A Twisted Fantasy (Leon Kennedy X OC) [BOOK 2]

Chapter 9: Good grief

Mendez was on the ground, his elongated fingernails clawing at the floor as he tried and failed to free him from the thick support beam crushing his torso. He let out a weak snarl as he looked at me, so much hatred nestled within his gaze even as the light in them began to dim.

As I watched as his movements grew sluggish, I couldn't help but think of Saddler, about his own piercing gaze. What the hell had he done to these people? Mendez's working eye glazed over as a final breath wisped past his lips, making his head slump to the floor.

Leon jumped from the loft, landing a few feet away from me.

"That's going in my report," He huffed, dusting his gloves off in front of him.

"Coulda come a few seconds earlier," I laughed, taking the hand Leon offered me to haul me to my feet, but I won't hold it against you."

The back of the hayloft collapsed, sending a spray of embers and more smoke into the already thick air.

"Get the eye, I'll find a way out," Leon said, turning toward the door.

I stepped toward Mendez's still body, the orange pus forming a thick puddle around his open midsection. As I knelt down next to his head, the eyeball slipped out of the socket, landing in the orange goo.

"Yuck."

I used two fingers to pick up the eyeball, wiping the pus off on the floor before slipping it into my pocket. Even with how disgusting this is, I still can't say its the worst thing I've been forced to handle.

Another portion of the ceiling collapsed a few feet ahead of me, sending a burst of thick smoke into my eyes. I fell back onto my butt, rubbing at my stinging eyes as they began to water.

The barn was sending off a series of crackling groaning noises from all directions.

I felt Leon's hand under my arm, helping me rise to my feet again. His hand guided me as I blinked, trying to dispel my blurred vision. I could make out a stark contrast from the orange and red flames that may be a hole in the wall next to the main barn door.

Leon's breath tickled my ear as he leaned in close, "Go"

I followed his instruction, diving through the small opening into the cool night air. I flipped onto my back, blinking away my blurred vision and letting the cool fall air fill my lungs. I was suddenly thankful for the moisture still in the air and the brisk temperature.

Leon dove through the hole, landing on a knee next to me as my vision finally began to clear.

"Oh shit!" he blurted, slapping down a small ember catching on his sleeve and eating at his shirt. A small blackened hole was singed through the fabric, showing the skin of his arm as he pulled away.

He sighed and looked at me through lowered brows, the same expression he'd sported when his jacket disappeared into the fog. I waited a moment before bursting into laughter.

He shook his head, but let a small smirk creep onto his lips. "You got the eye right?"

I nodded through the laughter.

"Good, I didn't lose my favorite jacket and singe my shirt for nothing."

"Better watch out, you're running out of articles of clothing to ruin," I giggled, leaning up on an elbow.

"Uh huh," He said with a half-hearted smirk.

The look of his smile washed over me. One simple pull of his lip and rise in his cheek lit up his entire face. It was contagious, dragging the same smile from me. It was easy to see the rookie cop from all those years ago when he looked like this, like somehow that smile reversed time and put me right back in it.