•Thicker Than Blood•

•Chapter 17•

When Sherry finally woke up, she was blinded by the bright white walls. Sherry squinted slightly, putting her arm over her forehead as a feeble attempt to save her vision. When it was finally stabilized, she was able to make out the details of the room. The walls were a bright hospital white, in the shape of a hexagon. The floors were marked with red and white stripes that were lit up, in the shape of the umbrella symbol.

Though, there was something that especially caught her eye. Despite the room being completely empty of any furniture or objects. There were two other people in the cell with her. One of which she recognized, Genevieve Ovega. The one that got her into this mess in the first place. But... Why was she in the cell? Wasn't she helping Umbrella? She couldn't really tell at this point... but there was also someone she didn't recognize.

It was a man, he couldn't be out of his twenties yet. His hair was slightly spiky, scruff scattered across his face with a shadow. He seemed to have a uniform on. Some sort of military looking outfit. He had a vest and holders for different weapons. Though, it seemed as though he was stripped of his weapons, the holsters empty. Genevieve was perched beside him, sobbing into her hands.

The man had his arm wrapped around Genevieve, rubbing her arm as a way to try and soothe her while she cried. She seemed so frightened. So scared. So afraid. She sniffled while she clung to him. She barely seemed to realize that Sherry had woken up yet. She had passed out due to the panic attack she endured. The man looked up, seeming to recognize that Sherry was finally awake before Genevieve did.

"Hey, Sherry, you're finally awake." He said.

"Yeah... What's happening? Who are you?" Sherry asked, bringing her knees to her chest.

"Seems we've been captured by Umbrella. Ever since the T-Virus outbreak, they've been trying to keep word from being spread by those who are too close to the situation. We know too much and they don't appreciate that. Don't want anything to be done about it." He looked towards her again. "My name is Chris. Chris Redfield."

"Wait. Redfield? Do you have a sister?" Sherry perked up, looking toward Chris.

"Claire! Do you know her? I came to this state looking for her. I heard this is where she fled to."

"Yes! Claire Redfield! Her, Leon, and I managed to make it out of Raccoon City. We moved into an old house and fixed it up... then I met Genevieve when they put me in school..." Sherry's voice got progressively lower as she spoke.

Genevieve finally looked up, looking at Sherry. She opened her mouth to speak, though she shrunk down closer to Chris. Chris looked down at her and made a head gesture towards the other girl. Genevieve merely shook her head, burying her face against his side. It seemed as though she was scared for whatever reaction Sherry might have, or rather what Sherry would say to her after their current situation.

"Listen, Sherry." Chris sighed. "Genevieve told me about what happened. I wanted to let you know. She wouldn't have wanted to hurt you. She was just trying to protect herself and her mother. Though, since she tried to protect you..." he glanced down at the cowering girl. "She's with us now."

Sherry hesitated, but gave a small nod. "Her mother works for Umbrella. She was there with... that guy... Wesker?"

Chris nodded. "Albert Wesker. He works for Umbrella. He's got superhuman strength. A powerful asset to the corporation. It's no wonder they sent him after us."

"Right... How are we going to get out of here?" Sherry questioned.

"You won't be leaving anytime soon."

The three of them looked up. Towards the top of the cell, there was a window. Ok the other side of that window stood Albert Wesker. His arms were folded behind his back, a smug smile laying across his face while he watched down at him. Chris stood up, taking hold of Sherry and pulling her near him. He pushed the two girls behind him as if to keep them protected.

"With Sherry Birkin captured, Claire and Leon won't be far to follow. Soon enough, I'll have all of you under my grasp. Then, we won't have to worry about any of you here in Umbrella." He set his hand on the glass. "So, sit tight while the problem solves itself. Yes? Not that you have a choice."

"You're a dead man, Wesker." Chris growled.

"Tell me how well that's worked out for you."

With that, Wesker turned around and walked away from the window. Once he had disappeared from sight, Chris turned to face the two girls. It would be difficult to escape. Especially when he had the job of protecting two children while trying to leave a high security facility. Though, it was clear that their only hope would be the window. But, how would they get up there? The walls were too high. There was nothing with them in the room other than themselves.

While they were unaware, help was on the way. Leon and Claire had finally made it to the facility. They parked a few blocks down from the facility itself, lurking through different alleyways while they made their way to the building. Once they got there, Claire took a knife off her belt. She managed to wedge it between the hatch of a vent. After a moment, she was able to pry the vent cover off the wall.

Leon gave her a silent nod and he climbed into the vent first. He dipped forward and started to crawl through the ventilation system. Claire was quick to follow, crawling after him. The two crawled through the vents, listening for any sort of commotion or signs of where the three might have been. That was exactly what they heard too. Albert Wesker's voice could be heard.

"Prisoners are contained right there. Stand by this door here. If you see anything odd, call for backup with your radios. Especially if you see Claire and Leon. Make sure you call immediately. Keep looking out." With that, Wesker walked past the guards.

Whatever was on the other side of the door those guards were standing by was where they needed to get. Claire and Leon glanced towards one another, nodding. Then, the two continued to crawl. Doing their best to navigate where the room would be. Once they got past where the door would be, they spotted another hatch. Leo took Claire's knife and pried it open.

Before the cover could fall, Leon caught it. Carefully, he held onto it as he dropped to the floor, making sure the cover didn't drop along with him. Once he was down into the room, he set the cover side. Then he returned to the vent above head, holding his arms out to help Claire down. She grabbed the edges, then carefully pushed herself out of the vent. Leon caught her on her way down, carefully setting her on her feet.

Now the rescue mission could truly begin.