Chapter Text
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Leon tried moving a pinky, a toe, anything, but could barely manage a twitch. Leon gritted his teeth as his powerlessness seeped into his bones. They were so close. He could practically feel Luis’s lab key burning a hole in his pocket.
A cool, calm voice broke the silence. “Now, abandon your body.”
Saddler stretched out his arm, the sleeves of his black robe billowing with the motion. His eerie, blue eyes rested on Ashley as he spoke. “Obey. Obey the voice of our Lord.”
From the corner of his vision, Leon saw Ashley’s body stiffen, her hands straight against her sides. His chest tightened with dread, knowing he was powerless, yet he desperately attempted once more to will his body to move. To do something. His muscles only jerked in response, and he eyed the handgun he had dropped.
Leon knew Matilda did basically nothing to the cult leader, but he felt grounded with his gun in his hands, the cool metal a constant reminder that he could survive. That maybe there was a sliver of a chance he could actually get Ashley away from the cult leader. Leon snapped back to the present when he heard Ashley choke back a sob as she reached out her hand.
“No…no!” Ashley sobbed as she picked up Matilda. His handgun quivered in her grasp as she slowly pointed it at Leon.
Leon’s outstretched arm shuddered as he again attempted to break free of Saddler’s control. Only a strangled grunt escaped his mouth as he grimaced at an ugly thunk from the monster incubating inside of him. The parasite drummed its legs against his ribs, making him feel sick to his stomach. His gaze briefly swept over his extended arm. Vile, sepulchral veins snaked up its length—proof he wasn't going to shake Saddler's control any time soon, no matter how much he willed it.
“Stop, no.”
Ashley’s tearful gaze met Leon’s. Black veins crept from her eyes and spread down her cheeks, and he was sure his own face mirrored the same dark marks. The gun was level with Leon’s head now. With bated breath, Leon braced himself for what was sure to come next. A pained voice flittered across his mind, briefly drawing his attention away from his grisly fate.
<No! no no no no. Don’t point it at him. Don’t point it at him!>
Ashley…? Before Leon could give those words much thought, Ashley pressed the trigger.
Bang!
Leon flinched as he felt the bullet slice the air next to his ear, a sharp, metallic scent filling his nostrils. His heart jumped to his throat when the thunk of a body hitting the floor resounded from behind him. The sickly, copper-scented blood wafted through the air, thick and oppressive. Well, that’s one enemy down, Leon thought bitterly.
Ashley looked to be struggling against Saddler’s control even more than he was. Her face warped into a grimace, her brow creasing and her lips quivering from her desperation. Despite Saddler’s influence, her trembling hands barely managed to move the gun away from his head before her finger pressed the trigger. The gun shook violently in Ashley’s grip as it drifted back to aim at him, and Leon could only watch as she once again just barely twitched her hands to alter the bullet’s direction. The thump of another body falling to the ground behind him filled the tense air. Leon couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride as he watched his charge fight so adamantly. She’s come so far compared to when she tried to bash his head in with a candelabra back at the church.
But it's not enough to disobey.
His thoughts landed on Luis and Ashley—two people he failed. Luis, whose body is now entombed in the mines, not given the proper burial he deserved, and Ashley, whose body is being puppeted by a monster. He couldn’t save them. In the end, who did he save? Who did he help? His thoughts spiraled down, swallowing him into a deep, dark abyss. His vision tunneled until all he could see was Matilda quivering in the hands of the woman he swore to protect.
Errant thoughts snapped him back from the dark place he was sinking into. Once again, Ashley’s unvoiced thoughts raced through his mind.
<I am so, so sorry, Leon. It’s all my fault. My fault.>
The world in front of him cleared, and Ashley’s pallid face came into view. He met his charge’s gaze once more and mustered all his willpower to speak.
“Ashley,” he gritted out, “it’s okay. It’s…not your fault.”
Ashley’s eyes widened as another sob escaped her throat, shuddering her whole body. Leon’s eyes remained on hers as the gun in her grasp leveled right between his eyes.
If only Leon had been stronger, smarter, better prepared. If only he could have done it right. He might not have gotten infected. Luis might be alive. Ashley wouldn’t be pointing a gun at him against her will. They may have—all three of them—made it to Luis's lab and left this cursed island, happily parasite-free. Leon couldn’t help but make a wish.
Please, let him have just one more chance.
The last thing Leon saw was Ashley's scared face twisted in agony as the bullet tore straight through his brow.