Watch Over You

Secret Passage

They ended up back at the room with the last statue. Thanks to Claire, they were able to blast a hole and get the final medallion. There were ten seconds on the timer, just enough for them to hide behind one of the pillars. They heard a loud hiss again, knowing that the licker's friends were back. Juliet quickly worked the puzzle while Leon kept an eye out. They quietly made their way to the other door leading to the library, but the bookshelf had fallen and covered the exit. Seeing that the licker was nowhere in sight, Leon and Juliet hurriedly pushed the bookshelf away. The licker hissed again, this time louder. In the nick of time, Leon and Juliet made it through to the library and sealed the door shut. The bookshelf fell and covered the door once more, separating them from the licker. Without turning to look, they climbed down the steps and headed to the statue in the main lobby. They inserted all three medallions which made the bottom of the statue open up, revealing a secret staircase underneath.

"So Elliot was right," Marvin spoke in a tired voice.

"I guess he was. Now let's get going," Leon said, trying to pull Marvin along but he refused.

"I'm giving you an order, rookie! Get yourself out of here and bring Juliet with you. Don't make me repeat myself. Make sure you two get out safe."

Defeated, Leon managed a soft 'yes, sir'. Juliet gave him an apologetic smile, which Marvin returned. As soon as the two of them entered the secret passage, the doorway closed. It was total darkness for a while until the lights turned on. There was a single table in the middle of the small room which was littered with books. Leon and Juliet stepped into the lift, heading further down into the RPD and eventually ending up at some sort of underground boiler room. The metal suspended walkways creaked underneath their footsteps. As they were walking, something fast whizzed past them from above. It wasn't the licker. It was big, yet it sounded human. Leon called out to it, but it was long gone. They continued further in until the walkways started to shake and rattle. Before the two could react, a human with a monstrous arm landed right in front of them and immediately grabbed Leon. Due to its sheer weight, the monster and Leon crashed through the walkways. They landed on the lower floors, with the monster looming over a sprawled Leon.

"LEON!" Juliet screamed.

The monster howled as it closed in on Leon. Leon got up to his feet quickly and took out his shotgun. He fired at its head, allowing some distance between them.

"DON'T COME DOWN!" Leon yelled as he reloaded his shotgun.

Juliet bit her lip. She needed to help Leon in some way. She resorted to using her gun to distract the monster before it could get to him. After a few shots, the monster staggered and clutched its head. It said some incomprehensible words, almost sounding like it was in pain. The monstrous arm began to grow and an eye opened up. Both Leon and Juliet shot it right in the eye. However, that didn't bring the monster down. The monster was soon back on its feet. It grabbed hold a steel pipe and swung it around menacingly. The pipe was used to slash the boilers, causing gas to be released which clouded the area. Juliet couldn't see Leon anymore, and she started to panic. She could only hear gunshots and the monster wailing. She ran to the other side of the walkways, trying to find Leon. Shooting blindly into the gas was a bad idea. Leon could be anywhere. Then again, if she didn't do anything, Leon might die. She was about to get down to the lower floors despite Leon's warning when the monster let out a loud growl before falling off the railing.

"Oh God," she panted. "Leon? LEON!"

"I'm fine!" Leon called out soon after.

She spotted a ladder and quickly lowered it before calling for Leon again. Leon was soon in view as he climbed up. Juliet immediately threw her arms around Leon, who returned her embrace. She buried her face into his chest, glad that he was still alive.

"I'm fine," Leon said again, this time in a gentler voice.

She looked up at him. Leon gave a reassuring smile as he pushed her hair from her face. She nodded slowly before letting him go.

"That was scary."

"Yeah, it was," Leon agreed, dusting his pants off.

"I meant the fact that I might lose you," she admitted quietly.

Leon looked into her eyes, then at his feet. He wasn't sure what to answer.

"I don't know what the hell that was but you defeated it."

Leon nodded. "Yeah, let's hope that thing never comes back."

Leon reloaded his guns. He paused, before offering a box of handgun ammo to Juliet. Juliet looked at the box, but she didn't take it.

"You saved me. You're good with the gun," Leon started. "I think you should be more confident in yourself. I know I said I'd protect you and you've got my back, but you should just take these in case."

Juliet let out a shaky breath. "OK."

She took the bullets and reloaded her gun expertly before Leon could explain how to do it. Guess she did know her way around it, Leon thought to himself as she placed the gun in the back of her pants. He didn't know why she would lie to him at the start, but he didn't say anything about it. He convinced himself that it was just beginner's luck.

"You ready to go?"

She nodded. She linked hands with him then joked to break the tense situation. "Whatever happened to no more falling through?"

He laughed, apologising. They decided not to hang around the place a minute longer, so they found their way out. There was a long ladder leading upstairs, possibly to another area of the RPD. Leon went up first and opened the manhole cover. Once he checked that it was clear, he quickly got out then helped her up. They ended up at a parking garage with scattered police cars and vans in the lot. Upon reaching the exit, they realised they couldn't escape unless they had a key card. A low growl suddenly emitted from behind them. Leon barely had the chance to take out his handgun when an infected dog pounced on top of him. Juliet had whipped out her knife and was about to plunge it into the side of the dog's head when it was shot at. Leon pushed the dead dog away and stood up next to Juliet. He followed her line of sight and saw an Asian woman in a trench coat and black sunglasses approaching them.

"A second later and you would've been dead."