice revealed a thin smirk. "We bloodied their noses pretty good."
"But that won't stop them," K-Mart argued.
Alice sighed and lost her grin. "No." She bowed her head. "I'm working on that part though."
K-Mart shook her head. "You can't do much short of destroying Umbrella."
Alice kept her head down but lifted her eyes, which showed off the bright blue in them. "That's been on my to do list for the past year." She didn't express her thoughts further and instead straightened up. "I'll have my radio if you need me."
K-Mart nodded then sadly smiled at her lover. "Thanks."
Alice moved her left hand and cupped K-Mart's soft cheek. She leaned in for a soft kiss then withdrew slightly and murmured, "I won't be far." She ran her thumb across K-Mart's moist lips before pulling away. She took only her kukris and the radio from the front seat where they'd been placed while she rested earlier. She traded a last glance with her lover before leaving the truck.
K-Mart sat there and watched Alice in the mix of light from the campfires and moon until Alice was too far. After a shaky sigh, K-Mart toppled down into the back seat and grabbed the heavy blanket from the floor. She curled up with her back pressed into the bench seat. Most likely Claire would be in the truck in a few hours.
At eleven o'clock, Claire indeed arrived in usual fashion. She tried being quiet so that K-Mart wasn't disturbed. Like any night, she became situated quickly and dedicated another night to protecting K-Mart. Before getting into the truck, she and Alice had briefly spoke about tonight's plans, which repeated last night's ones except now there were two teams also patrolling.
Sleep never did touch Claire, just like last time. Her duty to keep K-Mart safe kept her awake, and her thoughts about the pending future were her company. At dawn, Claire peered through the front window and tensely waited for yesterday to repeat, but instead the birds were the only sound. Hopefully that was a good sign for the convoy because Claire wanted to move on by lunchtime.
But first thing were the seven people on the lists that were etched into Claire's head. She'd thought a lot about those survivors last night, especially the seventh one. She'd always despised her role as the leader, but as days passed she began to loath herself. This morning was a reminder why she hated being Claire Redfield.
Once ready, the convoy leader took one Berretta Cougar at a time. She dropped out one handgun's magazine and checked that it was full. She reloaded the magazine then grabbed the second Beretta Cougar, which she also released its magazine. Claire ran her thumb's nail down all the bullets lurking in the magazine. There were more than enough for this morning.
Claire stowed the guns into her dual shoulder holster then grabbed her black vest. She shrugged on the vest and sat there for a moment. It was hard not to look back at K-Mart, but if she did then she'd be weak. Instead Claire silently left the truck until the door slammed in her wake. She released a heavy breath that fogged in the cool morning air. Putting one foot forward, Claire felt the steel in her skin thicken each step she took closer to the seven. She silently recited their names in her head, but it was the last one that would break Claire's heart. There was no going back from what had to be done and what she would do, as convoy leader.