[TWD x Resident Evil] — Chapter 571 - Claire Watching from the Shadows
Police.
That word, in Sherry's world, had always meant absolute safety and order.
When she was little, William had told her countless times, if you're ever in danger, go find a police officer.
They were the shields that protected ordinary people.
But the Brian standing in front of her was not an upright police officer.
He had taken massive bribes from Umbrella Corporation, spent years abusing his authority to run cover for them, and had even handed over prison inmates on his own authority for live human experimentation.
He was also the director of an orphanage.
The purpose being to sell the unwanted children to Umbrella Corporation.
In college he had been arrested for assaulting a female classmate. He had harbored indecent thoughts toward the mayor's youngest daughter, the same little girl who called him "Uncle Brian."
And after the outbreak, when the mayor abandoned his daughter Beverly and ran, Brian had taken control of her. He killed her in the end. Violated her first, then made her into a specimen.
Sherry knew none of this. She still thought he was a good man.
Her guard came down, just a fraction.
She was still crying, dragging the back of her hand across her eyes. Her tears cut muddy streaks down her face.
Her voice shook with fear.
"My daddy is missing."
"Can you help me find him?"
"I've been looking for him for so, so long."
Brian sneered inside.
What an easy job. Almost enough to make him yawn.
He had expected to need rough methods. Maybe a chase. Maybe force.
He never imagined the little thing would just walk right up and hand herself over.
What a hopelessly naive little idiot.
"Your daddy?"
Brian raised his sparse eyebrows in practiced surprise.
He put on a show of digging through his memory.
"Let me think."
"Just yesterday, I got an extremely urgent call."
"A man came charging into my precinct like he'd lost his mind."
"He grabbed me by the collar. Said he was looking for his most beloved daughter."
"If I remember correctly —"
Brian held her eyes and let the pause stretch.
"That man said his name was... William Birkin."
"What's your father's name?"
The moment she heard it, Sherry's eyes, dull and hollow a second before, blazed back to life. Like a lighthouse breaking through the pitch dark of an endless night.
Her body, limp from hunger and fear, suddenly surged with strength that had no business being there.
She scrambled to her feet, half-crawling, half-rolling upright. She didn't notice the wound on her palm still bleeding.
Her small hands seized Brian's sleeve and held on.
"That's my daddy!"
"That's my daddy!"
"Where is he? Please — will you take me to him?"
The words tumbled out in a rush, and fresh tears spilled over. But this time they were tears of joy.
She didn't question a single word he'd said.
A ten-year-old child. After an ordeal that long, that crushing, how could she possibly doubt a grown adult with a badge on his chest?
Brian glanced at the small hand gripping his sleeve. He turned his own hand over and closed it around Sherry's wrist. His rough fingers moved over the soft skin of her arm, slow, deliberate, just enough pressure to feel it.
The smoothness of it sent a ripple through the fat on his body.
Wonderful.
The thought that had been taking shape in his mind hardened into something fixed.
Before he handed her over, he was going to enjoy this prize for himself.
He just had to keep her breathing.
"Of course, sweetheart. William is at my place right now."
"He's been beside himself — calling your name over and over."
"My patrol car is parked just around the next block."
"I'll take you there right now."
Sherry was completely swallowed by the thought of seeing her father again. She noticed nothing, not the hand at her wrist, not the greedy eyes watching her from behind that kind mask.
She nodded hard and followed him forward, holding on like he was the only solid thing left in the world.
Brian walked ahead, the corner of his mouth pulling into something slow and crooked and wrong.
Once he got her back to the precinct. Once she was locked inside that underground specimen room, the one with the lock only he had the key to.
The soundproofing was excellent in there. She could scream until her throat gave out. No one would hear a thing.
They moved through two streets choked with abandoned cars. A black-and-white police SUV sat at the curb. Brian pulled the passenger door open.
"Get in, sweetheart."
"You'll see Daddy very soon."
Sherry climbed up into the high seat using both hands and feet. She settled there obediently, both hands wrapped tight around the silver pendant at her chest, lips moving in a quiet, private prayer.
Brian slammed the door. Walked around the hood. Dropped into the driver's seat.
The engine turned over. Tires bit asphalt. The SUV pulled away and was gone, leaving nothing behind but a scatter of Walker remains and a street gone quiet again.
Less than 50 meters from the Convenience Store where Sherry had been standing minutes before, on the rooftop of an apartment building, a figure stood behind the low parapet at the edge.
A girl in red.
She watched the police car shrink and vanish at the end of the street. A flicker of hesitation crossed her eyes.
She had seen all of it, from start to finish.
The fat officer's lies. The barely-leashed perversion bleeding through his every move. The foolish girl swallowing every word without a second thought.
She had seen it all.
She knew exactly what kind of man he was.
In this world, stupidity was a fatal condition. Trusting people too easily had always been a death sentence.
But that girl was so small.
She felt like she should go. Like she had to.
Except she was also trying to find her brother.
She still didn't understand why Chris had gone silent so suddenly...
She stood there, caught between it, go after Chris, or save the girl first?
In the end, she let out a breath, bolted down the stairs, swung onto her motorcycle, and tore off in the direction the police car had gone.
➤ Next: Taken Down to the Basement