The Lost City (Leon S. Kennedy X OC)

chapter 6

Leon and I made it to the top of the ladder, and we could hear the soft groans coming from the other side of the door. He lowered his hand and unclipped the knife from his belt. He immediately hands it to me.

"Stay sharp, okay?" I nod my head in agreement

He slowly wraps his hand around the door knob and pushes it open. Behind the door were three zombies waiting for us. Leon aims his handgun and fires two rounds before the zombie in the lab coat falls over. He then repeats with the other two, and after I walk over and drive the knife through their head to ensure they weren't getting back up.

We look around the room and found a few more handgun rounds for Leon. He then heads over to the corner of the room where there is a giant hole.

"It looks like this is our only way out." I knew he was going to say that. "I'll let you know when you can jump down, okay?" He says, I nod as he jumps down and hear his feet land safely.

"Alright Val, the coast is clear, come down!" He yells up. I take a deep breath and leap down the same as he did. When I hit the ground I immediately lose my balance, but Leon grabs me just in time before I face planted into the murky waters below.

"How many times is that already?" Leon says.

"Not enough times, pretty boy." I say as I look at our surroundings. Leon laughs at my comment and I can see a little brush creeping it's way up to his cheeks. "I guess it's back to swimming?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Leon says and he leaps down, I follow behind and we make our way down the corridor. There's a gate blocking our path straight ahead but I noticed another ledge to our right. I motion Leon to follow and I climb up.

*****

As the pair continued their walk through the sewers in silence, Leon couldn't help the thought of Valentina using him creeping up on him. He knew he had a connection with her but did she feel the same towards him? Were her parents really the cause of this mess? Does she actually know the way out and she's just using him to help her get there and leave him behind?

They made it to a room that was over looking a garbage fill. Leon walks up to the glass and see's the injured FBI agent lying on the ground. Valentina runs up next to him, she quickly goes around to find an electronic door that was missing parts in order to open it. She runs over to the table and looks over the notes that could help them in opening the door. Leon couldn't help but noticed that Valentina looked like she knew what she was doing, but Leon also didn't know Valentina was her high school's valedictorian and was an honors student at her university. She could solve the hardest equation that was given to her in a matter of minutes and that's exactly what she was doing. He thought that Ada was right all along. He knew Ada was right, but she wasn't. The stress of the current situation was getting the better of the rookie cops head, and before he could even think he spoke up.

"Why didn't you tell me your parents worked for umbrella?" Leon blurts out all of a sudden causing Valentina to furrow her brows but never looking away from the notes.

"I didn't think it was important." She speaks up.

"The fact that umbrella caused all of this, and you didn't think to tell me that they were apart of it!"

"Leon, I don't know if they're apart of this or not! I don't even know if they're alive! I swear if I thought my parents had something to do with this mess, I would've told you right from the start."

"Or you're just using to me to find them and once you do, the three of you escape leaving me behind to rot!" Leon's anger was fueled by the city he was never able to protect in the first place and all the innocent lives that had been taken by it. He knew he shouldn't be taking it out on her but he couldn't help himself. Especially after everything Ada told him.

"What the hell has gotten into you, Leon! I would never ever leave you behind! Especially after everything you've done for me!" She fights back. There's one thing that Valentina hates the most and it's false accusations being thrown at her.

"Ada told me everything! The G Virus, you're parents and the Birkins! How the Umbrella Corporation basically ran this city!"

"Leon I have told you everything I can about what happened to this city! I'm in the dark as much as you are and that's how my parents kept it. I want to find a way out as much as you do but we're not gonna be able to do that if we don't trust each other." She was right and he knew she was right.

Leon knew that the beautiful girl in front of possibly couldn't be hiding anything. When they first met she was sincere and scared. He let his paranoia and confusion get the better of him and he was ashamed. She looked at him, and he could see the fury in her eyes due to the wild accusations he had just made towards her. He walks forward getting ready to apologize but she stops him by shoving the notes into his chest.

"You need to find the missing plugs to get the door activated. I'll stay behind and plot out how I'm gonna ditch you once we find a way out." She says almost as a whisper. Valentina was truly hurt and it broke Leon's heart to hear her like that.

"Val, I'm-" he starts but is abruptly interrupted

"Just go!" Valentina speaks up louder. She turns around and heads back towards the table taking a seat trying to decipher the note that was left behind by a former employee. This note would give her the key to open the door once Leon returned with the plugs.

*****

"Pretty sure the rook and knight are on the same wall and the bishop and queen aren't next to each other. The queen and rook were opposite each other, too."

I repeated the riddle in my head for what seemed like forever but it was hard to focus. Leon's accusations just came out of nowhere, well from Ada but still. She has no right telling someone else who I am when I've never spoken one word to her. I get up from my seat and look out to her. After what's she's done, I shouldn't be helping her. Turning Leon against me and diminishing our trust that quickly. Although she is partially to blame, Leon is just as guilty.

You would think if I wanted him dead, I would've shot him a lot sooner. Plus I'm pretty good at getting myself out of tricky situations. For example, when I took on a completed mutated monster that I now know is William Birkin. Although, Leon was around for that. I did manage to rescue Sherry on my own and make it halfway through the station up until I lost her when a zombie attacked me. Leon was there again, damn it can I just be mad at him without reminding myself how he's helped me out so far.

I make my way back over to the table and start looking over the riddle again. This time I do my best to clear my mind and slowly but surely start to write the order the plugs need to be in. I set the pen down and smile knowing that I had finally figured it out.

I prop my elbows up and lean my chin into my hands. I thought about how my life had changed in a matter of hours. I was just a normal college student working her ass off to impress her well respected parents, and now here I am. In a underground lab that was created by Umbrella and my parents may or may not have something to do with this outbreak. I then thought back to how Leon and I's conversation ended right after the fight. He looked just as broken as I felt when I told him to go. I was a little harsh, maybe I should apologize. However that apology will come once he pulls out the biggest apology that isn't just I'm sorry whenever he gets back. I wonder what's keeping him?

I looked down at the paper I wrote the plug sequence on and flipped it over. I was doodling and writing on it until I hear a click behind me.

"I let you get away last time but not this time. Get up!"