Rose made her way through the tunnel, alone. It was littered with corpses, and it encouraged her to keep going and to move a little faster. Dead bodies meant that Leon had been this way. She had to be close. She kept checking the map, and he'd stayed dormant at the church. She hoped that was a good sign. Thanks to the painkillers and the herb, she was in less pain, but still, she limped from the dull bone ache that would never fully go away. Every step was a struggle, but she pushed forward, driven by the need to survive and reunite with Leon. The tunnel seemed endless, but finally, she saw a flickering blue light ahead.

"That's...strange," she mumbled to herself. Emerging from the tunnel, she found herself at a dock with a makeshift shop set up. Her heavy footsteps seemed to echo in the cavern, making being stealthy completely out of the question. She forced herself up the three wooden stairs and turned to the left to see a mysterious figure dressed in a dark cloak, watching her with shining orange eyes. Her grip tightened on her gun, but he stayed completely still, watching her with an unsettling gaze. When he made no move to attack her, she cautiously stepped forward. "Hola," she said in Spanish, not sure of the likelihood of him knowing English. She knew most countries were bilingual by now, but there was always that exception. She couldn't say how she could tell, but she thought the man grinned underneath the cloth that covered half his face.

"Hello, pretty stranger," he replied in a cheery, gravelly voice. "Might I interest you in some o' my wares?" He pulled his cloak aside, revealing several boxes of ammo, grenades, and first aid sprays. Decked out on the table before him were various gun parts, vests, knives, and whole guns. She walked up, interested indeed. Was that an RPG up on the shelf behind him? Her mouth dropped open, a shiver running down her spine as she imagined ganado's shooting missiles at her. There's just no way.

"Could always use more ammo," she admitted, and he nodded, pulling out a red box and pushing it across the table towards her.

"That'll be 50 PTSAS, pretty. Hehehe."

Her eyes widened. She hadn't even thought to check for the money she'd gathered here and there throughout the day. Thankfully, she'd managed to retain everything she'd been knocked out with. Odd, she thought. The bag of Spanish money jingled as she pulled it out and dumped a handful in her palm, holding it out for the merchant. He laughed lowly again, amused by something she could only guess at. "Here," he said suddenly and out of nowhere, pulling out a fresh, clean vest.

"I can't pay for that," she said. The only thing she had on her that might be enough was the bangle, but really, she didn't want to give that up. It looked so pretty on her.

"Heheheh it's on the house. I've no use for it, and your friend already bought it's mate."

Rose's pulse slowed to almost a relieved pace. He had to have been talking about Leon. It was unnerving that this random merchant knew they were supposed to be together, but it was further reaffirmation that he was okay. "I can't just take it," she argued, though she could admit to herself that the extra layer of protection was very appealing.

"Consider it a gift," the merchant insisted, his eyes twinkling with amusement as he once again pushed it towards her. "You'll need all the help you can get out there."

Rose hesitated for a moment longer before finally accepting the vest. "Thank you," She said, stripping off her torn jacket and securing the vest over her. She felt a little more secure with it on, almost like she could breath a little easier. With renewed determination, she turned towards the far ladder with the intention of heading up. The merchant's voice stopped her before she could.

"You're on the right track for what you seek," he said. "Be careful. Even those with special blood can lose their way."

Rose's brow furrowed as she looked back at him. "What do you mean? What special blood?"

His eyes crinkled as he grinned again, but it was clear he was done talking, so Rose climbed up the ladder. It let off onto a small platform that she had to climb up on another ladder for until she emerged through a set of heavy metal doors and walked right into something that looked like a cage...or an arena. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw a giant corpse lying face down, dead on the ground. The sheer size of the creature was overwhelming, and she couldn't help but be impressed. "Leon must have done this," she thought, admiration and relief flooding her senses. God, what had he been through since they'd been separated? Part of her felt guilty for not having been here to help him, and the other part was glad she hadn't been here to face this thing down.

It didn't take her long to make it to the church from there, but the wind and rain had picked up by then. It was now a relentless downpour and Rose had to fight to stay on her feet. It stung her eyes, and pushed her around and made if difficult for her to stealthily make her way around the church. Even worse, the cemetery was crawling with ganados. They shouted at her as she ran by, and grabbed at her, throwing things. A kitchen knife narrowly missed her head when she made her way towards a tiny shed in the far back left corner. The church had been locked, and she was running out of ideas. Backing into the shed, she figured she'd funnel them threw and pick them off as they came through the doorway. Her plan worked. She grabbed the kitchen knife and clumsily threw it back like a throwing knife. It lodged itself in the head of the woman who had thrown it.

Someone threw a pitchfork next, so she dug it out of the floor and stabbed a man in the chest with it. The prongs when clean through his tender flesh and she let him drop like a sack of potatoes with the pitchfork still lodged in his chest. The next ganado threw a Molotov cocktail. The glass shattered in the doorway and the flame caught immediately, filling the shed with a dangerous glow. In a split-second decision, Rose knew she had to act fast to escape the fiery trap. There was only one way in or out. Her eyes darted everywhere, looking for a solution and trying her darndest not to breathe too heavily. The flames grew closer, the heat becoming unbearable. And to think, two minutes ago she'd been freezing. She had no choice but to fight her way through the doorway, even as she trembled from the fire. She had never wanted to feel fire on her skin again and the echoes of her screams a year ago were fresh in her memory. The flames would take her some day, she was sure, but she wouldn't let it be today.

Just as Rose was about to make her desperate move, she heard a shout from outside. She put a hand over her brow, squinting to see who it was, her heart leaping into her throat believing Leon was here to save her.

"Senorita!" Shouted a vaguely familiar Spanish voice, followed by the ear-splitting popping of a gun. Rose had lowered herself to the floor by now, her mind shutting down as she watched the flames engulf the shed around her. The heat was blistering her skin, and though the Spaniard had no idea that he'd given her time to panic, he continued to laugh and make jokes about their predicament. When Luis realized she had not ran out of the shed, he closed his mouth and ran over, shooting the last ganado nearby. "Senorita, come on! You've got to get out of here!"

He picked up a body and wrinkled his nose as he threw it at the floorboards in the doorway, muffling the flames long enough for him to step in and scoop her delirious form into his arms and jumped back out again as the flames started licking away at the sacrificial body.

Once Rose realized that she was no longer in the shed, she clung to the Spaniards body like a trembling child, regretting all her life choices. She took a deep breath as he slowly placed her on her feet, the cold rain bringing her back into her own body. "Thank you," she said shakily.

"It was no problem. I have to ask, though, what happened there?"

"I don't...I don't like fire," she admitted, turning her face away in shame as she followed him to the canopy of trees that were swinging wildly.

"I see. Well, we should discuss this further, but maybe someplace warm and dry, yes? I know a place your amigo is bound to find on his way out." He waited for her to nod before turning and leading the way through the foliage.

They ran together for a few minutes, their arms coming up to shield their eyes from the rain. The trees broke, and about 1,000 feet away was a two-story white house. The Spaniard guided her to it confidently, but Rose was still on the look out, her head on a swivel. Thankfully, nothing jumped out at them and they entered the dark house without problem. Luis closed the door with a firm clunk and exhaled heavily while he swung his arms back and forth. Rose crossed her arms over herself in a hug around her middle as she shivered and the man went over to a fireplace to start a fire on the single log that was still there. She stood as close to it as she dared, staring into the flame and trying to work through the feeling of panic that same element had reduced her to just minutes before.

"My name is Luis, by the way," said the man. Rose turned to him, surprised by the sudden break in silence.

"Rose," she introduced herself, but couldn't manage to pry her arm away from her body.

"Rub your arms, Rose," he supplied. "Your chest will take care of itself."

At first, she thought he was just being a pervert, but then her mind traveled back to her intense training in the cold and the heat, and she realized that he was right. So, she slowly pried her arms away from where they were protecting her and began to warm herself properly.

"So, you're alive," Luis started, looking at her strangely. Rose raised an eyebrow at him. Strange statement.

"Yes? Why do you say it like that? I'm perfectly capable of staying alive without-"

"That's not what I meant," he denies, waving his hands up in the air. "It's just that, from where I was standing, it looked like Mendez had snapped your neck like an old toothpick. I heard a break."

"What?"

"Eh...never mind. Must have been my imagination. Here you are, alive and...well, not well," he chuckled at his own joke.

Rose shook her head, still trying to process what Luis had just said. "I don't remember anything like that," she muttered, touching her neck as if to reassure herself it was still intact.

Luis shrugged, his expression turning serious. "Well, whatever happened, it's a miracle you're standing here. You and Leon must be superheroes."

Rose chuckled bitterly, not quite sure what to make of this man. Instead of answering him right away, she pulled out her map and was surprised to see Leon's dot moving in their direction. "We just do what we have to do," she finally answers. "Speaking of which. What are you doing here?"

Luis shrugs, turning away from her and pulling out a rickety-looking chair to push in her direction. While she takes a seat, he goes to sit on the window seal, looking out at the rain as it begins to slow down to a drizzle. "Let's just say...I crawled out of one hole, and into another. The people here hired me because of my psychic powers." Rose gives him an unimpressed, flat look, which causes him to laugh and shake his head. "Nah, just kidding, amiga. I used to be a cop in Madrid. Now, I'm just a good-for-nothing guy, who happens to be quite the ladies' man."

"Luis," she snorts, failing to maintain her composure. He cracked a grin as if to say 'see? Ladies' man.'

"It's true," he shrugs, still grinning.

"Why'd you quit?"

Luis puffs out exaggeratedly. "Ugh, Policia, you put your life on the line, and nobody really appreciates you for it. Being a hero isn't what it's cracked up to be anymore."

"It's not all that bad," Rose said, though the words sounded hollow, even to her ears.

Luis chuckled, his eyes momentarily distant as if recalling old memories. "Oh, those were different times. Being a cop in Madrid was...well, it wasn't as exciting as this," he said, gesturing around them. "But it was tough. The city has it's own kind of dangers, not like the monsters we face here, but still dangerous." He looked out the window, avoiding her eyes and his voice sounding...sad. "I wanted to make a bigger difference. Make a quick buck, while I was at it. Made some bad decisions, and before I knew it, I was in too deep. That's how I ended up here, trying to make things right in my own way."

Rose looked at him thoughtfully, reading his tone and his body language, but deciding not to press him too much. Her job was to keep Leon and Ashley as scar-free as possible. She was already failing miserably and keeping her own head above water. Luis would have to take care of his own psyche. "It's funny how life takes us on these unexpected paths. But, for what it's worth, you saved my life and I'm glad you're here."

Luis smiled warmly. "And I'm glad to be here, with you and Leon."

He looked like he was going to say more, but the shadowy part of his face suddenly lit up with the orange glow of distant fire and his attention was caught outside the window. He cursed in Spanish, which made Rose jump up and go over to see what he was looking at. Leon and a girl were running at a full sprint across a rickety old bridge, a mob of villagers right on their tail. There were so many of them that it was hard to make out the crowd over the glow of the torches, but the bridge ended up buckling and giving out right as Leon and Ashley made it to safe ground. But more villagers were filing into the clearing from the direction she and Luis had come from, and the path on the other side of the house. Luis hurried over to the door to unblock it just as Leon opened the door and pushed the blonde girl inside.

"Leon! Catch!" Luis said, tossing the wooden beam at him. Leon caught it in a perfect fluid movement, jamming the door and locking them safely inside. He hadn't even seen Rose yet as he turned to Luis with fury in his eyes that she had yet to see.

"You," he growled, stomping towards Luis who backed up with his hands surrendered.

"Hey," Luis protested. "Listen, about earlier..."

"Yeah, about that." Leon backed Luis into the wall, clenching his fist and hitting Luis in the chest with it.

"Hey, I see you found your missing senorita!" Luis said as a distraction. "And I found your other one, so we are even now, huh?"

Leon turned sharply, his eyes finding Rose's immediately. His anger subsided momentarily as he eyed her up and down as if categorizing every cut and bruise on her for later retribution. "Rose," he breathed, relief washing over his face. He took a step towards her, but before any real reunion could take place, a loud crash echoed through the room. A window had broken behind the girls, and the sound of angry villagers attacking set everyone into fight mode. "Ashley, hide," Leon commanded with a stern voice. She looked between all of us a moment, before bringing her hand up to her chest and nodding.

"Y-yeah, okay," and the girl disappeared. Rose didn't have time to see where she went because she'd already pulled out her gun, reloaded it, and started firing as ganado's tried crawling through the window. Leon and Luis started shoving furniture in front of all the other windows, taking up defensive positions.

"It's go time!" Luis cheered happily. There was more crashing as the other windows broke, and fists beat against the bookshelves until they broke.

The room erupted into chaos as the ganados attacked. Leon fired off precise shots, each bullet finding it's mark. In an effort to conserve ammo, he even approached the window and roundhouse kicked several bodies away. Rose could hear the sickening crunch of their bones even from her side of the room. Luis moved with surprising agility, tossing ammo to them when needed, which had been staged around the downstairs as if in preparation for this exact moment. He too, took the ganados down with a mixture of gunfire and close combat. Rose had to rely on her gun and her knife, not trusting her leg to pull off any impressive kicks.

"Leon, behind you!" She shouted as one tried sneaking up on him. He spun around just in time, delivering a fatal shot. There was a crash upstairs and Rose was the closest one to the steps. Leon didn't look at her, too busy with his own assailants, but shouted at her.

"Go upstairs, we've got this!"

"Okay!" She responded, sprinting up the stairs the best she could. She burst into the room to see a man climbing over the windowsill and firing a shot. It upended him and made him fall backward out of the window. She ran forward, just as another man was reaching the last rung of a ladder. She put both her hands on the wooden legs and pushed as hard as she could. Unfortunately, the man had grabbed ahold of her arms and she almost went over with him, but a set of hands kept her steady and gravity took the man down. Rose looked behind her to see Ashley, smiling proudly because she'd been able to help.

"I found this, does it help?" She asked, holding out a large, green grenade.

Rose swallowed heavily, her hand shaking as she took hold of it with a nod. She took a deep breath, trying to get a grip on herself. It's just a grenade, she thought. Pull the pin, let it go before three seconds are up. It won't hurt you...just those assholes outside...right, come on, Rose, you can do this! Ashley took her distraction as an opportunity to go over and push the ladder down again for a third time and the scream that ripped out of the ganado was all the encouragement she needed to get this over with. She turned back to the window, pushing Ashley behind her, and pulled the pin on the grenade. Not wasting any time, and fearing her own head would get in the way, she craned back her arm and flung the grenade into the crowd. It exploded a second after hitting the ground, causing the house to tremble and Rose dropped to the floor, squeezing her eyes shut and fighting off another panic attack.

Her brain was exhausted from the amount of panic she'd been put through in the past few hours. Over, and over and over again she'd had to face her fears. Her body shuddered with the shockwave and the sheer terror she had just confronted. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her mind racing with the countless moments of fear she had endured recently. Everything was muffled, her vision blurry. A warm hand on her shoulder made her open her eyes wider, realizing they'd been squinted half shut. Leon was crouched in front of her, his eyes full of concern.

"Rose, it's okay. It's over," his voice was steady, forcing himself to sound calm and soothing.

Rose nodded weakly, still trying to gather herself. "I'm fine," she managed to say, though her voice betrayed her exhaustion. "Just...need a moment."

Ashley, now safe behind Rose, looked at her with wide eyes. "Thank you," she whispered. "You saved us."

Rose forced a small smile, though her hands still shook. Leon looked up at Ashley. "Give us a minute. But stay nearby," he ordered.

Ashley looked between the two of them, her face unreadable, and then she nodded before she jogged downstairs. Leon settled himself down on the floor beside her, letting a moment of silence envelope them that felt somehow...intimate.

He glanced at her, seeing the weariness etched on her face. "You've been incredible, you know that?" He said softly, his voice filled with admiration.

Rose looked at him, her eyes reflecting a mix of gratitude and vulnerability. "I don't feel incredible," she admitted. "I feel...terrified."

Leon reached out, placing his hand over hers. "It's okay to be scared. What matters is that you keep going despite the fear. That's what makes you strong."

She hung her head, her cheeks blazing when she realized she'd accidentally slumped to lean against Leon's shoulder. But, he let her lay there, her head a comfortable weight that he had no intention of moving. Another moment of silence passed as she closed her eyes, soaking in his warmth and his comfort. Leon broke the silence again, shocking her by opening up a little.

"You know, this isn't my first time dealing with something like this," his voice was strong but soft, as if this conversation was something he talked about all the time. Rose knew that wasn't the case, though, and listened with rapt attention. "Back in Raccoon City, things were just as bad, if not worse."

Rose sat up, opening her eyes and looking at his relaxed face. He avoided her gaze during the pause, but then he must have drawn some kind of conclusion in his mind because he met her eyes again. "It was my first day on the force. The city was overrun with the undead, and it felt like the world was ending. But even in all that chaos, all the loss me, and everyone else suffered, I found people who were willing to fight. To survive. Just like us now."

"How did you get through it?" She asked quietly. Leon squeezed her hand, a solemn smile on his lips. "By sticking together, when possible. By trusting the people around me. And by never giving up, no matter how hopeless it seemed."

She could tell he was leaving some details out, some that were important to him but not to his current narrative, so she let it go. She'd take whatever he was willing to give her. She nodded, feeling a renewed sense of determination and admiration. "We'll make it through this too," she said, her voice stronger now.

Leon gave her a reassuring look and stood up, helping her stand. Rose noticed how close they were still standing to each other, but the intense look on his face kept her glued to her spot. He smiled again, this time for her. "We will," he assures her. "One step at a time."

They walked downstairs together, and with every step closer to the ground floor, their masks of professionalism slid back into place. Luis was still down there, and Ashley was standing far away from him, looking mortally offended. Luis stopped talking about whatever he'd been talking about when he noticed them, and both he and Ashley looked between Leon and Rose as if they expected something from them.

"What?" Rose asked, confused by the attention. Luis grinned but shook his head. The sounds of approaching ganados cut off whatever conversation they'd been about to strike up. "Let's go!" She shouted instead. The four of them raced out the door, dodging the horde as it began to regroup, and they ran straight for a draw bridge. The ganados were right on their tail, and Rose had to pull Ashley ahead of her to keep her from being dragged back by a man with grimy hands.

Leon turned around as they crested the bridge and shot out the chain, allowing a sharp gate to fall, impaling the handsy ganado and causing blood to splatter everywhere. They all bent at the knees, catching their breath, until Ashley began coughing viciously into her hand. Leon was at her side in an instant as she pulled her hand away from her mouth, revealing a splash of blood on her palm.

"Ashley?" Leon said, his voice dripping with worry.

"What's happening to me?" She cried, wincing, and wiping it off on her black leggings.

Luis stood up straight, striding over and gripping Ashley's hand urgently. "Ashley, is this the first time you've coughed up blood like this?"

Ashley nodded, still wheezing with every breath. Rose came and stood on Ashley's other side, peering into Luis' face with suspicion. He knew something he shouldn't, and she was now questioning and analyzing everything he'd ever said to her. Leon, already not in the 'Luis fanclub', glared at the man.

"Wanna start explaining?"

"The cough, the blood. It's caused by something called a...plaga," Luis admitted. Rose took a discreet step back, Ada's words ringing in her ears. The woman had said that before. She looked between Ashley and Leon, her eyes widening in horror as she remembered the details more clearly. Ada had said that Mendez...had probably already injected Leon with the 'plaga'. She gasped, her hand going to her mouth.

"Leon," she whispered. He looked at her, confused, then back at Luis, waiting for him to explain.

"Okay, you saw those...'people', right? Well, you have the same thing inside you. The same thing that made them...like that. This, what you're experiencing, the symptoms. They are only the beginning."

"I don't wanna become like them," Ashley says, her voice tight with fear.

Luis was pacing around, his back to the others. "You are well, lucky. You see at this early stage, the parasite, the plaga, it is possible to remove it. With the surgical procedure. And all you need is the know-how." He turned around, pulling his leather jacket and shirt away from his chest to reveal a scar. "And oh yeah, the equipment."

"Wait, you too?" Leon asked. His eyes flitted over to Rose, who looked sick to her stomach as she looked back at him.

Luis let go of his shirt and spread his arms out before dropping them again. "No worries. See, I have a plan. But you're going to have to trust me." He began walking backward, away from the group. Leon and Rose shared a look and he nodded while Rose looked away. Luis turned around again to walk away, slapping his fist against his palm. "Great, we're partners, then."

Leon stepped forward to stop him. "Hey, but why are you-"

Luis waved him off, still walking away quickly. "No time for any questions. The clock is ticking!"

"Why are you helping us?" Leon persists.

Rose remembered her conversation with Luis, clenching her jaw as she figured it out on her own. "Because it makes him feel better," she answered for him. Luis suddenly halted, turned to look at Rose with a thin smile, and nodded surely, before turning again and walking briskly away, holding up a walkie talkie.

"I'll contact you later."

They watched him disappear around the bend.