ꜰᴇᴀʀꜱ (ᴸᵉᵒⁿ ᴷᵉⁿⁿᵉᵈʸ ˣ ᴿᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ)

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 28

"Nikola, I've got it! Let's get out of here!" he shouted as more boulders crashed down around them. But before he could reach Nikola, she was already coming toward him. "Give me the sample!" she yelled over the din of falling rocks, scanning the area for any impending danger.

He felt a rush of conflicting emotions. He couldn't give her the sample. He had his own mission, and he needed that sample, or else... he absolutely needed it!
In the chaos of the crumbling environment, he struggled to find the right words.

Before he could articulate his thoughts amidst the crumbling environment, she persisted, her voice cutting through the tumult again, "Give it to me, for fucks sake, we need to get out of here!"

He hesitated.

"I can't!" he finally exclaimed, his frustration boiling over. "I can't give it to you!""Why not?!" she shouted in response to the crashing noises of the facility around her, which threatened to collapse, her voice raw with emotion. "That was the deal! You know I need it!"He shook his head, he knew that she was right, she needed this virus, but he didn't. Oh damnit.
"I can't! You don't understand!" Her eyes narrowed, her anger against his remorse. "Then make me understand!" she retorted, her voice a mixture of fury and desperation.

He met her gaze, his own eyes ablaze with determination. He just couldn't find the words to express what he wanted to say, so he just repeated himself again. "I can't give you the sample," The words were heavy on his tongue.

She recoiled, her madness transforming into disbelief and then into fury. Her anger flared anew, her grip hesitantly tightening on her weapon as she pointed it at him. "Hand me the sample. Now!" she declared, her voice steely.

He felt compelled to raise his weapon against her as well. "Just give it up already, Leon! Don't force me to do this!" she screamed, and he could see that it was difficult for her to keep her weapon steady aimed at him. He, too, felt uneasy with the barrel pointed at her; he never wanted to shoot her, never even entertained the thought of having to aim a gun at her, but here they were.

His hand began to tremble. He couldn't do it and let it sink again. Nikola's expression softened briefly, but then her gaze hardened once more; tortured. "You mean you're actually going to kill me..?", he asked slowly and looked her right in the eyes. "I mean just that," she replied, her tone unwavering but nervous. He felt a surge of anger and betrayal. "Well... go ahead," he challenged, his own voice laced with defiance.He thought he knew something. Something she knew too.
"I'll do this my own way...", she said with a pained expression and tightened her grip on the weapon again.

"You won't do it.", Leon said steadfastly with a fixed gaze and took a few steps closer to her. "You can't pull the trigger... You can't pull it because you like me.", he continued, looking her squarely in the eyes. He could see her flinch, growing uncertain. What he said seemed to hit home for her.
"You won't kill me... at least I don't think you can, Nikola," he retorted, his voice tinged with softness. He hoped to get to her this way.

Nikola's fury intensified at his words, her jaw clenched in frustration. She hated this. She hated that he was right—she did like him, far more than she was willing to admit. And as much as she despised that these feelings were getting in the way of her job, she couldn't bring herself to harm him.

She sighed in frustration, her hands trembling with anger as she grappled with the truth he had laid bare. The steely gaze in her eyes crumbled, and she lowered the weapon. She took a breath, about to take a step towards him to respond, but was interrupted.

Suddenly, a violent tremor reverberated through the facility, sending them both sprawling to their knees. Nikola's scream pierced the air as she slid perilously close to the edge of the platform. Without a second thought, Leon lunged forward, scrambling to reach her, his heart pounding in his chest. Just as she began to slip, he managed to grab hold of her, his grip precarious as they teetered on the brink. In the chaos, the sample slipped from his grasp, tumbling out of reach and disappearing into the abyss below.

"NO!" Nikola cried out, her voice laced with desperation and anguish. "The virus! It could have saved everything!" Tears welled in her eyes, her voice choked with grief. "I could have developed an antidote! I could have saved all those people. Damn it all to hell!", she screamed and tears started swelling in her eyes. "And I want to save you! Even if you can't save anyone else, atleast try to save yourself," Leon urged, his voice thick with emotion, his arms straining as he fought to pull her to safety. "I have to get another sample", she said barly audible because of the thundering stones.

"Attention: Self-destruct sequence initiated. Use the central elevator to evacuate immediately to the bottom level train platform," the computer woman's voice resonated loudly and distinctly amidst the rumbling of what felt like an earthquake below. "You hear that? Come on, let's get out of here," Leon called out once more, but Nikola continued to slip from his grasp.

"My superiors told me there's a train waiting at the platform where they instruct you to evacuate, take it, Leon, please," she said softly, looking at him with gentle eyes. "No, don't do this to me! I've never left your side, not now, not ever," he shouted at her. "Fight, damn it!"The tension in the air was palpable as the self-destruct countdown continued.
"Please take care of yourself, Leon. I'm sorry I was such a bad partner," she said quietly, her gaze softening as she looked at him one last time. "Nikola, don't even think about it," he cried out, his grip tightening around her, but she slipped from his grasp, leaving him clutching her notebook in his hand. As she fell, his heart shattered into a million pieces. He watched helplessly as she disappeared from view, his tears mingling with the dust and debris that filled the air. "NOO", he screamed as she feel deeper and deeper until she vanished into the darkness.

"Goodbye," she whispered as she felt herself falling deeper and depper into the abyss.

Leon's cries echoed through the chamber. "That's not happening right now. This can't be real," a few tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes, cascading into the abyss below. If Nikola were still here, they would be streaming down her face. If she were still hanging below him, his tears would drip down on her face. If Nikola were still here...

He gritted his teeth and pounded his fist beside him on the platform. "7 minutes until Destruction," the woman's voice announced, and Leon tried to gather himself with all his strength. With a heavy heart, he got up and stepped into the elevator, his mind consumed by grief and regret.

As the countdown to self-destruction echoed through the facility, he thought of all they had endured, all they had sacrificed, for nothing. And he thought of how much he had cared for her, and now it was all gone. All gone, slipped through his fingers as if the universe had decided to snatch it away. He pounded angrily against the elevator doors as they descended, furious at his own inability to save Nikola.

Then his gaze fell on her notebook that Nikola had handed to him right before she fell. He would read all the information she wrote down, put it in a document and send it to her Agency. If he ever will find out where she worked really.

"To another, this time with permission," he sighed numb, wiping away a tear.