𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞'𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞| ᴀ ʟᴇᴏɴ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ

1. Arriving At Grimhurst

Grimhurst is the embodiment of a stereotypical horror movie town. This is the type of place Michael Myers, Leatherface and Jason Vorhees spend their weekends. I watch the derelict buildings as Leon drives slowly. Ever since we passed the broken sign saying 'Welcome to Grimhur-t" I could just feel like this place gives off bad energy. If there's something I've actually paid attention to in my few years of being an agent, it's to always trust my instincts, and they're currently yelling at me to run far away and never come back. I push the fear down, setting on a brave face as I look to Leon, who's focused on driving, avoiding the numerous potholes and large weeds tangling the roads. 

"So, think we'll be welcomed here?" I ask Leon, sounding much more cheerful than I feel. He looks as uneasy as I feel, briefly darting his eyes to the buildings either side of the road. He shakes his head, licking his lips before replying. 

"I'm not even sure there's anyone here to greet us." He mumbles, resting a hand on my thigh.

At least he's playful with me, that's a good sign. One I've come to understand is a blessing, it's when he's not joking that I have to worry. I rest my head against the window, looking out suspiciously at the nearest building, which I think is a hardware store. A brief movement captures my attention, causing me to sit up straighter. Leon notices and slows the car as my head turns back. There in the upstairs window, a figure shuffles past. I squint, a surge of hope filling me that maybe it's one of the missing people, but then I vaguely see the bloody handprint marking the glass. I shudder, now glad yet disappointed that I was right; this place isn't good. Leon keeps driving through the town, the horror now behind us. 

"Are you sure we packed enough supplies? I get the feeling this trip won't be a few hours." I uneasily ask Leon, who sneaks a peek at me. His brows furrow as he takes a quiet inhale, but then it's like something shutters his expression, as if this whole thing is giving him some bad flashbacks. His jaw clenches as his knuckles turn white from how hard he's gripping the steering wheel.

"I know what I'm doing, I've been doing this longer than you have." He snaps, not raising his voice but his tone is cold. I almost flinch at the sudden change, but then I try to empathise with him, he must've been in the same situation when heading to the village in Spain, no wonder he's literally forcing himself to keep going and not turn the car around and turn tail. Still, trauma aside, it still hurts me, it almost makes me feel inadequate, like just because he's survived more horrors it means he's automatically better than me, of course it kind of proves something, but at the same time my skills shouldn't equate to how many times I've skipped death. 

We soon approach the town centre, which has a beautiful water fountain made out of a pale stone, but it's filthy and the water is practically black. Leon stops the car, turning it off as we both just sit, not wanting to get out and begin the nightmare. Grey clouds begin to hide the sun, casting a dim glow on everything, it looks like a storm is approaching and I definitely do not want to be here when the rain batters this godforsaken town. "I guess we should stop lingering and-" I begin, grabbing the door handle, but Leon suddenly reaches out and grabs my arm, but I'm still touchy from earlier, and as if in some form to prove myself, I get out of the car first. Leon curses, following my lead as I shut the door quietly and spin in a slow circle, already shivering at the rapidly dropping temperature. "Where do we look first?" 

Leon's eyes narrow as he looks ahead, then he starts forwards. I sigh, hand on my gun that's strapped to my hip as I follow to catch up. We walk for a while in a straight path, following the never-ending street that seems to be a carbon copy of the one we just drove through, it's like a mirror was invisibly placed at the water fountain. Our footsteps are loud against the silence, it's almost eerie how deathly silent it is, aside from the howling of the breeze. I swallow against a dry mouth, feeling the hairs on my neck prick up, like my body is telling me there's danger nearby. "Leon, I don't like this." I whisper, walking faster until I'm practically at his heels. All of a sudden he stops, head swivelling to the left, where there a dark alleyway. I freeze, already reaching for my gun, but then Leon gives me a subtle shake of the head, then he inches closer to the danger. 

I follow, then breaking the silence is the inhumanly moan of a zombie. It's a sound Leon and I know off by heart from our years of fighting B.O.W.s and other ghastly creatures. Seconds later the zombie rounds the corner, arms outstretched towards us and its jaw dislocated, a chunk of rotten flesh hangs from between its teeth, and I'm not sure if I want to know who that was. "Well shit, I didn't expect to see those things here." I say out loud. Leon's shoulders stiffen as he focuses on it, losing himself for a second, then his arm reaches out, pushing me back as I once again go to grab my gun, ready and willing to put down the undead. 

"Fucking zombies." Leon growls, turning his back to it, then he grabs my arm and pulls me away from the approaching zombie. 

"But-"

"It's not worth it. It's one of the locals anyway, and I...Fuck." Leon painfully says, dragging me back the way we came, but now the groan of the undead fills the previous silence. I pull away from his grip, hating how protective he gets when he panics, it's just another repercussion of his mission in Spain, one that I let slide.

When we finally can spot the car again, our faith of getting out of here disappears. A flock of the undead surrounds it, clawing at it as if trying to get inside and devour whoever's scent they can smell. I skid to a stop, hating the way my breath comes fast. I've been on missions similar to this before, and I've dealt with my fair share of the undead, but something about seeing your only means of escape be barricaded from you can stir up a panic. This time I pull out my gun without hesitation, but Leon steps in front of me, earning him a noise of annoyance from me. "What are you doing?! We need to get back, but we can't exactly ask them to move!" 

Leon gives me a brief pointed look, then shakes his head. "It's not worth wasting the ammo, let's find somewhere to hold out and investigate until they clear again."

Oh yeah, the mission. 

I look back at the group of zombies still determined to mess up the car with their bloody fingers and decaying flesh, then I nod to Leon. "Okay, lead the way then." I mumble, waving out a hand as he starts for a large gap between some buildings.