Whatever it takes (Claire x Leon)

Chapter 10 - Marathon

Every bone in Claire's body stiffened, and her eyes grew wide in fear. Was she really about to die? Lose everything? She didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to her brother, to Sherry. And what about Leon? Was he gonna die too? Claire stared in fear at the sight before her. The creaking moved down to the stairs now, and there he stood.

The killer gripped both the cleaver in his hands and the bear trap. He was in full view now of both Leon and Claire as they looked out of their own peepholes. Claire shivered in fear. He didn't see her. Or at least she hoped he didn't. Still, he walked over to the red lockers before him. "No, no, no, no, no!" She thought. She was on the verge of hyperventilating. The killer was now looking directly at the locker Claire was hiding in.

He opened it up, and slammed his fist to the left side of Claire, preventing her from moving at all. She let out a terrifying yelp. In an instant, she was picked up and flung over the killer's shoulders. He started heading up the stairs with Claire in his grasp, but Leon jumped out of the locker, and started to bolt for the top of the stairs now too.

Claire grunted, as she struggled to break free from the killer. She moved her body left and right, clinging on to any hope she had of getting out. The killer's hand tightened around her body, and she felt uneasy. She had wished those hands around her were Leon's. Hanging onto the thought of both him and wiggling free, she fought hard. She was being taken out of the basement, even though there were hooks down there.

Claire wondered why she wasn't being hooked down there. But she then realized that the killer knew that the other two weren't down there with them. He most likely wanted to hook Claire closer to the others, and get to them faster once it was done. So he continued to carry her out of the shack, where he finally reached the doorway with the wooden object tied up with string. Bad mistake.

The killer was interrupted by the dropping of the thing in the doorway. Claire hopped off his shoulder, and looked back at him. In front of him, and now a dropped wooden structure, was Leon. He knew exactly what to do with the object. Just like before at the shack, Claire's face lit up with happiness. "Leon!" She shouted with surprise. She was so thankful for the save, and for his creativity with this doorway situation.

Her smile quickly became a smirk, and with the limited amount of time she had, she slid her back against the object, as she pushed her weight across it. She was now face to face with Leon. "Well that was one way to get across." He said playfully at Claire. "Are- are you hurt?" He looked Claire up and down for any marks.

"I'm okay. He just-" Claire was about to tell him that he grabbed her without hurting her first, but the killer was now in the middle of breaking the item. He kicked it with his foot a few times, and it broke. Without hesitation, the two turned to each other, and Leon informed Claire what to do. "Run. Run to the maze walls, or wherever you can. Just go. I'll be right behind you."

Claire would've been the one to now take those hits for Leon if they were necessary, but she was already quite scared of being in his grasp again. He was her shield again. Claire ran for the corn, hoping to get to the main building. It would be the best bet for them, as they could most likely meet up with Claudette and Meg there. They weren't too far away.

But then something made a buzz noise that changed everything. The exit gate buzzed, and it lit up white. The gate was powered! All they had to do was open it up. "Leon!" Claire exclaimed "The gate! We-" She started, but she heard something that made her heart break in two. As she turned back, she saw Leon get hit with the cleaver. He screamed out in pain, as he held his stomach.

"Leon!" Claire screamed. Her scream was somehow even louder than Leon's. She called out his name after seeing him that hurt. It took a physical toll on her. Mainly because... Claire knew she loved him. After his save, his determination, the safety he granted, and always sticking with her. She... loved Leon.

Claire looked defeated. Was Leon gonna die? After all they went through? "Hey! You stupid trash trapper, over here!" Claire looked over to see Meg. It would be an understatement to say she was pissed. She clenched her hands, and brushed strands of her red hair out of her face. "How about ya come over here and try to catch me. I mean, it would be pretty embarrassing if you couldn't keep up with someone half your size."

Meg definitely was trying to take him off of Leon's hands. The killer stopped to look at Meg. He started walking towards her, and that gave Leon time to walk to where Claire was. "Meg! What are you doing?!" Asked a confused Leon. "Relax, I'm just running mister baby face for a marathon." She said. That got him angry. He started speeding up and walking towards a taunting Meg. "I'll meet you guys at the exit gate once I'm done with him." She made a run for it. And so did the killer. But she was fast. Really fast.

Claire then turned to Leon, who was grunting in pain, and still holding his stomach. "You shouldn't have done that." She said to him. "You got seriously hurt." Claire got genuinely upset seeing him like this. "It was worth it." He responded. Claire looked to the red medkit in her hands. She opened it, and bent down to start taking a look at Leon's scars.

She started to weave bandages around his wounds, and used ointment to keep it clean while in the process. She was good at it, and Leon acknowledged it. He would be lying, however, if he said it didn't hurt like hell. "Urgh." He grunted. "Hold on for me, Kennedy. You're almost done." Claire said with hope. He was slowly feeling better.

Still wrapping up the last of his scars, Claire started to hear less noise from Leon, but more noise from the maze walls around her from Meg and the Killer. She really was running him for a marathon. Claire perked up after completing the wrapping. "Okay. You're all set, Kennedy." He stood up now too after crouching down. He was now extremely close to her. Their noses were almost touching now. They felt each others' breath now.

They were sharing a very intimate moment now, but a second buzz alerted them. Directly in front of them was an exit gate, and the red barn. They were a little distracted. "We should get out of here." Said a blushing Claire. She led the way to the exit gate past the side of the barn, but to do so, they had to go around. Claire started to run, but something underneath her made a snap.