There was a huge shift all around him, an incredible pressure slamming into him and into the moving wall he was embedded in. He felt the weight of the mindless overgrown corpse press down on him, forcing the air from his lungs, and it took all he had to force one hand up to his face to cup it over his mouth as the rusty blunt chainsaw tore away at the warm soft tissue of his neck. He fought against it letting out an almighty cry of pain, tears streaming down his blood soaked face, the smell of petrol and blood growing ever more potent. And then, darkness.
Leon awoke in a cold sweat, panting, shivering. It was just a dream, the same dream he has every night, a constant reminder.
The incidental nightmare that changed Leon's life forever was still haunting him. Not Racoon city, But the incident located in a remote European village involving the mindless brainwashing of the innocent villagers that once lived peacefully there. A once worshiped and honoured man named Saladar, took advantage of the innocent inhabitants and used them in his power to take his brainwashing world wide.
Leon shook his head as he placed his feet against the cold shiny flooring beside his bed. He looked around him before heading towards the bathroom, shifting his aching, drained body slowly towards the door, before turning on the tap.
Cold water splashed against the tiny beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he looked at the expressionless figure staring back at him in the mirror. He ran the last few seconds of his dream over and over in his head, like a broken VCR.
It was still so real to him, every night; waking up thinking he was living the nightmare once again.
He examined his facial features closely as his reflection did the same, paying close attention to every scar, crease and wrinkle. He wasn't the same man he used to be, something had changed about him. He brushed back the light brown bangs that fell in front of his crystal blue gaze and sighed. Nothing was different on the outside, but on the inside something had left its mark.
Leon paused for a moment before heading back towards his dingy little sleeping chamber.
He stopped just outside of Claire's room, the door was slightly ajar, not enough to squeeze through, but enough to look through and get a good view of everything inside.
Claire's room gave of warmth through the small opening in the door, and a sweet smelling fragrance that Leon could only identify as Claire's scent. He pressed himself closer towards the opening, resting his clammy hands against the rough, wooden door frame.
Claire was lying in bed sleeping deeply, covered only by a single sheet in her lonely double bed. Leon watched her closely, examining every little detail about her, the way she softly breathed, to the way she would quietly moan in her sleep. He looked at her face, bright under the moons gaze, it was almost angelic, the closest thing to perfect he'd ever seen. Her lips were slightly parted as she smiled softly and sighed, her hair, silky and soft loosely pulled back from her face, with a few strands falling in front of her eyes. She was beautiful.
Leon continued to observe her for a few more seconds, and then made his way towards his own room. He lay back in bed, staring at the ceiling thinking about the dream, and Claire.
Leon awoke the next morning with heavy, tired eyes. He glanced towards the window through a blurred vision and could just about make out that it was cold, windy and pissing down with rain. He sighed closing his eyes gently again, he lay there still only for a few seconds taking in the soothing sound the rain made as it hit the window viciously from the outside. He knew he'd have to get up at some point, but right now, he just wanted to stay where he was, relaxed and not a care in the world.
His relaxation was soon broken by the heavy, shuffling footsteps of Claire heading towards the bathroom. He didn't even know what time it was, Leon turned to his left side and placed one tired stiff hand on top of his alarm clock, he turned it slowly, making it more of an effort than what it needed to be. He froze, his gaze fixed on the blinking red numbers in front of his blurry tired gaze 8:45 SHIT! "Claire we're late!" The young woman simply replied with a low moaning groan, but by this point he was already running around his small dank room with various items of clothing clutched in his hands.
"What's all the rush?" yawned Claire slowly stepping into his view. "The meeting! We're late for the meeting!" cried Leon in a desperate panic to be ready before 8:50, 'not gonna happen!' he thought to himself. "Calm down big guy, clocks went back an hour last night remember? It's only 7:45 you big douffus!" Leon paused for a moment, blankly staring at the young girl who had a rapidly growing grin on her face, she was right, and he felt as though he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him as he let a small girlish giggle escape his dry lips. Claire tried to suppress the humorous laugh that was about to escape from her mouth, but it was no good, within seconds she was laughing at the young man and could see his pale exhausted face was turning a very bright shade of red!
She loved it when he laughed, better still she loved it when she was the main cause for the laughter. Claire had known Leon now for several years, sharing a near death experience with him brought them closer together, she looked upon him as a brother with just that little bit extra. Since both her parents had passed away in a car accident and her brother had died in combat some few months earlier, Leon was the closest Claire had to family.
Of course, there was always Jill, but since her brothers death Claire had never really seen eye to eye with her. Chris was the only reason the two women tried to get along, he was the only thing they had in common, but now that he was gone, they had nothing. Claire had felt that Jill was always jealous of her and her brother's closeness, in fact, she knew she was.
"No Chris, this is my wedding and I will choose who I want as my bridesmaid!" I remember hearing those words whilst I washing my hands in the bathroom. "But Jill, she's my sister, I'd have her as my best man if I could but I can't, please for me?" "No Chris, you're lucky I'm even letting her come! I will not have her as my bridesmaid!" Ouch. Those words stung like a thousand needles in my heart. I knew Jill had never liked me, but I never knew why. I knew this argument was none of my business but still, I couldn't help but listen.
"Why don't you like her Jill? You know I care about you and I care about her too, she's all I have, why are you being like this?" He was right, he was all I had. "Because YOUR'E all I have Chris!" I heard Jill beginning to sob, I slowly crept to the top of the stairs, and crouched down so I could see through the banister to the living room without being detected. "You are all I have Chris, and I can't bear loosing you!" What was she talking about?? "Jill that's ridiculous you'll never loose me I love you with all my heart." I saw Chris slowly extend his arm and place it on Jill's shoulder, a simple gesture of affection, Chris was never one for being overly emotional.
"But I will Chris. I always feel second best when she's around, If she had her way, she'd steal you off me and I'd never see you again, she'd have you all to herself just like she wants!" What?! What does she mean STEAL my brother? He's my brother for god sake, he'll always be around and so will I. "I want you to stop seeing her." I was shocked, how could she ask him to do such a thing! I watched Chris sigh, lowering his shoulders before slowly turning away. "I can't do that Jill. I'm sorry" I was beginning to feel as though this was for some reason my fault, was I splitting my brother and his wife to be apart? No... This is her, not me.
"But why Chris, you say you love me, so why can't you be mine?!" I saw Chris spin in a flash of anger, I watched as he grabbed Jill by the throat and pull her face close to his. "I AM YOUR'S JILL!! Don't you get it?! You have me, what more do you want??" "I don't want a shared relationship with her!" I watched as Jill's face grew more pale, her eyes watery and wide. "Then you wont have to" Chris let her go, Jill grabbed her throat taking deep breaths in. "Where are you going?!" I watched as Chris headed towards the door, picking up his keys from the coffee table, he grabbed a coat from the hallway and left.
"CHRIIIIIIIIIIS!!" Jill broke down, hysterical, uncontrollable. Lying on the floor, knees pulled in tight to her chest, it was a sorry sight, but I can't say that it wasn't her own fault. "Please come back" she whimpered softly under sobbing breaths. "Please" I headed back towards the bathroom, stealthy, careful not to make a sound. I didn't particularly fancy an earful from Jill. I closed the door behind me, letting out a heavy sigh as I sat, balanced on the edge of the brilliant white bathtub. Where had he gone? Was it my fault? What have I done wrong?
"Claire, Claaaaaiiiire" Leon snapped his fingers inches from the young girls face. "Huh, uh wha.." She shook her head, small bangs swooped across her delicate features. "Sorry, I was in a world of my own" "No problem, what were you thinking about anyway?" Leon asked, curious. "Oh nothing, It's fine" He studied her face closely, making note of the hint of sadness hid behind her beautiful grey eyes. "Chris" He said his tone simple, quiet. "mm" She muttered looking at her feet, she hadn't applied nail polish for a while and noted how the previous had chipped away, leaving flaky pink patches all over her nails.
Leon didn't know what to say, partly because he was no good at this emotional kind of encounter, and partly because she had never really told him what had happened to her brother. All he knew was it was probably best not to say anything. "So, what do want for breakfast?" He asked, mentally kicking himself for not being slightly sympathetic. "I'm not hungry" She replied still looking towards the ground. "Ok, well we should get ready. We have to be at the meeting soon" He smiled at her, as she too smiled back.