The next day, October 2nd
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Liz was finally able to wake up, after a long and perpetual sleep. She must have fallen deeply asleep on the journey.
Barry had taken them east, far east.
He talked about reaching out to a doctor, a person who specialized in that particular situation.
Now it all seemed confusing.
When she looked around, she realized she was lying in a small comfortable bed, cuddled by the sound of distant water and urban activity.
A window to his right showed the shores of a giant lake, from which the sunrise showed timidly.
It was a well-kept room, a normal bedroom, with nothing gloomy as in the events of the last week.
I ... how ...? Where are the others...?
She tried to get up, but she still felt tired and her head very quickly returned to the pillow...
And only then she realized that the door to her left was opening.
From the doorway, a young girl walked in, with short brown bob hair, shining eyes of the same color.
She was wearing normal household clothes, although she was carrying a small first aid kit.
She must have been younger than her by a few years.
When she realized that Liz was awake, she quickly entered.
"Oh! You finally regained consciousness! How are you?"
"Like I'm in pieces... and I'm craving sweets..." replied Liz, trying to figure out who this familiar-faced girl was.
"Those I think I can only give you in certain doses. They're not really healthy for your system." she retorted; "Ah! While you were sleeping, your other friends explained everything to me. Barry didn't want to wait and already left as soon as he heard you were well."
"Typical Barry..." murmured Liz, smiling; "Rebecca... am I right? You know then what I have inside... will I be able to live a normal life?"
"Well, I was happily surprised. Your blood data is a big resource for researching a vaccine for the Progenitor Virus.
You can live normally, despite your sucrose consumption... and I advise you not to overdo it. It is harmful in the long run."
"In fact, I need to know my father's gift well... I assume this is it."
Elizabeth commented, as she looked at the door as if waiting for someone in particular.
The girl, Rebecca Chambers, noticed her gaze...
So she coughed, asking those outside to come in.
"It's not nice to spy on conversations, you two."
A loud thud was heard from outside, followed by curses from a boy and a whispered reprimand from a girl, just before Megan peeped out from behind the door.
"Um, did we make a lot of noise?"
"Just a little bit." Liz replied, giggling in delight.
The little girl then pulled Jonathan inside with her, who, once inside, blushed and fixed his gaze on the ground.
"Elizabeth... I... uhm, I..."
His lower lip quivered, and he inhaled heavily.
The former policewoman beckoned them both to come closer.
"Come here... I have something to tell you."
The two obeyed her, although the boy seemed half asleep because of how he reacted in slow motion, and he had to be prodded by his companion.
He even seemed not to find the strength to look anyone in the face.
Once on the side of the bed, Elizabeth made an effort and went to give them both a blow kiss.
"I missed you... just give me time to recover and we'll do everything, okay?"
No longer able to restrain himself after that gesture by the policewoman, Jonathan leaned forward and suddenly embraced her, surprising both girls by the suddenness of that gesture.
"It's okay... I'm here... it's all over." O'Connell reassured him.
The young man inhaled shakily and, in a barely audible voice broken with emotion, told her:
"Never again... don't ever make me take these pains... if you hadn't made it, I... I wouldn't...!"
Megan approached the two slowly and hugged JR from behind.
"I'm sorry... I promise I won't do such follies again." Liz replied, smiling and trying to hearten the boy.
Rebecca smiled at that show of affection and decided to leave them alone:
From the way Barry described before he left, they must have been through hell.
She left the room and headed to check on the other patient in the next room. However, when she opened the door, she surprisingly found the bed completely empty and in disarray.
Guarding the room, there was only that Vince Archer, but he was no longer there either.
The only thing that was alive in the room was the TV, turned on the news. Immediately, she ran out of the empty room to alert the others abruptly, without even stopping to watch the breaking news:
"RACCOON CITY NO LONGER EXISTS.
DROPPED A G-BOMB ON THE CITY THIS MORNING TO CONTAIN THE DEADLY CONTAGION.
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PRESIDENT WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE ACTION."
Meanwhile
Vince slipped quietly out the front door of the apartment building.
He was aware that leaving like that would be stupid, but it didn't matter to him now:
He had to do something to get back on track, or he would not be satisfied.
Ever since Barry had left to head back toward Raccoon to rescue a fellow STARS member, he had stayed to monitor Rhonda and her state of health.
The two loved each other, but what kind of man would he be without being able to offer anything to a woman like her?
Moreover, he almost felt as if his presence attracted trouble regardless.
He had to let everyone make their own lives.
Before leaving, Barry had left him a pair of keys, telling him that as compensation for that unfinished challenge he could keep one of his bikes.
He was going to leave with it.
Once he put the keys in the slot, however, he noticed that there was someone staring at him.
"Where do you think you're going?" a female voice asked him...
Rhonda Hill's.
The girl appeared straight behind him, her back leaning against the wall of the building.
Instead of bandages, she now wore a black bandage in front of her missing eye that she had even decided to personalize with some studs.
Vince sighed and sat better on the seat of the motorcycle.
"I... need to start over. Being together with others doesn't make me feel comfortable right now."
"After all we've been through together, you just want to leave us on the spur of the moment? Not to mention that you didn't even say goodbye to the others!" the musician commented, only to ask him later where he intended to go.
"I don't know. Chicago, or maybe a smaller place, where I can work as a mechanic." he replied; "I don't expect you to forgive me..."
"Forgiveness? I wouldn't have forgiven you if you had run away from me! I want to go with you!" retorted Rhonda, however, taking a few steps forward.
"Huh?"
Vince stared at her for a second with surprise.
"And to do what? Don't you forget your dream of being a singer?"
"To be together with you! Don't be a dick! Besides, music can be done anywhere!" she replied.
"What about Jonny? Aren't you going to say bye to him?" he asked her, looking away; "You must have run away cheekily to come all the way here."
She gave a smile of regret and looked away.
"Come on, you know he's just a friend... besides, he doesn't need me, he already has those who can stand by him and support him better than I ever would..."
Vince let out a long sigh...
Before turning to the bike.
"Get on... you have five seconds."
Rhonda smiled and wasted no time.
Once on the bike, she turned toward the building, her gaze directed toward where she remembered Jonny's room to be.
"Take care, man... and put your best foot forward to make your dream come true. You will become the best cameraman, I'm sure of it..." she murmured...
Then biting her lip.
However, before she could realize it, Vince turned his torso slightly, enough to put her head on his own chest for a few seconds.
"You're not alone."
"I... I know... none of us is... And it's not goodbye... we'll see them again... I know we will.
And yet... and yet... I can't help feeling sad..."
Rhonda's voice was soft and broken with tears, very different from her usual blunt tone that he was used to hearing.
"We work on ourselves. When we see them again, we will be two better people." With that said, Vince got better in the saddle.
"Now hold on... we have a long journey ahead of us. The sabbatical you've been waiting for so long begins. Where do you want to go?"
"Oh, I don't know... I personally would like to go to Florida, but it's not really around the corner." she replied.
"Well... then the sooner we leave, the better... remember I always have something here that will allow us some relaxation."
Archer touched his black leather jacket pocket for a second, smiling slightly.
"I hope for your sake that it's a tape with some of the most emblazoned rock hits of the last 30 years!" sneered Hill, regaining a modicum of good humor.
"No, but we can afford tons of them." retorted Vince, pulling out a credit card known to her for a second:
Albert Wesker's card.
"I've already swiped some money from his bank account... it's full."
The girl's infamous smile widened.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Vince Archer, the king of motherfuckers, and I love him for that..."
"And now, Miami Beach, full steam ahead!"
With a double howl from the two guys, the motorcycle quickly sped away from the parking lot of the apartment building, exiting into traffic and heading toward the southeast freeway.
"With such a suave wind in my hair, I have no intention of stopping or slowing down."
Everything that would pass from there on would only be what they would want.
When one's life hangs by a thread, only one thing is clear:
Everyone is their own master, and the fact that they had survived was proof of that. With Rhonda resting her head on his back, holding on tightly, Vince increased his speed slightly, letting the sound of the motorcycle do the talking at that moment:
It seemed like an eternity since the last big trip of his life, but from the experience of those last days, he felt like he needed to reset everything.
Then he thought for a second that he was not so different from that monster:
Until then, it pretended to live independently, but simply struggled to breathe. But now, it could finally spread its wings and take flight.
"Fuck it... too melodramatic for my taste." he muttered to himself, as the sunlight grew brighter as the bike moved farther south....
Before disappearing beyond its rays.
No one from then on knew anything more about Vince Archer or Rhonda Hill.
THANKS FOR READING!