𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 - 𝘙𝘌𝘚𝘐𝘋𝘌𝘕𝘛 𝘌𝘝𝘐𝘓 2 𝘙𝘌𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌✓

𓆩*𓆪10. 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦

As the two made it to the landing of the third floor, they both stopped to catch their breath. Chloe held onto the railing and bent forward, touching her chest as she heaved. Leon was beside her, his hand placed on her upper back with his other gripping the railing beside her. 

They stood in silence for a few minutes. The silence was heavy. Like weights pushing down on their shoulders like it wanted to crush them. A lot of things wanted to crush them tonight. But, regardless of how difficult surviving was becoming, Chloe and Leon refused to stop. They were there to do their jobs until their very last breath.

"Chloe..." Leon started, breaking the silence. "Are you alright?"

Chloe nodded, rubbing her eyes and clearing her throat. "I'm fine. We knew what was supposed to happen. Just... uh... wasn't expecting to have come back in here."

"Right." He breathed. "If you have to stop and chill out for a-"

She laughed. "No. We can't just stop... We've gotten this far. Now let's keep moving."

He cleared his throat. "Right. Yeah, just making sure you were alright."

"I appreciate it. I do." She smiled softly, grabbing his hand. "Thank you." She stared at him for a few moments. Without another thought, she leaned up, tenderly pressing her lips to his cheek. Perhaps it was a more intimate gesture than she anticipated. But perhaps that's what she intended to convey.

Leon's eyes widened when he felt Chloe's lips against his skin. His cheeks reddened, and he silently thanked the lack of light for hiding it. He blinked a few times, watching as Chloe stepped back and gently released his hand.

"Well- that was... Uh... A way of saying thank you-" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Uhm- you're... you're welcome. I-I mean, I would be in the dark if I hadn't found you-" 

"So would I. We're in this together, Leon." She replied, "Now let's find the clock tower and get out of here. For good this time."

He nodded and raised his flashlight. The glow illuminated the dark hallway, guiding their way toward the innards of the building. "Lead the way, my tour guide."

"As if." She scoffed before following the narrow corridor down toward the rooms.

The two entered a room adjacent to one of the many narrow, labyrinth-style hallways, letting the wooden door swing open to reveal a large storage room. Old cardboard boxes and metal industrial shelves had dusty drapes thrown over them. Even without the outbreak, it clearly had remained untouched for quite some time. 

Leon went first, illuminating a path for them through the scattered boxes. Chloe followed behind, one hand holding the back of his bulletproof vest and the other aiming her gun all around.

A muffled growl came from behind a few shelves worth of decrepit items. Chloe aimed her weapon that way, only to have a cop-turned-zombie show up behind her. She turned and incapacitated the infected with a few rounds. 

She grimaced. "Never gets any easier."

"I second that," Leon muttered.

Suddenly, his flashlight caught the glint of a large, rusty gear sitting atop a few metal barrels. It had collected some dust,  but not nearly as much as the rest of the room. Someone must have placed it there not long before the outbreak began. 

She reached out and grabbed it, her eyes widening at its weight. She stumbled slightly, catching the gear with her other hand and holding it up. "Fuck... Guess we can't fit this in any fancy pockets..."

He thought for a moment. "Here- let me try and hook it to the shotgun strap. I don't mind carrying it on my back for a few." He said, "Give it to me."

Chloe handed the gear over. Leon reached back, unclasping the strap. He slid the gear on, the metal colliding with the shotgun's barrel to make an ugly noise. He groaned softly under the added weight as he reclasped the strap together.