Shady Promises-Resident Evil 4

Chapter 18

The sounds of stone scraping against stone echoed the entire grand hall. You had a moment to quickly find the source before realizing the entrance under the balcony had a wall sliding shut, blocking any further entry.

"Leon! The door!" You ran towards it, but it was too late. It sealed shut.

"Damnit." Leon got towards the new wall, staring at what was left behind. On the wall was a strange carving of sorts on a dark stone slab. It somewhat appeared to be some indentation of a two headed cow, or a bull. Whatever it was, it was missing.

"Great. It's gonna be the church all over again." You muttered, your fingers running across the grey carved stone. "Again? What do you mean?" Ashley spoke up, confused. You looked back at her. "Well, One of the reasons we couldn't get to the church sooner is because it needed a large key, same with this door." You stepped away, looking towards Leon. "Where do we head now?"

He turned around, looking around the area. "Their's a door over here, maybe it's a short cut."

"Probably, but I doubt their that stupid." You grabbed your gun, hoping the key needed is somewhere located behind that door. "Let's get going." You headed over first, pushing the door open slowly to listen for any enemies. You pushed it open fully and walked into the rather large hallway, Leon holding the door open for Ashley. You looked around, seeing how decorative the area appeared as much as the grand hall was. The ground was dressed with descorative red carpeting with hints of gold threads, the walls were made of the same pale stone as the rest of the castle. The large candle stands gave off an amazingly well amount of light in the area, giving the cold place a warm feeling. If only their weren't people trying to kill me constantly, this would be a pretty tourist attraction.

"Their's another door." Leon spoke, breaking your train of thought. "Damnit, this one's locked too." He tested the door, finding out it wouldn't budge. You walked over to the dark heavy door, pushing against it. "Well, that sucks." You muttered, stepping away from it. The keyhole was rather large, and the door was made of heavy material stone. "It looks like they're trying to keep something inside..don't you think?" You looked at Leon.

He nodded after a moment. "Yeah, like some sort of prison door."

Prison...

Your mind drifted a bit. You haven't heard that word in a while. Prison reminded you of jail, and jail reminded you of Raccoon City. A heavy feeling weighed over your chest like a bowling ball, your heart pumping fast while you remembered the living hell you went through. It never seemed to leave you alone, it was something that clawed at your mind everywhere you went.

A warm hand rested on your shoulder, making you wince slightly and look over.

For a split second, you saw your arm dressed with a familiar shade of dark blue. A dark substance stained the fabric, tinting the color into a maroon shade. A throbbing pain returned to your shoulder, blood coming from the minor wound you received after the explosion. You felt the air shift around you, from the cold castle air to the hot winds from the flaming eighteen-wheeler.

"(Y/N)."

You looked up, seeing Leon. He looked..much younger. His hair seemed a little shorter, glowing into gold from the flames. His outfit was back to the iconic Raccoon City police uniform, faintly splattered with blood. His eyes were shining, staring down at you with a heavy mix of worry and concern.

"(Y/N)." He spoke your name again, louder this time.

In a flash, it all vanished. The heat, the smell of burning gas and rot, the pain of your wound, it faded into nothing. You were back in the castle, the cold air bringing chills down your spine. You gasped slightly, your vision blurring for a moment. Your free hand went to your face, rubbing your eyes as if you woke up from one of your reoccurring nightmares.