Watch Over You

Claire Redfield

"Oh my God!" Claire exclaimed, quickly meeting Juliet with an embrace.

Leon looked at the two girls in confusion. "Uh, you two know each other?"

"Yes!" Juliet immediately replied as she pulled away from her best friend. "And she's supposed to be at school!"

Claire laughed, dropping her voice, "You know I never sit in for boring classes."

"What- Why are you here, Claire?" Juliet asked. "I don't suppose it's because you wanted to give me a warm welcome, right?"

"That was part of it," Claire admitted. "But the main reason is... I need to find Chris."

"Chris?" Juliet confirmed, her heartbeat beginning to race. "What's wrong with Chris? Is he OK?"

Claire took in a deep breath. "He's missing."

Juliet covered her mouth in shock. "Oh, Christ. Is- is he- He's gone?"

Claire nodded slowly. She explained that Chris had been missing for up to a month with no news or updates whatsoever. She knew Chris was tough and not to be underestimated, but she still couldn't help worrying about him. With the apocalypse now a reality, she just needed to make sure that Chris wasn't in any sort of trouble. Juliet nodded, understanding how Claire was feeling. Juliet and Claire had been best friends for as long as she could remember, and she treated Chris like her own big brother. She prayed that wherever Chris was, he would be fine and away from this mess. Claire then brought up about a little girl that she met earlier on in the police station. She couldn't let her go on her own since it was very dangerous. Leon said that they have not seen her but promised to keep a lookout. As a parting gift, Claire handed them a set of explosives.

"You sure you don't want to tag with us? You know, safety in numbers?" Juliet asked, despite already knowing the answer.

She knew her best friend too well. Once her mind was made up, there was no changing it. Claire shook her head with a small smile. The two girls hugged once more before bidding goodbye. Claire shot a look at Leon, then at Juliet. She whispered, 'Take care of her', loud enough for only Leon to hear before she went down the steps. Once Claire was gone, the two continued their way to the showers and exited to the back of the RPD. Juliet felt a chill down her spine, not feeling good about the area they were in. She held onto his hand tighter as they walked down the hallways. Suddenly, a loud hiss was heard. Leon shone his flashlight upwards where a single creature lay atop. Its long tongue snatched a dead corpse on the floor before snapping the head off clean. She gasped then chided herself for being so stupid. The creature, however, didn't attack them. The creature was blind but had a heightened sense of hearing. Leon pulled her quietly behind him as he aimed his shotgun at it. Once the creature was close enough, Leon pulled the trigger. It took three shotgun bullets and a knife hit to its brain before it laid unmoving. Juliet collapsed beside the creature in shock.

"Hey, Juliet. You're okay. You're okay," Leon said in a soothing voice, trying to calm her down. He cupped her face with his hands, forcing her to look at him instead of that thing. "It's okay, Juliet. It's alright."

"I- I-" Juliet tried to say, but no words came out.

"Can you move? We should get away from this thing."

Juliet nodded her head quickly. She stood up with his help. Leon took the knife out of its brain and flicked off the blood. He took her hand before leading her into one of the rooms and sat her in one of the chairs. She was still shaking. He squatted in front of her and clasped her hands. She looked at him, her eyes still wavering from fear.

"I know you're scared, Juliet. Truth be told, I am too. But you were brave back there. You did it," Leon spoke, handing her back her cleaned knife.

"I'm so sorry, Leon," she apologised after finding back her voice. "I didn't mean to freeze up like that."

"You didn't freeze up. You killed that creature. You were badass."

At that, a small chuckle escaped her lips. Leon broke into a grin and gave her a brief hug. She finally nodded and took back the knife. He stood up and took a good look around the room for the first time. They were in the S.T.A.R.S office. Splitting up, they searched for clues in the huge room. Leon entered a small room to the side, with the label 'Captain A. Wesker' slapped across the door. He ransacked the desk, finding notes and some loose ammo. As he looked up from the desk, he saw Juliet starting to undress her skirt and shoes. He quickly looked away, only peeking once to make sure she was okay. He then continued to rummage the room but found nothing useful. He stepped out of the room, looking at Juliet who was in another outfit. Her white tank top remained, but her skirt was swapped to army pants and her heels were now replaced with combat boots.

"I hope whoever Rebecca Chambers is wouldn't mind. Those heels were killing me," she said in a small voice.

"Comfort over fashion," Leon joked, hoping that she wouldn't notice him staring at her.

Leon continued to search the other side of the room where he found a computer. Meanwhile, Juliet went over to a messy desk littered with classic rock albums and an ashtray filled with cigarette butts. A black electric guitar with flame motifs was leaned against the desk. Juliet touched a leather jacket which was hanging on the wall. The jacket had the words 'Made In Heaven' embossed on the material. She ran her fingertips across the jacket before gingerly taking it off the wall. No doubt, the jacket belonged to Chris. She tried to calm down her beating heart. She looked at the jacket and contemplated before putting it on. The jacket was probably three sizes bigger, but it was warm. She then heard Leon mumbling to himself. She went over to him, seeing a huge error message on the computer screen.

"Any luck?" she asked, peering over his shoulder.

"Sadly, no."

She took out a S.T.A.R.S. badge from inside the jacket and handed it over to Leon. "I found this in Chris' pocket. Maybe it can help?"

Leon fumbled with the badge which turned out to be a thumb drive. Leon grinned as he plugged it into the system. The door to the armoury beeped open. Heading their way inside, Leon immediately spotted a magnum gun in the glass case. He took it along with some ammo. Juliet spotted a note on the bench and read through it. Leon had noticed she had gone extremely quiet. She handed him the letter without looking at him. To Leon, the letter was as it was — Chris going to Europe to pick up chicks. 

"That doesn't sound like Chris. Not at all," Juliet said, pulling the jacket closer to her body. "Where are you, Chris?"