𝓛𝓮𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓮𝓭𝔂| ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ 4

Can't Let the Past Resurface

They want you there to save a life
But only if you're dressed in what they like

You sin for fun and fall away
You're just a pawn
Aren't you lucky you're a bleeder

-Bleeders by Black Veil Brides

I stare at the hulking tank before us, the Jurassic-like creature still slumbers within, still waiting to be freed so it can unleash pure carnage and chaos on innocent lives. I glare at the 'Umbrella' logo, hands shaking as I clench my fists and shake my head. "After everything we've done, and the government still allows Umbrella to do this." I say as my voice trembles with anger. Leon pinches his lips beside me, blue eyes shadowed by the dim light illuminating the lab and the bubbling tank in front of us. I know he's just as frustrated as I am, for years we've been working for the government, hiding Umbrella's dirty secrets whilst immediately chasing after the next one. It's been a never-ending cycle of blackmail and wearing down our souls, and for what? The government are nowhere near shutting down Umbrella, to be honest I suspect they actually fund the failing experiments, only to profit from the aftermath. "What are we doing?" I whisper, licking my lips as I approach the tank. I press my palm to the cool glass, closing my eyes as Leon exhales behind me. 

"Our job." Leon replies, pulling out the charges to detonate the tank as well as the lab. "We can't let this thing escape, you know that. If any of this gets out to the public, it'll cause worldwide panic. Nobody will have any faith in the people who run this country." His voice doesn't waver, he very well might be pissed about this too, but Leon's trustworthy and loyal. He knows his place. 

I stay silent. I open my eyes once more to stare into the tank, images of panic and disarray flicker through my mind, as well as the future of a world without Umbrella. A world without the government that seems to keep letting them create nightmares and dangle them in front of us whilst laughing at our attempt to stop them. How much more do we have to fight until it's over? Are we even pointing our weapons at the right people? The idea shocks me to my core, I flinch as Leon's hand reaches out and rests on my shoulder, as if giving me some kind of reassurance. I swallow deeply, shrugging him off as Leon's blonde brows knit together. "Maybe nobody should have any faith in the people who run this country," I whisper, "our job is to fight the assholes who make these B.O.W.s and ensure nobody finds out about them. Why do we always have to hide them? What's the difference between this and a pandemic?" I gesture to the tank, now gazing up at it with a newfound wonder. "Everybody knows the names of people who've done wrong in the history books, is this any different?" 

Leon's breath stills for a second as my words sink in, but then he grips my shoulders, turning me as he gently shakes some sense into me. Leon bends down to meet my eyes, a look of worry crossing his features "This is different. This isn't something people can handle, it'd be nothing but panic and death if this thing got out, yet alone the rest of the incidents we've handled." 

I scoff, arching a brow at Leon's look of confused concern. "But this isn't right. People deserve to know about the lives that have been lost due to the government. Don't the lives lost mean anything? Those poor cops in Raccoon City. Operation Javier. The once peaceful village in Spain." I cross off the hidden incidents like bingo numbers, Leon's eyes flash with pain at the reminders of the wrongdoings and how much he's suffered trying to do the right thing. It was a low blow for me to use his traumas against him, but for a split second Leon seems to understand, but then Leon stands straighter, grabbing the explosive charges as he resumes the mission. 

"Those lives mean more than you could ever know," Leon sadly murmurs, "but we can't let the past resurface. We can only keep moving forward and focus on preventing a repeat of before." With that, Leon sets the charges. But I'm done bleeding for a government that only cares about its reputation. If chaos is what we need to ensure people know the truth and are free, then that's what I'll aim for. I grab Leon's wrist as he sets the final set of explosives on the tank, his eyes zip to mine as a thousand words pass between us.