Treading through the cold night air, a tremendous rainfall saturated the ground below. The elements tried their best to blow out a fire that burned brightly along the tundra like a bonfire for all to see.

And despite its best efforts, Nature could not extinguish such a flame. For there was very something supernatural and foreign keeping it's tenderals at bay. Protecting the flames, with all its power.

At the base of the fire, a camp was set. A single sleeping bag next to the fire that kept away the cold and beastly creatures of the night.

And its occupant?

A lone woman was adrift in life, squirming back and forth in her worn sleeping bag. It seemed she was having a dream, one that had her gripping hard at herself for a great deal of comfort.

In her vision, she saw things. People, places, all through a lense of red. While the voices never stopped. From ones she knew and loved and even hated. It was a nightmare of sorts, to see your entire life pass before your eyes. All the good and bad combined.

And to see it through a lense she was not comfortable with. Well, that was torture for her. Like watching it all unfold from afar, trapped inside, on the sidelines, of her own body.

Even with all that power...

She was still vulnerable to the demons of her own mind.

Like everyone else..

"Warning, Warning: Facility has been breached. All non essential staff evacuate. I repeat, all non essential staff evacuate to the necessary evacuation points. Remain calm. Umbrella Security Forces will greet you momentarily."

Alice opened her eyes to find herself back to a place that haunted her every night. The white hallways of the facility were blocked out, replaced by the blood red of the alarms blaring atop the walls. She breathed heavily, moving ahead.

She couldn't be back here, not again.

Pushing through the only door in sight, she exited the hallway into a large underground parking lot. Black marked SUVs were everywhere. They all had that same corporate logo. Umbrella. Walking out into the middle, her feet tapping hurriedly on the concrete ground, she stopped to listen.

A faint roar of an engine pierced her ears through the alarms, and suddenly Alice turned and jumped, barrelling over an incoming SUV that drove down the ramp of the parking lot.

Huffing, she landed upright on the floor, her gaze turning up at the vehicle that parked ahead at the main entrance to the wider facility. She immediately felt a chill down her spine, and her stomach churned.

She had to move quickly.

The SUV's driver side opened up and a blurred figure exited the vehicle. One she couldn't identify, even with her powers. She rushed forward, running with all her might, but just as she reached the vehicle, the entire room shook. Alice soon found herself being physically held back by an unknown entity, forced to remain still no matter what she did.

Trapped, isolated, she couldn't move or even speak.

She could only watch...

In front of her, the double glass doors opened up to reveal Dr. Alexander Issacs. Umbrella's head scientist and all round fuckhead. He approached them, a grin on his face, alone with no guards, he wasn't afraid, or threatened.

"Welcome back, Alice." Dr. Issacs smiled at her, "I wasn't too sure you were going to make it this time. But once again, I'm proven wrong." He walked around her, watching her, gazing up and down, she was helpless to do anything. "Have you brought the subject?" He turned to the figure, and they opened up the back door. "Ah, marvelous."

Dragged out of the SUV, the blurred figure presented to Dr. Isaacs their bounty. A child that Alice knew all too well. It caused chills to roll down her back, making her sick to her stomach.

"No, stop! This isn't you, let go of me!"

Dr. Issacs grin only widened, "Angela, I'm delighted to see you after all this time. Your escape from Raccoon City is a tale in the making. It's just a pity your father did not survive."

Alice wanted to break free, to kill him, anything to wipe away that predatory look on his face. And yet she was forced to watch, as everything crumbled before her very own eyes.

"Please you can stop this!"

She couldn't, no matter what she did.

"I know you're still in there!"

And yet the figure ignored her, ignored Alice too, pushing past her like she was nothing but in her way. A blurred mess, it was like looking into a mirror.

The entire parking lot began to shake, like an earthquake was assaulting the very basic foundations. Neither of them seemed phased about it, only Alice could feel it.

"It is a pity," Issacs stared down at Angela, "After everything that happened in Raccoon City, and now, San Francisco. But I can't let it continue, not anymore." He turned to the figure, and told two simple words that had Alice's mental fortitude breaking apart.

"Kill her."

Bang!

"NO!"

Alice awoke from her violent dream that had her thrashing against the wool of her sleeping bag. Her body was shaking, and her breathing heavy, while her face was soaked. Breathing in, she wiped face and cleared herself. Before looking at the dying fire next to her.

Climbing to her feet, she placed another log onto the fire, and simmered its flames. Once it began to roar again, she returned to her bag, and slumped down, staring up at the night sky that looked back at her.

All those stars, hundreds of them, charted a path for her to take. A guide in the night, that way you'd never be lost. Except she only had one path in sight, to the west.

A gut feeling, churning away at her, it told her to go west. And that's what she had been doing since the world fell apart.

And yet, after everything, she dreaded that such a journey would bring her only more of the same.

Extinction.

—

28 days in — after the Raccoon City Event.

"So, ya been in Virginia long, miss?"

Alice fluttered her eyes, and turned her gaze away from the rain soaked window, and to the truck driver, an older southern man in his 50s, was kind enough to give her a ride to the nearest rest stop.

"Couple weeks."

Alice was short and cut, to the point. Covered head to toe in a dark jacket, her head concealed by a hood. She turned back to the window, watching the trees pass by them.

"Well, I tell ya, nice part of land here. You won't find nothing finer than round these parts." The man was friendly, that's southern hospitality for you. "And uh, what did you say your name was again?"

"Alice."

Four weeks since Raccoon City, since... San Francisco. Here she was hitchhiking her way across the country. Alone, away from the cities, hiding. She had gotten used to it by now. Though, she wouldn't lie that she was missing her usual companions.

"It's nice to meet ya, Alice. Name's William, but you can call me Will."

Alice tilted her head in a nod, before focusing on the road. Not a vehicle in sight except for this truck here, its lights illuminating the road ahead. They passed a sign not too far back, the closest rest stop nearby. There she'd pick herself up and move on.

Just keep moving on.

"So where are you from, Alice?"

"...Raccoon City."

Will gaped, hands at the wheel slacking, till he straightened up, "I'm awful sorry to hear that, ma'am. Damn shame what happened there, nuclear meltdown and all..." he shared an empathetic look.

"I was away... on business." Alice lied, sinking into her seat. She sensed the man, he wasn't a threat, but she had to be careful.

"You got lucky then. You, uh, got any family, friends?" Will asked, a kind smile at his face as he focused on the road. "Husband? — Wife? — I don't judge."

Too many questions, she would've preferred walking.

"No." Alice admitted, turning her gaze further away, face almost touching the window. "Not anymore."

Her mind drifted to Y/N, she found it did most days.

And the others.

Her friends?

She hadn't seen them since...

"You mind if we put on the radio?"

"'Course not." Will chuckled, "Here." He turned the radio of the truck on, and returned to the wheel, as Alice listened.

"Gooooood Moooorning America. This is your host, Chris Chadwick, live from our studio in downtown New York. Today we have rain showers for our friends in the south today and the foreseeable week..."

Alice tuned out a lot of the usual stuff, weather, economics, corporate bullshit, you name it. Hoping for something more concrete.

"Stock market has fallen by 15%—"

"Umbrella Corporation wishes you a happy weekend—"

"The Congress in Washington today have announced a new bill for corporate regulations—"

'Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit...' Alice thought.

"This is Elisa Farwell here at CNN, reporting live from our studio. Today we have a very special guest with us, Tom Hoyt, the chief liaison to the federal government, is here to discuss the situation in the western United States, and remembrance to all that lost their lives in February this year."

Alice stopped at that one, seemingly interested, as well as Will who listened on intently.

"Thank you Elisa, I'm grateful to you for having me in the studio today. Now, we all know and remember the destruction of Raccoon City, the loss of more than 200,000 people here in the heart of Michigan this year. A great tragedy that befell our nation because of unforeseen accidents at the Raccoon City Power Plant."

They listened onwards to the broadcast, how Raccoon City had been a total freak accident. No warning, no alert, nothing. Just boom, and all that life was gone.

Except only a few knew the real truth.

"It is really shocking, Tom, to know that something like this could have been prevented. I, and all of us here at home, I'm sure, hope in the future we can prevent such accidents from occurring ever again."

"That's right, Elisa, the Umbrella Corporation promises to fully support the federal government."

'They might as well be one and the same.' Alice thought.

"But now, moving on to our latest, Tom, what can you tell us about the latest from the San Francisco terror attack just three weeks after the Raccoon City destruction? Recently the president has announced the withdrawal of troops from the Middle East and Europe to help combat the threats of bio-terrorism. Care to comment on that?"

"Of course, Elisa. As you know San Francisco was attacked early this year in a bio-terrorist attack by an unknown third party. It caused extreme infections unlike seen before, and the government and Umbrella are doing all they can to contain the situation. Unfortunately that means pulling troops from others sectors to better contain..."

Alice gazed back to the road, and quickly noticed the rest stop, as they pulled in. There was a small dinner, and a gas station, a nice little place.

"Here we are, ma'am, rest stop." Will told her as he parked the truck in. "Right there is Julie's Diner. She makes the best apple pie this side of the border, and that gas station there if you need anything."

"Thanks." Alice said, removing her seat belt, "I owe you..."

"Nah," Will waved her away. "You don't owe me anything. Just get yourself a hot meal and take care of yourself. If you need a place to stay there's a motel up the road, not too far."

"Got it." Alice nodded, and opened up the door and climbed out. Once her hiking boots hit the ground she shut the door, and then looked around.

She decided on the diner.

Minding the rain, she walked on over to the diner, pulling her jacket closer on herself with the rain coming down. The lights of the diner stared back at her, neon light providing a safe space for her.

Until she stopped by the ramp, and noticed a pay phone off to the side. She bit her lip, thinking about it, back and forth in her mind. She had ditched her burner phone back in Tennessee.

And here... shit.

Impulsive and desperate, she shoved aside her rational side and made a beeline to the pay phone...

Meanwhile, back at the truck, Will listened in on the radio while Alice was gone.

"Tom, you said in a previous interview that the federal government had trouble tracking down the individuals responsible for the bio-terrorist attack."

"That's right Elisa, as you know the government has issued a man hunt for the people responsible for the attack. The same group that falsified videos of the destruction of Raccoon City with the same terror that attacked San Francisco. An insult to those who lost their lives in different circumstances, that I cannot stress, are two different tragedies befallen our great country."

"That's right, Tom. For anyone listening, if you see the suspects stay away from them and call 911. They are extremely dangerous and possibly armed. Four weeks into the search, we are still asked to provide their names. The suspects list as following: Carlos Olivera, Nicholai Ginovaeff, Lloyd Jefferson Wayne, Jill Valentine, Y/N L/N, and Alice Abernathy. Descriptions are as followed..."

"Huh..."

Back with Alice, she grabbed the pay phone and sheltered underneath the rafters of the diner, and punched in the numbers. Hands shaking, not from the cold, she waited for them to pick up, the dial pinging and pinging.

"C'mon... c'mon."

Alice gulped back her nervousness and frustration, clinging to the phone like an anchor in a storm.

Ring, ring...

"Hey, this is Y/N, I'm not at the phone right now but leave a message after the beep — or whatever the fuck — and I'll get back to you."

Beep.

He still had his burner phone...

Alice's lips quivered, hands shaking. She wanted to say something, anything, and yet she couldn't find her voice. What could she say, after just up and leaving? She chuckled, no humor evident, at herself, and huffed, slamming the phone back onto the hook.

And rushed on into the diner, she could hear a warm meal calling her name.

—

Here she was, back in the present, on a lonely road heading west. On the border of Utah, Alice walked endlessly.

Across the tundra, deserts, a backpack slung over her shoulder. Dressed in a white tank top, slightly covered by a brown opened up sleeveless shirt, cargo pants that showed off her skin near her thighs, and to top it all off, a fine dessert jacket and scarf to protect against the elements.

Even with all the clothing, the heat didn't bother her.

Not one bit.

For months now she had been walking, no vehicle for her to claim. But now, as she reached a small town in the distance, she hoped her luck would prevail.

Reaching the small town, she wasn't surprised to see it deserted. Alone in a small suburb, she looked around, arm at her face to shield the sun. A lot of the houses looked empty. Except one that seemed promising. A lone red truck was situated outside, and hadn't been here too long. A week, maybe more.

Approaching the truck, she searched it, opening up the doors and trunk, she found it empty save for some water bottles, which she took. Checking the front, she lifted up the hood of the truck, and sighed.

Minutes later she stepped away, and pulled at her short dirty blonde hair, which she swore was turning a shade of brunette. The truck was useless, the battery was dead, and the tires were rotten, bad luck for her.

Leaving the truck behind, she marched on up to the house. Its windows blocked by tarps, she couldn't see in. Stacking at the door, she pulled a pistol from one of her holsters, and cocked it back. She checked the door and found it unlocked.

Inside the one floor house, she looked around the first room. The small hallway was adorned with teary, flies buzzed about and the smell was nausing to anyone who graced the place. Her senses made it even worse.

Still, she moved onto the next room. A living room. Here, looked more promising, with stacks of water bottles on the rotting table, a map of some kind. The rest of the furniture was thrown aside.

Coming up to the table, she ran a hand across the map causing dust to stain her skin. It was a North American one, tracking routes from the east, all the way to the west, until it stopped at Nevada, a city that was circled in red. Shoving the map aside, she unearthed a recorder from underneath.

Immediately she grabbed it and pressed play.

"19 months on the road. Hoping to stay ahead of this thing."

Alice walked around the room, grabbing anything useful, as the voice, a man, spoke on the recorder.

"Nowhere's safe. We'll try Las Vegas next. Maybe the south of Nevada is good."

She returned to the map, and traced a finger, it was a few dozen miles from her current location.

"There's got to be a safe place somewhere."

Sighing, she looked up from the map, and gazed at a photo next to a toy dog. She grabbed the photo, it was a man, a woman and a girl. A happy little family if she had to guess.

"Linda had a heart attack. We had to let her go. I had to... take care of it."

Putting it aside, she grabbed the toy and turned it around, a small sad smile made its way to her lips, before it vanished.

"Our 10th anniversary would've been in June."

She placed the photo and the toy back on the table softly, a final resting place, and grabbed the recorder from the table, and made way to the rest of the house. Until it was the garage left.

"Jess keeps crying. She — She wants her mom back."

The words came pouring out, as Alice stepped up to the door of the garage, a hand against the wood frame, checking for any signs of life.

"She wants peace, the way they were."

Hand pulling back, she felt something — two of them.

"She wants to go home..."

Placing the recorder away, Alice opened up the door only to be greeted by two infected, a man, and a girl, she brought her pistol up and fired two rounds.

Not even a moment later, the two bodies dropped to the ground, a bullet in their heads each.

Finally put to rest.

Breathing out a sigh, she sidestepped the bodies and made for the middle of the garage. Something was covered up by a mud brown tarp. A vehicle of some kind. Reaching over, she grabbed the tarp and pulled it off to reveal a motorbike, pristine condition.

A sense of hope in her heart, she climbed on, and checked the system out. Everything looked green, a little low on fuel, but good. Better, even, she smiled, and released the kickstand.

Revving the engine, Alice looked back at the dead bodies, and then recorder at her waist. Thoughts on her mind, back to her lonely nightmares, her past, how she had gotten here, before she finally made her decision.

Placing the recorder on the dash of the engine, Alice revved the throttle of the motorbike and sped out of the open garage, out into the suburb and town.

Speeding past the road, she noticed a sign and took to the road west, hoping that whatever she found, was something she could fight for.

Nevada State Border — 13 miles — Welcome...

Because after all, fighting was all she had left now. And she'd be damn if she let Umbrella take anything away from her ever again.

'They can count on that...'

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this one and I'll see you next time!