• "Hey Ava, isn't that your friend Leon on the TV?" asked Amelia, gesturing at the television with a wooden spoon. She stood in the kitchen, hovering over a pan of bacon and eggs. Stirring the contents of the pan a few times, she turned to look back at the TV. "Hey! Ava! TV!" she barked, but still no response. She threw the spoon angrily into the pan and stormed into the garage.

    Loud rock music blasted her eardrums as she opened the door as well as the sounds of power tools. "Hey!" Amelia shouted at the top of her lungs, waving her hands furiously to try to get her attention.

    Ava glanced up from her work and turned off the radio and tools. "What?" she asked, taking off her goggles and other safety equipment.

    "Leon's on the news," Amelia replied, "They're giving out awards to those who helped end the BOW threats."

    "Is that so?" Ava muttered, running a hand through her short red hair. She wiped her hands on her jeans and walked inside. She sat on the couch in front of the TV and took a beer out of the small cooler beside it.

    She opened it and took a sip as she listened to the commenters explain the significance of the event. So they're finally telling the public about the threats after it's over and done with, she thought. "Ain't that just like government."

    "What?"

    "They're trying to calm everyone down by saying the threat's over," Ava said, taking another sip, "but the BOWs are still on market. They're still out there."

    "But they killed the man behind it," Amelia said, rushing over to the stove before the food burned, "Damn, nearly ruined it. Bacon's damn expensive nowadays. You know, that Wesker guy."

    "So they're releasing info on him, too.." Ava said, drinking the rest of the can and crushing it in her palm, "Surprising." She tossed the can into the wastebasket.

    "Hey, those are returnable," Amelia scolded. Ava gave a shrug and looked back at the TV. "Do you know Wesker? Head he was a member of the STARS team that went missing. Turned out to be some mad scientist. He did some experiments out in Africa and-"

    "I know what happened," Ava said, "but there are some BOWs still out there. There's no way for the BSAA to keep tabs on something like that."

    Amelia was silent, and Ava looked up at her. She had a look of concern in her brown eyes, her arms folded across her chest. "Ava," she said calmly, "We've been roommates for nearly a year, and I barely know anything about you. What happened-"

    "The past is the past," Ava interrupted, "and I think your food may be burning by now."

    "I turned off the stove," she replied, "Now what happened?" She stood with her hands on her hips, leaning to one side. "I know you were in Raccoon City the day it happened."

    "Nothing," Ava replied, looking back to the TV. Amelia switched it off, and Ava frowned in frustration. She could be stubborn sometimes, but Ava could tell she knew something was up.

    Ava had been at Raccoon City the day "it" happened. The day when the first outbreak appeared in a citywide scale. Ava's squad, including her two brothers, ahd been sent in to investigate the area when contact with the city had been cut off.

    "You know how there was that thing on the news about the day after Raccoon City was destroyed?" Ava asked, "There was a small article about how a squad captain got infected and killed his men? No one payed attention because it was small matters compared to the big picture."

    "I remember," she replied, "They were advising everybody not to go in to look for family members. They used it as an example. Why?"

    "The captain didn't get infected," Ava said, "And there was one survivor."

    "But they said he tore them apart," Amelia said, horrified, "Nobody normal could have done that."

    "You mean no sane person would have done that. He was already being observed for mental stress," Ava explained, "Guess they were left with little options. Thought he was expendable, if need be. They wanted to cover up their mistake afterwards. Gave me a nice promotion if I'd keep my mouth shut." She looked up and give Amelia a reassuring half-smile. "But as I said, the past is the past."

    "That's-"

    "Pretty gruesome, eh?" Ava said with a small laugh, "That's how the world is."

    "So is that how you started work with the BSAA?"

    "Nah, worked a bit here and there for a while. Joined the Army for a bit, then was suddenly called back. Leon was in a bit of a mess in Europe, and I was the closest agent they had that they could trust not to blab about anything I saw. Interesting time that was."

    "You helped him rescue the president's daughter?" asked Amelia, her eyes wide with awe, "You never told me that. Damn! You should be there getting an award too."

    "Parties ain't my thing," Ava replied, "And I didn't do much in the way of saving her. I was just sent as Leon's backup, and we both just barely got out of there with outr heads still on our shoulders. We were damn lucky."

    Her cellphone rang, saving her from further questions. "It's Leon," said Amelia. She had went through Ava's cell to set ringtones for everyone on her phonebook list.

    Ava flipped open her cell and put it to her ear. "Hey there," she said, "How goes the hero?"

    "Alright. You?"

    "Same as usual. Saw you on TV."

    "Yeah, just got away from the crowd to talk to you." Ava could see him wave to the camera, and she laughed. "So did you get any word from the BSAA?"

    "Yeah, haven't gotten paid half enough for that job," Ava said, standing up and going upstairs to get out of Amelia's earshot.

    "Amelia's been asking about that, huh?" Leon asked knowingly.

    "Yeah, she knows somethings up," Ava replied.

    "So what did they say?"

    "Nothing they can do. The plans for the Plaga extraction unit were destroyed with it during the escape."

    "Dammit, Ava. So you're stuck?"

    "Well," she said slowly, not wanting to tell him but having to anyway, "I contacted Tricell the other day-"

    "Tricell? But didn't you hear about-"

    "Yes, I read Redfield's report. I know they were working with Umbrella and with Wesker, but...well there's a chance they might be able to help. THey have specialized BOW researchers, and they said that they'd have an entire lab working on it as long as I went into run some tests."

    "Sounds like a load of bullshit to me," Leon scowled, "Probably just want to get their hands on the damn thing."

    "As long as it's out of me, I don't care what they do with it."

    "But Ava, you can't just-"

    "You of all people should understand, Leon," Ava said, her voice faltering for a moment, "I can feel it, moving inside of me. I can't sleep without sedatives, and I can't eat without it tear at me, struggling to force me to eat what it it wants. I don't want it to hurt anyone, so it's either Tricell, or-"

    "I understand," he replied, "I just want you to be sure you know what you're doing. If Tricell is still in the black market, then you could be helping them bring back the Las Plagas."

    "I know. It's just difficult to trust any of the BOW research groups. All of them could turn around if the if the highest bidder commands."

    "Yeah...hey, want me to come over for a bit?"

    "No, I'm fine," Ava replied with a small chuckle, "You go back to your party. You deserve it."

    "You do too. Don't forget, you saved my life."

    "We're pretty much even, considering you went to that party in my place," Ava replied, "Saved me from a death by boredom, and that's worse than any Ganado."

    "See you tomorrow, Ava," Leon said with a laugh.

    "See ya." Ava hung up, and returned the cell to her pocket.

    "Hey," Ava shouted over her shoulder, "I'm taking a quick show4er, then I'm hitting the sack. I'm exhausted."

    "But what about breakfast?"

    Breakfast? That's right, it's just morning, Ava thought.

    With so many sleepless nights and sedated resting periods during the day, Ava could hardly keep track of the time of day.

    "I have a meeting at two," Ava replied, "I'll eat it when I wake up."

    "You should eat something, Ava," Amelia insisted, "Anorexia is no way of getting a perfect figure. I doubt Leon would approve of it." She appeared at the top of the stairs and forced a plate of food into her hands. "Now eat. Come on, I'm not leaving this spot until I see you've eaten it."

    Ava leaned with her back against the wall and hesitantly ate a piece of the bacon. When she swallowed, she could feel the parasite pick it apart, seeing i fit held the correct nutrients. She didn't feel any sudden gag reflex or anything. The parasite was satisfied.

    She hastily ate the rest of the food before it could reject and handed the empty plate to her roommate. "There?" she said, raising an eyebrow, "That good enouth?"

    "See? You were starving," Amelia replied, "I wish we had more, but I'm going shopping today."

    "It's fine," Ava replied, "Thanks."

    "What would you do without me, right?"

    "Right."

    Amelia went downstairs and Ava stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She noticed that her roommate had hung up dry towels and bathrobes on top of general cleaning. Amelia always kept everything neat and tidy. If Ava had lived on her own, the house would be a week, she'd starve herself, and would have had to pay for dry cleaning. She reminded herself to thank Amelia for taking care of everything.

    "Maybe I'll give her the house if-" she stopped and shook her head. No use thinking of that now. She wasn't going to give up yet.

    She undressed, kicking her clothes to the side, and looked at herself in the mirror. "Hey there sexy thang," she said with a laugh. She had gotten much thinner over the past year, and the marks from the Plaga were visible against her pale skin. She leaned in closer to see her eyes better. They were blood red, the same color as her hair.

    Ava could hear the Plaga croon in her ear. Even though she could not understand, it tried to communicate. She shook her head to clear it.

    When she turned to the shower and opened the glass door, she saw movement in the corner of her vision. It was swift, and she saw it only for a moment before it disappeared. The Plaga shrieked in warning, and Ava turned around quickly. There was something in the room. The Plaga could sense it.

    "Hurry up, Ava," came the sound of Amelia's voice from downstairs, "I need to take a shower too. And don't use up all the hot water this time."

    The threat had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "Okay," Ava replied. She stepped into the shower and closed the door behind her before turning on the hot water. S

    She closed her eyes and leaned against the shower wall as the steamy water ran down her head and back. The Plaga relaxed as well, and Ava could feel her heart slow back down into a normal rhythm. She opened her eyes again and picked up the soap, then massaged a foamy lather over her skin. She rinsed away the soap, washed her hair, then turned off the shower before it became too cold. She stepped out, and shivered as the cold air of the room brushed against her.

    The Plaga immediately went to work, making her body temperature rise to provide the appropriate internal condition needed to sustain its life. The tendrils could be seen under the skin around Ava's stomach as the Plaga absorbed necessary nutrients. She swallowed, trying to keep herself from throwing up. It was a surprise that she hadn't gotten used to this yet. She would have to eventually.

    Ava quickly got dressed and shouted to Amelia that she could use the shower. She then went to her room and lay down on the bed. Closing her eyes, she hoped that the Plaga would allow her to rest.