Resident Evil. Retribution Read Free Page B

it.
    Todd.
    Looking at him, thinking that she’d known him by a different name, once, long ago… But that name fled from her. He was simply her husband, Todd. Nice that her husband was such a sexy guy.
    Hadn’t she been on a ship, shooting at someone? She remembered an explosion. She’d been picked up by a shockwave, tossed like a discarded doll.
    She’d drowned, hadn’t she?
    No. That hadn’t been real. It couldn’t have been. She could still smell her husband’s sweat, his aftershave on her, other smells from last night, when they’d made love. She felt a little sore, between her legs. He was a vigorous guy…
    This was what was real. This was… much better.
    The other was just a dream. A bad dream.
    Forget it, Alice.
    “Come on,” Todd said, chuckling, pulling on his pants. “We’re late. Alarm didn’t go off. Becky isn’t up yet. Mrs. Henderson’s going to be pissed. You know how they get at school when we drop her off late.”
    But the sea. The Arcadia . Those people needed her. They all needed her…
    “Baby!” Todd stopped dressing, staring at her, a concerned look on his face.
    Alice felt tired and disoriented. She should get up, she knew that, but…
    “Baby?” He looked at her, lips pursed.
    She cleared her throat, and sat up, still a bit dizzy.
    The sea. The waves burning overhead…
    Todd leaned toward her a little. “Baby—are you okay?”
    “Yeah,” she said. “I’ll get…” Becky. “… I’ll get Becky up.”
    “You look tired. You didn’t sleep well?”
    “I’m fine.”
    He didn’t seem convinced. Neither was she, for that matter.
    “You sure?” he asked.
    “Yeah.”
    He stared at her, the way husbands stare at their wives.
    “I’m okay—really,” she insisted.
    “Well, in that case…” He whipped the bedclothes off her. “Get that cute ass out of bed.”
    Alice smiled wanly, and did as he asked. She felt stiff. Her lungs seemed to hurt, when she took a deep breath.
    Reaction to that bad dream…
    She caught sight of herself in the bedroom mirror. Wait—that wasn’t right, was it? When did she get blond hair?
    She shook herself. No wonder Todd was staring at her.
    Sometimes dreams linger and confuse you.
    Yeah, that’s what it was…

2
    Alice put on a robe, and went down the hall to wake… Becky.
    The seascape in the hallway was familiar to her; the scuffed hardwood floor was familiar; the smells were familiar. This was their home, hers and Todd’s, their one-story, old, suburban, ranch-style house.
    So why was she so disoriented?
    She went into Becky’s room, paused, and smiled, looking at the sleeping girl, seven years old, sprawled on her small bed with its flower crested headboard.
    What a sweet face she had. She looked so peaceful, so adorable, Alice was reluctant to wake her. It felt good just to watch her sleep.
    But she sighed and leaned over, gently shook Becky’s shoulder. Her daughter opened her eyes, and blinked. So like her mother’s, those eyes. The child didn’t say anything—she didn’t speak much, she’d only learned to do it by feel, and when she spoke her voice lacked pitch control. She had autosomal recessive deafness, an inherited birth defect that left her missing critical structures in the inner ear.
    Both Alice and Todd could hear, so the defect was assumed to be the result of a recessive gene in one of them. Someday, if they planned to have another child, there would be a test to see whose genetics were the problem. Perhaps they’d resort to donated semen or an egg, for a second child. But Becky needed their full attention right now.
    Alice kissed her good morning, and laid out her clothing.
    Alice took a quick shower, dressed, and went to the kitchen. She was humming to herself, feeling a little better as she made fresh orange juice in the juicer. The coffee had just finished perking, the rich smell filling the room.
    Alice poured the orange juice, put the glass in front of Becky and signed.
    “You want eggs?” They signed