Janus | Leon Kennedy x Reader | Currently being rewritten because it was being rushes lwk
a/n: Updated it guys!!! Lmk how you like it (or dont like...)
Chapter 1: September 29, 1998 — 11:47 PM
The small red-haired girl beside you hadn't made a sound in three hours. Honestly, you were unsure whether that was better or worse than the screaming and convulsing from before.
Growls could be heard from across the street, just a few feet away from you. Any sudden movements from you and the girl, and no doubt about it, the zombies would hear and it would be game over for the two of you. Your heart hammered against your chest, eyes shutting with the inability to entertain the idea that these abhorred creatures were once human, walking down these very streets to treat their families to a nice day out. But now, they roamed the streets, bending over, crawling, saliva dripping from the mere undead thought of gnashing their teeth against human flesh. You flinched once more, yet the girl stayed unmoving as you heard another guttural scream, someone was dying, and another zombie was shrieking with delight. Yet their hunger was insatiable, they were trying to find more people, more someone...
You glanced at the girl, a feeling of shame blooming in your chest. You started running from California because you found secrets not meant for you, insight in the devil's playpen, but knowing everything that went down gave you a cynical sense of ease. But these poor people around you, they didn't know what was coming. Unlike you, they couldn't stop in motels, sleep in their cars trying to escape the horrors. Yet maybe in a sense, it was good, since they wouldn't whip their heads around every time the wind whistled, thinking it was an operative ready to contain them forever.
You were in the same boat however, being an amateur hacker meant you didn't get all the information that was crucial for survival. You would've needed the highest possible clearance, or hacking skills rivaling those who worked for the NSA. Not just being someone who occasionally decided to roleplay as a white hat.
You came here because it was as far away as you could get from your California home. It was halfway across the country, almost 2,500 miles. Yet it seemed like fate had other, cruel plans.
Your throat tightened as you heard a howl from a turned wolf near you. You shut your eyes, unable to watch the mutant gorge their teeth on the poor woman who let her sister run away with you. Your head spun, unable to comprehend how only three hours ago she had her hand clasped with yours, panting, trying to get you to safety, only to be killed in the process.
Your tears welled up, it felt as though someone pricked your eyes with a dozen needles. Suddenly, you were snapped out of your guilt when you heard the faintest sniffles ever. Glancing at your left, you looked at the young girl who was biting her lip, drawing blood to prevent making any sounds. She barely moved, her eyes bloodshot as she clenched her teeth, anyone would think she had experienced something like this with how she was able to calm herself down. She was only six, yet tasting iron in her mouth to try and see the sun for at least another day.
But no matter how much she tried, or what prior experience she had, she was only six. She sniffled again, and again. Louder, louder. A crunch was heard nearby, you cracked your head to the source of the sound, seeing a zombie pick up on the slightest noise.
Or... was it your imagination?
With your heart hammering in your chest, you brought your hand to the girl's mouth. Firm enough to muffle any sounds, yet you were afraid your heartbeat would be picked up by the zombie. You two were cornered. There was a blazing fire in front of you two, the cracking of amber masking any slight sounds from you two. Yet the disgusting stench of burnt flesh was making you feel lightheaded. Unable to properly detect how far the zombie was from you, or if it was approaching you. The semi-truck, the source of the fire, was actively attracting zombies as though it was honey to bees. Even if you couldn't see, the stomps of the zombies made you aware.
You were forced to make a decision: run now, or die.
Peering at your bloodied knees, the memory of tasting concrete with your skin being ripped apart as though it were a flimsy bandage left a sour taste in your throat. You had let out a guttural scream, piercing the night air, almost rendering you a human kebab for zombies. Safely escaping seemed impossible with your useless knee and the, probably, insufficiently fit six-year-old girl. But you made a mental note on how the girl began rocking back and forth, the mix of burning flesh, the smell of earth, and sirens in the background, making her lose her mind, one nail bite at a time.
You took a deep breath, counting sheep, catching your fear as though they were fireflies in a bottle, you shot up. Reaching for your handy-dandy pockets, you grabbed a sock (not used thankfully) and softly tied it around the girl's mouth. Not a single part of you believed that this six-year-old could keep her composure for any longer. Even if something did happen, like a horde of zombies sneaking their way, you still didn't believe she would be able to inform you in time to save you two.
Your knee basically had its own heartbeat with how much it burned.
'Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think...' With one last sheep being counted, adrenaline filled your senses. The heartbeat in your knee slowly disappeared, or well, becoming numb in your mind as you hoisted the girl on your back. Pushing forward. Reminding you to take just another step forward, just one more step could guarantee you freedom. Your legs felt as though it had been chained with a ball, the girl now feeling like she weighed 100 tons. But you couldn't stop. Not if you wanted to live. Holding your breath, you persevered. While some abominations snarled, trying to chase you, Usain Bolt basically manifested into you with how fast you were running. Your eyes darted to the girl, her face hardened. No signs of stress, tears, or anything from before. It was as though she had just given up, no longer concerned as to what would happen to her. And with how weak you began to feel, your vision feeling spotty, you wouldn't be surprised if your breaking point was reached too.
You thanked God when you saw the iron bars of the Raccoon Police Department entering your view. But whatever smile was slowly growing on your face was instantly vaporized as you noticed the sheer amount of zombies camping the outside, of the locked, RPD.
You wanted to scream, rip your vocal cords apart from mere frustration. But with the life of the young girl at stake, you opted out of that.
To your left was an alleyway... filled with countless infected, infected dogs, zombie cats, zombie rats... Left alleyway was scratched off as an exit point.
To your right were locked gates, a disfigured body pierced by the gate pikes. It was obvious they tried jumping over the gate to safety... but it didn't work to say the least.
Behind you was definitely not an option so you didn't even look.
So if the Never Eat Soggy Waffles (North, East, South, West) compass offered no solutions, that meant it would either be up or down.
Going up wasn't possible, unfortunately (or well fortunately) you weren't infected as to grow wings and fly into the sky to bring the two of you to safety. So that only left...
You glanced at the manhole, a deep exhale escaping your mouth. Disgusting... but what else could you do?
Slipping down into a slimy, excrement filled area sounded like fun... A lot of fun...
You shivered at the thought.
Wait! Maybe you could try going out of city limits... But, there's no guarantee that Umbrella didn't decide to camp outside like idiots, they tracked you from Cali to Florida, Wisconsin, now Raccoon? Yeah there was no doubt about it, they're probably outside the city limits, actually! It wouldn't be too surprising if they were inside, waiting for a viable extraction point considering the cursed knowledge you decided to consume.
Clutching the girl impossibly closer to you, afraid she'd somehow slip through your arms like jello, you speed walked to the manhole nearest to you. It was quite easy considering you spent a while in Raccoon City. Many suns passing over you as you fought to live another day. With a groan you lifted the manhole cover up and out, now... should you sacrifice the little girl and make her go first possibly endangering her with zombies munching and crunching at her feet. Or you could go first and risk zombies munching and crunching at her entirety if they somehow catch whiff of you two...
Yeah... munching and crunching her feet would do. If she screamed or flailed her little arms, you could just lift her up quickly!
One last glance at the blood splattered concrete walls surrounding you, you bid that city adieu. Wishing that in a normal world, you would have visited this place during your free time and have gotten to know everything when it was at its best. Maybe meet a cute cop... or a professor... but, dreams are dreams because they are unable to be reached.
Your hand reached to pat the girl on the shoulders, a sorry attempt to comfort her. She seemed to get the memo of going down first because you told her since she merely nodded and gave you a rather deadpanned look. She probably thought you were sacrificing her or something...
"Don't give me that look," you chuckled, your eyes softening anguished at the idea of a young girl having to experience this, "be careful down there, if anything happens, flail around and scream for me, okay?" You said gently, massaging her shoulder. Her youthful eyes widened ever so slightly, perhaps surprised at your tenderness. Although you didn't think it would be so out of the blue to comfort a child like that. Blood was littered all over her, ash covering her once pure skin. Her mouth was tight-lipped, her eyes returning to its normal width, harboring no hatred nor anger. There was an absence of movement because she turned around and slowly descended down the ladder, one foot at a time.
You were truly amazed she didn't slip, let alone fall, considering she was only born 6 years ago. It was as though she truly did experience this before. You could tell, she was too composed for this, even with the mini sob fest she had.
Surveying your surroundings once more, you quickly followed suit and covered the lid.
Thankfully, there were slight rays of light from the manholes' holes, that let you grab your flashlight with ease. Grabbing your flashlight, you smacked it a few times to get it to properly work. Soon, light spilled through every corner of the sewer, leaving no rat in darkness. The little girl looked at your emergency bag, curiosity as to what was in the bag.
"Wanna know what's inside?" You asked with a small, yet warm, tired smile. She nodded sheepishly, unaware you'd seen her curious nature spilling through her skin, "Well... There's food. Nonperishable of course. Then there's some water," You paused as you grabbed the water bottle from the pocket of the bag, offering it to her gently. She seemed hesitant at first, but considering your roughened up condition with various cuts and bruises earned just to protect her, she decided you weren't going to harm her through poisoned water.
You chuckled at her apprehension, where did she learn to be so suspicious of people?
"Then there's my computer. It's kinda my prized possession. My brother gifted it to me a few years back, best gift ever. Then there are some random things... medical equipment, radios, compasses... You know, survival stuff." You watched her with a smile as she fisted your clothes into her small fist, bumping into you ever so often. You wouldn't be surprised if she was super exhausted by now.
You kept a mental note to rest soon, when there was somewhat guaranteed safety near you.
She didn't say anything still, maybe your emergency bag you brought to escape California wasn't as interesting as you thought it was.
An exasperated sigh escaped your lips as you watched your flashlight flicker once more. You smacked it once more, as though it owed you money. Truth be told, it was second hand. You bought it after picking up odd jobs, dog-walking, pet-sitting, anything for cash to purchase the flashlight. Running away from the government didn't leave you with many opportunities to grow your stocks, ETFs, and what not to properly afford a flashlight.
But also, it was because it was the spare amount of money you had lying around after you purchased a gun with the money you made. Just a basic 9mm pistol. Called Paper. Named after the Cup noodles you ate everyday since you had no kitchen to cook in.
"Stay close to me," you whispered gently to the girl.
While she didn't speak, she let out the faintest tilt of her head. As if to say, okay.
The sewers reeked, to say the least, it was a smell of rotten flesh that had fallen into the streams of acrid water. It was cold down here, devoid of any human life. It seemed you were one of the few that thought about going down there.
You shone your light to the left and there in front of you lay a drowned zombie, its head being ripped apart by a seemingly blind rat. You covered the young girl's eyes as you tiptoed past. You both walked for what appeared to be ages, but your sense of direction was distorted since you had no map of the sewers by any means. Unfortunately, you didn't spend time with the ninja turtles, so sewers never really interested you.
You kept going left before stopping in front of a fork in the road. You glanced at the one on the left with yet another sigh, your body ached, your bones felt like they'd fall apart at any moment. You wouldn't be surprised if your head just rolled off at this point. The one on the left has nothing, just pure darkness.
Shining your light on the one on the right, it had...
But, right's always the right way.
Or maybe not? Given the fact that in front of you laid a very hostile, very ugly monster. Devoid of any faces, yet having a surplus of hands feigning for flesh. It looked like five conjoined bodies.
The monstrous mutation standing in front of the two of you, resembled some sludgy mass, with eyes in every part of its body and hands grasping for freedom while their other body parts melted to slush. You couldn't recall this being one of the monsters you had observed in the files you were hacking into before. Before you had looked at the G-Virus video, you had inspected the personnel working for Umbrella and the spies inside of Umbrella, the previous mutations...
But, this was wrong, this wasn't documented...
This was... Something Umbrella couldn't control.
The sounds echoing in the hollow sewer canals made your blood run cold, a rat decided to parade behind you two screeching for no apparent reason except to annoy you both and attract the monster to you. Could you assume the rat was Umbrella personnel ready to jump you? Well whatever the case, the rat's horrific screech made the monster lay all of its eyes on the two of you, gurgling as it ran toward you both.
Before the monster could make you into another Michelin star meal, you grabbed that little girl by the waist, hoisted her up, ignoring the screaming of your bones and ran like you were trying to be first in line for a Target deal on Black Friday. The wet sound of your boots hitting the concrete floor was overshadowed by the loud piercing roars of the sewer monster. And the slimy smell didn't help either.
Your eyes scanned for any crevice to hide in, anywhere this monster couldn't reach you two. Soon, your eyes hit the jackpot. A rusted door with a sign yelling "Personnel Only!" You grabbed the door handle, rattling it back and forth with all the slight strength you could muster. With a loud crack! The door begrudgingly opened, without a second thought you shoved the girl inside as she winced (you'd apologize later when you're not at death's door) and you made it in as well. Yet the monster did nick your arm. A large gash replaced your intact skin.
You didn't pay it much mind as you dragged your light up, inspecting the area around you now. You weren't sure what was happening anymore. Dizzy, disoriented. Annoyed.
All you knew was that your flashlight couldn't stop flickering and that the girl next to you started crying, clenching her teeth hard enough that one of her teeth broke.
You winced at the sound of her teeth cracking, you sighed, picking the girl up, grounding her in your presence. The long stretches of corridor felt neverending, but you two found an elevator, going down it and landing into an even deeper part of the sewer.
It wasn't long before you heard a scream.
guess who it is at the end... bet you cant guess
also forgot to cross upload this earlier from ao3 oops
