RADICALISATION, resident evil [1] ✓

⤿ xxvii. in another life

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𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟: 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡

𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑦-𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛: 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒

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Tram Heading Out Of Raccoon City — September 30th, 1998

     It feels somewhat symbolic.

     The ticking down of final seconds of the self-destruct sequence, the hissing and snarling of rotting corpses still clinging to life, the stench of rotting and burning flesh, and the warmth of fire alive at their backs. It feels like their entire relationship across the horror-filled hours of this night has come full circle: from the burning crash of a fuel tanker to the burning rooms of an underground laboratory. It's definitely a statement if nothing else, and it's one that he doesn't have the slightest interest in understanding right now.

     There's loud ringing in their ears in the debris-filled silence after the explosion rocks the tram carriage, the shockwave almost making them miss the moving hunk of metal, an arm being yanked painfully as he tries to pull his partner back towards him. Teeth gritted, veins burning, he drags the other man onto the back end of the tram, chest heaving and his heart rabbiting behind his aching rib cage. Body slamming into the metal beside him, he falls back himself, head light and spinning, and the adrenaline flooding his body making him shaky. An equally shaky hand lays atop one of his, squeezing softly, and his eyes slip shut, breath pushing out of his quivering lungs in a shaky exhale.

     He's never been so scared, and he never wants to be this scared again.

     Head turning to the side, he looks over at Leon Kennedy, the rookie red-faced and covered in soot from head to toe, with a few scrapes and bumps that will be easy to patch up later. Mason can't see anything too serious, no broken bones protruding through skin, and that is his main concern at the moment. He doesn't want to think that there is something broken inside Leon that he can't fix once they're somewhere safe, but maybe he'll get lucky and there will only be bruised muscles and superficial wounds to deal with. And still, even covered in blood and grime, the damn altruistic blond doesn't look aesthetically unattractive in the slightest.

     "Nothing broken?"

     Leon grunts, carefully pushing himself upright. "Maybe a finger, but otherwise no."