Words to Live by [Leon Kennedy]

eleven. sister's keeper

September 29th.

After an hour, Joey no longer noticed the stale, musty air as she ventured deeper into the labyrinthine sewers. Her racing thoughts were a welcome distraction from the stomach-churning stench. She worried incessantly about Leon, her mind a chaotic whirl of concern, while simultaneously trying to imprint every twist and turn in her memory as she moved farther and farther away from him.

She didn't want to leave him, but the gravity of what was at stake had forced her hand. Annette wouldn't escape justice—not after confirming the G-virus was real. And closer than they anticipated.

Joey began to ponder the possibility of tracking Annette down and retrieving the G-virus from the lab—perhaps they could use that as evidence to expose Umbrella and halt the outbreak. Two birds, one stone. But this plan hinged on one crucial factor: her ability to actually locate the elusive scientist.

I have to now.

The young soldier stood before a massive incinerator, presumably used for the refuse gathered in the sewers. Joey's lip curled in disgust; she despised littering. However, what caught her eye was not the trash, but a lifeless body inside the machine, a green blinking light wrapped around its wrist.

"Hmm."

Josephine approached with measured steps, her curiosity piqued. As she drew nearer, she realized it was a wristband. Her heartbeat quickened as she crouched and removed it, the memory of countless locked doors with green screens labeled "Authorized Personnel Only" flashing through her mind. 

She secured the band around her own wrist, a newfound determination fueling her as she pressed on.

She entered a hallway, then exited, and found herself on the second level of a trash compacting room, immediately assaulted by the foul stench of hot, rotting garbage. Squinting through watery eyes, her gaze locked onto Annette, who stood behind a rectangular window in a separate room.

Desperate, Josephine broke into a sprint despite her aching legs, stopping in the center of the room atop a narrow walkway. It was the closest she could get for now. Suddenly, a large spotlight buzzed to life, forcing her to shield her eyes until they adjusted. Finally, she looked up at Annette, a sneer etched across her face.

"Enough with the games, Annette!" Josephine's voice trembled with uncontrollable anger. Annette tried to kill her. She almost killed Leon. "You can't run forever!"

The scientist backed away, disappearing from view. "The game's over," she declared, her voice echoing through speakers mounted on the walls. "You lost."

Annette reappeared just as the trash compactor to Josephine's left slammed down onto the walkway, sending a violent shudder through the ground beneath her feet.

Joey fixed her narrowed gaze back on the woman. "If you don't cooperate and come with me—right now, I'll have to go down to your lab." Her jaw tightened. "I'll be forced to take the G-virus, and then all of you will suffer for it." She hoped Annette wouldn't call her bluff. "What would your employers do then?"

Annette's condescending mask slipped for just a second—a second too long for Joey not to notice.

I've got you now.

Two deep lines formed between the scientist's brows as she leaned over the control dock and vowed, "Over my dead body." With a swift motion, her arm jerked down, and the trash compactor began to grind menacingly against the walkway, inching closer to Josephine.

As the compactor gained lethal speed, the brunette's body moved on auto-pilot, propelling her into a desperate sprint toward a fifteen-foot drop-off. Just as she thought she had reached safety, the compactor slammed into the supporting pillars of the bridge, rupturing them and causing the entire structure to collapse.