revenant. resident evil 4 [remake]

06-the flood

𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 06—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥

𝘼𝙞𝙣'𝙩 𝙣𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚
𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙞𝙣'𝙩 𝙣𝙤 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚

𝘢𝘪𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦

The water was colder than Keira thought it would be. It reached the height of about half of her calves when she docked the boat. The woman looked worriedly at Leon, who leaned on rotten wooden planks that made the whole construction sink completely shortly after they made it to the harbour. The agent hurried towards him and, sighing deeply, began to drag the man out of the boat. Keira considered herself strong and in great condition but she broke a heave sweat when trying to lift Leon by just a few inches.

She's had the same problem nearly six years ago in Raccoon City, when he fell down a story after the floor collapsed beneath him. He had a tough landing, Keira dropped down and felt the impact shake through her joints. The woman remembered how she trembled while checking on him, genuinely afraid for the life of a boy she's met mere three hours prior.

They didn't like each other at first. Both of them felt strongly suspicious about the other but also grateful that in the middle of that raging hell there was someone else to share their worries and watch their back.

Keira checked Leon's breathing and pulse, relieved that she heard a strong and steady heartbeat. She was a good agent and handles many missions singlehandedly but the she knew that she would not survive this one if he was gone.

She gently placed his head on her thighs and tried to memorise every line on his face and every colour that flashed in reflexes through his hair to be sure she'd never forget his features anymore. It made her itch that whenever they haven't seen each other for long, Keira would find some inconsistencies in how the image of her friend changed in her memory, distorted by the passage of time.

A single drop od blood bloomed on his cheek and Keira almost jolted, convinced that she missed a wound or a laceration on his body. That wasn't the case though, she realised after she didn't see any gash nor a minor scratch. It was her own blood that flooded from her nose with such intensity that would be normally caused by fracturing a bone. A thick stream flowed down her face and dripped from her chin. Keira could even taste the metallic flavour yet she was too distracted to notice it earlier.

It scared her. Not the nosebleed, not after seeing gallons of blood spill from the living and the dead. She didn't know where it could have come from and it made a sensation of a cold wave move up her body.

Leon stirred where he was laying, so Keira quickly shifted her attention onto him, temporarily putting aside the problem.

"Are you okay? What happened?" She asked right away as he opened his eyes and took in her features with an expression of mixed relief and concern present on his face.

"I think I was hallucinating or had a really fucked up nightmare. Besides that, I'm all good," he sat up, groaning. "Maybe a little headache too."

"Happy to hear that, I was worried sick. Tell me the next time you're going to pass out in the middle of a lake in a sinking boat."

"Yeah, I'll remember," Leon laughed faintly, still visibly confused. "Wait, what happened to your nose? That's a heavy nosebleed," he got up, looked for some kind of clothing that then he dipped in water and places on Keira's neck. He lightly rubbed her back when she shivered from the cold.

"I don't know. Could be because I overexerted myself too much, I doubt it though."

"The gift," Leon muttered "I saw a priest when I blacked out. Said that I'll join them soon."

"You won't. I won't let this happen," she said sternly, biting on her lip. "But that's not all he told you, is it?"

"No. He also said you'd die first."

メ

Keira was in denial. Leon's words struck her hard and if it wasn't for the fact that she was already sitting on the ground, he was certain she'd collapse right there and then.

For her, there were two kinds of death. The one that is marked with a short moment of desperation --- a bullet to the chest, chokehold tightening around a neck. Death lingered just a while and mostly came suddenly after realisation that one's fight has come to the end. She didn't fear dying in a battle.

She feared the second kind.

The one that crept deep in her mind, poisoned it. She felt like being stuck under a thick layer of ice, trapped underwater and waiting for the cold or suffocation to come slowly, almost hesitantly, before taking the last remnants of hope away. It meant dying long before the death itself would come.

Leon wasn't coping well either. He saw the unknown force take over his body, he saw Keira bleed out right before him. He caught himself grieving over a woman who sat a few inches away, very much alive and terrified.

He carefully touched her shoulder to see if she would wince because of unexpected touch, to make sure she didn't mind his presence at this moment. She casted him a long glance, an invitation to come closer. He sat behind her and hugged Keira from behind, pulling her in so she leaned entirely on him.

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Hello! I'm very sorry for not posting for a month or so, I had a shitload of work to do. But it's summertime now (can I get a "yay"?) and my school ends soon, so be ready for more updates!