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ebitchwriting · 8 months

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Dragged Into The Blood

Story Summary: Never staying in one place for long, Lea was used to impermanence, chaos, and having to drop everything at the drop of a hat. Lea never expected that she would be kidnapped and wake up in a rusted, decrepit prison cell because of a madman's delusional belief in eugenics and cleansing the Earth of imperfection. By herself, with only the clothing on her back, she will have to rely on luck and logic to escape before she's killed or worse. Warnings: This chapter has no trigger warnings, a considerably more chiller chapter than the last one.

Welcome back, dear hearts! So in this chapter, Lea is offered the chance to return to society and contemplate the future. Also, I decided against my original plan of adding more chapters before the start of the ReRev2 arc, so chapter 13 is when we're going to enter that arc! Enjoy the chapter!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.

Chapter 11: Contemplation

Lea’s fiery red eyes scoured the flimsy pages before her, carefully reading every word before flipping to the next. She hissed a few curse words under her breath before flipping the page back, grabbing the notebook and pen beside her pillow, and furiously scribbling as her eyes scoured the page yet again. Page after page, she carefully analyzed and wrote down the most vital information until she reached the end of the stapled booklet. Then, haphazardly, she tossed it to her left in a pile of other stapled booklets and grabbed the next from her right.

It had been another two months since she learned more about her origin from her family. One month since Dr. Chambers procured a viable treatment to suppress the virus lurking in Lea’s veins. Almost four months total spent in the confines of B.S.A.A., always under the watchful eye of B.S.A.A.’s personnel, never alone, yet feeling more isolated than ever before. During that time, thanks to Chris and Jill, Lea had gotten used to controlling her newfound abilities despite her clumsiness.

Lea also concluded that her desire to attend highschool, to try her best to make at least one friend and to graduate was a dream she had to let go of. If Excella, and perhaps Kenneth, had managed to discover her through public school, then others would, too. Her best bet was to study for the G.E.D. test, take it under another new name, and—

The frazzled teen froze, her eyes darting around the ground aimlessly, then pushed the pamphlet in front of her away, focusing entirely on the notebook.

‘... What the fuck am I going to do after I get that...? College will absolutely be just as much of a trace as high school was... But it isn’t like any good paying and low-injury rate jobs out there take in someone without a Bachelor’s...’ Lea skipped several pages ahead in the notebook and started scribbling in an uneven table. The left column was jobs with a college degree, and the right was jobs without. On the bottom of the page, Lea hastily scrawled military and mercenary, circled it, and crossed it out.

‘... No fucking way am I going anywhere near the combat shit... I want to have control over my life... thank you very much...’ In addition, she wrote down the doctor and lawyer at the bottom of the page, circling it and crossing it out.

‘... I’m not going to college for eight years...’

For a long moment, she sat there staring at the blank, messily drawn graph with absolutely zero idea of what to put down in either column. Then, hesitantly, she scribbled down receptionist with several question marks in the right column. A minute later, Lea scribbled down journalist in the left column, then assistant into the right column. However, none of those options inspired confidence.

‘... I’d honestly be really pissed off if I had to get a Bachelor’s degree to be an assistant to a random office... or a nobody receptionist...’ Unhelpfully, Lea’s mind promptly went blank once again. She was left staring at the pitifully empty graph with furrowed brows and a grimace.

Thankfully, a knock broke the tension, distracting the young blonde from her staring. One of Lea’s hands drifted to the noise-canceling headphones, and she couldn’t help her mouth twitching into a small smile.

‘... Looks like Rebecca’s hypothesis was right... It’s almost like I’m back to my normal hearing...’ Lea turned back, expectantly looking at the door with a raised brow.

The lock beeped, not destroying Lea’s precious eardrums this time, and through the crack of the door, a now short-haired Jill popped her head in. A few seconds later, a now freshly shaven Chris popped his head just above Jill’s. Lea couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

“Come in, dorks.” Lea teased, still holding that slight smile, feeling lighter. Then, with a shared giggle, the two backed their heads out, opened the door, and stepped fully inside. Immediately, they balked at the sight of the barely organized mess of papers strewn about the bed and the floor.

“Rebecca was not lying when she said it looked like a tornado came through here,” Jill remarked, stepping around the random piles. “Brings back memories, doesn’t it?” Jill asked, looking straight at the bulky main with a teasing glint in her eyes. Chris raised a hand to his chest, making a playful affronted noise and taking a dramatic step back.

“Why I never! How could you make such an accusation! Slander! Lies!” Chris said in a melodramatic tone while theatrically waving his hands around, earning a tiny laugh from the teen. Jill simply crossed her arms, smirked, and sent a knowing raised eyebrow in his direction. Then, just as dramatically, the muscled man deflated. “Alright, it’s true, but to be fair I knew where everything was!”

“Until you didn’t.”

“Until someone decided to mess around with my desk.”

“You mean organizing so you didn’t get your ass reamed again?”

“Messing with my stuff!” Lea couldn’t help but laugh at the childish back and forth.

“There’s a method to the madness.” Lea piped up, the slight smile growing wider.

“Thank you,” Chris stepped in closer, holding a fist to Lea. Lea tentatively raised her fist and, as gently as she could, tapped his knuckles against her, still wary of her ability for delicate actions. To her relief, Chris said nothing about her nervous actions and simply nodded at her, returning to smirking at Jill as if he had won something.

“So, what are ya doing here?” Lea asked, eyes darting back and forth between the two. Jill and Chris shared a look, one that Lea hoped was a good look. Chris took the stool to sit in, looking comically large in comparison. Meanwhile, Jill propped herself up on the desk, sitting cross-legged.

“So, we’re not supposed to tell you yet, but we know how... stir crazy you’ve been waiting for updates,” Chris said as he sent her a warm smile, leaning forward so his elbows rested against his knees. Lea simply hummed at him to get him to continue, curious and cautiously hopeful. “Rebecca finalized the treatment, and I got word from my superior that you’re approved for the Witness Protection Program. You have a real shot at having a normal life.” Chris’s eyes were practically twinkling with excitement as his smile widened, looking at the young girl with an expectant look.

Lea simply stared at him disbelievingly with wide eyes. Her eyes glanced at Jill, who shared the same dazzling, warm smile and excited look in her eyes. Lea opened her mouth to say something, but no noise came out. Four months. She’s been in here for four months, largely being treated with fear aside from a handful of people. Four months of experimentation, of boredom, of finding any and all ways to distract herself. And finally, a chance of freedom had arrived. Lea imagined this moment at night when she didn’t want to deal with the nightmares and had nothing better to do. She imagined she would be filled with elation, joy, and wonderment about what to do with her future handed back to her. Yet, the most Lea could feel at that moment was a cold, numb shock.

“... I wasn’t expecting it to come so soon.” Lea finally managed to mutter after a very long moment. Long enough that the enthusiastic grins and crinkled looks soured and morphed into one of concern. Long enough that she couldn’t bear it anymore, tearing her gaze away from her rescuers. “... But that’s great! I guess I’m just shocked.” Lea managed to add, ending the statement with a strangled giggle nervously. She brought a hand to the back of her scalp, scratching it absentmindedly. Jill chuckled, making Lea snap her gaze back to the woman.

“I get that, trust me. After being in this fight for what, 12 years now, I get that feeling.” Jill’s words were very emphatic at how much she understood the feeling of shock and disbelief about going back to society. Lea felt the prickle of tears starting to build up, so she opted not to respond and just to nod, clinging onto what little pride she had left. “So, any idea what you’ll do once you’re back home?” Jill not so subtly tried to direct Lea’s thoughts with a gentle smile. Lea laughed again, but it held a bitter edge this time.

“Actually, yeah, I was just in the middle of trying to figure that out. I’m not gonna bother with highschool, so I’m just gonna take the G.E.D. instead. After that, well,” Lea simply handed Chris the graph on which she had made very little progress. The burly man grabbed it and ran his eyes over it. He let out a surprised scoff as his eyes reached the bottom.

“I’m glad you don’t want to be a merc, but no interest in fighting against bioterrorism? None?” Lea narrowed her eyes at Chris, the seeds of suspicion growing at the true intentions of her rescuers.

“Why do you ask?” Lea practically hissed out, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at the pair. Chris sighed, dropping his gaze and tapping his fingers against his knees.

“I ain’t gonna lie to you, kid. You’re intelligent, strong, and skilled. With the proper training, you could do some real good at B.S.A.A.” She knew Chris meant well by the sentiment, but that didn’t stop the growing resentment that he only saw a soldier to be recruited after everything they went through. Lea scoffed and turned her head to the side. “Wesker may be dead, but the threat of bioterrorism still remains.” Chris added, trying to catch Lea’s gaze again, but she ignored him. Lea turned her attention to Jill, who moved from her position and strode across the room to sit beside the teen, giving her a soft, somber look.

“Lea, it’s not like that. We’ve been in this fight for twelve years. But, for people like us,” Jill made a back-and-forth motion with her hand, “it’s nearly impossible for us to put what we’ve experienced behind us. But the way we did survive this was by fighting against bioterrorism. Chris and me? We fight on the field. Rebecca? She finds vaccines and treatments to protect the public and people like you. Chris’s sister helps run a non-profit organization to help those displaced by bioterrorism.” Jill moved her hand but hesitated. Lea gave her a slight nod, and Jill finally lowered her hand to caress Lea’s shoulder comfortingly.

“There are so many ways to help yourself and others. You would be great with us here, but it isn’t easy, and I get that you don’t want to be anywhere near combat.” Chris sighed, standing up and sitting on the other side, taking what little room was left on the tiny cot. Despite how claustrophobic it made her feel, she felt herself slowly melting under the comforting strokes of Jill’s hands. “So, I can put in a good word with my sister and get you a job at TerraSave. That way, you can stay away from guns and violence and help displaced families and fundraisers.”

“It doesn’t have to be forever either,” Jill said. “Contrary to what most people say, you don’t need to know every step of your life and what you’re gonna do. Some people go to college, some don’t. Some people decide the career they’ve been in for decades isn’t for them and start all over. Some people decide just to do odd jobs and travel, but guessing that’s not for you.” Lea laughed in agreement at that statement.

“There’s no pressure,” Chris clapped a hand to join Jill’s in comforting Lea, his fingertips brushing against Jill’s. “Just, consider it.”

Lea could feel the tears prickling her eyes again, but it wasn’t anguish, fear, or anger this time. This time, it was hope. She had forgotten what genuine hope for the future felt like. Shakily, Lea gave them both a wider grin and a nod, not quite wanting to speak just yet. Not so surprisingly, the burly man pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. He also hauled in Jill, turning it into a group hug, making the older woman giggle at his antics. Lea let out an amused huff and closed her eyes, allowing herself to relax fully in their arms. After a long moment, the pair detangled themselves from the group hug, standing up and giving Lea some breathing room.

“We have to go, but Rebecca should be here later today to go over the treatment plan. See ya!” Jill said with a comforting smile. Lea nodded again, waving them goodbye as they approached the door. As delicately as she could, she brushed her fingers against the noise-canceling headphones as they left. She was infinitely grateful that the device had given her a respite from the unbearable constant auditory sensory overloads.

Lea stood from the cot, walking over to the desk where Chris had left the notepad with the hastily drawn graph. Grabbing it, she returned to the bed and sat cross-legged. Then, without a second thought, she grabbed the nearby pen, scribbling on the side research TerraSave before flipping the pages back to her notes.

#resident evil #dragged into the blood #chris redfield #jill valentine #original character #ao3 link #ao3 fanfic

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