Stage 4: The Four Gods

Clutching his gun close to him, Leon walked slowly towards the burning house. He saw many bullets sprawled all over the street, shining from the burning embers and bodies. Wood mixed with the stench of copper filled the air, making Leon cough and cover his mouth. Whatever had died back here caused the Bazooka to use one of his valuable weapons and blow whatever monstrosity tried to kill him. As for Andre, he was no where in sight. Leon didn't think to check the scorched bodies, which looked like they were already dead before they attacked.

Leon moved into the heart of the conflagration, where he saw a large pool of blood emitting from a young girl who appeared her head was blown off. Leon moved closer to her, his gun raised. He gazed at the girl and noticed something.

He clicked on his flashlight and checked the girl's neck. On there, right between her shoulder and the base of her neck, was a large, purple welt. Leon could only come to one conclusion about the girl's face a few feet away, whose eyes were the color of grapes and whose skin shown the veins against her pale skin. She's one of them…or was… Leon looked next to her, seeing a new pool of blood. Andre's as Leon inched closer, looking around the spot.

He must be here somewhere…I mean, this pool looks fresh and there are tracks…Andre, where the hell are you?

Leon clicked off his flashlight and continued to scourge the town, unaware that he was just in one stage of the horrible nightmare.

--

Leon continued going through the town of Cicero, his hope of finding Andre alive dwindled. Leon had encountered more of the infected citizens, knowing exactly how to terminate them.

The moon shone over him, providing him with a comfortable light overhead. He moved swiftly in the night's darkness, hoping to come across an indication of Andre's well-being. So far Leon was losing all hope in finding Andre alive. He had to conclude that the field agent that he just met died. Leon sighed and continued onto the village.

He reached the far end of the village where he spotted a camera on the ground. It seemed to shine out to Leon as a beacon of light. He immediately recognized it as the one Nadine held up to him before she left. "Nadine, you…thank you…" He clutched it for a few moments before trying to turn it on.

He sighed, almost breaking the camera when he found that the batteries died. A light bulb lit up in his head and Leon immediately took out his flashlight and started unscrewing the top. Working promptly and quickly, Leon took the batteries out. Unzipping his coat pocket, he took out his ear phones to his iPod. He didn't want to wreck his new set of earphones, but took out his switch knife and cut off a strip of wire. He grazed off the plastic insulation, exposing the copper wire.

Opening the battery storage of the camera, he saw the metal connectors with the plus and minus sign. He placed the cooper wire on the metal and then taking the batteries from his flash light, he used the tail of the wire to touch the battery ends. He taped them onto the camera and tried to turn it on again. He smiled in delight as he saw the camera turn on.

He clicked the memory button and saw Nadine's face pop up on the screen. He quickly pushed the play button and saw Nadine come alive.

"Hey Leon! Hey!" she playfully pushes away one of her doctor friends away as she tried to refocus the camera again. She smiled waving at the camera.

"Leon! I'm here in Deutschland with all the wonderful doctors and scientists and we are excited!" A roar of approval and applause came around her and she beamed. "Yes, all of us are on our way to the beautiful village of Cicero and will begin work ASAP. I can't wait love! Oh! Look!" She twisted the camera around and Leon could see the rippling hills, the lush countryside, and the beautiful snowcapped mountains. "Leon, it's so beautiful here! I feel right in home! There's just one thing missing. You." She faced the camera again and Leon could see a tinge of sadness in her eyes.

"I will try to document as much on this camera for you to see. I would call it Nadine's Wild Adventure!" Leon chuckled, Nadine, you aren't the best camerawoman, but you are indeed the best tour guide. He saw Nadine turn the camera so she could record the other passengers on the bus. He could see familiar faces, some he personally knew and others that he simply didn't know. Nadine had got off her seat and introduced every person on the bus, even the bus driver. Leon chuckled as she moved her way throughout the bus.

At last, Nadine stopped and introduced the tour guide. She wore a three piece suit with black stiletto heels. She smiled lightly and waved at the camera. Leon recognized the short hair and the grey eyes. Sitting there waving at the camera was, "Ada?"

Leon pushed 'pause' the camera and saw the woman who had roamed his dreams for weeks after Spain. Ada sat there, smiling and seeming to enjoy the company of Nadine and the gang. To Leon, it seemed she hadn't changed at all. Her hair was still the same length and the color of her eyes didn't fade.

Leon pressed the play button and heard Nadine's sweet voice again. "Hitomi, what would you like to say? I mean, you are helping us to go to Cicero. Tell me, is it beautiful there?" Ada smiled and nodded. "Yes, I bet you will love it there. Trust me. You will have a good time, though…" She looked around before going on, "It's just something other than a vacation here in Germany eh?" Ada nodded and waved Nadine away. "Thank you! And yes we will enjoy our stay. Well, there you go Leon; our trip of Deutschland is starting to develop. I'll try to record as much as I can, but not much. Well, company policy."

Nadine smiled and flashed a peace sign, before turning off the camera. Leon saw the screen go blue before watching another video. Leon could see that Nadine not only used this camera to tape the trip, but to also record some inside footage of the place. He could see lights all around, the sleekness of the slacks of all the scientists as they traveled towards a fence. Leon could see the familiar background: the entrance of the village. According to Nadine, it seemed that they were in the village of Cicero.

He could see the scientists looking around, anxiously, spotting the blood stains and demolished houses. Leon could see from an angle Ada, would guided the group through the city. Obviously, she did want to show the scientists (plus one agent), scenes of morbid death and destruction, if she could avoid it that is.

He could hear whispering in the background and he put the camera near his ear to hear well. It was a few moments before he could hear Nadine's voice audible again.

"Mary, look at the amount of destruction. Clearly a 3 biohazard level zone, experimentation perhaps? Damn…the stench of death is clearly here." Leon could hear another woman whisper in response.

"Damn it. You're right. Seems that Umbrella is up to their old tricks again. Except, would they go far to bring innocents civilians to these types of conditions?"

"Fuck, you know the incident of Raccoon City right? Same damn thing. 'Oh, we accidentally let this virus loose.' 'Why yes, Honorable Judge Kevel, we have made dangerous viruses that could wipe out an entire country.' 'Hey, we didn't mean to blow up the place.' Same shit is going here. Level of contamination?"

"Level five. Not three. Hopefully not airborne. Symptoms?"

"Let's see…can't really tell since there are no dead bodies around for us to examine. Probably cold or flu-like. Same like the virus described in Raccoon. Insanity. Loss of vital signs. Loss of humanity. God, it's like a curse. Like the T-Virus. People who become zombies, forgotten individuals. Forgotten souls. They lose their mentality within hours. Looks like this is just experimentation, not completion. So unknown series of events concerns subjects infected. Damn it Mary, not noting the possible side effects or symptoms of the infection could really hurt us, unknowing how to treat it."

"What if we are infected?" Mary asked anxiously.

"God help us then Mary, God help us." Nadine whispered.

Leon could see the house where he thought he would find Andre and saw that the group approached the gate. Ada turned to the group and pointed to the gate behind her.

"There are five different villages in the compound. These were found empty of humans, so it is supposed they are dead. The level of infection is minimal so there is no need of suits. Once we get deeper into the compound, there will be a need of biosuits. Any questions?"

One of the scientists in front of Nadine raised his hand. Ada nodded at him.

"You said these are villages. This one is called Cicero. What are the others called?"

"The other contamination points are Ares, Cythera, Hera, and Zeus. Each has unique characteristics of contamination, but all common to Cicero. They are a bit larger than Cicero but the population, as you can see, is zero. Any more?"

"Yes, are there any survivors or those who are infected who managed to survive?"

"No, or if there are, they are avoiding our attempts to relieve them."

"Is the German government in control of these villages?"

"Yes, for the time being. They have allowed the US and Japanese to scourge the compound. Right now, we are working inside and you are welcome to join us in level four. Well, before it gets too late, we should head to level three. Follow me."

Ada walked to the gate and placed her hand over a screen. Grabbing out a card, she slid it across the key pad. She began to lead them towards the open gate when something happened. Leon could hear anxious whispers when a large truck emerged from the gate. It was at least 15 feet tall, black metal chrome and with bearing headlights. The engine was bearing the sound around the group, causing everyone to gaze in wonder. The scientists began to back away. Nadine focused the camera to the front of the truck, in which the large door opened, emitting what seemed to be steam from the truck.

A figure got out of the truck and stepped down. Leon looked at the screen a bit closely to see the figure was a lean man in a tight black suit. He walked towards the scientists and Leon could clearly see who he was.

The man wore sunglasses whose lenses were so black that you could not make out the eyes of the man. He had his fair-colored hair combed back; his face held a sort of ignorance mixed in with interest. He walked gracefully towards the group, his eyes grazing over the scientists. He placed his hands on his slim hips, looking over the group with fascination, smiling before he spoke in his deep, russet accent.

"Vell, Vell. This ist the group from Amerika? Velcome scientists. My name ist Vlae Hüden. Ima scientist here at compound. I vill tell you, compound holds much mysteries to be undcovered. So, stay vith me und accompany me to compound." He walked around towards the group, his face seeming to stare at each of the scientists faces. He walked closer towards Nadine and Leon could hear her hold her breath. The man, who sensed her tensing up, walked towards Nadine. Leon could hear Ada's voice leading the scientists inside the truck, but could see that Nadine stayed put. The German man inched closer to her, not bumping into any of the scientists as he did. Nadine focuses her camera towards the man and Leon could see the man was smirking at Nadine. He could feel a rising anger towards the man as he stopped in front of Nadine.

"Vell, I did not know there vas such beauty in Amerika. Vhat is your name my dear?" His hand reached over to Nadine's hand. Nadine seemed she was taken back from the man's behavior.

"Dr. Elizabeth Knightly, Mr.…?"

"Oh, just Vlae. May I ask vhy you are here?" Leon could see the man's face bend down to grace his lips upon Nadine's hand. Nadine slipped her hand away, causing the man to stand straight, smirking at Nadine. "I'm here, like the others, to examine the compound. Now if you would please, Mr. Hüden, I would like to get on with the compound." Leon felt himself smirk as he saw Nadine moved past the man and towards the truck. However the smirk disappeared quickly.

He could hear rumbling and saw the camera whipped around so Leon could see an infected being coming towards Nadine and the man. Within seconds, he saw the picture move around a little and heard Nadine gasp. Leon clutched the camera, only to see the camera's screen show the scene horizontal, meaning that the camera fell off Nadine's pocket. The screen went black, leaving sounds of Nadine screaming and gunshots in Leon's mind.

--

Nadine could feel her body tremble with the pain, the fire searing through her veins; the cold, harsh virus tearing through her body. She arched her back towards the ceiling, silently screaming at it. Her fingers dug into the sides of her bed, the metal cuffs holding her wrists on the bed. Her legs were strapped onto the bed, but she could still wiggle around, her legs knowing the pain that Nadine was in.

She could see from the mirror in the ceiling the tubes that dug deep inside her body. There was one on her left breast, one in her right arm, one on her left hip and one on the side of her head. Each of the tubes contained a gold liquid that seems with every beat of her heart, another surge of pain filled her body.

Her grey eyes lost some of its color; the pupils seemed to shrink back and become tiny black dots. Her face was drenched in sweat and her once lush pink lips were chapped and pale. Her hair was ravenous around her head, making her look like Medusa. Any man would love to see Nadine's hair around her narrow face, her bright grey eyes straight at him. Yet, that man would be frightened at the beastly nature that had turned Nadine's once humane nature into something exotic and dangerous.

Nadine closed her eyes for a second, feeling hot tears streaming from her face. She felt even though she was in hell, she could clearly see her angel. Although her arms were held down by the metal cuffs, she tried to reach up, trying to clutch at her angel.

Her eyes, although lifeless and not blinking, scanned the sky that emerged in her mind for her angel. On her sweaty face, a smile surfaced as she visualized Leon walking towards her, his arms stretched out. She saw herself in his arms; hold her close to his body. Somehow in her mind, Leon bared large white wings on his back and was shirtless. His eyes were an electrifying blue and his hair whipped round his handsome face. He smiled her favorite smile: it seemed that he took no effort to show his crooked smile. For that brief second, Nadine smiled and sighed before being dragged back into the depths of hell, screaming his name.

"LLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNN!!!!"

--

Leon has made a small fire outside the gate, holding the camera that Nadine had dropped. Even after he saw the screen go black, he could visualize Nadine getting dragged off into the truck by the German man who made moves on her, her lean body twisting away from the man's grip. He saw Ada come over to Nadine and drape a piece of silk, which had chloroform drench on it and see Nadine weak against the drug's powerful magic. Nadine was then carried off into the truck where the scientists where held hostage.

Although he did not know what exact happened to Nadine and the other scientists, all Leon could see was Nadine's lifeless body being carried off by the man, the woman in the black suit walking beside them.

Leon wanted to scan the area so he tries to find a way inside, knowingly that he was low on ammo and that he had no map of the complex. Without his field agent, he was a sitting duck, a piece of meat, just ripe for the picking. With a thought popping the blonde's head, Leon chuckled, unknowingly that the same nightmares that haunted in his dreams for months, have only come to haunt him again. Back to the beginning, eh Scotty? Back to the zombies, the guns, the damsel in distress, Umbrella…shit. Hopefully this is all a dream and Nadine…Nadine is back with me. And Ada could go back being the girl in my dreams instead of my dreams.

Leon twisted around his gun and placed in its holster, feeling his chest to find his knife. When he found it, a great sense of grief overwhelmed him again. Leon pulled out his knife and stabbed it deep into the ground.

In a man of Leon's stature, he was the man who didn't bother with feelings. If he did, he would keep to himself and never bother with others. He hated to go to weddings or parties where there would be ample amounts of emotion ripe in the air. He did not want to get himself attached, if he could help it. He was a complicated man. Even he, the almighty Leon Scott Kennedy couldn't figure himself out. His father once said, "Leon, if you want people to notice you, find you, know you, you got to get your feet wet and let them see you. If not, you'll be the pretty boy no one wants to know. Like they always say, go get them, tiger." Leon threw a stick into the fire watching it burn. For years, he was like a stick, just getting thrown into a fire and getting himself burned.

That wasn't until he met two women: Ada and Nadine. Ada made him feel free and overzealous. He knew that Ada, although he has met other women in his life, made him feel like he was needed. He felt that he could be useful and opened. But Ada could not provide him with the intimacy that he wanted. Although with every encounter they got closer, Leon felt that he got even further away and he thought that neither time nor distance made his heart fonder.

Then he met Nadine after the assignment of the president's daughter and he had the same feelings for Nadine as he had for Ada. She had rekindled some powerful feelings that he had kept away for a long time. For the first time, Leon had felt that he was himself, that Nadine, although she was completely different from even Ada, made him whole. She closed that gap in his heart that had been empty for many years. At 30, he needed that half that made him whole. He did not think the human could open up and fall in love again.

But that said Leon thought only once does a man fall in love with one woman. If he had fallen in love with Ada in the first place, had he just wandered across someone who was like Ada in every way that the fact remains: he was still in love with Ada.

If that's not true, then, Leon thought, he never fell in love with Ada in the first place, just had some feelings for her that he never had for another woman and that truly, Nadine, was his true love. Nadine, who in a way, was a complete opposite from Ada and himself that sometimes when she told him that he only wanted her because of Ada, he felt guilty and sad. He would often walk out and run around for a bit, wondering how much of that is true. He would come back, only to find Nadine staring at his picture, wondering if what she said was true. Leon would untimely feel pain and sorrow, and knew how Nadine felt. He would walk to her and she would turn around and smile, despite everything. Leon had felt that even though one man fell in love once, who says he couldn't fall for it twice?

Now that Nadine as gone from this world, Leon could not help feel a void inside his heart, the feelings of grief, fear, despair, and loneliness flow through him. And he thought he got rid of them. At this moment, however, he felt a bit secure because he knew that Ada once again roams his dreams. He felt sick, knowing how he was treating Nadine and felt it was unfair. Yet, who can save him from her death?

--

The figure walked past the town, clutching its once human hands to its chest, where it could smell the stench of its own blood. It walked around, noting the changes of its body as the infection progressed. It shuffled around, restraining itself to go any further beyond the place.

It staggered into an open house, hearing for once music filling the air. It turns to see where the music had come from, immediately knowing where it had come from and what it was.

"Say your prayers, little one. Don't forget my son, to include everyone. I tuck you in, walk within, keep you free from sin, till the Sandman comes. Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight. Exit light, enter night. Take my hand. We're off to Never-Neverland."

The degenerate walked into the room in which the previous occupant had been a young boy. It walked into the room, looking for the device that was playing the song. Once it saw the CD player, the figure threw his arms up and brought them down when the song has progressed to the last lyrics before it broke.

"Now I lay me down to sleep Now I lay me down to sleep

My the lord my soul to keep My the lord my soul to keep

If I die before I wake If I die before I wake

Pray the lord my soul to take. Pray the lord my soul to take."

The figure, who stared at the broken pieces of the radio that lay on the floor, licked off the oozing liquid that dripped from its fingers. As it tasted its own blood, it glanced on a fallen memoir on the floor. It seemed to gleam back at the figure. It picked the remaining pieces and it trembled as it did. For a second, it clutched it head as it balanced itself, as scene all too familiar to Superman when he's near Kryptonite. Yet unlike that scene, the figure was being infected by the inside out.

It stood an alarming six feet and seven inches tall. Its body was badly mutated, no longer to seem to capacitate a human any more. Large dark moulds of flesh draped over its shoulder and seem to lace itself on the figure.

A new skin took over that of the original and now the figure's skin was blotted and transfigured into shades of grey, purple, and brown. The figure itself was not human anymore. Looking at the face of this creature, the nose was gone, only to be replaced with slits. The lips seemed to shrink down and inside the mouth, the teeth changed to become two rows of sharp canines. The eyes of the creature were surrounded by mutated skin and yet, you can still see its eyes before you plunged into total darkness.

The figure stood straight up and made its way out of the house, steeping on a set of bloodied up clothed on the floor. Lying next to them, was an ID and a picture of a little girl being held by a man. Next to the picture, one could conclude that the man of the picture was this man. Under the FBI logo, the man's name would be Andre Cummings, the Bazooka, the man in the FBI that helped with many international cases such as the CORBA Case or the Hynes Case and even the Ogden Case, and the man that had become infected by the T-Virus.

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