Stalemate | LEON S. KENNEDY

7 - The Lord

"All right, Ashley," you turned to her. She was still gripping your hand, but you didn't complain. "Luis says if —"

"I got it," she replied. "Guess we better get going?"

Leon gave you both a nod, before heading for the courtyard. You broke as many barrels as you could and threw open chests, locationing handgun ammo, resources, gunpowder and more.

"I have some new goods that might interest you."

"Oh, Shopkeeper!" You let out a big sigh of relief, dashing towards the man. "Thank God you're okay!"

"Take more than Saddler's lackies to put me down, love."

<•>

You finished up with the Shopkeeper, waving goodbye and then meeting Ashley and Leon outside. They were whispering to each other. When you joined them, they both grew quiet. You raised a brow, before nodding to Leon.

"Watcha talkin' about?" You questioned, crossing your arms.

"Raccoon City," Ashley blurted, and though it was clearly a lie, you let it slide.

You all walked up a stone staircase, girls following Leon's lead. He came up to an edge, where he pulled his binocs outs.

"Huh. Courtyards gotta be through that gate," Leon muttered. "Don't think our hosts are gonna roll out the red carpet — What is that? I'm guessing it's not for decoration..."

"Over there," you pointed to a ledge, and Leon turned to look at it.

"Crossbows, huh. Something tells me they don't want to be friends," Leon tucked the binoculars away. "Things just keep getting better."

The three of you continued along the staircase, down the stone platform, and then down another staircase. As you crept down, Ashley shrieked as you forced her into a crouching position.

"What are they —"

"Shh. Keep your voice down," Leon ordered.

You went around the mob of Ganados, through another room that led to a dimly lit one. Inside, a man was hunched at an alter, screaming in pain. You watched as he became one of the twisty bastards, but only... bigger.

Leon took it down with a few shots, and you shrugged at him. You pulled a boot knife off the corpse, and then moved to exit the room. You walked past where Ganados had been not moments before, and down the dimly lit hallway, breaking crates and barrels along the way.

Eventually, the pathway opened back into the outside, and you were spotted by a sort of knight. He screamed at you in Spanish, and you groaned. With nowhere for Ashley to hide, you simply sighed, and pulling your handgun from its holster, shooting him down. You and Leon worked to kill the knights from the perch as you made your way forward, eventually coming up on a rounded staircase. The small building next to you suddenly crumbled under a flaming ball. They had a fucking calapult.

"No way!" Ashley screamed as you simply began to ran.

"I guess this is their idea of a warm welcome!" Leon shrugged, running towards cover.

You killed Ganados as you came upon them, fire raining down from above. You finally made it to a big pair of doors, and Leon grunted.

"Damn! It's locked. Looks like we'll have to get creative," he turned back around, jogging away.

You followed him through the maze of crumbling walls, avoiding the fireballs as they came. Finally, you spotted some barrels of gas, and began to shoot at them. Leon caught on, causing explosions where you could. You came to a drop off, yanking Ashley down with you. And then you saw your saving grace. A cannon. You broke the weight which held it down, before rushing back up. Leon didn't seem to mind that you were now leading the party, following behind with Ashley in toe. He practically dragged her along. When you did arrive back on the platform with the cannon, you positioned yourself behind it while Leon covered you.