Leon came to on Air For One. He knee it blind after so many tearms of service with the government. It was truly a flying royal castle. As he went to move, he felt the effects of all the blood loss coming back to him, as well as felt something holding his right arm back...
...Ashley.. .
She was asleep in his wingspan, still dirty from the night's catastrophy with wet hair, ruined makeup and blood over her gown.
She had never looked more beautiful to him!
He could still remember days after their return home from that fateful rescue years ago.
As she leaned up against him, he felt his arm go to sleep. The pressue on it was making it feel numb and even...turn... purple
His arm!
A cold sweat of fear, not just for himself but for those around him sent a shiver down his spine. He slowly looked to his left, afraid to even look, in case it triggered something or began flailing uncontrollably.
Or... attacked others...
He peeked over it with a big gulp of air and saw that his suit jacket was used as a makeshift sling. Ashley did a good job...
"Dammit Ashley," hebmuttered to himself in silence. SHE was the one suppose to get out alive. Not him. Not this... thing.
It felt numb... like nothing... but that's what bothered him. If he unraveled it...
"Agent Kennedy?" A voice called over to him. He nearly jumped out of his chair and might have risked flailing his cursed limb around, had it not been for Ashley having weight on him. Even while asleep, she, of all people, was still being his rock.
"Y-yeah?" He responded, both groggy and nervous at what happens next.
"I know you've been through a lot, but we really need to get that injury looked at now." She pointed at the makeshift sling.
Leon cringed backwards, stirring Ashley in her slumber and nearly waking her. No... she couldn't see this.
"Can..." He began "can you even do it onboard right now?"
"Most of the other secret service members onboard are trained in first aid." She replied "despite being... short handed... It's best we do so before risking infection."
Leon nearly laughed at the unintended puns in her sentence, but cringed again when she reached for it. He felt it move, saw it do so... on its' own.
"Just, let me go yo the bathroom first, ok?" He asked sincerely, checking what was still on his person, besides Ashley, and gently moved her back.
...wispering his final goodbyes to her...
...he knew what he must do...
"Bye Ashley."
...
Ashley slid down a bit, no longer having Leon for her support... she awoke looking around franticly.
A staff member onboard was able to calm her down.
"Where is Le..." she began to ask "where's Agent Kennedy?"
"He left a few moments ago for the bathroom." was the reply. "He's going to receive medical downstairs after that."
"...wha!?" Ashley started to panic.
"It's O.K. Mrs. Graham." She was reassured "It's all just routine procedure. There was no signs of a virus on anyone brought aboard."
"Really?" She asked, sounding rather dumb in heinsight "o-oh! Uh...ok!"
"Here," the attendant offered, giving her a blanket. "Let me get your personal things from below deck."
"Th-thank you."
...
Leon entered the bathroom where he got a good look at himself for the first time since after the incident. He looked bad... worse... than he ever had before.
Was it just the infection? ...age?
It had nearly been over 15 years since Racoon City. Sure it was hell and he did not escape unscathed. But... not like this... never like this.
It wasn't just the arm; he was certain. Leon was growing older... more vulnerable... a liability now in more ways than one.
The arm... made him feel young again there. Maybe if he... NO!
...
Ashley felt a sense of normal life return to her as she checked her emails on her laptop. The stewardess had brought up her backpack with everything Ashley had packed earlier in anticipation of staying... one last night... at Camp David.
Ashley tried tuning everything out from this night and focused on messages and normal 29 year old girl stuff.
Suddenly, a video message icon came up.
"Hmm," Ashley thought "its' address is one I don't recognize."
Ashley chrcjed atound, looking left and right for any signs that her network onboard could be compromised.
Then, with a few tips and tricks frrom Leon and others over the years, she rechecked her firewall on the secure network.
Nervously, she clicked "answer."
"Hello, Ashley!?"
"CLAIRE!"
...
He nearly slammed the sink with his hands, but only one hit. The other squirmed in its' little cell, like a boa constrictor in a bag! Ugh, giant cobras again!
...those cobras... the Hunters from the camp. The skin was a direct match to his arm now! Would he... become one of them? How much time left did he have?
He peaked inside at the angry beast... and saw it was reaching up to his elbow now!
Somehow the quick thinking of tying it off earlier paid off. But would it last? Could he control it? ...was it worth the risk...?
Leon cried. Yes, he couldn't believe it. But now with the adrenaline gone, everything was finally starting to sink in... Leon had to die.
...
"How did you escape!?' Ashley blurted out quickly. "Is... anyone else still alive with you?"
"I'm fine, don't worry." She saw Claire respond with a confident look that she was known for once upon a time... before reality took its' toll... "Just, listen, this is rally important! Where's Leon"
...
Sure he'd been infected before, but the parasite took longer to mature and was able to be destroyed by a known method. This... there was no cure for this... whatever it was.
The needles on the ground that caused this at the time matched the description of the "Bio Ball" in Chris Redfield's report back in Edonia. Also, the gas that turned everyone else was seemingly just like the C-Virus. Only, it was slower... heavier...
...like it was more... concentrated?
Ugh! He couldn't keep putting this off! As he collapses, sitting onto the toilet seat, he went for his service weapon...
...
"He's in the bathroom." Ashley replied. "He... Leon's been in there for awhile..."
"Shit," cursed Claire.
"...he didn't say." Ashley replied with a smirk.
Claire laughed. The first sincerest laugh she had in years. She was definitely back!
...
Every moment he wasted was a chance for the virus to reach his blood stream or core and take over.
*click*
...
"Tell Leon..."
...
He just...
...
"... that she..."
...
...never thought...
...
"...and I..."
...
...it would end...
...
"...are headed..."
...
...like this...
...
"to the Pueblo."
...
**Bang!**
...
AUTHOR: OH YES I DID! OH YES I DID! ...nah, I didn't... OR DID I!?
Also, fan service, Claire is back...AND SO AM I!
Here's a little teaser to hold you over till I get everything organized for CHAPTER 2: DEJA VU!:
(Also, I know there wasn't an actual crash yet. Just go with it.)
...
He strapped in and crawled with Ashley in his arms, clenching to him in a state of shook. He grunted in pain as his chest began to bleed from his wounds and he struggled to pull free of a winged creature, as he kicked it forward just in time for it to fall through the crack in the roof of the plane and fly off into nothing.
As it descended to crash, Leon just barely should Ashley into a side door compartment, defending her with his gun and knife before handing them to her at the last minute and closing the door before impact, shielding her with his body on the door as more BOW's clawed at him before either being "blown away" by him or blowing away out the side of the plane. Finally, he looked ahead as the front of the plane tore away and revealed the woods that they would crash into.
"Good luck, Ashley" he whispered.