Resident Evil Series Fan Fiction ❯ Tenebrae ❯ Scenes from a Waking ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Awakening came slowly, painfully, as Leon began to feebly stir on the dirty wooden floor. His lungs burned with a peculiar fire, as if he had inhaled too much smoke. His heart beat faster than it should have, having done nothing more strenuous than sleep but it pounded frantically as if in fear.

Cold and aching, Leon came fully awake on the cabin floor.

The distance from laying down to standing on his feet felt enormous, but with some effort he lifted himself to an upright position. With some shock, he realized it was now nighttime. Lifting up one sleeve, he quickly looked at his chronometer. Six hours, he had been asleep. He considered it an amazing stroke of luck that he wasn’t dead. However, it seemed that for the time being his location had remained undiscovered, and he had time to collect himself-

He saw a note on the bed.

Broken of yet another false assumption, he lifted it with still unsteady fingers and read-

---

There is an important item hidden in the falls, if you are able to

get it you might be able to get Ashley out of the church. But I'll

warn you, the route to the church isn’t a walk in the park by any

means. They've developed what’s called an "El Gigante", so God bless.

About what’s been going on in your body- if I could help you, I would.

But unfortunately it’s beyond my power.

---

No name. Another mystery to add on the pile.He would be going it alone. Any promise of backup had ended when a villager’s pickaxe had met with his uplink. He knew that given enough time, they would come looking for him- but he wasn’t willing to sit around waiting for that to happen. Until it became clear to those back home that something was wrong, he would attempt to complete his mission and find another way to contact them.

Imbued with a new sense of direction, Leon headed for the door.

---

Somewhere locked inside a chapel a woman, a girl, sat gingerly on box tops and hid her ears from the thunder.

They will come for me.

The whisper ran through her mind frantic and pleading.

Someone help me please.

---

It was only later, his footsteps in the mud barely audible between thunderclaps, that the true nature of his enemy began to register with him.

No stranger to horror was he, no certainly not, but that such a thing could live inside a person, consume them, ravage their insides and burn through their mind, then climb writhing and twisting through the flesh to emerge pulsing and slick through some ruptured cavity-

Leon gagged, recovered, then stopped for a moment, closing his eyes. Not to him. Never to him. He’d eat a bullet first, this he promised himself.

The lighting lit the heavens in another brilliant flash as something red flailed about in the open air. The body which shuffled it forward was nothing but a hollow shell, a conveyance for this ungodly thing that stared unblinkingly at him as its tendrils sought out his skin.

Violently, he shook himself, trying to pull his head together. There would be time later to think about what he had seen- right now, he had to get to the church.

The rain obscured his vision as he at last crested the hill. Wiping the water from his eyes, he peered into the night. He had seen movement ahead, he was sure of it.

These thoughts were borne out when an animal slunk from the darkness to stand slavering before him.

It was a dog, he realized, feeling a moment’s pity for the thing. No doubt it hadn’t been fed in who knew how long, what with all the local people in the state they were in. Hopefully he could bypass it without killing it.

Lowering the barrel of his shotgun, he called out softly to the creature. “Hey- I’m not going to hurt you. Good dog-“

The words caught in his throat as tentacles ripped from the thing’s back accompanied by the sickening sound of tearing flesh and cracking bones. The monster showed no signs of pain at the horrific self-inflicted wound as blood ran down its sides mingling with other nameless fluids. It lunged at him.

A wordless scream tore itself from Leon’s throat as he brought up the shotgun just in time to fire in the thing’s face before it mangled his throat. The force of the blast wasn’t enough to arrest the creature’s momentum. The nearly headless corpse landed heavily on him, driving him to the ground. Panting desperately he heaved it aside, trying to avoid the still thrashing tentacles and shuddering when one slippery limb slid down his arm.

Two distinct howls came close by. Backing away from the twitching body of the dog, Leon brought his shotgun back up to a ready position. It wasn’t long before two more of the monster’s came bounding through the rain. His first shot dropped one, the thing now missing most of its face. The second dog closed too quickly for a perfect headshot- his second blast put a hole in its stomach and knocked it to the ground, and his third made a messy end of it.

Freezing in place, Leon desperately tried to listen through the rain for the sound of any more approaching animals. Hearing nothing, he clenched his weapon tightly and sprinted for the church door.

---

Fearfully the girl winced at the sound of a new kind of thunder, gunshots echoing up to her chamber. They had to be killing more people, she knew it- she could only hope it wasn’t her rescuers.

Gripping the end of a board she had pried from a barrel, she moved to one side of the door and waited.

---

The church was blessedly empty. His footsteps echoed through the room, softly patterned over by the dull sound of rainfall.

It was a strange room to be sure, but no stranger than many of the places through which he had recently passed. There was some mystic urging at work here, an occult sensibility underlying everything that was done. Rituals seemed to be everything- weird keys hidden in weird places. These people seemed so bound to ceremony that he wouldn’t be surprised if they ate their food in an order according to color.

Even the locking mechanism for the upper gateway was bizarre- a mixing hologram of spectrums. Surely a simple lock would have sufficed. Although, locks could be blown open. This puzzle may have been bizarre, but it was effective in barring entrance. For a moment, anyway. It struck him as more of a toy than anything.

With only one room in the church left to search Leon moved past the now open gates, and slowly lowered his hand to the doorknob.

---

Her knuckles whitened around the board as the doorknob slowly began to turn. Raising it above her head, she prepared herself for what felt like a useless defiance.

The second a head emerged through the doorway she swung the board downwards with all her might.

---

Leon had no sooner stepped inside when something hard nicked the side of his head, following the curve of his skull to slip down and gash across his ear, the path of ending with a solid thud against his shoulder.

“OW!â€

It was Ashley of course. He had seen her the second he had walked in, but a combination of pleasant surprise and relief had prevented him from dodging her awkward blow. He grabbed his ear in pain, staggering away from her while she stood frozen in shock.

Straightening up, he turned to her and held out his hands placatingly, offering what he felt was a non-threatening smile.

Instead of giving him the expected relieved greeting, she swung at him again, this time bashing his arm.

“Ow! God! What the fuck is the matter with you!â€

This burst of recognizable English, however eloquent it may have been, seemed to jolt her out of her stupor. “Oh! You’re- you’re not one of them?â€

It was a rather vague question but he understood. “No! I’m Leon Kennedy, I work for the U.S Government. Jesus, that really hurt you know.â€

Ashley immediately dropped the board. “I’m sorry!â€

“Yeah, yeah well it’s okay.â€

Ashley’s eyes lit up, apparently understanding what he had said. “You work for my father?â€

The true nature of the Agency was something Leon was not at full liberty to discuss, but when in doubt, generalize. “That’s right. We have to leave now, fast as possible. We’ll try to use the cover of darkness to reach the wood line, it will be easier to hide in there.â€

In truth Leon hadn’t the slightest idea whether the woods would bring any sort of safety, but it was the closest thing to a plan he could come up with under the current circumstances.

Ashley didn’t question, seemingly happy to have anything to hold on to. Leon could imagine things had looked grim sitting up here alone. His arrival had put some hope back in her eyes.

“Okay, let’s go,†She said. Leon started for the door when she suddenly squeaked, “Wait!â€

“What?⠀

She smiled sheepishly, untying the sweater from around her neck. “It’s cold out..â€

“Oh.â€

As she pulled the sweater over her head, Leon took the time to study her more closely. A picture could only tell you so much about a person. She didn’t seem all too worse for wear after her kidnapping, her clothing was all still intact if a little more ragged and dirty. She was short, shapely. Well rounded, but not fat. Large breasts, he noted with as much clinical detachment as he could muster, which admittedly wasn’t much. It had been a long time for him. She was pretty, prettier in motion than she was in her picture. Large hazel eyes, full lips, arched eyebrows. She wasn’t conventionally pretty- her ears were slightly too large for a fashion magazine and her nose not delicate enough for a runway. But Leon had never put much stock in society’s version of beauty. Plastic didn’t have much flavor to it.

With a tug the sweater was firmly fitted around her and she was ready to go.

Hand in hand, they made their way quickly for the door. Leon wasn’t sure exactly where they would go after they made it out, but away from village seemed like the best idea. Reaching the lower level, they began threading their way through the pews.

“I’ll take the girl.â€

The voice was supremely arrogant, sibilant undertones caressing every syllable. Leon slowly turned around, seeing Ashley staring at the altar with one hand over her mouth.

The man was draped in a heavy purple, his lined face peering out from beneath a deep cowl. A small smile played around his lips, like he knew something hilarious. His eyes spoke of something darker.

Leon recognized him immediately. Not his name, or his face. But his attitude. Another villain so self-assured that he was blind to everything but ambition. Men like him were dangerous. But Leon was not without his own brand of bravado. As uncertain and frightened as he may have been, he sure as hell wasn’t going to show it.

“And you must be… Emperor Palpatine. Is Vader lurking somewhere in the back or is he taking a sick day?â€

Ashley shot him a look of pure panic, obviously wondering what he thought he was doing.

If the man understood the reference or was impressed by Leon’s apparent lack of concern, he didn’t show it. “If you must know, my name is Osmund Saddler, the master of this fine religious ...community. But more importantly, you are taking something of mine.â€

“And even more importantly, does your wife know that you’re wearing her bathrobe?â€

Saddler smiled. “You are amusing, Mr. Kennedy. But not for long, I think. You are an accident waiting to happen, with a time bomb lodged in your veins. And hers too, of course. You will understand that I have little need to catch you when in time you must come to me.â€

Ashley gasped, one hand rising to instinctively to clap over the right side of her neck. Leon caught the motion, glancing sharply at her. Saddler nodded slowly.

“Yes, the both of you. An investment that will be sure to pay off.â€

Leon refused to crumble. “If stocks are your style Saddler. Personally I prefer Poker, but then again I’ve got balls.â€

“I find it pays to invest in cattle,†Saddler sneered. “Believe it or not, it takes quite a lot of money to keep this church up and running. It won’t truly pay off until she returns home to her loving father, but before that, I thought I might bargain with the President for some donations.â€

“I gave at the office.â€

“I truly hope you enjoy our small, but special contributions. When the eggs hatch, you'll become my puppets. Involuntarily, you'll do as I say. I'll have total control over your minds. Don't you think this is revolutionary way to propagate one's faith?â€

“It’s been done.â€

As Leon anticipated, he had hit a nerve. Personal comments Saddler could weather, but to tread on his ‘accomplishments’ was too much.

When Saddler’s lips once again curved into a short smile and Leon heard the double click of something dangerous engaging behind him, he knew there wasn’t time to take a look. Clenching Ashley’s hand, he dove for the nearby window.

Over the crashing of glass and Ashley’s scream he dimly heard Saddler roaring, “Alive you fools! Don’t shoot the girl!â€

The second his feet touched the ground he hauled Ashley up. Sprinting as fast as he could make her go, he was through the nearby door and then they were off into the night.