Hello! Terribly sorry for those who have been waiting for this. I have been so busy and tired from work. But here it is either way and I hope you enjoy it!
HAUNTING EVIL
Chapter Eight
"Dammit!" Leon cursed.
He didn't like the idea of Fiona being alone. Not one bit. He still couldn't believe Las Plagas was here in Italy. For how long? Were more of those things on loose? The dreadful concept just made him fear for her safety. She seemed so frail yet she had a fierce determination that kept her going. He hoped she could manage on her own until he found her. He knew Hewie was troubled as well. It took him a while to coax the young dog away from the rubble that separated them from her. He had to find a way to contact Hunnigan as soon as possible.
The chilly air was creeping on his bare arms. He was glad he gave her his jacket. Hewie's ears flopped and he glanced up at him sadly. He smiled to reassure him and rubbed the top of his head, who appreciated the gesture and licked his fingers. As they travelled side by side, Leon contemplated the creature's behaviour. It appeared to be weak before it mutated. He was surprised he and Fiona were able to slow it down with only minor explosives. Perhaps it was infected with a low-grade Plaga type. When he fought the Ganados, he was armed with a variety of weapons. Would these antimonies and magnesias be enough for her to protect herself?
"C'mon, buddy..." he said to Hewie, urging him to keep up.
Leon explored the area, trying to recollect the details of the map when Hewie trotted ahead, discovering something by the wall of a wrecked dwelling with streams of water trickling between the cracks, forming a puddle in a hole in the terrain. He barked to show Leon what he found. A metal box was lying in the middle of it. Leon headed over as Hewie barked again for a second and third time. Crouching beside him, he noticed a wide dent, as though it was damaged from the outside-in. He wasn't aware of it, but Hewie detected a faint residue of the exact same scent as that creature's emerging from it. Rust had tarnished the metal, coating the bottom half due to the water it sat in.
"How did this get down here?"
With no further evidence to answer his question, he carried on walking. Hewie followed him, snuffing at the box. What they couldn't see at the back of it underneath the puddle was the infamous red and white logo of Umbrella Inc.
Fiona wrapped her arms around her stomach. The stillness of the ruins she first perceived as peaceful was now eerie and ominous. Everything was too quiet. Her flat boots tapping against the gravel was all she could hear. She was still shaken by the attack of the Homunculus. None of the Homunculi in the castle had ever changed like that before. She didn't expect any to be down here. As far as she knew, the ruins were supposed to be deserted according to a journal given to her by someone named Lorenzo. Was it just the Homunculi below the castle that could morph? And now she was separated from Hewie and Leon without any way of knowing of they were at risk stumbling across more of them. She felt like a terrible person for leading them into danger.
"What was I thinking? Did I seriously believe we would find the way out from a place miles underground that easily?"
She chastised herself, guilt gnawing at her insides, for being so desperate the moment she had the Mercury Key in her hand. She ignored a note Lorenzo provided with that journal for so long. Never bothered to act upon any instructions given to her. She hadn't even heard from him since that note; the last she ever received.
Fiona wished she had the journal with her. Not just because of its practicality to assist her navigating the ruins. When she first read it, she felt a special kinship with the words written inside, well acquainted with the diarist's handwriting and talented artistic skills. She only read Lorenzo's note once but went through the journal dozens of times. There were quite a number of pages missing yet she memorised all that was left, recognising some of the landscapes from the sketches. But the most particular part that gripped her was a torn piece of an entry about a woman and a baby. She lost count of how many times she read those few lines.
Her heart ached. Needing to distract herself, she turned her thoughts elsewhere which automatically reverted back to Hewie, failing to ease her conscious. She was so worried about him. She still didn't know Leon well enough but she had to put her trust into his word that he would keep her friend safe. Shaking her head, she told herself over and over that everything would be fine. Hewie was a tough dog and he liked their new companion. Leon was nice to him, as well as her, and those two got along. He was also kind to lend her his jacket. She just wasn't sure if she should put her trust into a man she hardly knew. For now though, she had no choice.
She folded her hands and covered her nose and mouth, sighing into them. She stayed on her course, focusing on the task at hand, when a feeling suddenly struck. Her pace gradually grew still and she slowly glanced over both shoulders. Nothing could be seen but there was no doubting her instincts as the feeling continued to linger. Something she had been long accustomed to throughout her time in the castle: being spied on. There was definitely a presence lurking nearby. Afraid and not wanting to loiter any longer, she started to walk faster, ascending her steps into a jog.
Hazel eyes monitored her as she ran into a crevice within a monumental rock formation and out of sight.
Fiona ran to get away from what, or whoever, was surveilling her. She was not going to stand idle and wait to be pounced on. After dashing into shelter, she slide through the narrow gap and twisted her frame out into an open antre, she kept running but did not see a fracture in the ground until it caught her foot. She tripped and fell before she knew it. When she landed, her hand scraped against a jagged rock, instantly puncturing her palm. Crying out to the unbearable pain, she sat on her knees and pressed her other hand firmly onto the wound. Warm blood seeped between her fingers and tiny droplets of it spilled on her thighs and Leon's jacket. She bit her bottom lip hard to prevent herself from yelling again and gain the unwanted attention of who was hiding from her. Her voice was reduced to sobbing and whimpering noises as she rocked back and forth, waiting for the pain to recede.
When she calmed down, she peered at her palm, quick to cover it again receiving a flash of memory, reminded of when her hands were last stained maroon. It was a pretty deep gash and it wouldn't stop bleeding. Shudders quavered through her, not just from the pain. She whirled her head and sought for something, anything that could treat her injury. That was when she spotted a pool in the centre of a set of twisted pillars, so she got up and went over to it. Rolling the jacket's sleeves up by raising her arms, she knelt in front of the water and dipped her hands in to wash the blood away. It stung as soon as the wound touched the icy liquid, making her cringed. It was expected but what she didn't anticipate was a strange tingling sensation that swept through her injured hand, flowing to her the tips of her fingers and straight up her arm.
Alarmed, she retracted both hands from the pool and checked her wound. She withdrew it away in shock to what she was seeing. The wound was closing. She could do nothing but gawk, horrified watching... feeling her skin stretch and pull itself inward until it was sealed with a scar. Her palm was healed and the pain was vanquished, as though it was never cut to begin with.
Fiona stared dumbstruck at the water gently rippling before her. There was more to this place than what meets the eye.
Leon and Hewie hadn't encountered anything like the creature that chased them and Fiona, or any other living being for that matter. That was a good thing, but they still needed to find her. He hoped they would run into her soon.
It was all the same. Nothing but grey stones, twisted pillars, and illuminated crystals. He found a plaque yet paid no mind to it since she was not there to translate it for him. Behind it were a bunch of little houses facing each other in two parallel lines. Ahead past all them was a trail leading towards a larger building with many pillars holding its roof up. Inside was a statue of a woman wearing a hooded robe, wielding a wingless caduceus cane. There was also an inscription below it that he couldn't understand. The words had eroded off anyway. The section they were in resembled a temple or shrine of sorts. Did the people of the past worship whatever this statue was supposed to represent? It didn't look like anything he had seen related to the religion of the Los Illuminados.
On either side of the statue were four cubes with a sphere on top of them, surrounding it in a square. The spheres were pearlescent globes and in different colours of red, blue, green and yellow. Leon and Hewie past them shrine down a single pathway towards double arched doors. Instead of knobs or handles, they had imprints in the shape of a hand on each of them. Leon wondered what would happen if he positioned his on them and so he did. The doors would not budge, no matter how hard he pushed, grunting during his efforts.
Two torches hung on both sides. One was blazing with an azure flame while the other was unlit. Beneath them were pedestal stands. Under the burning fire was a blue orb much like the blue globe, only it was the size of a tennis ball. The second stand had an empty semi-circular slot. Where was the other orb? Leon noticed the blue one was loose, meaning it could be removed. He curled his fingers over and lifted it up and at once, the fire became extinguished.
"Soooo... we locate the missing orb, both torches light up and maybe that'll get these doors open?"
He didn't know where to start. It could be anywhere. As he gazed at the one he held, he saw Hewie staring at him. Dogs were supposed to have excellent tracking skills, right? He crouched to the Alsatian's level and presented it to him.
"You think you can help me find something like this, buddy?"
Hewie brought his head closer and sniffed the object. He then gave a confident 'woof' and put his nose to the ground. He averted away from the doors and Leon tagged along with him in his search, pocketing the orb into his attaché case. Hewie backtracked through the shrine to the rows of houses. He assumed he would go into one of them yet he went between two of them to a gap at the bottom of a wall of bars. They were too narrow and close together for him to fit with his broad shoulders. So he kept his eyes on Hewie as he crawled under it and ventured at the opposite side where it was dark. He was barely visible thanks to his white fur.
The German shepherd barked once more and unhinged his jaw to pick something up. He returned to Leon with a ball in his mouth identical to the blue orb. It was green. That went a lot better than Leon thought it would.
"Good boy!" he praised, leaning down to accept it as Hewie dropped it onto his palm.
His face scrunched, pulling a funny face when he realised the orb was covered with saliva. He shifted it to his other hand with light fingertips, shaking the warm drool off as they headed back to the double doors. Leon fished out the blue orb and examined the two he now possessed.
"I better not be wrong about this."
Though uncertain, he deposited the blue one back in its stand, restoring the fire and the green one into its own. It was a perfect fit. The torch above it became ignited with an extraordinary emerald flame. Leon pressed his hands onto the imprints again. Seconds later, the doors began to shake and slowly opened, granting them passage to enter.
"Let's go, Hewie," Leon grinned. "We don't want to keep Fiona waiting, do we?"
Hewie barked happily, as if in agreement, and the two advanced inside. Leon pondered if she had to go through a door like that, wherever she was.
It was darker with smaller crystals connected to the rocks here and there, but not difficult to see. A few metres ahead was a sign carved into stone above a juncture leading to somewhere. He recalled it being one of the landmark symbols from the map. He and Hewie stepped in and found mining equipment.
They were all incredibly old. The silver metal had rusted to the brink of falling apart. So were the tracks going into pitch-black tunnels, half buried in the earth. What was odd to Leon were scattered scraps from used explosives that were obviously what had blasted a hole in the wall seen at their far left. They were modern, C-4s he reckoned, unlike the ancient tools around them. On one of the boulders made from the blast was an 'X' carved on it. There were no glowing crystals in the hole, leaving the unknown in darkness at the furthest point the light could reach.
Hewie was not comfortable going anywhere near it. His back hunched. Even with the distance, he could smell the putrid scent. Something about the vicinity didn't seem right to Leon either. Hewie was glad they didn't have to go in, nor any of the tunnels, and tailed behind him exiting the site. The map stated they would have to go along a route circling all the way around to the right across the ruins in order to get back to the courtyard. And to the right of where they were was a light coming from the mouth of the next cavern. They could feel another breeze and a feather-light cool spray of water fanning against them.
The cavern widened to a vast canyon with a waterfall tumbling from a tall cliff towering over where they stood to a small, shallow lake. He couldn't determine any way to go apart from a trail between the cliffs, so they headed towards it. Hewie didn't settle for long. Already, another scent invaded his nostrils and made him freeze. He was near... and coming closer. His paws patted cautiously before his head shot upward.
Leon stopped when he heard him growling. Quick to figure out what it meant, he gripped the handle of his knife and prepared for the upcoming threat. He kept his ears sharp for any noise under the cascading waves and scanned the environment for possible openings. To the left... To the right... Nothing. Yet Hewie's growls were on the rise. Taking slow steps backwards, knowing he was exposed standing where he was. He briefly glimpsed at Hewie to see what direction he was facing, which was by the overhang of the waterfall.
Hewie's head tilted higher and then barked abruptly. From above, a silver glint shone in Leon's eyes, stunning him blind. He automatically shut them and used his hand to block its source. While he was momentarily disoriented, a figure leapt from the cliff to strike him down. He dove out of the way, regaining his senses in time, almost slashed by a sharp blade that pierced the ground mere inches from him. Hewie retreated to his side and snarled at the assailant. He spun to face them and saw none other than Jack Krauser, holding his knife that glistened as it reflected the light of the crystals.
The mercenary smirked as the agent raised his weapon. "I gotta hand it to you, Leon... It ain't even half a day and you're already here? I'm impressed. Took me a while before I could walk right in."
Leon didn't say anything. He just glared in return.
"I see Fiona's not with you," Krauser pointed out.
"You can thank your little parasite pals for that!"
"Ahh... he did say the Infant Plaga Homunculi tend to go haywire once they get a whiff of Azoth."
"Azoth?" Leon's brow cocked inquisitively. "And HE would be...?"
"You'll find out sooner or later... if you live that is. It's obvious she isn't dead. The real question is: which of us three will find her first?"
Before Leon could speak any further, Krauser lashed at him with his dagger to slice his throat. He jumped back and ducked, shoving the knife towards his opponent's abdomen yet Krauser saw this, grabbing his arm with his free hand. Spinning the dagger with his fingers, he aimed its tip for the jugular and thrust it upward. Leon yanked his weight sideways, dodging the attack and threw his leg up and kicked Krauser as hard as he could. Hewie yapped to the battle that ensued as he fell and dropped the dagger.
Something slipped out of his pocket, landing with a 'clinging' sound. His eyes rounded and desperateness appeared on his face when he realised what had fallen, which Leon noticed. He spotted a glass vial lying there. Krauser dashed to grab it until Leon kicked away from his reach, also kicking dirt in his face doing so. He scowled furiously and lunged. Too close to be evaded this time, he stomped his foot into Leon's gut, causing enough pain to make him drop his own knife with a hoarse groan. Krauser took the advantage and clutched onto his neck in a vice-like grip. He pinned Leon against a boulder and began to strangle him without mercy.
Leon struggled for air as Krauser squeezed his neck tightly. He choked whilst he strived to punch and kick to free himself. Yet it was no use with Krauser arching his spine harder over the rock, making it even more difficult to breathe. He was becoming light-headed feeling his windpipe contracting, his chest aching for oxygen along with his racing heartbeat. A smug smile parted Krauser lips seeing this. A delightful glee filled him with a chuckle bubbling. Leon attempted to swing his arm and knock Krauser's down but in his weakening state, it was easy for Krauser to shove it away with his elbow. He laughed callously.
"Ha, ha, ha... You're clearly not going to be the one who's gonna claim the girl. You've had this coming a looong time, Kennedy."
A jolt of panic heightened at the mention of Fiona. If he were to die now, she and Hewie would be left alone and defenceless.
The canine whined fearfully. He wanted to help but could sense the parasites thriving within Krauser. He saw Leon was trying to reach for something behind his back. His ears then perked up, running over to a short distance. He charged forward and jumped, leaping to head-butt Krauser's side. He stumbled when the dog hit him, his grip loosening and Leon gasped greatly when he felt his lungs able to take in oxygen again. He snatched a magnesia from the attaché and flung it at him.
Krauser let out a guttural cry as it burst on his face. The magnesia exploded on his right eye and blood instantly gushed from it. Leon bent his knee to boot him off and slumped to sit down, wiping any specs of blood that spilt on him. His fingers massaged his throbbing neck and he coughed to catch his breath. Hewie ran over to him, rubbing his nose against his cheek.
"...Thanks, buddy," Leon's raspy voice strained to say as he patted his head.
Krauser screamed in agony as he rolled across the ground, unable to see a thing with his bloody hand pressed against the gaping hole that was his eye.
"I'LL KILL YOU, LEON!" Krauser hollered. "I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!"
The injury and excruciating pain had blinded him. His vision was gone. He used his other hand to frantically sway and locate the man he hated with every fibre of his being. When Leon recovered, he rested his hand on the boulder and pushed himself to stand while his former partner spewed more obscene insults and threats his way. He and Hewie made sure to stay far from his reach. He then stepped to the discarded vial and picked it up, carefully pinching it between his thumb and forefinger.
A clear fluid filled the glass which was almost frosty to the touch. Its sturdy lid had a miniature amber electronic light shining from a bulb. He couldn't fathom why Krauser needed it. It simply looked like nothing but plain, ordinary water.
He gazed at Krauser. He was vulnerable. It would be impossible to deliver a fatal blow to someone infected with Las Plagas with the little he had... but he did have a chance to finish him right there. However, something crossed his mind.
He brought up Fiona. Twice.
"What the hell does this bastard want with her?"
Instead of seizing the opportunity, he tucked the vial into the attaché and called Hewie to come with him. Together, the two of them marched off. Someone else was in the ruins and was after Fiona. He would have to deal with Krauser later. He couldn't delay if she was trouble. Krauser could hear him make his departure.
"Wh-... where are you going!?" he demanded between incoherent grunts.
Leon ignored him and kept walking.
"COWARD! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN, LEON! DEAD!"
He received no reply and gradually Leon's footsteps could no longer be heard. Still covering his eye, his left arm started to pulsate and produce spikes as his body vibrated with fury.
"I had him! I had him right there!"
The glorious taste of victory was literally in his grasp. He saw the life faltering in Leon's eyes... only for it to be stolen by a measly varmint. He would skin that thing alive if it weren't for Riccardo's orders not to kill it. Forced himself to his knees, he swiped his spare hand swiped across the ground. The vial... Where was the vial? He crawled pitifully, listening for the sound of glass, wanting to murder Leon slowly and painfully, until he felt his hand dunk into the water of the lake. Relieved, his spikes dwindled, flattening till the skin was smooth once more.
Clambering further towards the waterfall, he leaned his head and submerged it into the stream. He balled his fists and he clenched his teeth bracing himself, already feeling its effects. It hurt immensely, his head shook as the skin of his face tugged pulling itself together. He almost ironically choked on his own breath, reminding himself to breathe by the time the wound was sealed. A new scar had joined his collection. His eyelids flickered as he panted, his tense shoulders easing as they rose up and down in rhythm. His right eye was fully restored... and so was his vision.
Leon wondered if he made the right call bailing on Krauser like that as he and Hewie hiked through the canyon. It was brighter by the numerous amounts of crystals. A wave of apprehension flooded him, determined to find Fiona before this other man did. What if there was more than just him and Krauser? The mental image spiralling spurred him to hurry.
Krauser also said something about 'Azoth', a word Fiona acted peculiar about. What was Azoth, anyway?
He tried to consider who the identity of the third person could be. All he knew it was they were male and that was it. He couldn't convince himself to believe it was the big guy who knocked him unconscious. Who else could it be? And there was still the possibility of her running into parasite-infected monsters.
His thoughts were cut off when he heard something being kicked above him. He looked up and saw a bag plummet over the edge of one of the cliffs and straight down to him. He caught it with perfect timing. It was a rough burlap bag, heavy from whatever was inside. Two thin, metallic rectangular plates were fastened to it by its tie string. He held them up, reading words printed on them. One said, 'THANKME' and the second, 'NONEEDTO'. He swapped them around to make more sense of the message.
"'No need to thank me'..."
He glanced back up suspiciously when he then heard footsteps walking away.
"Who's there?" he called to them.
Clicking high heeled shoes echoed in the air, becoming quieter until whoever was there was gone.
Hewie cocked his head, slightly groaning and was as equally confused as he was. Inspecting the bag warily, he knelt down and cut the knot with the knife. What he found when he peered inside was unexpected. It was his handgun. Along with his radio, his combat knife in a sheath... All of his equipment was there. How did that person get them? He retrieved the gun first and unclipped the magazine clip to verify how much ammunition it had. Not a single bullet was fired, giving him a full clip of fifteen bullets. The bag lacked the extra clips he knew he brought before starting the mission. He would have to use each bullet wisely. With that in mind, he secured the clip back in and set the gun into his holster where it rightfully belonged. Next, he took out the knife, switching it with the kitchen one, sliding it into the spare sheath and placing it into the attaché. He decided to keep it just in case.
After equipping the rest of his arsenal, he lastly checked the radio. As he figured, being deep underground, he couldn't get a signal. The screen only greeted him with a fuzzy speckle of static and screeched loudly. He would have to try again on higher ground. At least it was working. He stood up, putting it in its pocket and tossed the empty bag aside.
"Who was that...?" Leon muttered, craning his neck towards the cliff one last time.
The pale blonde softly brushed her fingers over the scar on her palm, taut yet tender, branded by the water that mended her wound. Fiona didn't understand how but the water in the Mercury Ruins had healing properties. Was this what Lorenzo meant by 'utmost secrets'?
Her eyes lit up when she came across an engraving of a sign representing the courtyard. It had to be close by. She feared she became lost wandering aimlessly through a canyon. The only thing that was appeared different to the norm of the caves were double doors and torches burning with ruby and golden flames and matching coloured orbs under them. Eager to see Hewie, she rushed to get there faster but was startled when pebbles toppled from somewhere behind her. Spinning around, she barely acknowledged an 'X' carved into a large rock seeking whatever caused them to fall. Fearing it was the same thing from earlier, she began to run and didn't stop until she came to a corner of the base of a cliff. She hid there and panted, waiting for a moment before peeking see if anything actually was there. She couldn't tell. It was completely silent. Perhaps she was being paranoid.
Sighing to herself with her eyelids closed, Fiona took a step back and turned around to tread on. When they opened... she saw a man storming towards her.
Her blood became as cold as ice and she gasped before shrieking in fright. He grabbed her arms and slammed her against the cavern wall.
"So THIS is where you've been," sneered Riccardo.
Oh dear! Not good for poor Fiona D:
