My first attempt at anything Resident Evil. I don't know if I'll continue it…just needed to get this bit outta my head.

I'm only borrowing from the Resident Evil universe- don't own a thing.

The Fire In Your Eyes

Claire Redfield stopped, suddenly unable to make her legs carry her forward. Her mind screamed at her to go, to save as many as she could but the fear she felt at the sight before her paralyzed her, rendered her incapable of movement; she was rooted in place, mouth hanging open and a look somewhere between awe and horror on her face as she stared at what she hoped was the convoy's savior and not their destruction. The woman, the being or thing, whatever this was filled her sight, her eyes unable to look away from the terrible beauty she was witnessing. She resembled a woman but this was no mere woman, couldn't be just an ordinary mortal woman. She was like a goddess ripped from the world of myth and given life in this place and this time, an avenging angel come to seek vengeance for what had been done or maybe an angel of death come to finish the last survivors of a dying world. She was beautiful, magnificent and powerful. She was the most terrifying thing Claire had ever seen. She was standing alone, duster blowing out behind her, unruly hair whipping around her face. Her body was rigid, her face a mask of concentration, her arms outstretched and lifted to the sky. Oh god, the sky, thought Claire. It was no longer the cerulean sky they had been traveling under for what seemed like a lifetime. It was filled with flames, a swirling inferno, like the fires from the pits of hell had gotten tired of the confined spaces underground and decided to come up top to play for a while. Her brain urging her to move and the realization that this amazing creature standing before her was killing the infected avian flock, saving her ragtag band of survivors, Claire finally broke free of the spell that had been holding her hostage. Moving swiftly, yelling instructions to the panicked faces surrounding her, Claire gathered her family of survivors together and did her best to reassure them. She searched the faces looking for the one that meant the most to her, the one she couldn't lose; K was missing.

"Where's K-mart? Did anyone see her?"

The members of the convoy looked at each other, looked at their feet, looked at the burning sky, looked at the bloodied, motionless bodies on the ground but none would meet Claire's eyes except Carlos. She knew they thought K-mart was dead.

"She's not dead! Do you hear me? She's alive!"

"Claire, I saw her by the Hummer while we were evacuating the bus."

"Stay with them, Carlos." Claire took off at a run, frantic eyes darting in every direction, screaming for K-Mart. She made it to the Hummer, searched inside it, around it and underneath it. She took a deep breath, tried to find an inner calm then scanned the area. Her breath caught when she saw a still body underneath a collapsed beam, blonde hair fanned out on the dusty earth. NO! NO! NO!

"K-mart!" Claire's vision tunneled, narrowed until all she could see was K-mart. She ran to her, screaming K-mart's name, willing her to move, to breathe.

TTTTTTTTTT

Alice threw her meager belongings to the ground and ran in the direction of the screams. She topped a small rise and saw a group of people, living people free of infection, fighting for their lives, hundreds of infected birds trying to feast on their living flesh. Alice took in everything in seconds, the bodies lying on the ground, beaks tearing into still warm flesh, bright red blood running in rivulets across the dry, barren ground. It was chaos; these people would die if she didn't do something. She had to save them. In her mind, every life she saved gave her back just a little piece of her humanity, erased the taint Umbrella had left on her soul. She saw the flames and used them, seduced them to do her will. Lifting her arms, Alice spoke to the flames and they responded to her call, growing into a churning maelstrom seeking the infected birds. Alice maintained her focus, embraced the flames, sent them roiling across the sky to devour the birds. She had never used her power in this way, never lost herself so completely. She was caught up in the flames, unable to tear herself away; she was being devoured as surely as the birds. When she heard the grief-stricken, heart-wrenching scream she was pulled back from the edge. The flames receded and dissipated, faded away to nothing. Alice had never expended so much energy; she was exhausted, wavering on her feet. Before she collapsed, before the blackness took her, she looked at the woman whose screams reached her, yanked her back from the abyss. The woman turned, their eyes met and Alice felt something she thought long dead stir inside her.

TTTTTTTTTT

Claire reached K-mart, saw the blood covering her face and let out a mournful wail. She pulled the beam off her, pushed it to the side and pulled her into her arms just as K-mart's eyes fluttered open. She sagged in relief, holding tight to the girl who had become a daughter to her.

K-mart pulled back from Claire, her eyes wide as she stared at the burning sky. Claire got to her feet and pulled K-mart up with her. They needed to get back to the others.

"Who is she?"

"I don't know. C'mon, we need to get back to the others."

"Claire, the sky is starting to clear."

Claire lifted her head to the sky to see patches of blue showing through the dwindling flames. In seconds, the fire was gone. The only evidence that it had ever been were wisps of smoke and charred remains of birds littering the ground. Claire turned to the woman who had just saved them. When they made eye contact, Claire's heart quivered in her chest. Like the sky, she could see a beautiful shade of blue through the fire burning in the woman's eyes.