Resident Evil: Fractured Promises
Chapter Seven: Shattered Mirror
Leon stands before the gathered Biohazard survivors and warriors, his face stern, demeanor calm, and the only sign of worry over what he is about to talk about is the small line of sweat forming on his forehead, "Sand, it gets in everywhere and never wants to leave… Like memories and regret."
The church walls start to glow a deep yellow, then quickly turn bright white, and morph into the pristine white walls of the lab Claire, Sherry, and he found themselves in….
-New Delhi-
Leon's trained eyes have already scanned the room and pointed out several potential threats, possible weapons, and even locations for hidden information or caches, "We are all going to get out of here no problem, do you know why?"
"I tire of hearing you speak, Miss Birkin… I shall humor you one last time," Oh, someone is a little sassy now…
"You have been living in secret, in hiding, invisible to the world since Raccoon City ended. You were never prepared for someone to waltz in here… You weren't even prepared to properly contain you own projects. I see you for what you really are. You weren't a scientist, you didn't create anything back in the day, you just told people what to do, what to make… That's why this all got out, that is exactly the reason why we are going to get the hell out of here with you in chains…" there is this bright, happy feeling of pride that fills Leon as he listens to Sherry's words.
Leon waits for it and smiles wide when, "Fuck you."
"You know," the little blonde woman leans against the table and smirks up at the speaker, "those words sound even angrier in a French accent."
Claire tries to fight it, but actually lets a laugh slip from her lips as Leon high-fives their Team-Leader, "Alright, so what's the plan, kiddo?"
"Order one: stop calling me kiddo," the redhead behind them laughs louder, "order two: find Christine Henry and apprehend her while putting her creations down."
The brunette Agent nods and starts a sweep of the room, looking for anything useful. He starts with the desks, quickly pulling the drawers open and rifling through them for anything useful. Finding nothing, he jumps to the filing cabinets, yanking drawers open and slipping through the files and folders, still finding absolutely nothing.
"Get the feeling this room is a decoy?" Claire's spoken thoughts force Leon to kick himself.
His eyes rocket back toward the hole they slid down with such force it cracks his neck, "We need to go. NOW!"
The tunnel is obviously going to be too slick to climb back up, but there is another small door off to the right he noticed when he first scanned the room. He leads them two women toward it and rips the door open, finding it opening up to another long corridor lined with cables, metal piping, and bright fluorescent lighting. Their feet pound down the tile as a metal security shutter begins to lower over the only other exit before them.
"Ready?" he hears Claire respond with a positive so he reaches back, grabs her extended hand, spins around, and launches her toward the door.
She slides along the ground, using her feet to force the door open, and vanishes into the dark beyond its opening. Sherry is next, but she takes his arm, spins around, plants her feet on his chest, and launches herself off of him and into the door. Your turn, old man, he forces his feet down faster and harder, forcing his body into a full-on sprint before he lunges for the door. There is a single second where he thinks he might not actually make it, but an outstretched hand helps pull him just past the slamming shutter.
Leon flips to his feet and smirks at Claire and Sherry, "That was a rush!"
"Yeah," the redhead looks around the dark room, "a rush… That's how I always see a trap."
This is when Sherry jumps between them with a massive smile on her face, "That was amazing! Are all missions from the D.S.O. going to be this full of death traps, schemes, and creepy scientists!? This is so much more fun than what I went through in Edonia and China!"
Leon arcs his head over Sherry's and smirks at Claire, "See, think of the young ones, Red."
"Mmhmm, that's you rubbing off on her," he laughs out loud at this and quickly moves next to Claire.
He leans in, brushes the hair from over her ear, and smiles, "And her bright and happy attitude, along with her empathy and caring… Both of those are all you, Claire. We made a good kid, didn't we?"
He will never be able to explain why he said it, but Leon is going to forever remember the goosebumps that appear on her neck and the shuddering breath she releases before she pats him on the chest and replies, "Yup, we did good, Kennedy."
"Hey, guys? I think we made a mistake by coming into this room…" the trembling tone in the blonde's voice causes Leon and Claire to spin around as a series of lights flicker on.
Three pairs of eyes follow the lights to a, well, MASSIVE container or cell, but what really shocks them is the creature within, "Do you think that Christine maybe has a thing for the Victorian Era and its mythology? First, she uses Tesla's energy conduits, now this?"
"Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change," Leon quotes Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and it is the most appropriate reference he can make for what sits before them.
Lightning sparks from several metal protrusions grafted over the joints of the very large humanoid body. A metal jaw has been grafted onto the face of the beast, which only further accentuates the flashing purple eyes. Something moves in the chamber, Leon's eyes slowly moving up to see that the creature is watching him move around its little prison.
"Well, hello there…" the beast nods slowly, like it might actually hear him through the thick glass.
He puts on his fakest smile and slowly backs away from the container, "Anyone have any ideas on how to kill this thing?"
"She made a sixteen-foot tall Frankenstein, powered by nearly limitless electric energy, and is possibly as strong as it is big?" Claire's voice is comforting even when filled with such trepidation, "No, I have no idea about how to kill this thing."
Sherry's voice is next, shaking with a bit of fear that experience hasn't yet taught her to squash down, "Guys, I'm almost positive that it can hear us… Look…"
The monster is now standing, facing them, and looking down at them with an almost inquisitive expression, "Oh, that is just absolutely amazing… I don't want to ask, but do you think it can understand us?"
Suddenly the air is filled with thick chunks of reinforced glass, debris, and a scream of rage so powerful that it sends all three agents to the ground. Leon is the first to rise to his feet, staring at the monster as it exits the shattered chamber. Claire steps up on his right while Sherry steps up to his left, all three of them quickly brandishing their firearms and taking aim.
"One," Leon aims at its head.
"Two," Claire follows his aim.
"Three!" all three of them fire their weapons, the flashes from the barrels dim against the crackling lightning of their foe.
Leon watches it happen in slow motion, the bullets losing their momentum the closer they get, until eventually they are just floating a short distance away from the creature's face. It stares at the bullets, before finally leaning in, opening its mouth, and biting down on them. The taste is apparently unpleasant as it growls and spits them back at the trio.
"Oh, you've found the grand prize… I've always been a fan of the classics… Bubonic Plague, Revolutions, Frankenstein. The classics are where power resides. Where it dwells, festers, and grows… Die to my maturing power…" Yeah, she's lost it…
No more thought can be tossed Christine's way as I'm calling you, Frank, tosses a piece of its prison cell at them. They all successfully dodge with Sherry calling out for cover fire as she reloads her revolver. Leon obliges, ejecting his own empty magazine and driving another one home before unloading more heavy rounds into the approaching monstrosity.
Bright lights appear above them, which reveals to Leon a pretty frightening truth, "This thing is a walking Tesla Coil… It must be recycling its own electric energy through the coil."
"How do we stop that, Kennedy?" Claire has traded her handgun for the submachine gun that has been resting against the small of her back since they arrived in India.
The quick pops of the weapon cause Leon to step up his own onslaught, not wanting the beast to focus on anyone other than himself. Frank steps back from the shots, reaches down to grasp two chunks of the twisted metal and glass, and then tosses them toward the trio.
Blue eyes flash and he knows one of the pieces is heading toward Claire, which he immediately reacts to, "Get down!"
Leon jumps to his right, pushing Claire down to the ground as the large chunk of metal screams overhead. It crashes harmlessly behind him and the duo rises to their feet, already pumping more rounds into Frank as he charges at them. Raw organic energy, this thing is pure, unfiltered organic energy, so how can they use it to kill this thing? Overhead, something overhead is trying to grab his attention. Leon and Claire dive left and right as it swings, stomps, and tosses things at them.
"Overhead! There's a massive water pipeline!" her voice is welcoming to the panic in his mind.
The large blue pipes are exactly what were calling his name earlier, "Seems almost too easy, doesn't it?"
"Take the gift, Kennedy, and fire!" Leon jumps forward, spins around to land on his back, and as he slides across the floor he fires several rounds into the pipes, hoping to cause a crack that will coat their enemy in the short-circuiting liquid.
There are several more booms far off behind him, Sherry's revolver helping him out, and the pipe finally gives, exploding with a spray of cold water. There is a large shriek from Frank as the electricity sparks across his entire body, singeing and crackling the skin as it flakes off. The cracks that appear over its joints flash with a purple energy that Leon immediately starts pelting with more .50AE rounds. They do the job, each successful bullet causing a spark of clearly uncontrolled energy that sparks around its body, causing the form to glow and burn, crackling to life with a deep red fire.
Six shots, why aren't you reloading, Sherry? Leon flips over a table effortlessly, but his feet never slam into the ground as a painful heat and numbing shock fill his body.
"Leon!" Claire fires into the hand that has wrapped around the Government Agent as Leon's vision quickly fades.
Pure instinct kicks in as Leon pulls the large machete resting at the small of his back, barely managing to remove it from the sheathe let alone drive it into one of the closest joints within his shortened reach. The blade grinds against bone and forces a roar from the monster squeezing the very life from him like Leon was just a bottle of ointment or squeezable sour cream. The grip loosens enough for Leon to readjust his grip and really drive the blade home in the joint of the massive finger.
"Let…" the blade begins to bend as Leon applies more pressure, "me…" skin snaps, muscle tears, bones creak, "go, asshole!" the finger drops away as burning blood covers the smaller human.
The pain must be enough as the grip is loosened completely and Leon is able to drop to the floor, his entire body screaming from the pressure it was just under. Claire quickly helps him up and the two continue their run around the room, their minds still stuck on finding a way to stay ahead of this monster and find a solution to its death.
"Leon, look…" Claire slows down, which forces Leon to spin around and watch the scene unfold.
The flames have started to truly consume Frank's body, so much so that he has started to sway, and then he falls to the floor, shattering desks, tables, and workbenches. The beast is not dead, not by a long shot, as Frank continues to reach for them and pull himself along the floor.
"This fire is going to spread fast when it hits anything burnable…" Leon quickly guides Claire around the burning form that is swinging wildly, sending flaming chunks of flesh into the air.
Leon scans the room for something to help really end this beast for good and is greeted with pain as Frank appears from over a pile of burning rubble and delivers a pretty solid straight punch right to his head. Lights flash before going out, only the sound and pain of his body crashing through tables and lab equipment enough to keep him conscious. Shapes, colors, and movement start to come back into focus, the first thing greeting him through the fog is a face adorned in blonde hair.
"Sherry! Awesome, let's go," he reaches out and takes her hand in his, the revolver clattering to the ground, "pick it up and keep moving…"
She's a little lighter on her feet than he remembers, maybe she's been training in her downtime. Sounds of battle peppered with gunshots up ahead, Claire's still holding her own. Leon shakes his head to clear the fog, finding a bit more focus that he spends on keeping an ear on Claire and an eye on Frank. Soft feet scuttling over a metal table, soft voice cursing as she falls into a pile of shattered glass vials, and a cold grip returning his.
"Leon! I… Oh god… Leon, why…?" her words confuse him, the look on her face frightens him, and the sudden realization almost crushes him.
Blue eyes slowly turn back from the redhead in front of him and rests on the form of Sherry Birkin, or really, what remains of her. He follows the trail of blood back to where he found her, his blood running cold at the sight of her lower left arm and most of her lower half rest on the other side of a massive chunk of the glass cage Frank tossed at them. Blood covers everything around the impact site, but none of that matters as he is still holding her ice-cold hand in his.
So many years of conditioning, from the Government, their missions, and his own ordeals with the undead and bioweapons, they can prepare you for everything… Almost. He's lost team members, allies, strangers he was trying to save, but none of that really compares to what he is forced to deal with now.
"Leon… She's… Sherry is…" Sherry died trying to save them, she died because Leon decided to save Claire, "I'm… Sherry?"
He knows that part of him is broken by her death, he also knows that he should be putting that aside and finishing the mission, but fuck it all. Sherry is dead, not because of a monster, not because of a virus, that girl is dead because he made a choice. It's like D.C. all over again. Another life lost to a decision, another bad decision. Her eyes used to sparkle with her hopefulness that everything will get better, now they are just dark and lifeless.
"Leon…" Claire tugs at the back of his jacket, he just shrugs her hand off, tears building up in the corners of his eyes.
My fault… It's my fault… Sherry is dead because… he shakes his head to clear the thought, but it returns almost immediately with a massive vengeance.
Claire pulls the revolver from the puddle of blood, slipping it into her pouch as she reaches up to close her open eyes, "Leon, we need to keep going…"
"No, no you don't…" Jakes stands up and glares right at the pair standing at the altar, "I've seen Sherry recover from some amazing injuries, stuff I was sure she'd be dead from. How were the two of you so sure she was dead!? What if she could have been saved?"
"When the G-Virus bonded with her DNA, it gave her amazing healing powers, yes…" Claire locks her saddened gaze with Jake's fierce eyes, "But even that couldn't save her after being cut in half. The virus was able to keep her alive long enough to help us against Frank. She suffered immensely in those last moments with her mind solely focused on saving us. I can never forgive myself for letting her die alone like that, but I will forever be grateful for how she spent her last moments protecting us."
"None of that fucking matters!" Jake punches the pew in front of him, "She is dead and none of your gratefulness, your regret, your forgiveness can bring her back!"
"Claire has nothing to be forgiven for," Leon's voice is a lot more solid than it has been since he stepped up to tell the story, "I chose to save Claire. In the moment, when I knew I could only save one of them, I chose Claire. Sherry's death rests squarely on my shoulders, so take it out on me if you have to…"
And he does… Before anyone can act or react, Jake has leapt over the pews, jumped up to the altar, and drives a strong fist into Leon's face. The Agent could've dodged it, could've blocked it, or even turned Jake's own momentum against him, but he doesn't. The punch is solid and true, blood immediately pouring from his mouth, lips, and nose.
"Jake!"
"I hope you die for this, you piece of shit! You killed the only thing in this world I care for!" another punch, another, one more followed by several more, with Leon just lying there and letting Jake pound his face into raw hamburger meat.
Chris steps behind Jake and quickly picks him up in a Full-Nelson, applying enough pressure to Jake's neck to force the younger man to stop, "This is enough! This isn't doing any good, Jake!"
"Fuck off, Redfield! You killed the father I never knew and Leon killed the woman I found my redemption in!" he struggles against the hold, but Chris isn't letting go, not until he is sure Jake isn't going to kill Leon.
The struggle turns to silence, Jake's eyes stained with tears as Chris slowly releases the hold, "She's dead and I'm never going to get her back…"
END
