Welcome back! After two whole years, I have returned! Ok, life just got really hectic. I graduated college, spent fucking forever job hunting to try and get out of the food industry, found an MA Apprenticeship, that apprenticeship was chaotic and mismanaged and run by fucking buffoons, I and the majority of the MAAs were let go by our training agent(clinic) with no reasoning whatsoever and also no consultation with the ones actually sponsoring the apprenticeship, UWH, and now I'm job hunting again. Good news, I'm now a CCMA, and UWH decided to sever that clinic as a training agent for future apprenticeships. Oh, I was also in a car accident last Saturday while carpooling from my mom's wedding. Luckily no one was injured except for myself, have a broken ankle.

I also revamped this story from the beginning and have been publishing chapters on AO3 for a while, as well as posting the chapters on my Tumblr ebithcwriting. Please know that this chapter onwards pretty much takes place within the revamp, so there have been changes. The main ones pertinent to this chapter are that Lea has blindfolded herself to reduce overstimulation as well as hide her eyes from Claire and Moira, I've gotten rid of the weird animosity I created between Moira and Lea, and Lea is in witness protection.

Enjoy!

Lea's gaze glazed over from behind the sash, and all sound became indistinguishable. Just muffled, echoing nonsense, overlapping each other into static. Her mind felt foggy and empty, all except for the confirmation that despite her best efforts, she was yet again an experiment in someone's cruel game. Hands twitching, a slithering feeling growing more intense with every passing second. Breaths, short and rapid.

'… Nothing I did mattered…' The screeching of the rusted door opening fell on vacant ears as she stared at nothing, swaying in place.

Only when a hand tentatively brushed against her shoulder did she snap out of it, flinching back to reality and away from the foreign touch. Lea reflexively brought her hands up, ready for a fight, but stopped herself from grabbing the unknown hand and breaking it as she finally recognized the burgundy leather of Claire's jacket. Lea stole a glance up and saw the evident concern etched on her face. Lea shook her head, stepping back from the hand that started to inch back to her.

"I'm fine…" Lea grumbled under her breath, stepping back from Claire, shoulders still taut and tense. Bracing herself to be berated for acting like a child, told to grow up, and pushed endlessly to explain herself until she was desperate for an escape and ready to do whatever it took to be alone. To her surprise, despite Claire's worry, she didn't do any of that. She just nodded, gave her a reassuring but thin smile, and walked toward the door. From beneath the cloth wrapping, Lea's eyes widened, then narrowed, and Lea fought to hold in a growling hiss.

'… Why am I still surprised that not everyone acts like Dad…' Shaking her head, Lea strode forward, falling in line next to Moira, and followed Claire, decidedly not making eye contact and instead keeping her eyes trained on the decrepit building.

The metallic scent that Lea could practically taste and the bright, fresh red bloodstains immediately caught her attention. A pit fell in her stomach as her eyes followed how the trail led toward the only other path. Briefly closing her eyes, Lea strained her ears. Wet, rasping gasps, undoubtedly of someone struggling to hold in their sobs, reached her first. At the same time, Lea could pick up another's harsh, wet, and pained gasping, but it didn't sound like someone on the verge of death. By the choking sounds, it sounded more like they were struggling to calm down. The almost feral sound made the little hair that remained on the back of her neck stand straight. After concentrating on the sounds, Lea hissed under her breath as she realized that with the layout of the abandoned building, it was too difficult to tell where exactly they were or which was closer. All she could tell was that they were near.

Lea's gut twists further with dread after Clarie pushes the next door open, revealing a narrow hallway only briefly illuminated by the flickering light hanging by its wire. Oddly enough, though, there weren't any streaks of blood here. Unfortunately, however, as the three walked past the lone gurney, they found their path was blocked off by a fallen storage shelf.

"I think we can squeeze under this," Claire observed, walking up to the fallen shelf and gripping one side. "Give me a hand, Moira," Claire called out, and Lea awkwardly shifted in place, almost reaching a hand out but, in an instant, letting it fall. With a grunt, Claire lifted the shelf. "Go!" Claire called out as clearly and quietly as she could, her voice strained. Moira wasted no time in hurrying under, with Lea following past her.

As soon as they passed, Moira went to grab the edge of the shelf, keeping it upright. For a second time, Lea awkwardly shifted in place, wanting to reach out and do the heaving lifting herself, but a strong jolt of fear stopped her.

'… I don't know how she'll react… I don't want to be a monster…' Looking around, Lea saw yet another shelf blocked off the hallway. Without another thought or waiting for Claire, Lea approached it and started to push it forward.

"Lea, hold on," Lea heard Claire whisper-shout from behind her, quickly followed by the loud slamming sound of the shelf being let go. Lea winced at the volume, then lifted a hand to wave off Claire's concern.

"You two did the work last time. Let me -" Before Lea could finish what she was saying, a loud, ear-bleeding shriek pierced the ambient silence of the walkway. In an instant, Lea was on her back, using the shelf to shield herself from the person clambering and swiping at her. She could feel her heart thudding at the sight of what used to be a man in front of her. The flesh on his face was messily sewn back together, and the eyelids were sewn entirely shut. Massive iron nails protruded through the arms, which flailed around, trying to claw at her.

Then, just as suddenly, a knife slashes at the ruined arm. Once. Twice. Thrice. Then, the fourth time seems to finally register. The attacker practically leaped off the shelf, running back down around the corner. Lea stared at where it was, eyes glazed over and breathing short and rapid. She didn't protest as Claire gripped the edges of the shelf and took over, moving it forward.

"Oh my God, what the fuck?" Moira's words barely registered to her, muffled and sounding almost like they were a mile away as something started to sharply ring louder and louder. Lea's mind felt like it was turning to cotton, and her limbs seemed nailed to the ground. It wasn't until something nudged her that Lea was brought back to the present. A quick glance up, and she's met with the equally terrified and concerned gaze of Moira, still clutching the flashlight to her chest. With a shake of the head, Lea forces her heavy limbs to grab purchase and push herself back onto her feet.

"That was close," Claire's voice cuts through, out of breath yet surprisingly calm as she continues to push, the scrapping of the metal against the ground echoing in the eerie silence. The horrid noise finally stopped as the shelf met with the edge of a desk, opening a new path. "Come on, stay behind me." Claire called out, motioning them to follow. Neither Lea nor Moira complained about the order and fell in line.

Just as soon as they started to get close to the already wide-open creaking door, an ear-piercing scream broke the newfound silence, quickly followed by the deranged wails from the attacker. Claire wasted no time breaking out into a sprint, chasing after them. Moira and Lea shared a look before running after her, practically slipping as they bounded corners and ducked under fallen furniture.

"Holy shit, it's going to fucking kill her!" Moira shouted, mostly to herself, panting between each word as they followed Claire in her pursuit. The poor woman's terrified screams and the disturbing grunting of the butchered man still bounced off the walls.

In seemingly no time, Claire and Moira came to a screeching halt. Lea, however, realized far too late the barrier ahead and ran face-first into the steel bars. To her surprise, the contraption held up instead of crumpling or denting in.

'… Way to go… Just tell everyone in this fucking hellhole where we are… Fuckin' at least Chris taught me how not to run through walls…' Lea stepped back, a hand reaching up to hide her quickly reddening face and to block off whatever looks she was sure Claire and Moira were giving her.

Thankfully, without a word, the other two simply went up to the steel bars and grabbed the bottom. Within a moment, they were holding the security contraption up. Lea wasted no time going under and to the other side, and as soon as the other two joined her, they let go of the steel curtain. The contraption slams down, deafening the halls.

Shuffling steps. Wet and ragged gasps. The coppery stench of fresh blood. Then, out of the shadows and into the dim light came that poor woman, drenched in her own blood, with a tight grip on her torso as she limped forward. Lea watched in a dazed shock as she collapsed in Claire's arms, all strength leaving her limbs.

"The animal eyes! Oh God…" After a few more wet, rasping breaths, the woman went utterly still and silent. Dead. Lea stared at the woman, even when Claire laid her down gently.

Suddenly, it's as if Lea's no longer in the deteriorating building but elsewhere. She's no longer standing but lying on her back. Oh, so familiar yet alien images of an empty, sterile laboratory room flash in and out, darkness tinging the edges of her sight. It's like her limbs are covered in lead, cold and oppressing and constricting her lungs. Gasps echo in the abandoned room. As Lea turned her head, she was met with the gaunt face of a small child, dark-skinned, tight curls. Lea could see the light fade from her eyes, the rise and fall of her skeletal chest grow still, leaving her alone. A room of corpses. A soft sob escapes Lea's lips. She knew her, yet she didn't, and it felt like a hole was being ripped right in the center of her chest.

Just as suddenly as the memory came, it disappeared when a hand gently but firmly took hold of her shoulder. Lea flinched but stopped herself from darting off and away as her covered eyes met with Claire's carefully guarded yet distraught gaze, wet from held in tears.

'… It's just Claire… It doesn't matter… Just focus on getting out of here…'

"Sorry… let's just get a move on…" Lea muttered, stepping around the body, not sparing a look down. While her sight was slightly hazy and obscured by the cloth, it didn't block out nearly as much as the broken teen had thought. From the corner of her eye, she could see the other anxious girl send a look toward Claire. She gave Moira a small and almost unnoticeable nod before thankfully moving past the bloodied corpse and rounding the corner.

"I can hear the wind out there. This must be the way out." Moira spoke up. Her tone was hopeful this time, and her cadence hardly had any nervous tremors. Lea tilted her head, straining her ears to listen for what Moira picked up on. After a short moment, she could hear it, but from where and how far was the real question.

'… What the actual fuck is the point of this super hearing bullshit if it's absolutely useless in abandoned buildings…'

"I hope it's close…" Lea muttered, awkwardly shifting her head to look down at the ground, rubbing at her arms.

"We just need to find a way through," Claire reassured, voice gentle yet firm. She descended the staircase, covered with dried and fresh fragrant blood. After one flight of stairs, though, the group nearly froze at the sight of yet another relatively fresh corpse.

"What kind of whack-job… this is not ok!" Moira exclaimed, face scrunched up in disgust. Lea agreed wholeheartedly as she observed how the guard's throat was lacerated roughly and to the bone, and how he was hung by his feet. It reminded her of pigs butchered and hung to drain all the blood into buckets. Unfortunately, the dead body had something handy: a set of keys, a way out of this new hellscape.

Claire, nose scrunched up with disgust as well but paired with unsurprised eyes, calmly walked as close as she could to the edge of the walkway. Reaching out, she inched closer and closer to the hanging body. Lea watched with hushed breath, eyes darting from the glinting metal to the bloodied hands, back and forth. Just as Claire's fingertips brushed the edge of the largest key ring, a latch unlocked, and the body fell limply to the base with a loud and wet slam.

"Well, that blows."

"Are you fucking kidding me…"

A blaring noise fills the silence, the same one that sounded off before their cell doors slid open. All three snap their heads in the direction of it. At the end of the stairs was a door with a new glowing green light.

'… I'm so tired of these games…'

Please let me know what you thought of this chapter, and how I can improve. You're also going to get two other chapter back to back to make up for forgetting about FFN.

I also have another request. Vote whether: 1) Albert Wesker comes back as a present character during the Revelations 2 arc, or 2) Albert Wesker comes back as a present character post Resident Evil 6 arc. Keep in mind, what you pick will affect whether or not Lea ends up being romantically paired with anyone!