A Kennedy Promise

Rooftop

The fire escape door opened. Leon barely stepped out when he was suddenly enveloped in a bear hug. Juliet grabbed his face and kissed him hard. It took him by surprise, but he kissed her back. He snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. The kiss lasted for only a few seconds, but there was so much emotion that was poured into it.

Juliet's voice cracked as she scolded him, "Don't you ever do that again, you hear me!"

"I'm sorry, baby," he apologised, caressing her cheek.

"You scared me, you know that?" Juliet cried. She quickly checked him for injuries. "Are you hurt?"

He shook his head, grabbing both her hands and clasping them. "No, I'm fine."

She nodded slowly, letting out a deep breath. He kissed the top of her forehead, soothing her. Helena watched the two silently, a small smile appearing on her lips.

"All right, we're almost out. Let's get up to the rooftop and get the hell outta here," Leon said.

They climbed up a few more storeys. On the count of three, Leon kicked the door down. It was starting to rain. Thunder growled a deep rumbling warning. The rooftop was filled with the undead, which turned towards them upon hearing the door slam open. Leon spotted a chopper at the other side of the platform.

"That's our ticket outta here," he alerted them.

Just before they could shoot their way through, several zombies were stabbed through the chest and got absorbed by a new mutation of Simmons. Helena scowled.

"He just doesn't quit, does he?"

"Enough's enough," Leon said firmly.

They dodged the sharp limbs that were growing out of Simmons' back. Simmons was still half-transformed and weak, so they used the opportunity to escape when he got overwhelmed by the rest of the undead. Leon ushered the two ladies into the side gate. The heliport wasn't too far away.

"Up you go!" Leon exclaimed, boosting Helena up a crane first, followed by Juliet.

Helena and Juliet made it safely off the crane. Leon, however, got knocked off the crane. He slipped on the wet surface but landed on the lift. A large fly monster appeared and chucked a chrysalid shell at Leon again, who dodged in time. Juliet shot at the mutated Simmons while Helena got to the crane controls. Helena hurriedly operated the machinery, which brought the lift up slowly. The creature flew towards Leon and attached itself to the wall right by the lift. Leon shot its eyes, preventing it from attacking. The lift finally reached the top and Leon jumped out of it. The platform collapsed, bringing the mutated Simmons down. Juliet jogged towards him, embracing him worriedly.

"You all right?"

Leon nodded, then pulled her hand. They rejoined Helena, who had opened the gate. The fly monster re-appeared again, this time seemingly bigger than before. It absorbed more zombies into its back.

"We've got to ground him. As long as he's airborne, we're not going anywhere in that helicopter," Leon told them.

The mutated Simmons brought down its front two arms onto the ground and let out an inhuman screech. Leon shot its eyes, but this time, it was quick to cover them and protect its head. There was no way to get a clean shot. The beast swung its arms across the field, killing the zombies that were in the way. The trio stepped away from its path in time.

"We've got to try something else!" Juliet exclaimed. She threw away the Hydra. "I've only got a few bullets left. We've got to make this count!"

Helena agreed. "I'll be damned if I'm gonna let him stop us."

They avoided a barrage of chrysalid shells thrown at them and another range of attacks from its legs. Leon managed to slide underneath its torso and attacked its glowing joint near its body. It shrieked as its left front leg got blasted off. Leon avoided the attack from its other leg as he ran back towards the two women.

"Aim for its legs!" Leon pointed out.

The two women simultaneously took another two legs out. Tentacles from the destroyed leg joints reached out into the area, scouring for zombies to regenerate itself. One of the undead had a lightning rod stabbed into its chest. The lightning rod ended up stuck onto its regenerated joint. Lightning struck it down, bringing the mutated Simmons to the ground and making it completely vulnerable. The lightning rod dropped out of its damaged joint and rolled towards them. Leon quickly picked up the rod and drove it into one of its eye sockets. It got up again, preparing to attack the trio. However, lightning struck once more and destroyed its head. It fell off the platform after being unable to cling onto the metal floor.

"Gotcha, you bastard," Helena snarled.

"Head for the chopper. The floor isn't stable," Leon informed.

They ran up the ramp. A single helicopter was waiting for them, and so was the persistent Simmons. It pierced its two front legs into the heliport platform to stabilise itself. Most of the other parts of its body were left unregenerated. It was obvious it was extremely weak.

"Time to end this," Juliet said, aiming the wingshooter at its left eye.

Leon took out his other wingshooter and aimed at its right side. Cocking his head, he smirked.

"Jackpot!"

They fired at the same time. The mutated Simmons lost its balance and fell off. The trio ran to the edge of the platform, watching Simmons turn back into his human form. Simmons yelled only briefly, just before he got impaled on the tip of the pillar. Blood poured out of his body, completely flooding the ground floor. Simmons was dead for real. Juliet threw her arms around Leon, breathing out a sigh of relief.

"That's for my sister," Helena said.

Juliet placed a hand on her shoulder. Helena nodded, finally accepting reality and getting to move on. They headed back to the helicopter. Leon spotted an eyeshadow palette on the pilot's seat. He opened it and found a secret compartment underneath. Taking out the memory card, he jabbed it into his phone. Helena gasped as Leon scrolled through the images.

"This is-"

"Evidence that proves Simmons' guilt," Leon spoke.

"Which proves our innocence," Juliet added on.

An explosion brought them back to reality. They hurriedly got on the helicopter, with Leon and Helena as the pilot and co-pilot. Juliet clung onto Leon's seat tightly.

"Whatever happened to no more flying?" she teased, laughing nervously.

"Don't worry," Leon answered, giving her a warm smile. "We're going home."