A Sickly Sweet Reverie (Leon Kennedy X OC) [BOOK 3]

Chapter 28: Lovers Scorned

Light twinkled from the city, punctuated by the tangerine glow of distant flames and clouds of smoke. I scanned the small monolith constructed in the center of the quad, the lines chipped into the rock shooting out in straight lines to form a design that could only be properly viewed from high up.

No one had been down below when we arrived. I prayed it was because they'd been evacuated, because the alternative was too hard to handle.

The elevator hummed at my feet as my eyes flicked up to scan the horizon before settling on my own reflection. Battered, broken, and useless. How many people died in my place tonight?

That soldier threw himself at that zombie. I should have been stronger, enough to have thrown the pilot off myself.

The soldier in the department store refused my help. I could have pressed the matter–should have pressed the matter, or just hauled his ass into motion.

The dogtags in my pocket are bitterly cold, even through the fabric of my pants.

Smoke rose from the amphitheater below, the fires slowly chewing their way up through the lower floors. The Quad Towers will fall if the flame is left to fester. The whole city would follow if the BSAA and other organizations couldn't get this under control soon.

Something beyond the elevator doors at my back groaned, giving me only enough time to look over my shoulder before scraping metal thundered and a support beam shot clean through the elevator doors. The force swung us away from the elevator's predetermined route and vaulted us into the open air, dangling by the cables alone.

Glass exploded, sending bits scattering across the floor like marbles before they poured out the now open doors. Momentum teetered back, throwing us back toward the building. The elevator collided with the building and elicited a thunderous crack, the tremor rocking the entire unit and making us grab hold of the handrails to avoid being thrown out. We swung out again.

I looked at Leon, the same plan already plastered onto his face. Helena lingered for only a second as the pendulum continued, waiting for the exact moment where she released the handrail and jumped toward the building. Leon followed, with me close behind.

I slammed into the roof of the adjacent elevator, the unit bobbing slightly under the sudden weight. A groan and snap sounded behind us, and I looked back to see the elevator we'd just jumped from snap away from its chord and plummet to the amphitheater below.

Three seconds was all it took before the impact echoed and carried off the tower walls.

Leon dragged me to my feet, the wind sending smoke riddled air into my face as we turned toward the steel-weaved rope holding the elevator.

"Climb," Leon ordered, as my stomach twisted low in my gut. Maybe it was the altitude, or the thick smog entering my lungs, but my fingers were beginning to tremble as I stared down at the cracked elevator hundreds of yards beneath us. Helena didn't hesitate, grabbing hold of the thick cords of metal rope as she began climbing.

Leon grabbed my elbow, motioning for me to go next, but I shook my head, unable to dislodge my tongue from the roof of my mouth.

"Hurry!" He said, pushing me closer.

"Just go! It'll take me longer," I barked, pushing him toward the rope. My hands were still swollen and sore from the soldier, and the trembling wouldn't make it any easier.

He didn't have time to argue with my command as the elevator jolted again. He wrapped his hands around the rope, climbing a few feet up before turning and extending a hand toward me. I took it, letting him support my first few feet of ascent.