project: eden | leon kennedy

▪︎ Chapter 3 ▪︎

This had to be the joke of the century, Thea thought as she looked at the boy in front of her. His eyes narrowed and shock was permanent on his features, but he didn't hesitate to step forward and offer a hand to her.

Thea got up from the floor without his help, sending him a glare. She didn't need his sorry right now. She would rather swallow the glass shards under her boots than accept his help.

"Why would you break into the police department?" Leon asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"For fun," Thea threw her hands in the air, already having no patience for him. Leon rolled his eyes at her remark. "Have you not seen what's happening out there?!"

From one glance, she could tell he knew, alright. His jaw clenched as he let his arm fall back to his side, avoiding her intense gaze. She finally let her eyes glance over him, frowning at the letters on his chest: RPD. That should've been her uniform, but he snatched it away from her. Her dream job.

But then she noticed specs of blood on the side of his face and a small gash on his forehead where his hair didn't reach. It was hard to make out, but there was a little blood on his uniform, too.

"Is that blood?" Thea couldn't help but ask, nodding towards his thigh where a dark substance was rubbed across. Leon looked down at himself, his sudden panicked state disappearing the moment he found what she meant.

"Don't worry, it's not mine," Leon lifted his gaze to meet hers, a permanent scowl deepening her features. In the dim lighting, she looked more ruthless than ever.

"It wasn't worry, it was excitement," Thea scoffed, brushing past him towards the only door that lead outside.

"Of course..." Leon muttered under his breath, looking back at the broken window. Great, now not only there was a broken window he had to deal with, but the things out there gained another access point inside. And now there was his academic rival, her burning hatred raising the temperature inside.

Then he noticed the blood mixing with glass shards on the pale tiles. She didn't say she got hurt.

As Thea made her way down the dark hallway, she heard rapid footsteps approach behind her, and she didn't even have to look back to know it was Leon.

"You don't happen to have a spare gun on you, do you?" Thea asked, not even glancing his way. His silence was a good enough answer for her. An annoyed groan left her lips, her eyes scanning her surroundings. Everything seemed pretty normal so far, it was just dark inside.

"You're hurt," Leon observed once he caught up to her, his eyes scanning her body for any injuries. It didn't take too long to spot the dark pool of blood on her white shirt, his eyes snapping back to her emotionless face.

"Don't worry about me," she growled, picking up her pace. She just had to find a gun and then get the hell out of there. She sooner she got to the labs the sooner she could reunite with her family. If she would waste any more precious time the chances of their survival would plummet.

"Wait!" his hand shot out, grabbing her forearm. Thea spun around, the fire of thousand suns burning bright in her green eyes. Her gaze lingered where his hand clutched her, his grip solid but not hurtful. Then, slowly she lifted her eyes to meet his, the rage inside them almost making him stumble backward.

There weren't many things that scared him, but Thea Keller was one of them. And right now, the way she was looking at him it looked like he wasn't going to live to see another sunrise.

"Don't touch me, fuckface," she snatched her arm away from him, the sudden motion causing her new wounds to burn. She flinched, a hand coming to touch her stomach. When she lifted her hand, she was surprised to see it was covered in blood, seeping through her clothes. "Damn, that was my favorite shirt."