Resident Evil Series Fan Fiction ❯ Penda Gota ❯ Partners ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chris and Sheva embark on their mission. As their team and Majini fall around them, they gather what they can to overcome the hardships. Together

Non Anime: Resident Evil Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.20.2009 | Pages: 57 | Words: 39.8K | Visits: 289 | Status: Completed

A/N: Finally the last chapter! This chapter was written by both me and Ki!

It's 55 pages long and has action, gore and of course love. So, prepare yo'selves!

Penda Gota

Chapter 5

Nostalgic chants and blissful chatter warmed Sheva's ears as the women of her village dressed and encouraged her for the battle ahead.

Amongst others like her in femininity, Sheva contently shut her eyes. For a moment, she was a child again; recognizing the familiar scents and comfort of her people.

Calloused hands tipped with knowledge and wisdom in their fingers gingerly marked Sheva's skin with the depths of their ethnicity and beliefs in the shape of their tribe's designs.

Transient charcoal kissed her light oiled skin and moved in intricate patterns. A tapered line of elegance, an ancient curve of mother earth and accented dots of courage.

She was no longer just a woman, nor a warrior but a noble entity representing her tribe.

And that alone haunted her.

Aimlessly thoughts wavered into her mind like a phantom, uncertain of the outcome the day would bring, but she forced herself to relinquish them.

If the mission was bothering her this much and it hadn't even begun yet, she could only imagine what images were going through Chris' mind.

Chris...

Thinking of him brought a light smile to her ripened lips and her eyes fluttered open.

The women before her had stepped back to admire and inspect her and giggled amongst themselves.

Sheva nodded to them and quickly looked down at what their idea of fitting attire should be.

And gasped loudly.

She may as have well been wearing string with beads through them, her outfit was so revealing.

'Oh, they have got to be kidding!' she groused in her mind; her eyes briskly skimming over the thin material.

The leopard-printed top reminded her more of a fun-time bikini at best, and the multi-fabricated “skirt” appeared to be no more than a poor excuse for a handkerchief with two feathers barely attached.

Her body tensed and she could swear it was turning red from the embarrassment.

But not wanting to be rude, she gave her thanks to the women, but also asked them about the outfit's necessity.

She was given a reasonable reply and only sighed to herself when her neck was adorned with intricate rings and a rather large bone “necklace”.

She could only imagine what Chris and the others would have to say about her lovely new clothing.

Or lack thereof.

And it would seem as if she didn't have to wait long. There was a knock at the door of their hut and the ladies rushed to see who it was.

Chris sighed and gave the door another light knock.

He and the other members of the Gamma Team had arrived to meet up with Sheva just as she had requested.

Josh stood off to the side, giving the newer members a quick lecture of how to quickly aim for the Majini's heads while Kent remained nearby, leaning against the small structure.

A cheeky smile was on his face that Chris couldn't read. And something told him, he didn't want to know.

When he still received no answer, he knocked again. “I still don't see why I have to be the one to do this.” he mumbled under his breath..

Catching his words, Kent glanced over at him and straightened out his ammo belt. “I think the answer would be obvious for that one. You are Sheva's American--I mean-- significant other, aren't you? Why not be the one to see her first?”

Slightly amused, Chris shifted his weight to one side and faced the other male. “You make it sound as if she's my bride.”

“Oh yeah?” Kent questioned, appearing bewildered. “Then perhaps seeing her first is bad luck!”

Chris scoffed. “Yeah, that's a way to start off a dangerous and deadly mission.”

"With Sheva, things are always deadly." he hinted with a smirk. "You should already know that firsthand!"

Chris half-smiled and rubbed his bruised neck. "You don't know the half of it." he mused, preparing to knock again.

And no more than a second later, the door swung open and Sheva burst out of the hut.

Shutting the door behind her, she muttered something under her breath and looked up at Chris; the first person she saw.

His mouth hung in an astonished gape and his eyes doubled in size as they took in the lightly dressed woman before him.

Just what was she wearing?!

"Damn!" Chris and Kent uttered in amazed unison.

The remaining team members unanimously ogled Sheva; one out of shock, the rest out of allure.

"Alright alright, stay focused!" Josh scolded.

"Uh, nice rings." Chris dumbfoundedly commented, taking note of the multi-colored decorations around her neck and the bright bangles that adorned her arms.

“And uh...chalky...line...across your nose.”

His eyes trailed down to the large longbow she held a bit too tautly in her hand.

"There she goes!" Kent remarked jokingly and nodded to them. "Looking beautiful, as always, Sheva!" he added before hurrying over to his brother and the others.

Sheva groaned and shouted back a retort in her native tongue—though Chris was pretty sure he knew a “Fuck You” in any language when he heard it—then smiled thinly. "I hate this outfit." she groused to Chris.

He blinked. "Uh...isn't it comfortable?" 'To say the least.' he thought.

"It feels like air."

"What's with the longbow?"

Making a face, she looked down at the item. "It's tradition. I don't mind dressing this way for my ancestors and for my tribe to represent them, but that doesn't mean I agree with their tastes."

"I do." Chris smirked, earning him a punch in the arm from Sheva.

"Oh be quiet!" she smiled and quickly hoisted the bow on her back. "Besides", she continued, leaning closer to him to whisper, “You'll probably have your fair share of fun tearing it off later."

"Oh, I already had that in mind." he whispered back.

"So you better not get killed on me!" she pressed, her tone wavering between playfulness and seriousness.

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere. Especially when I know you've got me covered. Right partner?"

Honey-brown glistened with one of the most beautiful expressions Chris loved to see; enhanced by the glow of the high sun above.

Hope.

Strong believable hope.

Nodding, Sheva reached out and gripped his shoulder then gave it a reassuring pat. "Right!"

"Ahem!" Josh signaled, clearing his throat.

Giving the other one last lingering gaze, Chris and Sheva both turned to meet the eyes of their leader.

"Yes, Josh?"

"Yeah?"

The darker man's words hushed on his tongue as he beheld the two.

He wasn't sure if they were aware of it or not, but they were making it quite obvious to anyone with a good eye of such things that they'd rather be holding hands and not weapons right now.

Inwardly, he couldn't help but smile.

"Sheva." he called, beginning to loosen one of the extra gun holsters he had.

"What is it?"

"You may need this." he smirked, tossing her the holster with a light Vz61 submachine gun inside.

It wasn't the biggest or most powerful automatic weapon around but the sheer amount of firepower it brought to the table made up for its lack of real muscle.

Sheva caught the weapon and quickly fastened it around her waist.

"Alright, thanks Josh, I'm ready. Let's head out."

Nodding, Josh signaled the rest of the team. "You heard the lady. Gamma Team, let's move out!"

Dusty sun baked trails and broken dirt paths led them a fair distance. Their utilities jingled and clinked with every step; the silver of their weapons glinting in the sun.

Josh paced the lead with Jacob, Tyler and Mitchell right behind him. Kent was alongside his brother but found himself more at ease and wary when in the middle of the group.

Sheva and Chris were a bit behind him with Johnathan, Cole and Zachary guarding the rear.

The passage of only half an hour wedged between their progress since they started out and there hadn't been any Majini in sight.

So far, only the sun gave harsh protest to their plight.

"Well, this is one place I never thought I'd see again." Chris murmured as they approached the dilapidated area.

Beyond its vast rickety dwellings and appalling appearance was the sealed off town square; where he and Sheva had been witness to a most savage public assembly.

The execution of the informant, Reynard Fisher.

Regardless of what the man's shady outward appearance, he didn't deserve a communal decapitation.

"This is where everything started." Sheva spoke up, scanning the area attentively. "For us, anyway."

"Yeah, gives me a bad taste in my mouth every time I think about it."

"The informant?" she wondered, glancing up at him attentively.

"Yeah. Him, Alpha Team, Uroboros, all of it."

"I don't mean to intrude, but, what happened here?" Zachary, a thin blue-eyed male appearing to be of Russian descent.

Chris and Sheva exchanged mutual expressions. But he returned his focus to their surroundings while she turned slightly to answer him.

"A beheading." she answered softly with a sympathetic frown.

Zachary blinked and clutched his machine gun tighter, intently taking in each word. "Was it a local?"

"Someone who shouldn't have been mixed up with those monsters." Chris added without facing them and scanning the area ahead of him. "Someone must've have ratted him out when they saw us enter that butcher shop of his we were in last night.”

"How terrible." Zachary muttered, however to himself he said, “Our Hq is a freaking butchery!?”

"Ha...haha..." Cole chuckled nervously, gaining odd and piercing stares and glances from the rest of the team. But they continued their venture without stopping.

"What is your problem?" Sheva griped.

"You think it's funny?" Chris glowered at the male, "Sorry, but I don't find getting your head hacked off by a goddamn axe funny.”

"N-no. No, s-sir. Haha...ha..."

"He laughs like that when he's nervous." Jonathan, a bulky and dark man, cleared up in a deeply coated French accent.

"Well that doesn't stop it from being annoying, so I'll ask that you stop" Sheva stated sternly.

"What's the matter, squirt?" Kent inquired, looking over his shoulder at a scowling Sheva.

"You're the squirt, you little eavesdropper." she tossed back.

"One of the guys has an ignorant habit." Chris spoke for her, wishing for her and Kent to not break into childish banter.

Not only would it be a distraction and slow them down, but it also made him a tad bit jealous. A very small tad.

Sheva realized his hastiness and gave him a 'what do you think you're doing?' look, but soon shrugged it off.

"Oh yeah?" Kent seemed rather amused and peeked back at the last three.

Both Jonathan and Zachary pointed straight towards Cole shamelessly.

"Oh, I see. Hey, why don't you try something a little less creepy? Whistle or something." Kent called back, then resumed his focus.

"Haha..." Cole agreed, and then precariously puckered his lips.

The sound of his whistling was as pitiful as his ignorance. But it was better than his "laugh".

Minutes passed and their formation tapered a bit to accommodate the changing roads and paths.

Somehow, Sheva ended up being closer to Cole. More than she would have preferred. Zachary and Jonathan had discreetly distanced themselves from him and Sheva knew why.

Briefly, the thought of ramming one of her arrows down his throat to shut him up seemed very satisfying.

But through his annoying sound, Sheva's ears picked up the audible signatures of something different amongst them.

"Be quiet." she spoke softly to him.

"I- I can't if..if I do I'll.... Haha...ha..."

As if a switch had been flipped, Sheva whisked around, her machine gun pointed directly to the left side of his face.

Shaking in his boots, Cole lifted up his hands in surrender. "I--! I-I'm sorry I'll stop!"

"Get down!" Sheva shouted. The second he did, she fired a shot straight into the eye of a Majini that had almost snuck up behind Cole.

Instantly, the rest of the team faced in her direction, weapons at the ready and watched just in time for her to nail the monster with a somersault. The man she'd kicked flopped to ground, head hanging limply on his shoulders.

"Sheva!" Chris called and briskly jogged over to her. He checked over the writhing corpse and stomped on its head, smashing it open.

A spurt of blood shot out, sprinkling over coiling tentacle-like appendages from the neck.

Sheva slightly curled her lip in disgust. As many times she's seen Chris harshly remove their heads, she never got used to its gruesomeness.

"I wish you wouldn't do that." she half-frowned.

"Me neither, but you know it's a good way to stop them." Chris nodded, lifting his boot that was now coated with rich blood as well as other acidic unmentionables.

"Here come more of them!" Josh shouted, already taking aim.

"I'm on it." Tyler announced, leaving the group to access a decent spot to snipe from, quickly scaling up a rusted ladder onto a short, crumbling building.

And almost immediately, suspicious forms emerged ghoulishly from the shadows and charged.

Barrages of shots erupted from the team's respective guns as they ran after the opposing adversaries.

Kent and Josh swiftly took out a group of 5 with their Beretta PX4 Storms, the handguns' rounds easily tearing through their enemies, while Tyler picked off the ones furthest from them as best as he could utilizing a Sako S75 sniper rifle, the antique, yet still useful, bolt-action weapon steadily picking off the team's adversaries. Although Tyler wasn't known for his excellent marksmanship, he kept his team alive and allowed them continued breathing room, and that was good enough for most.

The few Majini that slipped through Tyler's sights were taken out by Mitchell and Jacob, the pair dousing their foes in machine gun fire from their bulky SIG 556s'.

Chris and Sheva were able to hold their own, their past experiences unconsciously leading them to stick close to each other while the rest of the team dealt with their assailants in their own ways. Chris would aim and fire for kneecaps to stun their recklessly charging foes before he would race in and send bodies flying fierce uppercuts.

If that didn't completely finish job, he would quickly stomp their faces in for good measure.

He caught a sudden blur of movement out the corner of his eye and instantly he turned towards his partner.

“Sheva!”

But once again he discovered she could very hold her own.

Reacting quickly, Sheva spun towards the rapidly approaching Majini, slipping an arrow from the leather quiver on her back and piercing the man's temple with one of her arrows before whipping out her machine gun and pelting more oncoming enemies with bullets; their hemorrhaging bodies dropping to the ground in blood-spattered heaps as their dying faces twitched and cried out in inaudible pain.

Their bodies decayed from the inside in addition to becoming unrecognizable masses of smoking flesh as even more bullets ripped their skulls apart.

Zachary and Jonathan covered for Cole while he fought with himself to focus and promptly handle the task at hand.

But his shaking hands caused him to miss-fire three shots from his Beretta into the dirt behind the Majini that was approaching him.

Jonathan and Zachary had twelve of the savage townspeople to deal with and warned Cole when some of them slipped by.

"Ahhh!" he suddenly screamed when one grabbed him by the shoulders.

Fresh sweat sprouted from his forehead and skimmed down his face as he beheld the maw of the Majini open and reveal a hissing monstrosity, the Las Plagas parasite bursting from his attacker's throat and snapping at him with four-pronged jaws.

Corroding saliva thinned into strings, only broken by the snaking masses of obsidian feelers creeping up from the monster's throat.

"Ahhhh! Haaa haaa!!!" he yelped.

"Hold on!" Jonathan called over his shoulder while keeping his eyes on the two cautiously nearing Majini in front of him.

But Tyler had heard his teammate's cry for help and briskly led his scope over to the panicking soldier without a second thought.

He pulled the trigger.

Then paused as he drew in a breath from the hollow click the barrel gave him.

Swearing under his breath, he sat up to reload his gun when shouts from Josh, Sheva and Kent below caught his attention. But he couldn't make out what they were yelling as more Majini poured out from the rickety houses, hollering unintelligible battle cries as they raced in from all directions, stealing their divided attention.

"There's too many of them!" Tyler spat loudly, reloading the rifle.

Hoisting it up on the roof he had chosen, he peered through the scope when something brushed his leg.

Imagining it was some sort of animal, Tyler only shook his foot and thought nothing of it.

Or at least he would've liked to

A sudden tearing pain stabbed at his back and sent a chill down through his stomach.

'Damn it, something got me!' his thought concluded as the culprit grunted in triumph and sank the dagger it grasped in deeper into his victim's body.

Rippling cold steel sliced through his organs and he could hear the crisp sound of tissue breaking as it was split.

A syrupy glob of metal-tasting warmth rose in his mouth and pooled over his bottom lip as he coughed.

Every sound and sight became a sensory blur as his vision wavered. But with the last bit of his ability, he aimed the rifle and shot a bullet straight towards the creature below.

It staggered, the bullet piercing its shoulder, but the beasts in its throat continued to assault Cole.

Figuring this was the best he could do, Tyler, accepted his failure to protect a comrade as well as fully accepted his excruciating death.

As the Majini that took his life gained a great pleasure in hacking away at his body, the rifle slipped from his frigid hands and fell to the dusty ground below.

Unnoticed.

Hands trembling, Cole managed to point his gun to the chest of the rapid Majini and shot him twice before he had to reload. The creature took a nonchalant step back and paused before nearing closer.

"Help me!" he called, his voice cracking. No more than three seconds later, Chris was there and punching the monster square in the solar plexus, whether he'd winded the man or the beast within the man he couldn't tell.

"Shoot it!" Chris instructed to his fumbling teammate.

Startled, Cole jumped and fumbled with the gun before pulling the trigger and shooting.

Fortunately, Cole's aim was true, as he hit his intended target square into the chest again parasite and it let loose a shriek as its host stumbled backwards. Unfortunately, Cole had managed to hit an unintended target…

"Shit!" Chris shouted, grasping his right shoulder and looking back at Cole with a look that could've killed.

"Chris!" Sheva called in concern, blasting the remaining two Majini in nearest her and dashing over to her lover's side.

Without so much as taking a glance at his wound, Sheva cocked the machine gun and unleashed a heavy flurry of rounds in the enemy's body and the parasite that loomed out of its neck.

A disgusting sloppy sound pricked the air from the sound of bullets ripping the parasite from its embedded form and it flopped to the ground writhing in its death throes.

Following suit, the host's body descended to the ground without making a move nor a shudder.

As the dying parasite flailed about, Sheva continued to mercilessly fire rounds into it, tearing the bug-like creature into multiple slimy slabs of the decimated unknown.

Using up a clip, she quickly disposed of it and reached for another one when Chris stopped her.

"Stop wasting ammo, Sheva! I'm fine!"

"You're hurt!" she retorted, not looking at him as she again prepared to load another clip.

Though she was obviously trying to hide it, her eyes twinkled with fury and a strong love for him. Seeing this, Chris couldn't help but crack a tiny smile for her.

Exhaling, he placed his right hand on her shoulder and gave it a pat to show her he could still move it. "I'm fine, Sheva."

But she refused to believe that answer. "Let me see." she demanded.

"I don't think that's--"

"Chris, let me see! Then I'll be the judge of how bad it is or not." she reiterated firmly.

By this time, Josh, Kent and the others had dwindled their assailants' numbers to none and were now giving the debating pair their attention.

Smiling faintly, Josh glanced to his brother and nodded towards Chris and Sheva. "Now do you believe me, Kenny?"

"Kent. And no, not yet. But at least we get see out dear old Shev acting all motherly. How precious!"

Josh sighed. "Stubborn." Then his eyes skimmed over the rooftops.

"Where is Tyler?" he asked.

Mitchell shrugged. "I don't see him. Maybe he had to hide out in one of the houses? There were a lot of these bastards, not good for a sniper."

Josh deliberated on that for a moment. Something didn't seem right. "Go look for him."

"Yes sir." he nodded and set off in search of his fellow teammate.

"I'll go check on Cole." Jacob stated quietly and jogged in the stout man's direction.

But something glinting in the dirt caught his attention midway and he paused to inspect it.

His pupils shrank and his throat suddenly became dry.

It was Tyler's rifle, powdered with brittle dust.

"Captain..." Jacob whispered in shock, then raised his voice, "Captain!!"

Wary of his comrade's call, Josh headed over to him, with his brother following quickly after.

Off in the near distance, Cole discreetly slipped past Chris and Sheva and went to join the others out of curiosity.

"Now, move your hand." Sheva commanded.

Rolling his eyes, Chris did as she requested.

A mild groove was cut into Chris' shoulder, exposing a small collection of red liquid to the sandy air.

Giving it a closer inspection, Sheva placed her fingertips around the wound and squeezed it.

A throaty hiss forced through his gritted teeth from the action and he grimaced. "Well, 'doc', how is it? Think I'll ever play piano again?" he asked sarcastically, anxious for her inspection to be done with.

Relieved, Sheva smiled and reached for two crushed herbs placed in a small tube under one of the thin cloth layers of her "skirt".

"Good. The bullet must have nicked you. The wound is too shallow for it to have passed through.” she informed, rubbing the dried flora against his wound until it a good portion of it dissolved.

"Lucky me." Chris groused and sent his hand up to cover the injury when the sudden sound of ripping cloth brought his eyes down to what she was doing.

A rather lengthy piece of fabric was torn from her garment and she wasted no time wrapping it around Chris' large shoulder and tying it tightly against it and the herbs.

Chris said nothing at first; his eyes trailing between her skirt and face.

"You know, you're bound to end up only wearing those two feathers if you keep this up."

"Then stay out of the way of stray bullets, Chris, and I won't have to 'strip' "

Chris scoffed. "That bullet wasn't a stray! It was poorly aimed!"

"Regardless, you still got hit."

He groaned. "Whatever. I'm not arguing about this now."

Sheva sighed. "Fine." she gave in, then looked over in the group's direction.

Her eyes widened slightly as Josh met her gaze with a curt tight-lipped expression and motioned for her to come over.

Nodding, she tapped Chris on the arm. "Let's go."

Minutes passed. Tyler's body had been located. It was hardly identifiable. The only evidence of it being someone they knew was from the BSAA patch that still remained intact.

A few respects were paid but they were lightly worded from those that knew next to nothing about him.

All of the remaining Gamma Team, except for Sheva, tended to Tyler's remains scattered throughout the rooftop and on the ground.

Sitting in the dirt with the weight of the sun on her shoulders, Sheva silently pondered the events that took place.

She expected to lose a team member, but she never expected it to be this soon.

She was thankful she hadn't lost Chris nor anyone she considered to be like family.

Yet, she despised sounding so frigid to herself.

Her liquidy eyes drew invisible insignias in the dirt as they aimlessly fleeted about in thought.

Irving. Wesker. Excella. All of this was their doing.

Yet, despite the fact all those responsible were no longer living, the remaining outcome still gave Sheva no peace.

There were still Majini about. But their existence was bout as expectant around that area now as would a wild zebra or elephant.

Or hyena.

No matter what she, Chris, nor any other team could do, there would always be a lingering threat to someone somewhere.

Sighing, she pushed herself to her feet. No point in dwelling over it..

Unknown to her, the one responsible for her fallen comrade's death had been watching her from afar.

His lanky body had inched towards her in short awkward and stealthy steps.

Blood-crusted blade in his hand, the closer he got, the higher the dagger was lifted.

A prickle of fear licked at the base of Sheva's neck.

Instinctively, her body began to act on its own as she reached for one of the arrows behind her and loaded the bow.

Eying her with crazed curiosity, the Majini smiled crookedly and hurried silently towards her.

Taking her time, Sheva positioned her fingers on the tail of the arrow.

The gap between her and the frenzied beast was narrowing briskly.

Once the Majini was within striking range, he lifted his weapon high; salivating eagerly.

Without missing a beat, Sheva spun around to face it. In a fluidly natural reaction, she pressed her foot into its abdomen, pulled back the arrow and released it dead center into the former man's forehead.

It faltered in its steps and tumbled to the ground, squirming violently.

Lightly pursing her lips, Sheva reached for another arrow and impaled the creature with it, jamming the arrow's tip into the Majini's chest.

Smoothing her hair back out of habit, she sadly exhaled and knelt down to the body.

The disgusting thing was merely possessed after all. All of them were.

Spreading out her slender fingers, she led her fingertips to rest against the grimy skin and carefully turned its head to the west.

Only the dead "slept" that way.

Standing, she turned towards the rows of diseased bodies before her, rotting and carrying a stench the sun only intensified wretchedly.

Silently, with a new emotion swimming in her eyes, she moved towards the ones that still had heads intact and offered to give them a dutiful, peaceful and respectful "slumber".

Gamma Team quietly continued on their mission; Tyler's weapon and memento securely in tow on Chris' back.

Sheva walked a little closer to Chris while the remaining new members stayed alert, skimming over each and every direction as they trekked.

The battered path they chose led towards the port.

They passed cautiously through a honeycombed web of metal containers with their weapons at the ready.

Brave warriors that continued to deny the inevitable and refuse the idea of possible death. Denying the fact its fickle clutches could grasp any one of them to be its new victim.

A chill ran through Sheva suddenly and she shuddered, hesitating in her steps.

Chris caught onto her behavior immediately and touched her shoulder. "Sheva?"

"Sorry." she apologized and shook her head.. "It's just...going through these places again like this with the same purpose as we had before... It just feels… strange…but I'll be alright." she commented, gazing up at him and forcing a reassuring smile.

Chris eyes lingered in hers momentarily, trying to read the genuine emotion that hid within them.

"Right." he responded in a distant tone.

Nodding, Sheva smiled a bit broader this time before returning her attention back in front of her. Then glanced downwards. A flicker of dejection ghosted over her features.

More than just that was bothering her and she was aware of Chris realizing that.

Chris.

They had just initiated something deep between themselves just yesterday and already it would seem that Chris was catching onto her ways fast.

She wouldn't be surprised if he ended up knowing her like the back of his hand by sundown.

Casually, Chris snuck a glance over at Sheva just to see if her mood had lightened and was rather satisfied to see a hint of a warm smile laced across her lips.

'I wonder what she's thinking about..' he pondered. And as if she could hear his thoughts, Sheva turned to face him; brown eyes shimmering.

She didn't have to say a word. Chris already knew the answer.

Him.

It took almost all he had not to loop his arms around her waist and tell her everything would be alright.

Wishful thinking…

Instead, he gently smiled back to her. Then, straight-faced, they both focused back on the mission ahead.

In the rear, Zachary became a bit distracted from the previous actions of the couple in front of him. Just watching them caused him to think of home and the beautiful wife and daughter he had left behind for this mission. Then the thought occurred to him, if he was killed, who would care for his family? Damn he wanted to home right about now…

Delving in such worried thoughts caused him to slow in his steps until one of the other soldiers bumped into him, knocking him into one of the containers.

"Hey, watch it!" Jonathan warned, staggering into Cole.

"The both of you w-watch what you're doing! ...Haha..."

Slightly embarrassed for drifting off in his thoughts, Zachary frowned and mocked Cole.

"Oh yeah? Ha-Ha. Take your own, ha-ha, advice!"

Jonathan couldn't help but chortle a bit. "The man's got a point."

"Yeah. The next time you call for help, maybe we won't help you!" Zachary taunted.

"Yeah." Johnathan added, "Because you just might shoot us."

"Some 'thank you'!"

"H-hey, come on, stop making fun of me, alright? I-It was an accident! Haha....ha..." Cole rationalized nervously, then glanced to his right.

He gasped when the careful eyes of Kent stared right back at him. "S-sir! H-How did you get back here so fast?"

Kent only shook his head. "Seriously, you should stick to whistling, Cole." he suggested, then picked up his pace to fall back into his previous place near his brother.

Cole flushed and it only worsened from the sound of Zachary and Jonathan's stifled laughter.

Ignoring them, he started to whistle.

Badly; making them laugh even more.

"That sounds horrible!" Zachary groused, making a face.

"Horrible enough that even a dog would stay away from him." Johnathan quipped

"Come on, enough alread--" Cole started to protest, then trailed off, listening to his surroundings.

He could have sworn he heard the rapid scraping of something against the concrete from behind him.

Trusting his instincts, he turned around, gun raised, but wasn't quick enough to pull the trigger when a raging dog lunged for him. Instead, he flinched and swung the gun as if it were a small club and forced the dog to the ground.

"Ha...haha..." he blanched, looking down at the dog as its head inexplicably split open, exposing the writhing tentacles of a Las Plagas and large unnaturally placed teeth.

Zachary and Johnathan both spun around and felt themselves eat their own words as the dog jumped to its feet; its halved head drooping on either side of its body.

Apparently a normal dog would be appalled by the sound, but it was music to an infested one's ears. Even if those ears were dragging along the ground.

With little hesitation, the three of them started shooting at the animal, propelling conservative shots into its salivating void of a mouth.

The `dog' let out a shrieking yelp as it was riddled with bullets, and in mere seconds, it was flung backwards by the sheer amount of firepower and landed in a writhing heap before it suddenly went still.

The group lowered their weapons and Kent chuckled. “Stay.”

“Ha, good one man. How long it take you to come up with that one?” Jacob lightly quipped..

Just as Kent was giving the stockier man a one-fingered salute, a chorus of howls filled the thickly heated air, shrill predatory voices of fury that came from directly behind the team.

Zachary and Jonathan, guarding the rear, were of course the first to see what was coming, and both their mouths hung open in pure horror.

More dogs.

A lot more dogs.

“Holy shit!” Zachary cried out, “This is why we should have fucking shotguns!”

There were maybe fifteen animals in total, each one larger then a fully grown Doberman, and driven by an unnatural craving to kill all who did not posses the same pestilence as their masters and themselves.

In this case, Gamma Team.

“Everyone! Move deeper into the containers!” Josh shouted.

Chris turned and ran, Sheva right alongside him, as they and the rest of Gamma Team pushed further into the labyrinth of open and closed cargo containers, the ravenous barking of their pursuers behind them all the while.

Desperately, Chris tried to remember how he and Sheva had gotten through this perplexing maze, when a shout from directly above him caught all of his attention.

He looked up.

An infected man dropped down from the container that he'd been perched on like a hunter who'd pounced on his unsuspecting victim, tackling into Chris, catching him completely off guard as he knocked him off his feet. Chris's weapon flew from his hand as he grappled with his ravenous attacker.

Chris thought he heard Sheva shout his name, but between the thunderous hammering of his own heart in his ears and the inhuman hissing of the Majini as it viciously tried to claw out his throat, he couldn't be sure.

The Majini swiped again for his neck, but Chris managed to secure a firm hold on both of the man's wrists before the blow could land. But he knew well enough by now that the threat this creature possessed was still momentous. Almost immediately the Las Plagas parasite exploded from the man's mouth, meaty four pronged jaw snapping wildly at Chris' face.

Hate it when they do that...

The Majini suddenly raised its head, preparing for a great lunge, but Chris acted quickly and, releasing one of the Majini's wrists, he gripped his assailant's throat, holding the Las Plagas back from clamping onto his skull.

The parasite let out a wild shriek and the man whom it controlled took hold of Chris' own throat, both combatants trying to choke each other out, but considering the fact Chris didn't have a parasitic organism that could breathe for him, he knew he was bound to lose this contest eventually...

For a moment he considered searching for his weapon, but the thought of either releasing the Majini's throat or wrist for even a brief moment was none to appealing.

Shunk!

Chris was startled when the tip of a well-shot arrow suddenly pierced through the back of the Majini's neck, impaling the writhing parasite as well. The man's body shuddered once, his grip on Chris's throat flexing momentarily before his entire body went slack, the parasite now hanging limply from his throat.

Quickly Chris tossed the body off of him and rose back to his feet.

Sheva was standing a few feet away, bow aimed to shoot yet another arrow should the Majini had even twitched.

It didn't.

Chris gave her a thumbs-up. “Thanks for the help.”

Sheva nodded, lowering her primitive weapon.

Primitive, but still it damn sure got the job done.

Chris looked around for his dropped weapon and found the SIG P226 sitting not too far away from where the Majini had gotten the jump on him.

Picking his weapon Chris walked over to Sheva and looked around.

“Shit… where's the rest of the team? I thought John, Zach and Idiot were behind us?” Chris said lowly, looking for any sign of the rest of Gamma team.

Sheva shook her head, “We must've lost them in all the confusion, lets start looking for them. They couldn't have gone too far.”

Chris nodded and the pair proceeded further into the steely labyrinth.

Mitchell H. Barrum didn't have a fucking clue just what the hell he was doing here!

Bugs ripping outta people's throats, dogs that opened up their own goddamn heads!? Just what kinda hellhole was this!?

He looked ahead to Captain Stone and Kent, he and Jacob had been dutifully following their superiors as they raced through this damn container filled maze, but Mitch was starting to have enough of this bull-shit!

He wasn't a track team member, he was a goddamned soldier and—

A series of harsh barks from behind tore his thoughts asunder.

He looked back.

It was the dogs!!

The bastards had followed them!

Oh yeah, how fucking helpful the two “experts” have been!

He looked ahead to his captain and his brother and realized they had yet to notice the dogs…

He also noticed the straight pathway they had so far been running branched off to the right.

Sorry boss…

And he really was, but damn it he wasn't gonna try to outrun dogs!

“Jake, this way!” he shouted to his comrade running alongside him, pointing at their escape route.

The slightly taller man looked at where he was pointing and gave him a surprised look.

“What are you talking about!? We can't just—”

“Damn it man!! The boss is a survivor; he's been through this shit already! But if you haven't noticed, people like us don't have such a hot record in this place!”

Jacob only nodded and both men darted to the left, still running as they left the dogs to continue their pursuit.

“In here!” Mitchell shouted.

The men quickly raced into an open container where they sank to their knees, breathing harshly as they tried to regain their composure.

“Goddamn it! That was close!” Jacob gasped

Mitchell chuckled, “Yeah, but we fucking made it so don't complain—”

A harsh growl yet again interrupted him and both men quickly rose to their feet as a dog came to stand in front of their hideout.

“Well looky what we have here.” Mitchell growled, aiming his assault rifle at the hissing canine, “Looks like we have ourselves a curious little mutt here…”

That when another dog came to stand beside its pack member…

Then another...

And another…

Mitchell slowly lowered his gun, mouth gaping in terror as more and more dogs slowly began gathering in front of their open container.

“Oh shit…” Jacob breathed…

Mitchell sighed.

Fuck… so much for the escape route…

He pulled two hand grenades from his belt and Jacob looked at him.

It was not a very sane look.

“What the fuck are you doing man!!? The blast will—”

Mitchell only groaned. “You wanna die a man or a meal?” he interrupted grimly, and pulled the pins.

Just as the dogs howled and charged…

The ground-shaking boom sent rapid aftershocks throughout the area, flinging debris and refuse whipping in the team's direction.

"What was that?!" Sheva gasped, shielding her eyes from the sudden explosion as her hair flew wildly about her face.

"I don't know" Chris answered through gritted teeth while standing in front of her to shield her, "But it was definitely too close to be good...."

"Yes..." she agreed softly, fearing the worst. “Let's hurry back to the others."

When they were finally able to find the rest of their team, Sheva feverishly scanned the other team members `behavior and expressions as she and Chris returned to the group..

Josh and Kent appeared anxious and troubled, trying to decipher the meaning of the blast, while Cole, Jonathan and Zachary threw their focus to them.

"Everyone, fall back and regroup!" Josh commanded, signaling to everyone that saw him.

"Where are the other two?" Kent asked, looking directly at Cole.

"I-I don't know, sir!" he stammered, "W-we all got separated and--"

"Well then let's look for them." Josh decided, "If they're still alive we have to help them."

Silently agreeing with him, the others watched the darker man head briskly towards the containers that harbored the explosion.

Kent glanced towards Chris and Sheva momentarily; a deep set concern reflecting in his eyes, before going to join his brother.

Jonathan and Cole exchanged glances, then followed suit.

Zachary chose to remain where he was.

He didn't bother to bother himself with tending to his other teammates.

Eying his expression, Sheva felt her heart stutter in her chest.

She could tell that he knew.

"They're already dead." she whispered; her words firm with certainty and engorged with remorse.

Hesitantly, she gazed up at Chris, who exhaled heavily.

They had no control over who managed to live and who didn't throughout the team.

While deaths were expected, dealing with them had never been easy for him.

His wary gaze softened as he looked at her, confirming her words. His hand sought out hers and she firmly grasped it, squeezing it tautly.

And he already knew, it had never been easy for Sheva either.

Thankfully, they still had each other.

Zachary's azure eyes glistened with a tint of viridian as he watched their actions.

Movements so casual and dear. Something he felt they took for granted.

Yet they were risking their lives just as he was. Just as everyone else was on the team.

And just like Tyler, Mitchell and Jacob had.

"I'll go get Josh." Sheva spoke evenly, the sound of her voice gradually returning to its original volume and confidence.

But she didn't have to go far, when the ebony male reemerged. The deep frown tugging at his features told her all she needed to know, and feared at that moment.

A moment of silence shifted through the confined area, carrying its sympathy on the wind as dust and beneath the sun as coarse shadows.

"Gamma Team..." Josh began, barely lifting his head.

"Let's go." Chris finished for him lightly, and began heading towards the direction of the port.

Heavy and dragging bootsteps ensued behind him in a dilapidated chorus as the others followed him through the maze of containers.

Yet, Sheva allowed the others to pass her so she was standing at the captain's dejected side.

"Josh?" she questioned, placing a hand on his shoulder and attempting to look into his lowered distant eyes.

The dark man said nothing and merely seemed to stare into nothingness.

Then finally, he nodded slightly and again reassuringly as if to remind himself to keep his composure.

Looking to his friend and "little sister", he managed to give her a hint of a smile that let her know he was going to be alright.

"Come on. We don't want to end up too far behind, Sheva." he stated, starting to walk ahead of her.

"Right." she smiled faintly and hurried after him.

The salty air whispered over the slow churning waves, welcoming their approach with its comforting scent.

But the team's combined personas refused to accept the surroundings' gentle beckon and they dutifully continued about their mission.

They had merely reached the center of their travels and already more than half of them wanted to leave.

Strewn across the ground in various places, prone bodies lay unmoving.

"Are they civilians?" Zachary questioned, voicing the first thing that popped into his mind.

Josh said nothing at first, then looked to Sheva and Chris for a definitive answer, knowing they've gone this way before.

"Everyone, stay alert." Sheva announced, readying a bow when Chris stopped her. "Hold on. They may be innocents caught up in an attack."

Lowering her bow, Sheva looked to Chris with wide equivocal eyes.. "Are you serious? You can't actually believe these people were helplessly left alone here!" Sheva scolded. "Remember that girl we tried to save? She turned out to be one of our enemies…”

Sighing, Chris listened to her words, but had his mind made up. "Yes I remember, but there may be a chance these people need our help. If we're not here to rescue any lives that we can, then we may as well stop fighting the Majini now."

"Chris, you remember the last time we saw people like this in this area! Those flying bastards tore through their bodies and attacked us!"

“Sheva--”

"...Msaada...." a hesitant voice suddenly spoke up from the near distance.

Chris, Sheva and the rest of Gamma Team looked towards the distressed voice and instantly got on the defensive.

The form of a woman clumsily staggered and swayed as she forced herself to advance towards them.

Her hair was dirtied and her skin was chapped. Her belly was swollen with life.

"... Msaada..." she wailed, dragging one of her legs against the granular earth. "Nipe msaada!!"

"Oh my god...!" Sheva gasped, her eyes lingering on the woman's rotund stomach. "She's pregnant…?"

"But with what?" Kent piped up, readying his Beretta, "I don't trust her."

"Wait." Chris urged, taking a few steps away from them, “We need to be sure if she's okay. I'll check."

Not believing what she had just heard, Sheva started to follow after him.

"Chris, wait!"

"Sorry, Sheva. I have to do this." he replied firmly. Then he glanced to her. "I know you'll cover me, right?"

Not bothering to argue, Sheva sighed heavily and nodded slightly. "Hurry up."

"Mssada!" the woman cried, outstretching her arms towards the oncoming male.

“Just hold on, you're gonna be ok.” Chris called back, nearing closer to her cautiously.

A mere few inches separated them, until the woman suddenly stopped.

Chaffed hands grasped at her abdomen as she doubled over.

“Mtoto ...! ...Kipeppeo!” she screamed, causing her body to jolt upright. The swollen skin of her belly rippled before shredding apart.

Chris winced then shielded his face the moment the woman's body was stripped from its standing and fell to the ground in a frail heap.

Splotches of blood and innards showered past him as a writhing parasite propelled from the woman's corpse and took to the sky.

One would think that Chris Redfield had learned his lesson in attempting to help the infected in suspicious situations when surrounded by others that suffered the same fate.

Glancing up at the creature, he swore under his breath and aimed his weapon.. But he stopped abruptly when an arrow pierced through the air and sliced through the creature as well; impaling it into a nearby shack.

Its sloppy remains plopped onto the ground near the woman that “birthed” it.

Drawing in a quick intake of breath, Chris whirled around to find Sheva reclining her weapon. Orbs of honey-brown became hardened under contracted lids as they beheld him; barraging him with scolds of “I told you so!”

A shrug was all he gave her as she and the remainder of the group approached him.

“Next time, try not to be so reckless, Chris.” Josh commented, forcing a tiny smile.

“Just doing what's required of me.” Chris returned with a nod.

Josh mirrored the gesture, then signaled for the team to follow him.

The others gave him and Sheva odd and distant expressions as they passed by them.

Sheva only returned their gazes with a bemused one of her own. It almost appeared as if she were slipping into thought until Chris turned to look at her.

Then his eyes traveled downward to the lifeless mass of flesh near them on the ground. The flesh that once was the form of a dying woman in need.

Sheva's eyes followed his and softened sadly for a moment.

The woman's body was twisted and torn. Her mutilated face was the only remaining hint that this amorphous thing was once a person.

Glazed dark brown eyes stared off aimlessly into the endless sky. Chapped lips hung in a sobbing frown.

Splashes of dusky crimson laced about her pained features, glistening like dark rubies in the sunlight.

Even in death, her entity still seemed to cry out for her mtoto—her baby; the decimated body of the kipeppeo sprawled and battered next to her.

Sheva felt herself being pulled towards the sight and slowly sank to her knees.

Hesitantly, her fingers extended and lightly touched the anguished silence of the woman's face and tilted it west. Then she lifted her hand and gently slid the rotting lids down over the distressed eyes.

“May you find peace.” she whispered and nearly jumped when she felt the firm warmth of Chris' hand on her shoulder.

Staring off into space for a moment, Sheva finally turned to meet his eyes.

A subdued question was tethered between them without words needing to be spoken.

But Chris only shook his head and helped her to her feet.

“We're going to make it, Sheva.” he reassured softly; his words having two different meanings.

One declaring they would finish what they had started the mission for, while the other ensured their lives. Together.

Agreeing silently, Sheva gazed into his eyes.

Love and duty looked back at her.

Without realizing, Sheva started to move forward to embrace him, but held herself back.

Although they were lovers now, they were also partners on an important mission and she had to put that first.

And she would have, had not Chris pulled her into him and kissed her.

Openly.

Sincerely.

As if his very life depended upon that one kiss to his lover.

And just as swiftly as they had allowed each other to be absorbed into the comfort and desperation of needing nothing but the other's presence beside them and affection within them, they separated.

And focused on the mission at hand.

Their weapons glistened in the glare of the sun as they began to walk in the direction of Shanty Town; lightly giving the other a reassuring squeeze and tap on the arm.

And leaving more of the slumbering deceased in their wake

In record-breaking time, the team finally arrived in their last destination for the Majini removal, Shanty Town.

Almost nothing had changed, at least not to Chris and Sheva.

But there was no time to recollect the ghastly nostalgia that haunted this place as the team had to briskly pick off any opposers that made themselves known.

Before long, the team split up into pairs in different sections of the area, but not too far from the other.

Chris and Sheva, Zachary and Jonathan, Josh and Kent and Cole and himself.

Throughout the battles, Chris and Sheva took notice that several flammable barrels had been returned to a certain location that triggered a rather unsettling memory of the chainsaw Majini that resided there.

Yet, they pushed the memory out of their minds and became immersed in the current Majini fight.

Once they were down to their last one standing, Chris lodged a shot right into the Majini's kneecap, causing it to crumple over and grasp at the wound.

Sheva then gave it a swift kick, forcing it in Chris' direction and he punched it back towards her in which she jumped onto its shoulders and flipped it over, crushing its head in the process.

Climbing to her feet quickly, Sheva shook one leg, attempting to get the redirected refuse off of it.

Chris smiled lightly at this, and she started to toss him a glare when the Majini gurgled and started to move again.

Without thinking, Sheva whipped out the machine gun and unloaded half a magazine into the decaying corpse.

“Sheva! Sheva, that's enough!” Chris remarked, placing his hand atop the gun and removing it from her hands.

“What are you doing?!”

“Keeping you from wasting any more ammo!”

“I do not waste ammo, Chris!” Sheva defended. Poorly. She knew he was right, but refused to go along with it. “Anyway, we need to check on the others. This area seems calm enough now.”

“Yeah... for now.” he commented, suspiciously scanning the location. “But I can't shake the feeling we're still not in the clear.”

As if on cue, two other Majini charged out of a small house a little beyond the large rickety building with their gleaming weapons held high.

Sheva said nothing, but tossed him a glare and snatched her gun away from him.

Hurriedly, she took off running towards the attackers.

Chris started to go after her, but decided she could hold her own against two of them.

And watched as she yet again unleashed too many bullets than necessary into her targets.

Contemplating slightly, Chris headed near her location and glanced up towards one of the transformers.

Once she and the remaining Majini moved back towards its vicinity, Chris popped a bullet into it, sending it plummeting downwards. He had meant to nail only the Majini, but Sheva had gotten close a lot quicker that he had expected.

A loud and surprised shout from Sheva rang into the air as she dived away just in time from the falling transformer and a dying hiss erupted from the falling Majini as a jolt of electricity rushed through it.

“CHRIS!!” Sheva nearly growled, glaring straight at him. “Please watch what you're aiming at! You just shocked me!”

Showing he made a mistake, he flinched apologetically and lowered his weapon. “I'm sorry, Sheva.”

“Really?!”

He shrugged. “Yes, really.” he consoled, checking her body for any serious damage. She was fine. A little shaken, but fine.

“Next time, be more careful. Charging headlong isn't exactly the intelligent thing to do.”

“Hmm...” she smiled slightly in response, her eyes glinting dangerously, “You too.” she retorted, heading slowly towards him when the sound of clapping stopped her in her tracks.

Intrigued, Chris turned and Sheva peered over his shoulder at a bewildered Josh and an applauding Kent.

“Amazing 'teamwork'! “ he mused, trying to keep his wavering smile.

He was trying to laugh, but due to their recent fatal circumstances, it had nearly drained all the positives out of him.

All of them.

They acknowledged the weight of the awkward mood silently and empathetically amongst themselves.

And reminisced.

How quickly they had joined as a team and were grimly reduced in numbers in an equivalent speed.

And as much as any of them may had wanted to, they couldn't just turn their backs on everything up to this point and run.

They had pursued their mission this far. They had to finish it.

Sheva was the first to slip out of the unanimous trance and survey their surroundings.

Aside from the decrepit and rotting carnage around them, there wasn't a threat in sight.

This was as far as they had intended to go.

Confirming her sights, Sheva turned towards Josh.

“Looks like we're finished here. Doesn't it?”

He agreed. “Yes. But it would be best to make sure of that before we leave.”

“Yes.”

“And immediately before we seal off this entire area from the uninfected.” he continued, “Does anyone have a problem with this?”

“I do.” Chris remarked. All eyes were on him. “Can't we contact air support? Just sealing off the area is only a temporary solution to the problem. These things found ways to manipulate humans and animals, it can find ways to pass through a quarantined confinement.”

“True, but it's the best we can do.”

“But for how long?”

“Until those abominations cease to exist.” Kent spoke up.

“We can never know for sure, which is why sealing off the locations they once filled is our best option.” Josh continued.

Chris crossed his arms.

Feeling ignored, Kent glanced between the both of them, then to Sheva.

But instead of looking in his direction, her attention was off elsewhere into the distance.

Annoyed from being treated so insignificantly, Kent walked over to a large set of closed double doors and leaned against them.

Sheva had only seen him out the corner of her eye, but her focus was beyond the horizon.

Her eyes mingled within the softening glow of the sun beyond, wishing for it to show some type of sympathy for her fallen brothers.

Its burn only brightened.

Adverting her defeated gaze from it, her wandering eyes fell on Kent.

He was by himself on the door, appearing misplaced in his nonchalant boredom.

A tiny smile betrayed her inner anguish while she looked at him.

He almost appeared like a child to her at times.

Drifting out of her thoughts, her attention fluttered around him and Chris and Josh for any hints of Zachary, Cole and Jonathan.

And as if they heard her thoughts, two of them stepped into her line of vision: Cole and Zachary.

Turning behind them, they grabbed a hold of something she couldn't see due to the placements of the structures around them.

But the moment she sought the darkened skin, she knew it was Johnathan.

But he was limping.

That wasn't good.

With fear swelling in her chest, she jogged over to them and tried to help steady him on his feet.

“How bad is it?” she asked, aiding him at the waist while the others shared his weight about their shoulders.

“Not as good as I'd hoped, but I can still use a gun.”

“That's good to hear...” Sheva muttered lowly.

Yet deep down, the four of them knew a man in his condition was as good as dead in their spontaneously hostile surroundings.

Josh and Chris turned to meet with them and do their best to supply him with herbs and sprays.

Kent admonished them mutely.

Everything was falling apart.

Sighing, he folded his arms across his chest and sighed. “How could things possibly get any worse?” he frowned, feigning a joke and cursing himself for thinking of such things.

Not a second later, the telltale sound of a chainsaw revving shot into the air and sent a shock dashing up his spine.

“Kent! Get away from there!” Sheva cried.

The ground rumbled beneath him and he jumped away from the doors and tucked into a roll the very moment it was sliced open in one swipe.

The chainsaw screeched with another rusted rev as the masked Majini that grasped it made his presence known.

'I knew I shouldn't have said that!' Kent scolded himself in his mind. 'This kind of thing always happens!'

Scrambling to his feet, he pulled out his Desert Eagle and took aim.

“What are you doing!?” Sheva called, “Run! Don't shoot it up close!!”

“Don't have to tell me twice.” Kent concluded and did as she instructed.

“Here, one of you hold him.” she promptly commanded, directing her words more towards Cole and dashed off to meet with Chris and Josh.

“Let's lure him out!” she called to Chris as she ran by and he and Josh quickly parted ways.

The remaining team fired shots at the Majini's back as it loomed towards its prime targets, Chris and Sheva.

Skillfully, they weaved through the array of flammable barrels and spun around in unison with their weapons at the ready: Tyler's rifle and ancestral arrows.

As the chainsaw-wielding Majini swiftly advanced towards them, the daunting couple propelled tactical flurries of bullets and chiseled projectiles into the creature as well as into the barrels when he came within range of them.

A sweeping brush of flame and ash flared up around the Majini and he crumpled to one knee.

Seeing the opportunity present itself, Chris glanced to Sheva. “I'm going in. Cover me!”

“Got it!” she responded instantly and loaded her bow as he sprinted towards the monstrosity and delivered it a sharp uppercut.

As the livid being descended, thrashing to the dirt, Chris replaced the rifle with his handcannon, a large Smith and Wesson Model 500 magnum, and plugged three slugs into its head as his opponent started to stand back to its feet.

Once it did, Chris stepped back and clipped a shot right at its forehead, ripping the grungy cloth from its face and forcing the creature to the ground yet again. A deranged growl escaped it as its body flipped over in the opposite direction, away from Chris.

Only this time, when it stood, it slowly lifted its exposed face to the others, causing them to momentarily pause in their attacks.

Not even the harsh rays of the run shed any mercy and beat down on the misshapen and discolored head of the unmasked Majini.

Its skin resembled thick cracked leather that surrounded shrunken eyes and a hole-infested jaw; giving sight to the squirming Las Plagas that thrived within the Majini's throat as they writhed and slithered confusedly in response to the foreign light.

Its reddened eyes crazily searched the group. Pieces of the parasite tainted by the sun burned and dropped from the Majini's mouth, but he paid it no mind and clutched the chainsaw.

Feeling his stomach churn, Kent grimaced and held his abdomen.. “You are one, ugly motha...”

But his words became swallowed up by the menacing rev of the chainsaw before the Majini took off in his direction.

Startled, Kent shakily lifted his Desert Eagle to the Majini's temple and fired three rounds, while stepping back.

Cole managed to give Jonathan his M29, through the panic, and prepared his Beretta.

“What are you doing with that?!” Zachary castigated, shooting the Majini in the legs in hopes to slow him down.

“I-I don't know! Haha...” Cole meekly replied, firing feebly at the Majini, but miraculously gaining spot-on headshots.

“Where did THAT come from?!” Kent jeered, but was interrupted with a shout from his brother. “Just keep shooting!”

Watching the team, Chris smirked to himself and circled halfway around the Majini and held up the magnum.

“Hey!” he taunted. On awkward legs, the disoriented Majini turned to face Chris. Its hollow maw mimicked a grin; eyes racing.

Falteringly, he took a step towards Chris and revved the chainsaw.

Clutching the grip of his gun, Chris felt a bead of sweat cool at the side of his face and trickle down beneath his jaw. From all the shots the Majini's battered body was taking, Chris could tell the creature was finally beginning to weaken enough to go down in good shot but he was taking a risk, allowing the chainsaw maniac to approach him.

Closer and closer it moved, revving the murderous weapon with each avaricious step.

“....Come on...come on...” Chris muttered in an anxious chant, aiming straight at the Majini's eye.

With a roar, it swung the chainsaw down diagonally right in front of Chris and the second it lifted the weapon into the air, Chris pulled the trigger, releasing a high caliber bullet directly into the Majini's skull with its name on it.

Stopping abruptly, the Majini's hands dropped and the chainsaw fell from its calloused hands.

The writhing parasites within its throat squealed in pain as a third of the Majini's head lolled back from its torn neck.

Eerie hisses spawned from the Las Plagas as the Majini sank to its knees, then collapsed onto its back.

Its glazed eyes contained their frenzied appearance even in death, staring heinously up at the unyielding sun.

A round of relief sounded throughout the team from the victorious defeat.

Chris wiped the sweat from his brow. “Too close...”

“I'll say” Sheva spoke up from behind him, and punched him in the arm. “Don't be so reckless next time!” then her features softened, “But, good work.”

“Yeah, I'll say!” Kent exclaimed, and walked up to the couple.

Grimacing, he took a glance down at the flinching corpse. “Not the prettiest face out of these bastards, is it?”

Then flicked his eyes back to Chris. “Why don't you do him, and all of us, a favor and stomp his face in?”

Chris and Sheva exchanged looks, then stared at the man as if he had grown three heads.

“What?!” Chris asked, wondering if he had heard his comrade correctly.

“No, you heard right. I said you should bash his face in. Since you're so good at it and all...”

The bewildered couple exchanged nonchalant expressions.

Sighing, Chris agreed. “Fine...” he half-frowned and stamped fiercely on the Majini's head, crushing it with one mighty blow.

“Damn!” Kent expressed, rubbing the back of his head. “Everytime...”

“You're telling me...” Sheva groused.

Then suddenly, an obscure sound tensed her ears and she held up a hand. “Shh!” she warned, “I hear something...!”

All was silent on her command.

Only the sound of breathing could be heard.

Then voices and a distinct buzzing sound.

A variety of fearful and apprehensive expressions developed across their faces as their ears gradually picked up the familiar sound.

And their hearts and stomachs did somersaults as the sound intensified, then split into multiples; instantaneous recognition broke over them.

They heard not one, not two, but three chainsaws revving in separate locations around them.

Two were close and one was further near the fallen transformer.

“More of them...?!” Sheva gasped and looked to Chris and Kent with reluctance in her eyes. “That's impossible!”

“Apparently not...” Chris griped, scanning the area.

“There's more?!” Kent cried, sulking, “Aww fuck me....”

Just then a wailing shriek pierced the air as a lithe woman wielding a smaller chainsaw slithered out from the same building the previous Majini emerged from.

Her wild hair hung with clumps of dirt and other soiled oddities while her skin shared the same disgusting fashion.

Revving her weapon, she let loose a loud screech towards the building adjacent from the one she stepped out of, beckoning out the emanation of yet another woman.

Her nappy tresses covered the majority of her face like a frizzy cloud atop her head. In her right hand, she held a very rusted chainsaw with a faded pink grip.

Open hearing her sisters, the third chainsaw Majini appeared from the shack next to the building, dragging the weapon with both hands.

The smaller of the three, locks of brown caught the sun in its crispness like a tangled bird's nest as it swept airily atop her shoulders.

All of them were clad in strips of molded cloth to be suggested as modest that made Sheva's lack of clothing look like she was overdressed.

With hungry predatory sounds, the three greeted the other and faced the shocked Gamma Team as the African Chainsaw Sisters.

Dumbfounded, Kent tiled his head to the side. “Awww fuck me sideways...”

“Gamma Team, fall back!” Josh instructed.

Defensively, they all backed up a good distance away from the sisters, pelting aimless shots at them to distance themselves.

Before long, their backs hit the wooden fence behind them.

“What do we do now?!” Zachary inquired, firing impatiently at the sisters.

“Space out as far as you can! But stay close to the team!” Josh commanded.

Through the flurry of shots, Zachary, Cole and Jonathan took their captain's odd directions with precision.

“Will you be alright here?” Cole asked Jonathan, whose weight was started to take a hefty toll on his shoulder.

The dark man wanted to say no, but he couldn't depend on his fellow teammate to be his human crutch for much longer. With a quick nod, he reloaded his gun. “I 'll manage, you go on and do what the captain says.”

Cole opened his mouth to argue, but soon decided against it. Setting Jonathan against the fence, Cole gave him a reassuring nod and then ran off to the left.

Zachary dashed to the right.

But neither of them managed to get very far when a sudden burst of random Majini villagers appeared from houses, over other fences and from almost anywhere and flooded the roads in swarms towards them.

Spinning around at the sight, Chris and Sheva couldn't believe their eyes.

Inwardly, Chris felt his stomach flop as a hint of fear licked at his spine.

It was just as his thoughts had plagued him earlier.

The Majini were voracious. When they set their sights on you, they would keep coming, and coming.

Just like human weeds.

“Sheva” he called to his partner, with ideas of again luring the larger threats away from the rest of the team while they handled the more easily disposed of Majini.

“Got it” she responded, already knowing of his thoughts.

The two of them boldly sprinted past the swiftly reacting sisters, near the transformer.

Chris pulled out the S75 and began picking of pieces of rotting flesh from one sister at a time, making sure they recoiled from each shot.

They may have had speed, but they still took heavy damage from a hit.

Instead of using arrows, Sheva tossed hand grenades.

Kent and Josh had more than enough hordes of Majini to deal with, but were thankful for the small pocket of breathing room Chris and Sheva left for them to pick off the smaller fries with better concentration.

Cole ended up on Zachary's side before long, aiding him in taking down more of the frenzied Majini.

Zachary held his own very well, aiming his gun with surgeon-like accuracy towards every enemy that ran his way or tried to ambush him from atop the fence.

The team managed to keep up a rather decent fight.

Until the stench of blood lured one of sisters' attention away from her siblings.

When the blaze of one of the hand grenades flared, the sister with the smaller chainsaw trudged towards the building one of her sisters emerged from.

“Mume?” she slurred.

Peering down at the ground, her dilated eyes became crazed with fright and she let out a bellowing painful wail before kneeling down.

Reaching out, she slid her hand against the sticky splotch on the ground of where the last chainsaw Majini's skull was crushed.

Brining her hand to her mouth, she throughly inhaled the substance's scent then clenched her fist.

“Mume!” she yelped, then snapped her head towards the one that did this to her husband; her partner.

Her glazed eyes settled savagely on Chris. She would make him pay dearly for her partner's murder.

Loudly, she called for her sisters.

Hearing her call, they turned and started to meet with her.

“Oh no you don't!” Sheva shouted and shot an arrow into the back of the mahogany-haired sister within the same instant Chris delivered a critical shot right into the back of her skull; causing her head to rupture and scatter about her in speckled pieces.

Her body fell to the ground with a muffled thud. This only caused the leader of the sisters to wail even louder and fixate her deadly eyes directly into Chris'.

She would not let him get out of this alive.

Right after the other team members significantly reduced the number of Majini that attacked them, their temporary victory was only short lived as more of them sprang up seemingly out of nowhere, and everywhere at the same time.

All of them were running low on ammo.

In a panic of having to reload with five new Majini carefully approaching him, Cole fumbled around in his utilities inventory and pulled out what he thought was a hand grenade.

It wasn't.

Pulling the pin and tossing it aimlessly in Majini group's vicinity, he retreated a ways and covered his ears. “Fire in the hole!!” he shouted.

Before anyone could comment on his bone-headed move, everyone, teammate and Majini alike, became temporarily stunned from the blinding light of a flash grenade.

And a rather potent one at that.

“You moron!!”

He heard someone shout, most likely Jonathan.

Yet, this action proved lucky to the sisters as they dashed through the crowds of Majini, slashing and slicing those that stood in their way to get to the one weakness in the team.

Jonathan.

While the garish light continued to glow brightly, the dark man was openly seen as a sitting duck as he shielded himself from the transient handicap.

In amazingly calculated and definite accuracy, the two swept to either sides of him.

The revving hum of the saws was mildly hushed from the yells and shouts of chaos around Jonathan and he didn't realize how close to danger he was until a searing pain slashed at his neck.

Jumping in his skin, his hands instinctively went up to push the object away but another pain shot up through his spine and pounded into his head from the sudden pierce of a weapon at his waist.

His mouth opened to reveal a cry for help, but the words were stolen from him as his head was severed from his shoulders the same moment his midsection was roughly cut through with incredible strength as if his bones were made of padding.

Triumphant in their success, the sisters howled and cackled amongst themselves.

Their laughter seemed to echo throughout the properties of the light as it began to subside.

The moment it did, Chris and Sheva rubbed their eyes and gradually prepared themselves for anything.

A sudden scream was heard from near the fence, a good ways beyond them.

“What happened?” Chris wondered, risking a step forward, when the sprinting figure of the lead sister rushed through the fading wisps of light, chainsaw raised above her shoulder; eyes wild with revenge and her mouth salivating from the taste of human blood in the air.

With finesse and insanity fueling her actions, she swung the blade of the saw down in one fatal swipe that Chris barely dodged.

Faint indentations of cuts instantly appeared on his skin and he grunted in discomfort.

“Chris??!” Sheva questioned in a fearful hush.

Seeing him jump back as if he had been hurt, her eyes widened, then she felt her body move on its own as she darted towards the sister that attacked him.

Something in the pit of her stomach tightened, as did her fists while she felt her blood bubble within her and shoot through her veins like a drug.

In a second, Sheva lunged herself at the chainsaw sister, tackling her to the ground.

“Sheva, don't!” Chris called to her, but she couldn't hear him.

Her only focus was the squirming Majini beneath her.

“You bitch! I'll fucking kill you!” she cried, swinging heavy and quick punches into the sister's face, forcing it left and right.

In the back of her mind, she made sure to use the method of punching that Chris showed her the other day and produced bone-cracking blows to the wailing woman under her.

Soon a loud snap was heard as Sheva broke the Majini's neck. But she still wasn't satisfied and continued to punch until her knuckles began to numb.

Swiftly, she reached for her khukri and drove the smooth blade directly into the skull of the bloodied corpse.

Clutching the hilt of the knife, Sheva's eyes flickered between the oozing split skull and her hands, panting heavily.

Standing to her feet, she yanked the weapon from the corpse and whisked a glob of blood from the knife to the ground below.

Determined eyes coated with a film of concern looked towards an astonished Chris as Sheva wiped the blade against the cloth folds of her skirt before sheathing it.

“Are you alright?” she questioned, nearing closer to him with a first aid spray in hand.

Absolutely speechless, Chris stared at her in a gape.

“You...You really took what I taught you seriously...!”

“Of course.” she admitted whole-heartily, glancing up at him while she tended to his wounds, no matter how minor they were. “Now...” she trailed off, about facing the putrid chaos beyond them, “We have one more nuisance to stop. Let's go!” she urged, taking off towards the remaining chainsaw Majini.

The lone sister, upset over the loss of both sisters, had raised her weapon against more of the minor Majini in her frustration and remorse; sending flailing bodies staggering and collapsing all around her.

She remained close to the fence, stamping viciously atop the scattered remains of Jonathan's dismembered body while smothering any hints of its existence beneath heaps of appendage-less Majini she had sliced through.

Gamma Team could do nothing more than remain a safe distance away from the enraged sister while they witnessed her mow down a good number of their threats on her own.

“What should we do?” Zachary asked, peering over at his captain.

“Just wait and see what she does...” Josh responded, his tone cracking and uneven.

It was obvious how much he was beginning to regret ever assigning the team to such horror and unnecessary bloodshed.

He should have known better than to think this would be a simple extermination mission.

If Chris and Sheva hadn't been along, he was almost certain they would have an even lower headcount.

In the back of his mind, he swore he was only using them, but he forced himself to think of it no longer.

But all of this rested on his shoulders and he would have to answer to these sins.

Alone.

His grip tightened around his sturdy AK-74 and his eyes hardened on the form of the sister before him..

“Move closer, everyone.” he directed and they obeyed with minimal retaliation and reluctance.

Chris and Sheva rejoined the team and before long, the 6 of them surrounded the sister as her wild swings brought her directly against the coarse fence.

Cornered, the sister looked around her to find herself trapped.

Eyes racing, they fleeted around aimlessly before falling into the intense gaze of Josh.

His dark eyes harbored a fierce entity she sister recognized all too well.

Imminent death.

With a guttural shout, Josh's command to initiate the sister's execution began.

Flurries of bullets burst from their weapons and showered the Majini with burning pellets of requital vengeance; tearing through her battered flesh and ripping the chainsaw from her hands.

It clattered to the arenaceous earth with her decrepit body following suit back first onto the spinning blades.

With a raging screech of pain, she clawed at her abdomen as the rotating steel punctured through it.

Writhing aggressively to stand herself up from jagged blades, she howled and shouted obscenities to the team hovering above her.

Through her clouded vision, a dark figure stepped forward towards her and pointed a heavy-looking object in her face.

Madly, she began to snap at it with her mouth, causing it to split in separates, encouraging the emergence of the obsidian parasitic tentacles within her being.

The object inched closer to her and once she felt a small coldness press against her forehead, her motions became more hostile and frenzied as she tried to slap the thing away from her with dying hands.

But her efforts quickly became useless as a sudden blast of molten fire erupted from the cold and burrowed deep into her skull.

She felt her body jolt sharply from the propelling combustion and her body betray her as it began to sink limply onto the rusted teeth of the chainsaw.

A faint glittering of gold swallowed by endless sapphire blue was the last thing she saw before her evanescent vision escaped from her; and stagnant black was all that engulfed her.

For her and every other lost soul stripped bare during the mission, eternal sleep was where they would find true peace.

Gamma Team's mission had finally reached a disconsolate cessation.

They regrouped back to their base at the Corner Pyamy Butchery; most of them having difficulty facing the grungy establishment and refusing to step foot inside.

And Josh couldn't blame them.

After discovering Jonathan's remains strewn about, masked by decaying corpses of the Majini that had attacked them, Josh lost his resolve and ruefully ordered the team to leave the area.

All of the ground they covered would be sealed off permanently so that no innocents could get in and no infected could get out.

But after squeaking by that nightmarish reality, everyone on the team felt infected.

With guilt.

Hours passed.

Zachary and Cole were among the firsts ones to separate themselves from the group and catch the first flights out of Africa.

Josh and Kent were the seconds to part ways from their teammates.

The brothers embraced Sheva in strong hugs that she mutually returned as well as to Chris.

They had all become part of the family now.

With words of sympathy and encouragement towards the future unknown, the two brothers left the couple, heading home outside of Kijuju.

Then, all became silent as Chris and Sheva were the only signs of life within the area.

The next flight back to America wouldn't be for another few hours.

And if things went the way Chris had set in his mind once they arrived in Africa, he would be going back on that plane alone.

Although, he considered staying in Africa with her, but not even all the love in the world could prepare him for the atrocities they would have to face living in such a hazardous area. Granted, they could always move to another location. Africa was nearly as vast as the sky was endless.

Wordless, Sheva turned to her deliberating lover. His dusky blue eyes were lost in the gray clouds above; a thoughtful expression on his face.

Her features softened a bit.

He was so fixated on whatever oddities that went through his mind, he didn't hear the question she had asked him.

A rather important question.

Drawing in a breath, she lightly touched his shoulder. “Chris? Chris...!”

“Huh? What?” the bewildered male blinked, then recomposed himself, “What is it, Sheva?”

The caramel-toned woman said nothing; light honeyed opals searching his foggy blue spheres.

With a sigh, she dropped her hand to her side and turned her back to him. But instead of answering, she led her eyes upto the churning sky and held out her palm.

A droplet of liquid fell from the sky and planted a soft kiss atop her open hand and hugged its side while dribbling downwards.

“It's starting to rain.” she stated, a bit relieved they both would be able to rid their bodies of the day's obscenities.

Acknowledging the sight, Chris glanced to her. “Feel like going back inside the shack?” he offered, the hint of a smile curving his lips.

As much of a tempting offer that was, Sheva had to turn it down. “No, Chris, I'd rather not.”

“Aww...” he trailed off, his tone mock dejected.

Watching him behave like a small child, Sheva couldn't help but giggle at him.

Lightly, she tapped his shoulder to get him to look at her.

“I have a better idea.” she confirmed and looped her arms around a broad one of his and tugged him towards the east.

The light drizzle expanded into a warm misty downpour, playfully taunting the wavy grass beneath their sprinting feet as they made their way through a grassy field.

The feathery pasture rose to their calves, brushing against their swift bodies while the rain dappled their bare skin with each article of clothing that was removed.

Hearts racing in the beat of the moment, and eager to relieve themselves of their cloth trappings as well as the emotional ones uprooted during their mission; sending them to dissolve into the air.

The intricate accessories and threaded marks of Sheva's tribe slipped from her form in three quick movements from Chris' earnest hands as his clothing was whisked away by the lightening in her hands.

Both nude, they enveloped the other in a taut loving hug that not even the rain could slither between.

Immersed in the comforting familiar tactility of the other, the two clutched the other even tighter; their love transitioning into some equally precious.

Unyielding concern.

“Chris...” Sheva called softly to her lover.

“Sheva...” he replied huskily, gently raking his fingers through her drenched ponytail.

The band that held it in place had already started to unravel. Carefully, Chris removed the band, freeing her thick locks to be enveloped in the rain's cascade.

“You know...” the young woman began, lightly brushing her fingertips against his back, “I was afraid I could have lost you back there.”

Deep blue aimlessly wandered as Sheva's words were pondered upon momentarily.

Lightly, his fingers etched comfort into her liberated tresses as his lips thinned to an empathetic line. “What did I tell you, Sheva? I promised you we were going to make it. I always keep my promises. I already knew that you'd be alright.”

“Oh, did you?” She responded inquisitively, slowly peeling her body away from the comforting solidity of his chest. Shoulder length locks draping over her caramel shoulders like a dark curtain, her clear eyes sauntered upto his curiously.

“Why is that?” she wondered, her lips forming a tiny smile; eyes glistening. “Because you were with me?”

“No. Because you're strong, Sheva.”

“Well, I have a good reason to be, Chris.” she taunted.

A tender and somewhat arrogant smile snuck across Chris' lips as he led his hands down to her rear and pulled her closer.

“Mind telling me this reason?”

“No.” Sheva replied, her voice dipped an octave as she grasped him by his shoulders and pulled him into a much sought after and powerful kiss.

In actuality, neither of them prepared for their current spontaneousness; Sheva had come to this place for a different reason than he thought she had.

But overall, they both came to a sensuous agreement with each other beneath the showering sky that bore witness to their actions.

The rain sprinkled graciously against their groping bodies as Sheva pulled Chris down into the grass with her.

Laughing, the two of them shared a sweet, tasteful kiss as warm as the evening drizzle.

Hands clutched onto the other as eager hips rolled in rapid succession and hungry anticipation.

“Mm...Chris...” Sheva moaned in between breaths, “I need you. Now. Right now.”

Slightly awed by her words' urgency equivalent to how it was the night before, Chris slowly pulled himself away from her endearing clutches just enough and let her hands slide down his chest.

And delve even lower.

His breath hitched in his throat from her desirable touches tickling the line of curls that trailed down his abdomen.

Her fingers venturing further still, the sudden hiss of a withheld moan was all it took to bring an accomplished smile to her face while she curled her feathery touch around his pulsing length.

Gripping the grass and ripping separates of it out of the ground, Chris moved his hips in rhythm with her brisk strokes, trying his best not to pin her wrists above her and blindly plunge into her without cease.

He wanted to enjoy being with her; wanted them both to enjoy being with the other.

But from the way her hands felt wrapped around him and teasing him the way she was, it was very difficult to keep that will-power.

Enchanted from her touch, Chris' vision wavered before his lids whispered to a close.

Watching him, Sheva chuckled inwardly to herself from being able to please him simply by giving such a small gesture.

Slowing in her ministrations, she rolled the pad of her thumb over the tip of him and gave his thick length a squeeze.

A surprised gasp tore from Chris and his eyes shot open. Through a dizzy haze, he peered down at the woman beneath him just as she led him to the apex of her folds, beckoning the delicious swell of the small nub that resided there.

A wave of moans drifted from their mouths and they repeated the action until Sheva led his eager endowment towards the core of her dribbling heat.

While greedy for the feel of her walls clutched tautly around him, Chris took his time, readying her even more with short paced thrusts.

Gradually, he felt more of him sink deeper into her inviting moistness and exhaled coarsely.

Dazed, his glossed eyes traveled over the voluptuous form of his lover.

His beautiful lover; a siren lying in an ocean of dewy flora. Her wild dark tresses encircled her head like a crimped halo, enhancing the inscriptions her body and composed face bore.

So beautiful.

So perfect.

All his.

Silently, Chris' eyes tapered as his eyes absorbed her and drove one solid thrust deep within her.

With a pleasurable shout, Sheva immediately sat up and grabbed Chris by the shoulders and wrapped her legs around hims waist.

“Chris, please! Do it now!” she instructed impatiently.

A hint of a smirk played about Chris' mouth at her urgency. He would have playfully scolded her about not having patience yet again if he had not been so focused on appeasing her.

And without a second thought, he slipped his broad arms around her back and hugged her close while bring her up and down on his lap.

A slur of Swahili sprouted from her mouth as she hung her head back, riding him briskly.

The descending rain around them only heightened in density as it poured down upon the earth with powerful propensity.

A power that both Chris and Sheva easily rivaled and shouted their proven exclamations of their delectable copulation to the heavens above.

After Sheva's first orgasm passed, Chris laid her on her back. His arms still tightly encircled around her back, Chris shut his eyes as her constricting walls threatened to flood him out.

A throaty sound thrived in his throat as he thrust rapidly into her; every movement mercilessly striking against her sensitive button, making her scream his name and swear in three different languages.

The silky grass grazed against her bare body; nuzzling softly against her cheeks; her features contorted with ecstasy.

Hot sweat mingled with the tepid rain.

Muscles rippled and tensed with each sensuous tremor that coursed through them.

Moans turned into pants and intoxicated cries of the others' name as their climaxes neared closer.

Lost in the depths of her, Chris lifted both of her legs onto his shoulders and leaned forward so that his lips rested about her neck.

Clawing at his back, Sheva let out another cry, rain pelting her tongue, and clung to him as best as she could as another orgasm weighted her abdomen.

“Ch-Chris!” she called breathlessly and kissed him roughly on the lips.

A low moan caught in his throat and he fiercely kissed her back.

“Sheva... Sheva I'm...!” he grunted against her lips.

Knowing he was reaching his climax, Sheva tightened her legs in a vice grip around his waist.

“You're not going anywhere this time. Come inside of me, Chris!” she ordered.

She felt him hesitate; his only retaliation a ragged breath.

“It's alright!” she cautioned, “Please, Chris.”

His body tensed from the blooming sensation that demanded to be released.

All he could do was trust Sheva.

With a stammering groan, Chris pressed his mouth hotly against Sheva's as his entire being shook from the powerful ultimate that spilled into her, rivaling the froth she released.

Still hugging her tightly, Chris felt his body continue to expel its milky essence while his thrusts slowed.

Both catching their breath, Sheva pried herself from being latched to Chris and allowed him to collapse into the grass beside her.

Rolling onto his back, he spread out his arms and turned to her.

Hair disheveled, her eyes remained closed while her chest heaved.

A look of pure satisfaction laced her features and Chris couldn't help but smile.

After a few moments of regaining much needed oxygen, Sheva turned towards Chris; eyes bright.

A broad smile spread over her lips.

Laughing, she threw herself at Chris' chest and snuggled upto him.

He instinctively draped an arm across her shoulders and pulled her closer into an embrace.

“I love you, Chris.” Sheva spoke suddenly.

Glancing over towards her, Chris brushed his lips against her forehead, then stared up at the rain.

“I love you too, Sheva.”

“You know...” she started, eyes slowly closing, “I wanted us to come to this place, because there was a spring nearby.”

“What kind of spring?”

“A cleansing one. I wanted the two of us to wash the pain of this day away together.” she stated, gingerly voicing the word 'pain'. “But, the weather helped more than I thought.”

Chris scoffed. “Is that the only thing that helped?”

She giggled lightly at this. “No!” she playfully scolded, tapping him on the arm, careful of the healing wound he had there.

“Uh huh... Hey, Sheva...”

“Yes?”

“You've been doing that a lot lately.”

She blinked. “Hmm? Doing what? Oh! This?” she questioned curiously, patting him on the shoulder again.

He nodded. “Yes, that.”

“Does it bother you?”

“No. Not yet, I should say. Is it some type of practice?”

Laughing, she reluctantly pulled out of his embrace and climbed to her knees.

“Penda gota.” she smirked.

Perplexed, Chris sat up and looked to her. “What??”

Chuckling, Sheva leaned in close, being sure to peer directly into his smoldering eyes.

“Penda... gota... Or in other words, a 'love tap'... Partner!” she teased, poking him in the chest.

Chris stared blankly at her for a moment. A bewildered look on his face. “O...kay. Penda gota... Alright.”

“Yes. With a little more practice, you'll be able to say it like a native.”

“Imagine that...” he trailed off as a previous thought made itself known to him yet again.

“So, Sheva, what's next on your agenda? I guess you're going to stay here in Kijuju, huh?”

“Hmm?” Sheva questioned, appearing a bit more astonished than he ever thought she would have been.

“Oh, Chris, didn't I tell you?”

“...No” he said at first, then sighed, “Tell me what?”

Her eyes glistened as she beamed. “I'm transferring into the American Branch of the BSAA. Starting today.”

Taken aback, Chris could only stare at the woman. Standing to his feet, he bent down and scooped her up into his arms.

“Chris!” Sheva laughed, “What are you doing??”

“Well, seeing how you're going to be spending a lot more time in the states, we may as well get all the excitement we can here in Kijuju. Now... where did you say that spring was again?”

IT'S THE FRIGGIN' END! Finally!

-Mel