"Do you hear that?" Gwen whispered as they snuck by the people banging on the house they recently escaped, heading down another path.
Leon tuned his ears and heard whimpering. "What is that?"
"It sounds like... a dog," she replied just above a whisper. She followed the sound and found a wolf trapped in a bear trap. His back left leg was bleeding due to the teeth from the trap penetrating his skin. "Leon, help me!"
Leon and Gwen rush over to the poor animal and used their strength to pry the rustic jaw from the wolf's leg. The archivist stumbled and fell on the ground when the trap was pried open. She lifted her head just as she felt something wet and slobbery against her cheek. The wolf wagged his tail, licking her face and nuzzling his cool, wet nose against her cheek. She giggled at the ticklish sensation and rubbed the animal's head. "I can fix your leg in a jiffy if you'll let me."
In response, the animal laid down. Leon watched as Gwen pulled out a mini injection gun and a small vial containing a silver liquid. His crystalline eyes widened when he recognized what was in the glass. "You're going to use your blood?"
"Yeah. It'll heal his leg in seconds. You plan on stopping me?" Gwen questioned her boyfriend as she placed the vial in the injection gun.
Six years ago, Leon would've stopped her. But this time, he respected her decision to use her blood to help those in need regardless if they're human or animal. "Not this time, Gwen."
The newly appointed agent was taken aback at his answer, but she smiled. "Thank you, Leon." She scratched behind the wolf's ear as she placed the needle into his neck and pulled the trigger. The injection was quick and the wolf only felt a small pinch in his neck. He felt a change in his body and looked at his injured leg.
Just as Gwen promised, the wound was healed completely within seconds. "There you go, buddy. Watch out for bear traps from now on." The wolf howled in satisfaction before dashing off into the woods. "At least it wasn't a Dobermann."
Leon chortled at the comment. "I wonder why."
"Regardless of how long ago the Raccoon City outbreak was, I will never look at a Dobermann the same way ever again. I still have nightmares about those damned things."
"They weren't that bad," Leon said. Gwen tilted her head down, knowing the dogs from that night were still clearly burned into his memories. "Okay, you're right."
"Thought so," she snorted with laughter, putting away the injection gun.
<-----------<<<<<<<<<<
Down the trail was a gate. Gwen tilted her head in confusion. "Why would a village this far from any town or city need a gate? I seriously doubt visitors are knocking on their front door."
"Don't know. Let's see if it's unlocked." Leon pushed open the gate with no resistance. He exchanged a curious glance with the sapphire-eyed woman as they stepped through the gate. "Well, that was easy."
"Yeah, well, "easy" isn't comforting. It actually worries me," Gwen confessed. "Last time something was easy, we were ambushed by a monster."
"Trust me, I haven't forgotten."
Further down the path, Leon suddenly pulled Gwen behind a tree and grabbed his binoculars. He leaned out from their hiding spot and used the object to scan the village up ahead. From behind the tree, they could hear the villagers talking to one another in Spanish. By their tone, they didn't sound too jubilant as they trudged around the village to keep themselves busy.
"Oh, shit..." Leon cursed, catching Gwen's attention.
"What?" She whispered, peering past the tree trunk. Leon handed over the binoculars, allowing the woman to see for herself. In the center of the main square was a bonfire with a body hung above the roaring flames. Examining the body, she gasped in realization. "Is that...?"
"Yeah, the driver. He escaped the crash and ended up being skewered instead." Leon hoped they had kill the cop before hanging his body on the large, rustic hook.
"Ashley could be nearby. We'll need to check, but... all the villagers are prowling around. How're we supposed to search for her at this rate?" Gwen returned the binoculars with a disgruntled sigh.
"Follow my lead," Leon whispered in Gwen's ear. She nodded, her cheeks turning red from feeling his breath against her sensitive skin.
They snuck around the tree and down a small side path. The agents used the buildings to hide from the villagers as they passed by, making sure to not alert the men or women as they crept with silent footfalls.
However, their cover was blown when a woman cladded in a grimy dress and apron wielding a knife spotted them. "¡Ellos están aquí!"
"Dammit!" Leon grabbed ahold of Gwen's hand and ran into one of the houses. He slammed the door behind them and released the woman's hand as he rushed over to the window. The men and women were brandishing axes, pitchforks, knives, and sickles as they approached the house. Leon glared at the incoming threat. "Who are these people?"
"I don't think they're the talking type. They strike me more as the stabbing kind of people," Gwen said, stepping away from the front door.
Outside the window, Leon saw another figure among the crowd. Unlike the others, he was wearing a burlap sack over his head. "What are they planning?" The concealed man pulled on a cord, revving up something in his hands. Once whatever he was messing with flipped on, Leon knew exactly what it was. "Great. A chainsaw."
Leon barricades the door with a piece of furniture before grabbing Gwen's arm and pulling her further into the house. The young woman flinched when they heard a window on the second floor shatter. "Shit!"
Gwen didn't wait for another cue and dashed up the stairs. On the second floor, she found the window next to the bed shattered and villagers climbing up a ladder to enter the house. She promptly pushed the ladder off the windowsill and watched as the man who was climbing fall and break his neck, killing him instantly. "One down, too many to go."
The second window shattered and a woman slowly climbed into the house. Gwen used her pistol to shoot her in the head, the single bullet being enough to blow her head off her shoulders and her body to crumple to the floor before vanishing. "That is definitely not normal."
Leon heard the gunshot and reached the second level just as two more men tumbled through the window. He found a shotgun hanging on the wall with a single shell. Pulling the trigger, he killed both men with the one shell. "You okay?" Leon asked.
Gwen nodded. "Yeah. Just-"
Someone grabbed ahold of her hair and yanked her back towards the window. She screamed out in horror as the man pulling her was trying to drag her out of the window. "Gwen!" Leon ran to the window and aimed his pistol at the man's head. "Let her go, you son of a bitch!" He shot the gun, killing the villager with one bullet.
When the man's body tumbled down the ladder and knocked the villager who was making their way up down, Leon pulled Gwen away from the window and pushed the ladder down. He held Gwen close as the sound of the chainsaw crescendoed. "Shit..."
"The window," Gwen said just above a whisper, her head throbbing from how hard the man had tugged on her inky locks. "We can climb out. We're sitting ducks in this house."
Leon knew Gwen was right. If they stayed cooped up in the house, they'd be swarmed and corner within minutes. "Alright, let's go." The two agents vaulted out the window and ran across the rooftop that wrapped around the house. The man with the chainsaw followed them and swung his weapon, but it missed Leon and Gwen by a hair as they jumped off the roof.
"We need to split up. It'll make it more difficult for them to chase us both," Gwen suggested as they dodged a pitchfork. "We can also divide them."
"Splitting up is a bad idea. Have you learned nothing from the movies we've watched?" Leon retorts as they rush through a small barn.
"Yeah, but we're not dumb teenagers! Listen, you go left, I'll go right!"
Without waiting for Leon's approval, Gwen headed in the opposite direction as the man. She had a point, but it wasn't a strong one.
It was an excruciatingly long game of tag, but the agents knew if they were to be touched, they'd be impaled by a villager's weapon. Gwen had been chased up the watchtower, where she had a good view of the area. She found a grenade, pulled the pin, and tossed it down into the middle of the group of villagers who seemed to have lost sight of Leon.
The grenade went off, killing more than half the horde. When one woman wandered up the watchtower, Gwen kicked her in the face and sent her back down the ladder. The impact killed her and knocked down a man who tried climbing the ladder next. "I feel like they're multiplying..."
The sound of a bell ringing broke through the squabbles of the fight. Gwen glanced in the distance, wondering where the sound was coming from. "Is that a church bell?"
The remaining villagers stopped in their pursuit of the agents and stared at a door with a strange symbol carved into the stone. Gwen heard their rambling and glanced down at the men and women below. She wasn't able to understand a word until one man started trudging towards the strangely marked door. "Lord Saddler..."
"Saddler? Who the hell is that?" Gwen muttered to herself as she descended the ladder. She watched as each villager entered the door, not caring how close she was to them.
When the door slammed shut behind them with a mysterious force, Leon emerged from behind one of the houses. He stood in the middle of the main square and scoffed with a shrug of his shoulders. "Where's everyone going? Bingo?"
"As much as I would love to laugh, you better contact Hunnigan. We should tell her about the body." Gwen looked over her shoulder, the officer's body still dangling like a piece of meat over the flames. His skin was nearly burnt all across his body, making it difficult to identify him. Seeing his fingers, she saw bone from where the skin has charred and fell off. She averted her eyes, digging her shoe in the dirt below to keep herself from stealing another glance.
"Yeah. We better tell her." Leon pulled out the radio and contacted their support. "Hunnigan, I have some bad news. We've confirmed the body of an officer. Something's happened to the people here."
*****
"Leon, you and Gwen need to get out of there. Look for a tower. Follow the trail near it."
*****
"Got it." Leon hung up and slid the device into his pocket.
"I was just up in the tower. There's a path that leads up the hill," Gwen informed her partner.
As they sauntered up the small incline, Gwen entered a wooden shack. There was a table against the furthest wall from the entrance. A stack of pictures and a note nailed to the wall caught her eye. She sifted through the photos, realizing they were all of her and Leon. "Um, Leon? You better take a look at these."
"What are they?" Leon inquired, entering the tattered shack.
Gwen spread the pictures across the table, allowing him to see all the photos. "They're all of us. We just arrived in Spain today. How is this possible?" She grabbed the picture of them talking to Captain Carballo after exiting the plane. "This was literally hours ago and we didn't even see anyone else on the runway."
"We've got some amazing stalkers. Snapping pictures of us without us noticing." Leon glanced at the paper nailed to the wall. "What does the note say?"
Gwen tore it down and read it aloud.
*****
Alert Order
Recently there has been information that United States government agents are here investigating the village.
Do not let these American agents get in contact with the prisoner.
For those of you not yet informed, the prisoner is being held in an old house beyond the farm. We will transfer the prisoner to a more secure location in the valley when we are ready. The prisoner is to stay here until further notice. Meanwhile, do not let the American agents near the prisoner.
We do not know how the American government found out about our village, but we are investigating.
However, I feel that this intrusion at this particular time is not just a coincidence.
I sense a third party other than the United States government involved here.
My fellow men, stay alert!
- Chief, Bitores Mendez
*****
"So, this village has a chief, but his name is different from what I heard one of the men say before disappearing," Gwen said, setting the piece of paper down on the table.
"What name did the man say?" Leon pondered.
"Lord Saddler. That's nowhere near Bitores Mendez. What's really going on in this damn village?" The archivist huffed in vexation.
"Don't know, but we're going to find out."
<-----------<<<<<<<<<<
Three men sat atop an overlook, watching Leon and Gwen as they walked down the trail. When they were spotted, they ran off to a large boulder. With the combination of the men's strength, they were able to push the rock over the edge. "Run!" Leon yelled as the boulder barreled towards them. The duo ran for their lives, not wanting to be crushed.
Gwen glanced behind her as she ran, seeing how close the boulder was. "Running's not gonna help much longer!" At hearing those words, Leon tackled her to the side. He watched as the boulder passed them and slammed into a small tunnel, shattering into a pile of rocks. The woman turned her head to the tunnel, leaves now entwined in her hair from being tackled to the ground. "Hey, a way forward."
Leon got to his feet and helped Gwen up before brushing off his jacket and pants. "There better not be anymore boulders." He plucked a few leaves from Gwen's hair and brushed some dirt off the back of her jacket.
"I second that. I'm not built like you." She slapped him on the chest, her hand throbbing slightly from the impact. She retracted her had with a wince. "You've definitely been working out."
Leon's lips curled into a smirk. "Gotta stay in top shape if you're an agent."
"Yeah, well, I don't have the training you do, beefcake. I still belong in a library."
The man crossed his arms, his smirk widening. "Beefcake, huh?"
Gwen shoved a finger in his face, the tip mere inches from his nose. "Don't let it go to your head."