A/n: Picture is of Gwen because I can't draw to save my life and wanted to give y'all a visual of what Gwen looks like. Hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
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"You're the rookie?!" Gwen unconsciously yelled out in surprise.
Leon couldn't help but smile at her reaction. "Guess no one told you, huh?"
"No!" The archivist walked down the stairwell. "They kept teasing me about the new rookie and wouldn't give me their name. It was so frustrating. I would've never guessed it was you."
"How long has it been, Gwen?" The blonde asked.
The young woman swatted his arm, causing him to wince. "Two whole years and no phone call!" Gwen crossed her arms, eyes narrowed in a sharp glare. "I thought we were friends, Leon."
"We still are friends. I'm sorry for not answering your calls and not even trying to reach you. It's just-"
"Ah!" Gwen promptly stopped him. "I don't wanna hear it. It's just... I'm glad you're here. It's good to see you're alright." Without hesitating, she wrapped her arms around him in a gentle hug.
Leon was taken aback at Gwen's sudden show of affection and hesitated for a brief second before reciprocating the hug. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. "In all honesty, I never thought I'd see you again."
Gwen pulled back a little. "Really? Why's that?"
"Well..." Leon started. "I thought you'd hate me and would never forgive me for leaving. But, I was wrong. When did you move to Raccoon City?"
"Roughly a year and a half ago. Got a job as an archivist here and been working here since. What're the odds we'd reunite during this shitshow." Gwen pulled away and smiled at her best friend. "I heard about the message Chief Irons sent you over the phone. If I were you, I'd have stayed away."
"If I did, this meeting wouldn't be happening," he replied.
"Well," she sighed contently. "I'm glad you went against your superior."
"So am I." Leon's smile grew, but it faltered slightly when he remembered why he was here. Pulling out the journal, he showed it to Gwen. "Marvin said you could help me. We need to find a way to access this secret passageway."
The woman's smile fell when she recognized the sketch. "Where... Where did you get this from?"
"An officer. I... I tried to help him, but I was too late," Leon frowned melancholically.
"It belonged to Elliot. He showed me this sketch a couple hours ago and said this was our way out of the station." Gwen gently took the journal from Leon's grasp and stared down at the sketch dismally. "He said we need three medallions to gain access to the passageway below the goddess statue. When he told me, I refused to go along with him. I was... scared. Maybe... Maybe if I had gone with him, he wouldn't be dead."
"Hey," Leon gently called out to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't blame yourself, Gwen."
"I know, but... I still feel a little responsible for his death. Anyway," the archivist wiped away a single, stray tear from her cheek as she flipped to a different page. "These three statues must be where the medallions are located. I know where the lion and unicorn statues are, but not the maiden one."
"I saw the lion statue in the main hall. Where's the unicorn statue?"
"Through that door," Gwen said, pointing to the door to her left. "Unfortunately, it's locked from the other side. I had to lock it a few days ago when a couple of corpses meandered in here while I was organizing."
"Let's head to the main hall and claim the medallion from the lion statue," Leon stated.
"I'm right behind you." Gwen placed a hand over the pistol that rested on her thigh. She kept ahold of the journal as they left the library and walked over to the lion statue. She noticed the dials and scanned the page where Elliot had drawn the statue, spotting the corresponding code. "Elliot even wrote down the codes to each statue. For this statue, it's the lion head, herb, then the bird."
Leon inputted the code and the duo heard a strange noise from the statue. In the middle of the shield, a hidden alcove was revealed along with a medallion. Leon grabbed it and slid it into his pocket. "One down, two to go. Where to, Gwen?"
"The only place that is accessible is the west hallway. I was attacked by a few zombies when I went searching for an officer. I... may have overreacted and taped the control panel shut."
Leon pulled out the knife Marvin gave him. "I've got us covered."
The two walked down the stairs and to reception. Leon sliced through the yellow duct tape, opened the panel, and pressed the button. The eerie squeak resonating from the metal gate as it retracted caused a chill to shoot down Gwen's spine. She swallowed nervously as they traveled through the small room to reach the door in the back. Before stepping through the door, Gwen grabbed a set of boards when she remembered the two windows that were broken earlier that day.
The duo walk down the dark hallway, Leon leading the way with his flashlight raised and his hand wrapped around his pistol. The groans and gurgles of the dead could be heard as they turned the corner and spotted four enemies down the hall. Gwen drew her gun and aimed it at three zombies who were lined up perfectly, providing a perfect window to shoot. Pulling the trigger, the bullet whizzed out of the barrel of the gun and down the hallway. The metal capsule pierced all three heads, killing the monsters with a single shot.
Leon was impressed and stared in awe. "What the hell was that?"
"Special bullets. They can pierce anything and pack more of a punch than normal bullets. Marvin gave them to me when all of this started," Gwen replied as Leon killed the last walking corpse. "They can kill these damned things in one blow if you aim for the head."
"Got any to spare?" He asked.
"Yeah. Marvin gave me an entire box of armor-piercing rounds. He snagged them from the S.T.A.R.S. Office before we had to seal off the second floor." She pulled out ten rounds and placed them in Leon's hand. "There's more in the library. I'll give you a few more once we circle back around."
"Thanks, Gwen." Leon placed the obsidian bullets in a pocket that wasn't home to his normal ammo.
"You're welcome." The archivist walked ahead with the boards still in her hand and boarded up the two windows that had broken when she was searching for David. Leon remained glued to Gwen's side, his gun and flashlight raised to kill anything that tried to attack her from behind while she blocked the windows.
"There," she huffed after blocking the second window. "That'll keep them from body flopping into the hallway."
"Alright, let's keep moving," Leon said.
Down the hallway, they entered the operation room. The door in the very back was chained and they had no way of getting through. Leon glanced over his shoulder to find Gwen reading something on a nearby desk. "You wouldn't happen to have bolt cutters, would you?" He didn't receive a response and walked over to the woman. She didn't move an inch as he approached, papers still clutched in her hands. "Gwen?"
Leon placed a hand on the archivist's shoulder, causing her to jump slightly. "Sorry, what did you ask?"
The officer peered over her shoulder and gazed at the documents she was holding. "What'd you find?"
"A-A record of events Officer Ford wrote up. It... It includes the incidences that happened in the past few days and how we lost most of the survivors. This must've been why David was down here. But... where's his body?" Gwen glanced down at the floor, noticing the blood trail and following it. Behind them was a stack of wooden pallets that were tall enough to access a shattered window. The archivist went to speak, but the sound of a window shattering silenced her. They knew the window was nearby with how loud it was and the operation room was no longer safe. "Leon, the window. We need to move before they start breaking down the door."
Leon nodded in agreement and climbed the wooden pallets. He crawled through the window and landed in the hallway. Gwen followed and slowly maneuvered through the broken window, trying to avoid the sharp edges of the glass that remained in the frame. Leon offered her a hand as she climbed out of the window and she gladly took it. She landed in front of Leon and turned her head when she heard banging.
A zombie was slamming its body against a vending machine as it growled and hissed. Taking a closer look, she noticed the monster was wearing a police uniform. Gwen gripped Leon's hand tightly when she recognized the corpse. Confused at her sudden action, the man glanced down at her. "What's wrong?"
She swallowed hard before being able to find her voice. "I-It's David..."
"Gwen," Leon called her name. "It's not David anymore."
The archivist nodded. "I know. It's just... can you take him? I don't think I can even stomach the thought of killing him myself."
"Yeah. I'll do it." Leon grabbed his pistol and snuck up on the monster. He stopped a few feet away from the zombified officer and pulled the trigger. The single bullet was enough to cause David's head to explode. Gwen quickly placed a hand over her mouth to prevent a cry from escaping her lips at the sight of her headless friend and fellow colleague. She removed her hand and walked over to Leon, staring down at the corpse. "It's much easier to kill them if they're not someone you know."
"It's a good thing we don't know the entire city or pulling the trigger would be impossible," Leon commented.
"I just hope we don't come across any children. I can't even stand the thought of shooting one even in a dead-like state."
"You and me both. Let's find these medallions before that happens."
"You're right. We can't waste any time. The longer we do, the worse Marvin becomes." Gwen entered the safety deposit room with Leon close behind. He closed the metal door behind him just as the archivist typed away on the number pad. "Grab the items in the safes I've opened. You might find something useful."
Leon walked down the aisles and grabbed an unopened box of ammo and a roll of film. He examined the film roll and saw something written on it.
Commemorative Photo
Gwen wondered what was taking so long and spotted Leon examining the film roll. "Why would someone lock up a roll of film?"
"Not sure, but it might be useful," Leon said.
"There's a dark room just down the hall near the stairs. Should we check the west office before doing so? It's across the hall," Gwen informed her companion.
"Better search the office first. We might find some things we'll need later on." Leon walked to the door with Gwen in tow. Before he opened the door, he looked through the slits to see if any undead were roaming nearby or alerted to their location from the bullet he fired only minutes ago. "The coast is clear. Let's head across the hall."
Leon and Gwen stepped out of the safety deposit room and scurried over to the west office. When they entered, the first thing that caught their attention was a dead officer with his body slumped over his desk. The archivist walked over to the man and saw the name plate on the floor. "So, this is where George was. I heard he was dead, but Marvin and I couldn't find the body."
Gwen turned her back to the dead officer, a mistake she would never make again. The corpse sprang to life and grabbed her by the hair. She screamed in pain and fear as the zombie yanked on her hair and pulled her back, causing her to lose her balance and slip to the floor. Leon quickly aimed his pistol at Officer Scott and pulled the trigger, the bullet passing cleanly through his head. His whole body went limp as it fell from the seat and landed on the floor.
Gwen's breathing was sporadic as she crawled away from the body. Leon holstered his pistol and kneeled beside the panicking woman. "Gwen, it's alright. He's dead." When he saw she wasn't listening, he cupped her cheeks in his gloved hands and caressed his thumbs under her crystalline eyes. Gwen's eyes darted upwards to meet Leon's as he pulled her face closer to his. "You're safe. Just breathe."
The young woman calmed her erratic breathing and racing heart. She breathed in and out slowly before closing her eyes and scooting closer to Leon. "I'm okay. Thank you, Leon."
"How's your head?" He asked, patting the top of her head.
"Hurts, but the pain will go away. I think he pulled out a few strands. Do I have a bald spot?" She asked.
Leon grinned as he checked her head. "No, you're good."
Gwen sighed in relief. "Now we can finally search the office." She got to her feet and Leon shined his flashlight around the room.
When it stopped on a banner hanging from the ceiling, the woman huffed in annoyance. "Are you serious?"
"Not a fan of banners?" Leon questioned with a snicker.
"Oh, no. Now I know why Marvin ordered me to not step foot into the west office! It was because of the banner! No wonder so many officers had smug expressions every time I passed by the door!"
"How'd the station learn of our relationship?"
Gwen bit the inside of her cheek as she fiddled with her fingers. "I... may have let it slip when Marvin, Elliot, and I were working overtime one night. We had a small coffee break and I told them all about you. Lo and behold, the next day I'm at work, the whole station knows."
"Maybe I should be thanking you," he said.
Gwen's sapphire eyes widened in shock. "What? Why?"
"Maybe your story convinced them to let me join this team. It's a shame my first day will be the last. I would've enjoyed working here with you," he smiled gently at her.
"Once this is over, are you going to leave again?" The woman questioned in a low, sorrowful tone.
Leon's smile fell when he saw the sadness in Gwen's eyes. He wasn't sure how deep he hurt his best friend by leaving, but he knew she was a wreck on the surface. Who knows what level of pain he inflicted in her heart from his abrupt disappearance out of her life. Gwen had no parents, siblings, or any family to count on. Leon knew this, but he still chose to leave without a word. "I'm sorry about leaving, Gwen, I really am. I should've never left you. Even knowing you had no one else, I still left and I regret those two years you had to spend without me."
"Where did you go?" The archivist questioned.
"I went to study and train to become a police officer," Leon answered.
Gwen felt a tinge of guilt course through her heart, remembering when Leon told her his dream was to become a cop. "You were following your dream, Leon. You don't need to apologize for that."
"But I still left you alone."
Gwen plugged her ears with her fingers. "Not listening~!" Leon couldn't help but smile at her childish antics. The archivist took a few steps back and unplugged her ears. "All I see before me is a man who followed his dream and succeeded. But it seems your dream has come to a sudden halt before it could be completed."
Leon smiled at Gwen. "I don't care about the job anymore. Even with the city infested with monsters, I'm glad to be trapped in the middle of Hell with a dear friend."