𝑳𝒆𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅𝒚| ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ 2

Bleeding Through PT 2

Nine Years After Part One...

Leon POV:

I aim my gun high, stepping one foot at a time down the dank corridors of one of Neo-Umbrella's labs. Helena follows behind me, watching my back as we head deeper into the research rooms to find evidence for Umbrella's goings on, hopefully this time the files we find are their downfall, too many times have they slipped through the net and got away with shit they should've owned up to. IE; Raccoon City.

"Think we'll find anything new?" Helena asks, taking the left side of the main door as we press our backs to the wall, ready to burst in and attack if needed. I begin to reply, when the hairs on the back of my neck prickle, I get the feeling I'm being watched. I look around, searching for a camera or B.O.W but see nothing. I know better than that though, after years of being hunted and stalked by monsters conjured by Umbrella I'm on my guard, waiting for the attack to come.

It doesn't happen though. I look up, spotting a air shaft above me, but I don't have time to go looking for things that possibly aren't there. "Leon?" Helena reminds me, arching a manicured brow.

I shake my head, "Yeah, I think we'll find some new information. Worst case, we'll get to greet the new information with some light hearted hand to hand combat." I joke, then nod as I kick in the door. It swings open, revealing a messy lab like room filled with scattered papers and a few computers. Helena closes the door, already rifling through the hard copy documents as I try the computers. After some brief searching for the password, I find a sticky note taped to the bottom of a desk with all the codes I need. I type them in, then begin scrolling through different experiments and reports. It's all the same, most conducted from viruses we're aware of, until I spot one I've never come across.

I click on the file, immediately freezing when I see a name I haven't uttered in years. I blink once. Twice. Then grab a nearby chair and drag it over before my legs give out. Helena senses my shock, coming over to lean over my shoulder and read.

"Y/N? I've never heard of her?" Helena mumbles, tilting her head. I ignore her and keep reading the hospital reports, there's a series of emails from the doctors to some specialists, who I'm now guessing were Umbrella. It doesn't make sense though, when I look at the dates of some of the reports they're recent. Y/N has been dead for nine years...unless she hasn't. Unless Umbrella either faked her death or brought her back. It makes me sick thinking of it.

"Leon-" Helena frantically shouts, but it's too late. The grate to the air vent on the wall explodes, and a figure comes leaping out, kicking Helena across the room, where she hits the wall with a harsh thud. I grab my gun, aiming at the figure and shooting, but it's fast. It ducks, rolling on the floor and sweeping me off of my feet.

My breath leaves me as I land on my back, my gun skitters across the floor away from me. I reach for my knife instead, but the figure jumps on me and wraps its hands around my neck. I try to shake it off, but she's strong.

Wait.

I stare up, shock filling every inch of me as I look into the eyes I never thought I'd see again. Y/N looks a little older, but not by much. She's still got the same colour hair and eyes, her skin much smoother and fresh now, no longer is she deathly pale with dark circles. She's glowing.

She's also trying to kill me.

I buck my hips, shaking my head as I attempt to get her off of me, but she's strong. Inhumanly so. I have no choice but to drag my knife over the top of her hand, wincing as she yelps in pain and loosens her grip. It gives me enough time to roll us over, and for me to catch my breath. "Y/N, is it really you?" I whisper, voice thick.

Her muscles soften, she gives me a small smile and nods, lifting her head up as my eyes half close. Then she fucking headbutts me. I curse and fall backwards, once again on my ass as she reaches for my knife, but before she can slit my throat Helena's gun is pointed against the side of her head.

"Don't move." Helena orders. I panic, my emotions taking over my logic as I throw myself in front of Y/N, arms outstretched to protect her. I don't know what I'm doing, honestly I'm running on instinct.

"Leon, what are you doing? Get out of the way!"

"No." I shake my head, the room goes silent. "You don't understand. She's my..." I lead off. Helena should know better than anyone else how it feels to have a loved one released from Umbrella.

Helena's gun shakes, "She tried to kill you. You're still going to protect this woman?"

"I am." I nod, feeling Y/N's warm breath tickle the back of my neck. We're at a stand-off for a few seconds, then Helena drops her gun. She sighs, then nods sympathetically. Quickly Y/N tries one more attempt to slice me open with my own knife, but I kick it out of her hands as Helena grabs her arms and cuffs her. Y/N tries to get free, spitting curses left right and center at us as I run a hand over my face.

"What are we gonna do with her?"

"I'll call Hunnigan. I'll get Y/N into a safe house and try make sense off all this, hopefully she'll come back to me and can help us take down Umbrella with some evidence." I suggest, it's the only idea I have. I look back at the love of my life, noticing her eyes narrow then widen repeatedly, as if she's contemplating or thinking. It's almost as if she's confused.

A few days later Helena and I manage to move Y/N into a small apartment. It isn't ideal for the three of us, but it's better than being on our own. It's safe, and that's all I can deal with right now. I keep looking at Y/N, unsure of what to say or how to react. I mourned for her, and now I find out she's alive? I'm stuck. I'm not over her, far from it, but the guilt that eats away at me prevents me from speaking to her for longer than a minute. She needed me. And I wasn't there.

Helena has caught on to my struggle, and thankfully helps me out with questioning Y/N, who's reluctant to help us and has barely said a word. Today I decide to finally talk to her on my own, Helena is busy with something else as I make Y/N and I some coffee and sit in the bedroom, with her perched on the windowsill and me sat on the edge of the bed.

"How're you feeling?" I ask, still expecting the strong but ill woman I fell in love with. Instead she shrugs a shoulder, cheeks full of colour and a small smile tilts her lips.

"Like I've been kidnapped."

I arch a brow. I've come to the conclusion she doesn't remember much, either that or...no, I refuse to believe she's completely forgotten me. I can even see it now, her mind working to place me somewhere in her life. "Didn't Umbrella already do that to you?" I ask, sounding harsher than intended. "What did they do to you?" I whisper.

Her lips part, as if she's remembering something. "They fixed me."

"You weren't broken."

"I wasn't exactly working either, was I Leon?" She snaps, but then her face pales. A flicker of hope grows within me, it's the first time she's said my name, that's gotta mean something. I nod, sipping on my drink as she puts aside her own mug, standing up.

"I don't remember much, I mean it's been a long time since the tests began, but I remember being sick, really sick, and then one day I wasn't anymore. I could do whatever I wanted without being tired. I could travel from country to country without worries of infections or getting ill. Umbrella helped me, and for that I owe them my life." She says wistfully, staring at the wall.

"You don't owe them shit." I argue, "They faked your death. They stole you from me and used you for their own gain. Come on Y/N, you're smarter than that."

She storms towards me without hesitation, frustration lines her face as I stand too, waiting for the inevitable punch or grab. Instead she stops when we're chest to chest, her breathing heavy. "I-I want to hate you...but I can't. Deep down, I feel...no hate." She mumbles, looking up at me with vulnerability. I reach out, unable to hold back any longer, cupping her cheek I tilt her head up, then slowly my lips press against hers. It's soft, gentle, and full of yearning.

In a split second we go from kissing to her shoving me away with force. I fall back, then moments later a bullet smashes through the window where I stood. She steps back, head swiveling from me to the figures outside, all lined up outside of the apartment with Umbrella logos...