𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 - 𝘙𝘌𝘚𝘐𝘋𝘌𝘕𝘛 𝘌𝘝𝘐𝘓 2 𝘙𝘌𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌✓

≛ 09. 𝘯𝘰𝘵-𝘴𝘰-𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘤 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵

"What the hell?" 

Chloe and Leon had opened the door he had managed to unlock. It revealed a steep staircase up to the ground level. Chloe stared at it in perplexion, shaking her head. 

"No way this leads back to the station, right?" She asked, looking over at him.

"Oh no, it does..." Leon replied, shining his flashlight up the steps before taking the lead.

Once they reached the stairs' landing, they were in a small office on the far east side. It looked to be an extension of the inaccessible break room. A dim, flickering light cast the duo's shadows across the tiled floor. 

"I thought there was no way back..." Chloe murmured. "When they say they're giving you a tour of the place, they don't show you shit... Why am I figuring all this out now?

Leon shrugged, pushing open another wooden door and shining his flashlight in. "I'm surprised a S.T.A.R.S agent doesn't know their way around." He teased.

"Shut up. I've only been on the job five months..." 

He walked into a rare well-lit room. A pair of old bunk beds sat on either side of the small space, with a well-used sink and dirty mirror on the other side. He bent down, picking up a small fuse. He frowned. "Looks important..."

Meanwhile, Chloe walked down the hallway. She was stopped by a sheet metal door with chipped red writing 'DO NOT OBSTRUCT'. A fuse box with only one working fuse hung on the wall beside the door. "Shit."

Leon soon joined her, holding the golden ticket to open the door. "Here." He tossed it to her. 

She caught it and stuck in it the fuse book. The red light flickered green, and the sheet door slowly started sliding up. On the other side was the Watchman's room, and a torn-in-half zombie in an RPD outfit was lying on the ground. His entrails were sprawled on the ground behind him. His arms showed signs of struggle.

"Elliot..." Leon muttered. "I tried pulling him out before-"

"What?" Chloe asked, "You knew him?"

"For about a minute, yeah..." He sighed. "He gave me that book that told us to use the goddess statue to escape."

She frowned. "Looks like he died a hero, then."

The corpse suddenly moved. Elliot lifted his head, his eyes blank and his jaw hanging off his head like a loose screw. He growled, crawling forward and extending his cold, bloodied arms toward the two. Chloe's eyes widened. "Or he didn't die at all."

She aimed her gun at the officer, shooting him three times. Elliot's head and torso hit the ground with a soft thump. "Alright... Down he goes."

Leon winced and shook his head. "Mh..." 

Chloe lowered her gun and moved past the body carefully. She tried not to look at the undead, half-rotten face staring at the ceiling. Leon clicked his flashlight on, shining it down the hallway. It was eerily quiet. Perhaps they had killed all the zombies before? Or they were waiting to ambush the two somewhere else...

"The clock tower is on the third floor. If we want to reach the stairwell, we'll have to cross the main hall." She explained.

But the thought of crossing the main hall, where they had left Marvin two hours prior, sent shivers down her spine. If she had to see - or even kill - Marvin, she would never forgive herself. And she thought Leon would feel the same way.

The two traversed the RPD hallways quietly until the main hall's amber light shone down the corridor. Chloe lowered her flashlight slowly and gave a nervous look to Leon. But he kept pressing forward.