And viola! Chapter 16! Today I'll be uploading to chapter 19 just for the fun of it. Enjoy!
He grabbed her hand and helped her stand up. That was when she noticed me.
"Who is she?" She nervously eyed me up and down.
"This is Emily. She's been helping me on this mission."
"Oh…" She visibly relaxed, and walked over to me and tentatively stuck her hand out. "Hi, I'm Ashley Graham, the pre-"
"President's daughter, I know. We've been through hell trying to get to you." I informed her, sounding a little bitchier than I intended. She smiled weakly and looked away.
Just then, Leon began speaking. "It's Leon. I've succeeded in extricating my subject."
"Good work, Leon." I'll send a chopper over right away." Hunnigan replied.
"Where's the extraction point?"
"There's another path that you can take to get out of the village. The chopper will pick you up beyond there."
"Got it. I'm on my way."
We exited the room and when we got to the ladder, I jumped down as if it were nothing, and Leon did the same. However when it was Ashley's turn, she just stood there, hugging her skirt closer to her legs, looking uneasy.
"Well?" Leon asked.
"I-I don't know if I should…" She replied.
"What? Why-" Leon began, but I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him closer to my height.
"Leon, she's wearing a skirt." I whispered in his ear.
"Yeah, and?" He whispered back, looking confused.
In any other circumstances I would have face-palmed, but I just sighed. "Apparently she thinks you're some pervert who's going to stare at her ass while she's climbing down the ladder."
"O-Oh…" He straightened back up and hid his reddening cheeks with his hair. He was blushing. Oh gosh, my heart was melting.
Uhh… I didn't just say that…
"Look, Ashley, why don't you jump and have him catch you?" They both looked at me like I was an idiot, so I continued. "That way, he's forced to focus on catching you rather than looking… there…"
Leon nodded. "Not saying I would look anyways but… I can do that." He stood in front of the ladder with his arms out, ready to catch her. After she jumped, we walked back out into the main area of the church.
"I'll take the girls…" A strange voice said.
We all turned around. There was a man standing at the front of the church.
"Who are you?" Leon asked, eyeing the man. He was tall and tan, wearing a large, purple, floor-length robe, and had some kind of staff that looked terrifyingly similar to the "Plagas Head" Leon and I had encountered earlier.
"If you must know, my name is Osmund Saddler, the master of this fine, religious community." His voice scared me. I scooted behind Leon, and was practically hugging his back.
Leon glanced back at me and then over to Saddler. "What do you want?"
"To demonstrate to the whole world our outstanding power, of course. No longer will the United States think they can police the whole world forever! So, we kidnapped the president's daughter, in order to give her our power, and then… send her back…"
The blonde behind us gasped. "No… Leon, I think they shot something into my neck…"
Leon, being the protective sweetheart he is, took a few threatening steps forward. "What did you do to her?" He sounded pissed.
"We just planted her a little gift… Oh, there's going to be one hell of a party when she returns home to her loving father! But, before that, I thought I might bargain with the president for some donations. Believe it or not, it takes quite a lot of money to keep this church up and running."
"Faith in money will lead you nowhere, Saddler." Leon interrupted.
"Oh… I believe I forgot to tell you that we gave you the same gift."
Leon's hand flew to his neck. "While I was unconscious…"
Saddler continued. "Oh, I truly hope you like our small, but special contributions. When the eggs hatch, you will become my puppets. Involuntarily, you'll do as I say. I'll have absolute control of your minds… Oh and Emily," My head snapped up instinctively, and I focused my wide eyes on the man before me. "Don't think we forgot about you…" He grinned evilly at me. It was like something out of a horror film.
"No…" I backed up and hit the church doors, I would have done anything to get away from him. That was a big mistake. Just then, both of the doors swung open, pushing me to the ground and two cloaked men appeared in the doorway. One of the men grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder, while the other aimed his bow gun and anyone who dared to stop them.
I kicked and screamed. "Leon!"
"Emily!"
That was the last thing I heard before I fell unconscious.
