Got Smoke?

Mysterious Spaniard

We heard noises from inside one of the houses. I nodded and stood guard at the door with my gun ready. Leon entered first, walking all the way into the bedroom. Something was moving inside the cupboard. I prayed it wasn't one of the crazy villagers trying to attack us again. I aimed my gun at the door as Leon swung it open. A bounded man came tumbling out. Leon kneeled down and removed the tape covering his mouth.

"A little rough, don't you think?" the man groaned, his Spanish accent thick.

Leon nodded at me. I turned the man over and took my knife out to free him from the ropes.

"You're not like them?" he asked Leon.

"No. You?"

Once I got the ropes off, the man rolled away and sat up. He took a glance at Leon before settling on me. He gave me a smirk as he studied me up and down. "Well hello, there señorita... thanks for the save," he said in a flirty, husky voice.

I felt my breath hitched. I quickly recovered by smiling back. "No problem."

With the smirk still plastered on his face, he asked, "I have only one, very important question. You got a smoke?"

"Got gum," Leon answered casually, and the Spaniard turned away, disappointed.

"I've got a smoke," I said next, and his eyes seemed to light up just a little.

Again, my cigarette pack was left untouched. The sound of heavy boots was approaching the house and the Spaniard grumbled. The front door was opened harshly by a 7-foot-tall hooded man with two villagers wearing robes by his side.

"Perfect. The Big Cheese."

"What?" Leon asked, but he didn't wait for an answer.

Leon immediately went at the huge hooded man with a spinning back kick, but he caught Leon's foot easily. With one hand, the huge man tossed Leon into the air. Leon flew back, hitting the Spaniard and the both of them went out cold.

"Leon!" I yelled, quickly aiming my gun at the huge man. The huge man didn't seem to care until I ran right in front of him. I held up my gun higher, my aim locked in between his eyes. "Stop!"

One of the robed men whispered something to the huge man. I couldn't make it out, but I knew it was bad. The huge man finally removed his hood and stared down at me with his red eye. "You won't be harmed. You already are a carrier of another."

I didn't know what the hell he was talking about and I didn't have the chance to ask. With one swift swing, the huge man sent me flying to the other end of the room. I felt my head hit the back of the wall and I was instantly consumed by darkness.

—

"Amara? Amara? Hey, wake up," I heard someone's voice as they shook me.

I grumbled, clutching the back of my head. I opened my eyes, readjusting to the bright lights.

"Hey, you alright?"

Leon had crouched in front of me. His face was full of concern and worry. I nodded slowly, getting back up to my feet with his help.

"Where is he?" I asked. "The Spaniard."

"He made a break for it," Leon answered, handing my Desert Eagle to me. I must've accidentally let go of it when I crashed into the wall.

"What about the hooded man?" I asked next, holding my gun tight in my hands.

"Gone."

Leon then called up Hunnigan to update her. According to the Spaniard, he heard about Ashley being locked up in a church somewhere. Leon and I didn't know where the church was, but the Spaniard had mentioned about a secret path that led there. We left the house, trying to find the aforementioned path. Both of us then stumbled upon a grand house amongst the other village houses and decided it was worth checking out. While Leon went upstairs, I checked the bottom floor. I sneak up behind two of the villagers and took them out easily. Just then, I heard several gunshots coming from above. I stopped short when I saw a flash of red outside the window. Was that... someone? Oddly enough, whoever that was triggered something inside my memory.

"Leon!" I yelled, coming up the stairs to find him sprawled on the floor. I helped him up and he thanked me. "Leon, what happened?"

"This is the village chief's house. I didn't notice him in here, and he caught me off guard. He just jumped out of the window chasing..." his voice trailed off.

"You're okay, right?" I asked, deciding not to pursue the matter.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. Listen, Hunnigan just called me to inform us that the villagers here and several others are part of a religious cult called the Los Illuminados. A mouthful, I know."

"And?"

"That's all that Hunnigan told me about."

"I know, but you're hiding something from me. You're not okay."

He sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

"Maybe I'm just perceptive. Come on, Leon. Tell me. What's bothering you?"

He took in a deep breath as he answered in a confused voice, "The village chief mentioned that I had the same blood as them. Don't know what the hell that meant."

I frowned. If they were part of a religious cult, I didn't know what to think of it. It could mean anything and that worried me. I wondered if that mysterious Spaniard knew anything about the cult since he was captured and bounded. I reassured Leon not to think of it too much until we found more information. We then headed out of the house. It wasn't long before we reached the church. There were a lot of the villagers that suddenly ambushed us, but we took them all out. There were even rabid dogs that tried to attack us, but Leon and I were quick to shoot them. We tried going by the front door, but of course, that was locked. It couldn't have been too easy. What's more, was that the door had some kind of indentation on it. There was no way we could enter for now so Ashley just needed to wait a little longer.