Starting Over Again (Book 1: Leon Kennedy)

Chapter 9: Surprise Visit?

THEY WALKED DOWN THE STAIRS to the main lobby and proceeded to the east area of the R.P.D., all the while Justine was fighting back the desire to run back to her sister who was alone. She was afraid Jill might run into trouble and she wouldn't be there for her. Justine fought back the urge to gag as they walked along the quiet main hall that was filled with blood and dead bodies. The smell of blood made her nauseous. They stepped inside the dark corridors near the main entrance of the Department. Leon lit up his flashlight and Justine stayed behind Leon, as he told her to. For some odd reason, the floor was flooded with water. Leon pushed the cabinet that was blocking their way to the side.

"Ugh, oh my god." The words flew out of Justine's mouth the moment they reached the end of the east area. It was just as gory as the main hall they passed by. They could hear a ruckus coming from another room and Leon looked at Justine, telling her to wait as he went to check the room. She nods and Leon proceeds to the room. Taking a deep breath, he kicks the door down and aims his gun.

Justine hears a very familiar voice. "Wait! Don't shoot!"

"What the..." Justine looks at the glass window and sees him.

Luca. Luca's eyes land on her and he sets his hands down. Leon sets his gun down and moves out of the doorway. Luca rushes out of the room and hugs Justine, catching her off guard.

"Oh, oh thank god you're okay," He lets out a breath of relief. Justine pushes him away, a feeling of anger rushing through her.

"Why are you here?"

"I came here to see you. Someone told me you moved back here so I thought—" He stops mid-sentence when he sees Leon moving closer to her, stopping when she was behind him.

"We should go. It's not safe here anymore." Leon points out and Justine nods, the two were about to open the gray door that leads to the courtyard exit but Luca stopped them.

"Are you crazy? It's like hell out there!" Luca exclaims. "Everyone's eating everyone else!"

"We can't just sit here and wait. We don't know if anyone will come and  help us!" Justine replies, her voice laced with anger and annoyance.

He was one of the things she never wanted to see again.

"I... I have something!" He pulls out something from his back pocket and hands it to Leon. It was a pocket notebook. It had scribbles and drawings of what looked like...puzzles?

"There was an officer I tried to help but..." Luca stopped for a moment before looking back at the room he was once in. He then continued. "He told me that there was an underground way under the goddess statue in the main hall. He said it was safer... and that 'Marvin'—"

" —Lieutenant Marvin is dead." Leon cuts off, his voice filled with pain. "You have a point. This underground way would be safer than fighting those zombies out there." Leon points out. "Let's go." Leon begins to walk back at the dark, flooded hall he and Justine passed by. Justine was about to follow when Luca held her back.

"What?" Justine snapped as she turned to him.

"I need to tell you something—"

"—Now is not the time!" Justine pulled her arm from him and went after Leon who was far from them. Luca followed behind quietly, his eyes on her as they walked along the dark hallway. They ended back at the main hall and began to look for the things they needed to exit the department. They headed back to the west area, heading inside the library back to the unicorn statue Leon and Justine once passed by. He worked on the statue and seconds later they heard a movement from the statue and it dropped a medallion. It made a loud 'clang' noise when it hit the floor. Leon picked it up and placed it in his hip pouch.

"One down, two to go. Let's go." Leon said as we walked back to the hallway with the door with a diamond engraved on it. I tried to open it but it was locked. Justine also took a quick look at the S.T.A.R.S. Office when they passed by it, hoping that she would see her sister but she was no longer there.

It took them a while before they got all the medallions they needed. Having to blow up a wall and fight off a skinless, brain-exposed creature. Throughout their exploring, they were able to scavenge more bullets and defense items. Leon even managed to unlock a locker with a shotgun and a couple of shells. They got back to the main hall and placed the medallions in the statue and it revealed a path that was sealed with a gate. Justine hoped that she would see Jill step in the hall so she could come with them, so she stood at the entrance of the underground path as she hoped to see her.

She felt someone gently hold her arm so she turned her head to see who it was. Leon.

"We have to go," He says in a gentle tone. Justine looks back at the main hall, her eyes scanning the area before sighing.

"Yeah... yeah, let's go." Leon lets go of her and they all head down to the underground path.