K-Mart couldn't help but always feel grateful for Claire's motherly nature over her. Making a point to keep her close, armed with her specialty and protected. She often wondered why Claire took such a fondness for her. Why she was so bent on protecting her and mothering her like she hadn't survived for weeks on her own before ever meeting one another. As curious as it were, she was grateful because it gave her a small hope that if her darkest detail were discovered, maybe Claire would be the one to listen.
Upon hearing LJ and Carlos chime in first, K-Mart knew it was time to move in. Following Claire's lead, she exited her passenger side and rounded to meet her. "No noise, if at all possible. Got it." She never argued. A part of her knew that Claire was still fully aware of her ability to handle herself, but it just made her feel better to stress certain points, regardless. Hopefully whatever lay within had some form of electronics to tamper with. K-Mart's strongest suit was mechanics, engineering and electronics. She even knew her way around each of the vehicles in their convoy. Because of her talents, she never failed to grab some spare parts in case need arose for repairs in the future.
When Claire started off, K-Mart followed close behind. Her mind distant as she tried to feel out the surroundings. A quiet nature she always covered by stressing skillful awareness and trained tracking/observation. In fact it was far more simple. She could feel them. That was her nature she always desperately suppressed when they went out on a raid- a hunger she could already feel stirring with the thickening sense of the virus in the air.
"We need to check at least a couple places for spare parts, okay?" She called quietly after Claire while nearing the first collection of withered buildings.
Ducking by a corner to peer around its edge, she tried to survey a pass between a rather ruined home and a dirty old building. She couldn't tell the nature of this structure, but it didn't seem like anything that may benefit the crew would be inside. So she glanced beyond it to take note of each corner and low crevice the dead could crawl or sulk out of. None were too near to raise concern. Some were in eye sight and unaware of their presence, others she felt like a magnetic pull in a distance only she knew of. "Where to first?"
The heat should usually be a bother but to K-Mart it was never a bad thing. In fact it was always welcome. The warmth was nice for many reasons. Reasons she couldn't explain, nor did she ever plan to. There was another raid on the horizon and K-Mart's nerves tingled in sensation. Alerts raised beyond their sight like an invisible radar. She could feel them, more of the dead lie beyond their sight's eye. K-Mart wished she could tell them but she couldn't, it would raise too many questions. Questions that could end with somebody pulling a trigger aimed at her head. The thought made her wrists sting and she rubbed them in discomfort. She knew Claire always mistook her resltess behavior as innocence, but no. K-Mart was fighting her basic instincts, the things that stirred within her when the dead were near. She's grown exceptionally talented at playing average teenaged survivor, something that did wonders for her secret. A secret that ironically could be so easily discovered if somebody dared to force off the gloves and wrist bands she refused to lift. K-Mart gave the excuse that there were scars she wasn't proud of. Ashamed of even. Hinting to a suicide attempt, without admitting that it wasn't an attempt. K-Mart took her own life...
"We got this. Let's do it." She responded confidently to Claire's not-so-question. Claire always made a point to express how angry she'd be if K-Mart got hurt. It was as though she was the ball of light to them. A tarnished, rusted and faded light, as far as she was concerned. Her eyes glanced over to Claire, giving a nod to silently state that she was ready for whatever may come. And come it would, she knew there were other undead lying behind these few. It pained her to never tell them, never warn them. But if she did...what if they turned on her?
Grabbing her weapon, a shotgun given to her by Claire herself, she narrowed her eyes and took a sharp breath. A ritual to try and steel her nerves as best she could, to not be riled up by their presence. Cling to this weapon as though it were her humanity. "Ready?"
“ -- Alice.” That’s the only thing she heard, cutting through the thick silence - when she immediately picked up the walkie-talkie. “Claire?” Little did she know, that was the only thing Alice had the chance to say, before the silence robbed her of her voice. Something’s wrong. Sickening dread was already bleeding into her senses, and out of her subconscious. The fear of reality. She knew damn well they’re not living in a dream, to begin with. Nothing good could never come out of this tragedy. This mess that Spence Parks and Umbrella left behind.
Distract them. Bit. Bitten...
Echo, that word had become nothing but an echo in her head right then and suddenly, Alice was as pale as a ghost from her past. Suddenly, it was so hard to breathe. It felt like long, and frigid fingers were wrapping around her entire chest, and crushing it with a single squeeze. Caving everything in. She didn’t even realize she wasn’t breathing. She was holding it in. All she wanted to listen to was Claire’s voice.
“Claire...” She called out again. Her voice was completely hoarse, but so... so quiet, that apparently Claire missed it because the redhead was still talking over her. She didn’t even notice that she had lurched forward, free palm slapping against the table surface for support. She could hear them, the undead.... around her wife.
And then it came. A loud explosion, before it was dead on the other end -- that’s when Alice’s heart cracked. The pain was sharp and so damn deep it tore right through whatever’s left of her humanity. The walkie-talkie fell from her hand and clattered on the floor, and both hands were on the table -- her knees had buckled from the sting of the... no.
“NO!!!” The scream resonated through-out the entire room, right after a sob. And in a blur, Alice sent the table flying through the air -- with enough force that the wooden table broke upon impact. The other occupants in the room backed away so fast, because they knew Alice was right at her breaking point now.
Her mind was on NOTHING, but Claire. The other people were invisible to her suddenly, when she stormed out of the room -- shoving the door wide open when she exited, startling nearby people that were walking by.
“Alice?! What’s going on?!” It was James’s best friend. Frantically trying to keep up with Alice, but he stopped dead in his track when she suddenly turn and snapped in answer; “Stay with Becky.” Her voice didn’t even sound like her own, it was as if something ripped her out of her body. Only reason he stopped, is because of something nobody had ever seen. Not even Claire. Not even Becky. Not even Buster. There were tears in her eyes.
There’s Shane, driving up and past the open gates. Alice didn’t stop walking, directly in Shane’s way now -- he had to slam his foot down on the brakes. There’s clear panic, and fear in Shane’s features when he scrambled out of the vehicle and approached Alice. He had opened his mouth to say something, but Alice cut him off.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t fucking know! I think she stayed behind! She was supposed to be behind me-”
“Where. Is. She?” That’s not what she meant, Shane. She means where the last fucking location her wife was in with you.
Fortunately, Shane understood. “The factory’s right up the road, keep going straight and take the first left, for about two miles. It’s right there.” Alice then pushed Shane aside and climbed in the vehicle he was driving, and reversed the vehicle back out past the gates again, before pulling a 180 at full speed. She then slammed her foot down on the gas pedal.
The entire drive, her fingers were wrapped the steering wheel so tight they could leave imprints. Her jaw was clenched, her breathing ragged. Excruciating pain continued to attack her chest relentlessly. A part of her knew it was over. That she’s gone.
But everything else that was Alice, refused, to believe it.
Her heart was devoured whole, sinking into her stomach after two miles. She sees it, smoke, billowing towards the sky.
No, no, no.
The vehicle squealed to a halt, before the driver’s door was flung open and Alice staggered out, losing her balance for a moment because she was moving in a rush. Didn’t take her long to pick herself up, and in pace till she was running towards where the smoke was coming from.
No.
She slowed down. Because of the sight of the small factory in ruins. Nobody could’ve survived it. There were a few undead still, but they were outside and within a safe distance that the explosion missed them. Alice didn’t even see them. Not that she could, because her vision seemed to spin for a moment -- the pain was intensifying in her chest.
Then she caught it. A glimpse of something familiar on the ground. A green hat. Slow steps were taken towards the hat, before she picked it up and held her breath when she looked over it. There was a few splatters of blood. But it was definitely Claire’s.
Another sob caught in her throat and she dropped down to her knees, clutching the hat so tightly in her hands. Before more came, she was crying. For the first time in years. All those days that she couldn’t because her eyes were dry, because her soul was weary -- they came now. She couldn’t even breathe properly due to the suffocating pain. She didn’t want to move, so she fell over and eventually curled into a fetal position. She didn’t even fucking care about the fact she was in danger, because the undead across from the other side of the factory were about to hear her.
Fortunately, Shane ran after her. So he had arrived in time to pick off the rest. He didn’t dare touch Alice right away though, he knew better to let her be while he stood guard nearby.
It was true, she WAS and IS Claire’s other half. Something had been ripped out of her body. Her. Alice Abernathy.
okay but don’t tell me that when claire’s completely fed up, her voice is hoarse, she’ll find an extra shoe and just chuck it at alice bc it’s not like it’s going to completely faze the woman omg. this is what i pictured too
then alice just swats the extra shoe away. and claire gets even more angrier at that. like... must find extra shoes fast. no wait, i’ll throw my damn gun at her.
