𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 - 𝘙𝘌𝘚𝘐𝘋𝘌𝘕𝘛 𝘌𝘝𝘐𝘓 2 𝘙𝘌𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌✓

⬙17. 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨

Leon grasped the large lever and pulled it down. The red light switched to green, and the waste disposal doors creaked before pulling up slowly. The pair ducked under them to quickly make it to Ada's side.

Chloe clicked her flashlight on, quietly roving the beam of light over the garbage. Leon's eyes darted from side to side.

He looked around, "Ada?! Ada, where are you?!" He called for the other woman.

A voice suddenly came from a few feet away. "I'm over here!"

Chloe and Leon immediately made a beeline for the source of the voice. She jumped over a pile of rubber, her eyes widening when she saw Ada lying sideways. Her fishnets were torn, and a pool of blood surrounded a puncture wound. A huge metal shard was stuck in her leg. Deep.

Leon quickly rounded the corner, "Ada..." He breathed in relief, "I was getting worried there for a sec..."

Chloe huffed, "You should know better than to run off without backup." She scolded under her breath, kneeling down by her side to assess the wound.

Ada rolled her eyes. But she didn't have a rebuttal. Her expression twisted in agony, "I can't get it out." She murmured in defeat.

Leon frowned and shook his head.  "I don't know if I should, uh..."

"Just do it. I can't walk like this." She commanded.

He glanced at Chloe. "You're the professional here-"

"You should do it." She replied solemnly. "Gotta learn first aid on the job."

He sighed. "This isn't exactly what I pictured." He looked down at the shard before sighing and placing a hand on Ada's thigh to keep her steady. His other hand wrapped around the shard. "Okay... This is gonna hurt."

He suddenly ripped the shard clean out of the wound. Blood bubbled up to the surface, spilling out and staining her skin. Ada yelled in agony, closing her eyes with her lips pressed in a thin line. She groaned, not daring to look at the wound.

He quickly unrolled a gauze wrap out of one of his many pockets. He tore a piece off and laced it over the wound. It immediately stained red. "Hold on..."

Ada tried to refute. "I can do it myself-"

"Just... relax, okay?"

Chloe watched silently. She couldn't help but feel a pit in her stomach. Something felt off. She idly toyed with the hilt of her holstered pistol. But no matter where her mind went, it all circled back to the bad feeling.

Leon wrapped a medical bandage around the gauze to keep it in place. He glanced up at Chloe. "So... what do we do now?"

Ada hissed in pain, furrowing her brows and shaking her head. She finally opened her eyes, gazing at Leon. She didn't make an effort to look at Chloe.

"Just... get yourselves out of here. While you still can." She whispered.

Chloe narrowed her eyes, "I knew we shouldn't have come down here-"

Leon shot her a glare before turning his attention back to Ada. "We're not just going to leave you down here. Not like this."

Ada shook her head. "You don't understand. The situation's worse than I thought."

Leon let a small smile curl the corner of his lips. "You're not getting rid of me that easy." He assured. "You protected me. Us. Now it's our turn."

She let out a breathy chuckle. "Didn't realize we were keeping score..."

Chloe looked up at Leon. It was as if she was trying to get his attention, but his mind was elsewhere. She sighed and pushed herself up, shaking her injured arm idly to dull the aching pain shooting through it.