Chapter Text
The rain had started falling even before she saw the first signs announcing Raccoon City. At first it was gentle, almost shy, as if it were testing whether it had the right, and then without warning it turned into a dense, heavy curtain of water. Drops struck the asphalt and Claire helmet in a steady, hypnotic rhythm. The motorcycle’s engine sounded sure and even, the only constant in the darkness that thickened with every passing minute.
She was tired, but it was the good kind of tired. The kind that comes after a long road, when you know the destination is close. Raccoon City.
She tightened her grip on the handlebars when another gust of wind tried to push her sideways. The asphalt gleamed like a mirror. Slick and treacherous, it reflected the lights of streetlamps and the few passing cars in chaotic streaks. Claire instinctively slowed down. She had always been careful. She knew when to trust the machine and when not to tempt fate.
The first thunderclap rolled in from the distance. Deep and drawn out, as if the sky were tearing open somewhere beyond the horizon. Claire lifted her gaze. The clouds hung low, heavy and navy-blue, nearly black. The air was saturated with electricity. She felt it on her skin, even through her clothes, through the helmet. That familiar tension that made every sound sharper and every movement more significant.
A gas station sign appeared on the right side of the road. Neon lights flickered, struggling against the rain and wind. Beyond it began a stretch Claire knew only from the map. A few turns, a short straightaway, and the entrance to the city. Almost there.
“Just a moment more.” she thought, though she didn’t say it out loud. Her voice would have been swallowed by the roar of the rain anyway.
The thunder struck closer this time. Almost simultaneously, lightning split the sky. Sharp, white, blinding. For a fraction of a second everything became unnaturally clear. The road. The guardrails. Trees by the roadside, twisted by the wind. And the curve ahead of her.
Claire took it calmly, by the book. The lean of the motorcycle was minimal, the speed safe. And then it happened.
Something jumped onto the road.
She had no time to understand what. A shape, a movement, a shadow torn from the darkness. Reflex acted faster than thought. A violent twist of the handlebars. The motorcycle responded, but the asphalt did not forgive mistakes. The tire lost traction almost immediately.
The world suddenly tilted.
Claire felt the rear wheel slide, felt the machine turn heavy and alien beneath her. She tried to straighten it, to correct her line, but it was already too late. Rain, an oily patch on the road, maybe sand dragged in from the shoulder. Everything converged into a single, merciless moment.
The motorcycle hit the guardrail first.
The metallic crash was deafening. Claire was thrown into the air, as if someone had yanked her brutally forward. Her helmet struck the asphalt, then again. Her body skidded along the road, spinning uncontrollably. Light, sound, and pain fused into one.
The pain was brief but intense. Piercing, white, almost pure. Like lightning tearing through her entire body. Claire tried to scream, but only a strangled sound escaped her lips, immediately lost in the rain.
She felt warmth.
At first she didn’t understand what it was. It was strangely soothing, a contrast to the cold asphalt and water. Only after a moment did it register that it was blood. Warm, sticky, pouring from open wounds, running over her skin, mixing with the rain.
Her shoulder ignited with pain. A sharp, deep surge that made her entire body stiffen. She tried to move it, but even the smallest motion sent a wave of agony through her. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
She tried to draw a breath.
She couldn’t.
Her chest refused to cooperate. Her lungs seemed to collapse inward, unresponsive to her desperate attempts to breathe. Panic flooded her mind suddenly, violently. Her heart began to race, chaotic.
“Breathe. Just breathe.” she tried to tell herself, but the thought was blurred, unfocused.
Rain beat against her face, ran into her eyes, her mouth. It tasted metallic. The world around her trembled, broke into fragments. Lights flickered somewhere off to the side. The guardrails were too close. The road too hard.
Another thunderclap exploded directly above her. This one was so close she felt the vibration in her bones. Lightning lit her vision for a final fraction of a second. Everything was sharp and clear, and then it sank back into darkness.
Her breathing became shallow, broken. Every attempt to draw air hurt. She felt something inside her protesting, as if her body were slowly giving up.
Her thoughts began to blur.
Chris.
The name appeared suddenly, clearer than anything else. His face. His voice. The promise that they would finally see each other. That it was just a short trip. Nothing major.
The warmth spread further, claiming new places. Arms. Legs. Cold and heat mixed in a strange, disorienting way. Claire stopped feeling the rain as sharply as before. Sounds drifted away, as if someone were slowly turning the world down.
Her eyelids grew heavy. Very heavy.
She tried to open them, to force herself to stay conscious, but her body didn’t respond. The pain that had been so intense moments before began to fade, replaced by a strange emptiness.
The sound of her own heartbeat faded into the background until silence took over.
And then everything disappeared.
The rain kept falling. Thunder continued to tear the sky above the road leading to Raccoon City. The world moved on, as if nothing had happened.
***
The patrol car’s lights cut through the rain in narrow, trembling streaks. Leon drove steadily, slower than usual, both hands on the steering wheel. The night was miserable. Rain poured without pause, and the storm hung over the city like a heavy curtain, ready to drop lower at any moment. He was returning from a gas station a few kilometers beyond the city limits. A quick run for refueling and coffee so he wouldn’t fall asleep on the night shift. That was all.
He was new. Still too focused on everything at once. The road, the radio, his own thoughts. Every sound, every shadow at the roadside caught his attention. Raccoon City at night had something unsettling about it, even when nothing was happening. Leon couldn’t quite name it, but he felt it under his skin.
Thunder struck suddenly, so close that he instinctively glanced at the mirror. A moment later, lightning split the sky. For a second the road ahead was lit by a sharp, white light.
And then he saw it.
A dark shape lying across the roadway.
Leon hit the brakes almost instinctively. The tires squealed on the wet asphalt, the patrol car slowed abruptly but stayed stable. His heart slammed harder as the headlights revealed more than just a shadow.
A motorcycle. Wrecked. Lying several meters away, lodged sideways into the guardrail.
And between them, a body.
“Shit.” slipped out of him softly.
He stopped the patrol car partially across the road, switched on the hazard lights, and jumped out without even closing the door. The rain soaked his uniform instantly. His boots slipped slightly on the asphalt as he ran closer.
It was a woman.
She lay motionless on her back, her head turned to the side. The helmet was cracked, partially shifted, revealing auburn, wet hair stuck to her face. The asphalt around her was darker, gleaming with more than just rain.
Blood.
Leon crouched beside her, ignoring the cold and water. For a fraction of a second, fear paralyzed him. This wasn’t a simulation. This wasn’t training. This was real.
“Hey. Can you hear me?” he said loudly, clearly.
No response.
He placed two fingers on her neck, exactly as he’d been taught in training. There was a pulse. Weak, but present. The relief hit him so hard he almost felt dizzy.
“Breathe… come on…” he muttered, more to himself than to her.
Her chest rose barely perceptibly. Her breathing was shallow, irregular. One arm lay at an unnatural angle. Leon’s uniform immediately soaked with blood as he tried to gently determine where it was coming from.
“Damn it…” he clenched his teeth.
He reached for the radio clipped to his shoulder.
“Dispatch, this is unit three-two. I have a traffic accident on the route past the gas station, several kilometers from the city limits. One person critically injured, unconscious. Immediate ambulance required.” he said quickly but clearly.
“Copy that, three-two. Ambulance en route. Another unit dispatched as well.” came the calm voice of the dispatcher.
Leon lowered the radio and focused on the woman again. He carefully stabilized her head, making sure not to move her neck. Rain streamed down her face, into her mouth. He wiped it away with the sleeve of his uniform.
Claire moved suddenly, sharply, like someone being ripped out of a nightmare. Her body stiffened, and a quiet, strangled sound tore from her throat. Leon reacted instantly, his hands tightening around her head, stabilizing it more firmly, not allowing her to move. He pinned her shoulders down gently but firmly.
“Hey—hey… easy.” he said quickly, leaning closer. “Don’t move. Can you hear me?”
Her eyelids fluttered. For a split second, they opened, revealing a glassy, unfocused stare. She wasn’t looking at him. She was looking straight through him.
“Hey, it’s okay. Help is coming. Hang on, alright?” he said, though he didn’t know if she could hear him at all.
He tried not to think about the worst. Internal injuries. How short the braking distance had been. He focused on what he could do. Checked that nothing was blocking her airway. Carefully adjusted the helmet so it wasn’t pressing on her neck, but without removing it completely.
Another thunderclap made the woman twitch slightly. A quiet, broken sound escaped her lips, something between a groan and an attempt to breathe.
“No, no… don’t try to move.” Leon said, calm but firm. “You’re injured. Help is on the way.”
Claire tried to move her arm. It was an instinctive, uncoordinated motion. Her face twisted instantly, pain ripping through her so violently it stole the air from her lungs. Tears spilled from her eyes, mixing with the rain on her cheeks.
“Aa—” she forced out, barely audible.
Her body trembled. Every muscle seemed to rebel at once.
Leon leaned closer.
“I know. I know it hurts.” he said softly. “But you’re safe. I’m here. The ambulance is coming, okay?”
“Alright, alright… I've got you. Stay with me.” Leon said quickly. “Don’t move. Almost there.”
He reached into her pocket, looking for identification. He found a wallet. The plastic cards were wet but readable. He looked at the name and froze for a moment.
Claire Redfield.
Something about the name sounded familiar. He frowned, trying to place it. He flipped another card. The photo showed the same woman, only smiling, healthy, with auburn hair falling freely over her shoulders.
“Redfield…” he repeated under his breath.
Then he understood.
Chris Redfield. She is his sister.
Leon felt his stomach tighten even more.
Sirens wailed in the distance. At first muffled by the rain and storm, then growing clearer. Leon breathed out, though the tension in his body didn’t ease.
“You hear that? They’re coming.” he said, leaning closer to her.
Her breathing faltered for a moment, as if she were trying to say something. Her lips trembled.
“No…” slipped out weakly, barely more than a breath. Leon shook his head immediately. “No, not now.” he said softly. “Right now, just breathe. That’s all you have to do. They’re almost here.”
Her eyes opened again. Empty. Unfocused. Pain twisted her features as tears continued to fall silently, one after another.
Leon didn’t move his hands. Not for a second.
“You’re going to be okay.” he repeated. “Just a little longer. I promise.”
Her eyelids fluttered, but didn’t open. Her breathing stuttered again, then returned, shallow and uneven. Leon placed his hands on either side of her head, stabilizing her as best he could.
Her eyelids drooped again and again, her head trying to tilt despite his grip.
“Don’t fall asleep, okay?” Leon said immediately. “Claire, can you hear me? Open your eyes. Just for a second.”
She didn’t answer with words. Her lashes trembled, her lips moved, but no sound came out. Another tear slid down her temple.
“Alright, alright…” he murmured, his voice gentle, grounding. “Breathe. Focus on my voice. Stay with me. Don’t fall asleep, okay?”
The ambulance lights appeared first, flashing red and blue. A second patrol car arrived right behind it. Doors slammed, someone shouted through the rain.
“What do we have?” one of the paramedics asked, kneeling beside Leon.
“Motorcycle accident. Found unconscious. She has regained consciousness, but is drifting off. Shallow breathing, possible chest and shoulder injuries.” Leon replied automatically, exactly as he’d been trained to report.
The paramedics took over quickly and efficiently. Cervical collar, stretcher, vitals check. Leon stepped back, letting them work, but he didn’t take his eyes off her.
The second patrol car pulled closer. Two officers got out and approached the scene.
“Kennedy?” one of them raised an eyebrow, recognizing him. “What happened?”
“Accident. Motorcycle. One injured.” Leon answered, still watching the stretcher.
The officer glanced at the documents Leon held in his hand. His face immediately grew serious.
“That’s… Redfield?” he confirmed.
Leon nodded.
“Yes. Claire Redfield.”
For a brief moment, no one spoke. The rain filled the silence.
“Contact headquarters.” the other officer finally said. “Have them notify Chris. Immediately.”
The radio crackled to life again. Short, precise messages. Procedures kicked in, as if someone had flipped an invisible switch.
Leon stood nearby, feeling that his part in the scene was coming to an end. But something in him wouldn’t let him leave. He watched as the paramedics lifted the stretcher, as the ambulance doors closed.
For a fraction of a second, he thought her fingers twitched.
Then the ambulance pulled away, and the sirens blended back into the night.
Leon remained on the wet road, rain streaming down his face, feeling the weight of a moment whose consequences were far greater than he could have known then.