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(Leon)
The train keeps chugging along. Leon glances over at Claire and Sherry, who are snuggled up together with Claire’s jacket draped over them. Leon keeps tapping on the barrel of his Matilda, afraid that something might come for them. Claire coughs, drawing Leon from his worrying thoughts. He looks at her and her eyes are open, looking right at him. He gives her a smile, hoping to reassure her. She returns the smile and it’s a little lopsided. A warm feeling fills his chest, causing him to brush some hair away from her face.
Claire takes his hand and Leon intertwines their fingers. Claire closes her eyes again and Leon goes back to tapping on the barrel. After thirty minutes, Claire wakes up and repositions, her hand leaving Leon’s. Leon awkwardly moves his hand into his lap. Claire stays awake and the two talk a little before staying in comfortable silence.
Once the train stops, Claire wakes Sherry so they can start walking. They walk for the whole afternoon before they reach a town. Leon’s been carrying Sherry in his arm that isn’t injured for a little while, to Claire’s clear disapproval. Claire goes into the motel and gets them a room; walking back out with two keys. Leon gets Sherry settled on one of the beds.
“You can get settled too,” Claire says. “I’m gonna go buy supplies with the money I have left.”
Leon holds out a card. It’s chipped on a corner and the numbers look a little faded.
“I think I can trust you to use the hundred dollars in that account,” Leon jokes with a sly smile. “The code is 6472.”
“Wow, I didn’t realize that we knew each other like this,” Claire jokes.
“It’s my travel card. This trip has been the first time I’ve ever used it. Considering everything, I’m probably going to change all of my passwords.”
Claire laughs, a sound that makes Leon smile a little. Claire heads out, so Leon settles down on the couch. He turns the news on a quiet volume and starts trying to plan their next moves.
My parents don’t live far from here, so I should probably take them there. I don’t have any cash, which is never a good thing. I don’t have any of my other cards, at least ones that will work.
“Hey, Leon?”
Leon turns to Sherry, “Yeah, what’s up?”
“Claire’s coming back, right?”
Leon nods. “Yeah, she is. She’s fully capable of taking care of herself and she’s in much less danger here then we were in Raccoon City. She’ll come back, hopefully with snacks because I’m starving.”
Sherry laughs, then comes and sits next to Leon.
“We’re gonna be fine,” Leon promises, wrapping an arm around Sherry.
(Claire)
Claire walks into the Walmart and heads straight for the shelf-stable goods. She can’t buy a lot of food, but she gets what she can along with an outfit for each of them. As she’s checking out, she sees that the news is covering that the military is closing in on Raccoon City. She breathes a sigh of relief, grateful that the government will make UMBRELLA pay for their actions. The walk back to the motel is exhausting due to all of the bags along with the terrible soreness she’s been feeling since the fights. When she gets in, Sherry rushes over to help her.
While it takes a minute, Leon gets up to assist as well. They take turns getting showers so they can change into the clean clothes. Leon insists on going last, so Claire gets in after Sherry’s done. The water getting the dirt and grime off of her feels like Heaven; she finally doesn’t smell like the sewers. Once she gets out, she sees Leon helping Sherry open the box of crackers. She smiles and leans against the doorframe.
This is peaceful. If only Chris were here to see it.
“Hey Claire, do you want any crackers?” Sherry asks, breaking Claire from her thoughts.
“Sure,” Claire answers. “Are they good?”
Sherry nods, then shoves a handful into her mouth. Leon gets up, then grabs his clothes and heads into the bathroom. Claire and Sherry talk and eat crackers until Leon gets out of the shower. He comes in without a shirt on, heading straight for the first aid kit that Claire remembered to grab before leaving the store.
“Do you need help?” Claire asks.
Leon shakes his head as he sits down on the couch. He’s almost completely silent as he works, something Claire never saw Chris do.
I’m sure he’s not such a baby about injuries now.
A small grunt of pain as he finishes wrapping it, that’s all the noise he makes. He comes over and sits next to Claire.
“Did you see any payphones and do you have any money left?”
“Your travel card has like maybe three bucks on it, and there’s a payphone in the lobby,” Claire answers.
Leon nods, then goes back to the bathroom. He’s only in there for a moment, coming back with his shirt.
“Do you need…?”
Leon puts his arm through the sleeve, wincing as he does it. Claire sighs and shakes her head, rolling her eyes where Sherry can see it. She giggles, drawing Leon’s attention. Both girls act like nothing happened, so Leon shakes his head. Claire offers Leon his card back, which he accepts before walking out.
“He’ll be back,” Sherry says, her confidence in him certain.
Claire nods, “Yup. In the meantime, we should find a cartoon to watch.”
(Leon)
Leon heads into the lobby and asks, “Where is the ATM?”
“No ATM. I can break change if you need,” the guy at the counter, a friendly looking guy who looks to be around Leon’s age, answers.
Leon hands him the card, which he puts into the machine. “How much do you need?”
“Everything on the card,” Leon answers.
A moment of silence. “I thought that was gonna be a higher balance. This is easy change.”
He hands Leon three dollars and seventy-one cents before handing him the card back.
“Guess I forgot to put more on my travel card,” Leon says, trying to seem normal.
He goes to the payphone and calls his dad.
He answers on the last ring. “Hello?”
“Hey, Dad.”
“Leon? Why didn’t you call me on your cell?”
“Oh, that’s toast. I don’t really have time to explain, but can you lend me two hundred dollars? I’ll pay you back when I get home.”
“You’re coming here? Your mother’s visiting her sister.”
“I’ll be there in two days if we get lucky with the bus system. It’s fine that Mom’s not there. I’m not coming for a friendly chat.”
Leon hears him sigh. “Okay, I’ll get your room ready.”
“I’m bringing people, so can you prep the guest room too?”
“What is going on?”
“I’m almost out of time. I’ll explain everything when I get there, trust me.”
“I’ll get those rooms ready. Which card?”
“Travel card, thanks Dad.”
“You’re welcome.”
Leon puts the phone back, then heads toward the bus station. After looking over the schedule, he heads back to the room.
“Hey,” Claire says.
“Hey. I looked at the bes schedule, we have a slight hiccup to our original plan,” Leon says, sitting down beside Claire. “There’s a bus that leaves tonight, then another one doesn’t leave until Saturday. Two days from now.”
“I guess that means we have to leave today, but we don’t have any money.”
“I got some money from my folks, that’s not a problem.”
“Okay.” A pause. “I’ll see if we can get some money back for the room. You and Sherry can grab everything and meet me by the lobby.”
Leon nods, so Claire heads out. Leon and Sherry grab everything, Sherry insisting that Leon can’t carry anything with his left arm. Considering it’s not a lot of stuff, he chooses not to fight her on it. He makes sure that he grabs both keys, then they walk towards the lobby.
(Claire)
Claire walks into the lobby and the guy at the front desk has changed from the friendly college student to a man in his forties who’s balding.
“Hey, I know this is a super weird question and you can totally say no, but can I get a partial refund for my room? It turns out that we’re leaving tonight instead. I know you still have cleaning before someone new can go in there, but we’ve only been in there about four hours.”
“We don’t normally give refunds, but I can make an exception.”
“Great.”
“All I need is a favor in return,” he adds, staring directly at Claire’s chest.
“You know what? I don’t need it,” Claire says, taking a step away from the desk so she doesn’t pick a fight.
“Oh, come on. It’ll be quick.”
“I have a boyfriend, and he’d have a problem with it,” Claire lies, positive that she’s gonna end up having to pick a fight with this guy.
“He doesn’t have to know.”
He grabs Claire’s arm and before she has time to react, a hand grabs the man’s wrist and twists it. Claire looks and Leon’s the one holding the guy’s wrist.
“I had it handled,” Claire gripes.
“I’m sure that you did, but I’m here to help,” Leon replies.
He pushes the man away, then puts the keys on the counter. Leon grabs Claire’s hand and leads her out.
“I should be able to kick his ass!” Claire fumes.
“Let’s just get to the bus station,” Leon says.
Sherry runs over, “What took so long?”
“Guy at the front desk wasn’t being respectful to Claire, so I had to talk to him so she didn’t throw hands,” Leon answers. “Everything’s settled now though.”
“Oh, okay.”
The three walk to the bus stop and wait for the bus to come.
(Leon)
Three bus rides spanning 30 hours to get to Leon’s hometown. The walk to his house feels like a walk of shame. Everyone stares, all the people he grew up around. He tries to ignore it and hopes that Claire and Sherry don't notice. He knocks on the door three times, something between him and his dad as a way of recognizing each other.
His dad opens the door, so Leon gives him a smile he’s sure doesn’t reach his eyes. He lets them in and hugs Leon. Leon doesn’t react, just soaks in the feeling of safety that being with his dad brings. He doesn’t even acknowledge the pain in his shoulder.
“What happened?”
“A lot. Do you mind if they get set up in the guest room?”
“About that. There’s a leak in that room that can’t be fixed until Monday.”
“Then you guys can crash in my room,” Leon says, “Speaking of… Claire and Sherry, this is my dad, Fred. Claire’s the one my age.”
Fred nods, “You guys can set up in Leon’s room. The door’s open, so it won’t be hard to find.”
Claire nods, then leads Sherry upstairs. “Who’d you pick up?”
“Claire’s looking for her brother and Sherry lost both of her parents. They need a safe place to stay for a while, and so do I.”
“You know that you’re always welcome here, but you’ve got a lot of explaining to do. What happened to your job in Raccoon City? Why wouldn’t you have your credit card? Where’s your car? I didn’t see it in the driveway.”
Leon puts a hand up, so Fred stops. “I’m really tired. I’ll explain everything later, I promise. For now, all that matters is that we’re safe.”