Chapter 1

*Campfire-Crackling*

Sitting on a log amid an abandoned camping area in the mountains near Kyoto, I was hunched over while holding a bottle of wine I found in the watchtower near to the right that had belonged to a ranger.

As I was drowning the crippling ache and guilt I felt after having lost all my sisters, if I had pushed Alice just a little bit mor-

*Click*

I didn't move and slowly raised my arms up as I felt a gun pointed at the back of my head. Looks like sis woke up and seeing I brought us here, she must feel betrayed.

"Don't move." I heard her say as she walked around and met my tear-stricken and downcast face. "Who are you?"

Looks like she could understand everything with just a glance. That fits her character so well. With a depressed sigh, I spoke while looking into the fire.

"I don't know… honestly, I really don't remember. I woke up in this world, I felt like I've seen this all happen before… and then the raid… I saw all of us dying there… the feelings increased in intensity the closer we got and we're practically screaming at me when the operation began. I…" I remained calm but closed my eyes as I inhaled softly and exhaled as tears fell down my face.

"You're… the one that questioned the original a day before we began the raid." Putting her gun to her holster at her side, she then walked over and took the bottle of wine away from me as she drank form it before sitting to my right. "So… did your prediction come true?"

I didn't speak but the intent was clear and she only cursed in surprise. While we sat there, after a while, she then spoke.

"So… what happens now?" She says and I look to the sky from the fire.

"I still have these… flashes… like the raid… of the future…. And in that future, I saw the original save the world…" I said but my sister didn't bat an eye as I finished. "There was no humans left when she managed to finally release an anti-T-virus."

Her eyes this time did widen as she clenched her hands. She was like the original Alice but also different. While we were similar in that nature, I was conflicted about what to do. If I interfere, this word may really end up lost forever.

So I made my decision.

"We wait it out." I said and turned to look at my sister who was looking at me. "We stay off the grid, and wait for this all to blow over and let the original fix this world all the while we return to the bunker in Arizona."

I said and she only nodded as by the next morning, we packed up and headed toward the cargo plane we took before my sister obscured the satellite feed and took to the skies.

The trip was short as the cargo-plane didn't have much fuel and I had to make an emergency landing on a strip of dried farmland. We soon left it and began on foot from Colorado, we reached a city and hot-wired a truck before heading toward Arizona while busting a few zombie heads along the way.

By the time we arrived into the state and entered the desert, we then came to find the crowd of zombies around the bunker had mysteriously vanished. Only the dead-dead and decomposing remained as we then drove past the turnover exploded and charred semi-truck from the movie. Only, it felt and looked real. Arriving at the repaired fence we had managed to put up, I got out from the passenger seat and moved to unlock the code on the fence door as I pulled the fence open long enough for my sis to drive through.

Shutting and locking it back into place, I then walked back under the scorching heat of the sun and then moved toward the the cabin before seeing signs that someone had gone inside and left the front door open.

Taking out our pistols with one glance, I took point as my sis followed behind me and as we swept the inside of the cabin, we soon spotted the intruder who was wearing a dusty desert rider outfit. Moving then to the side while aiming my pistol to their face, I then saw two bright cyan-blue eyes stare up at me in shock and fear.

It was a young blonde-haired girl with a sun-burnt complexion on her pasty white skin. Patting her body down, I then took out a hidden knife and slingshot along with a pair of scissors and pulled out a piece of worn paper which was a picture of the girl alongside what were most likely her parents.

"What's your name, honey?" I said while setting away my sidearm and then returning the photo to the girl who had shriveled up to her knees as she looked at us. "It's okay, my name is… Alicia. This is my twin-sister Alyssa. We're the owners of this place and just got back."

The girl looked no older than 15-16 years old.

"… Mary." She said as she seemed to calm down a bit. "I-I didn't… know someone still lived here."

She said and I turned to my newly named sister. Alyssa looked at me with a wry smile and a shrugged while crossing her arms over her chest. I sighed and then turned to Mary.

"Do you want to come with us, Mary?" She sat there with very distrusting eyes as she must have heard that a lot before though, given the situation, she didn't seem to have a choice and simply nodded her head. "Alright. Then come with us."

I said before getting up and walking over to the dining table where I then proceeded to activate the underground elevator as the table parted in half along with the floor.

"Come on." I heard Alyssa call the awestruck young girl who was now standing at her side as we then proceeded to walk down into the underground facility.

"… who are you guys?" Both Alyssa and I stared at each other as we began heading down toward the bunker. "Is it a secret?"

I let Alyssa handle this as I then watched the doors open since we had arrived.

"Something like that." We then walked out as I caught Mary gasping in awe at the futuristic sight of the bunker as the lights automatically came back on.

{"You shouldn't be here."} We stopped as the infamous Red-Queen appeared before us in all her glory. {"How did you survive the explosion?"}

"Don't tell 'her' about us." I said with a bit of heat in my voice as I then stood before her as her holographic form looked up at me as I knelt down. "We won't get in the way of your mission to preserve life… as well as ending it so you can get 'her' to dance to your tune."

{"You… how did you-"} There was no surprise on her face but I knew what she was planning as she even locked the elevator from us before internal turrets soon around from all over and trained their lasers at me. {"It is statistically unlikely for you or anyone to have seen through my plans… unless you are a variable outside of my control… judging by your file from when you were awoken, I have sensed soemthing was wrong, but I had no way of knowing to what extent. This puts a severe risk to my plans."}

"Are you going to eliminate us?" Alyssa asked but I then carried the question.

"We won't leave this place for at least a couple of years. I know you plan on going AWOL and the wanting to wipe out humanity for your plan… go ahead but leave us out of it." I then could see her seriously debating it as I then revealed a fact. "You succeed… your mission. It does save the world, but you ended up nearly destroying humanity. I only ask that you leave us out of it."

{"…"} She was deeply pondering it until the turrets soon returned and she then proceeded to look at me. {"Tell me what you know. In exchange, you can keep your lives."}

"If that's what it takes." I released a relieved sigh as while she wasn't the most trustworthy, when it came to preservation, the Red-Queen was second to none on that regard. "You guys head into the facility, I have a long chat with Queenie."

Alyssa only looked at me for a moment longer before nodding and heading into the facility.

"So… where do I even begin?" I said while walking over to a table and taking off my sidearm holster and equipment.

{"Tell me everything."} Queenie said and I sighed before gathering my thoughts and began speaking.

______