ꜰᴇᴀʀꜱ (ᴸᵉᵒⁿ ᴷᵉⁿⁿᵉᵈʸ ˣ ᴿᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ)

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 24

Their steps echoed menacingly in the room full of cells where Nikola had discovered the keycard about an hour ago. "Do you have the electronic parts?" she asked, reaching her hand back without looking. Leon rummaged briefly in his hip pouch and then handed them to Nikola. "I'm curious to see how this will work," she whispered, concentrating, and leaned on the table in front of the panel.

With sharp eyes, she inserted the missing parts into the panel and critically observed the situation. "I think you have to turn the parts so that they conduct the current," Leon suggested, shuffling over to her and also leaning on the table. Then she recognized it. He was right. She leaned even closer and began to carefully turn the parts. "Try this," Leon interjected and turned another one. "Look, the current is already flowing there," he pointed out, indicating the yellow-glowing wires. They continued to try to find the right order. Nikola took a step back and watched closly. "And if you turn that one next," Leon asked. Nikola did as instructed.

There was a crackle. Then a soft beep sounded, and the door behind them snapped open. Startled, they both turned around and stared into the dark corridor for a while. Slowly they started moving again.

"After you," Leon replied, gesturing with his hands. "How sweet of you," she replied and went through the door that had just opened. "You know me"
The stench of a decaying body was unavoidable and pounded in her head. She hesitantly held her nose and snatched the card from the poor man's neck. As she was about to go back, she noticed a cassette recorder and a note. She put the cassette recorder in her bag and read the note:

The station's swarming with monsters.
Even here, I can hear their cries.
But it's not the zombies I'm afraid of.

Codename: Tyrant
The ultimate Bioweapon...

Nikola already knew everything she read. She knew about Umbrella's Tyrant Project.
A mutated strain from the Progenitor Virus called T-Virus.
They're creating intelligent BOW's. They're trying to manufacture and sell whole armies with guys like that blue bastard that almost killed her before.

And it seems he got... caught too. She looked at that guy once again.

"Are you coming?" Leon asked, with a questioning look on his face in the entrance door. Nikola stuffed the note into her other pants pocket and ran out of the cell. An unpleasant feeling crept over her. "Let's get out of here," he said, and they ran. Suddenly, a screeching noise, almost like sirens, sounded, and the cell doors opened.

"Damn it, Leon, run!" Nikola shouted and drew her weapon. They ran, and as they fended off the few zombies directly in the hallway, they were met with a sight of horror. The entire passage was blocked with zombies which were slowly crawling out of their cells.

They wouldn't make it through alive.

"Then we'll just have to fight our way through," Nikola whispered and already aimed at the nearest zombie. Suddenly, those steps sounded again, the steps of death. The steps of Umbrella's creation. "That damn blue bastard," she screamed, looking at Leon with fearful eyes. "Go here," he shouted and pushed a lever to their left. The previously locked gate slowly lifted, and Nikola and Leon slid under the gate as soon as the opportunity presented itself. "Run past him and get out," Leon gasped as they ran. She only nodded, and they ran out on the other side, pushing aside a few zombies and pushing open the door to the garage.

Fresh air greeted Nikola, and she wished for nothing more than to feel the cool night air on her skin, to see the stars and the moon.
Yes, she didn't want to be too optimistic, but to see the sun rise again, that would be great. Even though it seemed unthinkable that the sun would rise again after such a night.

⋆｡°✩

"Oh my god, we made it—" began Leon happily, but suddenly the wall next to him collapsed, the giant Tyrant broke out of the wall and grabbed him by the throat. The protruding wall components hit Nikola and threw her back. Leon gurgled and wheezed for air, but the Tyrant didn't seem to have any intention of letting him go. Nikola lay on her side, groaning in pain from the sudden impact. Her vision kept fading in and out, and her body wouldn't obey her. She could see out of the corner of her eye that Leon was being strangled to death by that damn thing.

Adrenaline slowly but surely took hold of her, and she struggled to her feet. Slowly, she made her way to an open vehicle and sat in the driver's seat. "This is it, finally," she whispered as she turned the ignition key. The engine groaned briefly but reluctantly sprang to life. She released the handbrake, pressed the clutch, shifted into a low gear, and then slammed down on the gas pedal with all her might. The engine roared, and the vehicle shot forward towards the mutant. Then there was a crash, and steam rose. Nikola saw Leon lying on the ground and slipped out of the seat. She grabbed him, who was just starting to get up, and supported him with all her might.

"Quick, let's get out of here, come on, hurry," she said urgently, almost pulling Leon away from the smoking vehicle. The mutant seemed to be trying to push the car away. Then what Nikola had predicted in her mind happened. There was a huge explosion, and the force made her now short hair fly as much as it could. Leon also held his hand up to his face and waited briefly. Then it was quiet.

Finally quiet.

⋆｡°✩

As the smoke cleared and the echoes of the explosion faded into the distance, Nikola and Leon found themselves standing amidst the aftermath of their battle with this stupid ass Tyrant. They both took a moment to catch their breath, the tension slowly dissipating with the smoke dissipating from the huge explosion.

"Looks like we finally got rid of the big blue bastard," remarked Nikola as she surveyed the scene. Leon chuckled weakly, still trying to shake off the adrenaline coursing through his veins. "Yeah, thanks to you," he said, turning to face her with a grateful smile. "I owe you one. You saved my ass" Nikola waved off his gratitude dismissively, a playful glint in her eyes. "Oh, don't mention it," she quipped, a smirk playing on her lips. "I just couldn't let you die on me. Who else would I have to argue with?"

Leon laughed, the tension of the moment easing as they shared a brief moment of levity. "I guess you're stuck with me, then," he replied, his tone light but sincere. Nikola raised an eyebrow, a teasing grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Lucky me," she said.

They fell into a comfortable silence, the weight of their fear slowly lifting as they processed what had just happened. Despite the chaos and danger they had faced, there was a sense of camaraderie between them, a shared understanding born from their shared struggle."Hey.." Leon started after a moment, breaking the silence. "Maybe you Germans aren't so bad after all." Nikola chuckled briefly, rolling her eyes in mock disbelief. "High praise indeed, coming from you," she teased. "But I'll take it."And with that, they turned and walked away from the wreckage, the night air feeling a little lighter now that the threat of the Tyrant was finally behind them.