Disclaimers: I do not own anything out of Resident Evil. All of the contents belongs to Capcom.

Umbra

She hadn't realized just how much she had hated the tenebrosity with a passion. And Sherry Birkin had learnt it the hard way.

The darkness always scared her when she was young, but it never was as frightful as she had ever imagined it will be, she had never expected that she will have the chance to bear witness of how terrifying the total blackness could be. Granted, she had slept in the dark all by her own because having her parents under the same roof on the same occasion was a rarity; but never did she thought about just how powerful the formless entity might be.

Ninth of September 1998. She thought that it might just be another day that she skipped to the East Raccoon Elementary just as enthusiastically. It was until the nanny there suddenly brought her to the office where she received a call from her dear mother.

"Listen, sweetie." Annette Birkin panted over the phone, "I need you to get home now."

"Mommy?"

Annette pleaded again before the line cut off abruptly. Innocent Sherry could only stare at the handle and the nanny asked her softly of what Mrs. Birkin had said.

One of the teachers in the elementary drove her home, assuming that perhaps there was an emergency happening at the Birkin household. When they knocked on the front door to the Birkin's residence, Annette - still in her polished white scientist garb - ushered Sherry into the house and closed the door without even thanking the teacher who drove her home.

Young Birkin didn't even have the chance to greet her mother and she had been carried to where her bedroom was.

The next moment she was sat down on the bed and Annette had Sherry's precious jewelry box settled next to her. And the contents were scattered as Annette rummages through the sparkling things.

The gold locket.

"Sherry honey," The woman spoke as her shaky fingers began working its way to Sherry neck, clasping the piece of gold, "I need you to take good care of this locket for mommy. And I want you to get to the police station. You will be safe there..."

"Police station? Mommy, but—"

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but you will be heading there alone. Go find Mr. Police at once and they will keep you safe. Hurry now! Before it's too late!" And she was once again carried down the stairs. The oblivious Sherry of course, had not a single idea of what her mother was talking about. The abnormalities were cluttering inside her head and yet her mother provide not a single answer to them.

Annette Birkin checked on the time on her wrist watch, muttering something about there should be time before the infestation spread in Raccoon City, and words that Sherry didn't understand. Promptly, she got Sherry and herself out of the house without bothering to lock it. Before she depart however, Annette did spend one last time with her daughter, she kissed Sherry's forehead fervently, "I love you, Sherry."

"I know, mommy. I love you too. You know that, even when you hide the ice-cream from me."

The sweet giggle made the mother smiled, but a sad one. She stroked Sherry's short blonde hair that resembles her father and kissed her again, "Go to the police station for now. Mommy will just going to fetch daddy and we'll find you there, okay?"

Sherry failed to see the tear pooling in Annette's eyes.

Turning her heels, Annette departed to where the laboratory was.

And twelve-years old Sherry Birkin watched as the figure of her mother disappeared into the horizon. As her mother had implored, Sherry proceeded to where Raccoon City is.

Little did she knew that will the last time she will ever see her mother. Nor to hear when she said that she loved her. Nor that the nightmare waiting for her.

It was late evening by the time she had finally reached the borders of Raccoon City, the sky had darkened so much that if there was not streetlight, Sherry might not be able to see. But something was amiss; instead of people scurrying around in their own business or the vehicles honking down the road, there were shrill screams and and dark soot everywhere.

There was still no one in sight however.

Sherry began to panic. Her little heart hammering against her chest as she ventured deeper into Raccoon City.

She got off an alley and she had finally reached the main street.

And she finally get to see what her mother meant by too late.

Her little blue eyes widen in fear as the reality began washing down into her: The staggering corpses, blood oozing out from their mouth as they chase their victims - the survivors. Their gaze were unfocused and their arms flailed in the air.

Two hands slapped onto her mouth, young Sherry watched as these... creatures trailed after a young woman in her twenties. She tripped however, despite her pleas to be left alone, the moaning undeads turned deaf ears as they finally reached to where the poor woman was and...

They were devouring her!

Sherry fought back the urge to scream and she ran. For no reasons she knew she have to just run.The police station. She knew where it was. And there will be where she will be going.

Call it a miracle or Sherry's beginner's luck, the young girl managed to reach the precinct unscathed. Although she did sustain some graze on her arm when she tried to crawl under a car to avoid the zombies. The main entrance to the Raccoon City Police Department was wide open for her, and she rushed past two zombies in a mad dash and she shut the huge double door behind her.

It was nowhere better here in the police station; the infestation was just as severe as the outdoors.

Her back was against the door she had just closed when Sherry now noticed the figures slowly rising to their feet. Completely white eyes, blood splatters on their clothes and horribly mutilated anatomy; Birkin knew that her life was still in danger, there was no Mr. Police to help her.

Eager zombies hunger for her flesh now slowly made their way to Sherry. Instinctively, she carried her feet again and scrambled to a random direction - left and right just didn't make sense anymore. She had nearly lost them. Until she turned to a corner of a long hallway and there stood an even more gigantic monster than the ones outside.

The twelve years old froze when the monster heard her. Turning around, Sherry'a jaw dropped when the eye sprouted on the mutated shoulder opened it lids. The eyeball rolled around frantically and it suddenly focused, onto her.

Sherry Birkin had forgotten how did she managed to flee from the creature pursue in one piece. Considering his overly large built, she did remember that he was faster than any other zombie she had seen.

But she did remember how she end up in one little room in the station.

She shut the door close, leaving herself in total darkness.

There was not a window, not a single source of light. Not even a table lamp. Darkness overlapping in every single corner.

Sherry backed herself over to the edge of the room where she could feel the wall. The contact with the hard concrete made her winced but she hadn't had the courage to yelp, fearing that the giant creature outside would heard her.

Slowly, very slowly, she dropped to the ground and hugged her knees tightly. She didn't even dare to grope around for a lamp.

And she prayed silently that her parents would come to her rescue soon.

The hands on her knees soon made its way to her ears. Because the shrill screams and the car sirens and the moaning of the zombies was suddenly becoming louder, too loud for her to bear. She tried in vain to block out the noises, but it kept echoing inside her ears.

Then the image of the young woman who get preyed on by the undeads return.

"Mommy, daddy. Where are you?"

There she spent for hours in complete darkness. In a walking nightmare.

The darkness taunted her, and now did she understood just how frightful the black entity was. But what could she do about it? All she could do was to cry when the darkness numbed all her other sense but her hearing, her ears picked out the horrible noises perfectly even if her hands trying to block her ears.

Perhaps that was how that she had began to develop her hatred for the darkness.

She couldn't imagine how will it turn out to be if the one who opened the door that day wasn't Claire Redfield.

Once again she found herself in the lack of light.

But now it is completely different, because she is the one to turn off the lights by herself.

When that day she was cold and her life was endangered in that horrid room, she was now warm in bed and she was completely safe.

When that day she was all alone, there is another strong person lying right next to her.

It is the fifth day that she fights this war - a war to overcome her achluophobia. Her fear of darkness.

Somehow it is still as difficult as the first day she had tried to fight it when she was fourteen years old. Even now when she is already twenty-nine, a secret agent that had went through another outbreak in China and several other places, she can still hear the shrill cry for help and the blaring sirens echoing in her ears when she is enveloped in this umbra. And through the darkness, everything seems to enhance to the point that she trembles in fear.

Even after she had experienced what her two heroes had experienced back then.

But she had to fight it. She had to.

Until strong pair of arms begin snaking around her waist and her back.

And a soft kiss to her hair.

And warmth surrounding her.

For tonight, she will just gives into her fears and escape to her fort of security: his bare muscular chest. Sherry pushed her face closer to his bare body and entangled her legs with his and he opts for the same. "It's alright, Supergirl. We can always try again tomorrow." Another kiss but this time to her forehead.

But she still feel upset at her weakness, countless tries and yet she is still inferior to the darkness.

"It's not weakness if it's something that you fear since childhood. You are already brave, Sherry. You fought with it."

She gasps, did he read her mind? On second thought, she was an easy person to read.

Sherry smiles on his chest and kisses him in return, and the hold around her tighten.

Maybe having a phobia isn't so bad. Not if there is always someone who will be always willing to see it through with you. Sherry Birkin believes in that firmly.

And maybe she should thank the darkness for granting her the chance to prove so. Because she now knew that no matter what her fear might be, she is not alone.

A.N: I gotta thank my colleague for this one. We were just in the hotel, she was right next to me with my laptop and I played RE2 with the PSX simulator. I got to the point where Claire found Sherry, and when Claire turn the light, my colleague mentioned about hiding in darkness.

Which, ta-da, came this fic! :)

I thought it's gonna be another Sherry-only fic to explore her past but... yeah. You know, the guy in the last part is obviously Jake Muller. :3 Sorry, I just can't keep them apart. I blame my female hormones.

Oh, and about Meaning of Life? Next chapter is going smoothly. I'll put it up in the next two days. ;)

RFF! :)