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The silence in the truck carting them back to the base is deafening. Defeated looks litter the faces of the remaining soldiers; most of them lost to the undead. Quiet sobs begin to wrack the body of one officer, hiding his face in his gun. He doesn't want to seem weak but in the end, it's what they all want to do, cry.
Alice puffs on a cigarette, leaning her head back against the window. She feels Leon's intense stare from across the aisle, his hand on his own gun. She tilts her head towards him, blue eyes staring right back at him. Taking one long drag, she exhales the smoke in his direction slowly. His eyes narrow at her, a look of disgust and amazement on his face. Obviously, conflicted.
He scoffs, definitely conflicted on what he should say next and looks away.
That's okay; Alice wanted silence anyway.
Gives her a moment to reflect. To analyze what happened in the field. The stupid decision she made, using her powers.
She promised herself she wouldn't give into Wesker, not to be his weapon in the fight for humanity. She would keep the rest of her humanity, fighting and dying like a human. Not some kind of monster.
But something happened, the mission went sideways.
Leon was on his own, trapped by the undead. Surrounded. Outnumberd. Out of ammo. She could hear the clicking of an empty magazine as she sprinted towards him.
A direct order disobeyed.
The sheer panic on his face, staring at the dead faces of DC's inhabitants.
The clicking of claws on the ground, a licker.
It lunged...
The pounding of her heart in her ears was silenced when she threw all she got at the undead. The ground exploded, flinging the undead in several directions. Landing with loud impacts.
The licker coiled, ready to attack her. Lunging, only to collapsed onto the ground. A twitching mess. Its spine bending it ways nothing should.. The creature wailed and sputtered, trying to crawl towards her, clawing at the ground. Inches it moved but in the end, it was futile. It's suffering ends with a sickening crack. A severed spine caused by Alice herself.
Power running through her veins.
Monster.
The world collapsed on Alice at that moment, finally feeling the blood drip out of her nose and the pain in her head caused her to double over. Leon scrambled towards her, lifting her to her feet and dragging her back to the evacuation point. The silence between them spoke volumes.
The ache in her head comes back as the memory fades, stronger than before. Pounding like the beat of a drum. She rubs at her temples, willing it away. It's a reminder of how she'll never be human again.
Monster.
Nothing spoken until she's back in her "room" and the pounding's finally gone away. She rests her eyes, finding some kind of comfort on the mattress. It's almost like home now.
Almost to sleep before...
...another kind of pounding wakes her up.
She stands, muttering on her breath as she tugs the door open. Leon pushes past her, hand over his mouth.
"Nice to see you too," She mutters, closing the door.
He stares at her, like he's trying to figure out what to say next. Alice huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. It stays like that for a while. The silence still there.
"What the hell was that?" Leon finally asks.
Alice closes her eyes, headache suddenly returning. "Me saving your life."
"We all know the risk. You could have jeopardized the team by coming back for me." Leon takes a step towards her.
Alice glares. "I see you're completely grateful."
Leon scoffs, rubbing his forehead.
Back to the silence, it seems.
"You really are something, you know that?" Leon growls.
"Oh really? Because I'm not one for taking orders or because I'm not one for taking your orders? If you wanted that, you should go talk to your girlfriend,"Alice hisses in return.
"At least she listens!" A step.
"Well, you would be dead if I had!" She steps.
"We all know the risk!" Two more steps and they're breathing each others air.
"Doesn't mean anything!"
A pause and whether it's the tension between them, the fight, the adrenaline coursing through their veins, Alice finds her lips on Leon's. It's quick and sudden and both of them are thrown through a loop. They stare at each other with a pregnant pause before Alice's grabbing the back of his neck and forcing their lips back together.
It's intense, almost like the battlefield. Running from the Undead. As intense as her night with Spence before he screwed her. As intense as fighting Nemesis, Carlos and Jill watching on. As intense as finding herself back in her old mansion, the mutated Isaacs chasing her.
Heart pounding, fear, and yet, joy finding its way into your soul.
Leon grabs her waist, pulling as close as could be. Everything she thought she couldn't feel anymore is rushing back with every touch of Leon's hands. She feels human again.
With that last thought, Alice grabs onto his shirt, holding on tight. Because if she lets go, he'll let go. If she lets go, she'll lose the rest of her humanity.
Humanity.
Monster.
Alice pulls away as if she's been burned. Her lips tingle with the last remnants of their kiss. Leon blinks away the confusion, still trying to put together what just happened. She knows the feeling.
"I'm sorry," He starts before Alice is opening the door and shoving him out.
Finding her voice, "Ada's waiting for you" is the only thing she's able to get out.
He opens his mouth once more before she's slamming the door in his face. There's a knock or two, the faint "Alice" coming from Leon before the faint footsteps of him leaving are heard.
Alice puts a hand to her lips, slumping against the door. She slides down slowly, butt hitting the floor. The last tingling fades and all she's left with is her confusion.
She's so fucked.