Resident Evil Series Fan Fiction ❯ Tenebrae ❯ Scenes from a Waking IV ( Chapter 7 )

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

Leon breathed deeply, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he looked into Ashley’s wide uncertain eyes.

“Let’s do it.â€

She bit her lip in another moment of worry, still unsure. He took a brief moment to enjoy the unintentional eroticism of her action, then hastened to reassure her.

“It’s the best chance we have, Ashley. I think we have to do it.â€

Sighing her consent, her small, graceful hands began to move across the console, starting the strange machine Leon found himself lying beneath. Closing his eyes again, Leon waited for the procedure to begin.

Ashley stared at the blinking screen before her.

PROCEDE? Y-N

If this hurt him, what would she do? She couldn’t face the prospect of being alone after coming so far through so much.

Her dependence on him had grown into a need, and that need in turn had blossomed into something quietly yearning deep in the reaches of her heart. She hadn’t dared put a name to it- not yet. But softly in the back of her mind it demanded things from her. It told her to take his hand, to brush the hair away from his eyes. To hold him close when she had the chance. To trust him. And she wanted so badly to do these things, but it wasn’t the time or the place. So she placed all her hopes in escaping, and returning to a world where a small thing that might be love would have time to search for an answer both within itself, and within him.

She hit the Y key, and placed her faith in him.

When it was over Leon sat up, coughing slightly. “Wow. That hurt like a bitch.â€

Ashley grasped his hands excitedly, just happy he had survived. “It worked Leon! Oh, I thought you might die.â€

“No, I seem to be in one piece,†He said wryly. “Your turn.â€

As she climbed onto the table he resisted the urge to try and sneak a peek up her skirt. He was fairly certain she wouldn’t all that happy that he had already memorized the pattern around the waist of her panties- there was no point in pushing his luck.

Beautiful Ashley. It had seemed to become all one word over the course of his time with her. Beautifulashley. Unfolding like a flower, revealing more layers of herself beneath the surface. When had she become so desirable? Even in the midst of the terrors around them he found ways to touch her, to take her hand, to gently place his hand on her back to guide her, to lift her over things. It was a messily emotional tangle of feelings that he hadn’t had the leisure to sort out. Maybe it was simply a matter of availability, of convenience. It seemed like a cheap answer though. Events often drew people together, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t last.

All this was of course assuming she even felt a modicum of the same thing. He knew she was grateful, and that she respected and trusted him. Beyond that, he was groping in the dark. He momentarily indulged himself with the various images that the phrase ‘groping in the dark’ conjured, then started the procedure.

---

The remains of what had once been Osmund Saddler lay bubbling and steaming amongst the steel I-beams. He was dead, and the island that had been his sanctuary was dying with him.

He wasn’t certain how much time they had to escape, but he knew it couldn’t be much. Firmly gripping her hand, he fled down the tunnels. The key Ada had thrown him jingled in one of his front pockets, a faint reminder of its presence. Whatever the key was for, he hoped it was fast.

Deep booms echoed into Ashley’s ears over the sound of her own harsh breathing. There was no time to stop and catch her breath, so she ignored the burning in her lungs and clung tighter to Leon’s hand. Wherever he was taking her, she trusted him to get them out, like he always had.

They emerged into an open space on the edge of an underground river. Leon briefly wondered if it was the same river he had traveled on before until he sheepishly remembered that river had been on the mainland. Roped to a dock on the swift moving water was a Jetski, fitting the bill for the fast vehicle requirement.

Leon jumped on board, the Jetski settling beneath him. The comforting weight of Ashley was soon hunkered down behind him with her arms wrapped tightly around his middle. Leon jammed the key into the ignition and started the Jetski, throwing the rope off back to the dock.

“Hang on sweetheart!â€

Ashley felt a brief flutter in her chest at the endearment before all thought was erased by the crashing waves as the Jetski sped towards the exit.

An ever loudening roar was her first clue of what was behind them. Turning her head around to squint through the spray, she immediately saw what was approaching.

“Leon! There’s a huge wave behind us!â€

“I know, I know!†Leon shouted back. He urgently gunned the engine in an attempt to milk more speed out of the craft. “Just hold on!â€

Ashley buried her face into his back and braced for the worst.

With a crashing crescendo the tiny Jetski was shot from the tunnel like a bullet from a gun. Ashley felt her legs be forcibly blown back by the sheer momentum of the movement- with her footing lost, her grip failed and she fell kicking into the water.

The Jetski smashed into the water. Leon braced both feet before impact to prevent from either being slammed into the dashboard or flung forward over the handle bars. When the craft finally settled in the water, he realized with dawning panic that Ashley was no longer behind him.

“Ashley? Ashley!â€

To his relief she emerged coughing and sputtering only a few yards away, treading water while pushing the hair from her eyes. “I’m here!†She shouted blindly, still unable to see but waving one arm in the air.

A smile forced its way onto his face as she floundered in the surf. The call of mischief tugging at him, he remained silent for a few moments.

“Leon?†A note of fear entered her voice. “Leon? Where are you?â€

He laughed then, gunning the craft over to scoop her from the waters. Regaining the use of her vision she narrowed her eyes at him, smacking him playfully on the shoulder.

“Oh yeah, that was really funny Leon.â€

He only laughed again, and the sound swept her along with it to the joyous feelings of freedom. She laughed too- she didn’t know why. But it felt right.

It was over now, truly over. The full import of what they had done, and what had been done to them came crashing down around her. Through such terrible trials he had brought her, through the darkness he had led the way. She owed him so much, she thought, and had so little to give in return.

And she had placed her trust where it would never be broken, in his hands. She had needed so much from him, took so much and gave so little. Overwhelmed, she expressed this the only way she knew how.

Leon was silenced when he felt her slim arms wrap around him again, her face burying against his neck. The feeling of her breath made him breathe easier.

“Thank you,†She whispered. “Thank you.â€

There were no words after that- only comfort.

---

The island was little more than a rocky outcropping on the lake, a small jut of black stone weathered by the wind and spray. Lonely and bleak, it stood not far from the mainland shore, overlooking the woods. It would serve as adequate shelter for the time being.

Leon was busily clearing the small spit of land of brush, piling the fruit of his labors into a heap. Driven by a deep need to be helpful, Ashley also scoured the area for burnable wood.

Pausing in his labor, Leon watched with some amusement as she gingerly stepped her way around the uneven terrain, looking completely out of place in her ragged sweater and skirt. She was barefoot despite the chill, cradling various sticks in her arms while the wind played with her hair. Even now after the true threats were over, he felt fiercely protective in a way he didn’t fully understand. Tossing his burden on the pile, he made his way over to her.

“Need any help with that?†He offered. She looked up at him, her soft eyes backlit by the setting sun. She said nothing, simply meeting his gaze. Her eyes ran the length of him, her body language seemingly at ease in the absence of speech. He himself felt faintly uncomfortable, like he was being studied. Her warm lips curved in a small smile.

“Eager to please, Mr. Kennedy?†She teased him. He realized with a start that he didn’t know this Ashley, who walked around barefoot and smiled. This beautiful stranger was a new side he had never seen before. The entire time they had spent together they had both been tired and fearful.

“Well, you know me,†He mumbled through a grin. Boldly, he did some teasing of his own. “I’ll do anything for a kiss.â€

“Payment upon delivery,†She said quickly, holding out her bundle of sticks. Leon eyed her, certain she was just messing around. How far was he willing to run with this? To, he admitted, its preferable conclusion.

Taking the bundle from her, he crossed over to the accumulated stack of debris and tossed it on the top. Turning to face her, he raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s my part of the deal.â€

“Then I guess,†Ashley said coyly, closing the distance between them. “That I better follow through.â€

Somewhere in the back of his head Leon fuzzily recognized that his palms were sweating, but he stammered out a response. “Wouldn’t want to have to report you to the BBB.â€

“No,†She said, now very close to him indeed. “We wouldn’t want that…â€

Then she kissed him and it was like living again.