Claire was sat on a swing thinking about all that had happened in the last few months, Leon and Steve. Sherry and Ada.
Steve, did I love him? He was so sweet, saved my life. But, that doesn't mean I loved him, does it?
All the feelings of love and pain came flooding back like a tidal wave, suffocating her, engulfing her in feelings that she'd almost forgotten. Almost.
Steve, he loved me, told me so.
The wind blew Claire's hair into her face, she heard a noise coming from the bushes, a sort of rustling, hoping against hope that it wasn't a zombie, and wishing that it was Steve but knowing that it couldn't be because he was dead. A tear started to form in her eyes, she tried her hardest to supress it.
Stop crying
She'd only cried a few times since his death, mainly because of what Wesker had told her,
Was he still alive? Did Wesker have him trapped somewhere?
Then the thoughts came back, this time she thought of when she was in Raccoon with Leon and Sherry, Leon had spoke of another in Raccoon, Ada. Claire had never actually seen Ada but Leon, Annette and Chief Brien Irons had all spoke of her, then a flashback,
The figure, the one who threw the machine gun, she had a female voice, could that of been Ada? if it was then she had been saved by the enemy.
She remembered Leon saying that she was there just to get the G-Virus and would've killed him if she had to, but fell in love with him, she had suffered a horrible death, falling off that bridge...
....But that can't be right, if she was the one who saved me how'd she survive?
Before she could finish her thought, it started to rain. She decided it was time to leave so she silently stood up from the swing and started to walk over to Jill's house, suddenly she felt this creepy feeling, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, she'd learned to trust her instincts in the past year, she knew that someone wae there, someone was following her, she didn't know who it was so she speeded up.
Go away, go away, I wanna be alone please if you don't go I'll shoot you, I mean it I'm in a real bad mood.
And with that she spun round. Aiming her gun straight ahead. Staring intently, seeing no-one she turned round slowly, placing her gun back in her holster and walked on.
I'm getting so paranoid, God, all I've gotta do is walk down this street, cross the road and go in, that's it, just stop thinking, walk and don't think.
She continued down the street, her wet, brown hair glued to her face, she could feel the water trickling down her face and dripping of her nose, she shivered.
Someone's watching me. I don't know who it is or where they are I just want them to stop it.STOP THINKING. She scolded herself
"Claire?" Claire turned, startled as a firm hand was placed on her shoulder, looking up into the deep eyes of Leon Kennedy, eyes full of concern, he knew how she was feeling,
"Have you been following me?" Claire asked,
"Of course, wanted to find you. Remember you are supposed to be at a meetin'"Leon said, "Chris sent me on a mission to find you" Leon flashed a smile, "Come on, we better get going, I'm soaked"
"You alright?" Leon asked, the sincerity in his voice somehow surprised Claire,
"Yeah, I'm fine, just wanted to go for a walk and relax, I totally forgot about the meeting, sorry" Claire looked up at Leon, he was staring intently in her eyes, she'd gotten pretty close to Leon during the Raccoon city incident but Steve had changed that.
"You been cryin'?" Leon asked although it was obvious he knew the answer, Claire nodded, Leon wrapped an arm around her as they walked towards the house slowly, she could no longer feel the cold, felt numb inside and out, and allowed Leon to guide her towards Jill's house.
Claire hadn't spoken much on the walk over to Jill's house, probably for the best.
She must still be upset about Steve,
The town was in complete darkness, the moon and stars blocked out by the dark clouds, it looked deserted. The tall, dark houses loomed over them, the street that looked so peaceful during the day, seemed so menacing at night. Leon's heart began to pound faster, he knew that nothing was going to happen but...
But......what if the whole Raccoon City thing happens here? No, Umbrella won't do that twice, they've gotta be smarter than that. They created zombies, bio-weapons and all sorts of monsters. They might just be stupid enough to do it again.
Leon decided that arguing with himself wasn't going to make him feel any better. Ever since the incident at Raccoon, Leon had tried to convince himself that it wouldn't happen again, that Umbrella would stop because they were going to get caught, but Chris had told everyone that it may happen again and they wouldn't stop unless someone stops them.
And it has to be us.....Jesus
A bright light lit up the dull street pulling Leon from his thoughts, during that flash of light Leon noticed a young couple walking on the other side of the street, holding hands,
Leading normal lives, they know nothng of Umbrella, they are so lucky.
A large clap of thunder vibrated through the empty street, Leon quickened his pace, hoping to get to Jill's before the weather got any worse.
The rain pounded on the floor creating large puddles, Claire looked like a drowned rat but he assumed that he probably looked just as bad, his hair clung to his face, he hated this weather, walking round with squelching feet,
I gotta get changed into some warm clothes as soon as I get to Jill's.
Leon had no idea how Jill had managed to get such a large house, especially considering she didn't have a job and no way to get money, he puzzled over that thought for a minute before deciding it wasn't important just as long as they had somewhere safe to sleep,
I really must ask her though.
Leon and Claire walked up the path towards the large pine front door, the house wasn't huge, but big enough for about six people to live in, as they opened the door a blast of heat hit them, Leon suddenly realizing how cold it had been outside. Claire turned to him before they entered,
"Don't tell Chris I was crying" it seemed more like a request then a demand,
"Don't worry" Leon said, holding her close "I won't"
As soon as he heard the door opening, Chris was out in the hall, to talk to Claire, he'd noticed it had started to rain, and was worried, how could they go on the 'mission' if Leon and Claire had a cold, it was hard enough when everyone was healthy,
But sneezing could be the difference between life and death.
He heard the last of their conversation, after deciding not to ask what Leon wouldn't do, he walked over to Claire and hugged her tight trying to warm her up, after realizing that hugging someone as wet as Claire was stupid, he looked down towards her, her deep blue eyes were puffy and swollen, she had obviously been crying, but now wasn't the time to find out why. Turning to face Leon he asked,
"You guys alright?" he felt Claire nod and Leon also nodded saying,
"A bit wet, but I'll live" Chris looked at them both, they looked terrible, Claire's bobble had slid down her hair and most of it had come free, sticking to her face, her skin was pale and she had lost the bright look in her eyes which she had had only a year ago, everything had changed since rockfort, but Claire was surprisingly strong, managed to hide her fear and heartbreak, but it was there, in her eyes.
"Claire, Leon, go and get changed into some warm clothes and meet us in the living room in five minutes. Okay?" Both of them nodded, and went upsairs, Chris stared after them wanting to give Claire some words of comfort but he didn't have the words, he walked slowly into the living room to make sure everyone was there, sitting down, he waited patently for Leon and Claire to return.
Claire headed upstairs towards the room which she shared with Jill. It was a small room, and could only just fit two single beds in it,
Can't complain though, at least it has beds.
Looking round the room Claire decided that it needed a lick of paint, the dark orange colour was disgusting and the pattern on the wallpaper made it look like a room from the seventies, dark and dingy.
It REALLY needs a lick of paint
Opening the drawers she pulled out a body-hugging t-shirt and pair of tracksuit bottoms, didn't really match but it was comfy, after grabbing her dressing gown she ran down the stairs to see everyone.
She was still freezing as she sat down on the large comfy sofa in the living room, Chris had made her a hot chocolate, and the fireplace was burning bright, but she couldn't help but shiver, looking around she saw that Leon also had a hot drink,
He doesn't look so good, probably because of the rain.
Claire's thoughts drifted throughout the whole of the meeting, not really paying attention, she heard a few words, Europe, England, Bury, where-ever that was, all she could think about was Sherry, living miles and miles away with her auntie, Claire missed Sherry but was also thankful that she wasn't involved in the whole mess created be Umbrella.
So young and she's lost both her parents already, but she's strong she'll manage.
"Claire" A deep voice shouting her name caught her attention, she raised her head returning from her thoughts, to see that everyone was looking at her, she felt her face flush, embarressed.
"Yeah?" she asked, she heard a sigh from across the room. Chris.
"Sorry" Claire said, directing the apology towards her brother "What where you saying?" Claire gave her full attention towards Chris whilst he told her about the 'mission' which they were about to encounter. Claire agreed to go on the mission without hesitation, Umbrella had taken away the lives of so many and she was determined to make them pay