Chapter 9: I Will Fall

The screeching of the truck's tires pierced Ashley's ears as she hid behind Leon, who had just managed to kill the Ganado at the wheel of the oncoming vehicle that threatened to crush them. Knowing that the truck would spin out of control, Leon took hold of Ashley's hand and backed up to a safe distance away, letting the vehicle careen into the cobble-stone wall, rendering it seemingly harmless.

But the fact that the back half of the vehicle was covered with a large canvas top sent Leon's instinct off. 'It feels like a trap…' Leon thought nervously to himself as he raised his firearm and trained his sight on the back flaps of the canvas. "Ashley…" he whispered quickly, "Something's not right. I want you to hold onto me because I have a feeling that everything isn't as it seems to be…"

Ashley looked at him in fear, then drew close to him, asking him in the same, soft whisper, "What do I need to do?"

He never glanced away from the canvas-top as he quietly answered her. "Press your back to mine so you can cover my ass while I watch the truck. You'll be my early detection canary, in a manner of speaking…" Then Leon took a brief glance at her face, which spoke of uselessness and helplessness. To lift her spirits, Leon spoke again, but with more feeling than he ever allowed himself on missions. "Ashley… I don't think you realize how much you've helped me already. With you as another pair of eyes, nothing could possibly ambush us, lessening the chances of us meeting an untimely end…" And he paused to wonder if the next words were those he would kick himself later for. Cautiously, he murmured so softly, he was barely audible. "I need you… to help me…"

Feeling something within drawing strength from his gentle words, Ashley managed to flash a small smile as she went behind him and pressed her back to his, and held onto his free hand tightly, finding solace in his touch.

And with that, Leon began to slowly advance upon the truck as Ashley walked backwards to follow. Sliding to the edge of the path that wasn't blocked by the truck, Leon kept Ashley as far away as possible from it at all times as he crept slowly by it. Once clear of the truck, Ashley watched Leon's back, scanning the top of the slope for any oncoming Ganados as Leon continued to eye the truck in suspicion. Reaching the top of the slope, Leon began questioning why his instincts went off when there clearly wasn't anything there. Frustrated, Leon dropped his aim and shifted his eyes to the ground as he kicked the dust… to hear the silence shatter in an instant as the canvas-top of the truck was ripped to shreds as at least a dozen Ganados poured forth, and with deafening screams, they raced up the incline to kill Leon and take back Ashley.

Leon froze in horror for a split-second, but when Ashley gripped his hand in fright and cried out in terror, Leon felt rage surge through his veins as he fought ferociously to shield her from them. Leveling his gun with deadly accuracy, not a bullet was wasted as Leon shot perfectly into every skull of the ambush force.

As Ashley watched him annihilate the entire troupe in mere seconds, she found comfort in the fact that even though the attack surprised them and put them at a disadvantage, Leon had the ability to wipe out anything that dared face him, human or otherwise.

When the last body fell lifeless to the dusty path below, Leon could sense his adrenaline fading, his pulse returning to normal, his breathing evening out. Ashley gently stroked his arm, startling him a bit, but upon seeing her, he gave a slight smile. "I think we need to keep going… just until we find a place to rest."

Ashley looked about herself for a moment until something caught her eye. "What about that castle?"

Glancing in the direction she was pointing, he thought, 'Why not? A secure place to hunker down for a few hours…' and he replied, "Looks good. Seems the drawbridge is just around the corner. Shall we go?" As he said the last part, he gave her a small, playful grin, remembering that laughter was the best medicine for anything, according to his old friend, Daisuke Bartons. 'Or at least, light-heartedness to survive the trauma of fighting for your life…' Leon thought again as he humorously mused.

Quickly jogging down the trail, they found the entrance to the drawbridge, but before they could step foot onto it, a mass of Ganados charged towards them, hoping to catch them before reaching the castle.

Preferring to save ammunition, Leon shouted to Ashley, who was ahead of him, "On the other side of the bridge!"

"Yeah!" and with that, she ran ahead of him as he ran alongside her, scanning for the drawbridge cranks beside the massive castle doors. Finally spotting them, Leon pointed to the crank closest to Ashley and roared over the howls of the Ganados, "You take that one!"

Seeing the crank, she knew exactly what he meant. "Okay!" and ran towards the crank on her side.

Positioned by the crank opposite Ashley, Leon gripped the crank handle and shouted back to her, "Ready?" and once, she nodded with determination, they turned the crank handles, slowly raising the drawbridge right before the Ganados could rush across.

Satisfied with the infuriated mob shouting crude obscenities from across the mote, Leon turned to Ashley and said, "Come on…" reaching out to her before he pushed open the castle doors.

"Yeah…" she sweetly answered, following him faithfully into darkness of the castle…