Sniperbro1998: Good question! No, Rose doesn't know Krauser, and she doesn't know Wesker either, for that matter. Ada and her have a little bit of history, which will be revealed in little bits here and there. I do plan to have her and Leon talk out their issues surrounding Ada, but Leon's gotta be ready to listen to her without letting his own feelings cloud his judgment. Thank you for reviewing again!
Leon walked over to the crumbled wall where they could see a splash of red against the dullness of the landscape. It stood out like a sore thumb and was moving, but they couldn't make out what it was with their naked eyes. Leon pulled out his binoculars, humming to himself when he peered through the lenses to see what it was. "Courtyards gotta be through that gate." The figure turned around again and headed back inside the big heavy doors behind it. "Don't think our hosts are going to roll out the red carpet." He sighs as he puts away his seeing device and turns back to the stairs. "Things just keep getting better."
They go up and around, following the curve of the castle wall and avoiding the tree branches that reach for them as they walk into the interior where a fire's lit and under a pointed archway, Rose grabs Ashley and thrusts her against the wall behind them when they hear voices. A small group of darkly robed people pass by on the other side of a grated wall, not paying them any attention. Ashley lets out a terrified sound that Leon hushes her for. "Keep your voice down," he warns her, voice hard and commanding. Rose laid a comforting hand on her arm, offering what silent support she could. It wasn't that much of a surprise to her that this castle would be just as dangerous for them as the village had been. She wouldn't be surprised at all if the entire region was under the influence of this plaga.
They crept by the grate, stealthily making their way around the half wall and avoided fallen wood beams and loose stone. The entire castle seemed to be in disrepair from what they had thus far seen of it, and Rose wondered how magnificent it had been in it's prime. Her dream house used to be a castle with ten bedrooms, bathrooms you could play baseball in, a living room and a drawing room, sun room, and a kitchen with two ovens. She'd wanted that all the way up until she'd joined the DSA and had to lower her expectations. She was lucky if maintenance came when she called and forget about having a back yard. Her bathroom at home was more of a closet. Sitting on the toilet, you were crammed into the side of the shower/bathtub and the sink was practically in your lap. Rose really wanted to move.
They went through a wood door that didn't even meet the top of the frame. It was a room that seemed to have no purpose except for maybe storage. There were barrels bigger than her entire body stacked in here, huge windows all along the right wall, and old decorations like coats of arms hanging on the left wall. Their steps were silent, but even if they had made any noise, it would have been drowned out by the struggling of a ganado somewhere in the next room. There was clanging, and someone crying out and breathing heavily as if they were being tortured. "Spread out," Leon said and Rose nodded while tugging Ashley back. She was still in between them, but less in the way if something were to happen.
"Oh my god," Rose groaned when she and Leon peaked around the corner together. There was a robed figure slamming some kind of tool into the surface of an alter, blood splattering the walls. The robed figure stood up and turned towards them so suddenly they'd barely had time to prepare. His head twitched and then exploded on his shoulders, sending gore flying across the room and causing Ashley to scream. "Oh my god!" Rose repeated, eyes wide as she looked at the grotesque, surfeited worm like thing that had sprouted from the cultists neck. It was as long as his body, and flailed around, the head spreading out like four petals of an emaciated flower with rows upon rows of sharp teeth.
"Look out!" Ashley cried needlessly as the thing threw itself at the agents. Rose and Leon both fired at the parasite, wincing at the squelch and splash the bullets made as it came in contact with the slimy flesh. It exploded with a shrill cry, loud enough to hurt all three of their ears. Its juices painted the room and the pews on either side of the room and the smell was something akin to what she knew H2S smelled like- rotten eggs and blood.
The insect symbol they'd been seeing all over the village was dangling from chains, coming down level with their faces. It was almost like they were being mocked. When they finally exited the room, they were behind the grate they'd snuck past before, and it was another long hallway bathed in the flickering light of the sconces.
"Are those...swords?" Rose asked, walking over to a wall just before going outside again. There was a rack of swords just sitting there, and Rose felt a little giddy as she gazed at them with wide eyes. "I want one."
"You're gonna carry it around this castle?" Leon asked, raising an eyebrow of his own. She couldn't tell if he was amused or annoyed. The swords were all similar but had subtle differences. They all had simple, functional blades, but they were swords. Real swords.
Rose reached out and touched one, then grasped its handle and pulled it from the rack with a metallic hiss. "Why not?" Rose asked smugly. "It might come in handy."
Ashley looked at the sword with a mixture of awe and fear. "It's beautiful," she said, "but I think it's also dangerous."
Rose nodded. "I know," she said, her eyes sparkling as she stowed her gun and wielded the short sword with two hands. "But I think I can handle it." She narrowed her eyes over at Leon. "How are we on ammo?"
Leon shook his head and led the way outside, deciding to drop the subject. Rose smirked triumphantly and followed after him. "That's what I thought."
There was a stone staircase directly in front of them that led up to the next level. As they approached, a ganado cultist with what looked like a metal helmet rushed over to lean over the gap in between the small break in the wall. Rose groaned as more ran past the ganado, fire whipping around in the wind. "Muerte," shouted the ganado.
"D-does that mean what I think it means?" Ashley stammered, cowering behind Leon.
"Death," Rose confirmed breathily. She was tired. So, so tired. "They've got crossbows!" Rose shouted as she pushed Ashley up against the wall, just as a flaming arrow embedded itself into the floor where the girl had just been standing. She sure hoped that was a fluke because if they had tried to hit Ashley instead of Leon, it meant that this game just got a whole lot harder. Leon peered down his sights and pointed his pistol up the wall.
"Damn, they are too far away. I'm going to have to get closer," says Leon.
"There's some crates just up ahead," Rose pointed up the stairs. "I'll cover you and Ashley, she hides behind cover while you take one side and I'll take the other."
"Good plan, let's move."
They sprung into action, Rose grabbing Ashley and they zig-zagged as fast as they could up the remainder of the stairs. When they got to the half wall of stacked wooden boxes, Rose pushed Ashley down so that she was as small as she was going to get and thrust her sword into Ashley's hands for safekeeping. "Stay still," she said and then stood up straight, nodding to Leon. They took off in opposite directions-Rose to the left, and Leon to the right. Rose dodged another flaming arrow and Leon shot, taking out one of the two crossbowmen. Another ganado ran around the corner, carrying a torch. Leon surged towards him, yanking the torch out of the monster's hand and beating him up the side of the head with it. The flesh seared and the ganado screamed as Rose shot the last crossbowman.
"Where's the guy with the mask?" Rose muttered. She put a hand over her eyes as if that would help her see him. She could see something black, too black to be shadows, hiding behind a turret. Leveling her gun, she grunted in annoyance when she couldn't get a shot.
"Come on, let's go around," Leon called as he waved them over. Rose was hesitant to turn her back when she knew someone was up there still, but he hadn't made a move against them yet. She allowed Ashley to run past her with her precious sword before backing up the next spiraling staircase. They passed a barred window without glass where they could hear more sounds of ganados, but none showed. Just as Leon was about to step out into the open, a huge ball of fire crash-landed a dozen feet away from him, causing Ashley to scream in fright and almost fall if Rose hadn't been there to catch her. The flames died off quickly, to their surprise, but Rose still felt a cold sweat break out on her forehead. She had to remind herself that she'd worked through this.
They peeked around the corner just in time to see a robed figure light a tall wooden structure and flung another flaming ball at them. It crashed into the stone right beside them, shaking the ground beneath their feet. "No way," Ashley exclaimed. "They have catapults?"
"Looks that way," Leon grunted, shaking off his singed arm hairs.
"That debris and fire are going to be hard to get through," says Rose, eyeing the terrain with disdain. Another ball of fire was launched, but it fell short on the other side of the walkway, cutting off their route.
"Just run," said Leon. "Fast." He practically pushed her ahead of him as he opened fire toward the robed figure operating the catapults. Ashley sprinted over rocks and rubble. Another cultist sprang up out of seemingly nowhere in front of Rose, forcing her to run and kick him as he lunged for Ashley. The cultist fell down and Leon shot him as he ran up behind them. Another fireball fell right behind them and Leon jumped out of the way, pulling Rose down with him so that his back was shielding her from the flames. He squeezed his eyes shut and grunted in pain as the heat licked at his back, not quite burning him but definitely giving him what felt like the worst sunburn of his life.
Their breathing was heavy, chests pressing against each other. Rose's head was being protected from bouncing off the stone by Leon's hand, and she felt her cheeks turn pink as she realized she could feel every inch of him pressed up against her. Desperate to fend off the dirty thoughts, she patted him on his chest. His eyes opened and connected with hers for a moment. His face slackened, questions on the tip of his tongue to ask, to make things better between them. But now was so not the time.
Ashley backed up against the wall. "Guys!"
Leon sprung up at the sound of cultists yelling at them as they rounded the dark corner. "I guess this is their idea of a warm welcome," said Leon as he tried to joke off the tension between them. Rose climbed back to her feet as Ashley suddenly let out a battle cry and plunged the sword deep into the cultist's chest.
"Think you can get the drop on us?" Ashley cried out. Rose and Leon looked at her in wide-eyed fascination before Rose turned to Leon with a smug look.
"See, it was useful." Leon rolled his eyes and walked past her.
"Good job Ashley, but don't make a habit of it. Protecting you is our job. Leave the sword."
Both Ashley and Rose pouted as he moved on, but followed him diligently. They crested another stairwell and another fireball was thrown at them, crashing into the floor just feet away from the giant set of double doors that led into the castle. Rose steadied herself on the stone wall, looking over with her head on a swivel. She met eyes with Leon, hers full of fear and dancing with the ghosts of flames she had survived time and time again. "Stay here a sec," said Leon, trying to put as much optimism into his expression as possible. "If that door is locked, we are going over that bridge and into that room, see it?" He pointed over to their right and Rose craned her neck to see a small room over a footbridge not too far away. She nodded, and Leon turned to run across the open.
He dodged another flaming ball, making Rose wince and take a step back. Footsteps and the rattling of chains drew her attention away from Leon yanking on the door handles to see two cultists had tried to sneak up behind them. Rose pressed Ashley into the wall and ducked under the arms of one of the cultists as he tried to grab her by the neck. Ashley ducked too, letting him practically bounce off the wall. Rose stood up, sweeping her leg out and knocking the second cultist onto his back, his ball and chain flailing out. Rose quickly stepped on his wrist so he couldn't swing it at her and Ashley screamed as another flaming ball blocked Leon from getting back to them and the first cultist managed to pick her up in the shock.
"Fuck this," Rose said as she shot them both in the head, one after the other. Ashley let out another shriek as she was suddenly released and fell on her bum. "Sorry," mumbled Rose as she helped the girl stand up. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Ashley said.
"Girls," Leon exclaimed as he waved them over. Ashley and Rose sprinted over the bridge, eyes trailing after the fireball that had just launched towards them. They made it to the other side and banked hard right into the small room, only to come face to helmet with the metal head cultist from earlier. Rose took out her knife, jamming the blade into his knee as soon as she saw him. With another swift kick, she sent him flying into the shelves behind him. Walking over, she pulled her knife out and plunged it into the helmet's eye socket. Blood and goo squirted out onto her hand causing Ashley to flinch and look away gagging.
Leon poked his head out of the door and aimed high before shooting. There was a loud explosion. "Got it," he mumbled. "One down, three to go."
"There's four of them?" Rose said in disbelief. "For us? Seems like overkill."
"We've made it this far," says Leon in disagreement. "They are right to be afraid. I'm getting pissed."
"Ooh, one-man army over here," Rose joked. Leon's lips twitched upwards. More crashing and Leon jumped back from the doorway to let the flames die down before he tried to locate the next one.
"Stay with Ashley, I'll be right back."
"Leon," Rose tried to protest, but he was already sliding out of the room. Feeling as useless as she did the last time he left her to play babysitter, she crouched down low and watched as Leon sprinted around, taking out the catapults one by one. She winced every time he missed and was rewarded with another flaming ball being hurtled in his direction, only for him to dodge out of its way, narrowly avoiding being turned into a burnt human pancake.
"There's a door over here," said Ashley as she moved over to the side of the small hut. She twisted the doorknob, only to sigh and fall back. "Locked."
Rose frowned over at Ashley's back, before looking back out of the hut and her breath catching as she realized Leon was nowhere in sight. Her eyes darted around manically, wondering if this was how parents felt when they looked away from their toddlers for only a moment, only for them to come up missing. Leon was a big boy, she reminded herself. He can take care of himself. Still, it didn't ease her mind any. She didn't like not having him in her sight, and the crumbling castle did nothing for her nerves.
What if he'd fallen? The walls were short and broken. He could have fallen into a weak spot and been thrust down to his death, and she wouldn't have known because she'd allowed herself to be distracted by a locked door! She wanted to turn and give Ashley a heated glare but refrained. If he came back, she didn't want to miss it.
Her leg began to bounce with anxiety. Maybe the girl would be safe here by herself for a little while if she went to go find Leon. She swallowed, weighing the pros and cons and silently begging Leon to show back up. The anger was bubbling in her. At Ashley, for distracting her, at Leon, for leaving her here to do nothing, at Mendez and Luis, and whoever else was responsible for these people who were forced to have their lives taken from them like this. Her heart raced, and the shadows in the corners of the hut seemed to loom larger with every passing second.
"Rose, are you okay?" Ashley's voice broke through her thoughts, tinged with concern.
"I'm fine," she snapped, then softened her tone. "Just… worried about Leon."
Ashley hesitated, biting her lip. "He can handle himself, right? He's done it before."
"Yeah, but..." Rose glanced back out the window, her eyes scanning the debris-strewn landscape. She couldn't hear the cultist's shouts anymore, and the catapults had stopped firing with the last explosion that had rocked the floor beneath them. That was either a very good thing or a bad thing. Eventually, Rose almost fell over when across another bridge, a large platform raised with a huge canon sat atop it, and Leon standing on it looking like the cat who ate the canary. The joy on his face was like he'd woken up on Christmas morning and gotten exactly what he'd asked Santa for.
And Rose had to admit...a canon was freaking cool! Now, if it actually worked...
A loud BOOM shattered the silence as the canon went off and Rose, Leon, and Ashley all ducked down instinctively and covered their ears. The sound still made their ears ring painfully, but they watched with wide eyes as a canon ball shot out of the long barrel and impacted the double entrance doors to the castle, causing them to shatter and cave in.
She couldn't help but feel a surge of adrenaline mixed with awe; the chaos outside suddenly seemed a little more manageable.
"Did you see that?!" Leon shouted, grinning like a kid in a candy store. "This baby actually works!"
"Just don't get too cocky," Rose shot back, unable to suppress a smile. "You still have to get us out of here."
Leon nodded, shaking off the exhilaration.
Ashley looked between them, her eyes wide. "What's the plan? We can't just stand here!"
"Good point," Rose said, taking a step out of the hut and toward the now-collapsed entrance. "If we move quickly, we can use the chaos to our advantage.
Leon glanced back at the canon, then at Rose. "I can cover you from up here. You and Ashley should make a run for it."
"No way," Rose said, shaking her head. "I'm not leaving you behind. We stick together."
He hesitated, looking like he wanted to argue, but the urgency in her voice must have struck a chord. "Fine. We go together. But I'm going to fire this thing again to create a diversion."
"Let's do it!" Ashley exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with the thrill of action.
Leon adjusted the cannon's aim, his focus shifting as he braced himself against the powerful weapon. "You two get ready. I'll give you the signal."
Rose rolled her eyes, knowing he just really wanted an excuse to fire the canon again, and she and Ashley positioned themselves to be ready to run towards the shattered entrance. Beyond lay a scene of utter chaos: cultists were scrambling to organize themselves, trying to recover from the shock of the blast. It was their chance.
"Now!" Leon shouted, lighting the fuse. The cannon roared to life again, and a second ball shot out, soaring through the air like a meteor. It struck another section of the castle wall, sending rocks tumbling down on the few brave cultists who had recovered quicker than the others.
"Go, go, go!" Rose yelled, sprinting forward with Ashley right behind her. They dashed through the jagged remnants of the entrance, hearts pounding as they plunged into the fray...only for it to be still and quiet on the other side. Leon quickly caught up with them, sweaty and smiling from the rush of his medieval experience. Rose laughed at him, and he grinned back at her, and Ashley even managed a giggle as relief washed over them all, taking away some of the weight they had all been feeling up until that moment. "I'm a little envious," Rose said, looking back at the massive canon.
"I'll let you fire the next one," Leon promises emptily. Rose chuckles and shakes her head. "Come on, lets get inside," he said as he shouldered past the girls and went to push open the final double doors to enter the castle itself.
All three of them had to stop for a moment and admire the inside. The floors were dirty and still a boring stone, but the ceilings were at least twenty feet high, maybe even taller, and upside-down statues were hanging from sturdy chandeliers. It was an...interesting layout. But Rose let out a hefty exhale, admiring the architecture. This was probably the grandest and biggest place she had ever been in. There were some crates shoved up against walls and porcelain vases that stood at least three feet tall and she couldn't even begin to imagine what just one would cost.
"Look at this place," Ashley simpered in awe. "I mean, it's old but...phew."
It only got better when they walked up a short staircase, each of their eyes drawn up to the candelabras and the giant glittering chandelier that hung from the ceiling on the next level. There were caged sections on either side of them, giving off a hostile vibe right away and making Rose wonder what the purpose of those were before this plaga had taken up residence.
"A most warm welcome," said a high-pitched voice that seemed to echo throughout the entire room. "I was wondering when you might notice us."
"Who-the-hell-are you?" Leon demanded slowly, looking around for the source. Rose elbowed him in the side, jerking her chin upward toward the indoor balcony where a small man with white blonde hair and a big, blue pirate hat stood, two large robed figures at either of his sides.
"Me ilamo Ramon Salazar, the eighth castellan of this...magnificent architecture. I have been honored with the prodigious power from the great Lord Saddler. I've been expecting you, my brethrens." Salazar took a dramatic bow, bending at the waist and waving with his miniature hand.
Leon scoffed, taking a step forward. "No thanks, bro."
Salazar looked over Leon with amusement, straightening up and beginning to pace. "My, my, we've got a feisty one. If you care for your own well-being, I suggest you surrender yourselves and simply become our hostages. Or Mr. Scott, you can give us the girl because you and your lovely companion are not worth a penny, I'm afraid. You can die."
"Yeah fat chance, Ramon. The girl's just fine with us."
"How noble," said Salazar bitterly and tisked, looking down with barred teeth.
"I'm never going to be one of you!" Ashley shouts angrily, glaring up at the small man.
"You heard the lady," said Leon with a proud smirk.
"How unfortunate." Salazar turned and snapped his fingers, addressing the robed figures that stood beside him. "Do make sure our guests feel at home...now that he has chosen death." He walked away, his heels clicking through the doors he disappeared through.
The doors on their level opened up to more cultists with balls and chains and metal helmets. Rose nudged Ashley behind them as she took her place by Leon's side, readying her shotgun. Four of them hurried down the red carpet that lined the stairs, two of which had body-length wooden shields. Rose sighed in irritation, stepping forward and shooting the shotgun at the shield. A section blew off at the top but didn't stop them from advancing. She fired again, and Leon shot out the knees of the other shielded cultist.
Rose backed up, urging Ashley to as well as she reloaded and fired again. The shield cultist dropped to his knees, but she couldn't land a killing blow because the one to their left sprinted forward, swinging his scythe at her, looking like a red-eyed, evil grim reaper. Rose blocked it by holding her shotgun horizontally over her head, wincing at the impact and reacting by turning at the waist, and slamming the butt of the gun into the side of the cultist's head.
The cultist stumbled, momentarily dazed, and Rose seized the opportunity. She swung her shotgun back around, aiming directly at his chest and firing. The blast knocked him off his feet, sending him crashing into the ornate carpet.
"Nice shot!" Leon called out, taking down another cultist who had tried to flank them. The remaining shielded cultist advanced, his partner charging in from the right with a wicked grin. Rose felt a surge of adrenaline as she and Leon faced off against them.
"Watch the left!" Rose yelled, her voice barely audible over the chaos.
Leon nodded, reloading his gun with practiced speed. Rose focused on the shielded cultist, who raised his shield to absorb her next shot. She aimed lower, targeting his legs. The shotgun roared again, and the cultist staggered but didn't go down.
"Dammit!" Rose cursed, backing up as the other cultist swung his scythe, narrowly missing her shoulder. She ducked, rolling to the side, and came up firing at the scythe-wielder's exposed side.
"Cover me!" Leon shouted, firing rapidly as he moved to flank the shielded cultist.
With Leon's shots keeping the other cultist at bay, Rose took a breath and focused. She shifted her stance, aiming for the vulnerable spot just below the shield. With a swift motion, she fired again, the impact sending the cultist tumbling backward, finally collapsing in a heap.
"Now!" Leon shouted as he turned, quickly dispatching the scythe-wielder with a well-placed shot to the head.
They shared a quick glance, a silent understanding passing between them. Their breathing was heavy, chests heaving up and down and lips turning up in relief. Ashley looked between the two of them in bewilderment, impressed by their display of teamwork. "Whoa," Ashley mumbled, causing Rose to laugh and Leon turned away quickly, hiding his own laugh, though his shaking shoulders gave him away. "I'd hate to see the two of you mad," she said.
Rose made her way up the stairs and tried to open the doors, her head and shoulders both sagging when the door didn't budge. She turned back around and shook her head as she rejoined the two on the floor. "No good, we'll have to find a key or another way around," she said, looking at the caged-off areas on both sides of the room.
Leon sighed as he came to stand in front of her. "The gate over here is locked, too. Can't ever be easy, can it?"
"Guess not," she grumbled.
"Hey, how about this?" Ashley called from behind them. They spun around to see her poke her head from around a half wall and wave them over. They jogged over to her and she pointed up to a gap between the ceiling and the wall. "Lift me over and I can open the door from the other side."
Leon looked over at Rose, and Ashley sighed. "Come on, guys. I want to do something besides just hide behind you."
Rose arched an eyebrow at Leon, shrugging her shoulders. "I think it'd be good for her." If giving Ashley a little bit of power here could help her, she didn't think it'd be too bad of an idea. If anything, it could give her a little more control over her PTSD when she got back. Opening doors for them may not be a huge thing, but at least she could remember that she helped. It'd take a little of the sting off of being a victim. Leon frowned but nodded and went down to one knee, lacing his fingers together and looking at Ashley expectantly.
Ashley let out a pleased hum and was quick to step in his waiting hands. He stood, boosting her up as she went and Ashley pulled herself up and over to straddle the small opening.
"Be careful," Leon breathed. Ashley sent him an encouraging smile and dropped down below with a barely audible huff. Leon and Rose rounded the wall again to spot Ashley run over to the door and yank on the rusty handle. It slid out of the lock with a loud clang and she pulled the door open.
"See! I did it!"
"Good job, Ashley," Leon praised and ruffled her hair. The girl pouted at him but quickly replaced it with a grin and moved aside for them to enter. Rose sent her a quick thumbs up as she passed into the cell. There was a big crack in the wall that they each could slide through if they turned to the side, but the other end was looping around past where they could see. There were two entry cupboards with vases on them, and Rose took pleasure in smashing them, only to be pleasantly surprised to find a sparking pink gem inside one.
"Oooh, that's pretty," Ashley cooed. Rose chuckled and pressed it into the girls palm. "Thanks! Maybe we can sell it if we see the merchant again."
"I'm almost certain we'll see him again," said Rose as she moved down the other direction. There was a torch on the wall, lighting the passage ahead and the curve dipped down to the other side of the hall. "There's a chest over here," she called as she followed it around and up to the other side. There was a bunch of junk on this side, including a massive steer skull, chairs, and more swords that Rose looked at longingly. However, these ones looked more neglected than the one she'd been forced to leave behind. She popped open the chest with surprising ease and stared down confusedly at the perfume bottle of blue-tinted glass and gold embellishments. She shook it and was surprised to hear a liquid sloshing around inside.
Rose squirted a little into the air and it took a moment before a very light vanilla and lavender scent kissed her nostrils. Lavender wasn't usually her favorite scent, but the perfume was pleasant and light. She stuffed it in her pocket, frowning at her lack of ammo. She would be in trouble here soon if they didn't see the merchant again within the next attack or so. She supposed she could make a bomb with the perfume and a torch, or just smash it over someone's head if she needed to, but it'd be a shame to waste it.
She turned and went back the way she came, shaking her head at her partner. "Dead end. We're gonna have to go through the wall."
Leon nodded and was the first to turn sideways and scoot to the other side. Ashley went next after Leon called the okay, followed by Rose. On the left side, Leon smashed through some old dressing dividers and opened up a cabinet that wielded a box of shotgun ammo, which he scooped up and immediately divided the ten rounds between them. To the right was another dark corridor. Leon pulled out his flashlight and lit the way for them as they made their way underneath the entrance hall.
"Oh man," Rose mumbled as she pulled out her own light and looked around the room they came into. There were various torture devices set up, and blood smeared over almost everything, including the walls. "This is just sick."
A suit of armor stood watch on one end of the room with manacles hanging from the ceiling. A body was strung up along the far left wall, emanating a horrible rotting smell. There was another body of a man tied up to a rack on the right side, this one with more discernable features contorted into an expression of agony. There was a gate ahead of them and Rose looked at it skeptically as Leon pointed his light to the left where there was another passage. Feeling doubtful, Rose went to try the gate and was unsurprised to find that it didn't budge. So, they moved on in Leon's direction.
"Are those his intestines?" Ashley guffawed as they passed the faceless person on the wall. Rose swallowed her bile as she pushed Ashley along, choosing not to answer her question. They walked through a maze of prison cells and could hear the sound of chains being rattled somewhere near them and as they walked into the end cell something let out a deep scream. Ashley let out a startled scream. "What was that? Do they keep animals down here or something?"
Rose swallowed, trying to meet Leon's gaze in the darkness. He kept his face impassive and turned to continue forward. The clanking of metal got louder and at the end of the hall there was a cultist slumped over on the floor, blood pooled underneath him. Leon carefully inched forward, following the glint of something refracting the light from his flashlight. He plucked it up and held it in front of his face. It was an old-fashioned, gothic-looking key. "Maybe it goes to the gate behind us?" Rose guessed. Leon nodded and stowed it in his pocket as he turned to make his way across. The floor creaked and Rose stared wide-eyed as she saw the boards start to splinter under his weight.
She was about to tell him to stop, but it was too late. The boards gave out and Leon fell too fast for her to even yell. Rose rushed forward, peering down into the dark hole to hopefully spot him. "Leon, are you okay?"
Leon coughed and groaned, picking his flashlight back up and Rose sighed in relief. Something growled right below her, causing shivers to run up her spine like spider legs. "It can't see me," he said.
"What can't s-" Rose was interrupted by a loud scream coming from right beside Leon and she watched in horror as he jumped back to avoid something trying to rip itself off the wall with the ear-ringing sound of large chains clanging. Leon crouched and looked up at Rose, raising his finger to his lips in a motion to beg her to be quiet, then flattened his hand with his palm facing her to order her to stay where she was.
Rose grit her teeth in annoyance. Why did he always do this? Leaving her alone with Ashley while he put himself in danger? She wasn't looking to be the hero or for an adrenaline rush, but she felt nearly as useless as Ashley when she was forced to stay back while he went on ahead. Still, she nodded and planted her feet, watching as he left the cell.
She gasped and stepped back quickly when the thing making all that noise yanked hard on its chains and broke free of them, coming into her view. It was a huge man, probably seven feet tall with arms the size of tree trunks. Its face looked up at her, but she quickly stopped her startled squeak when she saw his eyes sewn shut and the massive wolverine claws that were easily the size of her entire body coming out of his hands. Leon was stuck down there with a monster.
Its attention was yanked away from her when something rattled, and Rose bit back a worried cry when it roared so harshly that it arched its back and charged out of its cell and toward her partner. Frantically, Rose grabbed Ashley and doubled back, looking for another way down. Her breathing was labored and panicked, and she was moving faster than her eyes could scope out the area. There weren't any unlocked doors or opened areas and there were no enemies, so she rounded on Ashley and grabbed her by both shoulders. "I have to help him," said Rose, momentarily forgetting that the flashlight was digging into Ashley's arm.
Ashley nodded. "I still have that knife you gave me. I'll hide. You go."
Rose gave the room one last good sweep before hurrying back to the hole in the floor, checking to make sure the coast was clear before she too dropped down.