The Lion Statue was on the second floor, behind the bigger one. I had never been so relieved in my entire life to have found another so close. I looked at the notebook, before turning the slots to the same combination Elliot had drawn. As it was the correct combination, I was able to take out the second medallion, carefully putting it in my pocket with the other one. It made me excited to know we might be getting out of here a lot quicker than anticipated.

We went through the Library, up the stairs, and into the same storage area we were in before. We looked around for a bit before I found the third statue. It was of a maiden. I did the same thing as before and took out the third medallion. I breathed in deeply, my leg still aching but the herb was doing its job. Although I was able to walk, my head was beginning to feel dizzy.

"Are you okay?"

"I feel dizzy," I said. He caught me by the shoulders before I tipped over. The whole room was spinning around me.

"Could be dehydration."

I nodded, as he guided me out of the storage room and down the stairs, where we found the break room. The breakroom had a vending machine and a water cooler, as well as a couch where police officers or the administration staff would watch TV. A window next to the couch looked over the side of the courtyard, where zombies were rampant below. They couldn't get us from down there, but it was still nerve-wracking.

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling bad we stopped on my behalf. "We were almost out of here." He filled up a cup with water from the cooler.

Leon shook his head. "Don't apologize." He handed me a plastic cup of water, looking at me expectantly. Sighing, I accepted the cup and took a few sips of water. I was surprised there was even water left in the dispenser. People didn't usually refill the water cooler until someone complained.

"I know, but -"

"Stop," Leon cut me off. "You need to keep hydrated and rest."

"Rest?" I asked, confused. "No, I don't need rest." I gulp the rest of my water down. I was starting to feel my eyes fluttering.

"That's bullshit and you know it. Rest for an hour or two. I'll be right here."

"You won't leave?"

Leon shook his head. "I promise. I will be here when you wake up." There was an awkward silence after I filled up the second cup of water. "You have anybody special in your life?" Leon's question took me by surprise, and I almost spat my drink out. I had it coming considering I asked him the same thing – kind of.

"Not as of late. There were a few stragglers, but I let them go." I winked at him, and he responded with a shy laugh. There was one guy I was with for a little over a year and things ended badly. Truly… it didn't make me want to date years after, even though the ex – Ivan - and I broke up after high school graduation. People kept telling me to forget about the things that happened between him and I but at the age of twenty-one, I still suffered the consequences. Not a story I wished to bring upon anyone, let alone Leon. "I am rather surprised you're single."

"To be fair, I have had little time for such things. Between attending the police academy, graduating, and now… this."

"Yeah, I understand. Not much time for friendships either?"

"Here and there but we haven't spoken to each other since graduation from the police academy."

I heard a few zombies outside growling below us. It made me feel uneasy, but at least the pouring rain drowned out most of the noise. "There was one friend other than Marvin I could confide in. Her name was Rita Phillips, and I have no idea what happened to her."

"Was she here when it all started?"

"Yes, but we got separated. I was stuck upstairs in a room when Marvin found me. When I tried asking about her, he didn't have any answers for me."

"Maybe we will find her," Leon reassured her but even he wasn't so sure she was alive. "For now, rest up. You need it."

"Hard to close my eyes when those zombies are outside… They can't climb, can they?"

Leon chuckled. "Not as far as I'm concerned."

"Still, just knowing they are even out there so close is terrifying." I shuddered, my skin forming goosebumps up my arms.

"I'll sit next to you, okay?"

I nodded, nervously shuffling over on the couch. He allowed my head to rest on his shoulder. He felt a lot warmer than any blanket.

I closed my eyes, everything around me fading away. I forgot there were zombies, the fact my parents didn't know what was going on, or how Marvin was still injured and there was little I could do about it. Any other bad feelings I had before I fell asleep, disappeared completely. I dreamt about seeing my parents again in New York City. My dad would use the barbecue in the backyard, while I told him and my mom about the craziness at the police station.

When I woke up, Leon indeed kept his promise and was still there beside me. I yawned, stretching my limbs as I stood up straight. "Feeling any better?" Leon questioned me. I nodded. "How's your leg?"

My leg wasn't hurting as much as before. I checked out the bite and saw it was healing well. The herb had done its job. "Good. Now, don't get bitten again," Leon said with a bemused grin,

I chuckled and shrugged. "I make no such promises," I teased. I stop in the staff bathroom inside the breakroom, doing my business before setting out for the main hall with Leon once again.

We found Marvin sleeping on the bench once more. Now to figure out this mess of a puzzle, I thought, thinking of all possible combinations with the Lion, the Unicorn, and the Maiden. The notebook did not tell me much about it. There must be a way. Leon studied it, looking at all the pages in the notebook. He used a combination of the medallions I never thought of yet.

Before my eyes, the wall that was used to place the medallions on, moved downward, revealing a lift. "You did it!" I exclaimed.

"Hey, you're the one with the brains. You got us those medallions. If anyone deserved the credit it should be you." I tried being humble, but it was hard when he was praising me. My cheeks went pink once again, as his back was turned to me. I had to stop blushing in front of him.

When Leon approached Marvin, his eyes snapped open, growling, and moving away. It was like we woke up an animal deep in slumber. "We have a way out," Leon said, his hand on Marvin's shoulder. "We need to get you to a hospital right now."

"No, no… I…" Marvin mumbled, shaking his head. "Save yourself."

"I can't on good conscience leave you here with these things," I said to him. "I just can't… not after everything you've done for me."

Marvin turned away from us. Leon tried taking him by the arm gently. "Come on, I've got you –"

"Go!" he shouted at us. "I told you and Alina to leave without me and I –" He winced in pain. "- meant every damn word."

"I know," Leon said. "But you can help us. We can find the Chief –"

"No. Save yourselves, and don't worry about saving that asshole or me." He sighed, his eyes blinking rapidly. I was starting to see why he didn't want us bringing him to a hospital. Marvin Branaugh hated Chief Brian Irons but at the same time respected him because he was Marvin's boss. Although, with the way Irons treated everybody, the respect was not reciprocated.

Marvin showed signs of turning. I felt a twinge of sympathy for him, realizing he would be completely alone when we left. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Alina. Here… take this." Marvin took off the radio he used to communicate with Leon and handed it to me. "In case you and Leon somehow get separated. It's imperative you two stick together."

"I can't…" I said, shaking my head but he placed my hands on the small walkie-talkie, wanting me to take it from him.

"Yes, you can. I won't need it." I looked to Leon, who nodded his head. I reluctantly accepted the walkie-talkie, placing it in a pouch attached to my pants. "Say hi to your folks for me, okay?"

"I will."

"Take care, Lieutenant," Leon said, as he opened the elevator door. He let me in first and stepped inside after. He pressed the down button, and I watched as Marvin slowly disappeared from our sight. I leaned against the elevator's wall and sighed exasperatedly. "We'll be okay." His words reassured me, causing me to smile at him.

The elevator brought us to another room – which looked a lot like an office. It had a desk, tons of bookshelves filled with tomes, and to make it stranger the room was a circular shape. On the other side of it, was a miniature model of a mansion. Insane nobody else but Elliot knew about this place. The Chief must have known about it, why else would people think it was a myth?

"You have any experience shooting a gun?" he asked her. I shook my head. "I can give you a quick rundown." He took out the bullets in his pistol, placing them in his pocket for a minute. He pointed the gun at a random spot in the room. "Your stance should be like this while holding any gun." He pretended to aim, spreading his legs apart in the shape of a triangle. "Since those fuckers are slow, you have to lead your shots."

I tried following his example, pretending I had a gun in my hand. Leon moved my legs a bit further apart. "They should be at a 45-degree angle," he said. He touched my arms, placing it slightly higher at eye view. "Remember this phrase they taught us at the academy 'Nose over toes.' Meaning you need to lean so your nose is past your toes. It gives you far better control with aim."

"Damn, I hope I remember all that."

"Try it with the gun this time," Leon said, handing her the empty pistol. I used the stance Leon told me. He corrected the position a few times, but I got it… at least somewhat. "Most importantly, shoot the zombies if you're in trouble, okay? The posture is there to help with recoil but sometimes… you don't have a choice but to pull the trigger."

"Thanks for the tip."

He grinned at me. "Anytime. Let's see where this place leads us." There was another elevator in the room, which took us down to the sewers.

It smelled rancid but anything was better than the rotten stench the zombie corpses gave off in the police station. Leon turned his flashlight on, as there were no lights in the area. It was a strange walkway, which seemed to go on forever. I wondered how much longer before we reached the parking garage because that was where the sewers would lead us, as Elliot wrote in his notebook.

I hated holding a gun with me and in such a narrow passageway. I worried I would hit Leon by mistake not to mention I was nowhere near a professional. Was it smart for him to trust me with a gun?

My thoughts were soon interrupted when hearing a strange noise – like someone was in pain… only it sounded nowhere near human. "What the –" Leon muttered. "Stay close." Above us, we saw a shadow moving around, making grumbling sounds.

"Leon," I whispered, so it wouldn't hear, "what is that?"

"I don't know. Just keep a lookout."

The sounds stopped. I was grateful not to hear it any longer, but the silence was deafening. I could barely hear my footsteps over my heart beating speedily. We made it out of the walkway, into a somewhat bigger area. There was a bookcase blocking our way inside a smaller room, or at least what looked like a room.

I helped him push it back so we could get through. As we were about to move forward, something jumped down at us from above. My initial thoughts were correct, the creature was not human or at least no longer one. It had the face of one, but even then, it was deformed. I jumped back, and moved away, my hand gripping the gun tightly.

The creature grabbed Leon by the chest, slamming him on the ground. "Leon!" I shouted, not sure what to do.

"Run!" Leon told me, as he struggled against the creature whose grip did not seem to loosen anytime soon. I wanted to shoot it, but what it was moving too much for me to hit the creature. "Just run!" All I could do was watch helplessly as it slammed Leon against the floor over and over until it gave way beneath them.