The sun dipped low behind the tree line as we hauled the last of the boxes inside.
Lilly and I carried two crates between us, boots crunching across gravel toward the barn. Carley and Clementine worked ahead of us, Carley trying not to glance back at me while Clementine did the opposite.
Kenny was moving around like a kid in a theme park. He unloaded the RV in half time, Katjaa beside him, focused but careful with Duck's bag of toys, as if preserving a piece of innocence no one else believed in anymore, more so after today.
Madison and Alicia didn't speak. They didn't lift their eyes, just kept shifting items from one place to another, like it was the only thing keeping them upright. The grief was different for both, but blinded the same way.
Night fell slow but sure, and with it came a chill that crept up from the soil.
A small fire crackled in the dirt yard outside the farmhouse, ringed by a circle of old camping chairs and stacked crates. A habit that felt natural. We sat around it—Me, Lilly, Carley, Clementine, Kenny, and Duck sat in Katjaa's lap. Alicia and Madison hadn't joined us, not even I'd passed by and gestured silently. They were inside, both sitting on opposite ends of the living room like strangers.
The firelight flickered across our faces. Clementine leaned into Carley's side, hands tucked under her arms. Katjaa wrapped her arms around Duck. Carley had barely looked at me since the truck. Lilly had barely stopped.
Kenny exhaled slowly and leaned back in his chair, stretching out his legs.
"This place…" he muttered, almost to himself, "I mean… It's almost like a military base, with these fences and all," He looked around the place.
"Yeah," I said, "We're lucky."
Kenny chuckled at that, then glanced at Katjaa, who gave a small nod.
He looked back at the group.
"We're staying," he said.
I chuckled, "Who would've guessed, huh?" Lilly, Katjaa, and Clem chuckled while Carley remained silent. Lilly leaned her head on my shoulder, her finger wrapped around mine.
Kenny let out a breath. "Hell… I expected you to talk me out of it," he turned to Katjaa and said.
She giggled in response, earning a slight scoff from Carley.
Kenny smiles, just a bit. "Maybe, it wouldn't have worked." He said, looking around again to admire the place.
Carley stirred then, brushing a strand of hair from her face before standing up. "I'm going to check up on the others," she said.'
No one tried to stop her, not even me. Clementine looked up, uncertain, but didn't follow. I watched Carley disappear into the gloomy dark of the house, the firelight kissing her back before she vanished completely.
Lilly squeezed my hand tighter. I turned to her.
"She'll be fine," she whispered.
***
Carley's footsteps were soft on the creaking porch boards. The warmth of the fire faded behind her, replaced by the cooled, heavier quiet of the farmhouse. Shadows stretched long in the hallways. The generators hum somewhere in the distance.
She found Madison first, seated at the edge of the living room couch, shoulders curled inward, elbows on her knees, eyes on the floor. A cup of water rested untouched in her hands. She didn't look up when Calrey entered.
Carley stood in the doorway a moment before stepping in.
"Did you eat?" she asked gently.
Madison blinked but didn't answer.
Carley walked over and sat beside her, not too close. Just enough to share the space. "There's food. Lilly and Katjaa set some out in the kitchen—just soup and crackers, but it's warm."
Still, no answer.
Carley waited, then added, "You don't have to say anything. Just know that you still have a daughter you love."
Madison's hands tightened on the cup. "Not enough to tell her the truth," she frowned.
"Everyone keeps secrets, especially the ones that keep your family together."
Madison's voice broke slightly, "Yet, it broke in a way that I can never fix it."
Carley closed her eyes for a second, inhaled slowly. "I know that, too."
The silence stretched again, and both of them let it. After a moment, Madison finally set the cup on the coffee table and rubbed her eyes.
"Thanks," she whispered.
Carley gave a small nod, then stood. "I know that you can never fix it, but you can rebuild it, maybe even a stronger bond than before."
Madison's eyes widened for a moment before she gave a small nod, but said nothing. Carley let her be.
She crossed the hall and found Alicia in the dining room, standing by the far wall where the dusty curtains swayed with the night breeze. Her arms were crossed, but her eyes were fixed out the window. Watchful. Angry.
Carley leaned in the doorway. "Anything out there?"
Alicia didn't turn. "Nothing."
Carley stepped in slowly, then stopped beside her. "You've been on your feet all day."
"I did sit down… next to my brother's corpse."
Carley's eyes softened if they weren't already before; she looked down, "You still need to rest."
"I know what Wesker did was wrong, and it shouldn't have happened, it will never, again, I'll make sure of it. But for now, just for today, please can you forgive him, for me."
Alicia's jaw clenched as she turned to Carley with sharp eyes.
"No. I deserved what he did to me."
***
Kenny and Katjaa slipped into the house without a word. Duck, bundled in his father's arms, his head lolled back in sleep, mouth slightly open.
Only Lilly and I remained by the fire.
The flames had died a little as I added more wood to them. I sat low in the camp chair, elbows on my knees, staring into the rekindling fire.
Lilly paced around behind me. Slowly. Carefully. She checked every window within view, every door latch, every shadow that shifted under the moon.
Then she returned.
She sat down, not beside me, but between my legs, her bosom ready for a tit job, her hands slithering on top.
The fires' glow painted her skin a soft sun, and her eyes, half-libbed, gleamed with something uncanny. Hunger. Not just desire, but that edge of fascination she always wore when death was fresh on her mind.
"How'd it feel?" she asked softly. "Killing Nick."