project: eden | leon kennedy

▪︎ Chapter 8 ▪︎

Thea have been in the NEST before, but only two times. The first time when her father showed her around the whole facility, him being the chief security. The second time was when it was really late at night and she hadn't heard from her mother in two days so she decided to check up on her in the lab.

Of course, her mother was nose-deep in developing a new type of living form: she was always obsessed with nature and flowers. So, her mother wanted to develop a new kind of plant that got its own section on the East Side. The Greenhouse was huge, filled with sensors and a unique system that could eject the new samples her mother would work on. Thea was fascinated by her mother's work, and Clara took great pride in her work. Her daughter would stare wide-eyed and her jaw hanging open in fascination as she stared at the plants through the big window from the observation room.

Right now, Thea was standing right in that spot where she stood the first time. Only now she didn't stare at the plants with wonder but with fear and dread. The plants grew out of their way, like they had a mind on their own and she would swear she saw them move. And it didn't help that there was a worker in a hazmat suit pinned against the thick plexy, blood dripping down alongside the cracked window.

A vine was piercing through their chest. There was nothing they could do to save them.

"This is insane," Leon breathed next to her, his eyes scanning the plants she loved so much. But their image now only grew distress inside her, and Thea didn't know how to fight it.

There wasn't any proof that her mother would be an evil scientist like Annette seemed to be, but there was evidence now. And it was right in front of them. And her work had at least one victim at this point; probably more judging by the state of the lab.

"This was my favorite place inside here," Thea muttered, unable to take her eyes off the vines. She watched as a small vine twisted around a larger and thicker one, clinging to it like a child would to its mother. It made her skin crawl. She felt Leon's gaze weigh down on her.

"Who would do this?"

"My mother," Thea gulped, forcing her eyes off the plants and looking around the room.

"What?" Leon's voice broke at the end, feeling his heart break a little. He tried to believe so hard she had no business with any of this, going against what Ada had told him. But the more they got to know about Umbrella, Thea seemed to get more tangled in the middle of it.

"Remember when Ada talked about two scientists who developed the virus that caused all of this? The G-Virus?" Thea ran her fingers along the control panels, the memory of seeing her mother work in here almost suffocating her. "There was Annette Birkin and another woman. Clara Keller."

"Keller? As in...?" Leon furrowed his eyebrows, following after the girl. She could practically hear the gears turning in his head as he stared at her like he couldn't believe what he just heard. Thea rolled her eyes.

"You're lucky you're pretty," Thea muttered under her breath, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. He just looked more confused. "The other scientist, Clara. She's my mother. And this-" she gestured towards the plants, Leon's eyes following her hand and swallowing. ", is what she was working on for years now."

She looked back up at Leon, who seemingly struggled a little to process everything. She couldn't blame him, this must be a lot. Hell, it was a lot for even her. Their traumatized brain struggled to get more information in.

"We have to destroy it," Thea said softly, Leon slowly turned his head towards her, but his eyes still remained on the plants. Then he looked at the person pinned against the glass, a Senior Staff chip that could upgrade the wristband Ada had given them. "We'll have to make a solution to kill these things, but I'll need your help."