𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝 || Leon Kennedy (re4)

i.iv - STRANGER

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-–

You'd lost track of time completely.

Your injuries felt less sore, but you were still unbelievably tired. Sleep was the only thing on your mind now, but you knew you wouldn't get it anytime soon.

Leon hadn't talked much. He offered to take you to the nearest hospital, or inn, and pay for it. So you could get proper sleep and care. But you refused. This led to the dilemma you currently faced. He didn't want to leave you behind, even if you insisted that everything was alright, and you'd manage. So, he figured, if you tagged along, it would increase your chances of survival (as well as his own), and his chances of finding his target.

You'd been walking for what felt like an eternity. But you refused to stop and slow Leon down. Villagers still managed to find and try to hunt you. But thankfully, you'd managed to get out unscathed and away from them. This cycle seemed impossible to break, your mind going back to the loud chime that you wanted to forget all about.

Still tired and wary, you killed with ease. Even Leon was surprised you were still going. After being wounded, losing so much blood, and somehow taking down enemies left and right, you were still standing. He was impressed, to say the least. Though he soon didn't have the energy to bat an eye, working on determination and now fading adrenaline.

You learned why Leon was here. Finally, he didn't have much say in your finding out. You overheard a conversation through his earpiece, with someone he referred to as 'roost.' She sounded nice, cracking jokes every now and then. That's when your questions got the better of him, and there wasn't much he could do against you finding out. Eventually, you would have to.

Ashley Graham, the U.S. president's daughter was abducted by a cult or something. She was last seen in rural Spain, being held captive. You connected the possible dots in your mind. Were these the same people who held you captive for those three long years? Had they claimed yet another poor soul? You didn't dare ask him. You didn't dare spill more than you needed.

The picture Leon showed you was of a young blonde woman. She looked so innocent, and happy, but if your suspicions prove to be correct, that would no longer be the case. She had a lovely smile, but you feared that smile was long gone, with her decomposing corpse.

"This Ashley, do you know her personally?" You hadn't asked many questions, and these seemed imperative. "No, not exactly." He replied shortly, turning back around to glance at you before walking ahead, his pace seemingly quickening. He shook it off like it was nothing.

You made it a point to either stop asking about Ashley right now or about his personal life.

Everything was smooth sailing for a bit until your eyes landed on another house you and Leon would have to search. So you entered reluctantly. It already gave you an unsettling feeling, despite ransacking many houses already. Leon picked up on that nervousness, so he slowed his pace and fell into walking beside you. "Hey, it's fine, nothings wrong here." He tried to calm you down, but even he knew that his attempts would be to no avail.

With one shot to a guy's head, who had been lurking around, he fell to the ground. Leon removed two wooden boards from the floor, revealing a door. A door that was embedded in the floorboards. Nothing good comes out of basements, you deduced. Most things you remember about your life before captivity was the movies you'd watch with your...friends...? And some of them had a horror element set in the basements. Usually, there was a killer or something down there, but Leon and you could most likely take them. Hopefully.

Leon went down first and helped you down the rickety latter. As you descended into the basement, everything felt eerily off. He was always a step ahead of you, looking out cautiously with his gun constantly raised. Until you laid eyes on a bag that was most definitely containing a person. Dead or alive? You had no idea.

"Leon." You said suddenly, walking over to the bag. Now you knew it was alive. The person inside was squirming against the ropes that bound them. The sound of your voice captured his attention.

Without another thought, you handed Leon your flashlight. He quickly grabbed it since it almost fell out of your hands. He kept it steady so you could see what you were doing. Untying the top rope, and moving the bag off of the person's head...

You were shocked to see a very much alive, very much exasperated-looking man.

He had duct tape over his mouth. You took it off with as little force and pain as you could. Leon however, desperately wanted to rip it off and determine if this guy was a threat.

The stranger took a breath before sending you the only smile he could muster. "Seems like you really wanted to talk." Leon was already being rude and abrasive. You cut him a sharp glare before turning back to the stranger. "How observant señor. Now, say—do you have a smoke?" He directed the question at either of you. "You know, those things will kill you," Leon warned, you rolled your eyes and let a smile tug at your lips before focusing back onto the captured stranger.

"Ok well, maybe just untie me then?" The stranger still locked eyes with Leon. You could tell your partner was very much hesitant about it. The stranger turned on his side before his eyes widened in fear, making your brows furrow in confusion before you saw the cause.

"¡Joder! Not this guy." This man seemed terrified. You and Leon quickly looked back at a very tall-looking man. He was sickly pale, already looking half-dead. A long greying beard, and a large hat. He had a long, black leather coat that looked worn. A necklace with a pendant you couldn't make out right now. That was the least of your concern, your hand tightening in a fist before you could reach for your blade. A glance at Leon before you moved in front of the stranger to block him from the 'assailants' veiw.

"Who are you?!" Leon demanded, standing up.

You stayed knelt on the ground with the stranger for the time being.

"Ok stop right there!" Leon raised his gun, and flashlight, getting on the defensive while staring down the man.

It all happened in a flash.

The large man grabbed Leon's neck, holding him up, before throwing him to the other side of the room. He crashed through a wall, breaking so many bricks and stones. "Leon!" You shouted, standing up for a moment. "Wait right here, I promise I'll get you untied, yeah?" You said to the stranger, stomping your way over to the sickly-looking stranger. You unsheathed your knife from your boot and stabbed the man in the lower back, as far up as you could reach. He stopped his path from walking over to Leon and turned around to face you.

"Don't fucking touch him, you ugly bastard." You warned, twisting around the blade in his flesh. He waved you off, and quite literally hit you hard enough to send you flying.

You tried to stand back up, but you couldn't harness any energy to get back on your feet.

You felt powerless.

The familiar feeling sending dread through you.