Mechanical Animals: Resident Evil 4

18

Rose couldn't take her eyes off of Leon the entire time he was asleep. His breathing was not steady, though she could tell he was in REM. He kept grunting and his arms danced with black veins before they would disappear, being fought off by whatever he'd injected into his body. She could smell the suppressant in his blood. It was a very strange smell, but whatever it was, it was sickly and clinical, as if he'd been doused in anti-bacterial. Ashley now carried the same scent, though hers was a little bit stronger as the medicine had to fight harder to keep her parasite at bay. She was further along than Leon was, and Rose was surprised at just how clearly she could sense them. She felt a little bad that she'd forgotten they were infected until now.

Ashley woke up first, whimpering and holding her head in her palms. Rose turned, careful not to jostle Leon.

"Ashley," she whispered breathily. Ashley dropped her hands and began to smile, but as soon as she looked at Rose, her smile dropped and she gasped, her hand flying up to her mouth and she scooted away from her on the mattress, fear shocking her in her place.

"Rose! Your...your eyes!"

"What's wrong with them?" Rose huffs. "Leon stared too."

"They're...they're orange!"

"What?"

"They changed color!"

Rose really wished she had a mirror because it was beyond frustrating to not know what both Ashley and Leon had freaked out about. She felt different, but she couldn't see the changes. Was her eyes the only physical difference? She raked her hands through her loose hair, but it was still the color she'd dyed it last. Her injuries were all healed up, and she felt like she had energy to last another couple days.

Ashley looked over at Leon next, apparently satisfied that Rose wasn't about to attack her. "Should we wake him up?"

Rose shook her head, settling back down next to the sleeping man and putting her hand back in his. "No, let's give him a little longer."

Ashley nodded, laying back on her back and lifting her knee as she closed her eyes in an effort to rest a little more before the chaos restarted.

Maybe ten minutes later, Leon's brows scrunched up in confusion as his breathing changed and he woke himself up. He groaned, and Rose shifted, having sat on the hard floor with him the entire time. His eyes opened at the movement, quickly locating her and staring in awe for a moment before shaking his head as if he couldn't believe she was still there. She smiled smugly at him.

"Told you, I wasn't going anywhere."

"Hmm, should have believed you."

Ashley sat up, grinning at him. "Leon?"

Leon turned his torso, throwing his arm up onto the short table. "Sorry, I'm late."

Leon began the climb to his feet, helping Rose up along the way as Ashley threw her legs over the table. "No," Ashley dismissed, looking at her newly deveined arms. "Thank you. You brought the medicine just in time."

Ashley stood, looking around the room they were all in. "Where's Luis?"

Leon sighed, his voice soft and respectful when he spoke. "He was worried about you...until the end." Leon then rolled his eyes and glanced over at Rose, who stood a few feet away. She was silent, her troubled expression giving away the fact that she hadn't fully accepted Luis's death yet. Leon could see it in the way her jaw clenched, the way she kept looking at the ground like she might find some piece of him still alive.

He cleared his throat, trying to lighten the mood a little. "Said something about meeting you at a bar in heaven," he added, the corner of his mouth curling into a half-smile. "Guess he figured the afterlife would be a lot more fun with you there."