No more tears - Leon Kennedy

Chapter 6

"I may not have been sure about what really did interest me, but I was absolutely sure about what didn't."

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The moment we entered the cathedral, which separated us from the outside hell, was particularly relieving.

We had just fought off a horde of infected, in pouring rain and thunder, with the little ammunition and hope we had. All of this in near-complete darkness.

I needed a short break, even if it was just for a minute. To catch my breath.

The moment I preferred was probably the disappointed look on the survivors' faces when Leon told them that we weren't there to help.

Maybe it was better that way, in the end. Lying to them would have been worse. If they were to meet their end, they should be prepared for it.

As I took the time to catch my breath, sitting on one of the benches, I heard my phone ring.

"Lucy, are you okay?!" I heard Will almost shout as I quickly moved the phone away from my ear, surprised by the loud volume.

"Will, lower your voice... I feel like I'm on a loudspeaker..." I complained.

"Are you still in Tall Oaks? Is the president okay?!" He asked as I scanned the room, feeling uneasy. A few civilians were looking at me, which reinforced my belief that I absolutely shouldn't share any information with him.

The worst thing could be that my call right now is being listened to.

"I'm a bit busy right now. We'll chat when I get out of here, okay?" I calmly replied, being careful to remain vague while making it clear that he shouldn't call me back.

Every moment spent discussing the current situation only clouded my mind.

As I hung up the call and removed the SIM card from my phone, I had to make a decision.

I had to get out of there. At all costs.

My train of thought was interrupted when I noticed the altar starting to move as if to open a passage.

I shook my head, quickly understanding what they were doing. At least, what Helena wanted, was to investigate Simmons' laboratory.

When I noticed that one of the doors on the side had opened, I started to get up to examine it but was blocked by Leon, who shook his head in refusal as our eyes met.

I stopped abruptly.

"Why-" I began to ask as I watched him motion for me to sit back down with his hand.

"Keep your strength." he replied as I blinked multiple times, slightly laughing as I remained in the same half-standing, half-sitting position, feeling slightly foolish.

I eventually sat back down, completely stunned as I followed him with my gaze until he disappeared from my sight.

I covered the lower half of my face, surprised that my heart beat slightly faster than usual.

Despite the seven years of not seeing each other, if there was one thing he hadn't stopped doing, it was treating me like a delicate flower.

But this time was different.

I wasn't ashamed because I felt useless, but rather because I had just realized, against my will, that I had found his attitude extremely... sexy.

The tone of his voice, the way he acted...

"Rahhh!" I almost screamed as I held my head in my hands, bewildered.

How could I be so weak in the face of my emotions? In the face of someone who was no longer supposed to surprise me?!

I bit my lip, trying to regain my composure little by little as I let my gaze wander over the colorful stained glass windows illuminating the back of the cathedral.

If we weren't in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, I would almost find this situation romantic. Or at least consider it to be the beginning of a very bad romance movie, that would only be shown in countryside cinemas on a Thursday afternoon. At precisely 2 p.m.

Just as I heard the bells ringing, I quickly got up from my seat, scanning the surroundings in search of Leon and Helena.

To my surprise, instead of finding them, it was the altar that opened, revealing an unspeakable horror behind them.

I turned pale as I beheld the hell she had begun to unleash, gradually infecting the surrounding survivors with her gas. This creature was the embodiment of death.

Fueled by adrenaline, I quickly drew my weapon, letting out a slight cry of surprise when I saw Leon and Helena literally descend from the sky.

"You could have warned me!" I grumbled as I opened fire on the creature, making sure to keep my distance.

"Sorry, express way..." was all Leon replied, in such a sassy tone that it made me roll my eyes.

With the survivors around us slowly perishing one by one, we needed to put an end to this hellish thing.

As the creature climbed to the first floor to chase those above, I observed her from afar, several ideas flooding my mind.

My gaze mainly fixed itself on one of the pillars supporting the floor and the chandelier, which were both perfectly aligned.

Looking around, I noticed Helena not far from me and sprinted furiously towards her while grabbing my knife.

Clearing the zombies in my path with my pistol-knife combo, I quickly got close enough to her for her to hear me.

"Helena, throw me a remote bomb, I got a plan!!" I shouted as she hastily searched her pockets, looking confused.

Taking advantage of this time, I glanced for a fraction of a second to confirm that only the creature remained on the platform, stealthily stowing away my pistol and knife.

As she threw the bomb in my direction, I turned around and caught it mid-air, running to use my momentum to slide towards one of the pillars, where I placed and swung the bomb.

Swiftly, I stood up and activated the detonator, and with a deafening roar, the two stone columns melted, followed by an avalanche of planks, debris, and blood, engulfing the area in a thick cloud of smoke.

Without hesitation, I drew my handgun and quickly shot the mechanism of the chandelier, causing it to collapse onto the pile of rubble.

Then, I covered the lower part of my face with my arm to avoid breathing in the gas that had escaped.

A few moments passed, and I could finally breathe again, calmly standing up under the horrified gazes of the few remaining survivors.

"Is... Is it really dead?" one of the survivors asked as she approached the debris area, slightly trembling. I sighed, with extreme satisfaction as my gaze unconsciously turned towards Leon, who wore a strange smile on his lips.

"Well, well. The number one enemy of the religious folks." he eventually complimented, with a slightly teasing tone, causing me to chuckle softly as I looked away for a second.

His joke, at that moment, had never been more accurate. He had found the words for the very essence of my life.

As Helena began to slightly move the debris, I noticed a magnetic card at my feet, which I quickly picked up.

Well, well...