Wake Up
folder
+M through R › Resident Evil
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
9
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Category:
+M through R › Resident Evil
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
9
Views:
11,281
Reviews:
28
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Resident Evil, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Nightmares
Thank you PALMBI for letting me know about that! I hope you LOVE this chapter! Thanks again!
Writing this chapter was a fun prospect. We’ve got lots of flashbacks in store for all my readers and hopefully they will provide an insight, or a similarity between characters that are important to the story. See, the difficulty about writing a continuation like this is you have to somehow bring the characters, who were otherwise in a very stressed environment, into something that is normal and establish a “normal” mode for them to be in. They are out of danger and if anyone has studied psychology, this change in people from a bad situation back to a normal creates two different faces to a person. I’ve got three to work with in this story and establishing something as intricate like that requires a strong influence on the characters actions that we DO know about.
That means lots of flashbacks and memories. I hope you like my interpretation of them!
Please enjoy!
-Luky
…
Chapter Four:
…
Nightmares
…
…
…
“Leon! What happened? You’re bleeding!” came a cry and the thunder of footfall against the metal grates he was currently sitting on, each vibration jostling him and making his wound hurt worse. He was leaning against a wall, one hand over his chest; blood seeping thru his spread fingers where his had was pressed against a gun wound. He was younger… much younger and it was his first day on the job. His first day in Raccoon city, in this hell, bleeding from the chest and only one clip left of bullets.
Claire leaned over him, coming to one knee at his side, her ponytail whipping about her face as she scanned him, searching with worried eyes over his wound. They had become unexpected friends in their fight for survival and together they had faced so many things, never mind the nerve wracking way they‘d met each other. He was shocked to see her there, but was kind of relieved too. He was hurt but…
“I…” he started, groaning with effort as he tried to catch his breath, “I ran into this woman… who was in trouble…” he managed to say before he had to stop and breath deeply. Her concerned gaze swept over him, her eyes filled with a kind of hurried concern. She had a mission to do too-- but she cared enough about him that she wasn’t going to simply forget his wound and not help him if he needed it.
“Her names… Ada. Right after that someone tried to kill me-- nearly succeeded too. Ada went after the sniper…but I… I’m worried about her…” he said, grunting from pain. His vision was clearing at least and he was able to hold his breath a little better. It was nice to have a friend in all this confusion. He hadn’t expected to be fighting zombies, or finding beautiful women on his first day at the job. It had been, quite the surprise…
“I’ve gotta find her before something happens-” he started as he leaned forward, trying to stand up. Claire made a sound of shock and not too lightly pushed him back. She wanted to be here with him, damn it, but she had her own agenda and Leon getting shot wasn‘t part of it. She needed to find her brother just the same as he needed to find this woman. Protecting something other then themselves was the only thing that motivated either of them to get out of this mess.
“But you’ve been shot!?” she cried, pulling his hands back to examine the wound. It didn’t look mortal, but then again neither of them was doctors and had no way to bandage it-- he certainly couldn’t do it himself. And she knew from the look in his eyes that he was consumed with finding her-- he had to get back to that girl. She seemed like she was in such danger. From the moment he saw her he had wanted to help and protect her…
He groaned loudly as Claire gripped her sleeve in her teeth and with her free hand, pulled a huge strip of cloth free. Wrapping it around her four fingers she pressed it against his chest-- blood slowly soaking through-- it was warm to the touch and made her insides churn despite herself. She eyes him, admiring the determination she knew reflected in both their eyes.
“I’ll be okay… its Ada I’m worried about.”
…
He awoke to screams.
At first he thought he was the one screaming and that he was still in Raccoon city, screaming with pain over the wounds he‘d received. Inside of him he felt his stomach quaking with eagerness and fear-- something he rarely experienced, if ever, and the combination made him feel a mixture of nausea and excitement. He distantly wondered if he was back in Raccoon city but that wasn’t plausible either.
He sat up in his bed and was instantly aware of his surroundings. Years of training and waking in the middle of a gun fight had honed his skills to the point where he was able to figure out his whereabouts instantly, wherever he was. Only rarely did he actually wake up and not be concerned, and that didn’t even apply to his own home.
This was no exception.
Within moments he realized he was actually in the quarantine room at a government facility where he and several other agents had gone after getting him off of the beach. He knew there was going to be dozens of other people in this same facility-- people that he had come in contact with while on the beach as well as Ashley. Anyone he’d encountered could have been the one wailing but somehow he knew that wasn’t the case.
The screams were more familiar then he’d have liked them to be. He was still in quarantine and it couldn’t have been more then a few hours since he had fallen asleep. He recognized the voice instantly and felt a roll of dread wash over him at the high pitched shriek. It was something he thought he’d only have to hear in HIS nightmares after he’d gotten out of Spain let alone once he’d returned.
It was Ashley and she was wailing at the top of her lungs-- fear dripping from the strained tone of her voice. Had something happened to her that he didn‘t know about? How could he have possibly heard her through the walls in this facility? He must be crazy to think he could hear her from all the way in here. It was hard to imagine that he’d be able to hear here through all the different thicknesses in the walls he knew surrounded them.
Why could she have been screaming? He couldn’t help but give weight to the irrational fear that maybe something truly terrible was happening. It wasn’t hard to imagine that something had gone wrong when they’d removed the parasite but the thought of that made him almost as terrified as she sounded. But there was no way there would be complications with her if he hadn’t had any problems. He suffocated that notion instantly.
He leapt from his bed and was instantly aware of his throbbing body screaming in agony at the movement. He hadn’t realized he was so sore until just now but the pain was something he’d live through- and he was more concerned over Ashley’s pain. He instantly put it behind him and ran to the wall, banging on it frantically, a sense of desperation he hadn’t known he had enveloping him like a cloud of darkness, squeezing his heart further and further with each horrific scream.
“Ashley! Ashley! Follow Me! Follow the sound of my voice!” he yelled as loud as he possibly could, his hands smashing against the tiles, his voice hoarse from yelling and thirst. He still hadn’t drank anything and he found his throat was parched-- but he yelled back to the girl regardless. It was hard not to want to seek her out to sooth her nightmares but he was trapped in this hole right next to her, unable to do anything and he knew it.
Her bloodcurdling scream seemed to reverberate through the entire building and he paced, sure that there was no way for him to get to her. Why did he care-- he was done with this mission. But those kinds of screams… that utter panic… It wasn’t something he’d heard from her yet, at least not like this-- not like this.
He’d dealt with this many times in Spain and he’d try to wake her long before it became an issue considering they were almost always in a compromised situation where any alert to their enemies could end whatever brief amount of rest they might be able to have. It had been a necessary function and he always cured it the best way he knew how… Thinking about it now made him more nervous since he knew he was probably being recorded and watched.
His heart twisted again as the screams increased in urgency, and began to shape into words-- a word. He strained to understand it but there was no way to tell. He knew her adjoining quarantine room would be along side this wall and so he pressed his ear against the tiles. He knew there had to be at least 8 feet of space separating them but he felt the need to be as close as he possibly could to her.
Being close to her always seemed to be the cure for this kind of problem and since the wall was the closest thing he could get to in this situation that’s where he hovered, his body tensed as adrenaline was pumped rapidly through his veins. For a brief instant he wondered if he could beat through the wall to get to her but dismissed the notion. If he tried something like that he’d likely end up with broken knuckles and wrists.
‘I needed her just as much as she needs me now but I can’t do anything about it…’ he thought morbidly as he remembered how much he had needed her in Spain for certain things. If she hadn‘t of been there for a lot of trials-- he wouldn‘t have made it out alive, let alone her. It didn’t seem fair that after everything they had gone through together that she would continue to be plagued by nightmares after all she had done to help him remain sane.
She was so many things he couldn’t be when faced with a trial-- dedication wasn’t enough. She was the surprisingly calming effect on him when they were faced with a puzzle and when his lack of sleep distorted his mind and made it harder for him to determined puzzles they’d collaborated together to find the solution. You had to have a purpose to survive and he had nobody but her and his job.
People were working on the other side of that wall. They were watching him, and watching Ashley. What in the world could they be doing to her or were they doing anything?? Had she managed to still have some of the parasite within her? He had done the electric surgery on his own and there was nothing he had seen in her scan-- that was a silly notion but the fear couldn‘t stop from unearthing within him. He rejected it again-- he was starting to feel horrible paranoid.
He wasn’t sure of why that terror seemed to surge through him but the thought of another women dying because of him… Not Ashley. She was too pure it seemed-- nothing like his first thoughts when he thought of a college girl. He hadn’t expected anyone as smart nor as sweet as her-- but she had a serpents tongue too, which made her sexy as hell. Sharp wit was always a plus when it came to woman.
He just couldn‘t let her die. He wouldn‘t. Sharp wit or not, she was still a girl-- a girl trapped in a dream of her greatest fears, screaming for someone, anyone to help her. It was as if she was still in Spain. God-- he hated this sound even then but now it seemed even more real and even more terrifying. They had escaped from her very first hell and it seemed he hadn’t managed to get her out of all of it.
He screamed her name repeatedly, bashing on the wall and calling for someone to respond to him-- to tell him what was happening but of course there was no response. It was after another minute or more that he realized she was screaming-- but it wasn’t the nonsensical screams she had made in Spain but screams that resembled his name. She was screaming for him.
…
“Ashley!” he cried, recognized the girl in the picture as the subject-- the president’s daughter. He rushed towards her but had to dodge a wayward stick as the girl chucked it at him in defense, yelling at him, “Don’t come!” with a shrill voice that was instantly annoying. He remembered thinking she was a lot prettier in person… but surpassingly he didn‘t like the hair-- and he didn‘t like the jumbo ears.
She fell, cowering into a corner, an animalistic look of fear on her dirt smeared face. How long she had been up here, in the heat, without food or water, he didn’t know, but she looked smaller then he‘d imagined too-- and he hadn‘t thought that she would have thrown the stick at him. He knew she could be delirious from the trip but it was more important to take control of the situation then to worry about her immediate mental state.
Plus if she had enough sense to run that meant she was a fighter and from the looks of things around this crazy place he’d need more of that. He didn’t think dogs could seriously be so scary but he vowed never to own another one after just seeing what he just had.
“No! Get AWAY!” She cried as he stepped closer to her trying to be as careful as possible. It was one hell of a way to get close to your newest assignment as a bodyguard. He didn‘t think he‘d end up here chasing after the girl when he‘d made that bet with his friend to decide who would protect the president and who would protect the daughter. Damn it all to hell, he had some poor luck that was for sure-- it was a damn good thing he didn‘t gamble… at least he never would again.
“Calm down.” he said as calmly as possibly, reverting to the hostage tone he’d always learned in training but had rarely had to use, “Everything is going to be just fine. My name’s Leon. I’m under the Presidents order to rescue you--”
“What?” she interrupted him, her face brightening beneath the soot and revealing some of the personality he had seen in the picture he had been given to find the girl with. He had studied that picture, memorizing the lines of her face… for the mission of course… and hadn‘t left a single strand out of his memory. “My father?” she questioned, her brown eyes boring into his from the ground where she sat, her knees sprawled out, her green skirt flared around her hips.
“That’s right. And I have to get you out of here. Now come with me!” he had said as she stood and began to follow him. As they made their way down the ladder she babbled question after question about her father without him really answering anything. She mostly expressed her relief, her fear-- and what awful things they had been doing to her. He distantly wondered if her virtue was intact, but he decided against questioning it.
“Leon…” she said, stopping in her tracks and curling her fingers into her skirt. She bit her lip and Leon felt a wave of protectiveness and annoyance sweep over him as he stopped too and turned to address her. There was urgency in her voice, and a quiet fear. “Please… I know I‘m probably not your ideal mission but-- I’m scared to be alone here. I’m so scared…so don‘t leave me…” her lips trembled and Leon instantly felt the urge to scoff at her childish omission of fear. But she was a harmless kid, not a Secret Service agent like him-- it was only natural.
He couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of pity for the girl. The United States didn’t negotiate with terrorists. The most they did was sending out people just like him-- president’s daughter or not. If he didn’t get her out of here, she’d become a bargaining chip that would be met with an empty hand. In that way, he knew he wasn’t going to fail this time-- he was going to save them both otherwise she’d be abandoned to a cause that showed no mercy.
“I promise won‘t leave you alone…” he promised her, unaware of the sudden appearance that one of the villains was going to make and with a smile and a comforting pat on her shoulder he said, “We’re leaving here together.”
…
“Agent Kennedy, please respond.” The screams hadn’t stopped but a voice sounded in his room, reverberating off of the walls causing his head to ache. Surprisingly the voice was shaking with concern and… unspoken fears. It shocked him from his memory and he turned his head away from the wall and looked around the room to the source of the voice. It was the intercom that was speaking to him and he found that he didn‘t recognize it.
“Yes. Ashley is having another dream isn‘t she?” he spat, not even bothering to refer to her as anything else. When the girl is screaming his name, doesn‘t that make it more personal? “What is she doing right now?” he asked, the professionalism in his tone belaying the urgency he felt.
“The president’s daughter is unable to be restrained and she is unresponsive to voice recognition. Speaking to her hasn’t worked and her vitals show that she is still asleep-- if we give her a dose of sleeping medication it could put her into a Coma. She appears to be awake but she is simply dreaming. She is acting as if she is once again in Spain and we are uncertain of how to calm her down-- do you have any ideas agent..?”
He groaned inward, afraid of this too. She was dreaming again that was obvious by the echo of screams he heard distantly behind him. She had dreamed many times during their escape during what few naps she was able to grasp. Those had been uncomfortable moments for him that he wasn‘t willing to share with others-- but if it meant her well being versus his pride..?
Nightmares plagued her each time she rested… and he was always there when she woke up-- always there to hold her until she stopped kicking and screaming. She said she couldn’t sleep when she wasn’t with him. She said it was impossible for her to actually close her eyes for a moment and feel safe enough to try and rest. And what little rest she did get was constantly interrupted by gunfire and so much more…
“I feel so much safer when I am with you Leon…” she said with a hesitant smile on her face. She was blushing, he could tell, as she spoke, “I actually feel like we might live through this because of you…” And she had smiled so shyly that he felt his heart jerk at the thought of what she said. He couldn’t help the pride that glowed in him at that comment.
“Listen,” he interrupted the voice over the intercom, “you get Ashley out of here. She’s not infected with anything I assure you. You’ll find nothing wrong with her but you can keep me here if you’re uncertain. You have to get her to a hospital, around familiar surroundings-- she’s going to break if you keep her locked up and alone in a cell like this. She hasn’t been prepped for this kind of isolation after her ordeal!” he yelled, unsure what volume would be picked up by the microphones.
“We’ll see what we can do. Meanwhile, we need you to transfer rooms and attempt to subdue the girl-- can you do it?” the voice asked, and he shook his head yes. Admittedly, he knew exactly how to stop her nightmares, but it was a question of what he was willing to do in front of the cameras. He was already going to be leaving out quite a bit of his report due to more… uh… personal issues.
“We cannot put a hazmat suit into the quarantine room. We have orders for you to transfer rooms. Your next assignment came sooner then you thought, didn‘t it?” the voice asked and he felt a thought pop into his head. He heard himself agreeing without realizing it and heading towards the door in quick strides-- his next mission was just like his first one-- he had to do everything he could to extract the little girl from her problems. Such a shame her only problem now was her own mind.
“Fine. How do we do this?” he asked, standing by the door. A moment later it slid open to show him the air drying room, the door leading to the sanitizing room open already. Inside the room there was a hazmat suit of his own that he was certain he had to put on. He followed the instructions on how to put the suit on and once everything was snapped into place he was about to close the latch on the face plate when they told him that he would not be hooked to any type of air supply. Her screams were still just as loud, but dulled and unintelligent at this point and he gulped in a deep breath of air snapping everything in place and watching the door slide open to the hallway.
By the time he had gotten through all the rooms towards hers he had already stripped out of the hazmat suit to reveal his lovely attire. He withheld the urge to tap his foot impatiently as he waited for the door to her room to respond. Finally, as the door opened to her quarantine room he felt horror wash over him as he stepped through the threshold and saw the most pitiful sight he had ever seen yet.
Ashley was screaming in horror, her eyes closed tightly, and her hands over her ears, her face twisted in such fear that she looked almost like she was possessed by a demon that was trapped in her head. He raced forward, his heart heavy and his arms stretched out towards her in fear. As he came closer he saw her face was scrunched up and red from her wailing. He ran, coming to his knees before her and scooping her up into his arms.
“Ashley! I’m here!” he cried, his voice hoarse and filled with desperation and as his skin touched hers he felt an intense heat flushing up his skin. Her body went limp at the sound of his voice and her eyes opened widely as her face turned towards his. He pulled her against him, burying her face against his chest, wrapping his arms around her.
She gasped, her body rolling in his arms and her hand clenching and unclenching against his chest. He crushed her against him… it wasn’t the first time this had happened, but he had hoped had seen the last. He couldn’t imagine how she would feel waking up in this hollow dungeon after she had escaped so much. Waking up in this place would only increase her fear-- and without him she wouldn’t know who to believe or what was going on.
He looked down at her face, forcing his tongue to still as he ached to speak to her in soft tones like he usually did when she was dreaming. He could tell she was asleep because of the vacate stare that she gave-- unseeing and unable to focus on anything in particular. He was able to sleep with his eyes open too- but it was weird for her to be able to do it. She almost looked as if she was possessed.
He could feel the heat radiating from her body seeping into his skin. He shook with the effort to control his emotions that seemed to be breaking free from him. He was torn between the people who were watching and his need to quiet her nightmares, to silence her screams in the only way he knew how. In a very real way she needed him to protect her body, but also her mind. It was the same way that he needed her to protect his sanity, despite always running in the way of his bullets. It was an intense feeling of duty and responsibility that he hadn’t faced with any other woman, except Ada.
“Ashley…” he said softly, stroking her head in a calming motion, “Ashley… I am here. Your not alone I promise. Were going to get out of here together…” he whispered in his ear, trying to stay away from the mini microphones that were intent on capturing every word spoken in that room. It was true, they were going to get out of here-- but if he had any pull after the dangerous mission he‘d completed, then she‘d be leaving first and they wouldn‘t be leaving together. He pulled her closer, her breathing erratic, her body drooping against his arms.
“I don’t hate you…” he paused and stopped, almost unwilling to acknowledge what she had whispered before passing out earlier. He was unwilling to believe it was a reality. Was it real? Probably not but she believed it. He couldn’t accept that she would feel that way about him but he knew that fighting her feelings for him now would do no good for her. He wouldn’t have to worry about acknowledging her feelings soon enough but for now he would use those feelings to his advantage. To use them as best he could, if only for right now. If only for this one moment he’d do it-- for her.
‘Whatever it takes to help her…’ he thought, willing to let a part of his objectivity fade away if only for a moment. Just for this moment he’d let his heart do the talking. He’d do what he needed to get her to quiet-- to relax. She was likely to give herself a heart attack if he didn’t do something--
…
“Leon…” she mumbled dazedly, her head lolling on her neck as her body arched against his, entirely limp with fatigue, “don’t hate me…please?” she whispered, her eyes focusing and un-focusing on his face. Looking at her made him wonder if she was still mad at him for not taking up on her offer, despite wanting to-- but he’d known there were so many things that simply didn’t work between them, things that could never work. As much as either of the may want it, a relationship between the two of them wasn’t possible.
She spoke again, trying her best to say what she needed to say before passing out in his arms, “I…”. She was trembling in his arms and he was wondering if she was too sick to manage what she was trying to say. He contemplated hushing her but she started to speak and her next words made Leon’s heart stop in his chest if only for a moment:
“Leon… I… I… love you…”
…
“…and I care about you too… Ashley… you can relax…” she had been moaning lightly, her eyes rolling into the back of her head… but she was gradually getting softer and softer so he continued speaking to her, trying to feel her pulse but only getting his. “I’m not going to leave you again, I promise…” he whispered, his breath feathering over her cheek.
He knew damn well that he wanted to protect her but that wasn’t going to be a possibility. He was fighting with his emotion now-- torn between caring, in whatever way he did for her, and his need to get away from her-- to free himself of his addiction to women he simply failed to save. Women like Ashley… and Ada… These were the kinds of woman that couldn’t be protected. He hated that he’d agreed to work for the president’s daughter. He shouldn’t have gambled his well being on a game of rock, paper, and scissors-- shoot.
‘Damn it…’ he thought.
Not to mention he was just beginning to react to her body pressing against his. He felt terrible for feeling passion streak through him, and shame, considering her condition. But he had to face it-- he was a man in the end, and he’d only have to get her calmed and then he could insist on her release from quarantine when he gave his report at 14:00 hours. Get out of here so that she could go home to her father-- to people who could love her.
Without realizing it, while he was fighting to maintain control, she had fallen asleep peacefully in his arms. He looked down at her tear streaked face, her lashes damp and clumping together with moisture. He wanted to kiss those eyes that had wept for him-- cried out for him. And he almost wished… no he couldn‘t wish-- because that would complicate so much-- but if he could wish it would be a wish that he‘d have the strength to maybe return her love someday-- or anybodies for that matter. He’d come close enough to failing her and he didn’t want to be given the chance again-- he was done with protecting woman as far as he was concerned.
He carried her towards her bed, and set her on the sheets. He was certain this would be one of the last time he saw her for a long time, if ever again. He wished he could have at least told her how grateful he was for her strength while in Spain-- how strong she had been despite everything. If she managed to wake up before he got her out of here he’d try to let her know that he didn’t hate her-- maybe she thought he hated her-- that might be the cause of her nightmares. Wouldn‘t it be nice if it was something as silly and meaningless as that? He would never be able to let anybody tell him that girls were frivolous creatures but he knew this wasn’t the case here.
But if he could talk to her, he’d tell her that he wasn’t trying to insult her by rejecting her offer. He just wanted to protect her and maybe himself too. It was hard for a man with his kind of past to depend on a woman for motivation, or anything-- when all they served for him in the past was an unpleasant reminder of what was going to happen if he failed.
Placing her on the sheets he gave her one last look on her face and smoothing her hair from her damp cheeks, he let a bit of emotion go as he let his finger linger on the soft skin that was not clean-- but was the cleanest he had seen it since they had left met in Spain. He knew sleeping on the bed with her wouldn’t be appropriate-- and the door hadn’t opened back up. They meant for him to stay.
“Damn it!” he cursed, sweeping his foot across the ground before sitting down against the small bed. Leaning against it he felt his senses tune into the sound of her rhythmic breathing. It was like the ocean, it seemed to sweep against him, pulling him towards her warmth and her obvious femininity. She seemed so innocent laying on the white sheets-- the hideous green of her clothing an obvious contrast from the pristine white of the room.
He couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched, scrutinized intensely and he hated feeling like a damn lab rat. It was almost as if the people in charge of this facility thought it was funny to torture people like they were lab rats. He was surprised they hadn’t started to hook the two of them up to machines to test them to see if any of the parasites remained. He wouldn’t put it past the government to do that to them but he was relieved to know that it wasn’t a likely case since everything between them was fine.
‘Ashley…’ he thought, peeking over his shoulder to peer at her face as he had done many times before, ‘you weren’t always scared were you? You were a happy student until now, weren’t you?’ His eyes softened, wondering if she’d ever know how much he really did care for her-- despite all the complications. It wasn’t love… it couldn’t be. But he cared in one way or another. He just had to let that go-- she had a normal life to return too, and he had three months of waiting that was going to feel like forever, to wait through.
He stopped, looking away from her and forcing all of his thoughts away-- including the raging growth he had evidently throbbing from between his legs-- not liking the thought path he was traveling-- thinking about the time only made it go by slower. Gritting his teeth he folded his arms and bowed his head-- determined to wake if she did and wishing he could take a cold shower.
…
…
…
So… this whole chapter is about Leon’s feelings towards woman that he protects-- symbolic of his memory from Resident Evil 2 in the form of a dream. Claire mentions that they both needed something to protect if they were going to get out of here-- and it was true in Resident Evil 4 as well. Leon needed to protect Ashley in order to survive because it gave him a reason to do so. Now he’s torn because he wants to protect Ashley and he’s succeeded so far so he’d rather get away from her before he has a chance to fail her. This chapter is loaded with similarities between Ada and Ashley and the kind of man Leon is when it comes to protecting woman. Just think about it, they are much the same!
I am so glad to report that I have almost had 10 reviews for this chapter! Remember the goal is to get 10 or more! That is so awesome! Thank you everyone!
Edit: 7/4/2008
-Luky
Writing this chapter was a fun prospect. We’ve got lots of flashbacks in store for all my readers and hopefully they will provide an insight, or a similarity between characters that are important to the story. See, the difficulty about writing a continuation like this is you have to somehow bring the characters, who were otherwise in a very stressed environment, into something that is normal and establish a “normal” mode for them to be in. They are out of danger and if anyone has studied psychology, this change in people from a bad situation back to a normal creates two different faces to a person. I’ve got three to work with in this story and establishing something as intricate like that requires a strong influence on the characters actions that we DO know about.
That means lots of flashbacks and memories. I hope you like my interpretation of them!
Please enjoy!
-Luky
…
Chapter Four:
…
Nightmares
…
…
…
“Leon! What happened? You’re bleeding!” came a cry and the thunder of footfall against the metal grates he was currently sitting on, each vibration jostling him and making his wound hurt worse. He was leaning against a wall, one hand over his chest; blood seeping thru his spread fingers where his had was pressed against a gun wound. He was younger… much younger and it was his first day on the job. His first day in Raccoon city, in this hell, bleeding from the chest and only one clip left of bullets.
Claire leaned over him, coming to one knee at his side, her ponytail whipping about her face as she scanned him, searching with worried eyes over his wound. They had become unexpected friends in their fight for survival and together they had faced so many things, never mind the nerve wracking way they‘d met each other. He was shocked to see her there, but was kind of relieved too. He was hurt but…
“I…” he started, groaning with effort as he tried to catch his breath, “I ran into this woman… who was in trouble…” he managed to say before he had to stop and breath deeply. Her concerned gaze swept over him, her eyes filled with a kind of hurried concern. She had a mission to do too-- but she cared enough about him that she wasn’t going to simply forget his wound and not help him if he needed it.
“Her names… Ada. Right after that someone tried to kill me-- nearly succeeded too. Ada went after the sniper…but I… I’m worried about her…” he said, grunting from pain. His vision was clearing at least and he was able to hold his breath a little better. It was nice to have a friend in all this confusion. He hadn’t expected to be fighting zombies, or finding beautiful women on his first day at the job. It had been, quite the surprise…
“I’ve gotta find her before something happens-” he started as he leaned forward, trying to stand up. Claire made a sound of shock and not too lightly pushed him back. She wanted to be here with him, damn it, but she had her own agenda and Leon getting shot wasn‘t part of it. She needed to find her brother just the same as he needed to find this woman. Protecting something other then themselves was the only thing that motivated either of them to get out of this mess.
“But you’ve been shot!?” she cried, pulling his hands back to examine the wound. It didn’t look mortal, but then again neither of them was doctors and had no way to bandage it-- he certainly couldn’t do it himself. And she knew from the look in his eyes that he was consumed with finding her-- he had to get back to that girl. She seemed like she was in such danger. From the moment he saw her he had wanted to help and protect her…
He groaned loudly as Claire gripped her sleeve in her teeth and with her free hand, pulled a huge strip of cloth free. Wrapping it around her four fingers she pressed it against his chest-- blood slowly soaking through-- it was warm to the touch and made her insides churn despite herself. She eyes him, admiring the determination she knew reflected in both their eyes.
“I’ll be okay… its Ada I’m worried about.”
…
He awoke to screams.
At first he thought he was the one screaming and that he was still in Raccoon city, screaming with pain over the wounds he‘d received. Inside of him he felt his stomach quaking with eagerness and fear-- something he rarely experienced, if ever, and the combination made him feel a mixture of nausea and excitement. He distantly wondered if he was back in Raccoon city but that wasn’t plausible either.
He sat up in his bed and was instantly aware of his surroundings. Years of training and waking in the middle of a gun fight had honed his skills to the point where he was able to figure out his whereabouts instantly, wherever he was. Only rarely did he actually wake up and not be concerned, and that didn’t even apply to his own home.
This was no exception.
Within moments he realized he was actually in the quarantine room at a government facility where he and several other agents had gone after getting him off of the beach. He knew there was going to be dozens of other people in this same facility-- people that he had come in contact with while on the beach as well as Ashley. Anyone he’d encountered could have been the one wailing but somehow he knew that wasn’t the case.
The screams were more familiar then he’d have liked them to be. He was still in quarantine and it couldn’t have been more then a few hours since he had fallen asleep. He recognized the voice instantly and felt a roll of dread wash over him at the high pitched shriek. It was something he thought he’d only have to hear in HIS nightmares after he’d gotten out of Spain let alone once he’d returned.
It was Ashley and she was wailing at the top of her lungs-- fear dripping from the strained tone of her voice. Had something happened to her that he didn‘t know about? How could he have possibly heard her through the walls in this facility? He must be crazy to think he could hear her from all the way in here. It was hard to imagine that he’d be able to hear here through all the different thicknesses in the walls he knew surrounded them.
Why could she have been screaming? He couldn’t help but give weight to the irrational fear that maybe something truly terrible was happening. It wasn’t hard to imagine that something had gone wrong when they’d removed the parasite but the thought of that made him almost as terrified as she sounded. But there was no way there would be complications with her if he hadn’t had any problems. He suffocated that notion instantly.
He leapt from his bed and was instantly aware of his throbbing body screaming in agony at the movement. He hadn’t realized he was so sore until just now but the pain was something he’d live through- and he was more concerned over Ashley’s pain. He instantly put it behind him and ran to the wall, banging on it frantically, a sense of desperation he hadn’t known he had enveloping him like a cloud of darkness, squeezing his heart further and further with each horrific scream.
“Ashley! Ashley! Follow Me! Follow the sound of my voice!” he yelled as loud as he possibly could, his hands smashing against the tiles, his voice hoarse from yelling and thirst. He still hadn’t drank anything and he found his throat was parched-- but he yelled back to the girl regardless. It was hard not to want to seek her out to sooth her nightmares but he was trapped in this hole right next to her, unable to do anything and he knew it.
Her bloodcurdling scream seemed to reverberate through the entire building and he paced, sure that there was no way for him to get to her. Why did he care-- he was done with this mission. But those kinds of screams… that utter panic… It wasn’t something he’d heard from her yet, at least not like this-- not like this.
He’d dealt with this many times in Spain and he’d try to wake her long before it became an issue considering they were almost always in a compromised situation where any alert to their enemies could end whatever brief amount of rest they might be able to have. It had been a necessary function and he always cured it the best way he knew how… Thinking about it now made him more nervous since he knew he was probably being recorded and watched.
His heart twisted again as the screams increased in urgency, and began to shape into words-- a word. He strained to understand it but there was no way to tell. He knew her adjoining quarantine room would be along side this wall and so he pressed his ear against the tiles. He knew there had to be at least 8 feet of space separating them but he felt the need to be as close as he possibly could to her.
Being close to her always seemed to be the cure for this kind of problem and since the wall was the closest thing he could get to in this situation that’s where he hovered, his body tensed as adrenaline was pumped rapidly through his veins. For a brief instant he wondered if he could beat through the wall to get to her but dismissed the notion. If he tried something like that he’d likely end up with broken knuckles and wrists.
‘I needed her just as much as she needs me now but I can’t do anything about it…’ he thought morbidly as he remembered how much he had needed her in Spain for certain things. If she hadn‘t of been there for a lot of trials-- he wouldn‘t have made it out alive, let alone her. It didn’t seem fair that after everything they had gone through together that she would continue to be plagued by nightmares after all she had done to help him remain sane.
She was so many things he couldn’t be when faced with a trial-- dedication wasn’t enough. She was the surprisingly calming effect on him when they were faced with a puzzle and when his lack of sleep distorted his mind and made it harder for him to determined puzzles they’d collaborated together to find the solution. You had to have a purpose to survive and he had nobody but her and his job.
People were working on the other side of that wall. They were watching him, and watching Ashley. What in the world could they be doing to her or were they doing anything?? Had she managed to still have some of the parasite within her? He had done the electric surgery on his own and there was nothing he had seen in her scan-- that was a silly notion but the fear couldn‘t stop from unearthing within him. He rejected it again-- he was starting to feel horrible paranoid.
He wasn’t sure of why that terror seemed to surge through him but the thought of another women dying because of him… Not Ashley. She was too pure it seemed-- nothing like his first thoughts when he thought of a college girl. He hadn’t expected anyone as smart nor as sweet as her-- but she had a serpents tongue too, which made her sexy as hell. Sharp wit was always a plus when it came to woman.
He just couldn‘t let her die. He wouldn‘t. Sharp wit or not, she was still a girl-- a girl trapped in a dream of her greatest fears, screaming for someone, anyone to help her. It was as if she was still in Spain. God-- he hated this sound even then but now it seemed even more real and even more terrifying. They had escaped from her very first hell and it seemed he hadn’t managed to get her out of all of it.
He screamed her name repeatedly, bashing on the wall and calling for someone to respond to him-- to tell him what was happening but of course there was no response. It was after another minute or more that he realized she was screaming-- but it wasn’t the nonsensical screams she had made in Spain but screams that resembled his name. She was screaming for him.
…
“Ashley!” he cried, recognized the girl in the picture as the subject-- the president’s daughter. He rushed towards her but had to dodge a wayward stick as the girl chucked it at him in defense, yelling at him, “Don’t come!” with a shrill voice that was instantly annoying. He remembered thinking she was a lot prettier in person… but surpassingly he didn‘t like the hair-- and he didn‘t like the jumbo ears.
She fell, cowering into a corner, an animalistic look of fear on her dirt smeared face. How long she had been up here, in the heat, without food or water, he didn’t know, but she looked smaller then he‘d imagined too-- and he hadn‘t thought that she would have thrown the stick at him. He knew she could be delirious from the trip but it was more important to take control of the situation then to worry about her immediate mental state.
Plus if she had enough sense to run that meant she was a fighter and from the looks of things around this crazy place he’d need more of that. He didn’t think dogs could seriously be so scary but he vowed never to own another one after just seeing what he just had.
“No! Get AWAY!” She cried as he stepped closer to her trying to be as careful as possible. It was one hell of a way to get close to your newest assignment as a bodyguard. He didn‘t think he‘d end up here chasing after the girl when he‘d made that bet with his friend to decide who would protect the president and who would protect the daughter. Damn it all to hell, he had some poor luck that was for sure-- it was a damn good thing he didn‘t gamble… at least he never would again.
“Calm down.” he said as calmly as possibly, reverting to the hostage tone he’d always learned in training but had rarely had to use, “Everything is going to be just fine. My name’s Leon. I’m under the Presidents order to rescue you--”
“What?” she interrupted him, her face brightening beneath the soot and revealing some of the personality he had seen in the picture he had been given to find the girl with. He had studied that picture, memorizing the lines of her face… for the mission of course… and hadn‘t left a single strand out of his memory. “My father?” she questioned, her brown eyes boring into his from the ground where she sat, her knees sprawled out, her green skirt flared around her hips.
“That’s right. And I have to get you out of here. Now come with me!” he had said as she stood and began to follow him. As they made their way down the ladder she babbled question after question about her father without him really answering anything. She mostly expressed her relief, her fear-- and what awful things they had been doing to her. He distantly wondered if her virtue was intact, but he decided against questioning it.
“Leon…” she said, stopping in her tracks and curling her fingers into her skirt. She bit her lip and Leon felt a wave of protectiveness and annoyance sweep over him as he stopped too and turned to address her. There was urgency in her voice, and a quiet fear. “Please… I know I‘m probably not your ideal mission but-- I’m scared to be alone here. I’m so scared…so don‘t leave me…” her lips trembled and Leon instantly felt the urge to scoff at her childish omission of fear. But she was a harmless kid, not a Secret Service agent like him-- it was only natural.
He couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of pity for the girl. The United States didn’t negotiate with terrorists. The most they did was sending out people just like him-- president’s daughter or not. If he didn’t get her out of here, she’d become a bargaining chip that would be met with an empty hand. In that way, he knew he wasn’t going to fail this time-- he was going to save them both otherwise she’d be abandoned to a cause that showed no mercy.
“I promise won‘t leave you alone…” he promised her, unaware of the sudden appearance that one of the villains was going to make and with a smile and a comforting pat on her shoulder he said, “We’re leaving here together.”
…
“Agent Kennedy, please respond.” The screams hadn’t stopped but a voice sounded in his room, reverberating off of the walls causing his head to ache. Surprisingly the voice was shaking with concern and… unspoken fears. It shocked him from his memory and he turned his head away from the wall and looked around the room to the source of the voice. It was the intercom that was speaking to him and he found that he didn‘t recognize it.
“Yes. Ashley is having another dream isn‘t she?” he spat, not even bothering to refer to her as anything else. When the girl is screaming his name, doesn‘t that make it more personal? “What is she doing right now?” he asked, the professionalism in his tone belaying the urgency he felt.
“The president’s daughter is unable to be restrained and she is unresponsive to voice recognition. Speaking to her hasn’t worked and her vitals show that she is still asleep-- if we give her a dose of sleeping medication it could put her into a Coma. She appears to be awake but she is simply dreaming. She is acting as if she is once again in Spain and we are uncertain of how to calm her down-- do you have any ideas agent..?”
He groaned inward, afraid of this too. She was dreaming again that was obvious by the echo of screams he heard distantly behind him. She had dreamed many times during their escape during what few naps she was able to grasp. Those had been uncomfortable moments for him that he wasn‘t willing to share with others-- but if it meant her well being versus his pride..?
Nightmares plagued her each time she rested… and he was always there when she woke up-- always there to hold her until she stopped kicking and screaming. She said she couldn’t sleep when she wasn’t with him. She said it was impossible for her to actually close her eyes for a moment and feel safe enough to try and rest. And what little rest she did get was constantly interrupted by gunfire and so much more…
“I feel so much safer when I am with you Leon…” she said with a hesitant smile on her face. She was blushing, he could tell, as she spoke, “I actually feel like we might live through this because of you…” And she had smiled so shyly that he felt his heart jerk at the thought of what she said. He couldn’t help the pride that glowed in him at that comment.
“Listen,” he interrupted the voice over the intercom, “you get Ashley out of here. She’s not infected with anything I assure you. You’ll find nothing wrong with her but you can keep me here if you’re uncertain. You have to get her to a hospital, around familiar surroundings-- she’s going to break if you keep her locked up and alone in a cell like this. She hasn’t been prepped for this kind of isolation after her ordeal!” he yelled, unsure what volume would be picked up by the microphones.
“We’ll see what we can do. Meanwhile, we need you to transfer rooms and attempt to subdue the girl-- can you do it?” the voice asked, and he shook his head yes. Admittedly, he knew exactly how to stop her nightmares, but it was a question of what he was willing to do in front of the cameras. He was already going to be leaving out quite a bit of his report due to more… uh… personal issues.
“We cannot put a hazmat suit into the quarantine room. We have orders for you to transfer rooms. Your next assignment came sooner then you thought, didn‘t it?” the voice asked and he felt a thought pop into his head. He heard himself agreeing without realizing it and heading towards the door in quick strides-- his next mission was just like his first one-- he had to do everything he could to extract the little girl from her problems. Such a shame her only problem now was her own mind.
“Fine. How do we do this?” he asked, standing by the door. A moment later it slid open to show him the air drying room, the door leading to the sanitizing room open already. Inside the room there was a hazmat suit of his own that he was certain he had to put on. He followed the instructions on how to put the suit on and once everything was snapped into place he was about to close the latch on the face plate when they told him that he would not be hooked to any type of air supply. Her screams were still just as loud, but dulled and unintelligent at this point and he gulped in a deep breath of air snapping everything in place and watching the door slide open to the hallway.
By the time he had gotten through all the rooms towards hers he had already stripped out of the hazmat suit to reveal his lovely attire. He withheld the urge to tap his foot impatiently as he waited for the door to her room to respond. Finally, as the door opened to her quarantine room he felt horror wash over him as he stepped through the threshold and saw the most pitiful sight he had ever seen yet.
Ashley was screaming in horror, her eyes closed tightly, and her hands over her ears, her face twisted in such fear that she looked almost like she was possessed by a demon that was trapped in her head. He raced forward, his heart heavy and his arms stretched out towards her in fear. As he came closer he saw her face was scrunched up and red from her wailing. He ran, coming to his knees before her and scooping her up into his arms.
“Ashley! I’m here!” he cried, his voice hoarse and filled with desperation and as his skin touched hers he felt an intense heat flushing up his skin. Her body went limp at the sound of his voice and her eyes opened widely as her face turned towards his. He pulled her against him, burying her face against his chest, wrapping his arms around her.
She gasped, her body rolling in his arms and her hand clenching and unclenching against his chest. He crushed her against him… it wasn’t the first time this had happened, but he had hoped had seen the last. He couldn’t imagine how she would feel waking up in this hollow dungeon after she had escaped so much. Waking up in this place would only increase her fear-- and without him she wouldn’t know who to believe or what was going on.
He looked down at her face, forcing his tongue to still as he ached to speak to her in soft tones like he usually did when she was dreaming. He could tell she was asleep because of the vacate stare that she gave-- unseeing and unable to focus on anything in particular. He was able to sleep with his eyes open too- but it was weird for her to be able to do it. She almost looked as if she was possessed.
He could feel the heat radiating from her body seeping into his skin. He shook with the effort to control his emotions that seemed to be breaking free from him. He was torn between the people who were watching and his need to quiet her nightmares, to silence her screams in the only way he knew how. In a very real way she needed him to protect her body, but also her mind. It was the same way that he needed her to protect his sanity, despite always running in the way of his bullets. It was an intense feeling of duty and responsibility that he hadn’t faced with any other woman, except Ada.
“Ashley…” he said softly, stroking her head in a calming motion, “Ashley… I am here. Your not alone I promise. Were going to get out of here together…” he whispered in his ear, trying to stay away from the mini microphones that were intent on capturing every word spoken in that room. It was true, they were going to get out of here-- but if he had any pull after the dangerous mission he‘d completed, then she‘d be leaving first and they wouldn‘t be leaving together. He pulled her closer, her breathing erratic, her body drooping against his arms.
“I don’t hate you…” he paused and stopped, almost unwilling to acknowledge what she had whispered before passing out earlier. He was unwilling to believe it was a reality. Was it real? Probably not but she believed it. He couldn’t accept that she would feel that way about him but he knew that fighting her feelings for him now would do no good for her. He wouldn’t have to worry about acknowledging her feelings soon enough but for now he would use those feelings to his advantage. To use them as best he could, if only for right now. If only for this one moment he’d do it-- for her.
‘Whatever it takes to help her…’ he thought, willing to let a part of his objectivity fade away if only for a moment. Just for this moment he’d let his heart do the talking. He’d do what he needed to get her to quiet-- to relax. She was likely to give herself a heart attack if he didn’t do something--
…
“Leon…” she mumbled dazedly, her head lolling on her neck as her body arched against his, entirely limp with fatigue, “don’t hate me…please?” she whispered, her eyes focusing and un-focusing on his face. Looking at her made him wonder if she was still mad at him for not taking up on her offer, despite wanting to-- but he’d known there were so many things that simply didn’t work between them, things that could never work. As much as either of the may want it, a relationship between the two of them wasn’t possible.
She spoke again, trying her best to say what she needed to say before passing out in his arms, “I…”. She was trembling in his arms and he was wondering if she was too sick to manage what she was trying to say. He contemplated hushing her but she started to speak and her next words made Leon’s heart stop in his chest if only for a moment:
“Leon… I… I… love you…”
…
“…and I care about you too… Ashley… you can relax…” she had been moaning lightly, her eyes rolling into the back of her head… but she was gradually getting softer and softer so he continued speaking to her, trying to feel her pulse but only getting his. “I’m not going to leave you again, I promise…” he whispered, his breath feathering over her cheek.
He knew damn well that he wanted to protect her but that wasn’t going to be a possibility. He was fighting with his emotion now-- torn between caring, in whatever way he did for her, and his need to get away from her-- to free himself of his addiction to women he simply failed to save. Women like Ashley… and Ada… These were the kinds of woman that couldn’t be protected. He hated that he’d agreed to work for the president’s daughter. He shouldn’t have gambled his well being on a game of rock, paper, and scissors-- shoot.
‘Damn it…’ he thought.
Not to mention he was just beginning to react to her body pressing against his. He felt terrible for feeling passion streak through him, and shame, considering her condition. But he had to face it-- he was a man in the end, and he’d only have to get her calmed and then he could insist on her release from quarantine when he gave his report at 14:00 hours. Get out of here so that she could go home to her father-- to people who could love her.
Without realizing it, while he was fighting to maintain control, she had fallen asleep peacefully in his arms. He looked down at her tear streaked face, her lashes damp and clumping together with moisture. He wanted to kiss those eyes that had wept for him-- cried out for him. And he almost wished… no he couldn‘t wish-- because that would complicate so much-- but if he could wish it would be a wish that he‘d have the strength to maybe return her love someday-- or anybodies for that matter. He’d come close enough to failing her and he didn’t want to be given the chance again-- he was done with protecting woman as far as he was concerned.
He carried her towards her bed, and set her on the sheets. He was certain this would be one of the last time he saw her for a long time, if ever again. He wished he could have at least told her how grateful he was for her strength while in Spain-- how strong she had been despite everything. If she managed to wake up before he got her out of here he’d try to let her know that he didn’t hate her-- maybe she thought he hated her-- that might be the cause of her nightmares. Wouldn‘t it be nice if it was something as silly and meaningless as that? He would never be able to let anybody tell him that girls were frivolous creatures but he knew this wasn’t the case here.
But if he could talk to her, he’d tell her that he wasn’t trying to insult her by rejecting her offer. He just wanted to protect her and maybe himself too. It was hard for a man with his kind of past to depend on a woman for motivation, or anything-- when all they served for him in the past was an unpleasant reminder of what was going to happen if he failed.
Placing her on the sheets he gave her one last look on her face and smoothing her hair from her damp cheeks, he let a bit of emotion go as he let his finger linger on the soft skin that was not clean-- but was the cleanest he had seen it since they had left met in Spain. He knew sleeping on the bed with her wouldn’t be appropriate-- and the door hadn’t opened back up. They meant for him to stay.
“Damn it!” he cursed, sweeping his foot across the ground before sitting down against the small bed. Leaning against it he felt his senses tune into the sound of her rhythmic breathing. It was like the ocean, it seemed to sweep against him, pulling him towards her warmth and her obvious femininity. She seemed so innocent laying on the white sheets-- the hideous green of her clothing an obvious contrast from the pristine white of the room.
He couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched, scrutinized intensely and he hated feeling like a damn lab rat. It was almost as if the people in charge of this facility thought it was funny to torture people like they were lab rats. He was surprised they hadn’t started to hook the two of them up to machines to test them to see if any of the parasites remained. He wouldn’t put it past the government to do that to them but he was relieved to know that it wasn’t a likely case since everything between them was fine.
‘Ashley…’ he thought, peeking over his shoulder to peer at her face as he had done many times before, ‘you weren’t always scared were you? You were a happy student until now, weren’t you?’ His eyes softened, wondering if she’d ever know how much he really did care for her-- despite all the complications. It wasn’t love… it couldn’t be. But he cared in one way or another. He just had to let that go-- she had a normal life to return too, and he had three months of waiting that was going to feel like forever, to wait through.
He stopped, looking away from her and forcing all of his thoughts away-- including the raging growth he had evidently throbbing from between his legs-- not liking the thought path he was traveling-- thinking about the time only made it go by slower. Gritting his teeth he folded his arms and bowed his head-- determined to wake if she did and wishing he could take a cold shower.
…
…
…
So… this whole chapter is about Leon’s feelings towards woman that he protects-- symbolic of his memory from Resident Evil 2 in the form of a dream. Claire mentions that they both needed something to protect if they were going to get out of here-- and it was true in Resident Evil 4 as well. Leon needed to protect Ashley in order to survive because it gave him a reason to do so. Now he’s torn because he wants to protect Ashley and he’s succeeded so far so he’d rather get away from her before he has a chance to fail her. This chapter is loaded with similarities between Ada and Ashley and the kind of man Leon is when it comes to protecting woman. Just think about it, they are much the same!
I am so glad to report that I have almost had 10 reviews for this chapter! Remember the goal is to get 10 or more! That is so awesome! Thank you everyone!
Edit: 7/4/2008
-Luky