Black Swan ~ LEON KENNEDY

SIX

About half an hour passed, during which I constantly checked my watch every few minutes. A faint, unsettling roar echoed through the room, sending a shiver down my spine. What on earth were they doing down there?

Suddenly, I heard Ashley's voice, prompting me to stand up and approach the door. As I did, Leon entered the room, scanning his surroundings before his gaze settled on me. He walked over and inquired, "How do I unlock the door?"

I shot him a skeptical look. "I don't know, the door was already unlocked when I got here," I retorted.

He huffed in frustration and turned his attention to the massive gate doors. I watched as he pulled out his gun, took aim, and fired through the bars. The doors creaked open, allowing Leon to step through.

"What's that for?" Ashley asked.

"It's just a replica, has a limited number of uses," Leon replied.

Growing impatient, I banged on the bars loudly to grab their attention. "Can we please hurry this up? We don't have all day."

I stepped back, giving them room to approach when the doors opened.

Ashley lunged toward me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said, giving my shoulder a squeeze. "I'd rather not be stuck with Mr. Moody here," she joked before letting go of me.

I giggled, observing Leon walking to the other side of the long pathway along the top of the hall to a ladder. He fiddled with it, causing me to roll my eyes. The passageway was blocked off by locked doors, making it impossible to cross.

My gaze wandered around the room until it settled on the two massive chandeliers in the center. Their flat, wide tops appeared large enough for me to jump onto. After a few moments of contemplation, I jumped, grabbing the thick metal and maintaining the chandelier's swaying momentum.

"Be careful!" Leon yelled at me.

"What, are you my mother?" I sassed back, leaping to the other side of the pathway. Leon looked at me with bewilderment before following my lead and jumping onto the chandelier.

"What are you two doing?!" Ashley cried out.

"Don't even think about doing this yourself!" Leon and I warned simultaneously as he swung to my side of the hall.

I approached the locked door and slashed the metal to unlock it, while Leon went to the other side.

"Don't leave me!" she shrieked.

"We're not," I assured her. "This is turning into a co-dependent relationship, Ashley, and it's not healthy," I joked, trying to ease her fear. I heard Leon huff out a laugh behind me, his footsteps following mine once the doors opened.

"Are you two kidding me?" Ashley said as we met at the top of the stairs. "Jumping across chandeliers? Seriously, who does that?"

Neither of us replied to her. I started to walk through, but Leon brushed past me. "I'll go in first," he said, raising his gun as he walked in. I gave him a look of shock before rolling my eyes. "I'll go in first," I mocked before following him, annoyed with his actions.

The room had stairs descending to the ground, beside which lay a large table filled with lit candles. The room was relatively empty, with statues propped up in the corners and in the middle of stone archways engraved on the walls.

A laughed filled the quiet room, "Salutations, Mr. Kennedy." Ramon's voice appeared. "Are you ready to hand over the girl?"

"Not this guy again." Leon huffed out, reloading his gun.