Black Swan ~ LEON KENNEDY

TEN

"You okay?" Leon asked, turning around to get a look at me.

I shrugged. "Yeah, aside from the several diseases I'm going to get from this nasty water."

Ignoring my comment, Leon reached behind him. "Here, take this," he said, extending his hand to me. A black flashlight was in his hand, appearing tiny compared to his large hand.

I grabbed it from him, turning it on and smacking it against my other palm. "Thanks," I said.

Leon turned and started walking towards the spikes. "You stay behind me and light the way," he commanded.

I followed, shuffling from side to side through the narrow passage to the other side. The light from the flashlight glowed, revealing a hapless henchman impaled on a spike.

"Talk about sticking the landing," Leon joked, pushing the henchman's head up and out of the way.

I snorted, ducking to avoid touching the dead body in front of me.

An archway to a smaller cave appeared as we got closer to the wall. The sloshing of the water moving around us echoed through the cave. Bright light from my flashlight bounced off the stone walls, creating little twinkling lights.

Suddenly, a haunting moan sounded as we made our way through the smaller cave, causing Leon and me to pause.

"The hell-?!" Leon cursed, pulling out his gun.

We continued forward and turned to the right. In front of us, the cave shrank until all that was left was a small opening, meaning we had to crawl through the blackened water to proceed.

I sighed in defeat, turning off the flashlight. Getting on all fours, Leon and I crawled through. The water was cold and smelled rancid, like sewer water. The small area felt tight, as if it were shrinking the further we went.

Having managed to get through, I grabbed onto Leon's hand. He extended it to me after getting out first. The first thing I saw was the bright light shining through in the distance, slightly illuminating the dark cave. Turning the flashlight back on, we walked to the left and toward a watery pathway.

Stone steps leading out of the water and up came into view, making Leon and me quicken our paces. The stone looked worn out, as if it would crumble at any moment underneath our feet. Stepping up, I shone the flashlight so it covered most of the steps, allowing Leon and me to ascend without risking a misstep and falling back into the water.

A splash sounded to the right of us, making me turn my head to look in the direction of the sound.

"Leon, let's hurry and get out of here," I said, the hair on the back of my neck standing up. My heart beated faster in fear, hoping that whatever caused the splash was a rock or something more logical, more normal.

Still focused on the direction of the sound, I didn't notice Leon suddenly stop, causing me to bump into his hard back.

"Oof," I exclaimed. Stepping back, I peeked around Leon's muscular frame. The path had crumbled to an end, forcing Leon and me to backtrack into the black water.

Leon jumped down, creating a loud splash that echoed throughout the cave. I cringed at the noise, not wanting to attract attention from whatever might be in here with us.

Crouching down, I placed my hand on the cool, wet rock and jumped into Leon's awaiting arms.

Leon caught me with ease, gently placing me in the water. Holding my flashlight up, two glowing dots shone through the water. They appeared symmetrical and reflective, almost like eyes reflecting light.