Ashely POV:
I sat on the edge of the tub for what felt like hours, still dressed in clothes from last night, the steam rising around me like murky fog.
My fingers clutched the fabric of the stained shirt, unable to peel it away. I didn't want to see my skin. I didn't want to feel more exposed than I already felt.
The water had long since gone lukewarm.
I had to wash. I knew that. But the thought of undressing—of being bare in this silence, yet somehow not alone—made my nerves crawl.
Saddler's presence in my head.
Lord Eye's watchful glare.
The strange hive of voices.
I had stepped into his body. Even controlled him.
I had seen Ada. Seen them.
I went somewhere I wasn't welcome. I intruded on a moment he didn't have with me. I touched—no, I shoved someone he ached for.
Oh God, what was I becoming?
I already knew the answer. A monster.
My hands trembled as I finally pulled the soaked fabric over my head. My reflection in the bathroom mirror was a stranger—haunted eyes, tangled hair, bitten lips, dried tears smudged across my cheeks.
Guilt. Shame. Grief.
Some other infections.
Jealousy.
She was beautiful. Of course she was. Why did I ever think he'd want me?
I scrubbed my arms until they were red. My collarbone. My neck. My face.
I couldn't stop—not until it burned, not until the noise inside me dulled.
Even then, they didn't.
Saddler. Lord Eye. Leon. Ada. Dad. Mom.
I plunged into the tub.
The water cradled me, lulling me with a peaceful sense of solitude. Just waves of weightless heat against my tired skin. A silence I could almost trust.
"Lost Lamb."
My eyes snapped open, but there was only the sting and blur of being underwater.
I tried to breach the surface but it felt as if someone was pinning me down by the shoulders.
My mouth opened in a scream that never made it—only water rushed in, biting and cold.
"Cease struggling, it's to no avail."
His voice threaded through the water, creating an echo all around.
"You felt it, didn't you?"
"The Hive welcomed its new heir."
"Their minds. Their hunger. Their emotions. It sings to you."
"No—" I attempted to mouth, the bubbles escaping my lips once more, lost in the hush.
It was an accident, I didn't mean to!
"You think that was an accident, answering his prayer?"
YOU ARE READING
RESIDENT EVIL • Assignment Ashley: Rescue Condor One (RE4)
FanfictionIt's been 5 years since the traumatic experience which permanently changed Ashley Graham's life. Even though she tries to put it all behind herself, she knows she can never go back to being the girl she was before the kidnapping. Therefore, instead...
