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I’ve been in this situation many times before. In some dark, dirty, run down building or mansion, pointing my gun as I round every corner. This time, it was an old building, looks like something out of Chernobyl’s reactor 4 form the interior. I’m not sure what I’m doing here, but I’m on a mission.
I enter and open room, decrepit, rotting and dark, checking to see that the coast is clear as I enter. The area is silent and void, save for a body, laying on its back, splayed out in a pool of blood. As my eyes focused, the figure on the dirty, damp floor looked familiar.
I rushed over, kneeling beside him. Oh God no… Shit.
“Leon.” I whispered.
“Hurk!” Leon’s light, blue eyes fluttered open and he coughed, blood sputtering from his lips and trickling down his chin, joining the old, caked on blood that pooled out of him earlier. There’s a large, gaping hole in his chest, the zipper of his leather jacket hung by a thread. I can see into his entire chest cavity, broken ribs and all. I can see his lungs rise and fall, his breathing shallow, his heart beating.
How?
How is he still alive?
I bit my lower lip as I radioed in, notifying the BSAA to send immediate medical assistance, and informing the DSO they have a man down. “Shit, what the hell happened?”
“Ada...” Leon began his voice weak and barely above a whisper, his bloody teeth grit in pain as more blood seeped through, it sprayed around him as he coughed and sputtered more of the thick, red fluid.
“What did that bitch do now?” I growled.
Leon shook his head, giving an indication she’s not at fault, I choose to believe differently though.
His eyes focused up on the broken rafters, I followed his line of sight. There, motionless, lay the body of Ada Wong, it was completely torn to pieces. The only thing recognizable was her severed head. Shit, I guess he was right.
“Tried to...” His soft whisper turned into more bloodied wheezing.
“Don’t talk.” I ordered. “Help is on the way.”
He shook his head again. “There’s so much blood.”
“Don’t add to it.”
“I’m gonna die.” He whispered meekly, my heart lurched into my throat. I could see Piers’ face flash before my eyes.
“No. It’s gonna be okay. Just hang on a little longer.” I plead with him.
Please, no. No, no, no, no, no. Not again, not like this. I have lost too many like this, my men, Finn, Piers. God, not Leon too.
“Chris...” He whispered again before gurgling and sputtering on his own metallic, red bodily fluid. I scooped him up, propping his head so he wouldn’t choke on his own blood. His head fell forward, his hair falling into his face.
“Leon, stop talking. Please.” Where was back up? Where are the medics.
“Chris, it’s over for me.” He was able to talk clearer now, but blood continued to pour from his mouth.
“Don’t say that!” I can’t go through this again.
“Chris.” He turned his head towards me, his eyes fading in color and in life, his skin and lips growing more pale by the second. The only thing vivid in color, was the blood. I held him steady, careful enough to not let his lungs and heart fall out of his open chest cavity. “I’m cold.” He finally said.
It’s true, his body is freezing and continuing to rapidly drop in temperature. He began trembling as he gazed up at me, I think I could see tears in his eyes.
“I don’t wanna die.” His low whisper of a voice trembled. I can see his heart beat fall, becoming slower and slower. “I… Don’t…. Want...” He trailed off, his eyes clouding over with a lifeless sheen. He went limp, his head fell back, blood dripped from his chin onto the floor, his heart stopped.
“No!” I gently shook him, as if to try and wake him up. “No! Goddammit no!” I lay him back down and immediately plunged my hands into the opened cavity, it felt wet, goopy and slimy. My hands wrapped around his heart, there was no rhythm nor movement, not even a quiver. I was literately holding Leon’s heart in my hands, the tissue felt soft, but the organ itself, felt firm. I began massaging it to the rhythm of a heartbeat, trying to get the valves working, and the blood circulating back through.
In the back of my mind, I knew it was no use, but I persisted. Trying my damnedest to bring life back into him. I looked up to his face, his head had turned to the side. Long, brunette bangs, partially draped over his eyes, which were hollow, lifeless, gazing out at nothing. Dead. Blood had trickled out of his mouth and formed into a pool by his cheek.
In a panic, I moved to his head, grabbing his chin and holding his head at an angle. His eyes peered up at me, vacantly. I pried open his mouth, using my thumb to hold his tongue to his bottom jaw, I took a deep breath and pressed my mouth to his, tasting acrid iron. I blew, watching his lungs fill with my air, his chest rise, I pulled away, watching the lungs slowly collapse, his chest fall, and the air I gave him slowly escape his parted lips.
There was nothing I could do, this was just like Piers all over again. At least I saw Piers alive, I didn’t see him… Like this.
I can taste the metallic liquid on my lips, I looked down at the caked, coagulated blood on my hands. Leon’s blood. Then I took another look at the lifeless corpse. Leon’s corpse. My entire body shook as hot tears stung my eyes and trickled down my face.
“No, no, no, no. Leon, no.” I lifted him once more, his body is starting to become stiff from rigor. I held him, feeling the cooling blood spill out and seep into my clothes. I wept.
I hadn’t seen him since the Arias incident, he’s still wearing the same clothes. Same leather jacket with the two white strips down the arms. And now… He’s dead.
My sobbing grew and grew as I felt the sorrow overtake me. I’m losing everyone. Everyone I ever cared about, everyone I ever loved. Dead.
The leather jacket made a soft squeak as I dug my nails into it, holding tightly onto the back of his jacket, hanging onto the shell of what was once DSO Agent Leon S. Kennedy. What am I going to say? Does he have any family? Are his parents still alive?
As I pondered this, a glint in what little moonlight came through the broken roof, caught my eye. It was Leon’s handgun. A Sentinel 9. It was then I realized. It wasn’t my problem anymore. I lowered his body to the ground, laying flat on his back. And picked up the gun.
Tears still streaming down my cheeks, I mutter to myself. “I can’t do this anymore. I had enough.”
I made sure it was loaded before opening my mouth and sticking the barrel in, tastes like gun powder and metal. With the intent of blowing out my brain stem. I pull the trigger.
A loud, visceral BANG!
“Ah!” I scream as I shoot upright in bed, my body wracked in a cold sweat, I try to catch my breath in deep gasps as my eyes focus in the dark room.
Hearing my heart race, the sound of my heartbeat echoing loudly in my ears, I steady my breathing. Then, without thinking, or looking at the time, I grab my phone. Ignoring the brightness of the screen, that nearly blinded me, I scroll through the contacts and focus on the name ‘Leon’ for a bit before tapping the call button.
I held my breath as I heard it ring. Once. Twice. Three times. Going on four. It cut at the fifth ring and I heard a soft grunt on the other line.
“What?..” Leon’s sleepy voice came through the receiver.
I breathed an audible sigh of relief. A nightmare. It was all a horrific nightmare. “Leon...” I paused, realizing that I didn’t know what to say. “Are…. Are you okay?” That was all that came out. Guess I’m still trapped in that part of my subconscious.
“Chris?...” Mild irritation filled his voice. “Yeah, fantastic. While I was sleeping, then for some God damn reason, you decide to call me up at three in the morning.” He snapped.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. So, it is three in the morning. “I’m glad.” But, just hearing his voice wasn’t enough, I needed to see him. See that he was in fact, okay. “I’m coming over.”
“What?” Leon asked once more. “It’s 3 AM.” He growled.
“I know.” I said as I began getting dressed. “I just want to see that you’re okay.” I grabbed my car keys and went for the door.
I heard an audible sigh. “I’m going back to sleep.”
He hung up. That’s okay. I got in the car and almost floored it to his apartment complex. I raced up to his floor and to his apartment. Not giving a damn that it was three in the morning, I banged loudly on the door.
“Open up Leon! I won’t leave until you open this door!” My shouting was followed by angry stomping feet. And soon the door swung open.
Leon stood in front of me, wearing nothing but black boxer briefs, not even a bath robe. His pale, blue eyes, full of life and fury as he stared me down with what I could only describe as a death glare.
“Do you want to wake up the whole damn place?!” He spat in an angry whisper.
I ignored the vitriol in his voice and focused on the fact that he was standing in front of me, completely fine. I was fighting the urge to cry, as I placed my hands on his shoulders and looked down at his chest. He tensed and gave me and odd look as I did so.
“The hell are you doing?” His voice had a combination of anger and confusion. But, I ignored it.
He has a slim, but muscular build and most notably. There’s no gaping hole in the center of his chest. No broken ribs, his pectorals rising and falling as he breathed. Though right now, he was more huffing in rage. My eyes centered on his face, contorted in a confused glare, his lips weren’t pale white, neither was his skin. His skin is tan, his lips have color, he’s full of life.
I smiled at him and pulled him into a hug, wrapping my arms around him and holding him close.
“Hey!” He shouted at me in surprise, but I didn’t care. I could feel his heartbeat, I could feel his breathing, the blood course through his veins, he feels so warm. He’s okay. He’s really okay.
His heart is beating inside him, I vividly remember the feeling of his heart in my hands, soft but, firm. It was so disturbing. But, this shows, everything is as it should be. He’s alive.
“What, do you want, Redfield?” He snarled, I can feel his eyes narrow into slits at me.
“I’m just glad you’re okay.” My body trembled as I fought back the urge to weep. “You’re okay, I’m glad.”
“The hell are you talking about, of course I’m okay.” He snapped back. His body continued to tense up as I rubbed his back softly, he’s okay, he’s alive. “Hey. Look, I’m fine.” His tone softened, and he awkwardly reached around and patted my back. “You can let go now.”
I did as he instructed, and let out a contented sigh.
“You want to explain yourself.” Leon asked.
“It’s a long story.”
Leon shrugged. “Well, I’m wide awake now.”
I told Leon about the nightmare I had as I sat across from him at his kitchen table. He listened quietly, drinking a glass of whiskey.
“So, let me get this straight.” He started. “You called me, then drove to my place, because you had a bad dream about me dying?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“And what do you expect me to do? Provide some sort of of comfort? You’re not five.” He hissed.
“Leon, it was abnormally vivid. It felt too real.”
Leon chuckled at my statement and downed the glass. “If it were real, I would’ve told you to finish the job.” He shook his head as he went to grab the bottle to refill his glass. “Go talk to a therapist, Chris. This isn’t my business.”
I got up and grabbed his wrist before he could pour another glass, he stared daggers at me. “Maybe you should talk to one too, you were acting like this when Rebecca and I asked you for help. Look man, something’s been going on with you, and maybe this dream was a ‘sign’ or some shit. But, I’m worried. So, if I have to go to therapy, you should too.”
Leon lowered his head momentarily before looking back to me. “If I agree, will you let me go back to sleep?”
I nodded.
“Fine.” Leon rolled his eyes. “You win, Redfield.”
“Thank you.” I paused as Leon’s tearful, pale face from my dream flashed across my thoughts. ‘I don’t wanna die.’ He said. “No more tears, Leon.” I muttered.
He quirked his eyebrow at me. “Sure, Redfield.”
He probably thought I was crazy or something, but that didn’t matter. As long as he’s okay.
With that, I left.